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Show Personal Reminiscences of San Juan County Clarence Rogers Shortly after the settlement of Bluff in 1880 some of the San Juan pioneers began looking for another place to live. One day Walter C. Lyman got on his horse and headed north. After about fifteen miles, he came to a high mesa called White Mesa. Looking north a vision passed before his eyes and he saw a beautiful town. The place was beautiful and the crops were green. People asked him later how big the town was and I recall him saying, "I wouldn't dare say how big it was. You would think I was absolutely crazy." In the vision he also saw a temple there on a hill. My father, David John Rogers, was living in Bluff at that time. He and Walter became good friends. My father was just as interested in White Mesa as Walter was. Eventually, the two of them went to survey a ditch from Johnson Creek on to the mesa. The only instrument they had was a carpenter's level, which is now in my possession. They used a long board about 18 feet long with a leg about 2V2 feet long on each end. Walter carried the back end with the carpenter's level and my father carried the front end, placing it where Walter told him to. They were going through trees, brush, and ar-royos when my father came to a pile of rock. He could see it was manmade and quite new. He asked Walter what it was. Walter replied, "I was up here looking for a route where I thought we could build a ditch. I piled that rock up where I thought a ditch might go." They surveyed right through that rock pile and that is where the ditch was built. They started work on the ditch with the help of the Jody 153 San Juan County Lyman boys and others. It came down from the creek and around the side of the mesa for about two miles. At one point there were a hundred yards of solid rock. They built a tunnel through that area. They worked from both ends of the wall, with Rogers in one tunnel and Lyman in the other. One would pound on the wall with his hammer and the other would listen, and vice versa. Then they both took their hammers and hand drills and drilled toward the sounds they heard. They put some powder in the holes, set off the blasts and broke through. There was great rejoicing. There was a Texas cattle outfit called the LC Ranch located on Recapture Creek. It belonged to Mrs. Lacey. Her cowboys, riding up the canyon to look after the cows, could see the men working on the ditch. They would laugh and joke about those crazy old Mormons who thought they could make water run uphill. To look at it now, it does look like it is running uphill. Later, when the water ran through the ditch and on to the mesa, the cowboys said, "The crazy old fools did it, didn't they!" The Lymans moved to the town and called it Grayson. Early Bluff log cabin, 1983- Photograph by G. B. Peterson, © 1983- 154 Personal Reminiscences Drilling artesian well number 1, Bluff, 1908. USHS Collections. Not until several years later was its named changed to Blanding. Other men came up to work their farms, and in the spring of 1907 my father moved his family there. People that came talked about how big the town would be. Some said it would be wonderful if there were 500 people. Others said there would never be enough water for 500. The first year the water was in the ditch, it ran about to the middle of town and then dried up. That was all they got that year. Later, they enlarged the ditch and got a little more water each year. Over the years, when more families moved in and more water was needed, they were able to find it and bring it in. Now with a population of 3,500, there is yet a shortage of water and people continue to look for ways to develop more. Two groups who had a great influence on the people of the area were the Navajo Indians south of the San Juan River and the Ute Indians who roamed the country. Even before Bluff was settled, the government tried to contain these people. After white settlement there were a few instances of violence between Indians and whites, but nothing very sig- 155 San Juan County * Am • 7 i *1 En i ji I JL, .: KV!" \ i /?'m Afi'fee, 7973. Photograph by Ken Hochfeld, USHS Collections. 156 Personal Reminiscences nificant. The last one - the so-called Posey War - happened during the first part of this century. Old Posey had a son named Jess Posey. He was a fine man. He had two wives and lived in a one-room hogan. One of the wives had children, the other did not. When they went for their meat supply Jess would take both wives. He would shoot the deer and they would dress it, clean it, and put it on the bushes to dry. They would get enough meat for a year. This family was honest and honorable and they were good workers. I became good friends with them and liked them very much. Their boys worked for me and were good workers with cattle and sheep. I could trust them. Jess Posey finally died and was buried about six miles southwest of Blanding. Jim Mike was a Paiute Indian, born and raised in Piute Canyon near Navajo Mountain. He discovered Rainbow Bridge and guided the first white party to see it. I became friends with Jim Mike after he moved to the Blanding area with his horses and sheep. His livestock was better than most belonging to the Utes. I found him to be trustworthy and honorable. How Jim found the bridge and guided the white party to it is a matter of record. He told me about it in these words, "Me go canyon," and he motioned with his hands showing it to be crooked. "Canyon turn here, me come around, me see urn," and he