On The Ragged Edge - The Life and Times of Dudley Leavitt

Rumors of war

6 Rumors of War B•,E FORE THE MONTH of June was over, the fam­ilies at the fort knew that they must get their cattle north to Mountain Meadows for summer pasture. Here there was good feed, several small springs, and watering places, so that the young cattle and dry stock would all thrive with little herding. The milk cows would have to be rounded up and corralled each night. There were too many for the young ones, Duane and Albert, to handle alone, so two young men from Parowan came down to help for the summer and take their pay in butter, cheese, and meat for the winter. Though Jacob went up and stayed for a few days at a time, he felt that as Presiding Elder here he must remain if this project were to succeed. The water was low again, but they had been able to water the crops, though it left the creek almost dry in town. One afternoon about the middle of the month, the wo­men were all working and visiting - some mending, others knitting or doing fancy work - while the children ran unafraid. As the evening came on, someone suggest­ed that they gather all the children and take them for a general wash-up and clean-up before they took them home to supper. "Let's get some buckets of clear water out for the homes before we let the youngsters muddy it all up," someone else suggested. On the Ragged Edge 71 "Look. Someone's coming. Someone's coming," the cry went out. All hurried toward the fort. The boys bringing in the cows also saw the horseman and speeded up their gait. Jacob was at the corral gate when the rider reined up. "Brother Jacob Hamblin?'' "That's me." "A letter from President Young. Brother George A. is on his way down, visiting all the settlements. He should get here about the 19th. They don't expect you to answer this. They just said to hand it to you, and to tell you to prepare the best you can for coming events." "We have a letter from President Young. Get your chores done and suppers over and gather here in our central place. The house is too hot." Jacob repeated the announcement that all should hear. The moon was in its first quarter, high and bright, but, with the crowd assembled, Zadoc Judd held his coal oil lamp while Thales read the letter: President's Office Great Salt Lake City August 4th, 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. Continue the consiliatory policy towards the Indi­ans, which I have ever recommended, and seek by works of 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 this 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 body guard of 2500 of Uncles Regulars. They were to start from Fort 72 Rumors of War Leavenworth July 15. 400 mule teams brings their personal dunnage, & 700 ox teams 15 months pro­vision, 7000 head of beef cattle are to arrive here to supply them. General Harney it is supposed will com­mand the expedition. There errand is entirely peace­f u l . . .. The current report is that they somewhat query whether they will hang me with or without trial. There are bout 30 others whom they intend to deal with. They will then declare a general jubilee, 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 Several times during the reading of the letter, mem­bers of the group broke in to protest or deny or swear a little under their breath. Jacob knew that as president he must choose his coun­selors. This he did, naming Dudley Leavitt first and Samuel Knight second. Then he must go at once to the Mountain Meadows to talk another matter over with Rachel. As president he would be required to take a plural wife, and Rachel must help him select one. Also he must get butter, cheese, and beef to bring back. Brother George A. Smith must be served as befitted the second most important man in the church. Jacob took the letter along, and together he and Ra­chel read it carefully. He told her of his having his coun­selors chosen, and she agreed that they were the two best fitted. Now, what about another wife? Rachel had On the Ragged Edge 73 evidently read his heart better than he guessed, for she said, "Well, this last few days I've wished that I had Priscilla Leavitt here to help some with the chores. She's so full of life and vigor." Jacob gave the excuse that she was quite young, to which Rachel only commented, "She'll get old fast enough." What a relief to have this over. Long ago Ra­chel had guessed his secret; she knew him better than he knew himself. Back at the fort, Jacob went to Mother Sarah and asked for permission to marry Priscilla. "She is too young, Jacob," Sarah told him. "Give her a chance to grow up!" She'll grow old fast enough," Jacob quoted. "Why don't we ask her? Call her in and let's talk to her about it." Priscilla had been at some running game, for she came in quite breathless and stopped short at the sight of Jacob. Sarah nodded for him to make his own proposal. There was an awkward moment before he managed to say, "Priscilla, I have just asked your mother's permis­sion to marry you, and she is leaving the decision up to you. Could you marry an old man like me who loves you very much." Priscilla hesitated just a second, and then, "Oh, yes. Yes, I can." She came to his side, and he put his arm around her but