A History of Washington County

Stories and reflections

STORIES AND REFLECTIONS J. he stories that people tell each other, relate to their children, record in their journals, use in their sermons, and sing in their songs are what bind a people together. Stories help define a culture. They embody the shared values that create group identity. Certainly Dixie has its rich share of stories. Some stories included here are firsthand accounts of the Dixie pioneers. Others are attributed to that early generation. Most center on daily life, families, work, and community living. In this chapter, average people tell their stories, some of which require the stage first be set for them. Indians The first white settlers were interested in the Indians of Washington County who, to them, were as different as the landscape. What became Washington County was the homeland of the Paiutes. Other tribes did not envy them their marginal land, and they were left to roam on foot in small bands since they did not have horses. Neighboring tribes of Utes and Navajos raided them regularly. Their brush shelters were temporary and offered no defense. For food the 131 132 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY Paiutes roamed over vast areas to glean seeds and insects from the desert's meager yield. The land was harsh; the Paiutes were often plagued by severe hunger. As the Mormons entered into the area, they brought a civiliza­tion that included such elements as private property, tool-driven agriculture, herds of cattle and sheep, and permanent villages. They built fixed homes, schools, and churches. They had formal law, gov­ernment, and armies-all foreign to the Native Americans and not compatible with their ways of life. The history of Utah, including Washington County, is yet one more example of how the agricultural and industrial culture displaced a traditional culture. Initially the Mormons in Washington County were optimistic that the Paiutes would accept the invitation to join their world. Their hope was that the Indians would greatly upgrade their agricultural efforts, abandon their semi-nomadic life, settle on farmsteads, build homes, and attend schools and churches. The Mormons, like other Americans on the western frontier, saw themselves as bringing civi­lization, especially Christianity, to their fellows. The Mormon version of this mission was institutionalized in die call of the Southern Indian Mission. It soon came to be focused in Santa Clara under the leadership of Jacob Hamblin. Brigham Young's paternal attitude to help the Indians was nowhere better exemplified than in the life of Hamblin and his illustrious colleagues, Thales Haskell, Ira Hatch, Augustus P. Hardy, Isaac Riddle, and others. The initial Mormon reaction to the Native Americans centered around their poverty. Brigham Young instructed the Mormons to be generous with Indians, sharing their food with them. This generos­ity was often tested, such as this early contact recorded by the scribe of the Southern Indian Mission, Thomas D. Brown: Tuesday 25 April [1854] A fine morning after leaving camp up to Corn Creek, very wet and heavy driving. About 20 Indians of Walker's band came and surrounded our wagons and finally crossed the road and stood ahead of them, after many strange ges­tures 8c much loud speaking by the eldest of them, a blanket was thrown down, we all understood this to be a demand of toll for passing over their lands, we all contributed some bread 8c flour 8c tobacco. They sat down 8c seemed to enjoy the bread. We passed STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 133 on and soon some more came down the creek, they too had to be satisfied.1 The missionary accounts express attitudes about the culture clash that ensued. Brown records the Mormon's feelings at a campsite of Chief Toquer (where today's Toquerville stands) one time when the missionaries were welcomed to an evening meal and rest: We went over to their wickiups after our supper and found their women grinding seeds by die light of the moon, and boiling a large potful of pottage - in a conical shaped dish made from clay and sand tiiin and hard. This mess seemed of a darkish grey color with like chunks of bacon in it, we tasted the flour which the women were making from the seeds of grass - by rubbing them between two rocks - it tasted much like buck wheat flour or bean meal, what we fancied to be pieces of bacon, I have been told were bunches of matted ants, one of the brethren tasted this food and said tiiese clusters tasted very oily but knew not the cause, this por­ridge the female stirred with a large spoon or ladle, like the water gourds of the states made from the horn of a mountain sheep, with this mess was divided on wicker baskets, flat in the shape of flat wood turned dishes, about 1 quart to each - the elder served first - this was soon cleaned out by the forefinger of the right hand inwards around the point of the thumb for a spoon. - the same dish handed back and filled 8c passed around - they supped this up greedily, and with the head of a roasted porcupine, brains and bones, added to an entire roasted sand lark seemed added to what we gave them - to about satisfy. Then like hogs with little or no covering they huddled in the sand! Oh how Ephraim has fallen.2 