Utah Historical Quarterly Volume XII

Indian relations on the Mormon frontier, by Juanita Brooks - 2

18 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY around my camp all armed with good rifles. Two years ago they were armed with nothing but bows and arrows of the poorest description. The first appearance of these Indians was sullen and impudent and had they dared they would have been openly hostile. To counteract as far as lay in my power the mischievous impression made upon them by the Mormons, I " talked" with all the Chiefs, explained to them the true relation existing be­tween Americans and Mormons, issued rations to the tribes as far as I could afford to do so, and made the Chiefs some trifling presents of old uniforms, tobacco and shirts. I have learned from gentlemen who have since passed over the road that the presence of my Command among them has had a beneficial effect." Perhaps it was not alone the teachings of the Mormons that had caused the distinction in the minds of the natives. The Mor­mons planned to stay in Utah permanently, and it was necessary for them to cultivate the friendship of the Indians if they were to be safe, especially in the smaller, scattered settlements. The emigrants passing through were moved by no such considerations. There were a number of protests sent in to Brigham Young con­cerning transients who shot Indians " just to see them jump," and thereby endangered the lives of the settlers. Dr. Thomas Flint, who took a herd of sheep and cattle over­land to California in 1853, kept a diary of his travels, which gives a sidelight on conditions in Utah at the time. He says that his company " were not robbed or molested to the amount of more than a set of horseshoes" while in the Territory, though some other groups, particularly those from Missouri and Illinois, were fined for every offense, real or imagined. Having a large group of well-armed men to protect his cattle and sheep, he had no fear of the Indians. He writes: Saturday, 29th [ Oct., 1853]. Started early for a 22 mile drive. Indians cross because we had got away before they dared to approach our camp as they knew full well that if they came near in the night they would be shot " That the Indians recognized the difference in the treatment they received, there can be no doubt. One story has been told often and credited to different parts of the state. It has been heard from " Typewritten copy of the original in the National Archives, in the Utah Writers' Project collection in the custody of the Utah State Historical Society. " Dr. Thomas Flint, " Diary," in Annual Publications, Historical Societ,, nt Southern California, 1923. society ot INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 19 the descendants of those who first settled the Muddy Valley in Nevada, and also from the San Juan, Utah, colonists. It is to the effect that in one of the regular Mormon testimony meetings an Indian chief who was in attendance rose to speak. Drawing himself to his full height and assuming a very dignified manner, he delivered the following sermon: " Mormon weino. Mormon tick-a- boo. Make- em water- ditch. Plant- em grain. Feed- em Indians. Mormon tick- a- boo. White man - of a -.' " 2 The intricacies of the Indian- Mormon- Gentile relationships are too varied for present treatment, and do not rightly belong to this discussion. It is important here only to point out that the Mormon Church established a missionary system; that its purpose was to establish friendly relations with the natives, to teach them farming and the arts of civilized life; and that the Mormon mis­sions were not unlike similar experiments carried on elsewhere by missionaries of other churches, save for the doctrinal differences involved.* 8 At the time [ 1857], when the Mormons were, or thought they were, at war with the United States, their friendship with the Indians seemed far more important than it ever has been before or since. Johnston's army was en route to put down the " rebellion" in Utah, and a kind of war hysteria gripped the entire Territory. Though in the north Brigham Young attempted merely to keep the Indians neutral, the leaders of the Southern Mission made a special effort to cultivate their good will. In this section the people were few and scattered, and they feared an invasion of enemy forces from the west. In any event, they knew that if war actually came, there would be need for the combined forces of both whites and natives. A letter of instruction from Brigham Young to Jacob Hamblin is clear on the point that the Indians be made to feel that they must help the Mormons or the United States " will kill us both." The letter is quoted in full because in the version printed in his auto­biography of Jacob Hamblin, James Little used only the first and last parts, omitting the most pertinent section: President's Office Great Salt Lake City August 4, 1857 Elder Jacob Hamblin: You are hereby appointed to succeed Elder R. C. Al­len ( whom I have released as President of the Santa Clara Indian Mission). I wish you to enter upon the duties of your calling immediately. '" In the Paiute dialect, " weino" means " good," and is evidently a corruption of the Spanish " bueno"; " Tick- a- boo" means friend. " Nels Anderson, Desert Saints ( Chicago, 1942), p. 145. 20 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Continue the conciliatory policy towards the Indians, which I have ever recommended, and seek by works ot righteousness to obtain their love and confidence, for they must learn that they have either got to help us, or the United States will kill us both. Omit promises where you are not sure you can fill them; and seek to unite the hearts of the brethren on that mission, and let all under your direction be knit together in the holy bonds of love and unity. We have an abundance of " news." The government have at last appointed an entire set of officials for this Ter­ritory. These Gentry are to have a bodyguard of 2500 of Uncle's Regulars. They were to start from Fort Leaven­worth July 15. 400 mule teams brings their personal dun­nage, & 700 ox teams 15 months' provisions, 7000 head of beef cattle are to arrive here to supply them. General Harney, it is supposed, will command the expedition. There [ sic] errand is entirely peaceful. The current re­port is that they somewhat query whether they will hang me with or without a trial. There are about 30 others whom they intend to deal with. They will then proclaim a general jubilee, and afford means and protection to those who wish to go back to the States. We feel first rate about all this and think every circumstance but proves the hastening of Zion's redemption. All is peace here and the Lord is eminently blessing our labors; grain is abundant, and our cities are alive with the busy hum of industry. Do not permit the brethren to part with their Guns or ammunition, but save them against the hour of need. Seek the Spirit of God to direct you, and that he may qualify you for every duty, is the prayer of your Fellow laborer in the Gospel of Salvation BRIGHAM YOUNG" Whether or not this letter had any bearing in the fact that Jacob Hamblin took ten of the chiefs from the southern part of the state to Great Salt Lake City immediately following its receipt, can only be guessed, but it is a fact that they were there on Sep­tember 1st* 8 and spent some time in consultation with Brigham Young. What went on at that conference is also a matter of con­jecture, but it evidently had a bearing on subsequent events, and probably in a way that Brigham Young did not intend. From the time the first missionaries went to the Southern OmcSajT^ aKty; UtaT ™ ' ™ ' *" " * * - ° f ^ °*^ H i s t o r i a n ' s "" L. D. S. Journal History," September 1, 1857. INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 21 Indian Mission, there were those among them, it appears, who were mindful that their work might one day be significant for Israel beyond its immediate significance at that time, for the memory of the " mobbings and drivings" was still fresh. On Sunday, May 14, 1854, three years before the crisis with the government, such a suggestion was made in a meeting in Harmony, Utah, recorded by T. D. Brown: Bro. Jno. Lott [ said he was] glad to stand in this mis­sion and be one of us. Spoke of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the rise of the Church, of his suffering, tarring and feather­ing, and other persecutions. . . . " I lived with Jos. in Mis­souri. The Saints of God endure not for a good name among man but because it is required of us by the good Father in Heaven." Brother Lewis reviewed the principles of the previous speakers. . . . " All the scenes Br. Lott has recounted I snared in; my Brother Benjamin was killed in Missouri, and I am alive to avenge his blood when the Lord will. The second time I heard a Mormon preach, he declared hold­ing up the Book of Mormon, that this was a record of the red men . . . and we should one day carry this work to the Indians, and we are now living among them and to teach them of this work. We must treat them like children, by degrees, to quit their savage customs. Be diligent, faithful and patient, and the Lord will reward you when you have been proved. Ephraim is the battle ax of the Lord. May we not have been sent to learn how to use this ax with skill?"* 8 Regardless of his attitude toward the army or the government or the passing emigrants, Brigham Young at no time deviated from his policy of friendliness to the Indians. Of this there is ample evidence. Very early he said to his people: When you go among the Lamanites, deal with them honestly and righteously in all things. Any man who cheats a Lamanite should be dealt with more severely than for cheating a white man. . . . I am sorry that some of our brethren have been killed by the Indians, but I am far more sorry that some of the Indians have been slain by the brethren. I have often said, and I say again, if any person is to be killed for stealing let that one be a white man and not an Indian, for white men know better, while Indians do not, and you must lay aside your angry feelings to­wards them, and cease wishing to kill them." " Brown ." Indian Mission," pp. 36- 37. "" L. D. S. Journal History," October 9, 1853. 