pointed to the air. "What it is I don't know. Me heap scared. Me go back. My father he wait back there and we go camp." A Navajo man was given credit for having found Rainbow Bridge and guiding the first white party to it. When I heard this, I supported Jim Mike, because I knew his story was true. I have a picture of the first white party to see Rainbow Bridge. Jim Mike was in the picture, the Navajo boy was not. When I tried to tell the story to the Deseret News, they would not listen. However, the Denver Post heard about the "weird" story, looked me up, and believed what I told them. They investigated and assured themselves the story was true. 157 San Juan County Through their efforts, the National Park Service eventually recognized Jim Mike, had a party for him, and gave him a $50 bill and a beautiful Pendleton wool blanket. After his death in September 1977 and interment in the Blanding Cemetery, the family gave me the blanket. It is still in my possession. Another group who contributed to the development of San Juan was what were referred to as the Mexico people. They had been sent by the LDS church to colonize Mexico but returned to the U.S. between 1912 and 1916. Many came to Blanding. I believed they were sent for a special purpose. The town was just started and needed help. There were ditches and roads to build, schools and churches to construct. These people were handy at most work and were willing to give a day's work for a day's pay. Little has been written about them, but they contributed much to the building of Blanding. There were the Blacks, Youngs, Redds, Hursts, Porters, Hardys, Palmers, Carrols, Johnsons, and others. These people came with only their teams and wagons and what was on their backs. There were men here, like L. H. Redd, Hansen D. Bayles, and Kumen Jones, who had herds of cattle and sheep. They hired the Mexico people, enabling them to provide for their needs. Some of these people were good road builders, others were brick makers, others were good carpenters. Some knew how to run sawmills. Eventually there were several sawmills in and around Blanding. When the Mormons from Mexico and New Mexico moved to Blanding there was great need for manpower and horsepower. The city needed a schoolhouse, a church house, and private dwellings. Ben Black built an adobe mill and went to work. The adobe mill was four cedar posts set in the ground in a square about 6 or 8 feet apart with 2 x 1 2 boards fastened on all sides to a height of about 6 feet, making a large box. In the center was placed a large post extending up about 3 feet above the box, and secured with wooden bearings to the corners. Four paddles were attached to the bottom. Then a long pole about 18-20 feet long was secured with heavy bolts and iron straps to the top of the post. In 158 Personal Reminiscences Olin Oliver, Bluff, 1973- Photograph by Ken Hochfeld, USHS Collections. 159 San Juan County making adobes, a horse was hitched to the long pole with harness and single tree. The horse then walked around and around turning the paddles that mixed the mud. One group of men with teams and wagons hauled dirt. Another group hauled sand, and another water. These ingredients, in the right mixture, were put in the mill. An opening about 12 x 14 inches was cut into the box at ground level. As the horse went around in a circle the mud was mixed and squeezed out of the hole. A hole was dug in the ground about 3 feet deep and 2 feet wide and 3 feet long for a man to stand in to take the mud with his hands and put it in a mold box that held three or four bricks. This mold was about 4 inches wide and 3 feet long. Then some men or boys would carry it to a place prepared for it, dump it out, and return for another load. After the adobe dried it could be used to line buildings or other purposes. They also piled the bricks up in a stack or kiln about 20 feet long and 10 to 20 feet wide - or whatever size they needed for the number of bricks they were making. About every 3 feet a hole through the brick pile was made as the adobes were stacked about 2 to 3 feet high and 20 inches wide. Wood was then hauled and a fire made in the long holes. Long trees were trimmed and pushed back in the kiln and burned for a week or more until the adobes turned to brick. Mr. Black and his helpers made enough brick to build a large schoolhouse, church house, and several large dwellings in Blanding. The first thing the Mormons built, after a church, was a school. So they needed schoolteachers. Joseph B. Harris came from Salt Lake. He taught in Bluff one year and moved to Blanding. Wherever he was he wanted the best for the town - the best streets, sidewalks, water, the best of everything. Blanding had a difficult time getting these things because there were not enough people to do the work. Joseph Harris would let school out on Friday so the kids could work on 160 Personal Reminiscences roads. They would shovel dirt or roll off rocks and be ready to work again on Saturday. That is how the roads got built - farmers with their teams, and men and boys to help. Harris spent his whole life doing this type of thing. He became school superintendent, bishop, mayor, and stake president. While trying to make a living teaching school and developing his little farm, he kept busy with other things. But he spent his life for the public. Little has been said about him. He died in 1963. I believe there should be a monument, preferably a college, dedicated to this man. Walter C. Lyman, referred to earlier, was also a great man. He could have been