[William Clayton Journal] This morning Elders [John] Pack and [Joseph] 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 4 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. Soon as the camp was formed a meeting was called and the brethren addressed by Elder [Willard] Richards, mostly on the necessity and propriety of working faithfully and dilligently to get potatoes, turnips &c. 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 &c. The brethren immediately rigged 3 plows and went to plowing a little North East of the Camp. Another party went with spades &c. to make a dam on one of the creeks so as to thro[w] the water at pleasure on the field, designing to irrigate the land in case rain should not come sufficient. This land is beautifully situated for irrigation being many nice streams descending from the mountains which can be turned in every dir[ectio]n so as to water any portion of the lands at pleasure. The afternoon heavy clouds began to collect in the [S]outh West and at 5 o'clock we had a light shower with thunder. We had some rain for about 2 hours...their has been three plows going near all day. At night the camp were called together and a[dd]ressed by Elder Richards on a subject which seemed a little unwelcome to many from the way it was handled. It was a sermon of s[al]t from end to end, some felt a little insulted but all passed off well and jokingly. Some of the thinking brethren attributed it to the Dr's [Willard Richards] being inspired warmly or in other words pretty [] . . .
[source: George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
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