72 State Central Company UTAH PIONEERS STARTED COLONIZATION IN WESTERN UNITED STATES By K e B. Carter "It must be acknowledged that the Mormons were wilderness break¬ers of high quality. They not only broke it, but they kept it broken; and instead of gin mills and gambling dens as corner stones of their progress, and as examples to the natives of the white man's superiority, they planted orchards, gardens, farms, school houses and peaceful homes. There is no part of the United States where human life is safer than in the land of the Mormons. A people who have accomplished so much that is good, who have endured danger, privation, and suffering, and who have withstood the slander of more powerful sects have in them much that is commendable. They deserve admiration". Quotation from "Breaking The Wilderness" by F. S. Dellenbaugh. The history of the Mormon pioneers from their beginning is largely a record of colonization. In 1830 when the Mormon Church was organized the spirit of gathering together in towns and cities commenced. A steady growth in numbers, as well as the persecution of their people, lead to their venturing into new lands to find new homes. In general the early Mormon Pioneers were agricultural, hence when they were forced to migrate, or when they voluntarily started for a new place, they took with them their families and went prepared to take out new farms and to build new settlements. In every place they pioneered, these men and women erected public buildings such as schools, and churches, and made their town as beautiful as they could. Few people realize that the settlement of the western part of the United States was due to the agricultural pioneering of the Mormon people. As a back ground to this western colonization, we must recall that in June 18th, 1831, Joseph Smith and some of his followers left Kirtland, Ohio, and proceeded to Jackson County, Missouri, which at that time was a western boundary of the United States. They began colonizing in the slave state, yet unique, because they did not believe in slavery and had no slaves. This colony lasted two and a half years, in which time homes were built and everything done to make the community one of which they could be proud. Their next move was to Clay County, where for three years they worked hard to build homes, churches, schools, and other public build¬ings that would lead to a successful settlement. They raised farm crops, gardens, planted trees and flowers. Then came the settlement of Far West and vicinity where twelve thousand people built their homes. A successful community was built here. The town of Commerce later to become the Temple City of Nauvoo was settled by these people in 1839. At that time this city was one of the largest in Illinois and was known for its beautiful gardens, trees, and flowers. Many of the pioneers of Nauvoo in later years spoke of it as "Nauvoo, the Beautiful". Before the Mormon Pioneers left this place, its population had grown to twenty thousand people, including its surroundings. -2- In the spring of 1846 the pioneers were organized into companies and started out for Council Bluff, located on the Missouri river. They did not all leave at once as some were ill prepared to make the journey and so from February to September trains of Mormon immigrants could be seen on the road to the Missouri. Among the first to leave were George Shumway and his family followed by a few days by President Brigham Young, George Miller, and others. On the 24th of April a place for a settlement was selected on a branch of Grand River to which the name of Garden Gate was given. At a council which was held, three hundred and fifty laboring men were re¬ported in camp besides tradesmen and herdsmen. One hundred were select¬ed to make rails, ten were appointed to build fences, forty-eight to build houses, twelve to dig wells, and the remainder to clear land, plowing the ground and planting. President Young said, "We have set out to find a land and a resting place. We will leave some here be¬cause they cannot go any farther at present. They will stay here and recruit and by and by pack up and come on, while we will go further and lenthen out the cords and build a few more stakes". On the 11th of May part of the company started out again. They met the advance men at Mount Pisgah, where another settlement was formed. Farming land was selected and a united effort to break the ground, fence it, and put in crops, was made. All shared in the labor, not for themselves but for those who were to come later who would reap the bene¬fits. Men were left under the direction of William Huntington to look after the settlement and to welcome those yet on the trail. On the 14th of June, President Young and party arrived on the Missouri river and after crossing, located, later in the year, Winter Quarters (now Florence). Here a temporary city was built, a grist mill was erected and schools established. The winter of "46" and "47" was a very severe one in these settlements. When it was discovered that a settlement would have to retained for a number of years, the people were counseled to move to the east side of the river where they built a Tabernacle and established Kanesville, named in honor of the friend of the Mormons, Colonel Thomas L. Kane. Later the name of the town was changed to Council Bluffs, by which name it is known today. Colorado It was while preparations were going on for the trip across the plains that the United States called for a battalion of five hundred men to march to California and take part in the war with Mexico. Enough men responded and when this battalion reached Santa Fe, Lieut. Cook, who was awaiting their arrival, took command. On October 15th, 1846, Colonel Cook instructed Captain James Brown to take command of the men who were reported as being too weak to undertake the journey, and march them to the Arkansas River, there to winter. Nearly all the laundresses who accompanied the battalion were ordered to accompany the sick detachment to Pueblo. Here the detachment met a company of saints who had stopped there to winter. Immediately eighteen houses were erected. Men were sent out to cut timber to be used to build houses and for fuel, and by December 6th, 1846, most of the houses were finished. This was the first Anglo Saxon settlement within the boundaries of the present state of Colorado. 