Heritage Gateways

William Clayton Journals

July 31, 1847

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

Summary: The Brethren begin to construct the temple; the Utah and Shoshone Indians are present.

Journal entry: SATURDAY, 31st. This morning the brethren commenced making the tower on the temple lot a little southwest from our camp. They will make it about forty feet long and twenty - eight feet wide. Walked with President Young, Kimball, Richards and others to the Mississippi camp. Brother Thomas Richardson is very sick and several others of the soldiers. Soloman Tindal is yet alive but looks feeble.

Elder Kimball conversed sometime with Captain James Frown. There are from twenty to thirty of the Utah Indians here and some squaws trading with the brethren. They are generally of low stature, pleasing countenance but poorly clad. While we were there, a dispute arose between two of the noting men and they went to fighting very fiercely. One broke his gun stock on the other's head and I expected to see a pretty serious affray, many of the others gathering around. Soon an old man came up, father to one of the young men engaged in the quarrel and he used his heavy whip very freely about both their heads and faces. The antagonist of the son struck the old man and he immediately gathered a long pole and broke it over the young Indian's head. He succeeded in quelling the broil and gave them a long lecture. They then mostly left and resumed their trading.- a little distance from the camp.

In the afternoon, we had a pretty smart thunder shower and considerable wind. In the evening I walked down to the Pueblo camp and there learned the following particulars: These Indians who are now here are of the Shoshones, about fifteen or twenty in number, and several women among them. There were four or five of the Utahs here this morning when the Shoshones came up. One of the Utahs had stolen a horse from one of the Shoshones and the latter party saw him with the horse here. He had traded the horse for a rifle but was unwilling either to give up the horse or rifle hence the quarrel spoken of above. When the old man separated them, the thief went down and hid himself in the camp below. Soon after, he saw another horse walking by, which he knew to belong to the Shoshones. He sprang on his own horse and drove the other one before him towards the mountains on the southeast as hard as he could ride. The Shoshones being informed of it, four of them started in pursiut and as he got in between the mountains they closed in on him, one of the pursuers shooting him dead while another one shot his horse. They returned and made this report to the others of the tribe at the camp at the same time exhibiting fresh blood on one of the rifles. They appear to be much excited and continually on the watch. When the men returned, they sat down and made a meat of sonic of these large crickets. They appear to be crisped over the fire which is all the cooking required.

Many of the brethren have traded muskets and rifles for horses and ordinary muskets will buy a pretty good horse. They appear to be displeased because we have traded with the Utahs and say they own this land, that the Utahs have come over the line, etc. They signified by signs that they wanted to sell us the land for powder and lead. The Shoshones are poorer clad than the Utahs. They are about the same in stature and there are men, pleasing countenances among them.

Colonel Markham reports that there are three lots of land already broke. One lot of thirty - five acres of which two - thirds is already planted with buckwheat, corn, oats, etc. One lot of eight acres which is all planted with corn, potatoes. beans, etc. And a garden of ten acres, four acres of which is sown with garden seed. He says there are about three acres of corn already tip about two inches above the ground with some beans and potatoes tip too. This is thc result of eight days labor, besides making a road to the timber, haulling and sawing timber for a boat, making and repairing plows, etc. There have been thirteen plows and three harrows worked during the week.

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.