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Show 67 dollars. 1'he Utah troops constructed numerous forts and breastworks in Echo Canyon which was considered the primary battlefield. The Mormon defenders considered their defenses almost impregnable, out the U.S. troops didn't. One U.S. soldier claimed the Mormon defenses "resemble boys' play things more than fortifications."16 And an officer of the Utah Expedition claimed Echo Canyon "could have been turned easily by 500 troops."1^ \ During the fall, the Mormon troops commenced their campaign of harrasment of the Utah Expedition. Major Lot Smith's company was successful in burning three government freight trains containing enough food to support the entire Utah Expedition for three months. The Mormons also ran off nearly, 2,000 head of cattle and drove them to Salt Lake. One soldier in the U.S. forces remembered the Mormon tactics as follows: Every day when coming to camp they £the Mormons] would set the grass on fire, using long torches, and riding swift horses, so that before pitching tents we always had to fight fire. They destroyed so much of it that the animals had to be driven some distance to get feed. One morning, just before daybreak, they rushed through the camp, firing guns and yelling like Indians, driving off all our mules and horses, numbering about a thousand, and before we could get into line they were safely out of reach of our rifles. It was ten o'clock before we recovered our animals. They hovered around daily, watching and taking every advantage of us, feeling safe in their tactics, knowing our inability to cope with them, as we had no cavalry, while they had the fleetest of horses.xo In addition to the military preparations, the church was also attempting to educate the people and instill them with a sense of duty. This was not difficult, as the people were united and primed for nearly anything. A tirade of anti-administration speeches were delivered, many of which have been quoted |