When the Jayhawkers reached Salt Lake it was found that it was not safe
to try to go the regular northern route to California, as they were
advised by those who seemed to know, as they might be snowed in on the
Sierra Nevada Mountains and perish. The Mormons told them that the snow
often fell there twenty feet deep, and some other stories likely to
deter them from making the attempt. They also told them of a route
farther south by which they could come into California at Los Angeles,
or they could remain in Salt Lake until May when it would be safe to try
the mountain route again. After listening to the talk of the
mountaineers who claimed to have been over the route and to know all
about it, and camping some time to rest and learn all they could, they
finally decided on taking the southern route. One Mormon told them of a
place where they could make a cut-off and save five hundred miles, and,
if they would follow his instructions, they would find the route fully
as good as the one usually traveled which was not much better than a
trail. The cut-off was so instilled into their minds that they had great
confidence in the report and talked very favorably of taking it.
The man Williams made for them a map of the proposed route and explained
it to them and others who had gathered at Salt Lake, and from the map
they could see how much was to be gained in time and distance by taking
that route. A month or two of travel was indeed something to gain, and
as the roads seemed similar in quality the reasoning was very plausible
The map explained all the watering places and favorable things but said
nothing about a desert, and as there was no one to tell them any
unfavorable side to this plan there were many who quite concluded to go
this way, and among those who did so were the Jayhawkers, and the
"Williams Short Route" was freely talked about as a settled thing by
them.
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