The Gold Discovery Journal of Azariah Smith

Edited by David L. Bigler

Azariah Smith joined the Mormon Church when he was eleven years old. Seven years later, he joined the Mormon Battalion (a group of men who were enlisted to help the government during the Mexican war.) He lived in California until 1848, then settled in the newly formed town of Manti in Utah. He died at the age of eighty-three leaving behind his gold discovery journal and his account of the enlistment of the Mormon Battalion in one of the longest endurance marches in recorded history. He was a miner, a trailblazer, and a man who had an important story to share