Letter to Samuel Brannan, 25 September 1848
Boston
Brother Brannan
Dear Sir
As their is a ship about to
sail from New York: to carry the mail to Calafornia
I feel a disposition to improve it by droping a few lines to
you to give you even a synopsis of evry thing transpired with me
since I saw you & of the news of the county on a sheet of paper
would require more still then I possess yet I will say a few things
We stayed in the valley about one month, put for home, met 600
waggons of Saints about the NMountain pass going on, while spending
the last night with the last company the Indians stole 49 Horses
from us, 8 days after made an attack upon us in open day for more
but ownly got one. We lived mostly on Buffalo Meat going Home
without Bread Arived at Winter Quarters the fore part of Nov, found
our families generally well. And we all spent a good Winter had
good meetings & councils & the Lord was with us, not a quarter
as much sickness as the year before the folks all busy during
the winter & spring getting ready to go either to the East or West
After I got ready with the rest to go to the West, it Was decided
that I should go to the Eastern States & preside ofover that part, and
Canidas, New Brunswick Nova scotia &c And O Pratt go to England
to preside over the British Isles. So I changed abot & set my face
for the East instead the West I waited However to see the spring caps
camps start for the vally. I was ^with^ Brs Young & Kimball at the Home to
see them start with their first company of 600 waggons. they made
a grand looking Encampment they were fitted out with provisions one year &
a half they left about 25 May. W Richards & A Lyman left abot the 25th
of June with another company of over 300 waggon their were near 1000
waggons in all of the saints went this spring. We had letters from ^them^ from Laramie
& the Saints in the vally theDated the last of May. they were doing well
all good health prospect of good crops ownly the crickets had eat some of it
