ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY FROM GREAT SALT LAKE CITY FOR 450
MILES TO THE SOUTH -- FROM CAPT. D, JONES
San Pete, March, 1851
DEAR BROTHER DAVIS--
Perhaps it would be
interesting and useful to give the following account to the Welsh Saints, who
are no doubt desirous of every bit of information concerning these parts of the
world from whence they derive their love. At least, that is how I felt when I
was there and I still do. And even though I am far from them now, my desire to
entertain and benefit them is not one ounce less than ever before; on the
contrary, the more I perceive of advantages to benefit them temporally or
spiritually, the more my desire grows for them, more than anyone else, to
receive these advantages. And I continue to think, like Paul of old, that my
joy will not be perfect without being in the company of all of you. But, on with the account.
The week that I
arrived in Great Salt Lake City from Wales, our respected Pres. B. Young told
me privately of his intention and his plans with respect to settling the
valleys of the mountains, etc., and reported to me interesting evidence which
he had received from travelers about that missing branch of the race of Gomer who are called the Madocians;
and he also counseled me to go with the company which he intended to send to
the south soon, all of which brought great joy to my heart. Another purpose of
this journey was to search out as far as we could how far up we could navigate
the Colorado River, together with determining
the quality of the valleys and rivers, etc., of these everlasting hills.
November 22, 1849.
According to the previous arrangements, the majority of the company departed
from the city, and the regiment regulated 12 miles to the south, but I was prevented from
departing until the 24th, since I was
settling the various Welsh families on the other side of the Jordan
River and apportioning to them their inheritances according to
their needs. Great was the weeping and the sorrow at my leaving. I had already
established them as Welsh branches before that and had designated presidents
over them. And almost all of them had renewed their covenants through baptism,
etc., and in the Welsh meetings there was more unity and more of the Spirit of
God than I have seen amongst us since I left Wales.
The first day I came
to the place where I expected to meet the company, but all of them except for myself had gone from there two days before. I stayed the
night there, and the next day I began alone after them. It had
snowed during the night, and continued to snow when I began, so that the trail
was totally invisible except that I could see the sprigs of grass on either side
and nothing on the road. There were no inhabitants or houses, or any
hope of seeing a traveler along my way for over 60 miles. It was so foggy that
I could hardly see anything around me; and although others had tried to get me
to refrain from venturing forth, I was not to be discouraged in spite of that.
Forward I went on horseback, and one other I was leading, which carried my clothes,
bed, etc. I went along with hardly a pause for about 15 miles, when I
discovered an unexpected crossroads; I ventured along the middle of the three,
which before long deceived me by disappearing from sight. I turned back to try
one of the others, and I followed the south road, which after a while led me
over a steep bank and to bogs and mud where the horses sank to their thighs.
But I struggled forward through water mixed with mud and snow until the path
dipped precipitously over the bank of a large and deep river, which I saw just
in time to save myself from a ducking, I took the hint now that that was not
the right path either, and I went back as best I could, at times the horses, at
times myself lower. The horses, poor things, performed their part well to come
out alive from such bogs when neither they nor I could see 10 yards around us.
My lonely and deserted situation
was not enviable now; for if I lost much time here while the camp traveled forth,
I could see that my bed that night would be in the cold snow, without a fire or
anything to light one; and if so, although I was safe from the
barbarous inhabitants who wandered across the country, the company would not be
so pleasant of the snarling wolves who were already howling to each other to assemble
their armies together in sufficient number as to take the wanderer captive. Now
I called on my Father to guide me or my animals to the right path, who, as
usual, praise be to his name, answered my plea; for the latter, when given
their reins, took me to the bottom of a steep and rough hill which they quickly
climbed to its top and then down over it from rock to rock. At the bottom of
the hill ran a small river which was difficult to cross, but after following
its banks for a while I found a safe spot, and before long I found myself on
the highland again without ever a road or a compass or anything except the
heavens above to go by. I shouted again higher than before, "0 Father,
cause a breeze from somewhere to blow the clouds and the snow." At the calling
the breeze came and the snow ceased, and I heard the neighing of a horse not
far from me. As I pondered what it could be, whether a horse lost as I was,
whether it had a rider, or whether it was an angel from heaven bringing
salvation, again and again the whinny which was answered back by my horses and
myself as loudly as we could, and taking heart they pranced to meet him. A gust
of wind came which blew the clouds away.
