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Show 84 of the evil rumors they had been hearing. As soon as possible the party began its return to Utah. On February 13 in the Las Vegas area, the Lyman party came across an old friend, Colonel Thomas L. Kane. Kane was traveling to Salt Lake on his own initiative with the unofficial blessings of President Buchanan to attempt a mediated settlement of the conflict. The colonel was well known to the Mormons as a friend, but, for the time being, Kane was traveling incognito as Dr. Osbournefor his own safety. At this point, Kane and Lyman separated from their companions and made haste for Salt Lake City to confer with Brigham Young. Both men perceived the significance of their positions. One man carried the hope for peace, while the other, the key to their defense. Actually, the threat of a strike from the Colorado was not as grave as the Mormons bad been led to believe. The menace indeed existed, but the use of the Colorado for an invasion route was remote. The Mormons, however, could only act on the knowledge they had and conditions as they perceived them to be. Originally, the exploration of the Colorado was, as reported, a scientific expedition. It had been approved in the final years of the Pierce administration and had nothing to do with the Mormons. Captain George A. Johnson operated two steamboats on the lower Colorado between the mouth of the river and Fort Yuma-fifty miles upstream. The "Colorado" and "General Jesup" were employed by Johnson in transporting supplies to the fort. Anxious to prowl the river above Yuma, he applied to the government in 1856 for support in making an exploration of the river in behalf of the War Department. The enterprise was approved, and $70,000 was granted, but when the adminstration changed hands in l857j nothing more was heard. On November 30 Lt. Joseph C. Ives arrived at Robinson*8 Landing at the mouth of the Colorado and began fitting together a small iron steamer caller "Explorer." The riverboat had been built and tested |