attend meetings with the first presidency and apostles—more missionaries called to arizona—many inquiries regarding the mission—outline the route—preparations for travel—start south—aided by contributions—reach moencoppy—meet lot smith and company—baptisms—start for the little colorado river—guide missionary companies to the place we had selected for settlement—lot smith refuses to acknowledge my appointment from president young as president of the mission—he assumes leadership at the new settlement—i return with my party to moencoppy—other companies of missionary settlers sustain my presidency—my health is poor—settlers discouraged—cheer them up—work of frontier life—succor a company whose water supply is exhausted—taking up land—make a long exploring trip—introduce book of mormon to navajos—return to moencoppy—indians dissatisfied—go to salt lake city with a delegation of navajo chiefs—their supposed grievances settled—tell president young i have come home to stay—he sends me out again—directed to procure volunteers—letter of instructions—lecture, and take up contributions—return home—my family ill—provide supplies for them—conditions improve.
my stay at home lasted till january 30, 1876. i attended several meetings with the first presidency, the twelve apostles, and other leading brethren in the church. they were consulting as to the best means of colonizing that part of arizona we had been exploring, and two hundred missionaries were called to go there and settle the country. scores of visitors also came to my house to inquire regarding my travels and the place where i had been. i went over to apostle john taylor's house on invitation, and there george goddard reported our conversation, as i was requested to outline the route to arizona, which outline was afterwards published in the deseret news. during my stay i also made a brief visit to ogden.
as the time drew near for me to start south again, president young loaned me a team and light wagon to travel with. he also advised me to find a boy about sixteen years old to go with and wait on me. i was thinking of how i should follow this counsel, when john reidhead, who was one of those called to the arizona mission, came in and proffered his son—an offer i was pleased to accept. on friday, january 28, brother reidhead and son started south with my team and baggage.
early on the morning of sunday, january 30, i took leave of my family, and went by train to spanish fork, making an appointment at springville as i passed. i was met at the station at spanish fork, and conveyed to the meetinghouse, where i addressed the congregation. that evening i returned to springville and filled the appointment there. next morning i was met by brother reidhead and son, and proceeded to payson. i had had raised for me, by subscription, a span of small mules, so i sent back president young's team and harness, and went on my journey, preaching almost every evening in one or other town on the way. we were treated very kindly. our route lay through fillmore, beaver, parowan, cedar city, toquerville, and on to kanab, which we reached february 23, finding bishop nuttall quite ill. we made our home at bishop levi stewart's.
on march 2nd we set out from kanab, and reached moencoppy on the 8th, where we found all well. the building constructed by the settlers was so far completed as to protect us comfortably from storm and cold; and a dam had been constructed, with a water ditch three miles long, giving us quite a reservoir. plowing also had been begun, though the weather was very disagreeable.
on the 11th, j. c. thompson and a. s. gibbons went to meet lot smith and a company coming from utah. on sunday, the 12th, we held meeting, and a young man named franklin d. gillespie, who had fallen in with us, desired to be baptized into the church, as did ly and his wife, two of the oriba indians. the ordinance was attended to, and i also ordained the chief, tuba, a priest.
during the next three days i arranged affairs of the company, some of the men being directed to locate springs, to act as guides to the companies coming, attend to our mail, etc., and on the 15th, with s. b. tanner, ira hatch, and j. b. reidhead, set out with six mules and a light wagon to search a road for vehicles between moencoppy and the oriba village. hans funk and e. tietjens, with a four-horse team, went to the top of the hill to haul water for our animals, and from there our party proceeded along the indian trail three or four miles, then struck out over the trackless, sandy plain, to avoid rugged buttes and deep gulches that rendered the trail impracticable for wagons. we went on about fourteen miles, and camped in the sand; i was quite ill.
next day we traveled about twenty-five miles in a southeasterly direction, over sandhills and up a long wash, to a divide, where we made dry camp. we met four hunting parties, and two of the hunters camped with us. the following morning we went on seven miles, to the pools of water where the oribas were camped with their flocks of sheep and goats. each flockmaster stood guard over his animals, for his turn to get at the pools. we passed on three miles to the oriba village, located on the crest of a steep bluff. the houses were built close together, and there were about five hundred inhabitants. those indians obtained all their water from a well about a mile distant, and the carrying of the precious liquid was going on day and night, while the indians were praying continually for more water.
leaving the oriba village, we proceeded onward over a rough and sandy country, reaching the mohave springs, where the hopees water their stock, on the 18th. that night we experienced a fearful windstorm. on the 20th we came to the little colorado river, and on the 23rd arrived at the place selected on my first trip for a settlement. between this time and my previous visit five houses had been built there, so our purpose was interfered with a little. next day we chose a place for the pioneer camp, and s. b. tanner and i started back to meet the company from utah which was to occupy the locality as a settlement, and which had been following us closely. we met the newcomers that day, and returned to the site that had been chosen.