22 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Throughout all his life Brigham Young maintained the same idea. After eleven years, during which there had been many prov­ocations on the part of the natives, he still insisted on . J a n c" 7J* e m' ods, admitting that the Indians had cause for their feelings o resentment, and that, in spite of everything, the Saints should treat them kindly. Speaking in 1864, he said: Wei could circumscribe their camps and kill every man, woman and child of them. This is what others have done, and if we were to do it, what better are we than the wicked and ungodly? It is our duty to do better than they in our administration of justice and our general conduct toward the Lamanites. It is not our duty to kill them, but it is our duty to save them and the lives of their children. This is the land they and their fathers have walked over and called their own, and they have just as good right to call it theirs today as any people have to call any land their own. They have buried their fathers and mothers and children here; this is their home and we have taken posses­sion of it and occupy the land where they used to hunt. But now their game is gone and they are left to starve. It is our duty to feed them. The Lord has given us ability to cultivate the ground and reap bountiful harvests; we have an abundance of food for ourselves and for the stranger. It is our duty to feed these poor ignorant Indians. We are living on their possessions and at their homes.* 9 When, still later, the Indian discontent assumed the nature of a general uprising, the- counsel to the people was still not to kill them. Instead, the settlers were told to fortify themselves more securely, to watch their cattle and sheep more closely and not to trust them to the care of boys or stupid men who might let the Indians steal them, and to travel in groups for their mutual pro­tection. Adopt measures from this time forward that not an­other drop of your blood or the blood of any belonging to you, shall be shed by the Indians; and keep your stock so securely that not another horse, mule, ox, cow, or sheep, or even calf shall fall into their hands, and the war will soon be stopped." It must be pointed out, however, that the precept was not always followed. There was often a lack of sympathy for the " Journal of Discourses. Vol. II, p. 264. " Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H. Wells lettw. • c Snow dated May 2, 1866, in files of the St. George Stake. to Eras'us INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 23 Indian viewpoint/ 0 and occasional instances of vengeful and wanton killings by Mormon settlers. The murder of a group of innocent Paiutes by a company under James Andrus after the killing of Dr. J. M. Whitmore and Robert Mclntire at Pipe Springs by the Navajos January 8, 1866, is a case in point. At an early date Brigham Young had suggested that for their own good and that of the whites the Indians should be gathered and located in certain areas that he mentioned, including the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. 61 This was in line with the forced migrations of the Cherokees and other tribes in the East, and shows that Brigham Young considered more drastic means of solving the Indian problem without much regard for the Indian viewpoint. This, however, was never followed out. Instead, his letters of instruction show that he favored teaching the Indians to work and to be as nearly as possible self- sustaining. On March 5, 1858, he wrote to Jacob Hamblin: I highly approve of your designs in doing your farm­ing through the natives; it learns them to obtain a sub­sistence by their own industry and leaves you more at liberty to visit others and extend your missionary labors among them. A few missionaries to show, and learn them how to raise stock and grain, and then not eat it up for them is most judicious, and you should always be careful to impress upon them that they should not infringe upon the rights of others; and our brethren should be very careful not to infringe upon their rights in any particular- thus cultivating honor and good principles in their midst by example as well as by precept. Twelve years later, on September 13, 1870, writing again to Jacob Hamblin, Brigham Young said: You should appoint some good Indian to act as Bishop at the Paria in dividing the grain. Let him see that the fodder and that portion of the grain belonging to the whites be preserved for scouting parties or otherwise to be disposed of under your directions; and that belong­ing to the Indians must be put in his charge and dealt out to them by him day by day, for their benefit, also, as you shall direct. The Indians must be learned as fast as practicable to work to sustain themselves and not expect that the whites or other people will do their work for them. 62 " William R. Palmer, " Pahute Indian Homelands," Utah Historical Quar­terly, Vol. VI, No. 3 p. 88, discusses this in some detail. ^" L. D. S. Journal History," November 20, 1850; letter from Brigham Young to John M. Bernhisel. ^ These two letters are owned by Mrs. Mary H. Beeler, Mesa, Arizona. 24 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY The one case where Brigham Young seems to have considered seriously moving an Indian tribe from its homeland was that of the Hopi Indians of northern Arizona, whom the Mormons called by their Navajo name of the " Moquis" or Moquitches." Ka These were peaceful Indians, who practiced agriculture and, had some skill in weaving. As early as 1858 Brigham Young toyed with the idea of persuading them to move across the Colorado River and settle nearer the Saints. On each of Jacob Hamblin's visits to these people he tried to get a few of the Indian leaders to accompany him back to Utah, with the idea of further cementing their friend­ship and impressing them with the advantages of cooperation with the Mormons. By 1860 President Young's plan seems to have taken definite form. In a council he talked about the gathering of the Moquis Indians. He preferred to have the Moquis gather under the rim of the Basin, where they could be protected ( as they were not a fighting people) before having them gather in their own country. 68 One month later, the " L. D. S. Journal History" records: The President [ Brigham Young] said he wanted the Moquis Indians to settle in different places under the South rim of the basin, and he wanted about 20 white men to settle with every ten Indians. 54 With the death of George A. Smith, Jr., at the hands of the Navajos on his trip to the Moquis, the plan for moving the Indians was abandoned for some years, and all missionary work among the Indians o£ Arizona was temporarily suspended. By 1863 the Mormon leader had worked out a plan to build forts on the east side of the Colorado River, since it seemed impossible to persuade the natives to move across. In a letter to Erastus Snow, February 15, 1863, George A. Smith outlined the course of action: The President seemed much pleased with the results of the last mission to the Moquis Pueblos; he immediately declared his intention of building forts there to protect Lamanite industry, should they see proper to be gathered under the wings of Israel's Eagles. After outlining in great detail the route, the supplies, the equip­ment, the types of forts and stockades to be built, and the duties of the brethren, the letter continues: . . . and should the arrangements so dimly shadowed in Ka See Journal of Thales Haskell to these Indians, D. 69 this W* tit> •" L. D. S. Journal History," August 16, 1860. " Loc. tit, September 4, 1860. INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 25 the communication be successfully carried out, they could be invited to gather at such a location, where the aid of ploughs, mills, spinning wheels, looms, and other ap­purtenances of civilized life, would enable them to develop that native ingenuity, as well as the necessaries of life, ten­fold more fully than before; while the protection of 100 brave, generous and high minded missionaries would render their flocks and their herds, as well as their scalps comparatively safe, while that moral and religious training which is necessary to make the descendants of Lehi, Ishmael and Zoran, a white and delightsome people, can successfully be bestowed upon their heads. The Lord requires us to do that which is in our power for the re­demption of these remnants of Jacob; and the result after doing our duty we must leave in his hands. 66 A number of factors entered into the failure of this plan, among them the forbidding nature of the desert country and the fact that the Indians plainly did not want to be gathered under the wings of Israel's Eagles. In the meantime the settlers of southern Utah had hard scratching to make a living] for themselves, and they found the Paiutes who lived among them a decided liability. Many a priest­hood meeting was spent discussing what to do with the Indians; even the sisters in Relief Society talked over ways and means of teaching their Indian girls white ways or persuading the squaws to work instead of begging from door to door. The natives had become paupers to be fed, a sort of nuisance to be put up with, for no amount of teaching seemed capable of changing their natural indolence to industry. To their credit it must be said that the Mormons did try to help the Indians, and that in general their program was far- sighted. Yet after twenty- five years of tutorship, they still had to assume the responsibility of seeing that their darker brethren had food. The following letter illustrates the method they adopted and car­ried out for a number of years: March 25, 1879 To Moqueak & his men: Brethren: Bro. McAllister, Bro. Snow, and the Big Chief, John Taylor, have bought ten acres of land from the Mormons for $ 300 on the lower end of our Farm, which I will show you,- for the use of the Indians. I, Bp. [ Bishop] of Price Ward, will see that it is "" History of Brigham Young," MS in archives of L. D. S. Church Histor­ian's office, Salt Lake City, Utah, p. 172. 