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From Winter Quarters to Fort Laramie, the pioneers had broken a new road which was destined to be traveled by the emigrating saints for many years. Later on the Union Pacific Railroad would be built along a great portion of this trail.
It is here that they were surprised to meet up with the Mississippi Mormons who had crossed the Nebraska prairie ahead of Brigham Young in 1846. They had expected to meet Brigham in 1846 not knowing that he had not left Winter Quarters until the next year. During this time they settled down to wait for him down in Pueblo on the Arkansas River (Colorado Territory).
How the Mississippi saints got out in front of Brigham's company is a story all its own. In a nutshell, John Brown and some other men and their families left Nauvoo in January 1846 on orders from Brigham to "gather Mormons living in a Mississippi settlement". The instructions were to travel west after collecting the Mississippi saints, enter the prairie from Independence, Missouri and meet up with the Nauvoo Mormons somewhere in Indian country."
John Brown did the job asked of him taking the Mississippi Saints 640 miles from their homes to Independence where they were joined by other families. Setting out over the Oregon trail (still 1846) they traveled to the Platte River where they expected to meet Brigham and the pioneers. Not finding them they went on ahead to Fort Laramie and there they were advised to go south to Pueblo for the winter. (Information taken from "111 Days to Zion.
