Heritage Gateways

William Clayton Journals

July 23, 1847

Location: Salt Lake Valley (the right place), Utah - The end destination for the trek across the plains.

Summary: The Pioneers begin to prepare fields for their crops; many irrigation routes are established.

Journal entry: FRIDAY, 23RD. This morning Elders Pack and Mathews started to meet the President and at the same time the camp moved on to the final location, We traveled two miles and then formed our encampment on the banks of the creek in an oblong circle. The grass here appears even richer and thicker on the ground than where we left this morning. The soil looks indeed rich, black and a little sandy. The grass is about four feet high and very thick on the ground and well mixed with rushes. If we stay here three weeks and our teams have any rest they will be in good order to return.

As soon as the camp was formed a meeting was called and the brethren addressed by Elder Richards, mostly on the necessity and propriety of working faithfully and diligently to get potatoes, turnips, etc., in the ground. Elder Pratt reported their mission yesterday and after some remarks the meeting was dismissed. At the opening, the brethren united in prayer and asked the Lord to send rain on the land, etc.

The brethren immediately rigged three plows and went to plowing a little northeast of the camp; another party went with spades, etc., to make a dam on one of the creeks so as to throw the water at pleasure on the field, designing to irrigate the land in case rain should not come sufficiently. This land is beautifully situated for irrigation, many nice streams descending from the mountains which can be turned in every direction so as to water any portion of the lands at pleasure.

During the afternoon, heavy clouds began to collect in the southwest and at five o'clock we had a light shower with thunder. We had rains for about two hours. The brethren have plowed up considerable land and broken several of their plows, but there have been three plows going nearly all day.

At night, the camp was called together and addressed by Elder Richards on a subject which seemed little welcome to many from the way it was handled. It was a sermon of - from end to end. Some felt a little insulted but it all passed off well and jokingly.

Source: William Clayton's Journal

Published by the Clayton Family Association, and edited by Lawrence Clayton. To the best of our research, this contents of this book are no longer under copyright.