USA > Wyoming > The history of Wyoming from the earliest known discoveries > Part 31
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Mormon Emigration.
iniquity into the camp. He said that if any man would rather go back than abide by the law, he had the privilege of doing so at once. He then turned to his brethren and said:
"I am one of the last to ask my brethren to enter into solemn covenants, but if they will not enter into a covenant to put away their iniquity and turn to the Lord and serve him, acknowledge and honor his name, then they shall take their wagons and retreat, for I will go no further under such conditions. I want the brethren to be ready for meet- ing tomorrow at the time appointed, instead of rambling off and hiding in their wagons to play cards. I think it will be good for us to have a fast meeting and a prayer meeting also, humble ourselves and turn to the Lord, and he will forgive us."
After this speech he called upon the apostles, bishops, high priests and other officers of the church to stand before him, when each was asked separately if he were willing to covenant and turn to the Lord with all his heart, to repent of his follies, to cease from his evil ways and serve God according to his laws. Without a dissenting voice, every man, with uplifted hand, entered into the covenant. Wil- furd Woodruff, the present head of the church, Heber C. Kimball and Orson Pratt each spoke a few words, asking that their leader's advice be carefully followed. Others acknowledged their errors and pledged strict obedience for the future. This was the first crisis in the life of Brigham Young and it had been met in a manner that proved his worthiness to become a great leader. This event spoken of occurred twenty-five miles east of Fort Laramie and it had a marked effect on every person composing the train. On June 1st the pioneers reached Fort Laramie, where they were kindly received by James Bordeau of the American Fur Company. At that point Brigham Young found wait- ing for him a small company from Pueblo, Colorado, under the leadership of Robert Crow. Quite a number of Mor- mons had wintered at Pueblo and all of them were expect- ing to go to Salt Lake. Mr. Crow's party came on in ad- vance with the understanding that the balance were to fol-
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low when they received word from him that the main cara- van under Brigham Young had reached Fort Laramie.
At this fort the Mormons met a party of traders who had come from Fort Bridger, and from these they learned that the snow was two feet deep along the road up the Sweetwater and that they had been obliged to abandon their wagons and complete their journey to Fort Laramie on horseback. This was not a pleasant outlook for the Mormons, and so they remained over until the 4th, when they again pushed on up the Platte and on June 12th reached the crossing two miles above where now stands the city of Caspar. The river was full to its banks and there was great difficulty in crossing the stream with the wagons and teams. Boats and rafts were constructed, and it was not until the 19th that the party was ready to push onward. Brigham Young ordered ten men of the party to remain to ferry over trains that were to follow from Pueblo, and others from the Missouri River. Thomas Grover had charge of the party and his instructions were to allow all Oregon emigrants to use the ferry who would pay for the privilege, and it was his opinion that they would do business enough to cover the price of their subsistence. The 20th was Sun- day, and in spite of the sacred day and the strict observance of it on all other occasions, the train went forward to escape bad water, mosquitoes and other discomforts. On the 21st Independence Rock was reached and that night camp was made at the Devil's Gate. Two days after leaving this place, they found on the side of the road a lonely grave, over which was an inscription which read: "Matilda Crowley; born July 16, 1830; died July 7, 1846." The train passed on up the Sweetwater and on the 26th crossed the South Pass. This was the sixty-first day after leaving their winter en- campment on the Missouri River. Here they met a return party from Oregon with Moses Harris, the trapper, as guide. Of this man Harris the Mormons asked many questions and drew from him a considerable amount of useful in- formation regarding the road over which they had to pass, and of Salt Lake Valley, where they expected to settle. On
Z
NEF DLA-ChiS.
8
MORMON PIONEERS.
