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Show FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. 307 would meet at St. George about Christmas and there organize, President Young intending to winter there. I had to work hard and make many shifts and trades to get an outfit sufficient to move my family in comfort. I was a little late in starting on the road. P. C. Merrills and his family overtook us at Sevier Bridge. We traveled together to St. George. On arriving there we found all the company in camp in a school- house yard, with the privilege of using the house when needed in case of storm. It was now about the first of January and the weather was quite disagreeable. Here a Brother Williams joined us. On looking over the outfit I soon found that many of the wagons were overloaded and that much of the loading being taken could be dispensed with. I advised the selling off of such as old stoves, sewing machines and many other heavy articles ; but no one seemed to think but what they could pull their load. My loading consisted of bedding, clothing, provi-sions, horse feed and such articles as were absolutely necessary. We had not ten pounds of anything that could be dispensed with. I considered it my duty to set the example, knowing that we had a hard trip before us and could not afford to haul anything but the actual necessities with the outfit on hand. I spoke to Brother Brigham about the situation. He said, " Get your company in the best shape you can and as soon as possible move out. There is a nice little settlement, Santa Clara, on your road. There is a beautiful piece of sandy road from here to there, just such as will help you get the brethren to see the impor-tance of lightening up. When you get there you can set up an auction store. The people are pretty well off and will be able to buy what you have to sell." |