Over the Rim to Red Rock Country: The Parley P. Pratt Exploring Company of 1849

Parley P. Pratt. USHS collections.

Over the Rim to Red Rock Country: The Parley P. Pratt Exploring Company of 1849

BY DONNA T SMART

PENCILED ON THE FRAGILE INSIDE BACK COVER of a journal written by Robert Lang Campbell in 1849-50 are the fading words of a poem, a verse of which reads:

The Winds roared like thunder!

the hurricane burst

The fires were all quenched

And the cattle dispersed

The storm demons raging

attacked the foe

And reared as by magic

new breastworks of snow 1

As clerk of the 1849 Parley P. Pratt expedition to southern Utah, Campbell kept a daily, detailed record. His poem celebrates one of the worst of many trials faced by the company on this most ambitious Mormon exploration of the state.

Pratt had spent the summer of 1849 building a road through Big Kanyon (Parleys Canyon), hoping to provide an easier way into the Salt Lake Valley than that forged by the pioneers. In November of that year he confronted another challenge: "I now received a commission from the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the State of Deseret to raise fifty men, with the necessary teams and outfit, and go at their head on an exploring tour to the southward."2

On November 20 Brigham Young "met in council with Presidents Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards and several others, in relation to Elder Parley P Pratt and a company of brethren going on an exploring expedition southward to the outside of the Rim of the Basin. Parley P. Pratt and David Fullmer were blessed, preparatory to starting."3

Three days later, on November 23, the explorers bivouacked at Capt. Brown's on Cottonwood. Pratt, of course, wasvoted president of the company, with W. W. Phelps and David Fullmer as counselors. Brown was designated captain of thefiftywith Phelps as topographical engineer, Ephraim Green as chief gunner, Dimick Huntington as Indian interpreter, and Robert Campbell as clerk. They selected as captains often Isaac C. Haight,Joseph Matthews,Joseph Horn, Ephraim Green, and Josiah Arnold. Since the fifth ten was short of men, they planned to recruit some in "Sandpitch" (Sanpete).4

The entourage included 12 wagons, 1carriage, 24 yoke of oxen, 7 beef, 38 horses and mules, and supplies: trade items for the Indians, 150 lbs of flour for each man, crackers, bread, meal, and 60 lbs coffee Since the expedition would drag on until March 28, 1850, this amount would prove inadequate The men completed general preparations by securing an odometer, a brass field piece, firearms, and ammunition. One historian described how important firearms were to early travelers on the overland trails: "Every man when starting out . . . considered that a rifle, revolver, and knife were as essential as flour and bacon and they were provided accordingly—the two latter secured by a belt to his person while the other idly swung in the wagon all loaded and ready for use."5 Despite arming themselves, during the bivouac Pratt instructed the company that peace and good will should govern the expedition, perhaps in a spirit of psychological preparation for the unknown.

Among those assembled were Samuel Gould, at age seventy-one the eldest, and Alexander Abraham Lemon, eighteen, the youngest of those whose ages can be verified. The average age was near thirtyfive. Eight men had been in the 1847 pioneer company of Brigham Young.6

From the beginning bad weather plagued the expedition. By 8 P.M. the day they left, November 24, the snow was falling fast. Nevertheless, according to Campbell, they were in good spirits. They told "manyjokes and stories" and sang songs and a hymn. Pratt offered a prayer, and a "fat and good" yearling was killed for food.

High spirits faltered, however, as the journey south began to challenge their endurance and patience Some days roads were passable and the weather cooperative; some days the company bucked snow, mud, swampy areas, and tricky creek crossings On the way to Sanpete they encountered twenty-three creeks or rivers and forded one, Salt Creek, east of Nephi, six times. Animals and men labored up rocky ascents and descents. North winds stung their faces and penetrated their clothing. At many campsites cattle went hungry; at others, neither man nor beast had fresh water to drink. The men's energy flagged during frequent backtracking to round up straying cattle and horses. The thermometer seldom stood above freezing. For twenty-one days the temperature dipped into the teens and single digits; six times it registered below zero and on December 10 plunged to 21 degrees below.

The company lumbered toward Fort Utah (Provo), which had only existed since April 1849. Pratt, Phelps, and Fullmer took time to preach at a meeting in the fort, and there they obtained another yoke of cattle, vegetables, milk, and baking supplies. At Peteetneet Creek (Payson) Col. Marshall Scott asked the company for assistance in trailing the horse thief Purbelow. Pratt loaned Scott ten men with horses who pursued Purbelow as far as the Sevier River with no success.

