353 - 357
Presidents Office
Great Salt Lake City Nov. 18th 1864.
Presidents Daniel H. Wells and Brigham Young Jr.,
Dear Brethren:
Since my last letter to you I have received three welcome favors from you-- one from Brother Daniel, under date of September 30th, and two from Brigham Jr., dated September 20th and October 5th-- which have been perused with interest and the items contained therein have been duly noted. Your visits to the various Conferences will be attended with beneficial effects to yourselves and the people -- you will become acquainted with them and their circumstances and wants, and the Elders and Saints will be able to obtain such counsel as they need and to partake of the spirit which you possess, and mutual good will be accomplished thereby.
I returned yesterday from a visit to Kay's Ward and Ogden City, where myself and Elders Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, Geo. A. Smith, Geo. Q. Cannon and my son Joseph A, and John W. Young, and several other brethren have been to meetings. We left the City on Friday, the 11th instant, and held meetings on Saturday and Sunday, the 12th and 13th instant at Kay's Ward. Leaving Kay's Ward for Ogden on the evening of the 13th, we held meetings there on Monday and Tuesday, the 14 and 15 instant, and had, besides, a very interesting trip up Ogden Canyon, on <the> the new road, to Huntsville -- a distance of about miles from Ogden City. A party in the evening of the 15th at Ogden ended our labors there, and on the morning of the 16th, we started on our return jurney, expecting to reach the City that afternoon. When we had traveled about a mile on this side of Kay's Ward we were cought by a violent storm of Wind, which raged so furiously, and carried the snow, which had fallen the previous night, so fiercely in our faces that it seemed quite questionable for a time whether we would be able to reach Farmington or not. We were compelled to stop there all the afternoon and night -- the storm being so violent during that time that it was quite impossible to travel. The wind lulled yesterday morning, and we were able to resume our journey homeward. This storm is said to have been the heaviest, so far as the strength of the wind itself is concerned, that has been experienced by our people in Davis County. Much serious damage has been inflicted upon the citizens there; fences and outbuildings have beeu leveled and seriously shaken, fourteen dwelling houses have been unroofed in Bountiful alone, besides their new meeting House, and it is estimated that one-fourth of the feed in that place has been blown away and destroyed during the storm. Kay's Ward, Farmington and Centreville have suffered similarly.
Our meetings were well attended, the people turning out in considerable numbers from the adjacent settlements to meet with us both at Kay's Ward and Ogden City. Much valuable instruction was given, and an excellent spirit pervaded all the meetings.
The people at Kay's Ward feel much interested in the project of taking out the Waters of the Weber and bringing them to their settlement by A canal. If this water can be plentifully obtained, several thousand acres of land that cannot no be used would be brought into high cultivation and the productiveness of the land already under cultivation can also be greatly increased. Active steps will be immediately taken to bring the water to that Ward, and a little city will, doubtless, be built up, instead of the people being scattered so widely apart as they are at present.
Setps are now being taken also here to bring the waters of Jordan to this City from the point of the mountain at the place where the Western Canal dam was located. A company is being organized here, with a capital of $500,000, which will probably be chartered this winter by the Legislature for the accomplisment of this labor. The first portion of the canal will be immediately pushed through from Little Cottonwood to the City, and it will be used for navigation purposes, especially the freightage of rock for the Temple as soon afterwards as practicable. This water will be of great benefit to te City and five acre lots and will enable the City to expand considerably more than it could with its present supply of water. when I last wrote, came into the City --the first named Oct. 26th and the last named Novr. 2nd. The people generally in good health and spirits, and looked well though some few were sick. The Bishops were very energetic in providing for the comfort of the people. and the Saints donated articles of food in great abundance and of excellent quality to feed the weary strangers. They were soon absorbed among the people, and but few days had passed before a person would scarcely imagine, from outward appearances, that a heavy emigration of destitute people had just reached our Territory.
