| Show 11 ON TO THE PACIFIC S Mormon Battalions First Glimpse ol the Western Ocean ly 1 IRon OUCAT IIDMIIUAM II HIHtSt l fry Ret IMIef la a land ot lelilj I ibriliiin llnimkeranrl llm I Turtle MoUl Sail lllfffo Minion irJ Sr GiaRORi Aug > 8oJOn Monday J Mon-day the Illli I January IM7 we com I pitted ferrying over the Colorado and marched 15 mild through heavy sand t The afternoon was hOI teams gave out I 1 aDd two wagons were left The baggage I was packed on mutes Al night we limped by a well that had been due by General Kearney but it WM dry and In II was a dead well Details were made and the men put to work The well wa soon made deeper and a new one duff when water was had for the army The nest moraine orders were given to leave two more uagons the probability was they would be sent fur from California Cali-fornia Hero Major Cloud cached A trunk of tools and some other articles On the Ijlh we reached another well It was dry and loft four dead wolves This well was won cleaned out and dug deeper at the same time a new one was made nnd water was obtained On the morning of the Mill twentyfour men with Weaver the clietl guide I went ahead to dig for water That nigU we made a dry camp Early on the following morning we were on the march Dyioani we came up to the men digging for water they had readied dome but It was of very poor quality r h r lr lh Neither men nor mules liked tourink It Here we met tits men who had been mil from the Gila to General Kearney to meet us with fresh mules and beef cattle With the patty uric some Mexicans Mex-icans and California I Indian 101 he colonel col-onel ordered one ol the beeves killed and the men to be ready to march in one hour and a half Our Hour tail sugar nnd coif celni exhausted we thought one beef Insuflicient for a bat ttlion ol 4011 hungry menThe men-The mules brought had never been broken and there was a lively time but the soldiers and the native Cahlornians with their lassoes seemed enJoy Ihe spoil and the wild millet were forced to submit to Ihe harness This was the first time that myself and many others ever witnessed the lassoing business and ueriijo > ed the fun Alter a hasty dinner w e marched Jo miles and camped without water On Ihe 16 li we started at midnight and tiateled until 3 p m over a very sandy road and under a hot sun Twenty mule gave out and were left lo lake care ol themselves The men suffered account of hunger and thirst The fiisl who reached water carried canteens of It back to their comrades oho had given out and were left by the way One mule was lost with his pack on his back Here 1 will relate what Brother Abraham Abra-ham Ilunuker told me since our dlt charge He belonged to Company U I lie was detailed to lend a pack mule and was tell behind and out of tight lie was nearly famished for want of water when two turtle doses came and lit one on each ol his shoulders Ho had been thinking of home and was troubled about ln his I anlly nnd considerably I consider-ably alarmed at his present condition The doves remained 01 his shoulders for Home minute when all at onto his fears leis him and his troubles about lilrmcll and family cad and he was comforted On the illi ue ramped where there war plenty of good water On the math the camp did not mote orT day was pent cleaning guns for our musket were filled with sand and dint washing and mending our clothes fur they were in tatters and our feet nearly bare One 01 my 1IIlllaes shot n crow It prated to ben fit one He I ale It and said It Uas splendid Some of the boys had recovered so far from their wear marches that they sang fiddled and chanced w bile others amused themselves by going to ol the II top of a mountain near camp and rolling Urge bowlders down the mountain making a noise like loud peals of thunder and tasty slinking ICe earth Ibis I seemed to get away with our colonel and he could not understood how men hall starved and staggering as they walked as soon as camp was made da terns up engaged III hudllng and dancing Late In Iho I evening an Indian brought a letter to the colonel Rumor In camp said It wm from General Kearney and that he had n battle and had lost several of his men On the 1911 of January we had n hard march In croMin n noun lain We had to mote huge I stones out of the way to make a raid passable for our wagons At another mountain ue took our wagon apart and carried them and their loads through a mrroX rocky channel That day for the first time saw wild sagebrush At dark we camped on top ot a mountain without water The night was cool and there was no wood for lire except floe brush On the list of January we reached U arners ranch Ihe first settlement Mr Warner Its native ol HID slate of Maine and owns 19 square leagues ol land and three thousand head of cattle Our colonel procured a few fins bee I sane when our rations were Increased lo film pounds and a half ol meat to each soldier per day This did very well though was Mat l eating I without 1 rY bread and salt On tho afternoon of tin jjrd 01 Jan uaiy it began to rain the weather luiu < 1 cold On the mountain each side u us we could see snowing The wind arose and blew almost a Hurricane We halted to camp nnd undertook to Itch i lent but the wind blew them di son n 11I0sias fast as we cOlId put Iliuii i ui Hals were blown away unit n commit d to storm all night I Ihe next morning four mules were found del I II wa n pitiful sight to see the pour dumb beasts that survived Ihe storm sintering and baking with the cold It soon mareil up and the weather becmie pleasant On the 3jlh we camped in a heiullfnl alley here we were met by an express meisenger Irom General Kearney who had marched lo ban Diego where In was quartered I This eIOill J i genre plencd us ai the expreaim Mr Walker said that II n ship load ol I trout ion won dally expected to arrive at that place from the Sandwich Mauds There were herds of fat mile ail around u and a few were killed for beef Tnc doctor told til to biotl our meat Insle idol id-ol boiling 1100 s e had neither salt nor bread On the 2lh while parsing over a mountain ue could see thin great Iiclfir I Ocean about five miles away Joy seemed I to fill every Ixitom to know ue were so neor the end ol our march At evening we camped 1 In little valley near the sen shore We could hear the roaring and dashlne ol the water nil night I The whole face ol thin country was alive with herds of cattle bands ol horses mule and donkeys One of the guides said he knew one man who OWl e t IIwell thousand heal of cittle Hit ea h was richly carpeted over with gr o i grass and wild oats Tn me the country was delightful On the a9ih of January we reached the i Sin Diego mmlonuhere I It was expected ue would KO Into quarters quar-ters Forthwith uo begun to clean 1 out the mission I berunllo ol adobes They looked old 1 and dilapidated This Is I said 110 be the first LhrUtlin mission established In California It was founded by Catholics In 1769 for the purpose ol converting the Indians U I Is situated about five miles from the town of Sin Diego I II W lltotKH |
