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Show 116 during the fall. While they had professed a desire to go on to California, some were now desirous of returning to the army, and Young suspected them to be spies. "They have the privilege to go from the Territory, but not to go back to the army," was the prophets declaration.3^ Until now, families who wanted to go over to the army had been at liberty to go, and would even be helped. "That has been the word all the time, until now," affirmed Young; "but now it is, they can not go. "35 Clearly, an attempt was being made to keep the big move as quiet as possible. Even the Deseret News carried only a few line about the policy change, and they were veiled in the "Sebastopol" symbolism. The artice was captioned, "Uncivilized Mode of Warfare": At a special conference held in the Tabernacle in this city, on the 21st inst., it was unanimously agreed to abandon "Sebastopol" to our enemies without the consent of Lord Raglan, if they persist in carrying out the unconstitutional policy adopted by the present administration.^ It seems preposterous that President Young would announce his plans to a packed assembly in the Tabernacle, and then attempt to keep his remarks a secret. From what was actually said in the speech, the exact location of the desert oasis was still a mystery. Brigham Young himself did not know the precise location. Only the southwestern desert regions were refered to. To the listener in the know, the best clue to the ultimate destination of the Saints was the reference to Bishop David Evans's expedition of 1855 • If o n e w a s familiar with Evans's explorations, he would have a good idea of the country Young was considering for settlement. It seems that this clue was lost to most people both inside and outside of Utah. The circulars did not stay confidential for long, as a party of Mormons arrived in San Bernardino on April 20 who had seen the document and did not hesitate to part with the information. The story was picked up by a San |