Pratt then led his men up Salt Creek and on to Manti, the last Mormon outpost A few of the party had been there before In a meeting on June 14, Chief Walker had petitioned the Mormons to "settle" his land. Within three months of the request Brigham Young had sent four men to scout out Walker's territory. Three of them— Joseph Horn, W W Phelps, and Dimick B Huntington—became key members of the Pratt party. Phelps, in fact, had already proved himself a useful scout. On August 24 he had "ascended to the top of Mount Nebo south of Utah Valley, to make scientific observations." Itwas undoubtedly then that he made a rough but accurate sketch of the valleys southward.7

Making camp in Sanpete barely ten days after the new settlers had arrived, the explorers found one cabin already built. They repaired equipment, added five men and two wagons to their company, and pushed on, following San Pitch Creek to its confluence with the Sevier River. The next week, they snaked eighty miles up the Sevier, crossing it time and again Near present Salina, although they had joined the Spanish Trail, snow hindered their ability to identify it.8 '

Their trials increased. Where the Sevier River cuts through a narrow channel at Big Rock Candy Mountain, they had to hew a road over the mountain to the east and were so happy to get through to a valley on the other side that the name of Merry Vale (now Marysvale) came into Pratt's mind.9 On the spot he composed a hymn about a sweet southern vale and sang it "Extempore" to the camp.

In the High Plateau country west of Pratt's sweet vale rose the towering peaks of the Tushar Range. At a narrow canyon south of Circleville the men realized the time had come to attempt a crossing. On December 13John Christopher Armstrong lamented:

Traveled six miles today, had hard work breaking ice to cross the river One ox fell down in the river and the wagon went over it and broke one horn and cut it I went out with Bro pratt to explore the mountains, Rode hard all day and when we got back to camp I was so tired I cant stand nor sit down. I could not lift my leg up to step in the wagon. I walked as well as I could and blew the trumpet for prayer-slipped off to bed, rubbed my limbs trembling all the time with cold, my teeth chattering in my head. Truly I thought of home and a good comfortable bed10

The next day John Brown described their plight:

.. . we came to the forks of the Sevier where we camped here we had another fall of snow . . . next day we traveled up the western fork [the main Sevier] and after going some eight or nine miles we came to an impassable canyon through which the river ran, we camped for the night brother Pratt road out some ten miles to the left to find a pass but did not succeed the mountains were very high on either side.11

On Sunday, December 16, Brown, accompanied by three men and two oxen, spent the day looking for a pass:

we road all day and found a pass over which I thought we could go, it was a long way through the mountain and very difficult snow 1 1/2 to 2 feet deep ... we did not know but we were to the end of our row when we reached this place after hearing a description of the pass, the cry [from the men] was we can go it. It was a great undertaking and a very hazardous one to cross so large a mountain at this season of the year, there was danger of being snowed under

The men could not foresee what lay ahead. "Going it" meant a harrowing ordeal of five days, hacking a road for sixteen miles through rugged terrain surrounded by 9,000-foot peaks and deep canyons. They fought against wind that clawed at their clothes and wagon covers, shoveling snow that, Pratt reported later, "was deeper than our heads, hanging over us like the cornishes of a cavern."12 Armed with picks, shovels, and axes, the exhausted and frostbitten men continued their transit. On precipitous downward slopes, twelve men worked to hold back wagons with locked wheels; to get up the steep grades they hitched ropes to the yokes and pulled up the oxen so that the oxen could then pull the wagons up. Five difficult ascents and five difficult descents took them barely two and a half miles.13

When the summits were finally conquered, Armstrong's eloquence burst forth. He wrote on Friday, December 21:

. .We have fought with the storms and tempests and it must have been by and thru the divine interposition of providence of God who led Nephi of old, that we were brought over these mountains, To look at them it would be said that no white man could do it or be rash enough to undertake it or have enterprising spirit enough to attempt it The Mormons are the boys for such expeditions, They fear neither canyon, mountain snow storms, gulleys or rivers, Because they know they are led by the mighty God of Jacob.

Once over the worst of the pass, Pratt and Brown explored ahead, as they often did, to where they could see the valley of the Little Salt Lake. So dramatically different was the landscape—there being only two or three inches of snow—that they called the narrow approach into the valley "Summer Gate." Known today as Fremont Wash, it is located about ten miles south of Beaver at the northernmost end of the Little Salt Lake Valley. Armstrong described rocks near the mouth of Fremont Wash as rising

perpendicular above our heads as if bidding defiance to man .. . at about a half mile farther the rocks at some sides [look] very much like the ramparts of some Baronial castle such as was used in feudal times one fourth mile farther there was a range of stupenduous rocks One was named Cornish rock on account of its resemblance to a Cornicework done by stone mason and cut to put over doors I cut my name on the face of these rocks, and may more had I the time 14

Armstrong's name written in big, bold letters, remains there, as do the more eroded initials and names of other expedition members, side by side with graffiti of a more modern time.

