In 1858, Nephi Johnson, one of Brigham Young's scouts, arrived at the mouth of the canyon with a party of Indian guides. Because of superstition, the guides refused to enter, and Johnson went on alone, following the river to the Narrows, a place "where the sun is seldom seen," before returning to the mouth at nightfall. Isaac Buhannin, an early settler, saw the spires and remarked, "Surely this is God's first temple and should be called Zion." William Heaps helped build homes for the early settlers in the canyon.