(Brigham often told the following story of one experience on the the plains.)

Just before they left Boston for the trek west, Brigham had purchased a new pair of boots for the trip. They had come some distance from Council Bluffs and were among unfriendly Indians. It was hot and sticky and he and a friend wanted to go down to the river to cool off, but his mother said no, they needed to stay close because of the Indian danger. However, he and his friend decided to go anyway. What could it hurt? Once by the river they took off their shoes and left them on the bank and splashed along the bank totally losing track of time. Suddenly, they looked out across the prairie and saw the wagon train quite a way ahead. They suddenly felt the fear of being alone and didn't dare backtrack to get their shoes. They took off on a run to catch up to the wagon train. Needless to say, there was no way they could replace his lost shoes so he walked all the way barefoot. It was a very sobering lesson to him about minding his mother.

As told by Mabel Jarvis, Brigham's daughter
From "Biographies and Autobiographies of Heber Charles
and Asineth Jarvis Cottam and Their Ancestors"
by Ellen Raye Cottam Brown