If you're up for a 10-mile (round-trip) hike or traveling by
bike, start at the trailhead for the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in
Orem (N40°19.498' W111°40.190') and take the dirt road headed East.
A shorter hike is possible by parking at a small pull-out across
the road from the upper Bridal Veil Falls parking lot (N40°20.449'
W111°36.332'), but the heavy canyon traffic makes this a little
dicey. Be Careful!! A sign along the shorter approach says the area
is watershed and pets are prohibited (Provo City Ordinance
10-06-180)
Initial cache contents: Two LiveSTRONG wristbands, a
Hawaiian Shell Necklace, a Maui Trade Dollar, Jackhammer
Construction guy, and a little box of snakes.
The Utah War, 1857-1858, was a confrontation between the
people in Utah Territory and the U.S. government. Misunderstandings
over a simple decision to give Utah Territory a new governor
developed into a year-long conflict. If the transcontinental
telegraph had existed, what has been referred to as "Buchanan's
Blunder" probably would not have occurred.
Soon after his inauguration, newly-elected President James
Buchanan appointed a non-Mormon governor for Utah. Based on
information from other officials, he thought that the Mormons would
resist the replacement of Governor Brigham Young. So, a 2,500-man
military force was ordered to accompany Governor Alfred Cumming to
Great Salt lake City.
Lacking formal notification of these plans, Brigham Young and
other leaders interpreted the army's coming as religious
persecution and adopted a defensive posture. Under his authority as
governor, Brigham Young declared martial law and deployed the local
militia to delay the troops. Harassing actions included burning
three supply trains and driving hundreds of government cattle to
the Great Salt Lake Valley. The "scorched earth" tactics forced
Johnston's Utah Expedition and the accompanying civil officials to
improvise winter quarters near Fort Bridger.
Despite his belligerent public posture, Brigham Young never
intended to force a showdown with the U.S. Army. He frequently
spoke of torching homes and fleeing into the mountains rather than
permitting their enemies to take over their property. Meanwhile,
Thomas Kane, the influential Pennsylvanian who had for ten years
been a friend of the Mormons, was sent to Utah as an unofficial
emissary. He reached Salt Lake City late in February, and found the
Mormon leadership ready for peace but doubtful about its
feasibility. In late March, Brigham Young announced that the time
had come to abandon the settlements in Northern Utah. Approximately
30,000 people moved fifty miles or more to Provo and the other
towns in central and southern Utah. There they remained in shared
and improvised housing while the outcome of the Utah War was being
determined.
When the new governor arrived in Utah in early April, Brigham
Young surrendered the gubernatorial title and soon established a
comfortable working relationship with his successor. However,
neither Thomas Kane nor Governor Cumming would encourage Young's
hope that the army might be persuaded to go away, nor could they
give him assurance that Johnston's troops would come in peacefully.
Johnston's army marched through a deserted Salt Lake City in June
1858, building Camp Floyd forty miles to the southwest. The Utah
War was over.