Then we saw three horsemen on their mounts opposite us! These were
travelers toward Utah [Provo].
I traveled with them until I caught up with my own company, and great was the
joy of the meeting, for they were waiting for me at the Willows River.
With gladness I was welcomed to the camp, and we started from there to climb a
steep hill which divides the Great Salt Lake
Valley from the Utah Valley.
From the highest point we took the last look on Salt Lake City and its inhabitants in the
distance. We descended gradually along an excellent road of the south side and
camped along the Dry River in Utah
Valley.
Our camp contains 12 wagons
drawn by oxen and a carriage for me and P. P. Pratt, which was drawn by four
horses. We had also about 20 horses and 15
riding mules, and 47 brave and armed men, one brass cannon on
wheels, 7 fat
animals for slaughter as the need arose, and food for four months. On one of
the wagons there was an odometer which was turned by the wheel, a barometer and
astronomical instruments, etc.
Nov. 26th. We traveled along the side of this
beautiful valley. Utah
Lake was to the south of
us, about 30 miles long and about 10 miles
wide, of fresh, clear water and lots of fish. We crossed several rivers today
of various sizes on the banks of which trees are scarce, but the land is rich and
abundant and suitable for farming.
Nov. 28th. About mid-day we crossed the Provo River
which is about 103 feet wide and 2 feet
deep, emptying from the eastern hills to the lake in the west. On the southern
bank are settled from 300 to 400 saints. They built a square fort of log cabins,
about 20 on
each side and two wide gates. The
enclosure contained about two acres of land. They cultivated about 600 acres in one enclosure and are doing very
well up to now, and they had abundant crops. Distance from Salt Lake City, 46 miles. We camped on Spring
Creek, 12 miles to the south, the snow almost vanished. On the bank of the
next river, that is Hobble Creek, in beautiful and fruitful country, we met a
tribe of Indians, called Utahs, who stole from us a fat ox
and escaped stealthily. They made their cabins out of willows or
"sage." And since they wandered from place to place hunting, they did
not build them to stay in them for long. Their clothing is of buffalo skins
which they get from the southern natives, or blankets which they get from the
Mormons, etc. There is not much desirable in them, poor things, except that
they possess eternal souls and are the descendants of a strong nation, to which
great promises were given earlier. Behold here in them the fulfillment of many prophecies
without doubt; for much was said that the seed of Ephraim was brought to bow
down to the dust and they were brought down to the ground--that their
"speech shall whisper out of the dust," etc. Not one unbiased man can
doubt the truth of the Book of Mormon after understanding the true character
and history of these remnants, I dare say.
29th. We crossed a river about 10
yards wide and a foot deep which runs
along the dividing strip of land between the southern corner of the Utah Valley
and the northern corner of Juab
Valley. A considerable
number of trees good for firewood line the banks of this river; and there is a
broad view from here to the north over the entire Utah Valley and to the south
for scores of miles in its length and from 10 to 15 miles in width is a valley which
would be difficult to surpass in beauty or in the nature and lay of the land,
except the scarcity of its trees lessens its worth.
About 15 seconds [a second is about one sixtieth of a mile]
before reaching the southern corner of this valley the road leads to San Pete,
which runs through a canyon between high mountains for about 18 seconds,
from where runs a small river with cold and crystaline
water. In this canyon there is a mountain of salt of a reddish and harsh color,
and it comes from a cave which runs under the mountain of salt; near the cave
there is a spring bubbling its salt water to the surface, which when it sets in
the sun produces a layer of white salt tasty and good. Here we gathered
sufficient for our use.
