The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-22
"reminiscences Of a Pho
neer Of Fifty Years
Ago.
A PEN PICTURE
OF PIONEER DAYS
OF Peculiar Interest at This Ju-
lee Season.
What the First Settlers Endured
Fights With the Indians-Gen-
eral Connor's Record-Frederick
Heath's Recital For The Herald.

With all due Difference to those who
have already written sketches. diaries,
records or histories of the early settle
ment Of Utah. beg leave TO add one
more page to history full Of interest
to all lovers OF the romantic. as it is
full OF experiences peculiar and Incl
dental to all pioneer colonists.
At the time that the Mormon church.
through its presidency and the writer's
company. first placed foot in Utah and
raised its voice in song-or sermon-to
the sovereign ruler of the universe, this
vast intermountain region was no part
Of the United States, whose western
boundary then ran along the eastern
slope Of the Rocky Mountains, and the
Arkansas river. When the pioneers
came into the Great Salt Lake valley.
July a. 1917. this was Mexico. but they
unfurled odd Glory" the banner of
freedom, to the breeze, and this they
have always done on the great ma
tional and other holidays ever since.
Late in the fall Of 1916, my father.
having died in England, my mother and
her three boys came 10 Nauvoo, Ills.
Here everything was ''topsyturvy," as
the great body Of the people were busy
preparing for the great exodus of the
latter days, under the leadership of
the modern Moses, President Brigham
Young. Early in the spring of 1916, we
began TO gather into bands and COM
panies of hundreds. fifties and tens,
each Of these divisions being under a
caption, each captain being subordi-
nate to the one above him. We started
''en masse" from Nauvoo Ills, and
crossing the western states, we came to
tie Missouri river, at Winter Quarters,
about seven miles from Council Bluffs,
Ia. Here We camped for the winter,
and here we buried our mother. leav-
ing US boys to the care of the Mornons,
under the arm of Bishop Hunter. in
whose company of 80 we were travel
ing. 1t was here that the government
levied on the Mormons for ablebodied
men to go TO the war IN Mexico. An
accusation of cowardice might have
been hurled at the pilgrims of the
west. but such an accusation was com
pletely refuted by the levying of the
famous Mormon battalion, 500 strong
and that, too, when the men were nov
ing into the very country against which
they were now called TO fight. Such a
draft as this took away the best and
ablest of the Mormon men. Early in
the spring Of 1877, orders were issued
10 break camp and start westward
Accordingly, we all got into our proper
companies, I having charge of the
teams of Edward Hunter, who had
been drafted to serve, and nephew of
Bishop Hunter. who was captain OF our
80.
1t is not necessary to repeat the oft
told tale Of the long and tedious jour
ney across the plains from the Mis-
souri,, Of the WEAKNESS and privations
experienced by all, for others have done
this frequently, and, besides, I was too
young 10 remember everything, or per-
haps to take notice of events Young
as / was I drove the teams all the way
to the Great Salt Lake valley, where
we arrived in September, 1877. Brigham
Young and the pioneers had arrived
July q, 1S47. and as we entered the
South Pass. on the east side of the Wa
satch. we met him and his companions
returning to their families at Winter
Quarters. They stayed with us but a
short time, an hour or two Brigham
Young said he had made up his mind
that the Saints had better settle in
Great Salt Lake valley for a time and
raise such crops as were possible for
present and future needs. We moved
to the Old Fort square, now used for
circus grounds, etc, and there we
built our first houses of logs and
ado'aes, in the form OF a square, with
large gates in the middle of each side.
Our winter was spent N many useful
ways, chiefly keeping the Indians at
bay. We did not fig , them. Brigham
Young's advice on this matter was:
Feed the Indians; do not fight 1hem,'
a policy which worked very well for q
While. but made the Indians independ-
ent. oareIaced and cheeky, until they
had first mortgage on the pale
face"
In the spring of 1S4s, we began prep
arations for farming; we selected the
bench lands south from Emigration
canyon. because here the towering
mountains would be some protection
for the crops from the frosts that Wis
tied the valley every night. This tract
of ABOUT 100 acres. we called THE Fam
ily Farm and those participating in
the work Of farming this tract were
Bishop Hunter, Ed Huntc-. Bishop
Hogelin and Joseph Horne Cbishop of
the Fourteenth ward). John Taylor and
family, his father and Israel Hoyte.
and others, all of whom have passed
away, and 1 believe that 1 am one of
the few survivors Of original first farm
ers. Many smaller patches were also
taken UP, as far as the site CT the
present penitentiary.
On this bench farm was inaugurated
the first system of irrigation. Across
the ii1tle stream Chat flows a quarter
of mile wesG of the site of Wagnrs
brewery We constructed the first dam.
and made the canal that carried the
stream TO the east side Of the bench
farm In early June, the crops were
looking as hearty and healthy as crops f
can look, but, alas, one bright morn
Ing, the locusIS. often called black
came down in innumerable (
swarms and lighted upon our crops.
Like desperate men we fought this in
sect avalanche, and for awhile we kept !
them back by turning fun streams of T
water; but after awhile the locusts
jumped the Streams and 70 the dry
ground inside the farm. What could
we do? We were at the mercy OF the {
here, mans extremity is /
Gods opportunity. and the benign ruler (
Of man and beast came 20 our aid in I
4 most miraculous manner. Suddenly I
4 c.oud Of birds. large seagulls from +
the Great Salt Lake. came over and /
'eil upon the locusts and devoured them /
IS though they had not had n meal for I
I month; retired TO the lake, disgorged t
heir food, and returned for more: and
his The birds keuJ uD until all the To-
-usts were IS clean gone as though
hey never had been there II the hand
u providence was not in this miracu-
Gus, salvation of cur crops, then there
is no providence. and all IS
,hansse- we matured our crop on oats
wheat, corn, potatoes. etc, with rot a
title difficulty and hard work, and in
he last weeks of August and frs half
i September we harvested the same
IN all the patches that had been cult
5ated and irrigated. our harvest was
1ch and our yield with proper care
Fould carry Us safely through the COM