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Show Page 140 One hundred and forty four men, three women, and two children pushed toward the Elkhorn River - the number of men corresponding to the "twelve times twelve" spoken of in the Revelation. Orson sensed the scientific as well as the theological import of the journey and obtained release from administrative duties in order to tend to the work of measuring the miles and keeping the log in order. Brigham's secretary, an English convert named William Clayton, was assigned to assist him in recording distance traveled and logging landmarks for thosewho were to follow. The work assigned to Orson was twofold: to keep the pioneer company on course, as they traversed a waste as uncharted as the seas; and to maintain meticulous records for the thousands strung across the continent behind this dusty band. Orson had had precious little to rely on heretofore. But new instruments had arrived just in time - two sextants, one circle of reflection, two artificial horizons, two barometers, thermometers, and telescopes. Counted in the first ten, Orson began the historic journey on a day of gloom and wind. The drying preserve of the Omaha nation stretched planar and monotonous to the horizon, while the wagons shadowed the prairie grass and William Clayton counted each tedious turn of the wheel. As Orson walked beside him, Clayton suggested after three days of counting, that some mechanism be attached to the wheels for keeping track of the miles. Clayton no doubt did not look forward to a thousand miles of counting wheel revolutions, but also felt that his method was inaccurate - that distances traveled were being "over-rated," with possibly disastrous results. Brigham Young agreed, Orson puzzled a little, and he and Clayton worked out a design for a machine of wooden cogs and gears that would systematically clock each mile in place. They recruited Appleton Harmon, a carpenter, to construct the device, which worked by measuring |