On December 23 the Pratt company found the road made only weeks before byJefferson Hunt and 100 wagons he was leading toward the California gold fields. They welcomed wagon tracks to follow, after forging their own wayfrom Sanpete.

After such an exhausting effort, a camp council determined that only twenty men and thirty horses should venture beyond the Great Basin rim, leaving behind all wagons and the remainder of the company and stock. Thus, they spent Christmas day fixing up the pack saddles, drying beef, and making other preparations. On December 26 Pratt's group spurred the horses and pack animals southward, while Schuyler Jennings and Joseph Matthews, carrying mail, turned north to return home.15

The southbound contingent roughly followed the present 1-15 freeway. This was the emigrant road, and they saw signs of recent passers-by. Brown noted that emigrants had lost cattle and burnt a wagon at their first campsite.16 Campbell found three wagon tires, the irons of a wagon, and a notice written on a board: "Capt Fly's Coy passed here 16th Deer 12 in deep of snow. M Beardsell of St Louis left wagon here signed by Sand."17 Indians, apparently, had burned the wagon.

The explorers were impressed with the rich possibilities for settlement. In his report to the Legislative Council in February, Pratt extolled the virtues of the Little Salt Lake Valley, admitting that the interim information he had sent with Matthews andJennings was inadequate.

Pratt's view of the countryside over the rim was less optimistic:

The Country Southward opening to the view as it were a wide expanse of chaotic matter huge hills, Sandy desert, cheerless, grassless, waterless plains, perpendicular rocks, loose, barren clay, dissolving beds of Sandstone & various other elements lying in inconceivable confusion, in short a country in ruins, dissolved by the peltings of the storms of ages, or turned inside out, upside down by terrible convulsions in some former age. 18

Although the men were no longer hampered by wagons and oxen, they still found the going difficult. The gorge of Ash Creek proved impassable, and the party had to negotiate steep side hills. Snow covered the north side of the Black Ridge, while the summit and south side were so soggy that the horses sank into the mire up to their knees The men had to dismount and carry some of the load of the pack animals.

On December 31,after descending Ash Creek, they camped on the Rio Virgin By then their animals were failing, and when local Indians warned them of the perils of going farther south, they turned in a northwesterly direction and camped a little above the mouth of the Santa Clara, about eighty-five miles, they figured, from the Little Salt Lake.

Hard rains hampered them continually, but they moved up the Santa Clara, again running into snow as they passed back over the rim into the vicinity of Mountain Meadows. On January 5 they encountered the horse thief Purbelow and his band, on whose trail Marshall Scott had been a few weeks earlier. Ten or twelve miles along they spent some time with the Fly company of about fifty wagons whose ruined campsite they had passed on the other trail There were more than a hundred people in this company engaged in repairs and resting. Pratt's men purchased some whiskey and "lodged in their tents and had the luxury of sitting in a chair. Here was seen some of the richest specimens of iron ore, which was scattered over the hills ... in inexhaustible quantities. . . ."19

Meanwhile, those left with the wagons at the Little Salt Lake felt less pressure and could rest themselves and their animals But they were not idle. They had moved to a more favorable campsite near present Parowan; explored the countryside, including the Little Salt Lake; found iron ore; and identified good sites for stone quarries, plaster of paris, and lime. They had also come across the dramatic petroglyphs on the soaring rocks at what is now the Parowan Gap and copied some of the strange figures chiseled there. Pratt later reported to the legislature that Chief Walker called that place "Gods own house."20

Anticipating a reunion of the two contingents of his company, Pratt and Brown hastened ahead and arrived at the wagon campsite a day earlier than their companions, who rejoined their comrades on January 8.

