The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-12-24
Thr' ling "reminiscences of Early
Life in Utah.
THE HERALD PRIZE STORY.
How the First Mail Was Carried to the
Coast.
Hardship and Privations Endured, in
Gong from salt Lake TO Placer
Vile, Cal.-NarrOw Escapes
from Indians

When the Mormons first came to Utah,
if they had chance to write to their
friends in the states twice a year, they
considered themselves in luck. Once in
the spring, when the missionaries and
merchants went to the states, and once in
the fall when the freighters went east to
winter and bring the merchandise up in
the following spring. Once in while
they had a chance to send by returning
CaIifornians.
Some time in the ffties George Choir
poning and George Woods got contract
for carrying the mail once a month from
Salt Lake city 30 PlacervilIe, Cal. On the
first trip Woods, with FIVE men, was at
tackled by the Indians on the Humbolt
They made a running fight to Deep Creek
on the Goose Creek road. The men being
tired out, went to sleep without leaving a
man on guard, and the Indians murdered
them, destroyed the mails and took their
stock. Chorponing, many years after,
recovered Woods watch from the Indians
at a cost OF S40O. Mr.. Chorponing had
the mail route changed to the southern
road from Salt Lake city to San Bernar
dino, Cal.
Grit Williams, Ed Hope, James Sanger
and John Louder were the first to make
the trip. John Hunt, Am Marion, Louis
Newell and myself carried it to the end.
When Williams and his companion
were on their down trip the Indians at
tackled them, and in the fight one pack
mule was killed. Hope cut the pack off
the dead mule and put it on another,
while his companion kept the Indians at
bay. They then left the road, going
across the country, and Travelled eighty
miles without water. Williams went into
San Bernardino hopelessly insane and
afterward died.
Our plan when we took the mail was to
stop before night, eat our supper, iced
the animals Eand make all preparations as
though we were going TO camp for the
night. After dark we would build up a
fire, pack up everything and like the Arab
silently steal away. On one occasion on
looking back we saw fifteen or twenty
redskins moving about our deserted
camp. Had we slept there it would have
been our eternal sleep. a few hours were
all we stayed in one place, and it was
only by eternal vigilance we kept our
scalDs on our heads. Many We're the
hairbreadth escapes we all made.
The last trip up FROM California that
Newell and l made was in June, 1857. We
had six passengers, Boil Roberts of this
city being one. About $50 Indians sur
rounded us Just outside of Missionary
fort at Los Vegas and told US that we had
to die because we had poisoned an Indian
at cur last camping place. We strongly
protested and finally told them if they
would let US into the fort we would turn
all our mules over to them as hostages
until we could send missionary and one
of the Indians back to see if the Indian
was dead. II he was dead we were to
give them fat horse to eat, and ifhe was
not dead they were to return our mules
to US and let us go.
While the missionary and Indian were
gone / cooked a pot of mush for the
chiefs, as they were the only Indians let
into the fort. 1t was a curious sight to
see those statly chiefs sitting around that
hot mush pot dipping out the boiling hot
mush with the tips of their fingers
and Tipping it into their mouths
and swallowing it almost instantly,
Never making it known by sign or deed
that the mush was scolding them inter-
nally.
The cause of our trouble was that an
Indian and his sqnaw had come into ou=
camp the evening before. The Indians
were hungry. We gave them plenty to
eat and after they were full one OF the
men gave the buck a cigar to smoke. 1t
was too much for him and made him
sick. he was sick when we left but we
could do nothing for him. His squaw
thought we had poisoned him, and during
the night she passed up and informed the
tribe and as we came along they sur
rounded us
1t looked mighty blue for while, sur
rounded as we were entirely by the Indians
who were all stripped to the breech clout
and mOccasins, their qulverS full of poiS-
oned arrows. Every Indian had his bow
and arrow ready, and would come up to
US, pull MS bow back and then let the
arrow slide slowly up to our bodies to see
if we fiinched, had one man tnched, an
arrow slipped or gun been discharged
we would have all been mastered.
July 4. 1857, Boil. Roberts, with an es-
cort of Utah boys, started with the
weekly mail via Blue creek, Goose creek
and the Humboldt. left July 9th with
stock and men for the stations that were
to be established as far as Goose creek.
The Indians drove all the men from their
stations into my station at Hensler
springs, destroying the stations and steal
ing the stock. More men were sent out;
where there were five men at first ten
were stationed.
General Hunt was superintendent, he
was a Kentuckian, said the mail must go,
and It did go. On one trip John May
field. James Brown and a Spaniard by
the name of Antoine were stopping for
dinner on the Humboldt when the In
cians swooped down on them, stampeded
treir mules and commenced to ride
around them in a circle, coming a little
pearer on erch turn around. When they
not in reach Antoine up with his rifle and
shot down an Indian. They soon got
out of reach. The men then took the
mail bag and provisions and started back
on foot the Indians following them
When they would get too close a shot
would drive them out of range. At night
the bows would take 10 the mountains,
where they slept. They finally arrived
at Goose creek safe, but foot-sore and
worn out. They brought the mail in
though.
II must be remembered that the mail in
those days was not a very prodigious af-
fair. The first mail from California
h1onpht lust one letter. for a man at