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Show 270 pitiful conditions at Desert Camp. Orson B. Adams and William Roberts were 19 the letter carriers. Despite these hardships, Martineau was able to write "The hand of the Lord was over the camp for good, and his blessings attended us continually as nearly all the brethren testified frequently. "20 In other events, the men continued to come and go between Desert Camp and their homes in large numbers, as the crops withered and died leaving little for the brethren to do. As Adams was being sent off with the express for Colonel Dame, J. Ward Christian and five others arrived from the settlements with letters. About the same time Francis T. Whitney and eleven others were sent home to visit their families. By July 20 only thirteen men and boys remained in the 21 to tend the dying f i e l d s. While Smith waited for f u r t h e r i n s t r u c t i o n s from Dame, he decided t o explore the canyon to the south t o procure some ash timber for pitchfork handles, hay rakes, and other implements. No doubt, flfertineau had informed Smith of the stands of ash he had seen in Grand Echo Canyon (Meadow Valley Wash). This excursion nearly proved f a t a l , however. Smith, accompanied by J . Ward Christian and Samuel D. White, started down t h e v a l l e y on the morning of July 22. They soon entered ^ Meadow Valley Wash which seemed t o impress Smith with i t s natural beauty. The valley soon closed in making a romantic canyon, " Smith wrote in his diary. And the next day "the scenery of the canyon became more magnificent* the sides r i s i ng almost perpendicular, the walls r i c h in various colors, r i s i n g t o a great height; the narrow, f l a t and winding bottom covered with a dense growth of willows and grass."22 On the afternoon of the first day, the party surprised a couple of Indians who were very much frightened. They were pacified with a few crackers, however, and they were soon joined by other Indians, three of whom spent the night with them at their camp near a small spring. |