2nd The troops began to arive early this morning from
the Mountains Having been dismissed by Gen . Maj Snow
command of Horse arived at 7 oclok a part of Col Ross
command arived at 4 oc[lo]ck PM. & Maj Rowberrys command
arived at 6 oclok & they continued to pour into the till
Dec 2nd 1857
a late Hour. Brothers Groove and who had
been kept prisioners for some two weeks in the Enemies camp
arived home to day. Brother Grove called upon President
and related what He knew in the Enemies camp I had a
conversation with Brother Southworth concerning his impri-
sionment and He said that He was taken prisioner on by an officer in Capt Horse company &
put under Guard with orders for the guard to shoot him if
He got 5 paces from him He travelled under guard in this
way untill He got to the main Encampment He was then put
with the main prisioners of the camp & guarded with the mess
He came up with . He wished Mr Livingston
to intercede with Col to let him go home to his family
as they had nothing against him ownly that He was a Mormon
But Mr Livingston would do nothing for him He reports that
their is much of the spirit of Desertion in the camp the
Officers treat their soldiers in a cruel manner Capt Cook
is considered a Cruel Tyrant & several of his soldiers said
^said^ they would kill him if they had a chance, several soldiers
talked with Southworth & said they would desert if they
could. He said the greatest amount of any one article in camp
was ardent spirits He thought there were 100 waggon loads
Howard Livingston had an outfit of Liquor which cost
him ten thousand dollars worth at first cost, and that all the
had a great amount as well as all the Suttler's the officers
were drunk evry day. He said their was but 2 companies at
guarding that place & thought 100 men could go in the night &
take all their was in that Fort. they were 5 days moving their
train 6 miles they had not animals enough to move one third
of their train at the same time and they lost 60 of their best
mueles while moving that distance. He says their is a division of
the officers as well as the soldiers a portion of them think
that Govornor Young is Justified in taking the course He does in
his own Defence. He said Col was an old Granny the
Govornor was a whiskey tub, in appearance about such
a man as Brother Blazzard would be if He drank a quart of
whiskey per day. Their Animals are dying so fast that they
all expect to be on foot before next spring they have sent
capt Marcy to Taos to buy mules Horses & oxen the expedit-
ion is entirely closed this season and made an Entire faleure
of it as far as they are concerned
Reflections
We can now clearly see the Hand of God made visably bear
in our behalf concerning the campaign of our Enemies against
us this season past. The American Government with
at their head as president, have sent forth An Armey
of 2,500 men fully armed and Equipt for war for the sole
purpose of destroying the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints & the Kingdom of God from off the Earth. This
Church and kingdom of God has been driven from the
midst of the people in the United States into the vallies of the
a thousand miles from the confines
Dec 2nd
^o^ of what is called Gentile Civilization whare they were
in hopes we would perish but as soon as they found that
we would live & prosper they became alarmed & were
resolved upon our destruction and Hence they send their
armies out to accomplish their Hellish purpose as soon
as it was known unto us President the
prophet seer and revelator & leader of the Church and
kingdom of God rose up in the strength of Israel God
and proclaimed Israel Free and said they should be
Free from that hour if they would obey his council
& follow his preceps. His councillors
& and also the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles backed up his Testimony & sustained him in
his decissions And all the people said Amen so let it
be. President Young testified unto the people in the name
of God if they would be United with him in their faith
prayers & works that the Enemy should not have
power to come into our that the Lord would hedge
up their way & we should not be called to shed their
Blood neither should they have power to shed ours
This principle president Young has taught from day to
day when their was evry prospect that the Enemy would
try to come. From two to three thousand of the servants
of God armed themselves & went into the mountains acco-
rding to the council of President Young & they were lead
by the valient & Noble General Daniel H Wells to Hedge
up the way of the Enemy should they attempt to come
in they formed large Entrenchments & ditches & pilled
up large masses of rocks in narrow passes so as to
roll them down upon the Enemy & destroy them should
they attempt to come in. But as the Prophets Brigham
& Heber had said so it came to pass the Lord fought
our Battles & hedged up the way of our Enemies when
they Got on 150 miles from our the
storms & cold killed their Horses, Mules, & Cattle by Hun-
dreds so that when the whole got together with
the & Judges who had been sent by the
Government to rule & tyranize over us they had not
got team enough left alive to draw one third of
their trains so they are obliege to stop & spend the
winter in the storms of the mountains & their wisdom
is taken away so that they are not capable of writing
a letter or Document in a proper manner and this
the Lord has done in answer to the prayers of his Saints
and our brethren have been enabled to Heard them like
a herd of cattle & they have shot grape musket & minnie
balls at them from time to time & those Balls have flown
like hail around the servants of God & not a drop of
Blood shed neither have the Brethren returned the
fire upon the Enemy in no instance. Fear has so rested
upon the Enemy that they would flee into their main body
at the approach of a small number of our Brethren & thus
has the Lord Frustrated the Enemy in all their designs
Dec 2nd
against us up to this day & through this whole sceneery of
alarm of war & the approach of the Enemy President
has been as calm & scerene as a Mays summers morning
and all the time has said victory would be hours & that
Blood would not be shed & he has diffused ^this same spirit^ throughout the
whole Church & kingdom of God esstablished in these mounta-
ins and all the armies of Zion have gone out to war as
calm & composed as though they were going into the field
to their daily labour & now the Armies are returning
out of the mountains of snow to their homes with the
same spirit of composure & quietude as they went out
thanking God that the words of the prophets have been
fullfilled in their behalf & as they pass thby the Habitation
of President Young they give him a quiet salute & pass
on in silence to their homes Hewhile He gazes upon the
passing Army of Zion with a Heart filled to overflowing
with thanksgiving & praise to the God of Israel who had
fulfilled his words which he had been inspired by the
Holy Ghost to utter unto his brethren & was also thankful
that He was surrounded with Brethren who were servants
of God & were united to gether in faith & love to carry
out his instruction & thereby claim the protection &
Blessings of Almighty God upon them, as He walks through
the under the sable shades of night he beholds &
feels the diferent between the Army of Zion & the camp of
the wicked. Hundreds of men who have Just returned from
the Armey of Israel in the mountains arive in the city in
the city in the night, camp by the road side, have been
two months in the mountains of cold & snow not a
murmer is heard to escape their lips, or the sound of
Blasphemy, or oath, or filthy language, or contention
one with an other. No one reeling under strong drink
but kindness quietiude & Joy filles evry heart & the
spirit of God fills evry bosom. This contrast is vary
great when compared with the Gentile armies & cities
After I returned to my and about to return to
rest I heard a nock at my door I Bid the visiter come
in when Brother appeared my hiered
man He had been in the mountains two months with
my Horses in the Army He started at midnight the
night before & had traveled all the latter part of the
night & through the day, many of the men had given out
& the horses had to draw a heavy load of them
