there should be a place of refuge obtained for our people, a place to which the eyes of those who are in jeopardy and who are oppressed may turn with some hope of finding some peace and liberty which are denied in their own land."

Ante-dating the above letter, exploring expeditions had gone into Mexico for the purpose of locating suitable places for Mormon settlements, but with little success. In 1881, Alexander Findlay Macdonald, David Kimball, C. I. Robinson and one or two others made a trip into Sonora, and in 1882 a party of thirty-two moved to a ranch on the San Bernardino river at a point where the boundary lines of the two Mexican states, Sonora and Chihuahua and Arizona and New Mexico meet with the intention of establishing the first Mormon colony in Mexico, but due to a scarcity of farming land, the group was counselled by Apostles Snow and Thatcher to abandon the project. No further moves were made in the direction of settlement until 1884 when Apostles Brigham Young, Jr., and Heber J. Grant, accompanied by parties from the Salt River and St. Joseph settlements of Arizona, attempted to make a treaty with the Yaqui Indians to settle in southwestern Sonora. The party of twenty-four went by train from Nogales, Arizona, to Hermosillo, Sonora, and arrived there on December 3rd. Elders Young, Grant and Macdonald called at the state capitol to pay their respects to the Governor but he was absent. They therefore called upon the Secretary of State who gave them an enthusiastic welcome. He counselled them, however, against going into the Yaqui country as the Indians were on the warpath. The following day, December 4th, members of the expedition visited the Governor upon his return to the capital and from him they received the same advice as had been given them by the Secretary of State. The Governor offered to give them an escort into any part of the State into which they wished to go.

At two o'clock in the afternoon a group o£ seven men under the leadership of Brigham Young, Jr., left by train

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for Guaymas, located near the mouth of the Yaqui river, and arrived at their destination on the evening of the same day. The following morning they called on the American Consul, Mr. Willard, from whom they received encouragement to pay the Yaqui Indians a visit. For the sum of fifteen dollars they chartered a boat to take them down the Yaqui river to its mouth and return. When ready to embark a multitude of natives, including a Catholic priest, congregated on the river bank to witness the departure of the boat and to warn the members of the expedition of the urgent need of confessing their sins and making restitution for the same before entering upon their perilous journey. Even their guide, Valenzuela, fearful of the undertaking, refused to accompany them. A terrific gale was blowing and for several hours it seemed that the boat would be dashed to pieces by the angry waves. Without accident, however, they finally reached the port for which they were headed, but imagine their dismay when they learned that to reach the Yaqui village they must wade knee deep through the water for a distance of five miles. Undaunted, they pushed forward to their destination and were rewarded by a kindly welcome from a race of Indians whose war-like reputation had spread terror throughout northern Mexico. The Mormon elders were glad of the privilege of bearing testimony to the Christian faith but no conversions were reported. The exposures and hardships of the trip proved disastrous to the health of the Mormon Apostle, Brigham Young, Jr. Attacked by yellow fever he left for Salt Lake City accompanied by Heber J. Grant, his fellow Apostle, who was also ill. As soon as the report of the expedition to Mexico was made public the press agents throughout the country sought to stir up strife by circulating a scurrilous tale which reflected upon the loyalty of the Latter-day Saints toward the United States. The story was to the effect that the Mormons were in collusion with the Yaqui Indians to make war upon the American Union. With the thought of forestalling

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further trouble the President of the Church advised against colonization in the Yaqui territory, for the time being at least.

