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Show The Tanners and the San Bernardino Mission 167 The winter of 1848-49 was quite cold. Many people had their feet quite badly frozen. For one the writer suffered so severely from this cause that he lost every nail from the toes of both feet. In February and March there began to be some uneasiness over the prospects, and as the days grew warmer the gold fever attacked many so that they prepared California. Some said they would go only for the rest of us; for they thought Brigham Young place too smart a man to try to establish a civilized colony in such a to go to to have a "God-for-gotten country" as they called the valley. said that California was the natural country for the Saints; brought choice fruit pips and seed, but said they would not waste them planting in a country like the Great Salt Lake Valley: others stated that they would not build a home in the valley, but They some had would remain in their wagons, for certainly our leaders know better than to attempt to make a stand in such a dry, worthless locality, and would be going on to California, Oregon or Vancouver's Island; still others said as they would wait awhile before planting choice fruits, long before they would return to Jackson County, it would not be Missouri." The combination of in California and the optimistic reports about discouraging conditions in the opportunities Utah may have had something to do with President Young's decision to allow a company of Saints to go to the San Bernardino area for a settlement. But another factor which helped change his mind was an idea he had been slowly developing of an all-weather route into the Salt Lake Valley for Mormon converts who were streaming into Zion. The harbor at San Pedro, California, would serve as a port of debarkation with the new settlement acting as an outfitting and staging post from which the immigrants would come through the various Mormon outposts to the center stake of Zion. If this plan were worked suc cessfully converts from Europe, Australia, and the isles of the sea Utah all months of the year. Whatever the cause of his change of heart, Brigham finally decided to plant a colony in southern California, and Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich were appointed to head the mission. Both were members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and it has not been learned whether they volunteered or were appointed to head the could come to mission. Since both had been in California it is that they requested the assignment. a fairly safe guess When announcement of the forthcoming mission was made and volunteers were called for, the response was so overwhelming that |
