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Show , , . rn,, , lb , '1 , . . ., .,, , - THE DESERET NEWS, SATURDAY, - DECEMBER Oiureb Department 9, 1939. - BR I GHAM. 'YOUNG --- ,,, lion,, streams of water, timber, pasturage, and any Dr. other items which might prove to be important - factors in assisting Brigham Young in determining CHAPTER V . where to establish colonies. For example, the camp THE SOUTHERN EXPLORING COMPANY reads as follows: 'Journal 1 THE route to California traveled. by the Mormon --Th- e company camped for the night- fat)'' 1847 to 1849 t traders from and scouts, explorers i a good place to settle with Hobble Creek. waithrough Utah, Juab, Pauvan, Beaver, Little Salt goodt oil and plenty of water. (4) November, Like, and Dixie valleys, and then across the desert Sage and greasewood abundant - lo the Pacific coast It, was the same trail as high- - - 29, 1849, soil. Plenty dry feed. No snow. Crossed - way No. 91 follows today- .- During.' the first two - Sandy up creek (68 m.) six yards wide, one foot deep, ,years in the Basin, the, Saints had leirned relative- bad descent, gravelly bottom. Beautiful fine Iy little regarding the adjacent country lying on food. The range of mountains on the east of either side of route previously described. , Utah Valley curves from north to south around Lying just eat and separate(' by a range of the - east Traveled the west foot of east range :Wasatch Mountains from the above line of valleys, of a circle. Mountains studded round lies another Sevier, and Panguitch Crossed branch of Summit t fir. with cedar and being the principal ones there. In June of '1849, Creek (70 m.) three feet wide, ten inches Walker, the ,Ute Indian war chief, visited Brigham deep, fine rushing stream, and two hundred Young in Salt Lake City and asked that he send yards farther Summit Creek, thirty feet wide, - colonists to Sanpete Valley to teach the natives how one' foot deep, beautiful clear water, cotton4 - to live like the white men-- The president assured wood on banks, steep ascent from creek Cross- the Indian chief that it should be done according kg seventeen miles from mouth of the canto his desires. Accordingly, about two months later, yon. Beautiful fine feed. The stream flows , Brigham sent an exploring party to Sanpete Valley on the summit or ridge between Utah and Juab - to select a site for a colony. On August 20 this valleysLand gently undulating from foot of party camped on the present site of Manti. They This mdtmtains four or five miles down. returned to the Mormon Mecca and made a favoris a pleasant situation overlooking Utah Lake able report dn the feasibility of sending colonists to and valley on the north and Juab Valley on the rt thaf-paOf the Great Basin. - ----- south. Passed a rocky spot (733 m.) and then A little more than two years had now passed began to descend into Juab :Valley. (5) since the first Mormon pioneer company arrived in Pratt's exploring company , traveled through the Great West. Colonies had spread to various 7 Juab Valley as far as Salt Creek, Nephi. Then they , points in the Salt Lake Valley. Ogden had been left the main road and followed up Salt Citeek Canmiles established on the Weber River thirty-eigh- t youand over a range of the Wasatch Mountains miles to the north. Fort Utah (Provo), forty-fou- r -Sanpete Valley, reaching there only twelve south olf the parent colony, was now six months after Isaad Morley had arrived with his coldays old. Isaac Morley with a group of 224 colonists onists. was arriving in Sanpete Valley, 135 miles south of The following-da- y Ii they left the Sanpete settleSalt Lake at that time for the purpose of establish- - ment and traveled toward the Sevier Valley. From , Ing a settlement Brother Brigham's dream of an then on until they reached the Little Salt Lake had to make a new trail most empire was beginning to be a reality. But in order Valley, the explorers of the way. They reached the Sevier 'River on Deto more systematically colonize the Great Basin, a cember 6.. The camp historian stated that this place more scientific and thorough exploration than had miles from Salt -Lake City. He described heretofore been made was necessary. the stream as follOws: The Sevier is a noble river several feet deep Therefore, in the fall of 1849, President Brigwith a sluggish current, having much the apham Young was planning and preparing to send pearance of the