OCR Text |
Show (121) Garland Hurt to Col. A.S. Johnson RG 75 Microcopy 234 October 24, 1857 Reel 898 Utah F 176/1858 Camp om SweetWater Oct. 24th, 1857 Sir, Having recently fled from the Indian Settlement on Spanish Fork in the Territory of Utah somewhat precipitately and reached this place on yesterday. After wandering for 27 days through mountains and deserts in company with the Utah Indians; I venture to trouble you with a brief statement of the circumstances which induced me to abandon the Agency and entrust my life toithe care and protection of the Savages. For sometime previous to my departure it had been the settled opinion of the people of Utah that the troops could not get farther than Green River this season; consequently I reasonably concluded that the Territorial officers would not continue to cross the mountains before Spring, and under the embarrassed condition in which the retention of the mails, and the very unsettled state of governmental relations with Utah had placed me , I deemed it important to seek an interview with them before winter set in. And as I had been previously advised that no person would be allowed to leave the Territory or cross the mountains without the humiliating ceremony of |