Elder Woodruff said: "A burned child dreads the fire. He had not forgotten his journey in the Camp of Zion in 1834; and should he live to the age of Methuselah, he should not forget the hour when the Prophet and Seer, Joseph Smith, stood upon the wagon wheel and addressed that Camp and said that because they had not hearkened unto his counsel, but disobeyed and transgressed from time to time, judgment would come and that we should be visited by the destroying angel. And so we were, and more than twenty of our members fell by the stroke and we all suffered much in our feelings. I pray the Lord I may not see another such time; and I would now advise my brethren to be careful in keeping the covenant we have made lest the word of the Lord come unto us as in the days of Joseph and we cannot escape a judgment. I would advise all the brethren who have cards and the like to burn them, for if you keep the covenants you have made, you will have no time to use them; and if you keep them for your children, they will only prove a curse to them. My prayer to God is that we may all be enabled to keep our covenants with the Lord and each other. I rejoice that the watchmen in our midst are quick to comprehend and warn of evil and reprove us when wrong that we may be saved and do the will of God."
The change in the camp it would appear was quite as sudden as a gust of wind. It was only a short time before this that the pioneers were commended for their zeal and unity. The dangers of self-satisfaction were here demonstrated. Dancing, card playing, and a hilarious life were not in consonance with the solemn mission of that band of pioneers whose journey was to be likened in years to come to the exodus of the children of Israel. That journey was to be an inspiration to generations that would follow. The Sabbath following, May 30th, was set apart for prayer and fasting.
"In the morning I shaved, cleansed my body, put on clean clothing, etc., read a chapter in the Book of Mormon, humbled myself before the Lord, and poured out my soul in prayer before Him, and His spirit descended upon me and I was blessed and prepared for the service of the day. Then I spent some time in writing in my journal.
"The camp had a prayer meeting in the morning and met again for public meeting. President Young, with the Quorum of the Twelve and a few others went into a valley of the hills and prayed according to the order of the priesthood. Porter Rockwell and Brother Carrington watched to see that no Indians came upon us. We had a good time. A heavy shower appeared, but most of it went around us and there was but little rain where we were.
"We returned to our wagons, took some refreshments, having eaten nothing all day; and soon the sun came out pleasantly. In the evening I went out two miles with the Quorum of the Twelve on to a high bluff. We had a good view of the Black Hills. There we also engaged in prayer.
"Two days afterward we camped opposite Fort Laramie. This was June 1st. When we arrived, we saw some men approaching us from the Fort. We found them to be a part of the company of Mississippi brethren who had been in Pueblo through the winter. Brother Crow and his family, seven wagons and fourteen mules were at Fort Laramie. He informed us that the remainder of the Mississippi company with a portion of the Mormon Battalion at Pueblo would start for Laramie about the 1st of June and follow our trail. He told us of four of the brethren who had died, but he had heard nothing of the main body of the Battalion.
"President Young suggested the propriety of our leaving all our ploughs at the Fort except such as we needed to use immediately when we got to our destination, and also to do our blacksmithing, mending of wagons as soon as possible so that we might go on our journey speedily. A company was appointed to attend to the herding and other branches of business.
"June the 2nd, in company with the Twelve and others, I crossed the river to visit the Fort. We examined Fort St. John which was now vacant, but was still standing. The dimensions of this Fort were 144 by 152 outside, and inside contained sixteen rooms. The largest on the north side was 93 feet long and 47 feet wide. The Oregon trail ran one rod from the S. W. corner of the Fort.
"We next visited Fort Laramie, then occupied by thirty-nine persons, mostly French who had married the Sioux. Mr. Burdoe was the superintendent. This Fort was 168 by 116 feet outside with six rooms inside. It was quite a pleasant location for a Fort.
"Mr. Burdoe was a Frenchman. He received us kindly and invited us into a large sitting room. He gave us all the information he could in relation to our route and furnished us with his flat bottom boat on reasonable terms to assist us in ferrying the Platte. He informed us that Governor Boggs and his men had much to say against the Mormons and cautioned him to take care of his horses and cattle, etc., lest they should steal them. He tried to prejudice him all he could against us. Burdoe said that Boggs' company were quarreling all the time, and most of them had deserted him. He finally told Boggs and company that let the Mormons be what they might, they could not be worse than he and his men.