Jordan, but considerably larger! ' out an, exploring party which proved to be the It is apparently navigable for small steamers, most important expedition of this kind engaged in but itk valley and the country since the corn Saints. Apostle Parley P. Pratt by the Latter-dapany left Sanpitch is mostly a desert, with the was selected to lead the expedition, with William exception of small bottoms with grass and wil- lows. (6) W. Phelps and David Fullmer as his counselors. The Here on the Sevier five Utes came into camp company was organized at the home of John Brown -and reported that Walker was up the river hunting. on South Cottonwood Creek on November 23, 1849, The following day Pratt read a letter tothe Indian and received the name of the Southern Exploring chief from President Young, and Dimick B. HuntCompany. The same military organization that had ington ,Interpreted it. The letter told of the sack , worked so effectively in bringing the Saints acrosS of flour that the "big Mormon chief" had sent to the Ute chief. Walker refused to make an answer the plains was again utilized. The plan consisted to Apostle.. Pratt until he had seen his brother of a captain over fifty and a captain over ten. Arapeen, but he did advise the explorers not to The coimpany took-thfollowing supplies: twelve pass over the mountains southeast, as there was wagons, one carriage, Aventy-fou'yoke of cattle, no good country over there. thirty-eigh- t horses and mules, an odometer to measMost of Walker's tribe o( Sanpitch Indians ure distances, a brass field piece, small arms, seven were ill. So at the request of the, Indian chief, Parbeeves; also there were one hundred fifty pounds ley P. Pratt, Dan Jones and Dimick B. Huntington, laying hands of flour to each man, besides crackers, bread and "went and prayed for the Indians were given sick The of Jesus." on name in them the meal. (1) a supply of tea, coffee, stigar, bread and meat, and The purpose of this exploring expedition was to some good medical adviceN Then the sack of flour observe the natural resources of the country and to sent by Brother Brigham was divided between choose sites for other settlements of the Mormons. Walker and Arapeen. Walker was now highly that he would have gone with the Isaac C. Haight wrote in his journal: "On the 9th pleased, of November, President Brigham Young desired me company had thIs people not been sick; however, he Ammornah- to act as guide to postpone my intentions of going to the mines, would send his brother in his stead. and instead, accompany ,Brother Parley P. Pratt to , The exploring company continued up The Sevier explore the valleys southward . . to find a valley . River. By December 10 the weather became ex, for another settlement of the Saints in the south tremely cold, the river having frozen hard and the thermometer ranging around twenty degrees below part of the mountains of Israel." (2) zero. The following day their Indian guide desert. On November 25, the company of explorers pass. ed them They continued their journey, however, ed the summit where they obtained a spf each place suitable for a colony. The camp Salt Lake and rtah valleys and the Then noting stated: journalist they, traveled down into Utah Valley, arriving at We crossed the summit (200 im), and 'Fort Utah (Provo) on the Provo River on the 27th. thence had a beautiful descent, still through the The camp historlaft wrote: "The river, twenty-fouforest, to the foot of the mountain and entered Mary's Vale, a' beautiful rich valley, densely yards wide, eighteen inches deep, timber plentiful ' covered with luxuriant high grass, mixed with . . The fort was composed of log hous- ' fine rushes, and interspersed with willows. es on seventeen acres of ground, one hundred rods There was scarcely a sage brush to be seen. - - from the Provo River." (3) The valley Which is from a quarter to one and a half miles wide contains perhapykwo hundred Throughout their journey, a careful and com' acres-excellent land and is connected with soil' vegetaof was record the conditions, plete kept more a few miles furtheit up. Parley P. Pratt appeared delighted with the' place and re-marked that he had not felt so much at home ' since he left Juab Valley. He had no doubt that this cozy little nook in the 'mountains Would be settled. Entering the valley, the company put up a board marked "two hundred miles from Great Salt Lake City," though actuat 