Meetings have recently been held on the subject of building A Warehouse at the head of navigation on the Colorado River and forming settlements as near as possible to the Warehouse and on the road leading thereto. The settlements are intended for resting places and as supports and strength for the Warehouse and Road, and Col. Thomas S. Smith and Hy. W. Miller have each been selected to head a settlement in that region. About $16,000 worth of stock has been taken in the Warehouse, and arrangements have been made for selecting its site and for its erection. I feel confident that we will need this route for our goods ant emigration as soon as it can be opened, and I do not anticipate any serious difficulty in making it feasible and safe for every purpose for which we may need it.
Elders Francis A Hammond and Geo. Nebeker started by Stage on Thursday Nov. 1Oth, on their Missions to the Sandwich Islands, to accomplish what I explained in my last letter to you. Elders Joseph F. Smith, Wm. W. Cluff and John R. Young, with two native Saints and a few other persons, had arrived in San Francisco from the Islands on their way home. They will not leave San Francisco until the Elders from here reach them, and they have the privilege, or any one of them, of returning to the Islands with the brethren if they choose.
Every thing is peaceable in the City; and the people on the Bench are attracting but little notice; their importance is and has been decreasing daily One of the Volunteers recently committed an abominable outrage upon a boy of about 12 years of age, whom he found alone in an out-of-the-way place, and threatened him with death if he would tell any person what he has done. The boy upon his return to the City described the crime which had been perpetrated upon him, and measures were taken to find the offender. He was arrested, and the ofence was fully proved; but our legislators, never having contemplated the possibility of such a crime being comitted in our borders, had made no provision for punishment, and the criminal had to be discharged. In theevening, after discharge, he was shot by some person unknown, while he was passing from the City up to Camp. The father of the boy was arrested; but he proved an alibi so clearly that he was discharged -- Capt. Hempstead, the prosecuting counsel, fully exonerating him in his remarks. There has been but little apparent excitement about this occurrence, but it cannot fail to have a salutary effect.
An Artesian Well Company has been formed of which Mayor Smoot is the head, and they have commenced digging on the Bench beyond the City wall and directly north of the 20th Ward School House. They have dug a shaft 130 feet deep without striking even the surface water. Deeming it unsafe for men to dig any deeper, Bro. Smoot has had the digging suspended, and intends to commence boring. Should a good artesian stream be tapped, without having to bore too deeply, it will be a great benefit to the City, and will, doubtless, be the first of many such that will be sunk.
Col. Connor and Capt. Hempstead have left for the Plains; they were at Denver at the last accounts. The number of volunteers have been considerably lessened by the expiration of the mens' term of service.
Both your families are well, having been visited to-day, the 19th. Sister Wells says that the family has not had so good health at this season of the year for five years past. The weather is very pleasant overhead, though the nights are cold; the mountains are covered with snow, and there is a light coat lying in the valleys.
Brother Heber has been suffering from a cold since Conference. He thought it prudent on this account not to go North on our late preaching tour. His health is now improving. My own health is very good. Praying the Lord to bless you and your co-laborers with all the qualifications and power necessary for the proper magnifying of your high calling and desiring you to <receive> accept my love to yourselves and families in which bro Heber joins, I remain as ever, your brother in the Gospel,
Brigham Young
I have drawn upon you the following drafts.
No 507, L6.0.0, J. H. Felt; no 508, L3.0.0, Sarah Squires; no. 509, L6.14.0 J. K. Thompson; no, 510, L6.0.0, J. Y. Cherry; no. 511, LO.O.O, Lewis Morgan; no. 512, 11.0.0, Wm Pitts; no. 513, L10.14.6,Mary James; no 514, L7.12.0 Catharine Young, no 515, L4.0.0, Eleanor Jones; no 516, L1/O.O,Anna R. Lassen; no 517, L15.0.0, Elizabeth Griffiths.
Henry Booth sent L9.11.5 (Draft no 471) to Wm. Booth, he now wants the amount applied to emigrate Thomas & Anna Bellfield, Ashton under Lyne, Manchester.
Drafts nos. 509,510,511,513,515 are herein enclosed.