it was at this place that the first disagreement in the expedition occurred. captains smith, lake and allen had charge of three sections of the company. i invited them and others to a meeting to consult over what should be done, and there presented to them my letter of instructions from president young and my appointment as president of the mission. captain lot smith opposed my presidency, and captains lake and allen failed to give me support. things were not pleasant, and the meeting was dismissed. next day matters in camp were in a rather confused condition.
the succeeding day was sunday, march 26th. lot smith called a meeting, and invited me to speak. i recounted what we had done in searching out and selecting this place for settlement, and welcomed the company to it; i also gave information and instruction concerning the country. when i finished, lot smith assumed charge of the meeting, and paid no further attention to me. next day i invited him, and also major ladd, to take a walk with me. they came, and i asked brother smith what he intended doing. he replied that he was going ahead independent of me. i told him he had insulted me and trampled upon my god-given right, through president young, who had appointed me to preside over the arizona mission, and if he would persist in doing wrong he must bear the responsibility. he was very defiant, so we separated. i called brother g. lake, who had informed me that lot smith seemed to think he was in charge of the companies but he (lake) knew it was my place and would sustain me. i told him he had betrayed my confidence, for when it came to the test he had failed to keep his word. i advised him to think the matter over, and as i had decided to return at once to moencoppy, our party bade good-bye to the newcomers, and we started. this was on march 27th.
on the 30th we reached the lower crossing of the river, and camped, the stream being too much swollen to cross. s. b. tanner shot a deer, and by about five hours later he and the others brought in two more deer—a valuable addition to our stock of provisions. by saturday, april 1st, the river had fallen, and other companies having come up, we crossed and held a meeting. next day another meeting was convened, and i called david e. fullmer to return with us, which he did. in a meeting held at the old arizona camp on april 4th, at which there was a large number of those who had recently come from utah, my letter of instructions from president young was read, and the brethren unanimously sustained me as president of the mission. our party continued the journey, and after much toil reached moencoppy settlement on april 7th. i was quite ill at this time.
we continued the work necessary to establishing a settlement, but there were so many difficulties that some of our company, which had been increased by additions from utah, began to feel discouraged. i admonished and cheered them, causing them to feel better. we also arranged for some of the company, in charge of s. b. tanner, to go up the little colorado river and secure twenty-three land claims for us. this party started on monday, april 17th. on the 22nd a brother phillips came from moencoppy and said a small company had reached there without water, and that their teams were so exhausted that they could not travel longer than about noon. we comprehended their suffering condition, gathered all the barrels and kegs we had, and filled them with water—about one hundred gallons—and brothers roson and thompson went to their relief. i then made out some notices to put up, giving instructions so that other companies should not be caught in the same predicament as this one had been.
from time to time our numbers were augmented by additions from utah, many having come in and located at the places we had selected. among those who joined us at moencoppy was my son-in-law, h. o. fullmer, and my daughter, rachel e. on the 17th of may the members of our settlement proceeded up the river to where s. b. tanner and party had taken up land for us. there was some dissatisfaction in the company, but after prayerfully considering the situation all was made right. then, on may 19th, brothers tanner, haskell and i started on an exploring trip. we were gone till july 3rd, and traveled several hundred miles, going north and east through the country of the navajos, the moquis and the zunis. we saw the villages of each, and also many ancient ruins. we passed over some good country, but much of it was very rough, and our trip was an arduous one.
while on this journey we were traveling along the rio perco, a tributary of the rio grande del norte, when, on june 17th, as we were following a trail through a forest, an indian stepped out from the edge of the undergrowth, held up his hand, and said: "stop! who are you, where do you come from, where are you going, and what is your business in the navajo country?"
"we are mormons from utah," was our response, in spanish, the language in which our interrogator had spoken.
"stop your wagon under this tree," continued he, indicating a place, "and talk to us; for we hear the mormons have the history of our forefathers. the americans and spaniards say you claim this, but we know they often speak falsely, and we wish to learn from your own lips whether you have such a record, and how you came by it. we want you to stop here till our people come together, and you can tell us the truth."
by this time another indian had presented himself. we turned aside as ordered, and the first navajo said to the newcomer: "show these men where water is."
seth b. tanner and thales h. haskell unhitched our team, and led them to drink, the indian going as guide. i was asked to get out of the wagon, and as i was doing so a large number of indians appeared, coming from all directions. almost before i realized it, there were two hundred and fifty to three hundred navajos there, men, women and children. my chair was taken out of the wagon, a blanket was spread for me, and i sat down, the indians sitting close around. two chiefs, whom i learned were juan san juall and jualito, sat as near to me as they could, and one of them said, "if you have the book of our forefathers, tell us about god and them, and how you came by the book."
i produced a copy of the book of mormon, told them it was a record of god's dealings with their fore-fathers, and explained to them how it was revealed to the prophet joseph smith by an angel. as i proceeded to tell what was in the book of mormon, tears came to the eyes of many in the audience, and some of them spoke out, "we know that what you say is true, for the traditions of our good old men who never told a lie agree with your story. our forefathers did talk with god, and they wrote; and when they became wicked and went to war they hid up their records, and we know not where they are."
