"arrived at Green River about noon [ ] distance 8 miles [ ] the weather has been warm and the country sandy [ ] In the afternoon S Brannan came to us accompanied by two men for guides [ ] he was expecting to meet us in order to find where the Church was and to find out our future location [ ] the Company he took around by sea were near Francisco bay and in good health"
***************
Samuel Brannan was an early Mormon and printer in New York. He was bitten by gold fever in 1845 and took church members who embraced his ideas from New York to California sailing around South America to San Francisco where gold was within reach. He wanted to find the church again to persuade Brigham to settle in California and he finally met up with them this day. However, the pioneers would reject his plea to come with him and thus keep traveling to their intended destination. He went back to California and eventually became a very prosperous man in the San Francisco area. He later lost all his fortune and died in poverty in an unknown grave.
At this point on the trek there was a large group of Missourians ahead of them quite far. They had built a large raft at the Green River for their use and after they were finished crossing their group, they set the raft adrift so it would not benefit the Mormons. Apparently, they hadn't counted on the 'work ethic' that those pioneers had for they just built their own rafts and then left them there for others use.
This was a good spot for their camping.... plentiful grass for animals, wild apple trees and wild rose bushes all around and lots of water. The downside was millions of mosquitos.
The photo below is today's Green River where their actual crossing was for Lombard's Ferry.
