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Show AN INTRODUCTION TO EXPLORATION IN THE GREAT BASIN The history of man's exploration of the Great Ba6in is a colorful and dramatic episode in the spectrum of American history. For decades, Spaniards, trappers, and soldiers skirted around its perimeter looking mainly for a way to get to the other side, while making an occasional stab into the interior of this hostile wilderness. When the Mormons planted the seeds of their theocratic empire in the Great Basin in 1847, establishing the first permanents settlements there, they had little authentic geographical knowledge af much of the country they were laying claim to. Although Brigham Young and other church leaders had carefully studied the reports of John C. Fremont and other explorers of the Great Basin, there were large tracts of land in this region which were still virtually unknown to civilized man. The proposed Mormon "State of Deseret" was larger in area than the State of Texas, and perhaps the majority of it was lesser known than any portion of North America south of the arctic latitudes.1 Especially primitive in its state of exploration at this time was the central Great Basin region between the Humboldt River and the Spanish Trail. This area was extremely remote from any civilized outpost, trail or navigable waterway. Within eleven years the White Mountain Expedition would take a great stride toward filling that gap. Nearly three centuries elapsed between the time Christopher Columbus planted the flag of Spain in the new world and the tide of exploration began to trickle into the Great Basin. These first intrusions were attempts by the 10 |