30th. We reached the corner of the San Pete Valley which is far more abundant than the
valleys already mentioned. Now in front of us to the south can be seen a
luxuriant and grassy meadow for 50 seconds; it looks very similar to some
meadows which I saw in the old country of my fathers before the hay harvest,
but more abundant. Several rivers and streams run through it from which the
biggest part of it can be irrigated; the largest of these is called the San Pete River which runs from the northern corner, meandering along
the
length of the valley, where the valley stretches its foot several miles beyond
the high point
of cedars on our left. It stretches its other foot to the northwest corner just
as far. Around it it is enclosed by a range of high mountains
beyond which nothing can be seen except for the blue sky, without a cloud
"as big as the palm of a man's hand" to blacken its lovely
countenance. This valley is 20 seconds wide at times, and then it narrows
toward the south, where its head slopes up from its shoulders toward the southwest
again on the bosom of some mountains. It is a majestic sight which gives to
this valley the appearance of a small world by itself, and timeless calm reigns
herein on its throne, except for an occasional savage native or wolf which wander
after their prey--the fish in its rivers or an occasional rabbit as white as
the snow which jumps from its refuge in fright gazing at our faces as if to
ask, "Who are these strange intruders and what do they want?" This is
how this valley was like many other valleys which were sheltered in the
chambers of these everlasting mountains until a few days ago when an encampment
of Saints arrived here to settle in its southern corner whose welcome
association we reached on December 3rd. We stayed with them here until the 5th,
and we received every kindness they could give us. It is Isaac Morley who
presides here over about 50 families. They have not had time to build, but
there is an excellent rock quarry to use for building at their convenience
nearby. A river runs through their intended city, and they are surrounded, except
in the east where the mountains are, by many thousands of acres of fertile
land. There is an abundance of trees for firewood readily available at the foot
of the hills, and plenty of timber for building, etc., in the neighboring
canyons, which are a blessing generally hard to come by in these valleys. We
received an additional 3 men in our camp here. The distance of this
place from the Great Salt Lake is 1302 miles.
December 5th. We traveled to the south, crossed the San
Pete River the second time, and in the evening we camped along the Seviere River, which runs from south to northwest and
contains as much or more water than the Teifi River.
There is hardly any good land on its banks here. Here we met the Utah Chief Walke and his tribe hunting, some of them sick from
measles. We administered to them as we were able. Before getting under way the
next morning, they assembled together in our camp, and the gospel was preached
to them through our interpreter, D. B. Huntington. They were presented with a
Book of Mormon, together with a brief explanation of its contents and our intentions
of coming into their midst, together with their duties, etc. They listened
attentively and contentedly to the end when their Chief, Arapin,
answered that they had heard a great deal through the traditions of their fathers
about some book of the work of their ancestors, which they expected to obtain
through the hands of white men; that they understood their genealogy and their
ancestors, and that they had been a white people, skillful and good earlier;
but through transgression and disobedience of their fathers to the great "Shinob," they had come to this degeneration. He said
that they promised obedience to the Mormons in everything they wanted them to
do, and through so doing they expected to be civilized so they could become a
strong, skillful and blessed people and so they would become white and
beautiful again as before. He enlarged with apparent happiness through all of
them that their forebears showed that this blessed time was at the door; that
they were very happy to see the Mormons settle in their midst, etc. We left a
good impression on their minds, and we had from them irrefutable proofs that
what is told of them in the Book of Mormon is true. It was amusing to hear them
try to follow us in our songs, prayers, etc. That the gracious Lord hasten the time in which they will be restored to the bond
of the new covenant, be our prayer.
Here some of the
brethren from San Pete visited us and brought samples of salt and coal which
could be had in abundance in the neighboring mountains; also, a trader by the
name of Barney Ward came here with goods to barter with the Indians. He
informed us that he had been 14 years among the Indians of the interior. He
told us that we could get a fairly flat route along this valley except for a
place or two for over 100 miles until the Little Salt Lake Valley, and from
there to the Colorado River by the source of the Mahobby
River, to which place from the California strait he judged that that the Colorado
River was navigable. Mr. Ward told us also that he had been among a people
called the Moquis; that they were white people,
skilled in crafts such as agriculture, weaving, making clothes, raising animals,
building, planting, etc., that they were different in their whole behavior and
in their language from the Spanish, more so than any Indians around them, and
that they were handsome people, and that their women were particularly
beautiful and fair. He described their clothes very similar to the clothes of
the common folk in Wales.