26 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY plowed, and marked out for watering, and plough out your head- ditches, and let you have the water, through the watermaster. You may divide the 10 acres with all the Indians that you expect to get land on this farm. You may divide it to suit yourselves, so that it is divided in strips up and down, so that we can plow it. We cannot plow it in little round patches. Or, I will divide it for you if you wish. This is all we expect to do. You must do all the rest of the work and help on the ditch and dam, and keep your horses off our land. If your horses get on our crops, you must pay the damage, like other Mormons. If our horses, or cattle, destroy your crops, we must pay the damage. We all feel kindly to you Indians, and we will do you all the good we can. But we have to work hard to get our bread and clothing and teams to work our land; our wives have to work hard; our children have to work hard, and we have no time to work for you, only what you cannot do. You Indians want a heap of land and have no team nor plows, nor tools, to work with; nor seed to plant. You want us Mormons to do all this for you. We have not time, we must work for our own children. You must do as we do,- take a little land, do a heap of work, and raise more grain. Now, Moqueak, what I say, I mean, and you need not trouble me any more, for more land. I know better what is good for you, than you do yourself. I remain, very kindly to the Indians, R. GARDNER, Bishop of Price Ward" Robert Gardner thus tried to be firm with the Indians and kind to them at the same time. According to his promise he did plow their land for them and helped them plant the seed, but just when the grain was growing nicely, a flood came which took out the dam and part of the ditch. The Indians promptly left, to return from the mountains in the fall for the whites to feed. Similar ex­periences were repeated so often that the Church at last ap­propriated an annual sum to support them, in order to lift the burden from the local settlers. Nine years after Robert Gardner wrote his letter to Moqueak, the presidency of the St. George Stake wrote to Wilford Woodruff, then president of the Church, asking for additional help: """ History of the Southern Mission," James G. Bleak, in archives n f m s Church Historian's office. Salt Lake City, Utah, Book C, p ^ T INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 27 For several years the Trustee- in- Trust has appro­priated $ 400 per year. This has been used in provisions, clothing, and blankets. Some of the Lamanites are aged and not able to work; the young ones go off to mining camps. . . . This season has been so varied that the appropriation was used up some time ago, and the cold and snows hav­ing driven them in from the mountains, Bro. McAllister has overdrawn the Indian appropriation about $ 100. Some of them are sick with colds, & Drs. Ivins and Agnes Thompson have furnished some medicines. We have paid brethren for plowing on the Indian farms. If an appropria­tion of $ 600 or $ 700 were made for this season, it would be a great help to us, A team, wagon and harness are needed; seeds, also some tools replaced, and they must have something while their crop is growing. We have already nine or ten acres of wheat, if cold is not too severe, we think it will do well. We will put in cotton, cane, corn, potatoes, and squash, melons, etc., in the season thereof... .67 This type of dole was continued until 1891, when the United States Government purchased a tract for the Indians and estab­lished a reservation in Washington County. 68 Thus, after forty-four years of labor with the Lamanites, the Mormons were relieved of the responsibility. Since that time the Church has done little more than distribute gifts of flour, meat, and candy at Christmas, and hold occasional religious services on Sunday. The zeal of the early missionaries who had visions of helping the natives adopt a new culture and become " white and delightsome" has largely vanished, though the theory remains. II Other aspects of the Mormon- Indian relations are more subtle and less easily traced than are the economic. The social results of the association, particularly those growing out of the intermarriage of the races and out of the adjustment of the Indian children who were raised in white homes, present an opportunity for interesting studies in acculturation. It is proposed here to consider some of these results in a general way, particularly those of the Southern Mission. " Letter from J. T. D. McAllister, Daniel D. McArthur, and David H. Can­non to Wilford Woodruff, January 17, 1888, St. George Stake files. "" Eli F. Taylor, " Indian Reservations in Utah," Utah Historical Quarterly, January, 1931, p. 29. 28 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Very early, some of the Mormon leaders recommended that the missionaries marry Indian women as a means of cementing the friendship between the races. One of the most entertaining in­cidents, and perhaps as human a story as has been told about this phase of the Mormon- Indian relations, is recorded in the diary of Hosea Stout, who was a member of the Green River Mission of 1854, sent out to reinforce the missionaries who had gone the previous autumn. On May 8, after recording that Green River County had that day been organized, and that Isaac Bullock, James Brown, Elijah Ward, and James Davis had been appointed to go as missionaries among the Shoshoni Indians, he writes in high good humor: Elder Hyde held a meeting in the evening. In the dis­course he recommended the marrying of squaws in the most positive and strong terms and particularly the im­mediately taking Mary an old haggard mummy looking one [ sic] who had been here all winter. He was very eloquent on the occasion all of which was generally under­stood to be squinting at M. M. Sanders who already seemed to have some inklings that way and was well pleased with fair opportunity thus to safely commit him­self so he readily bit at the bait and the courtship com­menced immediately after meeting by interpreters for he could not talk with her. She wanted some time to consider he being a stranger & she dont like him much any how. The affair created an unusual amount of fun & jokes among the disinterested. [ May 10, 1854]. About noon today the proxied courtship between Sanders and Mary the Shoshone ( the flower of the desert as Elder Hyde called her) was brought to close and they both were launched into a State of matri­mony by Elder Hyde who acted the Parson. The cerimony [ sic] being performed over by the interpreter James Bullock our joy was now full & the fun loving corps enjoyed the time to the best possible advantage. . . . [ May 12. Some six wagons started to Green Ferry] . . . Sanders came with us to Bridger to purchase some goods for " Flower of the Desert," which however we afterwards learned she would not accept and even refused to have any thing to do with him. The matrimonial alliance thus entered into has proved a signal failure. 58 The Elders who were sent to the Salmon River Mission were "" Hosea Stout, " Journal," typewritten transcription in the Writers' Project collection in custody of the Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake Citv Utah Vol. V, pp. 171- 173. y* U t M ' INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 29 given similar instructions by Brigham Young and his party, who visited them in May, 1857. At least three different missionaries tell of them, all under date of Sunday, May 10, 1857. Milton G. Hammond says simply, " The president and members of the Twelve all spoke. Pres. Young spoke of Elders marrying natives." 80 Wil­liam H. Dame, of Parowan, who was one of President Young's party, wrote in his journal: " Meeting was held at 10 a. m. All the presidency spoke on the subject of this and other missions among the Indians. Young men might take squaws to wife. . . ." 81 The mission clerk, David Moore, gave a somewhat more detailed ac­count: Sunday, May 10, [ 1857]. Brethren all called in Center of fort for Meeting. Pres. H. C. Kimball & Wells ad­dressed Missionaries as well as the Brn. [ Brethren] pre­sent on the importance of the Missionaries being faithful in the discharge of their duties and for them to marry the Native women. That the Marrege [ sic] tie was the strongest tie of friendship that existed & c. & c. after which Pres. B. Young said, he did not wish the Brethren to feel in a hurry about anything but to live their Religion and when the Lord opened they [ sic] way before them so that they Could Marry Girls they would be very likely to be enabled to keep them. But if the Brn. were to Marry those old ranegadoes [ sic] they would be off with the first Mountaineer that Came along. Much more good instruc­tion was Given by the Presidency & by those of the 12 Apostles present Mostly in respect to our mission. The day was spent in a very agreeable Manner to all present. 82 As a result of these teachings, at least three of the brethren married Indian women. The following items, all from the official " Journal of the Salmon River Mission," show the degree of success which attended the marriages. Tuesday 22nd [ Dec. 1857]. Thos. Day of Salt Lake City married a Bannack woman, a widow, Chas. Dolton officiating in the Cerimony [ sic]. Wednesday 23. Br. Day's wife ran off takeing her Child with her some time during the night. This morning a little Bannack a relation of the woman went after her, found her hid in the Brush and Brot her back again. Thursday 24. Br. Day's wife still keeps very sullen "" Milton D. Hammond, " Journal," from typewritten copy in Andrew Jenson's " History of the Salmon River Mission," MS L. D. S. Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City, Utah. " Quoted in Jenson, op. cit. """ Journal of Salmon River Mission," in possession of L. D. S. Church His­torian's Office, Salt Lake City, Utah. 30 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY and obstinate during the evening she ran off again. . . . Monday 28. Ezra J. Barnard married a Bannack Girl last evening. Wm. K. Perkins officiating. . . . Tuesday 12, [ Jan. 1858]. E. J. Barnard arrived from the herd 8 stated that Pete Mattigans Brother & Wadzusi, Pete's cousin had induced his wife to leave & that she had taken several articles with her from his camp. . . . Friday 22, [ Jan. 1858]. Richard B. Margitts and a Bannack woman was married this evening. Demsey [ a mountain man] formerly had her for a wife. The record goes on to tell of the losses the brethren sustained at the hands of the Indians, of the death of three of the missionaries and the closing of the mission. As to the Indian women whom they had taken as wives the " L. D. S. Journal History" of April 9, 1858, records: " Two squaws who had married the brethren refused to come, fearing the soldiers would kill all the Mormons." Thus it would seem that there were no permanent unions be­tween the Indians and whites in that mission. In the Southern Utah Mission, where the most extensive and successful Indian relations were maintained, there is little said directly of the matter of intermarriage. The following letter from Brigham Young to Jacob Hamblin makes reference to it, commend­ing the brethren who had taken Indian wives, but neither ordering nor recommending it as a general practice: President's Office G. S. L. City, 1st April 1857. Elder Jacob Hamblin Santa Clara Your letter of the 2nd March was duly received. It is your privilege to increase. I am pleased with the course you have taken in that part of the mission assigned to you, and the result of the late difficulty; I desire to make honorable mention of Thales Haskell and Ira Hatch; let them continue to be­friend the remnants of Israel, and they will see the day when they will rejoice because of their present associa­tion and the results thereof. If you ascertain that the Parents of the Indian girl given to Ira Hatch are still of the same mind, and the main body of the Indians would not object to the union, and the girl is old enough, and matured sufficiently to bear children without injury This will be his authority to go ahead, and do as he has done, proving himself the Indians' friend; INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 31 I am rather inclined to think the girl is too young at pres­ent, from what I am informed. I remain your friend and Bro. BRIGHAM YOUNG81 Whether the reference at the beginning of this letter is an answer to a request to take an Indian wife or another white wife, can only be surmised. It is known Jacob Hamblin did marry as a plural wife a white girl, Priscilla Leavitt, on September 11 of the same year. That there had been no definite instructions regarding the marriage of Indian wives in the South is shown by this extract from a letter written to Brigham Young: As this is Sunday, we had quite an interesting day in meeting. The Great and all absorbing question of amal­gamation with the natives was spoken upon at length by Brother Fream, one of our Seventies. He holds forth that it is our duty, as Latter- day Saints, to take the Lamanite women to wife and by that means make them our fast friends. He was opposed by Father Groves, who said that the Indians in these mountains are the descendants of the Gadianton Robbers, and that the curse of God is upon them, and we had better let them alone. The Bishop put a stop to further teaching of the doctrine of amalgamation, saying that he had received no orders to> instruct the brethren to take Indian wives. As two influential men, of long standing in the Church, have divided on this question, and the Bishop has failed to give his decision in the matter, I am anxious to know for myself, as it is my duty to inquire of my Bishop for information, but when he fails to satisfy my mind, I claim the right to inquire of those that can do it, and should you find time to give me a few ideas or hints upon this subject, it would be gladly received, I assure you. I am as ever, Your humble brother in the cause of truth, MARION J. SHELTON8* Jacob Hamblin gives evidence that the matter of intermarriage was considered rather important, since its chief purpose was to strengthen friendly relations rather than destroy them, and in a way that would win the approval of the natives. During the winter of 1857- 1858, Jacob Hamblin was employed as guide to take com- """ Letter Book No. 3," p. 516, in the archives L. D. S. Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City, Utah. "" L. D. S. Journal History," December 18, 1858. Gadianton is referred to in the Book of Mormon, Helaman, 2, 4ff. 32 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY panies through to California. This entry appears in his journal after his account of his first trip: On my arrival at the Mudday [ sic] as I returned, I found the Missions there in rather a precarious situation. The brethren that were there had taken rather an unwise course with the Indians in regard to taking Indian women. When I went down I told them it was a dellicate [ sic] mat­ter for them to handle and not to say anything about it at present. But as they felt very impatient to take squaws, the young bucks had become very jealous of them and waylaid them to shoot them. . . ." Four years later, Jacob Hamblin received a letter from Brig­ham Young which contained definite instructions regarding the marriage of Moqui [ Indian] girls: I have written to Br. E. Snow in relation to marrying Moqui girls, informing him that the brethren were at liberty to do so; but that in case a person at the time had a wife, the parties would have to come here to have the cere­mony performed, otherwise they can be married there.*" This letter indicates that the missionaries were still allowed, and perhaps even encouraged, to take Indian wives, but that mar­riage in the case where a man already had a white wife was a more serious matter than when he was unattached. This, however, was only in conformity with the general practice of polygamy, that the taking of a second wife was attended with more complications and restraints than a first marriage. It also shows that after a man had been married in the Endowment House he had entered into cove­nants which must not be considered lightly. The last reference which has been found, long after the mar­riage of Indian women had become a dead issue in Utah, is from the journal of Joseph Fish of Arizona: Apostles Snow and Brigham Young [ Jr.] arrived in our camp at about 5 p. m. They held meeting with us speaking upon missionary labors among the Lamanites. Bro. Snow thought that the missionaries should go and stay among the Lamanites and teach them and bring them along, and if necessary marry them. 87 " Jacob Hamblin, " Journal," p. 49. " Brigham Young's letter to Jacob Hamblin, March 4, 1863. Original owned by Mrs. Mary Beeler, Mesa, Arizona. " Joseph Fish, " Journal," September 13, 1880. Original in L. D S Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City, Utah. INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 33 By this time the interest in the Indians had definitely waned. To the settlers, wrestling with the problems of water- ditch and alkali, the natives were certainly not an asset. However often they were baptized and ceremoniously presented with a new shirt, they were not " white and delightsome." As the frontier receded the men who had taken Indian wives, even through obedience to counsel, were looked down upon by neighbors who were less zealous or who had arrived later. Even so, there were Indian children who had been raised in white homes, trained and educated as whites, whom soci­ety was forced to recognize; there were children who were the issue of these first Indian- white marriages and for whom a place must be found in the commonwealth. There has been no complete survey of the total number of Indian children brought into white homes, nor is this study exhaus­tive, even for the southern part of the state. To secure what infor­mation is here presented, items have been gathered from old diaries and journals, and from people still living who remember the Indian children. Though the list is doubtless incomplete, it may still have significance. A surprising number of Indian children in white homes died in childhood or early adolescence; they seem to have had little resist­ance to white man's diseases, especially measles. Mention has already been made of T. D. Brown's statement that he secured five Indian children, only two of whom were alive at the end of the year. Zadok K. Judd and his wife Minerva Dart Judd adopted at least three, only one of whom grew to maturity. This was a girl, Nellie. One day after she was a young woman, Nellie carefully took her clean clothes from the washing on the line, rolled them into a tight bundle and placed them in the window. Though her foster mother noticed, she said nothing. The next morning the girl was gone, ap­parently with a band of her own people who were passing through. The Judds could have followed and brought her back had they cared to, but either they thought that she would be happier among the Indians, or they were mildly relieved to have her go. Years later, when one of Mrs. Judd's children had died and she herself was ill, a squaw came to the place and sat in the dooryard. The younger children did not recognize her or tell the mother that she was there. Later, when she knew, Mrs. Judd said that it must have been Nellie who had come back to offer her sympathy, but not being invited in, had sat a while in the dooryard and left. 68 Thomas Forsythe bought a three- year- old boy, Moroni, for a horse and saddle. He raised the child with his own and gave him an equal chance for an education. He also made him responsible for a part of the chores and farm work. One night when the boy " This was told the writer by a daughter, Mrs. Gertrude Cottam of St. George, Utah. The Journal of Minerva Dart Judd mentions several adopted Indian children. 