The Santa Clara missionaries had great difficulty repressing their abhorrence of Indian customs. Particularly grating was the existence of a slavery system in which Utes from the north invaded their terri­tory almost annually, taking Paiute children, mainly girls, whom they then delivered into Mexico as slaves. Hamblin records a trade of one horse and two guns for three girls: . . . the girls' father 8c Mother cried to see them go; but they had nothing to eat and it would be better for the children than to stay 8c starve. I saw tears fall fast from the eyes of the oldest of the three; a girl about ten or twelve years old. I felt heart sick to see them 134 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY dragged from their homes to become slaves to the Gentiles. I saw the necessity of the Elders doing all they could to ameliorate the condition of this miserable people.3 Sometimes Mormons would actually engage in this trade, buying children to prevent them from being carried off to Mexico and an uncertain existence. Another practice that upset the Mormons was the custom of fighting for brides. Brutal fights lasting for a full day or more involved scores of Indian men who beat each other to exhaustion to determine who would win the bride. Tragically, the bride was often so hurt in the fray that she sometimes did not survive. The men were also sometimes killed, as one account illustrates: The name of this Indian was "Pierre," we saw him a few days before and discovered that consumption dried up his vitals, and worn him to a skeleton's form. We then pronounced his death near, he is said to have been hurt while fighting for or to obtain a wife - his second - his first still alive, which some say is customary here - the strongest and boldest being the most successful. When he lay dying his only bed was the dusty earth. I could not help reflecting "to dust we must return"-alas! poor Indians how near the soil you ever have been, at birth dropped into the dust, creep­ing, lying and running in it with no other table - tiiy work bench - thy gambling table - thy theater - pulpit - stage - bed of joy, sor­row and death; with apparent sympathy thou are surrounded by thy wives, children and friends, though at a little distance in sad and mournful silence - the head of the dying one resting on the roots of a bunch of bushoak his feet drawn up to his back, his legs and thighs wasted away except at the joints; "return to dust!" why poor dark degraded Lamanite thou never went far out of it.4 Similarly, the treatment of sickness and death among the Indians was hard for the Mormons to comprehend even though they faced the same dangers. Thomas Brown describes the rituals of an Indian medicine man in rich detail: The Indian doctor or medicine man came today, 8c after giving the sick woman some hot water to drink, but no herbs in it, began to sing,"nani nani nani Nani nani nani" 8cc, varying the sound as I STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 135 have written it, first loud and then falling by degrees, then begin­ning aloud again, this he continued, til, I suppose having invoked the healing spirit long enough he would get to his knees, then roll over to his back would draw himself close up to the patient, 8c with closed eyes still singing lift up his hands so as to receive her, she would fall across him 8c he placing his arms around her 8c near the sore shoulder would begin to press her till she would groan, at same time his head being below apparently sucking her breast, would crawl out when breath seemed almost gone to him, would spit out some nasty green stuff, expectorated from his own lungs or chest, would again begin a new murmuring song.5 After describing more such details, Brown concluded: "I know not but the general testimony is that often remarkable cures are affected." The Indian missionaries tried consciously not to be judgmental. Hamblin respected the Indians' prayers for rain and even invited a medicine man to use his "poogi" on him when he was deathly ill. He won their respect and set a high standard for missionary dealings with the Indians. When his son once "drove a sharp bargin" in a trade with an Indian, Jacob sent the boy back to pay a better price for the blankets he had obtained. The Indian expected him back; that was Jacob Hamblin's standard-total honesty. He always acted upon the premise that Indians could be trusted, that they could communicate as well as anyone else, and that the best strategy was to confer with them. He did not talk above their heads; explaining things in a straightforward manner was the best approach, he felt. Hamblin's problem was persuading white people of these convictions. The Indians generally responded to him with respect, and he gradually became a legend among them. Over time Hamblin developed explicit rules for his relationship with the Indians. According to Pearson Corbett, John W. Young asked Hamblin to write down these rules. They appeared in a letter to Young dated 14 April 1874, from Kanab: 1st. I never talk anything but the truth to them. 2nd. I think it useless to speak of things they cannot comprehend. 3rd. I strive by all means to never let them see me in a passion. 4th. Under no circumstances show fear; thereby showing to them that I have a sound heart and straight tongue. 