They worked and they raised abundant crops of wheat, corn of India, etc., in an abundant and luxuriant valley
along the Colorado River. They chisled their houses for the most part in neighboring rocks
for protection against the neighboring Indians which oppressed them greatly.
Mr. Ward says that they are quite peaceful and hospitable to strangers. They
had loaded him and his friends with plenty of food for free. He said that he
had eaten better apples, pears, etc., there than in any other place, and that
there was among his friends there one Welshman from birth who understood a few
words of Welsh only, and who testified that it was Welsh these natives were
speaking! I do not guarantee, of course,
how much credence we should give to all the above stories, yet they are not
incredible to me when I understand the character of the story teller. Not often
can so much smoke which hides the Madocians from the
presence of their fellow-nation from age to age be seen without its originating
from some fire, say I. But to return to the account of our
journey.
We traveled to the
bank of the Seviere
River, and the land
improved until the 11th when the mountains closed before us. In the morning P.
P. Pratt and I went on horseback before the rest of the camp to look for a path
between the mountains. At about sundown as we were going through a grove of
cedar trees, totally unexpectedly, we heard horses neighing, and soon several galloped
toward us. We understood by this and by the barking of many dogs that there
were Indians nearby. We followed after the horses to the trees, and soon we saw
the "wicciups" (houses) of the Indians; but
they were inside making preparations to defend. We called them to come out, but
they did not come until we shouted "Mormoni toowidgeweinio." At this they came out to us unarmed
and cheerful to shake hands and welcome us, which proved that the name of
Mormons among the savages of the mountains was a protection to their lives. When among "Christians," as they were called,
the same name is reproachful and proverbial, and in some places endangers the
life of its bearer! Does this not prove
that the time is dawning when the "envying of Ephraim shall cease?"
P. P. Pratt went
ahead to the mountain, and I returned to lead the camp here to make camp where
we all met on that night.
December 12th. We climbed a rather steep hill through cedars
and after descending about 5 minutes to the south side we arrived in a splendid
small valley along the Seviere River,
with an abundance of grazing and large pine trees, etc. We camped.
The next morning five
of us went to look at the quality of the country; we crossed the Seviere on the ice, and we called this place Mary Vale, 200
minutes from Great Salt Lake
City [a minute is
slightly over one mile]. In the evening,
after traveling hard through the day, through trees, and seeing the trails of
bears, panthers, wolves, etc., we reached the fork of the river, where the half
of the water coming from the east and the other half coming from the south
meet. We saw some Indians through the
day wandering here and there for game.
We returned back to meet the camp.
The weather cold, hardly any snow in the valley. The surrounding mountains
white with snow; the thermometer at times in the night below the freezing
point.
December 14th. It was snowing; we reached the furthest
corner of the valley where the river issued from the huge crags, impossible to
follow them further. The next day a way
between the mountains was searched for, but one was not found better than
crossing over the huge cliffs of the Wasatch Range,
which feat was considered impossible by many, especially in the middle of the
winter. But bravely and unitedly, we set ourselves to
the task, and the next morning, the 16th,
we began to climb, and some with axes, some with shovels, others
with pickaxes, etc., through the deep snow we ascended gradually to the castle
of the snow god, who at the time summoned his whole snowy and frigis powers to prevent us. By night we had reached from 3
to 4 miles. At times we had to tie ropes around the oxen and drag them through
the snow drifts, and leave them to drag others, and after that the wagons, like
this over the cliffs and then lowering them down by ropes. Another time we
drove the horses to break the way through the snow. They became buried in the
drifts there because of the cold, and we could not get them to face the storm.
Some times we had to clear the snow with shovels, and the entire time we were
crossing this ridge, that is close to a week, the animals had no food except
for the
tips of the trees which were sticking up out of the snow.
