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Show 8 this territory. Contrary to this statement, the White Mountain Expedition did enter into these valleys and before the advent of Captain Simpson. Indeed, it is a fact that Simpson followed the White Mountain trail for over one hundred miles on his return trip across the Great Basin! It is my contention, therefore, that the White Mountain Expedition of 1858 made a significant and important contribution to the exploration of the Great Basin, viewing for the first time many areas never before seen by white men. The few writers who have ventured into this area have tried in vain to establish many of the important details of the expedition-its origins, intent, and particularly its geography.2 Great pains have been taken in this study to fix the exact trails ma'de by the expedition and to establish the evolution of thought by which Brigham Young conceived and created the White Mountain Expedition in the first place. I would like to express my appreciation to the staffs of the several libraries and institutions where this research was conducted. For their help and patience, I am deeply indebted. This work would have been severely handicapped, if not impossible, were it not for the aid of the librarians, directors, and staff members of the L.D.S. Church Historian's Archives, Salt Lake City; Harold B. Lee Library, Departments of Archives and Manuscripts, and Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Lehman Caves National Monument, Baker, Nevada; and Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City. , Finally, I would like to thank the people of western Utah and southeast Nevada whose hospitality and willingness to help with their knowledge of the land was of great assistance in reconstructing the routes of the White Mountain explorers • October 28, 1981 |