I. W. WOODRUFF. 4. W. H. HOOPER.
7. JOHN SHARP.
2. JOHN TAYLOR. 3. MAYOR DANIEL H. WELLS. 6. ORSON PRATT.
5. PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG. 8. GEORGE Q. CANNON.
9. ORSON HYDE.
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the 28th they met Jim Bridger and two companions, who were on their way from Fort Bridger to Fort Laramie. Bridger was told that it was Brigham Young's intention to call on him at his fort for the purpose of securing a know- ledge of the road. He informed them that if they would go into camp he would tell them all he knew of the road to Salt Lake and of the country which surrounded it. Brigham Young thought it was important to get information from a man who had the reputation at that time of being the best informed guide in the Rocky Mountains, and he therefore ordered a halt and they went into camp on the spot. This was the first meeting between Jim Bridger and Brigham Young, but it was by no means their last. The information imparted to the Mormon leader by this noted character was not encouraging; he did not think much of the region around Salt Lake and had nothing good to say about it. The next day, June 29th, the train reached Big Sandy and encamped. Here a number of the emigrants were taken sick with a violent fever, and some were delirious. It was supposed the sickness was caused by saleratus, picked up on the alkali lands, as this article had been freely used by the company in cooking. The sickness was not of long duration. On the 30th they reached Green River, to cross which they were obliged to construct a ferry. At this camp they were met by Elder Brennan of California, and his ob- ject in meeting them was to induce Brigham Young to lo- cate his party at Yerba Buena, later known as San Fran- cisco. Neither Young nor his elders were inclined to change their purpose of making their homes in Salt Lake Valley. Green River proved to be difficult to cross, and it was noon of July 3 before the last wagon was landed on the opposite side of the river. Three miles beyond, the train went into camp, where it remained until Monday, July 4. At this point five men were sent back as guides to other Mormon trains soon to leave the Missouri River. Their next camp was very near what is now known as Granger, the eastern terminus of the Oregon Short Line. On July 7th the train reached Fort Bridger, which is described by these pioneer
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Mormons as two adjoining log houses with sod roofs, sur- rounded by a log fence eight feet high. The Mormons say that the fort was inhabited at that time by about fifty whites, Indians and half-breeds and was owned by Bridger and Vasquez. The Mormon train remained over one day at Bridger to give the blacksmiths and wagon-repairers time to shoe horses and repair wagons. On Monday, July 12th, they passed out of what is now Wyoming and entered Utah, but there was great discouragement prevalent. These pio- neers realized that they were in a country destined to bring them many hardships. Brigham Young never faltered, nor did his courage fail once on the trip. He had a theory that in the Salt Lake Valley abundance could be produced for the use of his colony, by the aid of irrigation, and nothing would satisfy him except to make the trial.
The first section of the Mormon train, under Orson Pratt, reached Salt Lake on July 21st, and on the following day the main body arrived, but Brigham Young was behind in the mountains and did not come up until the 24th. He had been sick and was obliged to lay over. On the arrival of these people in Salt Lake Valley, they were not favorably impressed with the location. Brigham Young spoke en- couragingly of the promised land. He understood the appli- cation of water to the soil and assured his followers that if crops were planted they would grow. The colonists had brought agricultural implements, seeds and cattle with them. Plows were brought out, and notwithstanding the lateness of the season, crops were put in the ground. Homes were built and the settlement commenced. That same week the ground was selected for the great Mormon temple. Trains continued to arrive all that summer and fall, and by the time winter set in there was a population of 2,095. On August 16th, Brigham Young started on his return journey to the Missouri, and the following year there were large additions made to the colony, and by Sep- tember the population numbered between 4,000 and 5,000. During the summer of 1848 a considerable amount of land was ploughed and potatoes and other crops planted. Every
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effort was made to produce enough to feed the people during the following winter. Just at the time when the crops were the most promising, millions of crickets appeared and com- menced to devour everything, and settlers saw starvation staring them in the face. Fortunately, gulls from the lake came and devoured the crickets, which was regarded as an act of Providence for the protection of the chosen people who had come to occupy the promised land.
The years following brought large additions to the Mormon colony in Utah, and a number of counties were or- ganized. The tireless head of the church kept agents not only in the east but in Europe, asking people to join the Mormon settlement and the church. Some of these people located around Fort Bridger, others along the North Platte, and at one time it was thought that the southwestern por- tion of this state would become Mormon territory. Had not Brigham Young refused to acknowledge federal au- thority and forced the government to send Albert Sidney Johnston with five regiments out to subdue the Mormons, a portion of our state would undoubtedly have remained a part of Utah. This trouble with the Mormons induced the general government to reduce the size of their territory and accordingly Nevada was taken off the west, a considerable strip lying west of the mountains was put into Colorado, and a smaller portion makes up the southwest corner of Wyoming.
