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Show CHAPTER ONE FORlING-UP War was unknown in the valley of the Great Salt Lake until the 1t1;f1e\CCy;\\~!~) century - white man's reckoning of time. Ute, Gositite and Shoshoni Indians, of western North America, made no war in this semi-arid basin. The salt lake was a natural boundary between them. An informal truce among themselves existed so that the Indians could harvest the natural deposits of saW concentrated around the lake. Indians needed the salt, a basic mineral in human diet, for several reasons including food preservation and seasoning. The surrounding valley became, out of necessity, neutral territory between the tribes.2 Thus, the valley served as a haven even before Mormons sought sanctuary here. In 1847, white man began permanent settlement of this sage brush valley on the Wasatch Front.' It became a place of religious refuge for thousands of Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before the arrival of the Mormons, the plant and animal life in the valleys of the Wasatch had provided the Ute Indians with adequate supplies of food. These Indians sustained themselves largely by eating wild vegetable products and small mammals.· The utes had supplemented their livelihood by Indian slave trafficking. Captured Indians from other tribes were traded to Mexicans living in the Spanish-built settlements of New Mexico and California. Later, Mormon leaders became disgusted by such barterings. Territorial laws were passed to put an end to the slave trade. 'rhese official acts interrupted the traditional ways of the Indians. Initiaily, the Ute welcomed the entrance of Mormon immigrants into the valley. The Ute, however, had no idea of the impact of Mormon immigration.' Mormon expansion beyond the Salt Lake Valley strained Indian relations. By 1853, overwhelming Mormon intrusion into the land of the Ute and renewed efforts to stifle the Indian slave trade sparked a war in Utah Territory. Timpanogos Ute Chief Walkara' led his band of warriors in a sporadic series of battles against Mormon settlers 3 |
