"Next morning we started early and stopped for breakfast after a five-mile drive. I carried Brother Brigham in my carriage. The fever was still on him, but he stood the ride well.
"After breakfast we traveled ten miles over the worst road of the whole journey. Our camping ground at night was on a trout creek. Here we found three wagons that had tarried in consequence of the sick. Brothers Sherwood, Johnson, and Dewey were so sick they could not journey, and we camped with them and baptized them for their health, and I confirmed them. This morning Brother Pratt's company was only eight miles further on than where we camped at night.
"We remained in camp next day because of sickness. We were on East Canyon Creek, and the route we were taking was Reed's Pass, which we named Pratt's Pass, in consequence of his going on to make the road.
"Next day eight miles of our journey was made, and East Canyon Creek was reached. It was eight miles of the worst of roads, and Brother Case smashed one of his hind wheels. We had to wait two hours to bring his wagon up. The sick stood the journey better than we expected during the day, considering the bad road.
"We left East Canyon Creek on the 23rd and traveled to the west five miles up hill which brought us to the summit, and then descended the mountain six miles through a thick timber grove. The timbers had been cut out of the road, yet it was full of stumps and it kept each teamster very busy to dodge the stumps and not break his wagon. One man turned his wagon over and smashed the top all to pieces. There were two children in the wagon, but they were not hurt.
"We nooned at a beautiful spring in a small birch grove. There was more timber during this half day's travel than we had seen in a month, and the valleys, both ascending and descending, were extremely fertile and covered with vegetation to the tops of the hills.
"At the spring where we nooned we were met by Brothers Pack and Matthews from the forward camps. They brought us a letter informing us that it was only ten miles to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, or Great Basin, and fourteen to their camp. They had explored the country as far as possible and made choice of a spot to put in crops. After nooning we traveled up another very tedious hill and down into a valley and camped for the night.
"This, the 24th day of July, 1847, was an important day in the history of my life, and in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After traveling from our encampment six miles through the deep ravine valley ending with the canyon, we came in full view of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, or the Great Basin—the Land of Promise, held in reserve by the hand of God as a resting place for the Saints.
"We gazed with wonder and admiration upon the vast fertile valley spread out before us for about twenty-five miles in length and sixteen miles in width, clothed with a heavy garment of vegetation, and in the midst of which glistened the waters of the Great Salt Lake, with mountains all around towering to the skies, and streams, rivulets and creeks of pure water running through the beautiful valley.
"After a hard journey from Winter Quarters of more than one thousand miles, through flats of the Platte River and plateaus of the Black Hills and Rocky Mountains and over the burning sands, and eternal sage regions, willow swails and rocky regions, to gaze upon a valley of such vast extent surrounded with a perfect chain of everlasting mountains covered with eternal snow, with their innumerable peaks like pyramids towering towards heaven, presented at one view to us the grandest scenery and prospect that we could have obtained on earth. Thoughts of pleasant meditation ran in rapid succession through our minds at the anticipation that not many years hence the House of God would be established in the mountains and exalted above the hills, while the valleys would be converted into orchards, vineyards, fields, etc., planted with cities, and the standard of Zion be unfurled, unto which the nations would gather.