1869: Salt Lake City
Unaccompanied by others in his family, Ben Cotton returned to San Francisco to work for Maguire. Once there he teamed up with Joe Murphy and Johnny Mack. In August of 1869 the party had ventured deep within the interior, following the train tracks of the new transcontinental railroad, and arrived in Salt Lake City. They found a welcoming audience. Their most ardent admirer proved to be Brigham Young. The playbill for the entire week of productions featured an engraving by Pacific Coast landscape painter, William Keith.