Pursuant to instructions from the Presidency of the Church, Alexander F. Macdonald [O. P. Brown's third father-in-law] and Christopher Layton [O.P. Brown sister's father-in-law] left St. David, Arizona, on January 1, 1885, in further quest of land in Mexico. At the station of San Jose on the Mexican Central Railroad, the travellers found a group of Mormons engaged in hauling salt. The personnel of the party consisted of John W. Campbell, Joseph Rogers, John Loving and Peter McBride. They had gone into Mexico to seek employment but principally to locate a home. Macdonald and Layton did considerable scouting in various parts of the country but principally along the Casas Grandes River in northern Chihuahua. In this region they visited Corralitos, Janos and La Ascencion and were impressed with the facilities offered for making a livelihood. At Corralitos 300 acres of fertile land were rented which were soon thereafter planted to crops by Mormon colonists. Leaving the Casas Grandes Valley, Macdonald and companion pushed westward into the tops of the Sierra Madre Mountains and explored the Corrales Basin, beautiful for situation and offering splendid opportunities for grazing and agricultural pursuits. From this point the two explorers went directly to their homes in Arizona. In the meantime small companies of home seekers came pouring in from different parts of Utah and Arizona and established themselves along the banks of the Casas Grandes River. Among the first to arrive was a band from Arizona, most prominent of whom were Jesse N. Smith, George C. Williams, Lot Smith, William B. Maxwell and William C. McClellan. These pioneers had arrived sometime in February, 1885. On the 4th of March 1885 the same year this group was joined by a company led by Apostle Moses Thatcher and Alexander. F. Macdonald who had left St. David, Arizona, February 23 1885, and had come by team by way of Dragoon Pass, Bowie Station, San Simon Station and Mesquite Springs. On March 6, 1885

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others arrived headed by John H. Earl, Joseph H. James, Israel Call and, a few days later, these companies were strengthened by the arrival of other colonists, chiefly from Snowflake, Arizona, among whom were Chas. W. Merrill, Levi M. Savage, Charles Whiting, Sullivan C. Richardson, Ernest L. Taylor, Joseph and Philip Cardon and Sixtus E. Johnson. This was the beginning of Mormon Colonization in Mexico that finally resulted in the establishment of eight permanent Mormon settlements, six of which were located in the state of Chihuahua and the other two in Sonora.

Practically all of the early arrivals were of very limited means; not that they were a class devoid of financial ability, but their accumulations had largely been dissipated during the years of persecution that had preceded their advent into Mexico. The question of a livelihood in a strange land was therefore one of prime importance. To secure lands sufficient and suitable for cultivation the colonists established themselves in several small communities stretching along the Casas Grandes River for a distance of more than 60 miles. The first camps organized were adjacent to La Ascension, a typical Mexican village about ninety miles South of Deming, New Mexico, and not far from the spot on which later arose Colonia Diaz, one of the largest Mormon settlements in Mexico. The other important camps in this early period, were one at a point five miles north of Casas Grandes on the Casas Grandes River and from La Ascencion about 60 miles, and one at Corralitos, about twelve miles north of Casas Grandes. There were about 350 colonists in Mexico six weeks after the arrival of the first group. In the latter part of April, 1885, an exploring party consisting of George Teasdale, an Apostle of the Church, A. F. Macdonald [O.P. Brown's third father-in-law], Miles Park Romney [O.P. Brown's first father-in-law] and others were sent out in quest of other suitable lands for settlements. The journey took them up the Janos River as far as Casa de Janos, where they discovered a level tract of land of 1000 acres in extent, but nothing tangible resulted

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from their trip. In the month of May, Moses Thatcher went to Paso del Norte (Cuidad Juarez) across the Rio Grande from El Paso to negotiate for the purchase of a tract of land offered by R. J. Garcia for $10,000 but the deal was not made due to the owner changing his mind relative to the price of the property.

The influx of Mormon refugees into Mexico and their increasing activity aroused the suspicion and dislike of certain local Mexican officials, foremost of whom were the Jefe Politico of the Canton de Galeana. In a letter addressed to the Secretary of the State of Chihuahua, he announced that an armed force of Mormons had come into the state without declaring their intentions, the implication being that they had come for conquest. In reply the Secretary of State declared that the Mormons must be ordered out of the country at once or as soon as it was possible for them to comply with the orders. On April 9 1885, a letter was received by A. F. Macdonald from the chief magistrate of Casas Grandes in which reference is made to the expulsion order of the Secretary of State. The letter concludes with the following: "According to the foregoing which I have transcribed for your information, I hereby command you, together with the other families which you represent, to leave the state within the period of 16 days from this date, April 9, 1885."