34 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY was about nineteen, he failed to bring the cows, and his father, a quick- tempered man, reprimanded him sharply. The next morning the boy was gone. For a long time they heard nothing of him; then one day when the family had come in from the ranch to Paro-wan with a load of butter, cheese, and farm produce to exchange for groceries, one of the girls saw " Rone." He talked to her, in­quired about the family, sent his love to the mother, and seemed interested in all their doings, but he never came back. They later learned that he had joined the Indians. Christopher J. Arthur adopted an Indian boy named Samuel, who grew up as an older brother to his children. There is a picture of him with their son, in which both children are well dressed and appear as equals. But this boy also left home. The Arthur Journal says: In 1856 I bought an Indian boy papoose 1 year old, weaned from his mother's breast. As he grew up he be­came very useful, but was enticed to leave when about 17 years old. He worked for Joseph S. Hunter for a year or two then went into some of the Northern States, had been cut and slashed in some shooting. Some years later he pleaded to come back to me but I said no. 69 In another entry Arthur makes mention of him and concludes: He had many narrow escapes of his life & I presume regretted more than once leaving his comfortable home to wander as a fugitive upon the earth. He was a good worker on the farm and left me at a bad time. Angus M. Cannon adopted a boy, Alma; Amos G. Thornton also had one whom he called Alma; George Wood raised one, Leo; John Harris of Glen dale one, Frank; Moroni Spilsbury of Toquerville one, Lorim. None of these ever married though all lived to maturity and the two latter to old age. All were known as expert cattlemen and horsemen; all mixed with the whites freely, but none could secure a white wife or would accept an Indian girl. William R. Palmer tells of another boy, Omer Badegee Hey-wood, who died in Harmony in 1862: He had been bought out of slavery from Wah- kar- ra's band by the Mormons. The records say that he was a " Piede Indian" captured by the Utes in 1853 and soon after purchased from captivity by Z. N. Baxter of Nephi, """ Journal of Christopher J. Arthur," transcript copied in the W. P. A. col­lection in the library of the Utah State Historical Society, and in the Washington County Library, St. George, Utah, Part 1, p. 18. INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 35 Utah, by whom he was presented to J. L. Heywood in 1854. The " Piedes" were the Cedar Indians. Omer was a splendid character, much beloved, and Elder in the Mor­mon faith, and his death was mourned by the entire com­munity. He died at about the age of twenty years and was the fourth person buried in the Harmony cemetery. 70 Among the Indian girls who died at maturity without marry­ing are Mickey, who was adopted by Artemisia Snow, the wife of Erastus Snow, and Jane, who was raised by Samuel Knight of Santa Clara. Mickey died in her ' teens, but Jane worked in differ­ent homes in St. George for several years before she became ill. She returned to her home in Santa Clara to die. Sister McClellan, the mother of Samuel Knight, also adopted an Indian girl. Sister McClellan owned the only organ in Santa Clara at the time, and the girl learned to play well, so that the home became the gathering place of the young people of the vil­lage on Sunday afternoons. The girl had a chance to marry a white man as his fourth wife, but the parents thought she could do better, and so opposed the match. They moved back north, taking the girl with them, but the climate did not agree with her. She con­tracted pneumonia and died, unmarried. Still another Indian girl was Ann, who was raised at Hamil­ton's Fort by John Hamilton. She is still living and has never mar­ried. She became an expert housekeeper and worked for many years in some of the best homes in Salt Lake City. To meet her now is to meet a woman who is well groomed and who dresses in excel­lent taste. She speaks with a cultured accent and is a delightful person to know. She spends a great deal of her time in the Mormon temple and has done some work there for her own people. Instances of intermarriage between Indians adopted by the whites discussed here were furnished the writer by William T. Morris, Sr„ an early- day resident of Parowan. Ebenezer Hanks, pioneer storekeeper there, purchased an Indian boy, Albert. When he was grown he married an Indian girl, Ruth Wimmer, who had also been raised in a white home, and the couple established them­selves in Parowan. In the same town at about the same time, Grand­ma West had an Indian boy, Lehi, who married Edna Bayliss, an Indian girl raised by the whites. Mr. Morris did not know anything of the descendants of either of these couples, if there were any, nor has anything been learned from other sources. The list of Indian children who died early is probably incom­plete, since there were no records kept of all of them. Of those who intermarried with the whites, however, it is much easier to find the basic facts. The following are all that the writer has been able to discover: " William R. Palmer, " Pahute Indian Government and Laws," Utah Histori­cal Quarterly, April, 1929, p. 38. 36 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Janet was a Shivwits child who was bought by Prime Coleman of Pinto and later given to Eliza McConnell of Cedar City, from whose home she married James Clark. She had at least seven chil­dren: Prime Coleman Clark, who died when about twenty years of age; Alfred, who died in young manhood, and three daughters and two sons who lived and married. Two of the girls married Dave and Henry Edwards, brothers, and the third married Rone Thomp­son- all white men. One boy, Jim, married a girl named Smith and had a number of children by her, and after her death married her sister and had a younger family by her. The other brother. Will, also married a white girl and lives in Cedar City, where they are well respected. The descendants are now quite numerous, and move on an equality with their neighbors. Rhoda was also a Shivwit child who was purchased by Wil­liam Carpenter and his wife. Her mother, Annie, was one of the Indian women who worked for the whites, often doing the washing for the same family for years, and at her death left this one child. Since the Carpenter family had no daughter, they purchased the child and called her Rhoda. She grew up in the home, loved and hap­py. Her one fear was of Indians, for she always ran and hid when any of her own race came around. She learned to play the organ, and served as organist at the various church meetings. She married Thomas Shamp, a Spanish war veteran, and they had six children, but the marriage was not congenial and she left. After being away almost twenty years, in the spring of 1943 she returned for a short time to St. George, to dispose of her property, bringing two of her daughters with her. She is a stylish, well- groomed woman; her daughters are slender and good- looking, also tastefully dressed. When the writer met them they were disturbed over some slight, real or imagined, and were insistent that they were as good as any­one in the town, a fact which it had never occurred to anyone to question, so that all attempts to be cordial were wasted. It is under­stood that one of her children died in childhood and one as a young man; the one remaining son is serving with the armed forces in North Africa, and all three daughters are married. Soon after the arrival of the settlers in St. George, Jacob Hamblin brought a five- year- old Indian girl to the home of. Melanc-thon Burgess and asked him to buy her. Since the wife wanted her, he paid Jacob the value of fifty dollars for her. She was named Minnie. Mrs. Wallace Miles, a daughter of the Burgesses, tells what a favorite Minnie was in the family and what pride the mother took in her, especially in keeping her long black hair clean and shining. When she grew to womanhood, Minnie married Albert Hart-man of Leeds. She had four children, and died when the oldest was about thirteen years of age. The father secured the services INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 37 of Cora Keate, another Indian girl, as housekeeper, and later mar­ried her. Cora had been raised in St. George by Susannah Rogers Keate, who had no children of her own. Mrs. Keate had been a pioneer school teacher, and gave the little dark girl excellent training, until in young womanhood she was known as an expert seamstress, and because of her good voice sang in the choir and as a soloist. She went to work at the mining camp at Silver Reef. Here she met and married a man named Williams, but he soon deserted her. Later she married Albert Hartman of Leeds and took over the care of his children. She had none of her own, but was very kind to those of her husband. One died young; another, Albert, died in young manhood of miner's consumption; a third, Willie, married a white girl and had five children before he, too, died. The only daughter, Daisy, married Bill Nicoles of Leeds, Utah, where she still lives, the mother of six children, a respected citizen. In 1851 Priddy Meeks71 purchased an Indian girl about three years of age, and gave her to his wife, Sarah. The child, Lucy, was given every advantage of education and training that the white children had. There are many family legends concerning her- how on one occasion at a funeral, every member of the choir broke down and she carried the song through alone to the end as a solo; how popular she was at the dances; how no one else could make biscuits or iron ruffles with such skill. When she reached maturity she had an illegitimate child, a daughter. Just before the birth of the child, the man who presumably was responsible, and whom all the neighbors had supposed was going to marry Lucy, shot himself. Some thought that he did this through- some idea of blood atone­ment; others thought that he preferred death to life with an Indian woman; still others maintained that since he had been such a shy, bashful fellow, spending his time in the hills with the sheep and never going to meetings or dances or public gatherings, he could not face the Mormon penalty for his act. This would include a confession and apology before the congregation in church and a re-baptism before he could be reinstated in fellowship. Whatever the motive behind his suicide, Lucy was forced to bear the disgrace of the child and the blame for its father's death. Gossip ran riot, until at last the authorities from St. George were forced to come up and investigate matters. [ Many persons near the man involved persist­ently believed his protestations of innocence to the last.