| OCR Text |
Show 263 children trudged wearily back to their homes in tbe northern cities. As they walked along the road, many were scorned and ridiculed by contingents of U.S. Army troops they met along the way because of their poor appearance. "They are the most destitute looking set I ever saw," wrote one soldier, pigs, poultry, white-headed children, mothers and wives all heaped promiscuously together in the wagon, with barely sufficient clothing to cover their nakedness. To judge the men by their appearance, one would think that their coats were made from the same pattern that Joseph wore, from the many colors they contain, or else bed quilts are a spontaneous production in this section of the country. It is said that some of the women 23 were so naked they avoided the road.... But the Mormons held their heads high. To their way of thinking they had won a great victory, or they had at least convinced themselves they had not been beaten. In the fall when Brigham said, "Stop}" the army stopped, and it was not until the prophet said, "Come in," that the troops could march into the valley. Their faith in Brigham Young was undaunted. Although a chapter in the history of Mormon-Federal conflict was brought to a close, it was yet to be a long history. Settlement of the so-called "Mormon question" was only postponed. Nearly half a century was to elapse before the conflict was over. |
