The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-04
STIRRING INCIDENTS
OF THE EARLY DAYS
Pioneer Ed Cotton ReCites Some
Experiences of His From
tier Life.
CAME TO THE WEST WITH
GENERAL ST0NEMAN
Long Life of Vigorous Activity
and, Crowded With EX-
citing Events.

Nas'"SN ~ NNs'-
'fI have spent most Of the 73 years
Of my life on the frontier, either rum
ming after or running away from In
dians, - is the way Pioneer Ed Cotton
began IN interview with Tribune rep
resentative yesterday. Mr.. Cotton ar
rived on the spot now occupied by Salt
Lake City when u boy il years Of
age, in ls47, and participated in q num-
Der of stirring incidents which are Ia
miliar to those conversant with the
early history of Utah and other parts
of the West.
Was With Gen. Stoneman.
"I left my home in Council Bluffs,
Ia, in 1916, and joined n detachment
OF Mormons who were under command
Of Gen. George G. Stoneman. Gen.
Stoneman was sent out from Washing
ton when it became known that the
Mormons were marching westward from
Nauvoo, Ill. His mission was to accom-
pany Brigham Young and his cohorts,
and report at once to the Government
if the Mormons were going to join
Santa Ana In his warfare against the
United States. Brigham Young will
ingly granted Gen. Stoneman an escort
of 800 men, / was told, and we all pro-
eeeded to Santa Fe,u by the way of
charge on the hill back of Los Angeles,
Cal, on July 16, lS47.
A Winter of Hunger.
"The pioneers arrived here July "a,
ls47, and / reached this place October
9, 1S47, where I decided to remain.
The rest Of our party returned to the
nj 1 II
Bridger, and in the spring of lS4S tried
to obtain parcels of ground on which
to farm, as there was scarcely anything
to eat, and it looked like we were al
going hungry. l remained here until
the winter OF 1S49, when / went out to
Jim Bridger' s and spent the cold sea-
son with him.
''In 1850 joined T. S. Williams in
trading with the Indians, and two
years later guided him with his drove
Of cattle into Sacramento,
Locating Railroad Route.
Mr.. Cotton then told of his acting
as guide TO Capt. Simpson, who was
sent out by the Government to locate
route for the transcontinental rail
road. They went down to the first
crossing of the Duchesne, and after
wards travelled over a direct route from
Nuct6 lltptI wy uO" Is, luIOuGu Inc
mountains and timber TO Fort Bridger,
In 1859 Mr., Cotton took company
from where Provo now stands TO San
Bernardino, and afterwards travelled
over that trail a score of times with
mule teams and wagons, the trip oc-
cupying from a month to thirty-fve
days each way.
Witnessed Seventeen Executions.
He also visited Virginia City and
Alder Gulch, now Helena, Mont, in the
early days, when Senator w. A. Clark
was laying the foundation for his for
tune in a small general store. The
Ugllantes were Just organizing then
In Montana, and Mr. Cotton was pres
ent at some of their first meetings,
when they were planning to rid the
country of bands of outlaws. In all,
he has seen seventeen white men and
Indians executed for various crimes
Mr.. Cotton was present at the raising
of the first American flag in California,
which occurred on the Fourth Of July,
1S47, before the treaty Of Hidalgo
Guadaloupe was signed. To celebrate
the occasion, he says that barrel Of
wine was drunk, but that there was no
intoxication among the celebrants. The
Stars and Stripes were upfurled on a
hill back of Los Angeles, under the di-
son.
Bloody Encounter at Provo.
"In all my frontier life" said Mr..
Cotton, "the most thrilling scene ] ever
witnessed was a running fight between
band Of Utes and Snake Indians,
which began near the spot where Pro-
yo now stands. The Utes had smoked
the pipe Of peace with the Snakes, and
after the pow-wow Of amity which fol-
lowed the Utes sneaked back and stole
a lot Of horses belonging to the Snakes.
This naturally aroused the ire of the
offended redskins and they pounced
upon the Utes and killed and scalped
many of them. 1 helped to bury a
number of the slain. The fight spread
over an area of ten miles, and the
Snakes won the battle, but not until
after desperate and bloody encoun-
ter
Still Hale and Hearty.
Mr.. Cotton despite his years is hale,
hearty and vigorous in mind and body.
He delights to tell Of his early strug-
giles when n mere lad in n country that
was dangerous for even man of mn.
ture years to reside In. He has lived
most of the time in and around Los
Angeles, and is now residing on beau
tlful ranch near that city. He has
four sons living, one of whom, his
namesakc, uncovered the first mines in
Searchlight, New, and who recently
sold the Duplex mine IN that camp for
s250,000.
Mr.. Cotton came here to attend the
Pioneers reunion, and says he is glad |
to be able TO once more visit the ground
upon which he camped more than half |
a century ago.