The Mormon settlers exercised great influence over this portion of the Rocky Mountains. It was Brigham Young who introduced, in a practical way, irrigation into the United States. He taught his followers how to become self-supporting and consequently how to overcome the tri- als incident to making homes in the arid region. He under- stood the art of attracting people to the country which he had selected for his operations. Aside from his peculiar views in regard to polygamy, no fault was found by broad- minded people with his church, or the men who flocked to his standard. History will give him the first place in all that pertains to the founding and building up of a great com-
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monwealth. Brigham Young and William Gilpin are the two great characters who early located in the Rocky Moun- tain country. Gilpin was an explorer, a soldier, a pioneer, a statesman and a founder of empire. He was broad-mind- ed, possessed clear sight-seeing far into the future-was a loyal American citizen, and has left a name untarnished. He died loved and honored by all. Young was a man of another sort-leading men to do things through religious zeal, compelling obedience because of his commanding na- ture, reaching success through well chosen methods and building up his people and church by making the corner- stone of success, industry. Love of country was not in his nature.
349
History of Fort Bridger.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
HISTORY OF FORT BRIDGER.
FIRST A TRAPPERS' AND TRADERS' RENDEZVOUS-BRIDGER BUILDS A BLOCKHOUSE-THE BRIDGER AND VASQUEZ PARTNERSHIP-THE MOR- MONS SETTLE AROUND THE FORT IN 1853-REBUILT IN 1855-OCCU- PIED BY GOVERNMENT TROOPS, WINTER OF 1857-8-TROOPS ON SHORT RATIONS-CAPTAIN MARCY'S WINTER JOURNEY-FORT REBUILT BY THE GOVERNMENT-PRACTICALLY ABANDONED IN 1861-JUDGE CAR- TER ORGANIZES A COMPANY OF MOUNTAINEERS TO GARRISON THE FORT-CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA VOLUNTEERS OCCUPY THE POST FROM 1862 TO 1866-ARRIVAL OF UNITED STATES TROOPS TO REPLACE VOLUNTEERS-TROOPS PROTECT OVERLAND STAGES AND ENGINEERS OF UNION PACIFIC RAILWAY-ABANDONED IN 1890.
Fort Bridger is one of the well known trading posts in the Rocky Mountains. As early as Bonneville's time the locality was a rendezvous for fur traders and trappers. Even as early as 1834 a number of trappers made perma- nent locations in the vicinity. They married squaws of the Snake or Shoshone tribes and tried to induce the Indians to stay in the country. This was against the nature of these marauders, and the trappers who had been adopted into the tribe found that for safety they must, a part of the year, fol- low the Indians. One of the trappers who had fallen in love with the country along the Black Fork was Jack Rob- inson, a man who thoroughly enjoyed a home and had great influence among several Indian tribes. For many years he was the personal friend of Jim Bridger and a great ad- mirer of that renowned trapper, trader, Indian fighter and guide. He it was who called Bridger's attention to the many advantages possessed by the little valley of Black's Fork. There was beaver in all the streams of that country, buffalo, deer and elk in the vicintiy, and besides, it was be- ginning to be a highway used by those going to and from the Columbia River. These talks between Uncle Jack Rob- inson and Jim Bridger finally resulted in the latter's erec-
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tion of a trading house at that point. This post was located in the valley of the Black Fork, a tributary of Green River, two and one-half miles above Smith's Fork.
Basil Lajeunesse, W. M. Anderson, Thomas Fitzpat- rick, Captain William Sublette, Fontenelle, James Bridger and Jack Robinson all visited the Black Fork in 1834 and spent a part of the season in that vicinity. Nathaniel J. Wyeth, Captain Bonneville, Captain Stewart of the British army, Dr. Harrison, a son of the first president of that name, and a number of Catholic and Protestant missionaries who were on their way to Oregon, were also visitors at the ren- dezvous held by the Rocky Mountain and American Fur Companies at that place the same year. The whole country was filled with Snake Indians at that time, and these had many friends among the trappers.