To our great joy we
found a narrow and gradual descent between steep and high rocks on the other
side; we saw hills at times which were almost covered with deer, mountain
goats, etc. I killed some of them. One morning we discovered that our animals
had scattered, and we were everywhere in all directions on horses through the
day looking for them, and by night we got them all; and some of the searchers
found out also, too late, that we could have had an easy opening to save
crossing this ridge to the south of this place. On our descent from here we
went at times as if through narrow gates between high crags of every color and
shape, as if we were traveling in an old castle. The view was wondrous and
majestic. At last the fissure led us to the eastern corner of the Little Salt
Lake Valley, and the climate was so temperate here that the snow had disappeared,
the grass was in abundance and sprouting, and the view had changed so
completely and suddenly, more so than on the top of the mountains, that we
called this place "Porth yr Haf"
(Summer Port). Here we camped and great was the feast our poor animals had.
From here we could see a splendid valley reaching from before us to the
southwest a good 30 minutes, and in its middle a rather large lake of water on
which the sun shone as if on glass.
December 22nd. We traveled along the valley through the
country of the rabbits which dotted the face of the land, so that it was hardly
possible to shoot in any direction without killing some; we had our fill of
this food at that time. The land improving. In the
evening we camped along a small river which came from the southern mountains
and emptied within 10 minutes to the salt lake. Because of the
weakness of the oxen and the desire to examine the quality of this new and
beautiful valley, we decided to leave all the oxen here, together with the
wagons and 32 men; the other 20 of us began on the 26th to the south with 20 horses
and 12 mules
to carry our supplies, etc. After
traveling 6 minutes through good land we crossed another river, bigger than the
other, the shores of which for several miles are of excellent soil. This place is
an excellent location for a settlement, with an abundance of firewood,
that is cedars, etc., which reaches to the foot of the nearby hills. The
weather continues temperate here, and at times warm during the day, but rather
cold in the morning and the evening. After traveling about 12 minutes further
through these luxuriant meadows in the evening, we camped on the third river in
this beautiful valley, after being greatly surprised in the excellence of its
size and advantages, more than we had thought at the first sight from afar.
These waters are crystalline, cold and of good taste,
and the chief wonder of these rivers is that they run along the small ridge of
land which is higher than almost any other place of the land, which makes it
easy to irrigate all of the lands. It is thought that the greatest part of
these lowlands will produce wheat, oats, etc., without irrigating, and I believe
it will produce corn of India,
cotton, potatoes, etc., better, because of the climate than any other place we
have seen in the valleys of these mountains; and certainly animals can be raised
here with hardly any cost. The main road to the country of gold of California runs through
the middle of this valley which will make it a good marketplace.
The next day after
traveling through this lovely country in the afternoon we stood on the ridge
from where we could see an even wider valley which is about 15 minutes wide
before us. It reaches to the south between two mountain ridges out of sight and
to the north about 20 minutes of more, then to the west for 100, and half that
in width. At our feet three strong springs of sparkling water gush, which form
enough water to turn mills and irrigate the meadows in their course down to the
large river which runs through the middle of this valley, on the eastern banks
of which there are thousands of acres of desirable land, yet not many in
contrast to those which are on its western side, where we judge to be about
20,000 acres of flat luxuriant meadows; and behind that as much or more of good
farming land which reaches to the foot of the western hills which rise
gradually and are covered with cedars, etc. To the west of the place I describe
now there is a rather high, jagged mountain,
which we judge to be of iron ore, the richest that any of us has ever seen, besides
several kinds of other ores in that neighborhood. I consider this discovery to
be priceless in this place.
Some in our company
said that they saw coal also nearby; however, I did not see any. No doubt but
what this is a lovely and very commercial location for a settlement.