74 Arizona It was this same battalion of men, the "Mormon Battalion", who passed through the Rockies and entered the state of Arizona, not far from the present city of Douglas. As they traveled along through Arizona, Colonel Cook said that in view of the prosperity of the Indian villages at Pima and Maricopa, these would be good places for the exiled Mormons to make their homes. It is possible that his sugges¬tion had something to do with the colonizing of Arizona by the Mormons in later years, as many of that band returned to Arizona as pioneers in later years. The first attempts of the Mormon people to send colonizers from Utah to Arizona failed, as far as permanent settlement was concerned, but it opened up the way for future colonization. A number of the people, called by their leader, President Young, met in the old taber¬nacle in Salt Lake City on March 8th, 1873, where they received their instructions from President Young to prepare to go south and build new homes. Horton D. Haight was chosen as their leader. They were told to be friendly toward the Indians, but not too trustful, and never to sell ammunition to them, for at that time the Indians were on the war path. They started on their journey south and within a few weeks reached the banks of the Little Colorado River in Arizona. Here they camped and Haight, with a few of the men, ex¬ploded up and down the river. When the exploring party returned, they reported that the country was bare, and no spot fertile enough to make a settlement. They also feared the Apache Indians. So they retraced their steps to Navajo Springs, sending a dispatch to Utah stating that the plan of settlement was not feasible. At Moancopi they met a party of twenty-nine missionaries under the direction of Henry Day. Not waiting for an answer to their letter, the group started for Utah. They had to be ferried across the Colorado River in an improvised ferry boat as the regular boat had been lost in the spring floods. In all, about fifty-four wagons, a hundred and twelve animals, one hundred and nine men, six women, and one child, were ferried across the river. It was at this place that word was received from President Young that he desired them to remain in Arizona, but most of them returned to Utah. Among those who remained was John L. Blythe and a number of missionaries, who located among the Indians at Moancopi, where they sowed the ground, planted trees, and grape vines. The authorities were determined that colonization in the south should be successful, so in October of the same year another expedition under the direction of James S. Brown was sent to Arizona. They made headquarters at Moancopy, but scouted up the Colorado River, looking for a place to build permanent settlements. The party returned to Salt Lake City, January 4th, 1876, after traveling thirteen hundred miles. In the same spring, four companies composed of two hundred mis¬sionaries, were called to go into Arizona and make new homes. Among the leaders of these colonies were Lot Smith, Jesse Ballanger, George Lake and William L. Allen. They were responsible for the building of the towns of St. Joseph, Sunset, Obed, and Brigham City. In the making of these settlements, forts had to be erected for the protection of the people, but their greatest work was the building of dams and channels dug to bring the water upon the arid ground. Those first years were ones of struggle, drouth, sometimes -4- not enough to eat, and other pioneer trials came to them. The United Order was practiced and successfully carried out in most ofthese towns. Most of these pioneers remained and became permanent settlers. Later groups of them scattered into different parts of the state of Arizona, where they remained. Now their children enjoy the civiliza¬tion they helped to make. From the history of Arizona I quote: "The Mormons at Arizona today are not to be considered in the same manner as their forebearers. The older generations came in pilgrimages, wholly within their faith, sent to break a wilderness, for generations to come. Thus it happens that "Mormon Settlement" was something apart and distinctive in the general development of Arizona and other sections into which the Mormon influence was taken". Such communities were founded on well developed ideas, that had nothing in common with the usual frontier spirit. They contained no drinking places or disorderly houses, and in them rarely were breaches of peace. There was need for the sustaining power of Celestial Grace upon the average desert homestead, where the fervent son lighted an expanse of dry and unpromising land. The task of reclamation in the early days would have been beyond the ability and resources of any colonists not welded together into some sort of mutual organization. This welding had been accomplished among the Mormons even before the wagons started southward to Arizona. After that, all that was needed was