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Show AFTERWARD With the White Mountain Expedition brought to a close and war tensions abated, the men of the expedition returned to their homes to pick up the threads of their lives-lives that had been in turmoil for a year. These were the men who had been ordered to be ready to march "at a moment's warning" to any part of the Territory to meet the enemy, or to mobilize and lay waste to everything they owned, depending on the situation; these were the men who were taught to expect a world-wide millennial war at any moment; and many were the men who would be haunted the rest of their lives by the bloody scenes of Mountain Meadows. These were the men who spent three and four months scouring the bitter deserts of the Great Basin for a refuge that didn't exist with hardly a word of complaint. Putting all this and more behind them they returned to the normal pursuits of life-making a living and raising their families. Some drifted off into relative obscurity, while others had astonishing careers, accomplishing more than most men could hope to achieve in a lifetime. This was especially true of some of the expedition's leaders. George W. Bean, the first to be called to the White Mountain Expedition, continued to lead a prominent career as a government scout and interpreter. Shortly after returning from the White Mountain country, Bean was hired by Captain James H. Simpson, one of Johnston's engineers, to guide him across the desert west of Camp Floyd, the army post in Cedar Valley. Like Colonel Steptoe in 1855, General Johnston's situation in Utah made the establishment of a direct trail to California very desirable. Bean, who had also been Steptoe's guide in 1855., knew the western deserts as well as anyone. Tbe company was out only a 288 |