Commercial, I say, because of the iron, etc., so convenient and
abundant--located about half way between Salt Lake City
and the Pacific Ocean or the California
Strait. Lovely because
the country is open to the south and the climate is temperate and the lay of
the land is so advantageous and beautiful. An excellent place to build a city
is at the foot of these hills, where there is plenty of firewood, water, and
land and healthful air to breathe. Permit me for a minute to describe the image
which I saw in my mind's eye while standing in this place! I see here a
beautiful city, a branch of the mountain
of Zion, and plenty of
space to stretch its boundaries where it wishes. In its foreground to the east,
and that which it overlooks from every corner of it, I see large fields getting
white for the harvest, their glad owners smiling at this sight, without thinking
of paying anyone rent or hardly any tax on any of them, rather everyone free to
enjoy his fill of all the elements. Beyond these white crops the luxuriant
meadows stretch their verdant and splendid carpets, along which countless
thousands of oxen, cattle, calves and flocks of sheep play, all of which fill
their skins with this abundance in a short time. To satisfy their needs the
river runs slowly and
sluggishly past this majestic sight, while along its pretty banks herds of horses
prance with a boastful neigh, under the feeling of their independence in this
western paradise. Yet, I cannot close this picture until we see hosts of the
race of Gomer, which are now in slavery and poverty,
their women and children, instead of hunger and oppression, here enjoying their
fill; and all of its inhabitants cheerful whom I meet along its long and
beautiful roads. But, hush! We have gone far enough. My wish is this, even
though perhaps it may never be realized. At least there is no sign of
habitation here now except what the Indians have, or
animals except those which we brought, and an occasional deer, wolf or rabbit.
Its only inhabitants are a few Indians of the Pah
Utah tribe, which wander over the country without perceiving its worth or its
excellence, nor wishing for anything except the game.
From here we went up
to the southern valley through fruitful meadows, and we crossed some streams
which furnished it with water. The third day we crossed a small river which
runs across the valley, which by now narrows to about 7 minutes in width. This river
could easily be turned to run to the north to mix with the waters of the "Great Basin" and with them to the eastern seas
thousands of miles from here. For having been between two thoughts for a long
time, it decides to swerve to the south and is soon swallowed into the bowels
of the Rio Virgin, which a little to the south bubbles out of the middle of a
huge rock until it swells to the bellies of our horses as we crossed it, and it
hurries to the south a bit and rushes to a cave under the mountain from our
sight for about 5 minutes, and then it comes to daylight again, hurrying to
meet its mother, that is, the Rio Colorado, and with her to the California
Strait, which proves that we now have passed the highest ridge of this continent
and from where there is a descent to the Pacific Ocean. The climate changes now
almost every day and becomes more temperate; no snow or any more snowy
mountains, except behind us; the leaves are breaking out on the small trees and
vegetables; all of which are of a different kind, more similar to those of the
tropics. The geography and the view have completely changed also. Now the
country with its face is looking the other way, as if it had turned backwards.
It seems as if we are going quickly to the bottom of some place! The country is
lumps and cliffs shattered by something, and stretching its ledges to the south
from the heads of which it jumps hundreds of feet to begin another ledge. On
these varied rocks are seen symbols of almost every kind, hieroglyphics,
carvings, together with monuments of the greatness and antiquity of the nation
which made them. Several of them were copied. Our wise men, those who can
interpret them, say that they resemble those
which were on the plates of the Book of Mormon. These natives who are of the tribe
of the Pah Utahs, wandering
through the country without settling, building or laboring, or having rifles or
clothes except from the kinds of rabbits, cannot give us an explanation of them
except that they were there when they first saw them.
It is obvious that it
is spring in this country, even though it is but the beginning of January. The
whole country, not only the lowlands, but also the hills, is terribly muddy, so
that it is almost impossible to travel.
Everyone has to walk now because the horses are sinking; the mules, despite all
their skill in trying to tread on rocks, are sinking to their bellies and
unable to rise, so that we frequently have to untie their burdens, at times a
half a dozen or more at once. Now we have to keep one or more of the Indians in
our camp every night as a hostage so that the others won't take our animals,
etc. Like this we traveled, uncomfortable and tired, down along the banks of the
Rio Virgin, which by then receives other rivers to its bosom, until we reached
the place where the Santa Clara
empties into it. It rushes now between high and rough crags. A
fairly even distribution of trees are along it, and an occasional small,
paradisical glade where the Indians have planted
corn, etc., but too restricted for settlement.