- Ed.] As for Lucy, she went into seclusion until her parents sent her north, thinking that a change in environment would be good for her. Her foster mother kept the baby, Sylvia. After a short time away, Lucy became ill and had to come home. Quick consumption, they called it. She lay listless, saying little and showing no interest n7ffa/ i Historical Quarterly, " Journal of Priddy Meeks," Vol. X, p. 193. 38 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY in anything, not even in the baby. She made no complaint of pain, but lay in weakness and languor, often with her face to the wall. Older people tell how, during her last days, neighbors took turns sitting up at night with her to relieve the family. The watchers on the night of her death tell how, after she had lain quietly for some time, she opened her eyes wide to the ceiling and began to sing in a high, clear voice the Mormon hymn, " O My Father." It seemed to them that the lines, " Father, Mother, may I meet you in your royal courts on High," had special meaning, as did the last line, " Let me come and dwell with you." After a short rest she told them she was going to join her own people in their happy hunting grounds and that it had been a mis­take for her ever to suppose that she could be a white girl. In­dian children, she said, should be left with their own people where they could be happy; when they were raised in white homes they did not belong anywhere. Then, so the story goes, a strange thing happened. The flame leaped up in the coal- oil lamp as though it were fanned by a sudden breeze, in spite of the fact that the room was closed and there was no air stirring. The same instant Lucy's spirit took leave, passing without a struggle. The child, Sylvia, grew to be a beautiful girl. According to the account, she married a traveling salesman from Salt Lake City. Since he was a man of some means, she had a luxurious apartment, was well dressed, and moved in a good circle. She had two sons, but both died as children. Grief over their loss impaired her health, and she, too, died while still a young woman. Another unusual case in the writer's own family was that of Janet. She was purchased as an infant by Silas Smith of Parowan. Later Smith died and his wife married a Mr. McGregor, but Janet stayed in the home and acted as an older sister to the young family, though she still went by the name of Smith. She was given the best of training in all the household arts, and took part in the social activities of the town. In her young womanhood she received an offer of marriage as a plural wife from a white man in Parowan, but to the surprise of the family, she refused. They criticized her, say­ing that she should be glad to get so good an offer since she could not expect to pick and choose. At last she told them that there was only one man that she had seen that she felt she would like to marry, and he was Dudley Leavitt. He was related to her foster mother and always stopped at the home on his annual trips to Salt Lake City. At this time he was in the north with a load of fruit. The mother reported what the girl had said to Apostle George A. Smith, who was visiting in Parowan at the time, and when Dudley came back he was called in and asked if he would consider marrying her. The theory was that a woman ought to have some say in the choice of her husband, and that when a girl had her heart set on a man, he had some responsibility in the matter of INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 39 providing her a home. Dudley, just twenty- nine himself, already had three wives, the last a girl of sixteen to whom he had been married only six months. He hesitated to give his consent to a fourth until the Apostle said, " Brother Leavitt, I promise you in the name of the Lord, that if you will take this girl, give her a home and a family, and do your duty by her, you will be blessed. You will count her descendants as among the choice ones of your off­spring." To Dudley Leavitt such a statement had all the weight of a command direct of God. He had no more to say. 72 The ceremony was performed then and there, the girl's be­longings loaded into the wagon, and the young couple started for Santa Clara. Interesting reverberations still come to us of the wel­come the pair received when they arrived, though eventually the other wives did accept the Indian girl with fairly good grace. There is no question but that she suffered under the arrangement in spite of all that her husband could do to maintain equality. Janet was the mother of eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity and six of whom married and had families. The grand­children numbered 147; the great- grandchildren are now more than 170 with others being added regularly, while there are already quite a few in the fifth generation. From the first, her descendants maintained that they were not Indians, but whites, the sons and daughters of Dudley Leavitt. The writer remembers when an agent came to town to persuade some of the grandchildren to attend the Indian college at Carlisle, holding out to them the offer of a free education. How insulted they were! They were white, and no in­ducement could have any weight with them. They preferred to pay their own way to white institutions rather than to go free to an Indian school. If the children suffered disadvantages- and no doubt they did - the grandchildren suffered less, while some of the fourth and fifth generations seem to have forgotten that there was ever an Indian ancestor. Quite a number of them held important church and civic positions, and there is an indication that the promise which was made to Dudley will be fulfilled in these later generations. Of all the Indian boys who were adopted into white homes in Southern Utah, the only one known to have married a white girl is David Lemmon. David was of the Ute tribe, and was first purchased by Hyrum Stevens, who later traded him to James A. Lemmon of Rockville, Utah, for a large black horse. The child disliked school so much that his foster parents did not force him to go, but sent him out to herd the cows in the hills. Thus it was that he did not learn to read. As a young man he was large and well formed, weighing nearly two hundred pounds. He was also very athletic, his greatest delight '" Juanita Brooks, Dudleu Leavitt, Pioneer to Southern Utah ( St. George, 1942). 40 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY being to challenge the white boys to wrestle or race, either on foot or on horseback. He also learned to play the violin, and was for years the only musician in the region, going on horseback as far as Silver Reef and Toquerville to play for dances. He received five dollars a night for this service, which was at that time a handsome wage. He married Caroline Josephine Neilson, a Swedish girl. His son, David W. Lemmon, relates that after he himself was old enough to start school he tried to teach his father to read from a primer. In vain would he point out the difference between the letters " b," " d," " p," and the others; his father would only laugh good- na­turedly and say, " They all look alike to me, son." When they had five children, the couple decided that they would like to go through the Mormon temple. At first there was a hesitancy on the part of the bishopric to grant the application since David had never been active in the Church, but knowing his char­acter and disposition, they finally granted the privilege. After the ceremony, as they were leaving St. George on their way back to Rockville, they stopped and purchased a Bible, a Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. David learned to read with almost miraculous ease and became in his later life an ardent student of the Scriptures. He taught a Sunday School class and was active in other ward18 work. After his religious awakening, he was reputed to enjoy the power of healing. When there was sickness and he was called in to administer, the patient always seemed to recover. At last his white neighbors came to have such faith in him that he was always sent for in trouble; in fact, he often went a whole day's journey to bless the sick. " You may be ashamed of your father now," he told his son, David, one day, " but the time will come when you will be proud to own him and to claim your ancestors." He died at the age of seventy- five. Of his six children who grew to maturity, four married and had families. His descendants now number twenty- eight, at least two of whom are successful school teachers. Jacob Hamblin adopted a number of Indian children, exactly how many is not known. The first boy, Albert, he secured in 1853 near Tooele, Utah. Jacob found him living with his grandmother in a miserable hut in the mountains, suffering from lack of food and clothing. With the grandmother's consent, Jacob took the boy with him. There was always a great affection between the two; Albert was trusted and respected in the Hamblin home. He as­sumed responsibility of the cattle and sheep and did much of the ™ A " ward" is an ecclesiastical unit of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon), corresponding to a parish. INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 41 farm work while Jacob was away on his various Indian missions He died, unmarried, when about twenty- three. Hamblin often secured Indian children and placed them in white homes as he could, while in his own home, according to fam­ily legend, he always had several. The only mention that is made of any in his Journal is under date of September 15, 1856: Father's health is better. Went to Pinto Creek; found my family in good health & spirits except an Indian girl whom I had bought the winter previous. Family tradition says that since this girl died of lung fever, they decided to let the other Indian children sleep out of doors or in an open shelter more like the Indians used. Evidence that Jacob Hamblin maintained several Indian children is given in a letter from the Indian agent to Brigham Young dated June 30, 1857. After speaking of the improvement in farming among the natives and reporting that " Tutsagabits, the principal chief has under cultiva­tion about sixty acres," and that " Captain Jack has about twelve acres of corn and squash," he goes on to say: As an evidence of the aptness of many of these Pied Indians for the customs and manners of civilized life, I will relate an instance which came under my observation during my visit on Santa Clara River. Mr. Hamblin, who resides at Fort Clara, has four apprenticed Pied children, consisting of two girls, one aged ten and the other about twelve years, who have been under the instruction of his wife about four years. He informed me that these little girls had spun sufficient wool during the spring to make forty yards of cloth, besides attending to other household duties, such as milking, etc., and the two boys, of about the same age, had under their charge a flock of about three hundred head of sheep, not one of which had been lost through any carelessness on their part. They all speak the English language fluently. 