President's Office,
Gt. Salt Lake City,
July 18, 1867.
President C.C. Rich,
Paris, Richland Co., Bear Lake Valley.
Dear Brother:
The favor which you sent by Brothers Pugmire and Hart was duly received on Sunday last. I was pleased to hear of your welfare and progress. It is gratifying to learn that you have such good prospects for a crop, as from the news that we hear from Cache Valley their crops are likely to be a failure to a very great extent through the ravages of the grasshoppers.
Accompanying this I send you our programme of travel from this point to your Valley. We have not made any appointments for your valley, as we calculate to spend a number of days of there, and can probably arrange to as good advantage after we get there, about meetings as we can at present, presuming that yourself and the peoole will hold yourselves in readiness to come together whenever meetings shall be appointed. As you see we do not intend to leave here until the 2nd September. We hope at that time to find the roads in good travelling condition, and the weather so cool as to be pleasant for ourselves and teams. We expect Bros. Orson Hyde and Erastus Snow to accompany us, as they have signified their intention of doing so. Bro. Orson Pratt will doubtless be at home before that time, and if all should be able to go along we will have all of the Twelve Apostles together excepting Bro. F.D. Richards.
We have had very hot weather, which has been very fine for our crops; but for the last three or four days we have had occasional showers of rain accompanied with thunder and lightening which has cooled the atmosphere and made everything very pleasant.
The prospects for crops in this and Davis county are very flattering. The river Jordan still continues very high; the other streams are gradually lowering.
Everything was quiet at the last advices from San Pete, and we hope the vigilance of the people will preserve them in future from such fatal attacks as they have suffered from this season.
Our trains have principally reached the terminus of the Rail Road, and we have heard of no loss of life except the man who was killed in Bro. Sharp's train, of which you doubtless saw a notice in the papers. The missionaries all got through in safety, and sailed for Europe a few days ago on the steamship Manhattan.
My sons Brigham, Junr, and John W., and Brigham's family have arrived in New York from England, and are probably, now, on the point of starting for the terminus of the Rail Road. I expect they will return with the freight trains. We exercise all the faith we can for our brethren and sisters who are exposed to danger, that the Lord will preserve them from every attack of the Indians and give them revelation to warn them, that they may be able to take such precautions as will be necessary to ensure the safety of themselves and their animals.
I suppose you have heard rumors of the reported discovery of gold near the upper crossing of the Sweetwater. This news has created some excitement here and has carried off some of our floating population who are ever eager to swallow any report about the discovery of gold. Reports from there seem to be tolerably well authenticated, and there is no doubt that gold has been found, but how extensive is not yet known. We shall probably hear more definite news in the course of a few weeks. But our people will prove this time as they have many times previous, that those who stay at home, mind their own business and help to build up Zion in the way appointed, will increase in wealth and everything that tends to true greatness more rapidly than they who run in chase after the phantoms conjured up by the speculating world.
With love, in which Presidents Kimball & Wells & Bro. Geo. Q. join and praying the Lord to bless you continually, I remain Your Brother
Brigham Young