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Show THE GREAT BA& IN OF UTAH. 29 reeled to explore from the south end of the Great Salt Lake, on the Beckwith route, or near to it, to Carson Valley. This party left the lake in Septem-ber, and returned the following November. It proved quite an extensive trip, owing, in my present opinion, to the tricky character of the Mormons. They made a most flattering report. They said they had dis-covered a wagon road, along which a command could move with ease, etc., saving one hundred and fifty or two hundred miles. The colonel had not seen Lieu-tenant Beckwith's report, nor had he any other infor-mation than that given by his exploring party; but, being deeply sensible of the importance to the Terri-tory of Utah and the overland immigrants of laying out and opening a more direct and practicable road than the crooked ones now traveled, he determined to take his command and the large wagon train over this new route. " As spring approached, however, the chief Mor-mon, who had agreed to act as guide, became rather restive, and evinced an unwillingness to go, which caused the colonel to distrust him, and shook his con-fidence in the report he had made of the road. As a matter of security, another party was organized under ' Porter Rockwell,' a Mormon, but a man of strong mind and independent spirit, a capital guide and fear-less prairie- man. He went out as far as the great desert tracts lying southwest of the lake, and very nearly on a level with it, and found that at that sea-son they could not be passed over, unless with wings, and returned. It proved fortunate that we did not undertake the march with 0. B. Huntington as guide. |