IN THE OLD WEST 321 



daughter nor any of his family had been con- 

 verted to the Mormon doctrine, but had ever kept 

 themselves aloof, and refused to join or associate 

 with them ; and, for this reason, the family had been 

 very unpopular with the Mormon families on the 

 Arkansa; and hence, probably, one great reason 

 why they now started alone on their journey. 



Spring had arrived, and it was time the Mor- 

 mons should proceed on their march ; but whether 

 already tired of the sample they had had of life 

 in the wilderness, or fearful of encountering the 

 prerils of the Indian country, not one amongst 

 them, with the exception of old Brand, seemed in- 

 clined to pursue the journey farther. That old 

 backwoodsman, however, was not to be deterred, 

 but declared his intention of setting out alone, 

 with his family, and risking all the dangers to be 

 anticipated. 



One fine sunny evening in April of 1847, when 

 the cottonwoods on the banks of the Arkansa be- 

 gan to put forth their buds, and robins and blue- 

 birds — harbingers of spring — were hopping 

 with gaudy plumage through the thickets, three 

 white-tilted Conestoga wagons emerged from the 

 timbered bottom of the river, and rumbled slowly 

 over the prairie, in the direction of the Platte's 

 waters. Each wagon was drawn by eight oxen, 

 and contained a portion of the farming imple- 

 ments and household utensils of the Brand family. 

 The teams were driven by the young boys, the 