Immediately upon receipt of the letter, Macdonald went to the camp Corralitos to confer with George Teasdale, the Ecclesiastical head of the colonists in Mexico since the return of Moses Thatcher to Salt Lake City. The situation was truly grave. The band of Mormon exiles were facing deportation to a land from whence they had fled to escape the wrath of their enemies. To forestall such an eventuality steps must be taken at once. On the 11th of April 1885, Teasdale, Macdonald, Turley and Moffatt left by train for Chihuahua City to intercede with the governor of the state for an annulment of the expulsion edict. They arrived at San Jose on the Mexican Central Railroad

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and left by rail for the city of Chihuahua at once, arriving there on the 15th of April 1885. Their conference with the Governor proved disappointing. He was adamant to their supplication and strongly insisted that the Mormons must quit the State. A letter was written at once to Moses Thatcher at Logan, Utah, relative to the matter, and the following day a telegram was dispatched to him by Church authorities asking him to go to the City of Mexico to intercede with the federal officials in behalf of the colonists. A letter was received from Moses Thatcher in answer to the message sent him, April 27th, in which he stated that Helaman Pratt, then a missionary in Mexico City, had been asked to request of the head of the government a stay of proceedings until Moses Thatcher and Brigham Young, Jr., could arrive at the Capital. Upon receipt of the telegram, Helaman Pratt, in company with a fellow missionary, Franklin R. Snow, called upon a prominent lawyer of Mexico City for assistance in getting the matter properly before the heads of the government, but he demanded $100 in advance, an amount the elders could not reach. They therefore repaired to the national capitol to lay the matter before Senor Carlos Pacheco, Minister of Colonization, but were requested to call the following day when an interview would be granted. The following day, April 28, Pratt and Snow were admitted to the national palace and had an interview with Senor Fernandez Leal, subminister, who promised to use his influence in favor of the Mormons. On May 9, 1885, Apostle Brigham Young, Jr., and Moses Thatcher arrived in Mexico City. Reporting their visit by letter to A. F. Macdonald from the Humboldt Hotel, May 15, 1885, they stated that they had met Helaman Pratt, Franklin R. Snow and Isaac J. Stewart, who "are quite hopeful of the future for Mexico and her people. We found that your application for a stay of proceedings was acted upon and the document highly spoken of by the Federal officials. Brother Pratt had also been busy and we have experienced the results of their labors. We have met

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Secretary of State Mariscal, who received us warmly and manifested an honest desire to forward our interests by his influence with the President and Cabinet. We have had two interviews with Senor Don Carlos Pacheco, Secretary of Public Work, and Governor of Chihuahua. He expressed personal regards for our people and in all our conversation, when opportunity afforded, expressed the hope that the Mormons would conclude to colonize within the Mexican borders." He said he was astonished and could not understand why the Mormons had received such abusive treatment as he had given orders to the acting governor to treat them courteously. He explained that he was Governor of Chihuahua, but had not had time to go to the state to give the matter his personal attention, but if a letter were addressed to him, enclosing the acting Governor's order, he would act upon it officially. The result was that the acting Governor was finally removed from office by Minister Pacheco, and another man put in his place.

In an interview with President Porfirio Diaz, the Mormon Apostles were informed that the Mormons were not only welcome as colonists in Mexico, but that the Government was anxious to have them help in the development of the country. Should they find suitable locations in Sonora and Chihuahua, they could settle there or they would be equally welcome any place else they might choose to live in, except in what was known as "Zona Prohibida." Those of the colonists who had located on such lands were ordered to vacate such holdings immediately after the harvesting of their crops and to seek another location. The expulsion edict was annulled. The Mormons remained in Mexico.

Sources:

PAF - Archer files

Pages 49-59 Main text from "The Mormon Colonies in Mexico" with additions in brackets, photos, bold, made as noted by Lucy Brown Archer.