rich, but he did not try to be. He had an engineering mind. He could take a carpenter's level and survey a ditch. He, like Joseph Harris, spent his life in the advancement and development of this town. A city park north of town has been dedicated to him, but that is not enough. I believe there should be a plaque put up showing his accomplishments. Dorothy Nielson, Bluff Post Office, 1973 Hochfeld, USHS Collections. Photograph by Ken 161 San Juan County A man named Burnheimer also made a contribution. He spent 30 days in the country each summer for 8 to 10 years hunting for Moki dwellings and sending his findings to the American Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Institute. He made four or five trips to Rainbow Bridge. He loved it and was trying to find a better way to get there. On his last trip he brought tools and blasting powder and shot a trail down the cliff so you could come from Navajo Mountain Trading Post directly to the bridge without going around the mountain, so people who did not have horses could walk. I was with Mr. Burnheimer on his last trip and found him to be a wonderful man. Mr. Evans was a surveyor. He spent several summers surveying the country so people would know where it was, what was here, and how to get to it. John Wetherill was a great explorer of the Four Corners area. He was the first to explore Grand Gulch, Mesa Verde, and many other canyons around the country. Earl H. Morris worked for the government. He spent many years in the canyon country investigating the ruins and gathering facts and figures to study. I was fortunate to be in his company and listen to him talk. Zeke Johnson lived in Blanding and was a natural guide for the Four Corners country. He loved the natural bridges and taking people to see them. He accompanied Mr. Burnheimer on his trips to the bridges and to Rainbow Bridge. I was also able to learn from him. One of the first cowboys in the area was Al Scorup. He came from Salina to White Canyon with about 100 head of cattle. It was terribly hot and dry, and most of the first bunch of cattle died. He returned to Salina and brought another bunch. From his first experience he had learned how to run cattle in this country, so the second experience was successful. He eventually developed a herd of 3,000 to 4,000 head. He married one of the Bluff girls and made his home there. An interesting story involves Scorup and "wild cattle." When cattle drifted from the main herd and ranged among the many trees in the country, they would become very wild. 162 Personal Reminiscences The only way to catch them was to outrun them, rope them, tie them up for about two days, and then go back and lead them out. The cowboys all tried to outdo each other to be the best "wild cow man." They usually rode after the wild cattle in the winter when there was little else to do. They would camp for about a month, riding out each morning to look for wild cattle. One day Tom Jones was riding with Scorup and other cowboys near the natural bridges. They scattered, each to follow a different critter. Tom found a little red bull and chased him, finally caught him, threw him, jumped off his horse, and grabbed him before he could get up. He put a halter on him and tied him to a tree and then went after the rest of the cowboys, hoping to catch another cow. About the third day after the incident, Tom told Scorup he thought he would go get that red bull and bring him to the canyon. So Tom went out, but he could not find the bull. He hunted all day but there were no tracks to follow; the ground was frozen and the trees were thick. So he went back to camp that night and told the other cowboys. One said, "I Bluff 1908. L. H Redd house and haystacks in the foreground. Bluff church and school in the left background. USHS Collections. 163 San Juan County can find him. I know where he was. I'll go with you." They rode out together next morning, hunted all day, but still could not find the little bull. The following day all the cowboys in camp went to search for him, but he was not to be found. Several years later, Scorup was riding through the trees in this area and found a little pair of horns tied to a tree. In 1940 a large group of relatives of the "Hole-in-the- Rock" people decided to follow the Mormon trail to Hole-in-the- Rock on horseback. They were to assemble at Edwin Bridge in the bridges area. Jacob Adams, an old cowboy from Bluff, wanted to go with this group. He arranged for his cowboys to tend the cattle and meet him at a certain place when he returned. Jacob and the cowboys found a cave and horse pasture in one canyon and had the cattle grazing in other canyons. This was in September, and one night there came a rainstorm that caused a big flood in White Canyon where Jacob and the cowboys were camped. In the morning, they saddled their horses to go to the south side of the canyon where the cattle were located. The cowboy who was riding lead came to the stream which was in flood. The noise of the rolling rocks and rough water scared the horse and he would not go into the water. Jacob said, "Oh, let me show you. I can make my horse go." He forced his horse into the water, but then they both went down. Jacob was a large man. He had on a new pair of chaps, extra big and heavy, a big overcoat, because the days were cool, and heavy boots and spurs. He was pretty well hog-tied. When the horse was swept off its feet, Jacob went head first into the stream. The cowboys followed him along the edge of the water, trying to throw him a rope, until they came to a