LIFE SKETCHES OF A JAYHAWKER 15 



ground, with poles across, and then brush on top, enough to make good 

 shade. Seats were made of rough sawed lumber and would seat about a 

 thousand. The pulpit was also made of the same rough material, no pains 

 being taken to plane the boards. 



During the "first twenty minutes of the sermon, Brigham Young lectured 

 them roundly on things to do and not to do, something on this line: "Some 

 of you hang around the Emigrant wagons and fool your time away, and by 



and by tithing day will come and you won't have a cent to pay your 



tithing, and as for the Emigrant, so long as they are here, obey our laws and 

 regulations they are welcome to stay, but when they don't they can go to 

 hell and be . We don't care for them anyway; look at this pul- 

 pit. My new vest is worn out already on these rough boards. Some of you 

 might think I am swearing, but I am not, for when I swear I swear in the 

 name of the Lord, therefore this is not swearing." 



Maybe it wasn't swearing, but it sounded much like cursing. However 

 he could say what he pleased to his people, and they come home from 

 church mightily pleased that some one had caught it, and never taking 

 any of the lectures for themselves. 



A party of us thought we should like to prospect in the Washutt Moun- 

 tains, so ten of us left about ten o'clock at night, quietly, as we didn't want 

 the Mormons to know anything of our intentions. We went up to the little 

 Cotton Wood Canyon, reaching the mouth of the canyon about daylight. At 

 the entrance we saw two men on horse back about half a mile distant, one 

 on each side of the canyon, watching us. We travelled hard all day and 

 camped at night good and tired. The majority turned back next morning, 

 and about a quarter of a mile away found a camp-fire still burning, but no 

 one in sight. Whoever followed us evidently thought we had turned back, 

 and they did also. We were out five or six days, following up the creek to 

 its source, in fact went clear to the summit of the mountain, but we ran out 

 of grub and for three days had nothing to eat but chipmonks, at least what 

 little there was left after shooting them with a rifle. We saw tracks of 

 larger game, possibly elk, but none of us had ever seen any elk, and so did 

 not know their tracks. Since being in California, and familiar with elk 

 tracks I think there must have been elk in that country. Our prospecting 

 didn't amount to anything, as we knew nothing of prospecting. We might 

 not have been sure of gold had we seen it lying loose in the ground. Since 

 that the Emmas mine and other rich mines have been worked and millions 

 taken right out of the ground we passed over at the mouth of the canyon. 



The boys of our crowd met us with a pack horse loaded with food, and 

 you can imagine how the food disappeared, after being without for three 

 or four days. While on the summit of the mountains we had a snow storm, 

 and this in September. 



The Mormons were all fond of dancing, and fortunately I was invited 

 to several of the parties. Brigham Young always led off with the fairest 

 in the assemblage, and it was always considered an honor to be chosen by 

 Brother Brigham, as he was styled. In build Brigham Young was very 

 much like Theo. Roosevelt. He was a very good speaker, but no orator, 

 but he shone as a leader. His people would do everything he proposed, 

 and his control seemed to reign over them. I have been often asked how 

 many wives he had, and all I have to judge by was the sleeping apartments. 