Because of the
illness of our animals and the miry condition of the country, we had to change
our plans and our course, and from here we followed the small river last named
to the west. We had intended to follow along to the south to the Colorado to search out
the Moquis, etc., but because of that which was
noted, we deemed it wisest to return. In these parts scores of the inhabitants
gathered around us and snarled at times in an ugly way. The rains are frequent
here while we did not have anything to shelter us from them, nor against any
other harm except for blankets or a buffalo skin, which we spread on the wet
ground and another over us; and frequently during the night I woke up almost
swimming in water, for the watchmen had left the fire going in their turn, and
in this manner they kept the large, black wolves, the panthers, the wild cats,
etc., away, which were thirsting after our blood; yet, the animals were no more
bloodthirsty than the natives. One time we had a host of them together, and we
made conditions of peace with them, which continued at least as long as the presents
they received from us. After that they invited us to their country and said that
they had heard a great deal from other Indians about the Mormons, that they are
good people, who teach them the ways and the skills of their fathers. We did
not see a woman or a child in their midst at all; they said that the measles
had swept them all away. Was this true or false? There are worse, but unproven
tales told about them; I do not think they consider hardly anything too
shameful to do.
Within a few days, we
reached the road which leads to California,
along which we returned over the Rim of the Basin, along the valley which I
mentioned before, for about 60 minutes, where we met several emigrants going
toward the country of gold. We saw the abundance of iron ore along the sides of
the road, and at last we camped by then foot of the iron mountain mentioned
before.
Next day P. P. Pratt
and I went ahead of the others, and we reached our wagons in the Little Salt
Lake By midnight, tired, and after having a rather hard skirmish with the
snarling residents of these woods. Everyone healthy and happy
to see us. We were received with cannon thunder, rifles, hurrahs and
hosannas, etc. Hardly anyone slept until the morning, rather exchanging stories
and news and feasting.
January 10th. The rest of the company arrived, and they
were received kindly to enjoy the excellent feast that was prepared by the
occasion. Surrounding the table on the grass sat about 50 of the brave sons of Zion, all in unity and
love. Here the "Liberty Pole" was raised, about 50 feet in
height, as a monument to the first settlement of this country. There was an
abundance of trees of several kinds in the fissures of the mountains,
limestone, plaster of paris, etc. Distance from Great Salt Lake City is 2772 minutes.
January 14th. We all began toward home. The second day
we left the valley over a ridge of mountains and the snow began to fall and
continued to fall more or less until the 20th. During this time we traveled
along the road of the emigrants, for the most part over hills and stony
hollows, exhausted, at times without water, just snow, for days; only 3 or 4
small and insignificant valleys, except the Beaver Valley,
which is of considerable size and advantageous for agriculture and which perhaps
will be a settlement before long.
Several days we had
to travel by the compass because the snow was so deep that it hid the road and
all landmarks, and so cloudy that we could see hardly anything. The snow was by
now close to a yard deep on the level ground; and none of us had ever been this
way before. Some days we traveled but 5 minutes and had to drive the horses
back and forth to tramp down the snow before the oxen and the wagons, the
wheels of which were at times buried in the snow. It was now clear that we
could not travel like this for long, for the food for the animals was buried
except for the tips of the cedars. Also we did not have supplies to all stay
here until the spring; and since it was for certain that the Indians would kill
our oxen and would take our spoils if we all left, it was agreed that 21 of us
would start on horseback toward home and leave all that we could of our food to
the rest to remain here until the snow went away; and so we started the next
day leaving our wagons, etc., on the Willow River.
Now our hardships
really began in earnest! Even though we tried hard from morning to night, we
could not travel over 8 or 10 minutes; the snow was in drifts at times as
much as 8 to 10 inches
deep--with nothing to eat except bread, which was getting scarce, and dry meat,
and at night we made our bed in the snow, which by morning had covered us with
a foot of it. The snow, after all, was not as bad as the weariness and the
cold, besides the fact that we had close to 150 miles before any hope of seeing
a house or anyone to help us. And the road now was climbing every day higher
toward the white sky over a range of jagged mountains. Yet, we were not really
aware of our danger until our food supply dwindled to one small biscuit per
day, which in spite of that I shared with my faithful animal, who by this time was too weak to carry me or hardly carry
forth on his own. Some horses gave up every day and were left behind to perish
without doubt in the snow, and their riders
threw their saddles, clothes and everything they could spare, proceeding on foot.