industry, as directed by American intelligence. Arizona and Nevada The Mission of the Muddy In many of our histories mention is made of the Mission to the Muddy, and many are the stories told of the hardships endured by these early pioneers. It was in the fall conference of 1864 that about one hundred and eighty-three men with their families were called to leave their homes and Utah, and go and establish a colony on what was known as the "Muddy Mission". It comprised the valleys of the lower Virgin River and its main tributary, the Muddy. At that time this land was included in the area of the present Arizona. This valiant band of people left their homes that they had worked so hard to secure, and willingly went into this new country. When they arrived there they found a desolate desert. Swamps were drained, and a canal nine miles long was constructed, and soon the villages of Beaver Dams, located on the Virgin River, St. Thomas, Virgin, Overton, West Point, Mill Point and Summersville on the Muddy were built. Despite the desert, these towns were prosperous according to their times. In 1870 President Young wrote a letter to these pioneers, telling them that a new survey placed their settlements in Nevada, and they were under the laws of the state of Nevada. In this letter he stated that if the people desired, they could look for new homes. A meeting was called, and with one exception, all voted to move. So early in 1871 the exodus started, and all but the family of Daniel Bonelli left for Utah to build again new homes. Nevada The Provisional State of Deseret was established in 1849. Within its boundaries were included the present state of Utah, Nevada, Arizona, part of Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon and California. Thousands of people were crossing the plains to enter Great Salt Lake Valley, missionaries -5- ware sent into many parts of the world, and converts were being made rapidly. Agricultural sections must be colonized that these people might have homes. Trading posts must be established along the trail from Salt Lake City to the western coast. These stations were the first settlements in the present state of Nevada, then belonging in the contemplated state of Deseret. It was their aim to establish stations and small settlements until along this trail could be found cultivated fields from Salt Lake City to the Pacific Ocean. Bancrofts ''History of Nevada" gives the credit to a Mr. Mont and H. S. Beaty, with a party from Utah, of being the first settlers of Carson City of Nevada. About 1850 or 1851, Colonel John Reese, with a party from Utah, settled in Genoa, and built a station which he used for his home at this place. The first land grant recorded in this section of Nevada was that of Mr. Reese. In December, 1852, he, with others, secured a franchiseto construct a toll bridge over the Carson River. ?By 1853 the settlements in Carson Valley had increased their numbers, and land was being cultivated in all parts of the valley. They raised wheat, barley, and garden produce, for which they found a ready market. They also established a successful cattle business. On the 7th of January, 1854, the legislature of Utah passed an act creating the County of Carson. Orson Hyde, prominent Utah Pioneer, was selected to act as probate judge, with authority to organize a county. He was accompanied to Carson Valley by United States Marshal, Heywood, and Judge Styles. He immediately took over the duties of his office and successfully organized and conducted the affairs of his county. In 1856 another colony of about seventy families was called to go to Carson Valley to strengthen the settlements. They settled in Carson, Eagle, Washoe, Jack, and Pleasant Valley. A large saw mill was erected in Washoe. Soon after, Franktown was settled and named. The towns were laid out with broad, regular streets, on both sides of which ran small ditches for irrigating the gardens and fields. The architecture of the buildings was simple, yet strong and durable. School houses were built and colonization went on in earnest. In 1857 came the invasion of Johnston's Army. The Carson Valley Pioneers were advised to return to Great Salt Lake Valley. They either left their homes for others to enjoy, or sold them at a very small part of their value. The abandonment of Carson County by the Mormons left very few people, but with the growth of Nevada, it again became a flourishing neighborhood. In 1854, a party of thirty men was called to go to Las Vegas. President Young told them they must go there and build a fort to protect the immigrants and United States mail from the Indians. Another part of their mission was to teach the Indians how to grow corn, wheat, potatoes, squash, and melons. They arrived in Las Vegas June 4th, 1855, and immediately started the construction of their fort. It was similar to those built in the colonizing of the towns of Utah. Inside the fort were houses and a school house, in which meetings were held. Among the prominent men of this group were Nathaniel V. Jones and other leaders. This group were the earliest Anglo-Saxons to live in southern Nevada. -6- California On July 31st, 1846, there anchored inside the golden gate at San Francisco, California, the ship "Brooklyn". It had brought from the eastern shores of the United States about two hundred and thirty passengers, mainly Mormon Saints. Only three weeks before the arrival of this ship the American Navy had entered the Bay of Monterey and hoisted the United States Flag. Therefore, the Mormons were among the early pioneers of San Francisco. Eldridge, a historian of San Francisco says: "The landing of the Mormons