Renewal of Covenants
Having been unable to live in peace in former habitations because of persecutions of wicked men, the Saints now rejoiced at the prospect before them. It was proposed by President Young and the apostles that they renew their covenants with the Lord and solemnly promise that they would henceforth keep his commandments in this land where they were free from religious persecution. In the humility and thankfulness of their hearts for their deliverance, the apostles set the example. August 6, President Young was baptized, and each of the apostles were likewise baptized in turn. This was not done as an acknowledgment that their former baptism was not efficacious, or that they had broken covenants formerly received, but as an acknowledgment before the Lord of their willingness to serve him henceforth and forever. To this proposition all the camp of Israel said Amen, and the ordinance of baptism was administered to all.
The First Births and Death in the Colony
The first birth in the pioneer camp was that of a daughter to John and Catharine Campbell Steele, August 9, 1847. The father was a member of the battalion and he and his wife had arrived in the camp but a few days before. The child was named Young Elizabeth Steele, in honor of President Brigham Young and Queen Elizabeth. Two days later the colony was called upon to mourn because of the death of Milton H. Therlkill, three years old, and son of George W. and Jane Therlkill, of the Mississippi company. The child had wandered from the camp and was drowned in City Creek. A few days later (August 15th) a daughter was born to these same parents. This was the second birth in the colony.
The “Old Fort”
Three days after the Pioneers arrived in the valley, Indians of the Ute and Shoshone tribes commenced visiting the camp, begging and endeavoring to trade for guns and ammunition, and incidentally to steal when opportunity afforded. On one occasion a fight ensued and the Shoshones killed a Ute who had stolen one of their horses. President Young instructed the Saints that they should trade no more with the Indians, who were manifesting a spirit of jealousy because the pioneers treated one tribe the same as the other.
As a means of protection against Indian raids and thefts, it was decided to build a fort, or stockade, on one of the city ten-acre squares. The site chosen is now known as Pioneer Park, three blocks south and three west of the Temple Block. At a meeting held August 1, 1847, it was decided that the enclosure should be built of logs and sundried bricks (adobes). The brethren immediately went to work preparing the timbers and adobes for this purpose. August 10, work started on the stockade. The walls were twenty-seven inches thick and nine feet high on the outer side. It was built as a continuation of huts joined together in rectangular form around the outside of the ten acres on which it stood. The east side was built of logs, and the three other sides of adobe walls. The roofs slanted but slightly inward, and were made of brush covered with earth. Each house had a loop-hole facing the outside and a door and windows facing the interior. The main entrances, which were on the east and west sides of the stockade, were carefully guarded by heavy gates which were locked at night. In the winter and spring months the snow and rain caused the mud to leak through the roofs, to the great discomfort of the inhabitants. Wagon covers, and other articles which would shed moisture, were utilized, to protect beds and bedding. Notwithstanding the discomforts and inconveniences of life under such conditions, the Saints spent many pleasant hours within the walls of their temporary homes. Two additional blocks were joined to the original fort, one on the north and one on the south, to accommodate later arrivals in the valley. These were designated as the North Fort and the South Fort, and were similar in construction to the first, or Old Fort, as it was called. During the first winter, schools were taught in the fort by Julian Moses and Miss Mary Ann Dillworth.
Captain Brown’s Journey to the Coast
A question had arisen regarding the Pueblo detachment of the Mormon Battalion. They were under orders to march to the Pacific coast, but the term of their enlistment had expired. Should they go to the coast to be mustered out of service, or should that duty be performed by their company officers? After some deliberation it was decided that they should be mustered out of service, and that Captain James Brown with a small company should go to California and report to the army officers there, and with a power of attorney from each of the men, draw their pay. Captain Brown, with several members of the battalion, departed for San Francisco, August 9, piloted by Samuel Brannan. Brannan returned to California greatly disappointed because President Young would not hearken to his counsel and continue on to the coast, where he thought conditions for permanent settlement were more favorable than the desolate valleys of the mountains. Captain Brown carried with him a message from President Young to the battalion members on the coast, advising all who had no families to remain in California through the winter and obtain work, and in the spring come to the Salt Lake Valley with their earnings. Captain Brown’s company went by way of the northern route and were accompanied as far as Fort Hall, by Jesse C. Little, Joseph Matthews, John Brown and others, who explored the Cache and Weber valleys. These brethren returned with favorable reports.