George A. Smith

“ They have to watch pretty closely to get their crops in between the spring and fall frosts. The country is covered with a heavy growth of rich grasses. The winters are cold there. The settlement forms part of Oneida County, Idaho, the survey of the Territorial line having cut it off from Utah, in which it was formerly included.
St. Charles has sixty or seventy families, and wants more settlers. It is watered by a stream called Big Creek, the largest affluent of Bear Lake, a very fine stream, something larger than our Big Cottonwood, and furnishing abundance of water to the settlement. ”

“ Then we struck the old Huntsville road and went by that to Laketown, at the head of Bear Lake. This place is probably as delightfully and romantically situated as any in the Territory. It is very near the Territorial line, and contains about sixty families. The waters of the lake are clear and contain abundance of fish; and the meadows around the head of the lake and in its vicinity are very fine. "The summits of the mountains are well covered with timber, which is not very difficult of access. We had two meetings at that place and found the people enjoying themselves well. ”

“ It seems, in the making of the settlements in these valleys, that it has been a difficult matter for the farmers to provide themselves with sufficient barns and store-houses, they are wanting almost everywhere, but some of these northern settlements are becoming very well supplied with these out-door conveniences. ”

“ We then resumed our journey, following down Bear River, camping out on our route, until we reached the settlement of Franklin, and thence on to Richmond, Smithfield and Hyde Park, holding meetings in each. Yesterday, we started for Logan, and reached home in four hours and twelve minutes in special trains. We had been gone two weeks and one day, having traveled two hundred miles by carriages through the mountains, and two hundred miles by railroad. The Elders of our party scattered among the settlements and held twenty-six meetings. ”

“ We were sometimes seven or eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, frequently six thousand, and then down to four thousand five hundred, and so on, up and down, through valleys and hills, the roads sidling in many places, rendering traveling difficult and unpleasant. ”