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Show THE HISTORY BLAZER NEl1' S OF UTAH'S PAST FROM THE Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake City. l'T 84101 ( 801) 333- 3500 FAX ( 801) 333- 3303 Evil Spirits Plagued the Residents of Hebron, Utah MYSTERIOOUCCSU RRENCES AMONG EARLY MORMONSE TTLERS - OFU TAHT ERRlTORY often led the pious Great Basin pioneers to offer explanations for the unknown in terms of their common religious convictions. As tales of the unexplainable were passed down from one generation to the next they were often embellished and made more exciting by each successive storyteller. This process gave rise to a rich trove of folklore and legends that in themselves are commentaries on Utah's past. One such legend involves the present- day ghost town of Hebron in southwestern Utah. It seems the title of ghost town was applicable to Hebron even when the small ranching community was filled with inhabitants. Remembrances, diaries, and memoirs from Hebron abound with stories of evil spirits plaguing residents and at times sending them in mad rampages into the nearby hills before other townspeople could rescue them and exorcise the demons. John Pulsipher, an original settler of Hebron, recorded such an experience in his journal. In the summer of 1865 he described the town's recent ' warfare" with " evil spirits" and explained that the demons had " afflicted some of the young, making them perfectly wild and crazy. " Three residents, Orson Huntsman, James Wilkins, and Adelia Terry, were each afflicted, one at a time, according to Pulsipher. When the spirits possessed them they ' would try to run to the mountains or kill themselves and when caught would require the strength of three or five men to hold" them. The religious colonists used fasting, prayer, baptism, and anointing to rebuke the spirits and restore the young persons to " health and soundness. " In an effort to explain these strange events townsfolk apparently used a story that began in Mill Creek Canyon in northern Utah. As tradition had it, a man by the name of Alexander, who owned a sawmill in that canyon, was troubled by a series of freak occurrences. Every tool in his mill ended up missing, and all those that he borrowed from his neighbor also became lost. He could not find his chains, axes, hand saws, or cant hooks and soon had nothing left to work with. Puzzled by these and other mysterious happenings, Alexander eventually appealed to Brigham Young. After visiting the mill, the Mormon prophet told Alexander that his mill was built upon property that anciently belonged to the Gadianton Robbers, a nefarious band of thieves mentioned in Mormon scriptures. Following Young's recommendation, Alexander moved his sawmill and the difficulties ended. An almost identical story was told about another mill in Big Cottonwood Canyon, and apparently the same thing happened at a sawmill in Pine Valley in Washington County near Hebron. ( more) It seems likely that when Hebron residents began experiencing trouble with evil spirits they remembered the sawmill story and became convinced that they had founded their town on ancient Gadianton Robber territory. Carrie E. L. Hunt, who spent much of her youth in Hebron, gave this explanation: " As a child I remember of hearing the older folks talking about how the evil spirits seem to hover about that part of the country. It was the people's belief that way back in history, that strip of country had once been the hideout of the notorious Gadianton Robbers that were so much talked about in history. They felt their spirits still haunted the country." Over the years, in addition to evil spirits, Hebron had its share of other difficulties. It was plagued with ledq flumes, drought, floods, insects, fires, and earthquakes- all of which eventually culminated in the town's abandonment. Whether or not the evil spirits played a part in Hebron's ultimate failure is indeterminable. Regardless, if the Gadianton legend is true, then in 1905 when the last resident finally left Hebron the evil robbers regained their land and Hebron became a tnre ghost town. See Came Elizabeth Laub Hunt, Memories ofthe Pasf and Family History ( Salt Lake City, 1968); John Putsipher Diary, typescript, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University ; James H. Gardner, " hcidents in Early Utah History: Some May Call it Folklore," in Kate B. Carter, ed., Heart Zhrobs of the West, vol. 5 ( Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1944). THE HISTORBLYA ZEFis~ produced by the Utah State Historical Society and funded in part by a grant from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephone 533- 3500. 059518 ( PR) |