On January 10 the entire company headed homeward. The following day it rained and then snowed steadily until J Sunday, January 20, with the tempera- f! ture at 13degrees, the explorers reached the general area of Fillmore where they found themselves snowbound. Robert Campbell described writing a report under Pratt's dictation and, completing a clean copy, "had to write it laying on my belly 8c a hundred other positions, cold Snowy night open wagon, without a stove, cover not fastened down with tacks stitched it being 11 Pages 8c handed it to Parley while the company just starting. . . ."21

An inventory revealed that rations would sustain only part of the group until spring. They decided, therefore, to leave the wagons and men without families, for the most part, to winter there and to take twenty-six horses and mules and twenty-four men ahead to Fort Utah. Pratt was sick and vomiting when the contingent left, guided by compass as the storm was so heavy—distance 107 miles, route unknown At first, Pratt could hardly sit his mule, but his health improved; the weather did not. The men had to shovel snow away to make their beds; and one morning they awoke under a foot of snow, "only tiny mounds marking the locations of the sleepers. . . .Parley stood up in his own place and, raising his voice like a trumpet, he called to them to arise there was a shaking among the snow mounds; the graves opened, and the men stepped forth. They named this place Resurrection Camp."22

To make headway, they were forced to break trails on foot and proceed single-file through three to four feet of snow, exchanging places as the leader gave out. According to Brown, the snow worsened in Juab Valley and with their food almost gone, on January 26 Pratt and Chauncey West took the two best mules and started for Provo and help,

. . . leaving the remainder to travel on as fast as we could, which was not very fast, our animals were near giving out and we had three men who could not walk two were frosted and one snow blind; our provisions were running very short We camped where we had nothing but small willows half dried to burn which gave us a very poor fire for one of the coldest nights we had on the whole trip, next morning the thermometer was 30 degrees below zero, it was the severest night I ever experienced

Isaac Haight toldjust how short rations were:

. . . had a little flower stired in boiling water 28th . . . 29th Same for breakfast and not half enough came 8 miles to petetenite [Payson] and to our great joy Br P Conon [Peter Conover] and Stoddord came to us with provisions for which we feel to thank them and our God came to Spanish Fork and camped. . . . 24

The rescue effort tested Pratt and West severely:

Traveled all day, averaging about knee deep in snow Camped at eleven at night on Summit Creek, extremely hungry and feet badly frozen. We built a small fire, it being the coldest night we had ever experienced, and after trying in vain to thaw out our frozen shoes, stockings and the bottoms of our drawers and pants, we rolled ourselves in our blankets, and lay trembling with cold a few hours Monday, 28th— Arose long before day; bit a few mouthfuls off the last black frozen biscuit remaining. Saddled up our animals, and, after another laborious day, living on a piece of biscuit not so large as our fist, we entered Provo at dark; raised a posse of men and animals, with provisions, and sent back same night.25

The men left with the wagons on Chalk Creek were making the best of their plight. They traded with the Indians and again copied what they called hieroglyphics. They organized a Ute Indian School and a Lyceum School for themselves and gathered for debate every evening Father Williams collected chalk rock from the banks of the creek The Sidney Willis and Sterling G Driggs tens each built a cellar house. They remarked on the cries of wolves, washed clothes, and took turns trudging ahead on snowshoes, eagerly searching for optimistic signs that they could move homeward

At length, on February 4, the five Sanpete recruits, impatient to go home, decided to leave on foot. Two days later they returned to report that wagons could make it, despite the snow. On February 7 the men, wagons, and stock set out. It was a mistake. The first day they wallowed six miles to "Thorn Plum Creek" near the southern entrance to Scipio Canyon but could go no farther as the snow was too deep over the pass. After nearly a month of waiting there, exploring westward on snowshoes and filling their time by making wooden shoes, cleaning guns, tailoring, "ringingking" (whatever that is), reading, writing, and singing, they plunged ahead.

In a heroic effort to win the battle against snow three to four feet deep—sometimes crusty and sometimes soft—they built sleds to place under wagon wheels, but the snow was too soft for even four or five yokes of cattle to pull the makeshift sleighs. The men shoveled trails and retraced their steps to drive the livestock forward. They altered their route, making their way around the shoulders of the hills where snow was not so deep. They melted snow for the cattle to drink, but several died anyway. One "violent gale" increased to a "tempest" and blew Pratt's wagon over, tore the cover off another, blew down tents, and dropped four inches of snow in four hours. They spent fourteen days going 27 miles; then, after reaching the Sevier where the snow was largely gone, they traveled the remaining 104 miles home in twelve days.

Going and coming taxed the physical strength and endurance of the party unmercifully, but human relationships can be just as taxing. Tension developed within the company, as will be seen later, but fortunately encounters with the Indians of the area went fairly smoothly. On the outward journey the company saw no white men, other than those associated with the Sanpete settlement, but throughout the expedition they frequently met Indians. Walker came visiting, saying he knew he would see them because he dreamed he would. According to Campbell, the chief.