One day before
reaching the top of the mountains, we left six animals almost within sight of
each other, who, poor things, foresaw their danger and
whinnied after us as long as they could see us, which mixed with the howls of
the wolves, etc., was heart-rending music. Among others, one of my own horses
failed. Great was our joy when we reached the Seviere River, but before this, I and several
others were snow blind; others had frostbitten feet, and some had frostbitten
hands more or less, who were led on the horses which could carry them.
After our arrival of
within 50 minutes of the Utah settlement,
and that night will be long remembered, for we ate the last of our scanty
provisions, and also P. P. Pratt and others laid their hands on me and I saw
the first light of day which I had seen for days! Such joy and gratitude that
caused!
Next day P. P. Pratt
and another brother started off on the two strongest horses in front of us and
to send help to us; we followed as best we could after them. And though we
suffered greatly, yet our cup was sweetened by the strong hope that we would
get to the end of our journey without perishing. The fourth day after that, and
the morning before reaching Utah, we met two
brothers bearing food from Utah
to meet us. I need not say how good it was to see it, how long we took to open
their bags, or how much we ate before getting up! But I shall say that we all
had our fill and more for the first time in a long time. And that night we
reached the town of Utah
and were received hospitably. I slept in a bed once again! The next day we went
from Utah, except those whose feet were frozen
so badly that they could not travel, and the second day we arrived back at Great Salt Lake City. And I found my family and the
Welsh all healthy.
So this strange
journey came to an end without any of us losing our lives. The rest of the
company arrived here in May. I was sad that we had been unable to fulfill all
of the aims of the expedition this time, but I believe they will be fulfilled
before long. Time will tell how much good was done by this investigation; no
amount of money would tempt me to go through that again, besides the fact that
it cost me about $300. By the time I returned, several of my animals had
perished here because of the winter cold, which was beyond anything ever felt
before or anticipated.
I heard from some of
the mountain men and the Indians several accounts of the existence of a nation
of white and civilized people who settled in the south. Their accounts agreed
with respect to the locality, etc., and some assured us that it was Welsh which
they spoke. Yes, there are too many of such accounts from a number of different
places, persons, and times, totally unknown to each other, to leave any doubt
in my mind about the existence of the remnants of the Madocians.
Among others, Pres. B. Young told me that he had been totally satisfied by a
man of good character since he has been here, that such a nation had settled on
the banks of the Colorado.
This man said that he had visited them, and gave the same description of them
that was given before by Mr. Ward. He said that he understood just enough of
the Welsh language to know that it was Welsh that they spoke. He added that there
were some old books in their midst, which, though they could not read them,
they
respected greatly and kept carefully in the hope according to their traditions
that the time was about to dawn when someone from the country of their fathers
would come and would teach them to understand them and read them again!
Perhaps the accounts
which I heard are incorrect to some extent; I could not expect less, but I
repeat, I cannot believe that they are all baseless imaginings, especially when
I link them with the accounts which are in the chronicles of Wales of the
departure of one such as Madoc ab
Gwynedd from Wales the second time to America with 10
ships laden with emigrants--the traditions which were had among the oldest
natives of the States was that "white men landed on the shores of their
country and had gone up the Taunton River in Massachusetts in 10 floating
houses, and conquered the natives." The accounts which I got from the
"American Antiquarian Society," which followed them by the ruins of
their crafts, their houses, etc., along the shores of the Lakes, and from there
to the "Falls
of Ohio" in which
place, says Mr. Josiah Priest, their president, a few years ago several bodies
were found buried and that they continued in such a condition of incorruption
that their war-like clothing was found on them, that they resembled the Roman
dress, and on one of them there was the symbol of the mermaid playing the
harp. Whether it is true that these were
the markings of the Welsh before the departure of Madoc
I am not sure, but I think I have read that. Besides this, I read in a
publication belonging to the Wesleyans in St. Louis, "that a tribe of
Indians settled along the Iroquois River, in the State of Illinois, which spoke
Welsh," and that it happened that two Welshmen who were in the service of
the American Fur Company had traded with this company of Indians in Welsh. All
this, besides many other later accounts in my possession, proves the same thing
to me. And the greatest desire of my soul for more than 20 years has been to
get the Madocians out into the light and to give them
a knowledge of their forefathers.
Yours truly,
D. JONES.