In the spring of 1842, Jim Bridger built a blockhouse, or rather two houses joined together, surrounded by a fence eight feet high, made of logs set three feet in the ground and hewn to a touching surface. This served as a corral for the stock and also protected the blockhouse, which was located within the enclosure. During the next few years a large amount of business was transacted in furs at this point. In 1845, Auguste Vasquez became a partner of Bridger at this fort. The former had served under General Ashley as a trapper and later under Captain William Sub- lette. In 1843 he was chosen by Fremont and went with him to Oregon and to Northern California, and returned with him to the Great Salt Lake and was discharged at the Missouri River. Coming back to the mountains, he entered into partnership with Bridger as above stated. The firm of Bridger and Vasquez continued to do business at the fort until 1854, when, it is said, they sold out to Louis Robinson, but I do not feel certain that this transfer was made. Louis Robinson was a native of North Carolina and came to the west in 1832, locating at Taos, New Mexico. The Mormons claim that he was of their faith and that he went to Green River with Isaac Bullock and John Nebeker and fifty odd other Mormons in the year 1853, when the great Mormon
35I
History of Fort Bridger.
settlement was made on the western tributaries of Green River. It is said by some that this man Robinson directly represented Brigham Young and that he was acting under orders when he bought Fort Bridger and the land connected with it. All I can find on this subject comes principally from Mormon sources. There is a story, however, told by E. A. Curley, a special correspondent of the London Field, who wrote some letters to his paper from Wyoming in 1873. These letters were republished in 1874 by the Wyoming Board of Immigration, and from among them I select the following extract regarding a visit paid by the correspon- dent to Fort Bridger and the old mountaineer of that name. Mr. Curley seems to have secured the facts for this story, if facts they are, from Judge Carter, the post trader at Fort Bridger at that time.
"The post is nestled in a beautiful valley with babbling brooks running through and around it. It was named after a famous hunter, trapper and guide, Jim Bridger, who passed about fifty years of his life in the wild regions of the Rocky Mountains. He was a great favorite with the In- dians, and, with a natural fondness for mountain scenery, he traversed the country in every direction, sometimes ac- companied by an Indian, but oftener alone-the beaver that he caught making his excursions as profitable as they were interesting to this wildest of mountain Nimrods. He fa- miliarized himself with every mountain peak, every deep gorge, almost every hill and landmark, in an immense re- gion of country. Few objects of interest to a hunter escaped his scrutiny, and he was said never to forget what once he had seen. By long intercourse with Indians, he learned their language, became familiar with their signs, adopted their habits, conformed to their customs, was imbued with some of their superstitions, and at length excelled them in strategy. In the course of his chequered life he saw mar- vels enough to have formed the stock in trade of a regiment of fair-weather travelers, and of novelists after-generally a long way after-Fenimore Cooper. But the actual mar- vels, of which he had seen so many, never satisfied Jim Bridger; he delighted in tough yarns, in which he was quite an artist, telling his most Munchausen-like stories with such an air of literal accuracy, and with such an appearance of honest indignation at the slightest shadow of doubt,
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as generally enabled him to impose upon the credulity of the many. Mr. Hepworth Dixon, in his trip across the American continent, became the prey of artists far less skillful than old Jim; and it is almost a pity that he did not have the fortune to meet the greatest liar on the Ameri- can continent and extend his very interesting book to three volumes in consequence. Bridger built a ranch on the site of the present post, where he had a few cattle in partner- ship with one Vasquez, who was, I believe, a Mexican half- breed. When the Mormon pioneers first passed this way to Salt Lake, he probably acted as their guide. At any rate, he so far sophisticated President Brigham Young-who was even then an old bird not easily caught-that he bought out Bridger, who pretended to hold a stretch of thirty miles under a Mexican grant, paying him down $4,000 for the grant, the shanties and the cattle, and agreeing to pay $4,000 more at a subsequent time. The place became too hot for the Mormons; they had to leave, and Bridger rented his pretended grant to General A. S. Johnston of a military post for $600 a year, on a ten years' lease. Taking a copy of this provisional lease, he then journeyed to Salt Lake and succeeded in raising the other $4,000 from the Mormon prophet. But the contract, to be valid, must be confirmed at Washington. A diligent search revealed the fact that there was no Mexican grant, and that Bridger was kindly obliging the government for a substantial consideration with a piece of its own property. The bargain consequently fell through, and the post was established without payment of rental; but old Jim had the pleasure of spending the $8,000. President Young had made repeated applications to have his claim allowed; but, although it is quite as good as many another that had passed muster, it is very unlikely that the prophet will ever find profitable his $8,000 invest- ment in Bridger. He still maintains, however, that he was never so unwise as to be outdone by old Jim; that his deeds are all right in his possession; and that it is nothing but the willful injustice of Uncle Sam that withholds from him this magnificent domain."
