[Hosea Stout Diary] Tuesday June the 2nd 1846. President Young started to day to the Council Bluffs. Some of his teams however were gone before about four miles and encamped.He did not say any thing to us as to what we must do.So we went to arraingeing matters for farming in good earnest
About noon General Charles C. Rich came to me with a written order signed by Brigham as Lieutenant General ordering him to take the public arms into his possession and put them in good order and send them on by "Col Stout or some trusty officer"He wanted to know what I could do[.] I told him the situation of my family and circumstances and he thought it could not be required of me to leave my family under such circumstances and thus released me from going & I then went and showed him the guns and desired him to take them away. He had a like order to take the artillery from Scott.
I confess that I did not understand the object of this move neither did I care for it released me from all public care and responsibility and I felt like a free man with nothing on my mind but to contrive how to take care of my family for the best[.] Accordingly Hunter and myself went and laid the foundation of a house a piece on our beautiful location and was going to move to it as soon as our cattle could be found. But however before our cattle were found President Young having returned to this place came to see us.He wanted us to go on with the guns and leave our families here and wanted to know what we could do about it[.] We told him we were always ready to obey him, and would do any thing which our circumstances would permit[.] He then enquired into our situation very particularly & found us to be very destitute, and after giving Hunter some money as he had none told us to buy provision for our families untill we could return and come as soon as we could and left us.Here again we were entirely disconcerted and now all together gave up the idea of raising a crop and it seemed that it was designed by some over ruling power that we should not "Sow nor reap" neither enjoy the peace and happiness of a private life any more. We saw nothing but a long train of public cares and responsibilities hanging over us for we knew it would not end at the Bluffs.
[source: Diaries of Hosea Stout]
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