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Show WINTER 2013 UHQ pp 4-90_UHQ Stories/pp.4-68 12/5/12 9:38 AM Page 20 uTAH HISTORICAL QuARTERLy and Hattan arrived, “Sister Emma, as she would in Utah properly be called, invited us to dinner and supper,” Dellenbaugh wrote.74 On July 16, after “the boys worked on the dam,” Clem noted “a gay dinner at Lee’s and some home-made beer.”75 Assistance from Lee’s family also came in the form of fresh produce. One evening after working in the Lee garden, Hillers and Dellenbaugh returned to camp with corn and squashes. Clem commented, “Vegetables are doing us a pile of good at this season of the year.” A few days later he noted that Lee had sent “a few squashes and some onions.” Still later, “Lee sent over some green corn and squashes.”76 Lee did not pass up the opportunity to share his Mormon faith with his visitors. On July 21, Lee visited the Powell camp to deliver a Navajo blanket that Clem had lost on the trail from Jacob’s Pools. Clem wrote, “‘Brother’ Lee . . . regaled us with the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints; boasts of having 18 wives and 62 children.”77 Dellenbaugh noted that “Brother Lee . . . called to give us a lengthy dissertation on the faith of the Latter-Day Saints.” As Lee did so, Andy Hattan, “always up to mischief, in his quiet way, delighted to get behind [Lee] and cock a rifle. At the sound of the ominous click Lee would wheel like a flash to see what was up. We had no intention of capturing him, of course,” Dellenbaugh reflected, “but it amused Andy to act in a way that kept Lee on the qui vive.”78 To celebrate the July 24 holiday—what Clem called “the anniversary of Mormon Independence”—Lee and his family fixed “a splendid Dinner & invited our generous friends . . . to spend the glorious 24th with us & participate in the festivities & recreations.”79 “Had a good dinner,” Clem Powell recorded. “The Old Gent regaled us with sermons, jokes, cards, &c.”80 Dellenbaugh concluded his description of the day: “So far as our intercourse with Lee was concerned we had no cause for complaint. He was genial, courteous, and generous.”81 Hillers wrote that they had “a splendid dinner” and “played cards and sang songs.” But despite Lee’s sermons, the Powell men “returned to camp without a change of opinion of Mormonism.”82 Lee’s enthusiasm and frequent preaching led Clem Powell to conclude that “Lee is a little crazy.”83 Lee felt the same mixture of wonder and oddness toward his guests, judging that the July 24 celebration went off well. “All enjoyed ourselves first rate,” he wrote, “with many thanks from our strange friends.”84 74 Dellenbaugh, Canyon Voyage, 211. “Journal of W. C. Powell,” 433. 76 Ibid., 435–36. 77 Ibid., 433. 78 Dellenbaugh, Canyon Voyage, 212. 79 “Journal of W. C. Powell,” 434; Mormon Chronicle, 2:206. 80 “Journal of W. C. Powell,” 434. 81 Dellenbaugh, Canyon Voyage, 212. 82 “Photographed All the Best Scenery,” 130. 83 “Journal of W. C. Powell,” 434. 84 Mormon Chronicle, 2:206. 75 20 |
