Brigham Young’s attitude toward the enslaved people brought by the Mississippi Saints was complicated. He recognized the legal uncertainty of their status and reportedly warned Smith and others in his position. He also held views on race that were common among white Americans of the period and that resulted in the LDS Church’s later discriminatory policies toward Black members. The specific circumstances of Biddy Mason and others in her situation were not, from the evidence available, a matter of active church concern.
The two years in Utah gave Mason additional time to build the relationships and acquire the knowledge that would eventually help her in California. She met other enslaved and free Black people, some of whom had also made the overland journey. She continued her midwifery work. She observed that the world outside Mississippi was different from Mississippi — that there were places and people that the absolute authority of the slave system did not reach in the same way.
In 1851, Young organized the settlement of San Bernardino in California. The call went to the Mississippi Saints among others. Smith organized to go. His enslaved household, including Biddy Mason and her daughters, went with him.
## The San Bernardino Settlement
The journey from Salt Lake to San Bernardino in 1851 covered approximately five hundred miles and was made with another large wagon train of approximately 150 vehicles. This second major overland journey brought Mason to California, the state whose constitution had prohibited slavery since 1849.
The San Bernardino settlement was established on land that had been part of the Rancho San Bernardino Mexican land grant. The Mormons purchased the rancho in 1851 and established a colony that would exist for several years before being disbanded and recalled to Utah in 1857 when tensions between the church and the federal government escalated. During its existence, the San Bernardino colony was a substantial agricultural and commercial settlement.