136 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY 5th. Never approach them in an austere manner; nor use more words than is necessary to convey my ideas; nor in a higher tone of voice, than to be distinctly heard. 6th. Always listen to them when they wish to tell their grievances and redress their wrongs however trifling they may be (if possible). If I cannot, I let them know that I have a desire to do so. 7th. I never allow them to hear me use any obscene language or take any unbecoming course with them. 8th. I never submit to any unjust demands or submit to coercion under any circumstances thereby showing that I govern and am governed by the rule of right and not by might. 9th. I have tried to observe the above rules for the past twenty years and it has given me a salutary influence where-ever I have met with them. Many times when I have visited isolated bands upon busi­ness and have been addressing them in a low tone of voice around their council fires, I have noticed that they have listened with attention and reverence. I believe if the rules that I have mentioned were observed there would be but little difficulty on our frontier with the Red Man.6 The early missionaries received the trust and cooperation of most Indians, but the situation changed when large numbers of Mormons were called to settle Dixie. Until 1861, families scattered in a few settiements no larger than ten or twenty homes. When the 1861 call came to go to Dixie and raise cotton, the balance changed drasti­cally. Soon pioneer cattle and sheep numbered in the thousands, pre­empting the grazing lands for wildlife. The seeds Indians had gathered nearly disappeared. Indians increasingly saw the Anglos as a threat; and whites were also facing a survival test that had little room for Indians who stole cattle as their game supply dwindled. Thus began a tension that lasted three decades. Hamblin tried to sustain an enthusiasm and compassion for the Indians, but he gradually shifted his hopes from the Paiutes to the Hopis. The Shivwits band of Paiutes near Santa Clara showed a will­ingness to farm and to abandon tiieir thievery; they were fairly quick to accept baptism, but they did not sustain the intentions. The Paiutes proved to be moderately willing to coexist with the Mormons (something the Navajos were not) but Hamblin and Brigham Young STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 137 came to feel that the Hopis were more likely to be receptive to their religious message. Their stone dwellings and successful agriculture seemed closer to the Anglo culture, more amenable to Christianity. Some of the initial experiences with the Indians were not unlike those experienced by later settlers: There were many Indians about the settlement, generally friendly in later years and often employed by the whites. The squaws especially were good to wash clothes on the washboard and to help the pioneer women with their hard tasks. In early times the Indians stole cattle. Mrs. Mary A. Hafen had related to them that Brigham Young told them a plague would come to them and they would die like rotten sheep if they did not stop. In her girlhood days a plague did come on the Indians near Santa Clara.7 But not all clashes over cattle were handled with warnings. For example: In the spring of 1867 the Indians came within four or five miles of Pine Valley and stole some horses. Most of them were Navajos with some bad Paiutes with them. Cyrus Hancock and myself were going out into the hills that day and he came along before I was ready. When I got ready there was no one to help me start a horse off that I wanted to take so I did not go that day. He was attacked by the Indians and shot through the arm with an arrow. He outran the Indians and reached home with the arrow still in his arm. I saw him as he came into town on the hind end of an ox wagon driven by William Coache, an Englishman. The oxen were on a big trot. The people gathered round and Athe Meeks pulled the arrow out. I think he took hold of it with a pair of bullet molds. They would take hold of it much like a pair of pincers. We had several head of horses in die band that was taken, among them a gray Spanish mare that had a bell on. We did nothing with this mare. She just wore the bell to keep the band together. The Indians killed her, as we suppose, to get rid of the bell. An express was sent to St. George that night. James Andrus was in the vicinity of Rockville with some men. He started in hot pursuit and overtook them and killed seven Indians and got the horses.8 The Anderson ranch site was a natural trail crossing that often brought Indians by. On one occasion a large contingent of Navajos 138 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY on horseback were reported. Alarmed, the children ran to hide, jumping in a dugout and hiding under sacks of grain. Their father had all he could do to divert the Indians from stealing and did not notice one poking around in the grain storage. When the Indian lifted the sack away that protected the little ones, they screamed. He looked at them a long time and then said "Boo." He then chuckled and turned away.9 Martha Cragun Cox reports a child's experience in the late 1860s on a ranch south of Pine Valley. Her parents had