William bringhurst biography

By , travelers already knew the harshness of the Mojave Desert. They knew that the mile jornada from the Muddy River to Las Vegas was best attempted in winter. Yet on June 13, perhaps 15 young men broke camp, filled every keg, bucket and fruit jar with water, cracked their bullwhips and headed southwest on a day one called the hottest he had ever seen.

Men and oxen plodded all night, following a trail marked by bones. It was 3 p. Even so, some men dumped their other cargo, refilled water barrels, and headed back into the desert to help another party of 15 who were driving weaker teams and started the hard journey 24 hours later. It was June 15 before the last stragglers made it into camp.

What drove men into the desert summer was not a matter of life and death, but of eternal life. Once assigned to teach their Mormon faith to the Indians of the Las Vegas Valley, they did not wait on a better season, but left almost at once. None would strive harder to complete the mission than its president, William A. So committed he became that, when the mission's purpose was changed, he defied even the will of his church's leader, Brigham Young.

But for nearly two years, beginning in , the diaries of others paint his efforts to colonize, civilize and proselytize Las Vegas and its native inhabitants.

Las Vegas was targeted for several reasons. Fremont mapped it in , became so important to Utah colonists that it was also called the "Mormon Road. Mormon converts from abroad landed at Pacific ports and traveled up the road to Utah.