cliff where they could not go any farther. They watched helplessly as Jacob went over a 12-to-15-foot high waterfall a little farther down the stream. One of the cowboys went to Kigalia Ranger Station, phoned Blanding, and told us what had happened. Several of us took our pickups out to see what we could do. Early that morning the men dispersed in different directions. We 164 Personal Reminiscences searched all day. Jim Scorup, who was keeping track of us, found me late in the afternoon to let me know the body had been found. I told him I would get Harv Williams, the other cowboy who had been searching with me, and we would meet the rest of the party back in camp. We assumed they would have the body in one of the pickups. When we got to the camp, however, we found they had not moved the body out of the canyon. It was almost sundown and was important to do this before dark, if possible. We talked about lowering a rope into the canyon and pulling him out, but rejected that, as the canyon was 200 to 300 feet deep. I finally said I would get Jacob's mule, put a pack on it and see if I could get him on the mule. Milt Rogers, a boy, and I went to get the mule and started down the canyon. Harv Williams and another boy, De Reese Nielson, got on a horse and caught up with us. Lynn Lyman had gone to look for a flashlight, and when he had found one, he got on a horse and started down. As we started down, we met the three men who had found the body. We did not say much, but found out the body was about $l/2 miles down the canyon. We thought one of the three men would come back and show us where it was, but none of them offered. It was very dark - one of the blackest nights I had ever seen - and the canyon was rough, with sharp, twisting turns and cobblestones on the path. Lynn led, shining the flashlight on the bank of the creek as we went along. After we had gone about three miles, I suggested we leave the horses and proceed on foot so we would be sure and not miss the body. I figured when we found him we could come back and get the horses. Harv said he would stay with the horses, and the rest of us went on. About 200 to 300 yards on down the creek, Lynn flashed his light on the body, which was on the edge of the creek. I had been thinking I did not like that canyon. It was spooky and dark and there was a dead body in it. I surely did not want to stay with the body while the others went back for the horses. So I spoke up quickly and said, "I'll go get the horses." Lynn had apparently been think- 165 San Juan County ing the same thing because he said, "I'll go with you." So we left those two kids in the dark, spooky canyon with the dead man while we went back and got the horses. When we got back to the body, I took the blankets from the pack and adjusted them in the panniers. We rolled the body up in a tarp and put it across the mule. We put another tarp across the body and tied it with a salt hitch. I thought it would stay and it did. The body never moved an inch. Lynn walked behind and I led the mule, and we came out without any trouble. We got back to Blanding just as the sun was rising the next morning. One might think there would be little to do for recreation in an isolated area as this. But the town had a good recreation department. The church sponsored most of the recreation. We had a dance every Friday night and everyone would attend, old and young alike. In the winter we would put on several dramas and musicals, using the piano, trombone, violin, etc. The first post office we had in town had a high porch, the width of the building and about 6 to 8 feet deep. On the sunny days of February and March, after we had been cooped up all winter, many of the cowboys would congregate on that porch, and visit and whittle. When there was not anything else to whittle on, we would whittle on the flooring. We whittled up two porches before they got rid of us, but we surely had fun. Northwest of Monticello, in the slickrock hills, there was one place in the rock with a deep hole about 20 feet deep and 12 feet wide. The walls were almost perpendicular. An old cowboy lived in the area. He was without a wife and was left alone with three or four little kids. He generally took his responsibility well and cared for those children. The story goes that when he went to Monticello to drink beer with the boys, he would put the kids in the hole. It was aptly named the jailhouse. One day he put the kids in the hole and rode into town. He had so much beer that day he forgot to go back for about three days. The kids were surely glad to see 166 Personal Reminiscences L. H. Redd Company store, Monticello. Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah. him. He pulled them out and they went back to their camp in the hills and lived happily ever after. About 25 years ago a buffalo herd was started near the Henry Mountains in Utah. The rangers kept track of the herd, which increased and grew. Finally, they decided they could have a hunt without jeopardizing the herd. They decided to allow ten permits. The people made applications and a drawing was held to see who got the ten permits. I was lucky and drew one. I asked my brother to go with me on the hunt, and we shot a beautiful bull. When we got back to town, I decided to have a barbeque so the townspeople could have a taste. We took one-third of the meat and barbequed it in a pit overnight. The next day we had a buffalo dinner. I thought the meat would be tough and strong, but it was neither. It was tender and good. We had a real party that day. 167 |
