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Show 147 roll in establishing the new gathering on the desert. James H. Martineau was to recall.: "Those who composed Colonel Dame's party fully expected that when they should leave their homes they would never see them again; that their homes would be destroyed during t h e i r absence, and their families be brought to them in the desert."33 With his wife as the only witness, Martineau secretly buried the records of the probate court and the Parowan ward before starting on his mission. He sealed them in his wife's stoneware churn with melted pine gum and deposited them under his own corral, believeing "the contents of the churn would be safe for many years to come."34 And although he l e f t his home, "never expecting to see i t again," he "did i t cheerfully in full faith that God would look after His children. "35 This was the same type of zeal that was responsible for the massacre a t Mountain Meadows the previous September. I t was at 8:20 on the morning of April 26 that Colonel Dame's command withdrew from Iron Springs and commenced t h e i r exploration for Brigham Young's ellusive sanctuary on the desert. As historian, Martineau kept an accurate log of their daily a c t i v i t i e s and made other maps and sketches to aid the future settlers of this untamed wilderness. The company narched west along the California road for fifteen miles, arriving at Antelope (Rock) Springs a l i t t le after 1 P.M. They stopped to water the stock and then pushed on to Pinto Creek making camp on the present-day s i t e of Newcastle, Utah about 6 o'clock. Dame, tertineau, and Johnson ascended a nearby h i l l to rake observations. During the night Samuel Hamilton caught up with the expedition which had progressed twenty-seven miles from Iron Springs. With the a r r i v a l of Hamilton, the Southern Exploring Company was as complete as i t vould become. The expedition was comprised of sixty men. The camp l e f t Pinto Creek in the morning about 8:15. As the California trail veered to the south, nine horsemen were dispatched to explore the country |