7* This account would bring into the Hamblin home one boy of whom we have no other information, since one of the boys was un­doubtedly Albert, already mentioned. According to a daughter, Mrs. Mary Beeler, Jacob raised three Indian girls in his home. The first, Eliza, ran away to her people and later wanted to return to the home, but since she was surly and mean- tempered, they would not have her. A second girl grew to " George W. Armstrong, Indian agent, letter to Brigham Young. . Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the Report of the Secretary of the Interior. 1857- 58, Document No. 131, p. 597. 42 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY maturity and married a white man. A third, Ellen, lived with Mrs, Beeler's mother, Priscilla Leavitt Hamblin. This girl stepped on a jagged chaparral stick which had been used to kill a tarantula. It ran far into her bare foot, and infection immediately set in, or the poison of the spider got into her blood. Though Priscilla did every­thing she could with hot packs and poultices, Ellen grew worse. She suffered such intense pain that they had to stay with her day and night. One night after many hours of watching, Priscilla was worn out. " Do you think that Martha might sit by you and change the cloths while I lie down awhile?" she asked the girl. Martha was Jacob's daughter by his first marriage, a girl almost as old as Priscilla. " You won't go out of the room, will you?" Ellen pleaded. To please her, Priscilla folded a quilt and lay down on the floor in front of the fireplace. She slept a while and woke with a start to find the fire burned out, the room in darkness, and Martha sound asleep in her chair by the bed. Priscilla raised up. The bed was empty! Looking around, she saw Ellen curled up in a little ball on the floor at her feet. The Indian girl loved her so much and had such confidence in her that she had wanted to be as near her as possible. Elleh, suffered greatly before death finally came, and Priscilla could never speak of her without emotion. " She was just a little dusky diamond," she often said. Whether or not Jacob Hamblin ever married an Indian woman has been a debated question. Many of the family resent even the suggestion with surprising bitterness and emphasis. Others say that Jacob did marry an Indian girl; old- timers from Harmony insist that they knew Eliza, who was Jacob's Indian wife, and that the fact that he had married her was never any secret until later years. ™ The stories of Eliza's running away and wanting to come back and of Ellen's death by poisoning have come to the writer from many sources and are so much alike that there seems to be no reason to doubt their truth. The only point of difference is the fact that the family contends that the girls were adopted by Jacob Hamblin as daughters rather than sealed to him as wives. The legend is that Jacob took his wife, Rachel, and the two Indian girls to the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Here Eliza was sealed to Jacob, but Ellen refused. Since the girls were still very young, one lived with Rachel and one with Priscilla'. Ellen died soon after. Eliza remained in the home until 1860 when she accompanied Jacob on the third mission to the " Moquitches." Ira Hatch also traveled with his Indian wife. After the return, Jacob undertook other trips, but left Eliza to live with the older wife, " According to Book D) page 543, of the Salt Lake Temple Records, Jacob Hamblin had sealed to him " Eliza, born on the Shivwit Reservation, date un­known, 14 February, 1863." INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 43 Rachel. She resented Rachel's supervision and would not obey her. " I am as much his wife as you are," she said one day. Trouble followed which caused her to leave, and when later she wished to return, the family would not have her. More important evidence that Jacob Hamblin did have an Indian wife comes from contemporary records. In his Autobiography, as written by James Little, he says, re­garding his third visit to the Moqui Indians in the fall of 1860: We had taken two Indian women with us, thinking that they might be a great help in introducing something like cleanliness in cooking, among the people we were going to visit. The Navajos said we might go home if we would leave them. I directed the interpreter to tell them that one of the women was Brother Hatch's wife, and theotherwasmine. 7' There is, probably, equal significance in the letter which Jacob Hamblin wrote to George A. Smith from Toquerville, October 12, 1880, on the way out to the same mission. After giving the general fit- out of boat, wagons, twenty horses and three beeves, he said, " Ira Hatch takes his Indian wife with him. The bearer of this will tell you why she went, if you ask him. 77 It seems strange that he should make no mention of the other Indian girl, either as being his adopted daughter or his wife, and the suggestion that he would prefer to have the bearer of the letter explain rather than to put it in writing himself, may have some bearing. At any rate, one is faced with several questions. Would a group of nine Mormon men take an unattached girl on a trip which was to last several months? If the girl were some other man's wife, why should Jacob say that she was his? Knowing Jacob's reputation for absolute truthfulness, it seems unlikely that he would have claimed another man's wife as his own. The manuscript " Journal of John Lee Jones" contains a com­ment on the subject. As a young man Jones was called on a mission to haul a Swiss family from Cedar City to Santa Clara in December, 1861. He tells of the trip, lists his companions, and details the weather. On arriving at Santa Clara, he writes: We found it much warmer here, the Snow had melted from among the rocks where there was a kind of bunch grass which furnished feed for our oxen during the jour­ney to the Santa Clara River. Here we found a Fort built of Adobies & was Founded by Br. Jacob Hamblin who had one of the Indian Squaws as a Female Lamanite '" James Little, ed., Autobiography of Jacob Hamblin ( Salt Lake City, 1881), p. 67. "" L. D. S. Journal History," October 12, 1880. 44 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY for a wife. This was quite a novel circumstance to me. 7" Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, with whom Jacob had rather ex­tensive association, also makes a pertinent comment: According to Mormon custom, though it was not uni­versal, Jacob had several wives, I do not know how many. I met two, and he was besides that ' sealed' to one or two Pah Ute women. Sister Louisa was the one I came to know best, and she was a good woman. 70 At the time that Dellenbaugh knew Jacob Hamblin, the latter had only two white wives, Priscilla Leavitt Hamblin and Louisa Bonelli Hamblin. His first, Lucinda Taylor, had left him before he came west with the Mormons, and his second, Rachel Judd, had died in Santa Clara in February, 1865. Thus Dellenbaugh met all his living wives. But he need not have known about any Pahute sealing if the matter had been any secret, or if Jacob him­self had been reluctant about having it known. Since there were no children, whether or not Jacob Hamblin married Indian women is perhaps not important, except to indicate that such marriages were more difficult and often lacked the stability and permanence of those with members of the same race. 88 An unusual life was that of Susie, who was first purchased by Dudley Leavitt. His daughter, Hannah Leavitt Terry, tells of the transaction: Once when the Indians were hungry, they sold Susie to father. The Indian put down a blanket and father poured wheat on it as long as any would stay without roll­ing off. I can still see father holding the bucket and pouring it on. He also let them have some sheep that were killed before they went away. Susie was a little Indian girl about five years old. Aunt Janet took care of her. I can still see her crying when the Indians went away. Father kept her five years and let Brother William Pulsipher have her for a span of oxen. 81 '" John Lee Jones, " Journal," p. 63. Original owned by James S. Jones, St. George, Utah. "" Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, A Canyon Voyage ( New York, G. P. Putman's Sons, 1908). p. 174. MIt is worthy of remark that Jacob Hamblin is recognizable as the protagon­ist in an interesting story of intermarriage by Gean Clark, " Woman in the Road," in Edward J. O'Brien's Best Short Stories of 1939. " Hannah Leavitt Terry, " Journal," in possession of Mrs. Selena H. Leavitt, Homedale, Idaho. INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 45 Susie took the name of Pulsipher, by which both she and her children have been known. As soon as she was old enough, she went out to do house work in different homes, and later she was a cook at camps. Though she never married, she had three chil­dren, Harvey, Renie, and Nina. Soon after the birth of her second child, Susie was called before the local Church authorities to an­swer for her