did not kiss her. There would be time for that later. "I'll want to go in to the city with Brother Smith when he comes. Thales will be going up too, and we plan to take some of the Indian Chiefs along. After this letter, I want them to take orders from headquarters. I will start with Tutsegavit here and pick up others on the way." "But she has no wedding dress, nothing much in the way of a trousseau. A mother needs time for these things, and the girl needs time, too," Sarah pleaded. "I felt that we should go to the Endowment House, but if you would rather wait a month or so, maybe we could just go to Parowan and have the president of the 74 Rumors of War stake perform the ceremony." Jacob felt sure that this alternative would be turned down. And it was. It was soon agreed that Priscilla and her mother would ride in Jacob's wagon as far as Parowan. Here Sarah would stay with Sarah Fish Smith, her niece and namesake, until she could find a way home. She said nothing aloud, but Sarah knew that she could accomp­lish quite a bit during that time. Priscilla could go on to Salt Lake City with Brother Smith and his wife and be married from their home. And she'd have a nice new wedding dress besides. Brother George A. Smith arrived a few days before he was expected. The group were traveling in Brother Jesse N. Smith's two-seated carriage with him as teamster. Besides President George A., William H. Dame was along with his secretary, James H. Martineau. Brother Dame was president of the stake. It was almost high noon; they had been traveling through sand, blistering hot, and Brother Smith was almost overcome with the heat. He directed the driver to stop in the shade of a cottonwood tree. "What weather," he exclaimed. "How can you live in this heat." "Oh, this isn't too bad," Jacob answered lightly. "You should be here when it really warms up." But this was no laughing matter. Brother George A. just could not take it. He did not mean to even get out of the carriage. "Where does Bill live? He and Lem both told me how pleasant their situation was. He invited me to a cool place." "They live about six miles further on, up the creek. It is cooler there, much cooler. But you must change teams if you go on. This one has had about all it can take." Minerva Judd came out with a bucket of water and a dipper. The bucket was swathed in a wet cloth and had been hanging on the north side of the house. Brother Smith had the first drink, and the bucket was passed around. All the others climbed out, but Brother Smith could see that this was the deepest shade in the area! On the Ragged Edge 75 He would stay where he was. It would be easier than climbing back in. It did not take Jesse Smith and Jacob long to change horses; the jaded ones were given a drink and fed, and the fresh ones were ready for action. Jacob had sent a boy ahead to give the word so that the folks could make at least a few preparations. Six or eight miles is not far, except when it is on an up­grade all the way and following a creek bed. Then it means almost two hours of travel. But the air was cooler, and before long Brother George A. was more like his good-natured self again. Mother Sarah had wondered why she made that big pot of soup, except that she had some jerky she wanted to use up, and the carrots and onions and new potatoes were just right. She would divide it with the girls. The cake with the cherry filling in the bottom she had made because when you fire up the stove, the oven heats, too, and you might as well make the most of it. When the boy came dashing up on horseback to tell of company on the way, she breathed a prayer of thanks that she had followed her hunch. Last evening's melons were in the shade under a damp burlap - small sugar mush-melons and one large watermelon which she thought might be ripe enough. The girls might have to hurry a little to prepare for company, but she was ready. The visitors would eat at her table. Jerry lived above her. Dudley had a home for each of his two wives nearly a mile below, and Lem and Bill lived in the cottonwood grove. Already the place was called Gunlock - Bill Hamblin's nickname. The Indians had one for him which meant "eyes in the back of the head." It was past the noon hour, so their families had been fed, but corn on the cob and summer squash cooked quickly. This was a meal that Brother George A. never forgot. In the cool shade near the stream, with the con­tributions from Mother Sarah and the rest, it was per­fect. As he relaxed after it, he said to Mother Sarah, "Here, come and sit down and visit a little with me. I almost 76 Rumors of War know you from your son and son-in-law, even if I haven't met you before. But I must tell you that in our office your name is well known. You are considered a very im­portant person. You will go down in history as the first woman to weave cotton cloth in all the intermountain west. And you will be remembered as an angel of mercy here on the growing edge of our settlements. God bless you as he has done in bringing you here to serve his daughters in their need." "The Growing Edge" sounded better than "The Rag­ged Edge," and Sarah was pleased to know that her con­tribution here was recognized and appreciated, even by Brother