[Apostle Willard Richards Journal] Wind south. Meeting of captains of First Division in council house. President Young came in and gave information respecting the cattle at LathropÂ's herd. [There were] 32 present who had cattle in that drove, [and they] proposed to send up 20 men to take care of their cattle. The Sioux have stolen all their horses. The cattle are in a field now, enclosed. H. C. K. [Heber C. Kimball said] it has cost me more than 150 already, Brother Brigham more than that. B.Y. [Brigham Young said] there are 1200 head of cattle there now. There ought to be two men to every 100 head. The cheapest way is to send men up there, then go to the chief and demand their horses, and [that they] pay for the cattle they have killed. H. G. Sherwood says he knows that 25 men can stand against 100 Sioux, and the Sioux will not attack them.
B. Young asked how long it will take to gather the Israelites, build up Zion and purify the earth when every man says IÂ've done enough. God requires every man to do all he can. If I have no property there, and will not help those who are there, I am not worthy of wife, child, or anything else. When men say I durst not do anymore, I damn such a principle, you will be wasted away. I preached last night and I see it stick out this morning. I promise you in the name of IsraelÂ's God that you will be wasted away, that your bones will bleach on the prairies before you see Zion. You will find that until such principles are done away, and covetousness is done away, you will waste away, that eternal selfishness and covetousness must be put away. It has got to be done away. When we have all done all we can, then God will do all for us. This people has got to be united and help one another. It is not that particular drove of cattle up there that I care about, but it is this nasty principle that I care about. Now go and send up 20 men tomorrow morning. Meet here at 8 tomorrow morning.
Now you will have to gather the President, captains, and men in this room. Here is 100. We will take 50 and leave 50 families. Then you go and decide who goes, who stays, and ask who will stay, then there will be no feelings. Then the 50 who go turn in with the 50 who stay. Then we decide what to do with the houses when the pioneers are gone.
I want captains of hundreds and Brother Kimball and myself [to] go and see where we can make fields. If we take 10 or 15 families, build a fort, fence in fields, then plow up the ground, then we can draw almost every man to go to the mountain, then take their teams and come back here. Suppose we take 20 or 50 families to the nearest rushes bottoms. It will take off our shoulders the care of the cattle. The brethren must take care of the cattle. Our teams are unwieldy. One man with a well broke team will do more good than two men with an unwieldy team. Leave nothing more than what they can take care of. Feed your cows with corn suckers, cabbage leaves, etc.
Brother Weeks and Kesler ground corn in the mill this morning, one man on the wheel, the other feeding the hopper. Be sure and get enough of men as pioneers. We shall have plenty of teamsters for the spring and plenty of wagons and teams. [The] first item is [to] pick out enough of pioneers, regardless of teamsters. Second, if you cannot get all the wagons in the [?] never mind. Third, now pick up the names of the women whose husbands are in the army. Take half or seven-eighths [7/8] of them. Let men leave their own families and take the menÂ's who are in the army. B. Young proposes captains of 100, 50, and 10 to meet on Monday, 8 a.m. The bishops to report women whose husbands are in the army, with their means. The bishops [should] go round their ward, ask do you belong to any company, yes, pass on to the next. If not in any company, take their name and property.
About 4, President Young, Dr. Richards, Father Chase, and others went to see the new mill and walked in the water wheel, but could not walk in the wheel two feet from the center without turning, the burrs ready to grind corn, and the brethren said they had ground two or three quarts of corn in the morning. Then went to the dam, walking up the race. Found the dam had a new floodgate, and considerable dust washed out of the dam by the south side of the race on the top, which was then under repair by Ezra Chase, having a fire under the frost on the dam.
Returned to the post office about 5. Thomas Grover sent for Dr. [Richards], who went with Elder Woodruff, [and] found him sick with quinsy; prayed for him. When Captain Clifford and Brother Hathaway were coming towards camp, Brother Hathaway left a pair of 6-shooter pistols at EvanÂ's camp, and sent by Solomon Chamberlain to get them. When in camp, Jonathan T. Packer went to Chamberlain with an order purporting to be signed by Hathaway and got the pistols. Chamberlain came into HathawayÂ's store and Hathaway inquired about the pistols and discovered the trick of a forged order and called on Police Gro[?] who arrested Packer, and he went to Jack Redding, got the pistols and returned them.
Elder O. Pratt was in the council, arrived in camp about dark from Mt. Pisgah and reported that he had organized a company there of about 110 families, [with] Lorenzo Snow, counselor, and a company of about 120 families at Garden Grove. David Fullmer [was] president and Aaron Johnson, counselor, or rather the two places were organized into one division and under one Presidency. Also, a small company at Last Camp east of Garden Grove. That he had read the revelation from Keg Creek to Last Camp and it was universally approved, and all the brethren had organized into a division, or company, and felt well. Brother Pratt brought a mail of 14 letters. Council retired [at] 10:30.
Dr. [Richards] wrote in journal, made up mail for United States [post] office to be forwarded by Harrison Burgess, also a mail of 16 letters for Mt. Pisgah by C. C. Rich. Wrote to James Mercer, 1 a.m. Jane, wife of Simeon A. Dunn, she has been sealed to Eli Kelsey and since that married to Dunn, had a son born February 12, 4 o'clock a.m., [his] name, Joseph Moroni. Reported by Patty Sessions. Friday, February 12, [1847].
[source: Apostle Willard Richards Journal]
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