August 1995 Blazer

Young Alice Stratton feared and then made fun of Kraiser Bill

THE HISTORY BLAZER A'EIVS OF UTAH'S PAST FROM THE Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake City LTT 84101 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 533- 3303 Young Alice Stratton Feared and Then Made Fun of " Kaiser Bill" IN THE SUMMER OF 1914 THE FLAMING PISTOL OF A* SERB PATRIOT triggeredsa series of events that held far- reaching implications- even for Utah. The well- aimed bullet killed the heir to the Austro- Hungarian throne and almost overnight exploded most of Europe into war. Across Utah citizens turned a womed eye toward international events. I In the southern part of the state Alice Stratton's grandma digested these tumultuous world happenings in the Deseret News each evening and reported her findings the following day at meal time. Stratton recalls hearing about ' Old Kaiser Bill" and the Germans- they were ' the bad guysm- as well as England and its team of " good guys." For young Alice her grandma's reports were awful. They told of trenches, machine guns, poison gas, liquid fires, and death. These images notwithstanding, Stratton's youthful mind managed to translate the war into something enjoyable. The two mounds of dried manure that had been pitched out the windows of the family stable became France and Germany. Stratton, with her friends, ran back and forth between them chanting, ' Kaiser Bill went up the hill to kill the King of France, Kaiser BilI came down the hill with bullets in his pants." Unfortunately, despite President Woodrow Wilson's pledge otherwise, the war did not remain strictly a European affair. Several threatening events fmally culminated in a Congressional declaration of war on April 6, 1917. Utah was affected almost immediately. Parts of Brigham Young University became a training center for infantrymen bound for France, Fort Douglas served as an officers' training camp and internment center for ~ e r mnkat ionals, and all across the state Utahns began enlisting in the military. The small town of Humcane in southern Utah held a celebration in honor of its newly registered servicemen. At sunrise cannons announced the event with loud booms followed by a flag ceremony. At 4. o'clock that afternoon the registrants paraded through the streets and then marched into the town hall where they were pinned with a badge and served delicious cake and ice cream. In all, nearly 25,000 men and women from the Beehive state entered military units during the war. Some 665 Utahns died in the service; most of them ( 446) died from disease and accidents, while the rest were killed in action. Those who stayed home also did their part for the war effort. Women knitted socks, mittens, and sweaters and made wool scraps into made into quilts to send overseas. Different civic and religious groups gave dances and bazaars for the Red Cross, and the state actively promoted planting liberty gardens and subscribing to Liberty Bonds. In fact, under the leadership of ( more) Governor Simon Bamberger and Heber J. Grant the state's Liberty Bond drive raised subscriptions far exceeding Utah's quota. Eventually, on November 11, 1918, Germany surrendered and the whole world celebrated. Jubilant Utahns rushed- into the streets to rejoice. Flag- waving residents overcome with excitement jammed into downtown Salt Lake City. In smaller Utah towns church bells rang for hours, car owners honked their horns, and fireworks announced the good news: Kaiser Bill had had enough. Soucss: Dean L. May, Ulah: A Pmplc's History ( Sdt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1987); Alice Isom Gubler Stnrron, ' Look to the Stars," typedpt in posse~ siono f Alice Stcatton, L Verkin, UW, W mhington Cbunty Novs, June 14, October 4, 1917, November 21, 1918. I% EHI STORYB WW is produced by the Utah State Historical Society and . funded in part. b y a grant fbm the Utah Statehood Centamid Commission. For more idonnation about the Historical Society telephone [phone] ( PR) THE HISTORY BLAZER ATEI1' S OF UTAH'S PAST FROM THE Utah State ~ istoricaSl ociety 300 Rio ~ r a n d e Salt Lake City. LTT 88101 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 333- 3503 Robbers' Roost in Utah's " Outback" Was a Haven for Outlaws ABETWEETNH E COLORADOG, REENA, ND D mD EVIL lies- a wild stretch of land - c r i s ~ owsit~ h s qwalled canyons and hidden draws. For over 30 years this inhospitable terrain served as a hideout for outlaws of every description. Robbers' Roost was a stronghold of the Wad Bunch, Butch Cassidy's motley band of bank robbers, train stickup men, and horse and cattle rustlers. The region probably gained its colorful name and reputation in the 1870s when Cap Brown ran stolen horses through the area. The Roost afforded hundreds of hiding spots and was difficult to penetrate, as the only easy access is via the mouth of the Dirty Devil River. A CircleviUe, Utah, native and grandson of a Mormon handcart pioneer named Robert Leroy Parker began using the Roost in the 1880s to hide cattle that he rustled with Mike Cassidy. Legend has it that Parker became a full- time outlaw in 1884, adopting the name Butch Cassidy in honor of his mentor. Robberss' Roost was one of several hideouts along what became known as the Outlaw Trail. Brown's Hole, a rugged canyon region near the junction of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming on the Green River, was another such hideout, along with the Hole- in- the- wall in south- central Wyo-ming. The three hideouts, strung out in a roughly north- south line about 200 miles apart as the crow flies, served as temporary refuges or semi- permanent Wild Bunch headquarters in the 1880s, 90s, and early 1900s. Another frequent resident of the Roost was Matt Warner, supposedly born Willard E. Christiansen to the fifth wife of a Mormon bishop in Ephraim, Utah. Warner served a cattle-rustling apprenticeship before joining the McCarthy gang along with Cassidy. The future Wild Bunch used Robbers' Roost after a Colorado bank robbery in 1889. Cassidy used it again in April 1897 when he and another man ( probably Elzy Lay) held up the Pleasant Valley Coal Company payroll. Daring robberies such as these made the Bunch notorious ( and folk heroes to some), while their hard rides between their refuges were equally impressive. Cassidy was an excellent rider and always stressed the importance of strong, well- trained horses, often changing mounts at Robbers' Roost during a long ride. The Roost was never successfully penetrated by the authorities, despite some sporadic attempts and many boastful claims by various officials. Over the years the refuge gained a reputation as being impregnable, and stories about its defenses contributed to its legend. C. L. ' Gunplay" Maxwell, a small- time bandit who reportedly yearned to join the Wild Bunch, wrote Governor Heber M. Wells from prison that the Roost was defended by a well- armed, 200- man gang with an intricate system of fortifications, tunnels, land mines, and a vast storehouse of ( more)