Ben Simons, A Smooth Operator! FORT BRIDGER, WYOMING Photo—Utah Historical Society 'Ben Simons is a smooth operator!' Thus did President Brigham Young describe the man who was found living on the Weber River in Mountain Green when the first pioneers arrived there in the late 1850's. Simons claimed ail the land for stock grazing from Round Valley on the east to the western boundaries of Devil's Gate. He welcomed those first settlers and was helpful to them. He moved to parts unknown soon after the Pioneer families began to settle in the upper Weber Valley. Very little is known about Simon's personal life, but bits and pieces have been gleaned from various histories and personal journals of early Church leaders. These have shed some light on the goings and comings of this colorul figure throu¬ghout Northern Utah. It is believed that Simons and his brother had a cabin in Round Valley, Morgan County, and he claimed that the Mexican Government had granted him rights to graz¬ing land along the Weber River. Utah was then in Mexican territory. In the late 1850's Simons gave George W. Higley permission to build a churn run on the Weber near Strawberry Creek in Mountain Green. Higley was also granted permission to graze his dairy cattle there. Ben Simons was not a stranger to President Brigham Young. As early as 1852 the President called on him to act as a messenger to various Indian tribes, In the 'Comprehensive History of the Church,' B.H. Roberts states that Ben spoke most of 27