. . tells Parley no pass over these mts S.E. and no good country over there little Water, don't run far, Rocky, Shewed him the map he showd points in it & told what country he was acquainted 8c what he was not, like an experienced geographer, all astonished at him point out on the map, . . . Indians come in by the dozens . . . many of them sick with the measles, hear them making medicine, see them sucking one anothers feet, forehead 8cc. . . . Sat 8th . . . Parley, Dan Jones & Dimic goes 8c prays for the Indians at Walkers request, rebukes their meazles, by laying hands on them in the name ofJesus Walker makes long speech, said he'd come with us but his ppl r all sick the best he can do for us send his Bro Anunomah with us he always listened to the good words of ours, wished all to come American, Mormon 8c live in peace, he would not fight any more, had done fighting , 26

Anunomah became sick and three days later left them, complaining that they did not make enough medicine for him and that he would visit an old medicine squaw.

As Walker had dreamed about meeting the Pratt party, so on December 29 Jones dreamed about Indians coming to meet their group and on December 30 Pratt dreamed "about talking with the Indian down a little ways who grow corn."27 Their dreams were fulfilled—abundantly. That very day near the Virgin River three Indians came into camp, informing the explorers that no water existed between there and the Colorado. Campbell wrote:

Smoke the pipe of peace . . . they r fat, tolerably clad for this warm climate, one of them has a Cassimere coat Black hair, no beard nor whiskers nor hair under their arm pits, all under the medium size. . . . Dimic tells them we were Mormons not . . . Americans. . . . one of the Indians says he sold his wife to Walker , 28

One group of Indians would vanish and another appear— twenty or more at a time Dimick Huntington said some of them were afraid and

did not know whether come in peace or war, mean, dirty almost naked creatures - many come into camp Rain so hard I had to hurry 8c now stop writing. . . . Indians say . . . they willing we should come 8c live with them all talk at once, rude, dirty mean 8c filthy they wanted us to feed them . . . but now they wish us to make beds for them, seeing it Rains so the land is all ours if we come 8c settle among them, glad to av us. ... T at noon 74 . . . gave us lots of presents. . . . they say Mormons coming to live among them 8c help them to raise corn want we should come gave us all the land round here for a knife , 29

Meetings with the Indians were pleasant for the most part The Indians welcomed the interlopers and shared their knowledge of trails They seemed happy to accept the hospitality offered by the Mormons Dimick Huntington's assignment was to communicate with all of them, and he did so passably, mutual respect being generally evident. Only once did a journal suggest that perhaps a missing animal had been stolen by Indians. Brown recounted a rather touching incident: One of the Indians requested a blanket to sleep with in the Mormon camp and was given a saddle blanket. He wrapped it around his shoulders and casually walked away—but he left his bow and arrow in exchange.30 On the way home Campbell noted that Father William Henry "leaves hisweak ox with the Indians."31 By the time the wagon contingent reached home, however, Indian-white relationships in Utah Valley had deteriorated to the point of bloody conflict.

Within the company itself, emotions flared occasionally, but the fifty men pushed and pulled, slept and ate, prayed and played together with remarkable unity A pattern established the first night in camp made it clear that this was to be a religious experience. They sang hymns and had prayers, a custom that persisted throughout the trip. Campbell described this nightly ritual as well as fervent religious discussions and remarkable healings By December 18, however, in the middle of the strenuous effort to cross the High Plateau country east of the Little Salt Lake Valley, tensions became more open. Pratt requested Campbell's presence in a carriage where Wadsworth and Dan Jones were waiting. Campbell confided in his journal:

Parley said he felt like praying - he prayed, asked the Lord to forgive the camp for their vanity, folly, 8c wickedness - interceded with the Lord not to hedge up our way, but to enable us to get out of these Mts 8c to find a pass, to have mercy 8c compassion on this Camp, & to treat us kindly & for the sakes of those in Camp who keep thy name sacred, 8c seek to fulfill our mission &c 8cc - SchylerJennings swore 8c dam'd Capt Jones in Gods name to take his horse away from near his waggon 8c threat at him with club in hand -Witness CaptJones -

The next evening, Pratt and others went ahead to explore and beat a track. Upon returning and making a report, he

made a long exhortation & preach to the Bre told them, the Lords spirit grieved on account of the folly, nonsense, & vanity in camp, said some had threatened to knock one another down 8c cursed in the name of God, it was wrong to use the name of God have no fellowship for those who take our God's name in vain 8c especially to curse their Bre, said need for us all to pray 8c ask God's forgiveness . . .Yet the Lord has lead us, our Guardian angels vexed but have not left us, brought us to the only pass in these Mts very thankful to the Lord, prayed While Parley speaking Jennings said in hearing of George Matson & John Lowry, that he'd a good mind to black his mouth, &c using the word dam'd32

