The pioneer camp awakened April 17, 1847 to find ice an inch thick in the water buckets. By 9:00 o'clock the wagons moved out over a deep, sandy plain.

"THAT'S THE POST OFFICE HERE IN THE TOWN OF AMES, NEBRASKA. THEY CAMPED NEAR HERE THAT SATURDAY WHEN NOTHING ELSE WAS HERE."

At dusk, Brigham Young called them together. Brigham Young:

"...AFTER WE START FROM HERE, EVERY MAN MUST KEEP HIS LOADED GUN IN HIS HAND OR IN A WAGON WHERE HE CAN PUT HIS HAND ON IT AT A MOMENT'S WARNING."

They would soon be crossing the lands of the Pawnee and for their safety, Brigham Young organized the pioneer band into a military regiment.