sins. " I have a right to children," she told them courageously. " No white man will marry me. I cannot live with the Indians. But I can have children, and I will support the children that I have. I will ask no one else to support them. I have them because I want them. God meant that a woman should have children." After that, people came to accept Susie and her children. A young girl once said, " If I were going to be an old maid, I'd be a respectable old maid, like Susie, and have children," a sentiment which was often repeated when Susie was referred to. Susie was as good as her word. She was an excellent worker and always had employment. She was proud, in her way. Mrs. Lottie Carter tells how, while Susie was working for her, she stood at the window one day looking down the street. " What are you watching so closely?" Mrs. Carter asked her. " Look," said Susie, " It is my people. My mother and my folks. Sister Carter, do you know what I would like? I wish I could invite them in and cook them a meal. Not just a hand- out by the back door, but a dinner at the table." " You certainly may, Susie," Mrs. Carter said. So the Indians were asked in and Susie was given the best linen and dishes for the table and allowed to cook a fine meal and serve them. Mrs. Carter said that she always thought Indians were stolid and undemonstrative until she saw their delight as they examined the nice things on the table and their pleasure in eating the food. Of Susie's three children, Renie, the oldest girl, died in young womanhood. Harvey, the boy, has never married, and now lives in Nevada. Nina, the youngest girl, followed the example of her mother and was a " respectable old maid" who had children. She had three, all of whom she wheeled proudly around the streets of St. George in a beautiful baby carriage with a fine silk quilt, ignor­ing the whisperings and nudgings of her white neighbors. She claimed that the children were all fathered by fine men; it is said by some that she named the girl after the father's mother, and the boys after their father's. All three were adopted into a white home. One died young; the other two have both married whites, and are fitting into white society unquestioned. The girl is particularly attractive, an accomplished pianist, and a skilled housewife. 46 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Susie's sister made a different type of adjustment. The fol­lowing story was told to the writer by Mrs. Ella Leavitt of Bunk-erville, Nevada: I forget her name, though I should know it for I have talked to her a number of times. We always called her " Susie's sister." She was younger than Susie. Her moth­er sold her to the Matthews family in Panaca, when she was about five years old. She did not want to stay, but cried so and tried so hard to get away that they had to lock her in a back bedroom until the Indians should move away. On the second night her Indian father, knowing how she felt, came to the place and talked to her through the window. She pleaded to be taken back, until he went in and arranged with the Matthews family to get her. But when she got back to the camp her mother was very angry. She scolded the father and spanked the child, telling her that she must go and stay in the white home where she could get good food and clothes. She took the child by the arm and marched her right back. " I grew up there," she told me. " I kept myself clean and careful, and I learned everything I could. They treat­ed me all right, too, only I knew I was different. When I was grown up, I wanted a man. No white man would marry me." The Matthews family hired a Moapa Indian boy, Jim, to work for them one summer, and she persuaded him to marry her and take her back to the camp, though he had his doubts about how things would work out. From the first, it was hard for the girl. His mother, Jane, did not approve. Everything about the girl was wrong; her hair, her shoes, her clothes, the way she did things- especially the fact that she wore corsets. That Jane could not forgive. She kept up a continual string of criticism; the daughter- in- law was extravagant and she did not cook right. One day Jim gave her some money to buy groceries and told her that she might have some to spend for her­self. After she got the flour, sugar, bacon, and other items, she bought herself a new pair of corsets and some flowered material for a dress. " I just couldn't get along without corsets," she told me. " I had been trained to wear them and my back ached so if I left them off. Besides, I didn't look nice without them. But I knew what Jane would say if she found out. I hid the corsets, and thought that if I could once get them INDIAN RELATIONS ON THE MORMON FRONTIER 47 on, maybe it would be all right. But she found out. She made such a fuss!" There was a general camp quarrel about it before it was through, so the girl decided that she would not live with her mother- in- law any longer. She told Jim that he would have to choose between her and his mother, and he decided to stay with the tribe. She could have gone to work among the whites, for " she could have found employment at housework, but she would likely have followed Susie's example. She didn't want that. She didn't belong to the whites, and now she decided that she didn't belong with the Indians. The last I heard of her she was living with the Santa Clara band and thought that she might get a husband. Another interesting case is that of Tony Tillohash, who now lives on the Shivwits reservation in Washington County. Tony was an orphan who was being cared for by an aged grandmother, when according to their custom, the tribe moved on and left her to die. 88 Alvin and Lucy Heaton took the little boy into their home and cared for him until he was old enough to go to the Indian school at Carlisle. According to a daughter of the Heatons, Mrs. Ray Es-plin, Tony became very homesick and discouraged at the school and wrote about running away and leaving it, but his foster mother always wrote encouragingly, sending a little spending money and telling him that this was a fine opportunity. After he had graduated and had come back grown- up and well dressed, he went to the Heaton home, hoping to marry one of the girls for whom he had had a great affection all his life. Not only the girl but the parents discouraged his suit, advising him to marry among his own people. He left and went back among the Indians to live, later marrying an Indian woman. These last examples will serve to suggest that any adequate discussion of this subject should take into account the psychological element, the matter of personal adjustment. What was the attitude of the white wives toward the dark one in a polygamous household? How did the neighbors speak of the man who took an Indian wife? What place did she have in the activities of the community? With regard to the Indian children growing up among white ones, what was the feeling? They must have sensed their differ-entness, even when their foster parents were loving and indulgent. Some were afraid of Indians; others could not fit into the routine of school; and often, with characteristic thoughtlessness, their "" William R. Palmer, " Pahute Indian Medicine," Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. X, p. 10, gives some examples of this practice. 48 UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY playmates made sarcastic comments. Everything combined to create a feeling of inferiority, if not in childhood, at least by the time they reached maturity. No matter how excellent their train­ing, Indian girls were usually forced to accept whom they could as white husbands; Indian boys rarely married. The examples cited are not many, but they help to justify these conclusions. Of the thirty- two examples mentioned or dis­cussed briefly, only seven married whites, six women and one man. The others died unmarried or went back to the Indian way of life. The writer has met the descendants of Rhoda Carpenter, Minnie Hartman, Janet Leavitt, and David Lemmon. It would seem that the children of these Indian- white marriages carried a certain stigma or were at a disadvantage in their association with the whites. With the grandchildren, this difference is much less, while the fourth generation seems to have forgotten entirely that it has any of the " blood of Israel" in its veins. At least they mix on an equal plane with their associates. With many people, in fact, it is a matter of pride that they have Indian blood in their veins. In this connection, one is reminded of Will Rogers who said that his ancestors didn't come on the Mayflower; they were here to meet it. It is interesting to note that a recent selection of a girl to be the queen of the Covered Wagon days88- a girl supposed to rep­resent the epitome of beauty and culture and accomplishment- had a great- grandmother who was an Indian. In recent months, the writer made it a point to check oh the fourth and fifth genera­tions of the descendants of her grandfather's Indian wife. In one family of eight great- grandchildren, the first five were all valedic­torians of their high school graduating class; the others are younger and not yet graduated. In Las Vegas, Nevada, three other girls were met, all of whom held excellent positions; in fact, in general they take their places without question in society and as leaders. The promise that the Indians shall yet become a " white and delightsome" people is still repeated in Mormondom, but it is with a difference. Whereas the first missionaries went out to help bring about its fulfillment, and with a genuine interest in the wel­fare of the natives, that zeal is now largely spent. The Mormon record on the whole is good; their experiment in intermarriage leaves much to be said on both sides. Certainly it resulted in heart­breaks and maladjustments; certainly the children of such mar­riages, and in many cases the grandchildren, also, were at a dis­advantage socially. Yet, seen from a distance, after four or five generations, it seems that the results cannot entirely be condemned. " Celebration of the coming of the Mormon Pioneers, held each year in Salt Lake City, from July 22 to 24.