In corroboration of the sale by Bridger to Young, the War Department informs me that "The Mormons set up a claim to the land on which the post was located on the ground of a conveyance from James Bridger, who was said to hold a Spanish grant for the same." The land in that part of Wyoming was acquired from Mexico by the war of
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History of Fort Bridger.
1848, and Bridger made the location in 1842. It is probable, therefore, that Bridger did have some sort of a title or promise title to the property from the Mexicans. He took up the land with a view to using the broad valleys for pas- turing stock. There were Mexican grants in Colorado and New Mexico and in other parts of the territory ceded by the Mexican government to the United States in 1848. All of Bridger's transactions were notably honest, and there are hundreds of people even to this day, who knew him well, who will testify to this. He told some wonderful tales, but, like the novel writer, he did not claim that they were true. They amused, at least, if they did not instruct.
Resuming the direct history of the fort, Louis Robin- son rebuilt it in 1855, and when it was finished it presented a very substantial appearance. It was constructed of boul- der stone, one hundred feet square and fourteen feet high. On the top of the walls were pickets and on diagonal corners were bastions, somewhat after the style of Fort Laramie. A corral fifty-two feet wide was built against the fort. The locality then was a part of Utah and the Mormons had scattered settlements over a considerable portion of that section, and thus matters stood until 1857, when the Mor- mons, who had been conducting affairs in the territory in a manner displeasing to the United States, by Interference with the duties of territorial officials, not of their own re- ligious faith, and by obliging prominent Gentiles to leave the territory, a crisis was reached in the affairs of Utah. President Buchanan appointed A. Cumming governor to succeed Brigham Young, who had held that office, and also made some changes in other territorial offices. Young re- fused to recognize these appointments, whereupon the Presi- dent promptly dispatched a military force to Utah to seat the newly appointed officials and to enforce the laws of the United States. The command of the expedition was given to Brigadier General Harney, but he being detained by the political troubles in Kansas, Colonel E. B. Alexander of the Tenth Infantry went out in command. The force consisted of the Fifth, Seventh and Tenth Infantry, Second Dragoons,
-(23)
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History of Wyoming.
and Phelps and Reno's batteries of the Fourth Artillery. The troops started west by the North Platte route over the Overland trail, passing South Pass, and reached Henry's Fork of Green River thirty miles east of Fort Bridger and there went into camp to await instructions from Washing- ton. In November, General Albert Sidney Johnston arrived and took command, having been substituted for General Harney. On the 23rd the expedition reached Fort Bridger and went into winter quarters. As I have explained in the history of the Overland trail, the greater part of the sup- plies for this force had been captured and destroyed on Green River and the Big Sandy by Mormon troops, and the command had to be placed on short rations. Captain R. B. Marcy with forty men was at once dispatched across the mountains to Fort Massachusetts to obtain supplies. It was a terrible trip in the dead of winter and there was much suffering among the men on the journey. Jim Baker ac- companied Captain Marcy, and that officer testified that he rendered valuable services as assistant, guide and inter- preter. The story is told that Marcy on this journey met a band of Utes in the mountains and tried to hire one as guide. The chief of the band said to Baker, the inter- preter, that the snow was too deep for any human being to cross. Baker said in a taunting manner, "Do you think we are old women? I at first took you for a warrior, but I see you're a squaw." The Indian became very much en- raged at this taunt, when Baker added in a soothing way, "Go home, now, and cover up warm, or assist your squaw in taking care of the babies." The warrior pointed to the moun- tain and called attention to the snow upon the peaks, and said that in the passes it was many feet deep. Notwith- standing this discouraging report, the little force pushed on and after losing nearly all their animals and suffering from hunger, cold and all the incidental privations, the little command at last reached Fort Massachusetts. Captain Marcy often said that had it not been for Jim Baker his lit- tle company would never have been able to reach its desti- nation. Supplies were secured at Fort Massachusetts, but
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