gone to Salt Lake City, leaving her with her brothers. One night both of her brothers were away. She was alone in their makeshift dwelling when a major storm came up. She had always feared thunder and rain. She went out to assess the clouds and saw a lone Indian on the property: My first thought was that he was a spy or scout for a party on a raid, but he had no gun and his limbs were naked, so I concluded he was a common Indian seeking shelter and I knew he would freeze in the open roofless shop. I went to him and told him to come to my wickiup and warm. He said, "St. Wino, Ticaboo," meaning "Good, I'm your friend." I gave him some supper and a seat by the fire, where we two sat together til late in the night, while the worst storm the ranches ever knew howled terribly outside and fairly shook die old cabin. I felt so thankful for die company of that dirty, ragged Indian in the dilemma of the storm. And he was grateful for the storm. He told me his tribe had cast him out for some very bad thing he had done and some wanted to kill him. He would say the wind and the snow were good because they could not find him nor track him and tomorrow he would be away over the mountain. I asked the Indian if he had killed someone, he said no that killing was pretty good that he had done worse than killing. There was a little "lean to" behind the cabin into which an inner door opened. I showed him an empty corn bin and told him to lie down in that when he wanted to rest. When the storm abated he went into his rest and I laid down on my cot before the fire and went to sleep. When I awoke I found he had gone.10 Making a Living Building shelter, obtaining furnishings for the dwellings, bring­ing water to the site, gathering and preparing food, doing the laun- STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 139 dry, engaging in creative crafts-these are part of the daily life of people almost anywhere. Certainly these activities occupy the daily lives of people today in Washington County. The following account from a child's view gives an insight into providing the basic elements of food and shelter during early settlement days. Father's next interest was to provide us a better shelter. The dugout he built was about six feet deep, twelve feet square, with a slanting roof. Crevices between the roof poles were filled with small compact bundles of rushes held in place by a weaving of young willows. About a six-inch layer of dirt which had been exca­vated from the cellar was then put on the roof. There were no win­dows. The front and only door had one small pane of glass to light up the cool cozy room within. Beds were made by driving corner posts into the dirt floor. Black willow poles split were nailed close together to serve as slats on the bed and fresh straw was used for mattresses. Comfortable pillows were made from the fluff of the cat-tails which were gath­ered from the sloughs along the creek. To save space in this little room-of-all-purposes, an improvised table was made by laying a large plank on top of the posts of one of the beds. Two benches made of boards, a shelf cupboard, and a small sheet-iron stove with two holes and a tiny oven, completed the furnishings. All in all the little primitive shelter was quite comfortable; for it was pleasantly cool in the suffocating heat of the summer, and was warm in the winter months when light snow fell, rain drizzled, or ice coated the water ditches. For three years this dug-out was to serve as our home.... By this time, along each side of the wide street ran a little irri­gating ditch of water. Upon die banks, to shade the sidewalks, Cot­tonwood trees were set out. Every morning while the water was still cool and clean, each family dipped up barrels of water for household and drinking purposes. After a storm the water was roily and had to settle before it was fit to use. Water for laundry purposes was generally softened by pour­ing in cottonwood ashes. Soft rainwater we generally used to wash our hair and our nicest clothes. But of course we couldn't get rain­water always. A favorite substitute for soap was the root of the "oose," or yucca sometimes called "soap root." This root looked 140 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY about like a sugarbeet. Cut up and left in water it soon made a fluffy suds.... This very same year I learned how to weave. Father made me a loom. My arms were too short to reach both sides of the loom to shove my shuttle through the web, so I had to lean from side to side. I was proud of the first dress I wove. It was made in a check­ered pattern one inch across of brown, blue, and white, from cot­ton yarn. I also made what we called jeans out of cotton warp with wool. This was used for men's suits and was very heavy cloth.... Besides making our dresses we also made our hats. We cut the ripe wheat straws, using only the long top joint. We would lay a handful of this straw in the water until it became soft. Then we braided it. I became expert at braiding from seven to thirteen straws I guess through those years I made enough hats to fill a wagon box. I would trade them with the neighbors for things which we needed.11 Schools Until the territory took on the responsibility of funding schools in 1890, schools were rather makeshift. Families