| OCR Text |
Show 100 and children, with a river at the bottom full of brigs and boats with our enemies in them, but they could not get to us."9 Whether this dream was considered to be a divine revelation is not stated, but the fact that the historian recorded the incident in the church annals testifies to the significance attached to the remark. In all probability, it was regarded as a divine manifestation, as dreams were often so considered by church leaders. It was at least an indication of where Brigham Young's thoughts were taking him in the late winter of 1858. The parallel of this dream to the expedition to the White Mountains is unmistakable. Brigham Young's White Mountain Expedition was an attempt to find the "high rocks" where their enemies could not get to them. Within two weeks of this dream, the plan to remove Israel to the desert sanctuary would become the primary defensive strategy of the Saints. It was during this critical period that Young radically altered his plans to save the kingdom. The 8th of March saw both Kane and Lyman depart from the city to continue their work of preserving Zion. Kane was escorted to army headquarters at Black's Fork, while Lyman headed south under orders to reconnoiter the enemy coming up the Colorado and locate a defensive site where a stand could be effectually made. Also on that day, the shocking news of a fatal Indian attack on the Mormon mission at Fort Lemhi, near the Salmon River in present Idaho, was brought into the city by one of the missionaries. Two of the brethren had been killed by the Indians and several wounded in the February 25 attack. It was reported that elements of Johnston's command bad been in the area and incited the Indians to attack. The church placed the blame squarely on the government troops. When it was learned in Salt Lake on April 3 that another missionary from Fort Lemhi had been killed, the church historian lashed out against the government, |