Brigham himself. Brother George A. did not call the brethren together for a drill or inspection of arms. The clerk merely made a list of the men and the type of gun each had with the total ammunition at the fort. Thales and Jacob set out in separate wagons the next morning, each to bring back a new wife from the city, after they had taken every Indian chief of the area in and had him talk to the big captains. Mother Sarah's plan to stop in Parowan until Brother George A. Smith went north worked out beautifully. Sarah Fish Smith welcomed them cordially, dropping her own work to assist in getting a pretty wedding dress ready for Priscilla. By traveling in Brother George A.'s lighter carriage, they arrived in the city ahead of the wagons. The records show that Jacob Hamblin and Priscilla Leavitt were married in the Endowment House Sep­tember 11, 1857, at one o'clock. It was rather a coinci­dence that at the same hour of the same day the terrible massacre at the Mountain Meadows was being carried out. The Indian chiefs had arrived from the north just in time. Orders had come to Dudley Leavitt to collect the local Indians and bring them at once to the Meadows. Brother Knight was there already, having taken his wife up to be cared for during her first confinement. With Mother Leavitt away, she depended on Rachel Hamblin to act as On the Ragged Edge 77 midwife. Her child was more than a week old when her husband was ordered to bring his wagon and report at the camp on the lower Meadows. Dudley was there as an independent scout, the few Indians from the Santa Clara area having joined the larger band. This is not the place to go into detail of what was done and by whom on that dark day. Dudley was there and shared the horror of it, taking the oath of silence with the others and keeping it for more than forty years and then alluding to it only. For on that day a whole company was killed; only eigh­teen children were spared. "I thank God that these old hands have never been stained by human blood," he said many years later, stretching his hands in front of him. That might have meant that he had never killed an Indian, but without doubt he referred to the Mountain Meadows Massacre. "I was riding along one day in my wagon, taking wheat to mill, when three horseman dashed up, stopped me, and demanded to know my name. All were armed. My brother Lem was in a wagon following me. 'Someone has been talking,' the leader said. 'I don't understand. Talking about what?' 'The affair at the Mountain Meadows.' 'What affair? I have never heard of any affair. You are the first that I have heard say a word about the Moun­tain Meadows. You see the fellow in the wagon following me? He won't be afraid to tell you his name, either. And you'll be first to tell him about any affair at the Mea­dows.' They all put the spurs to their horses and dashed away." Just an old man musing in his chair fifty years after the massacre, but how eloquent of the spirit of the time! The next company which passed through the terri­tory after the massacre was likewise threatened by the Indians. The natives had tasted blood; they were anxious to push this war against the "Mericats." But evidently horror-stricken at the news of what had hap­pened at the Meadows, President Brigham Young had ordered that this company be taken safely through to California. Ira Hatch acted as their guide. When word 78 Rumors of War came to the leaders that the Indians on the Muddy planned to exterminate this company also, Jacob Ham­blin sent Dudley Leavitt and others to the scene. Jacob's journal says: Brother Dudley Leavitt came in from the Muddy and told me that the Indians had robbed the company (previously spoken of) of near 300 head of cattle. They made their descent upon the train 7 miles west of the Muddy by moonlight and by taking advantage of the deep ravines they completed the design. The mission­aries went with the cattle and Indians according to the instructions given to Brother Leavitt to prevent fur­ther outbreaks. The brethren saved nearly 100 head of cows from being destroyed and wasted by the Indians, and brought them to the Mountain Meadows. From this it would seem that this attack was part of the Mormon warfare against the United States, wherein they were determined to weaken the enemy without shedding any blood. Lot Smith and his men were carrying on similar activities with regard to the army to the east. In his later life, Dudley told of this incident. " I t was like taking our lives in our hands," he said. "If any one but the servants of God had asked me to go on that trip, I would have refused, but when I was told to go, and promised that I should go in peace and return in safety, and that not a hair of my head should be in­jured, I went." Then he told of how he found the Indians gathered and dressed in their war paint and feathers; how he talked with them and persuaded them to take the cattle and let the company go on in peace; and how tying a red bandana around his head and giving a mighty whoop, he led the stampede himself. "The next spring I had to ride the range three weeks to gather the cattle up again and give them back to the agent who came back from California for them," he always said to end the story.