paid a tuition for their children to attend. This meant that many children did not go to school, or, if they did, they often attended only two or three years, thus making way for a sibling to replace them. The family often either could not afford more or needed the physical labor of their offspring to help sustain the family. The tuition system also meant that teachers frequendy could not support their families on the income they made teaching. Classes were held only during the three or four winter months and tuition usually was paid not in cash but in kind. This would perhaps feed the teacher and sometimes house him or her with families of the stu­dents, but it certainly did not provide an income that would allow the teacher to build and support a home and family in the community. By the 1870s the territorial legislature began to provide limited fund­ing for schools-initially one dollar per student per term. Parents could subtract that dollar from the tuition charge and then pay the rest of the tuition, often in kind. This meant that teachers at least received a portion of their pay in cash. William Ellis Jones left a poignant journal describing his itiner- STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 141 St. George First Ward School House and Students. The building was com­pleted in 1864. (Lynne Clark Collection, donor-Nellie Gubler and the Washington County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers) ant teaching career in Santa Clara, Gunlock, Hebron, Hamblin, and their environs. Because school was only held sporadically, he spent most months of each year making adobes or bricks. This would require him to build a brick oven in each town where the buildings were to be constructed. Many of the homes still standing in Pine Valley are the result of his brickmaking, and his reputation was as a brickmaker, not a teacher. Other times he labored in his small orchard-he never accumulated more than three acres-to feed his family; schoolteaching was almost a sideline. Jones's wife, Dinah Vaughan, was a sought-after midwife who often lived in with an expectant mother for a few weeks, even in dis­tant towns. This supplementary income was necessary because William taught school for only three or four months each year and only in those years when the local trustees hired him. He suffered from a system that left his fate in the hands of local trustees who often did not decide whether to employ him until shordy before, or even after, school started. He never knew if he could depend on employment, and he went some years without a class to teach. Other 142 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY years he had to travel some distance from his home to find a class­room. Martha Cragun Cox tells a more typical story. After marrying into a polygamous family, Cox found herself in constant need of a supplemental income. In 1881 she was informed that the non- Mormons who had taken up residence in the Muddy Valley after the Mormons left were in need of a teacher. They were not favorably inclined toward Mormons, but families there with children had noti­fied her that the trustees would be hiring a teacher. They informed her that a qualifying examination would be held on 6 August. Her baby died and was buried just two days before the examination, so she could not arrive on time. Her family's need for money was great, however; this prospect could bring fifty dollars a month for three months. She was determined to go anyway, even though she would arrive after the appointed date. I knew that the very name of "Mormon" was hated in Nevada tiiat no Mormon woman had ever taught there-that only one Mormon man had ever been allowed to hold a certificate in that state. That Samuel O. Crosby and Zera Terry both good young men that I had known were not even allowed to be present at school teachers' examination. I knew diat the officers of the state had virtually driven the Mormons out of the Muddy Valley. I had occasion many times afterwards to ask myself the question, "Why did you make the venture?"12 Cox had quite an adventure with the examiners who, at first, did not want to give her the exam. They eventually agreed and brought her a test on chemistry, Latin grammar, and U.S. history, obviously intended for high-school teachers. She forcefully explained that the people of the area asked her to come and teach second grade to their children, implying that the examiners were being devious in attempt­ing to exclude her. One examiner asked her which college she attended. The other quickly changed die question, asking her if there was a high school in St. George and whether she attended it. She replied, "Yes they do have a high school but the learning that has served me best in work as teacher was gotten outside of high school. I burned the midnight oil for it, as others have said who learned by STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 143 die same method." She won the examiners over and began a series of years teaching in Nevada while her sister wives helped raise her chil­dren. From today's vantage point, it appears that schools were not a high priority in pioneer Dixie because of the poor facilities and short terms. The actual case was quite the contrary, however; schools were among the