| OCR Text |
Show 273 moles, fifteen cows, and four c a l v e s . 5 Some of the company arrived home on July 28, while others herding t h e c a t t l e a r r i v e d home the next day. For most of the company i t had been a tour of three months; but for some, like Orson B. Adams, who had begun with George W. Bean and was subsequently,transferred to Cave Springs and then Meadow Valley, i t was over four months. Adams recalled that he had been absent from home four months and two days. Martineau calculated the distance t r a v e l by t h e Southern Exploring Company during t h i s time 27 to be 1245 miles. ' The Snake Creek farm faired no b e t t e r than i t s s i s t e r mission. Near the end of June, Bishop Brunson, of Fillmore, received an express from David E. Bunnell stating t h a t "the water had dryed up so t h a t there could not much be 28 raised." According t o the express c a r r i e r s , the creek had e n t i r e l y failed so that i t was impossible t o i r r i g a t e the wheat again. After conferring with Apostle Orson P r a t t , who had been in Fillmore since the exodus, Brunson concluded t o send Samuel P. Hoyt with t h r e e men t o Snake Creek t o assess the s i t uation. Riding t h e r e as quickly as p o s s i b l e , they were empowered t o c a l l in the mission i f conditions were as bad as had been reported. The reports proved accurate, and the mission was abandoned. According t o one observer, the l a st 29 remnants of the expedition arrived home in late July and early August. Some of Bean's original expedition, such as David E. Bunnell, had been out since late March, making the duration of their tour about four months. The men of both contingents endured considerable hardships on their desert journey. Willingly, they exposed themselves to a hostile environment, suffering from heat and cold, alkali sores, crop failure, and privations of every sort. But for the most part, the men of the White Mountain Expedition performed this difficult assignment with unflinching loyalty. If nothing else, the expedition is a tribute to the Mormon sense of duty. |