at this point the chiefs and about ten other leading men rose up and embraced me, saying, "continue to tell us of god and our forefathers, for it does our hearts good to hear of them."
i talked on for a time, and when i was through, messrs. tanner and haskell, who had listened to what had been going on, bore witness that what i had said was true. we remained with the indians for dinner, and they wanted us to stay longer, but we felt that it was better to proceed on our journey. this meeting, one of the most sudden and singular in my experience, occurred in new mexico, about thirty miles north of the old mail route from albuquerque westward. when it was over we continued our journey south and west, turned west to fort wingate, then on to fort defiance, and through the moquis villages to our settlement.
on the day of our return to moencoppy, july 3rd, brothers roson and thompson came to meet us with barrels of water—a relief that we appreciated greatly. we were highly pleased to learn that all was well in the settlement.
soon after this i released two of the missionaries till october 1st, to visit their families in utah, and five others till november 1st, for the same purpose. during july and the early part of august we were engaged in tending and gathering crops, and the work incident to establishing a settlement, which was by no means easy. we also visited and endeavored to keep on good terms with the indians, and for ourselves did so; but there were some of the navajos who seemed bent on making trouble, and who complained that the settlers on the little colorado had taken some of their animals. finally, on august 6th, we received word from the indian council that a delegation of chiefs would meet with us in three days, to accompany some of us on a visit to the "mormon chief," to settle the alleged grievances. ira hatch and i set out that same evening to meet the delegation. i took very ill, and it was only through the best care and with great effort that i could travel, but we were determined not to disappoint the indians. i received marked attention from ira hatch, also from j. d. lee and wife at the moenabbey, and in a few hours was able to move around again as usual. we met the indians, and made the journey north, reaching salt lake city on the evening of august 22nd, the indians being lodged at d. b. huntington's for the night.
next day president young met the delegation in his schoolhouse, and talked over the supposed wrongs of the mormon settlers to the navajos—for they were only supposed, as it turned out. i acted as interpreter, using the spanish language. efforts had been made to find some other interpreter who could talk the navajo dialect, but in vain. everything was made satisfactory to the red men, who remained in salt lake city four days. at this time a delegation of shoshones from bear river came with george hill as interpreter, and these met the navajos and the two tribes "buried the hatchet." then the navajos received a few presents and returned to their homes.
i had a conversation with president young, in which i told him i had come from arizona not to return unless he ordered me to do so. a few days later he met me and said he had been thinking over my mission. he intended to press onward in settling arizona and new mexico, and as i knew what that country was, he thought i had better travel through utah and lecture on the prospects of the work in the southern mission, and also call for volunteers to accompany me in returning to arizona. he told me further that i was to take up collections among the saints for the support of myself and family, and for an outfit for myself. in pursuance of these instructions he gave me a letter to the bishops and other authorities. this document mentioned my missionary labors in arizona, said i was directed to lecture among the saints on the mission work and take up contributions, and counseled the authorities to render me assistance in harmony with the call made of me. it closed as follows:
"brother brown is also authorized to receive the names of those who are willing or desirous of helping to build up the kingdom of god in that region. we learn that the brethren are discovering new and desirable valleys in the neighborhood of their present settlements, and elsewhere, and it is our intention to keep pushing out and onward as fast as prudence and the whisperings of the spirit of the lord shall dictate.
"we desire the active co-operation of our brethren in this important work, and shall be pleased to receive a goodly list of volunteers through brother brown, consisting of men who love the gospel, have faith in the promises of the father, and have the integrity, determination and zeal of true latter-day saints. we have no fear that too many will respond to this invitation, as the rich valleys south and east of the colorado offer homes for hundreds of those who desire to extend the curtains of zion in that direction.
"we are informed that some of the brethren entertain the idea that it is better to be called by the authorities to such missions than to volunteer. to such we will quote the saying of the lord to the prophet joseph smith, as contained in the doctrine and covenants: 'he that waiteth to be commanded in all things is a slothful servant.'
"ever praying for the welfare of israel, i remain your brother in the gospel,
"brigham young."
this letter was dated september 16, 1876.
soon afterward i went as directed, traveling and lecturing in northern utah, with a visit to almy, wyoming; then worked my way southward in the various counties, to richfield. i lectured sixty-five times, and secured about eighty volunteers, mostly from sevier county. ira hatch came up with me and at richfield we separated, he taking my team and going to kanab, and i returning home to provide for my family and then rejoin him at the town last named. i found several of my family quite ill, and there had been one death—my aunt polly, who died on christmas day, a few days before my arrival home.
the opening of the year 1877 found me with my family, who soon began to amend in health. i was also able to supply them fairly well with what they needed for sustenance during my absence, as the bishops and saints whom i had visited had been very kind and liberal, in response to the invitation of president young to promote the interests of the southern mission by rendering assistance to me so i could proceed to that field of labor.
