The Wilderness Has Been Kept Broken

Of the permanence and quality of the Mormon pioneering, strong testimony
is offered by F. S. Dellenbaugh in his "Breaking the Wilderness:"

"It must be acknowledged that the Mormons were wilderness breakers of
high quality. They not only broke it, but they kept it broken; and
instead of the gin mill and the gambling hell, as corner-stones of their
progress and as examples to the natives of the white men's superiority,
they planted orchards, gardens, farms, schoolhouses and peaceful homes.
There is today no part of the United States where human life is safer
than in the land of the Mormons; no place where there is less
lawlessness. A people who have accomplished so much that is good, who
have endured danger, privation and suffering, who have withstood the
obloquy of more powerful sects, have in them much that is commendable;
they deserve more than abuse; they deserve admiration."




Chapter Two

The Mormon Battalion


Soldiers Who Sought No Strife

The march of the Mormon Battalion to the Pacific sea in 1846-7 created
one of the most picturesque features of American history and one without