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Page: of 436
ALTERED CIRCUMSTANCES
Behind them was the larger emigration of Mormon families, among
them Tallman’s father and mother, Samuel and Elizabeth, their children,
and Gilbert Rolfe’s wife and children. Sam Rolfe was captain of eighteen
wagons, responsible for the transportation of forty-two persons to Zion.
All had spent the winter on the plains before continuing to the Great Salt
Lake in June 1847. Brigham Young, Sam Brannan, and Ben Rolfe came
to the valley in late July. About 250 members of the Mormon Battalion
arrived several days later from Pueblo, on the Arkansas River, along with
other Mormons from Mississippi. The rest of the Rolfe family was expected in September, but by then Sam Brannan was long gone, having
returned to San Francisco.
“What is it like at the Salt Lake?” asked Tallman.
“T can think of only one point in its favor as a Mormon colony,”
replied Sam. “I doubr that anyone will care to run them out of it.”
Tallman’s heart sank. “It’s that bad?”
Sam nodded his head. ‘‘No power on earth could persuade me to leave
California for that desolate valley.”
Strangely, when Sam’s report of his travels appeared in the Star on
September 18, 1847, it didn’t exactly present the information he’d given
to his staff. For reasons of his own, Sam continued to foster the myth
about Mormons and California. According to the paper:
Mr. S. Brannan, publisher of this paper, after an absence of nearly six
months, arrived at this place on Friday morning last, 28 days from Fort
Hall.
By him we learn that the emigration to this country, this year will not
exceed ninety wagons. An advance company of about twenty-five
wagons is supposed to be now on Truckey’s Lake, while the most tardiye
are in all probability at least 150 miles from the sink of Mary’s River. ...
Mr. Brannan informs us that the emigration to Oregon was still “rolling on;” that up to the 18th day of Aug., seven hundred and seventy
wagons had passed Fort Hall, and before the expiration of the month,
many more were expected.
Of the “Mormon emigration,” there had arrived at the great Salt Lake,
up to August 7th, 480 souls. This body, for the most part males, is but an
advance of an extensive additional caravan, consisting of four or five
hundred wagons.
Here they have laid off and commenced a town, planted large crops,
which are described as being forward and flourishing, and have at hand
eighteen months’ provisions to be used in the event of a failure of crops.
They contemplate opening an entire new road through to this counI0o