13T two hundred four miles by the company's Milton R. Hunter By I-- , , - - - J. -- i , i travel (7) Continuing up the Sevier to a point two hun dred thirty-twmiles from Salt Lake City, the eX- plorers found that the Sevier Valley terminated in an impassable canyon, with "an abrupt .chain of mountains sweeping before and on each hand, and the river rushing like a torrent between perpendicular rocks." (26) They were forced to turn back to locate a and camp while scouts were sent-opass. William W. Phelps and others reported that the road ahead was impassable Pratt and Driggs rode about eight miles in search of a pass to the left about which Walker had informed them. But they found the country too rough, "marred by huge piles of stones washed down from the mountains, and tilled with gulleys, or the dry beds of torrents from the mountains." (8) The snow lay two feet deep, and the hills were too abrupt for a passage with wagons. Captain Brown and a portion of the exploring company spent most of the following day ben 16) searching way right, over the Wasatch Mountains and on into the Little Salt I,ake Valley. Toward evening they returned to camp and l'reported a route difficult but not impassable, winding over a- succession of canyons with steep ascents and descents, nearly perpendicular in places, with rocks and cobblestones all the way." (9) The record continued: The camp struck out from the Sevier and , ascended a canyon, a rock road. About two and one half miles up, came to a perpendicular descent. The road was fixed, the hind wheels of the wagons were locked, and the brethren held back with ropes and so passed the descent of the wagons stopped at the foot of a steep long hill in Deer - canyon (237 m.). Doubled teams with the other half and ascended to a creek. Ascended a steep rocky long hill, and then- descended twelve miles, holding back with ,ropes, both wheels be- ing locked. Winding to the right, ascended another long hill, sidling and rocky, but the rocks covered with snow, which was drifted on the lee side of the hill, one to two and one half feet deep. Descended sidling steep rocky hollow, the brethren holding back with ropes - -- 1 - , two-third- o ut s line-San- pete, - - -- i - - "1' to-th- e - -------- -- - i i - - . - was-14- 1 Ascended I I -- e - . On December 20, Pratt and Brown, who had ridden several miles ahead to explore the road, came into camp toward evening and reported that a pass had been discovered. The following evening the expluyers camped on the northern extremity of Little Salt Lake Valley. - They continued thejr journey ,southward, camping on Red Creek on Demiles from cember 23, two hundred seventy-eigh- t home. The camp historian wrote of this location: This was judged a suitable place for a settlement of from fifty to one hundred families, The land is beautifully undulating, with a fall - to the for watering. westivard, Willows, weeds and grasses are exceedingly. dense for thousands of acres. The pasture lands extend for miles north andsbuth of the farming lands. The foothills, one or two miles distant, black with inexhaustible supplies of cedar and scrub pine, about twelve feet high and easy well-calculat- two-lake- r . fifty-seve- , of snow (241 m). (10) fine-,vie- . neatirperpendicularly, drifted very deep, the wind blowing so strongly from the south on the ridges, as to nearly tear off the wagon covers. Descended to second Ascended nearly perpendicularly, canyon- -the snow being shoveled away as high as the oxen, ropes were hitched round the yokes, and the oxen pulled up by the brethren standing - on the summit. The oxen then pulled. up the Some of the company' ahead, wagons. breaking roads and shoveling the snow out of the way. Others held back their wagons. Moved down sidling into hollow and camped y - - One-hal- f . r - The C!olonizer - - , , ' of access. (11). The cattle of the company had become so reduced by the rough traveling and lack of sufficient feed that it Was considered absolutely necessary for them to rest. 'Accordingly the decision was reached for a portion of the explorers to continue the expedition to the Rio Virgin by pack animals, while the rest of the company remained encamped with the cattle and wagons. David Fullmer was aPpointed head over the camp which remained,with Isaac C. Haight captain and clerk. Pratt instructed patrols of the brethren to guard the camp incessant- . - (Colithlued On Page 0) , - . |