Clearly, all was not well in the mountain of the Lord's house. So it waswhen the company split, part to go southward and the others to wait at the valley of the Little Salt Lake, that Schuyler Jennings, a member of the first ten, andJoseph Matthews, captain of the first ten, were commissioned to carry mail home

Isaac Haight, at the wagon campsite in the Little Salt Lake Valley, also expressed concern about attitudes, saying that on December 31 he and Fullmer had spoken to the camp about "laying aside our folly and living in such a manner that we should not be ashamed to have Angles [sic] come into our midst and behold our acts."

But there were light-hearted times, too OnJanuary 1, 1850, the men fired a cannon and prepared a New Year's dinner in celebration. And when Pratt's men returned from the Rio Virgin, the brethren with the wagons threw a party.Armstrong wrote:

Monday Jan. 7th 1849 - A fine warm day, Boys got me to make them some boxing gloves 2 pair of boxing gloves, and spent the day boxing, bowling etc. I made some good apple pudding and it was a treat out here About six oclock in the evening the boys were dancing cotillions, when we heard a gun fired off at a distance Then we gave a few loud huzzahs, for we knew it was Parley Pratt Presently he was among us with Capt Dan Jones, He told us he had left the camp about eleven miles off and would be in tomorrow, We then gave loud huzzahs Then the little Captain told us he had a canteen full of whiskey, Then he handed it all around They then took supper, we were all overjoyed to see them Some went to boxing some to singing, some dancing to amuse them, They told us we must prepare a large dinner for the whole camp tomorrow, Put up a liberty pole and have a Jubilee.

Tuesday Jan 9th 1849. . . . The sky is clear and the stars are twinkling bright and we are in hopes of a fine day. At half past five the horn was sounded, the camp got out of bed with one consent and commenced cooking with all their might. .. . At one oclock the boys that were returning got within two miles of us, the cannon was fired and then they fired their guns in answer to us The boys had got their handkerchiefs fixed on small sticks and attached them to their horses heads and rode up in front of our camp, gave us a volley with their guns and pistols We answering in return gave some loud huzzahs then they came into camp shook hands all around and heard some wonderful stories.

The feast consisted of coffee, roast beef, pumpkin and squash, mince and apple pies, sugar and butter. The men laid it out on a wagon cover spread on the ground

Descriptions of the country this company explored are as varied as the men's personalities and ages. Armstrong's journal fragment usually reveals a light-hearted nature, but he observed some negatives about the landscape On December 5 he wrote:

Traveled 9 miles from San Pitch just in the mouth of Sevier valley, A very dreary place and very cold, I have two toes frozen Ought to be called "Severe Valley" A large dreary wilderness, A complete Barren waste . . . Dec 11 We have passed through valleys and between mountains of nothing but Desert and brown land.

John Brown expressed similar sentiments about the country over the rim as did Pratt. Campbell's description of the red rock country was more objective:

Pass up stream, or creek [the Santa Clara], which is in places rapid current 15 ft Wide, 1 foot deep, clear water, narrow going over rocks, & steep ascents 8c descents Indian trail (they suppose we can go with our horses where they go on foot) Red bluffs, rise like a fortifications 5 or 600 ft high 2 miles long, we r going to day W 8c N West, over barren land, sandy, Pass Pebble rocks, good building Rock, & thousands of hugh, piles of Mts hills, rugged declivities, Rocks, petrified wood steep bluffs, caverns, see ahead of us West, very high Mountains, covered with snow. . . .

Isaac Haight shared quite different feelings about leaving the valley of the Little Salt Lake.

I shall leave this place with regret it is one of the most lovely places in the Great Basin On the East high towering Mountains covered with Evergreen forests and one of the most Beautiful creeks running from them On the West and South a large Valley of the most beautiful lands Little Salt Lake bordering the valley on the west and beyond a range of hills covered with verdure and backed with high towering Mountains covered with Eternal snows all of which contribute to beautify the scenery and while the clouds hang heavily on the Mountains and the storms and tempests are roaring the Valley enjoys a beautiful serenity.33

Pratt, however, gave the definitive report. Almost two months before the main division of the exploring expedition returned, the Journal History recorded that he "read a lengthy report of his journey." His recommendations foreshadowed the future settlement of much of the state.