more than doubled the popu¬lation of Yerba Buena (early name of San Francisco). They camped for a time on the beach and vacant lots. Then some went to Marian Forests to work, and some were housed in mission buildings. They were honest and industrious people and all sought work wherever they could find it". John P. Young, another historian of California, writes the following: "From the day when Lesse built his store in 1836, until the arrival of the Mormon Colony on July 31st, 1846, the village retained all the peculiarities of a poverty-stricken settlement of the Spanish-American type. From that time forward, changes began to occur indicative of advancement, and it is impossible to disassociate them from the fact that a part of the "Brooklyn's cargo was a press and a font of type, and that the two hundred and thirty-eight colonists aboard that vessel, and others who found their way to the little town, brought with them more books, one writer tells us, than could be found at the time in all the rest of the territory". In November, 1845, Samuel Brannan, publisher of the "Messenger", a Mormon paper located in New York, was given permission to charter a ship, take his press and a company of Saints from the eastern branches, and go by way of Cape Horn to California. It was thought this way would be a cheaper way of reaching the Rocky Mountains. The ship "Brooklyn", an old built ship, was chartered and set sail February 4th, 1846, from New York, with about two hundred and thirty people, mostly Saints, and considerable freight. It was a happy group that started on this voyage. They took a blacksmith and a carpenter, also farming implements, wheelwright tools, fixtures for two grist¬mills, sawmill irons, the printing press, and as many other articles as they would need in the making of a permanent home in the distant land. The voyage of this ship was quite successful. It sailed around Cape Horn, stopped at Honolula on the Hawaiian Islands, and then con¬tinued its journey to the Golden Gate, arriving there July 31, 1846. When Captain Richardson dropped his anchor at Golden Gate, the people thought they had arrived at a Mexican Colony, but a naval officer boarded the ship and told them they were in the United States. -7- Immediately these Saints left the ship, put up their tents, and according to Mrs. Crocheron, a passenger on the ship, "With hearty good will, trying to make the best of everything, the new colony began life and spread its influence, habits of industry, and adornments of home, around them". A party of twenty pioneers was sent into the San Joaquin Valley to found the settlement of New Hope, but the greater number remained in San Francisco, it being for a time largely a Mormon town. New Hope was abandoned in the fall as word had arrived that the main body of the Saints would settle in Salt Lake Valley. Most of this party later made their way east to Salt Lake Valley, from where they were sent out to pioneer in different parts of the intermountain country, to start new settlements and become permanent home owners. Another interesting fact recorded in history tells that several members of the Mormon Battalion were among those who discovered gold in California. These men had been discharged at Los Angeles and then made their way north. They found temporary work at Sutters Fort and started to help in the building of a saw mill and grist mill. Six of these men actually helped in picking up of the chunks of gold from the trenches they were digging. Sutters Mill was located at Sacramento Valley, and so these Mormon Men were among the first settlers of this valley. Sutter, in later years, wrote: "The Mormons did not leave my mill unfinished, but they, too, got the gold fever. They mined on what is known to this day as "Mormon Island" and undoubtedly, helped the people in Salt Lake Valley with the gold they took with them when they arrived in Utah." In 1851, just four years after the arrival of the pioneers in Utah, a company was organized to settle below Cajon Pass and cultivate grapes, olives, sugar cane, and cotton. They also hoped to found a station on the proposed Pacific Mail Route. There was also an expecta¬tion that the town might be a gathering place for the Saints who might come from the islands of the Pacific or from Europe. The party left Salt Lake City the latter part of March, 1351, under the leadership of Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich. They arrived in California in June and located San Bernardino. Here they purchased a large ranch called the "Lugo". It included an abandoned mission and had in the area of thirty square miles, in the present wonderful valley of San Bernardino. For nearly seven years this colony of five hundred people lived peacefully and hoped that they were located in permanent homes. Then came the news of Johnston's Army invading Utah. According to one historian, other trouble developed in the colony and word was brought that a group of vigilantites were on their way to drive this colony out of California, and so early in "58" acting on the advice of their authorities, about four hundred saints started back to Utah, leaving only twenty families in the valley. This settlement is thought to have been the first agricultural colony founded by Anglo Saxons in southern California. -8- Wyoming As the pioneers crossed the country, now included in the state of Wyoming, they made camps and sometimes were forced to live for many days along the trail. Later, the authorities in their plan of colonisation, sent out companies to form new settlements, Fort Supply in Wyoming becoming one of these. In October, 1854, President