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Show 74 so they might harvest as soon as possibble.35 in Spite of all the plans for caching grain and retreating to the mountains, Brigham Young did not anticipate these preparations would ever be used. He was confident that the kingdom would prevail on the battlefield. "Do you think we shall have to leave our fine crops?" he asked a congregation on October 18. .... We have not got to leave; we shall not be obliged to leave our crops and our houses to our emenies: we can sustain ourselves. It makes me rejoice that we are now in a situation that, if this people will live as they should live, they will no more have to be driven as we have been hitherto.... ... As the Lord God lives, we will waste our enemies by millions, if they send them here to destroy us, and not a man of us hurt.3° Nevertheless, the caching of the grain went ahead through the winter as if their lives depended on it. One Salt Lake City man recorded in his diary on January 29 that he commenced making some flour boxes to cash up flour in time of our troubles for we intend to hide up our Women & children and our grain & then withstand our Enemys as theQTJ are now determined through the power of the Devil that wortketh in their hearts to make war upon the saints & desire to destroy us from ofCf] the face of the earth and thus obliteratfej the Kingdom & Priesthood of god & we have now declared our freedom & Independence from them....37 Up to this point, there was nothing secret about the Mormons' defense plans. The plan to burn up and flee rather than suffer defeat had been fully explained to Captain Van Vliet during his visit in September. He was also present in the Bowery when Apostle John Taylor asked the congregation: "All you that are willing to set fire to your property and lay it in ashes, rather |