He recommended Peteetneet Creek (Payson) as a good place for a settlement and also noted that the Yohab (Juab) Valley was "in every way calculated for a city and Settlement." Furthermore, he asserted that the Sevier River was "apparently navigable, for small steamers" (either the river was running unusually high at the time or he must have been thinking of very small steamers) but that the surrounding country was mostly a desert. Not all of it, however—he reported the presence of coal near the present site of Salina and was impressed by the rich bottom lands on the Sevier where Richfield would be built.

His strongest recommendations concerned the Little Salt Lake Valley and especially Cedar Valley Of the former, where Parowan, Paragonah, and other communities would be built, he wrote of "thousands of acres of rich soil convenient for water," of streams affording "most convenient mill sites" and "terminating in rich meadows and black soil," of foothills and canyons "clothed with inexhaustible supply of shrub pine and cedar fuel," and of mountains to the east with "inexhaustible stores of lofty Pine from the size of a fence pole to every desirable size for logs, for Sawing, hewing, shingles &c."And, he added, "stone quarries of Sand and Free stone and Lime, abound in the neighborhood."

About Cedar Valley, the "fine large valley" to the south, he waxed even more enthusiastic. Thousands of acres could be watered by streams running "nearly level with the surface of the ground [whose] waters are easily managed." But, he added, "the best part remains to be told, near the large body of good land on the Southwestern borders are thousands of acres of cedar contributing an almost inexhaustible supply of fuel which makes excellent coal [charcoal?]." And the clincher: "In the centre of these forests rises a hill of the richest iron ore, specimens of which are herewith produced."

This valley, together with Little Salt Lake Valley, he predicted, "constitutes a field of rich resources capable of sustaining and employing 30,000 inhabitants at present, and 100,000 eventually. All of which inhabitants would have soil, water, pasturage, plenty building timber and mineral wealth more conveniently situated than any other portion we have seen West of the states." After describing the area's pleasant climate, he concluded: "taken as a whole we were soon convinced this was the 'firstrate good place' we were sent to find as a location for our next Southern colony." His counsel was heeded; the Iron Mission was on its way to Parowan and Cedar City within the year.

Pratt's report recognized some potential settlement around the rim of the Great Basin (New Harmony), although, he noted, the area is "somewhat exposed to the weather." He had little enthusiasm for the Virgin River country but noticed 3,000 or 4,000 acres of desirable land in the twin valleys that now hold Washington and St. George. He also reported a couple of fertile valleys (Santa Clara and Gunlock) on the Santa Clara River. And of Mountain Meadows, in addition to fertile land, cedar fuel, a fine stream, and "pasturage inexhaustible," he noted "some of the richest specimens of iron ore, which was scattered over the hills and said to wait in inexhaustible quantities two miles up the kanyon." Of the expansive meadows, good soil, cedar groves, and tall pines in the present area of Beaver, he wrote: "This is an excellent place for an extensive Settlement."34

But, according to Campbell, Pratt had a special affection for Merry Vale, back on the Sevier: "he never felt so like home since we left the Yohab valley." Campbell said that his leader "has no doubt but this will be settled, intends to look into, explore it, and report it . . ,"35 Marysvale was indeed settled but not by many; despite rich minerals in the surrounding mountains only 350 people live there today.

So what came of this ambitious, grueling expedition? Among Mormons, the fifty-two men of this expedition were the first to explore much of what is now Utah. Their contribution was significant in several ways. They discovered coal, salt, iron ore, and chalk. They described desert and forest, ground covers, and barren wasteland. They revealed their own inner and outer landscapes. They offered friendship to the Indians in the regions through which they passed and, in turn, accepted the friendship given them by the Indians Their camping grounds became many of the communities of our state.

At the conclusion of the feast prepared for the reunion of the two divisions of the company, Campbell recorded that Pratt pontificated that in "these munitions of rocks .. . we r safe with all the riches we may possess, 8c we have the best defence the most rocks, the best women, most beautiful children & more of them than any ppl. on the earth in proportion to our number, therefore boys the Great Basin for me." Campbell enthusiastically added, "Am glad I had time to write it 8c that C[hauncey] West, got a candle & held it for me while I did it."36

This celebration occurred before the unforeseen struggle to get home. But, despite the fearsome conditions of the expedition's travel, almost all came home in relatively good health and spirits, the most serious injury occurring to Stephen Taylor who wandered after Pratt and West when they went for help. Fortunately, the rescue party from Provo found him collapsed in the snow and saved his life, although not without the loss of some of his extremities.

