The afternoon following George Howard and I took a stroll down to Salt Lake City, which was a distance of three miles.

We had been in the city but a short time and were walking up Main street, when on casting my eyes across the street I saw old man Snyder standing talking to Porter Rockwell and Bill Hickman.  They were just across Main street immediately opposite us, and George had not yet got sight of them.  Those two men were supposed to be Brigham Young’s “destroying angels,” and their business was to put any one out of the way who had fallen under the ban of the Mormon Church.

These two men had been pointed out to me before, and as soon as I got sight of them I said in a low tone:  “There are the leaders of the Danites.”

When he looked across at them old man Snyder was pointing his finger direct at us, and Rockwell and Hickman seemed to be very eager to get a good look at us.

George said:  “This is no place for us.  Let’s get back to the Fort.”  And all the talking I could do I could not make him believe that we were perfectly safe there in the city in broad daylight.  His very countenance showed uneasiness to extremity.  He had been there long enough to be thoroughly posted in all their laws, customs, etc., and didn’t seem to think it would be healthy for us there from that time on.  However, I can truthfully say that we made the trip to the Fort in much less time than we did from the Fort to town, notwithstanding it was all up grade.

On our arrival at the Fort we went to Gen. Connor’s quarters and told him the whole story just as it occurred.  The General said:  “The thing is up with you now Howard, you might as well quit and go home.  You can do no more good here now.  You are perfectly safe here in the Fort, but the moment you are out of sight of it you are in danger of your life.  But you will have one company of cavalry to protect you when you go to leave the Fort.”

It was really laughable to see the way Howard would tremble and shake while Gen. Connor was talking to him, and he was anxious to get out of the country and wanted me to go with him, it being the wrong time of year to catch a train going East.  He thought if he could get to Fort Bridger, which was one hundred miles east of Fort Douglas, he would be safe from the Mormons, and would stand equally as good a show to strike a train going eastward as he would at Salt Lake.

Before we were ready to start for Fort Bridger there came a man to Fort Douglas who had been wagon boss for Maj.  Russell the year before.  He had just received a letter from his former employer requesting him to come at once to Fort Kearney.  He was anxious to find some one to travel with, as it was not safe for one to travel alone in that country, and it was a long and tedious trip this time of year.

The Pony Express was then running, but outside of that we were not likely to see any one on the trip.