Young called Orson Hyde and gave him the mission of raising a company to go into the Green River country and build a new settlement. The company was composed of two parties, one from Salt Lake, and one from Utah Valley. John Nebeker and Isaac Bullock were members of the party. They went back over the route the pioneers had taken and founded the town of Fort Supply on Smith's Fork of Green River. Just prior to this, President Young had purchased the Fort Bridger Ranch and Station, which was the first property owned by the Mormons in Green River County. At the time of the invasion of Johnston's Army, these places were burned, but later other Mormon settlements were made in Wyoming. Idaho At the conference held in Salt Lake City in 1854 a number of the brethren were called to go and locate a settlement among the Bannock and Shoshonian Indians in the far off north, in what was then known as Oregon Territory. Thomas S, Smith, of Farmington, Utah, was appointed the leader of these pioneers. The men were instructed to make prepara¬tions at once to go and so on May 15th, 1855, they started out journey¬ing to the north. It was a hard journey over unbroken trails, and they had to be ferried across several streams of water. Because of diffi¬culties that arose, it took them three days to cross the Snake River, ferrying their wagons and stock and supplies. In June, they reached the Salmon River where the captain called a halt, while they explored for a suitable place to make a settlement. June 15th, they selected a place for a fort, and on the 18th, moved upon it. With energy and determination to make their mission successful, these Mormon pioneers commenced to make improvements. The fort was soon erected, and inside the fort, cabins and a blacksmith shop were built. Soon the plows were busy and the seeds they had brought with them were sown. The valley in which they had located was small, but the soil near the river was rich and fertile. They called this place Fort Limhi. They tried to make friends with the Indians and at first it seemed as if the Indians were friendly toward them. In May 18th, 1857, President Young in a party, visited these pioneers, and following his visit more farming land was surveyed, and it looked as if a permanent settlement had been made. But in February, 1858., a large band of Bannock and Shoshone Indians made a sudden raid on this little fort, drove off most of the battle, and in the battle that followed, several of these pioneer men were killed and others wounded. Following this trouble, the settlers returned to Utah, and it was not until twenty-four years later that a permanent Latter-Day Saint settlement was made in this same valley. In the spring of 1860, five companies from Utah left their homes and wended their way into the northern part of Cache Valley. They had heard of the rich soil and had been advised by President Young to go and settle on the Cub River. They believed that they were within the boundaries of Utah, but later surveys placed them in Idaho. Among those first men to go to Franklin were Peter Maughn, Thomas Smart, -9- S. R. Parkinson, and James Sanderson. Soon after their arrival the men went into the canyon for logs to build their homes, to take the place of the wagon boxes that served them that first summer. The land was divided into ten acre lots, and then each man drew for his location. During the early spring and summer their meetings were held around a camp fire, then a bowery was built. By fall their cabins were ready for use. These cabins were built close together to form a fortifica¬tion which served them well in those first few years. Franklin was the first permanent Anglo-Saxon settlement founded in what is now the State of Idaho. The following is found in Samuel Handy's journal: "In 1861 we had gardens on the west side of the fort which were a great benefit to us, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, onions, cucum¬bers, peas, melons, squash and other things were raised, which made our meals more agreeable. We raised good crops that year but did not thresh the grain in the fall of the year. The winter of 1861-62 was very wet; our cellars on the south string of the fort were full of water and our houses were wet nearly every day for a long time. The grain in the stack became wet and it wasn't threshed until March. Many of the people had to eat musty bread until the next season". These people endured all privations of pioneer life, but many lived to reap its benefits. When one considers that most of these pioneers had settled in one of the towns of Utah, had plowed the sage brush land, planted and harvested their crops, brought logs from the canyon and built a comfortable home and had become established in the community, and then another call to pioneer anew, only then do we realize their task. One historian to whom the colonization of the Mormon People was an outstanding factor, said: "The Mormons are not dead, nor is their spirit broken, and if I mistake not, there is a noble daring, stern and democratic spirit welling in their bosoms which will people these mountains with a race of independent men, and influence the destiny of our country and the world for a hundred generations. In their religion they seem charitable; devoted, and sincere. In their politics, bold and daring, and determination; in their domestic circles, quiet, affectionate and happy, while in industry, skill and industry they have few equals and no superiors on earth". It was these characteristics that they took with them and made it possible for them to colonize and help in the development of the great part of the Western United States.