Pratt ended his report to the legislative assembly with these words:

I now wish to bear witness of the fifty who accompanyed me on this expedition, and to have them in honorable remembrance. With scarce an exception they were patient and cheerful under all circumstances Willing to be guided and controlled, and I can truely say that In twenty years experience in the toils and hardships of the church I have never seen men placed in circumstances better calculated to try them in utmost strenth and patience And at one time another half mile of deep snow entervening between them and camp would have caused every man to sink exhausted without being able to force their way any longer. They are first Rate men, and I have promised to remember them for the very next undertaking which requires toil - Labour and sacrifice.

Labor and sacrifice there would be. Three entries in Isaac Haight's journal reflect the spirit of the men and of the faith that built Utah. In November, at the beginning of the expedition, he wrote: ". . . Bade adieu to all on Earth that is desirable my wives and children and home to go with Elder P.P.Pratt and a company of fifty men to find a vally for another settlement of the saints in the south part of the Mountains of Israel. ... " On February 2, 1850, he reported, "Arrived safely at home found my family all alive and well except Mary her health very poor So the Lord has brought us safely home after suffring much hardship " Two months later, at the LDS General Conference on April 6, he learned that he would once more leave home: "... I with six other Elders were appointed to go to England on a Mission and leave our Families which seems rather hard after enduring the fatigues of the winter Yet I am willing to go and forsake all [for] the Gospel Sake and go to work to prepare for the journey."

NOTES

Mrs Smart is a retired school teacher A version of this paper was presented at the 1992 annual meeting of the Mormon History Association.

1 Robert Lang Campbell, Journal, holograph, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City He began this record of the exploring expedition on November 23, 1849.

2 Parley P Pratt, AutobiographyofParley Parker Pratt, ed Parley P Pratt, Jr (reprint ed., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1961), p 338.

3 Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, November 20, 1849, LDS Church Archives.

4 Pratt, Autobiography, pp 338-39; Campbell Journal, November 24, 1849 Both Sandpitch and Sanpete are corruptions of San Pitch, a Ute leader whose people lived in the area The Sanpete Valley was originally called the San Pitch Valley. The San Pitch River and the San Pitch Mountains retain the chiefs name.

5 C. M. Clark, A Trip to Pike'sPeak and Notesby the Way . . . , ed. R. Greenwood (San Jose: Talisman Press, 1958), p 18, quoted in James E Potter, "Firearms on the Overland Trails," OverlandJournal 9 (1991): 2.

6 Rufus Chester Allen, John Brown, Sterling Graves Driggs, William Henrie, Joseph Matthews, Benjamin F Stewart, William Perkins Vance, and William Wadsworth entered the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847.

7 Andrew Jenson, Church Chronology (Salt Lake City, 1914), p 37 Phelps's original map is in LDS Church Archives.

8 John Brown, Reminiscences and Journals, Saturday, December 8, 1849, typescript, LDS Church Archives.

9 Campbell Journal, Wednesday, December 12, 1849.

10 John Christopher Armstrong, Diary (fragment), LDS Church Archives.

11 Brown, Reminiscences and Journals, December 14, 1849.

12 Parley P Pratt, Report of the Southern Exploring Expedition Submitted to the Legislative Council of Deseret, February 5, 1850, p 4, LDS Church Archives.

13 Campbell Journal, Monday, December 17, 1849-Friday, December 21, 1849.

14 Armstrong Diary, Friday, December 21, 1848.

15 Campbell Journal, Tuesday, December 25, 1849.

16 Brown, Reminiscences and Journals, Wednesday, December 26, 1849.

17 Campbell Journal, Thursday, December 27, 1849.

18 Pratt, Report, pp 7-8.

19 Ibid., p 9.

20 Ibid., p 10.

21 Campbell Journal, Monday, January 21, 1850.

22 Pratt, Autobiography, p 340.

23 Brown, Reminiscences and Journals, January 28, 1850.

24 Isaac Chauncey Haight, Journal, January 27 and January 28, 1850, typescript, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

25 Pratt, Autobiography, p 341.

26 Campbell Journal, December 7-8, 1849.

27 Ibid., December 30, 1849.

28 Ibid., January 1, 1850.

29 Ibid., January 7, 1850.

30 Brown, Reminiscences and Journals, December 31, 1849.

31 Campbell Journal, March 17, 1850.

32 Ibid., December 18, 19, 1849.

33 Haight, January 9, 1850.

34 Pratt, Report.

35 Campbell Journal, December 12, 1849.

36 Ibid., January 8, 1850.