The Brigham Young Center

G. S. L. City, Sept. 2 1853

Dear Brother Horace,

I improve the present opportunity to write you a few lines by Bro John Needham.

I send $1000 by Bro Needham, and I wish you to purchase me 2 yoke of Oxen good, servicable cattle, and a good wagon, & load it with 2000; Bro Needham will tell you what to load with and I wish all the loading to be <very> carefully put up, and equally carefully packed in the Wagon, using every precaution to have it come through safe, and when you have the load, wagon, & have all ready for rolling, I wish you to put an experienced yankee teamster on <with> it, to drive it through, that all chance for accident may be ded that can be.

I have spoken with Dr. Bernhisel about obtaining 50 of the Sharp rifles; and he will pay for them, but I wish you in your travels, to go as far east as New York City, and call on the person <John G. Bolen 170 Broadway New York> who fits up those rifles there, and pick out the Rifles, and I wish the Rifles we get to have the iron rod, and bristle wiper, with breech box for the wiper, but no selfpriming apparatus, but in lieu thereof I wish you to get 100 of those primers for caps, that you can carry in your pocket, or on a string; I also wish you to purchase a good supply of the large government caps, and in addition have an extra supply to each Rifle, suitable for the ordinary sized caps, also purchase warranted rifle barrells, size, about 30 to the pound; enough to make 30 pistols with 9 or 10 inch barrells.

When you see Mr. Pugh, the wagon maker at Cincinnati, please tell him, that the timber of the longer reaches, hounds, bolsters in the wagons he made for us, is miserably poor and unless he will agree to put all good timber into the wagons, he intends for us, and do it, we will get some one else to make our wagons.

I Remain
Yours Respectfully

Brigham Young

To
Horace S. Eldredge
St. Louis, Mo.

P. S.
As to the Sharp Rifles you may pick out, I wish the barrells to be stained, to be of a handy length, with a large sized ball with the hind sight so fixed, that when it is flat on the barrell the gun will carry level at forty rods, then to raise gradually for different distances, until full height, the gun shall be on its greatest range. Please procure a variety of the oils and for perfumes, such as Rose Bergamot Lavender. &c. B. Y.