citizens' highest concerns. Most towns set up a school before they built their own homes. The school building was the cen­tral community structure and was usually the site for church meet­ings, frequent dances, plays, and other socials. In St. George the schools were quite small because there were four of them, one in each ward. They were not used for church meet­ings generally, so they could be smaller; but once the larger St. George Social Hall was constructed, it also hosted school classes. Josephine J. Miles has left a record of her childhood experiences in the St. George schools. She includes the names of many of the early teachers: Orpha Everett, James G. Bleak, Orson Pratt, Jr., Judge McCullough, a Mr. Kessler, a Brother Burgen, George Spencer, Samuel Miles, Eleanor Woodbury (Jarvis), Mariette Calkins, Sarah Clark (Crosby), Cornelia Lytie (Snow), and G. S. R. Sangiovane were among the very earliest. Later teachers included John Macfarlane, Joseph Orton, a Sister Liston, Barbara Mathis, Annie McQuarrie, Mary Mansfield (Bentiey), Richard Home, Caddie Ivins McKean, Susa Young Gates, Seth A. Pymm, David LeBaron, Zina Clinton, a Mr. Schultz, a Mr. Peck, Martha Cox, a Mrs. Purse, Retta Cox, Ruth Fawcett, Emily Spencer, and Annie W. Romney. Miles wrote: Sister Orpha Everett was my first teacher in about 1872 or 1873. The school was held in the west room of her home. There were no conveniences of any kind-a four legged, long stool fur­nished seats. There were no desks, blackboards, charts or maps. We had few books, but were just past the stage of having an old Book of Mormon, or other Church book for a reader When our supply of slate pencils became exhausted, a hike to the foothills north followed, where by expert selection, the soft pieces of slate rock, suitable, were secured. We had good times together and chewed each other's gum in perfect friendliness, with 144 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY never a thought of the dreadful disease germs later to be discov­ered. Methods and equipment improved gradually, and about 1888, there was an appropriation from the State of 50 cents per student per term of twelve weeks. This gave a little cash to go along with our pickles, brooms, wood, molasses, etc., for we still had to col­lect our own pay from the parents, furnish our own wood, clock, brooms, etc., and hire our own janitors In 1890, the free school system was established, and the state paid the teachers. The schools were graded. This was more than a step forward-it was a bound. Prior to this, all grades were in one room, under one teacher, in each ward. This new system enabled the teachers to do better work with less exhaustion. Just imagine eighty-five pupils, of all grades, in the upper room of the Fourth Ward School House; three in a seat, when seated at all; many little ones sitting patiendy around the edge of the platform. There was one small blackboard, no maps, charts, nor other apparatus. This was my experience one winter. All of the schools were crowded. Strange as it may seem, some bright pupils advanced rapidly, and were good Third Readers at the end of their first year, and also could write nicely and do simple problems in arithmetic. They were graded by reading and we pro­moted them when we saw fit. We may not sympathize very deeply with the "overworked" teacher of today, although we know the requirements are greater. If the requirements then had been greater, we would not be here to tell die tale. In 1894-51 taught die Central School-the 5th and 6th grades and a class of left-overs. There were 119 enrolled. I had no assis­tant. There was no playground, nothing attractive nor convenient, but many inconveniences. The higher grades were taught by John T. Woodbury in the basement of the Stake Tabernacle.13 Administration of the schools was left to each community where school trustees were selected. It was their job to engage a teacher and provide a room for the teaching. There was no countywide school system that hired a cadre of teachers until much later. Each town was on its own. Since very few people had professional training to be teachers, trustees generally had to settle for someone who had the basic skills of reading and writing. Later a county superintendent of STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 145 schools was appointed and began certifying teachers by administer­ing a test to the prospective teachers. Although this was not uni­formly done, it became the norm. Several of these tests have survived. One from 1887, for example, included the following questions: Conjugate the verb to write in the 3rd person, the singular and plural number, of all the tenses of the indicative mood. What are the leading industries in the U.S. and in what localities do we find their chief seats? A speculator bought 25 acres of land for $10,625, and after dividing it into 125 village lots, sold each lot for $250. How much did he gain on the whole? On each acre? On each lot? Physiology and Hygiene: What changes do the blood and the air undergo in the lungs? What forces propel the blood through die body? How does alcohol affect the blood and the heart? Why does not a fall hurt a child as much as a grown person? Geography: What produces the change of day and night, and the change of die seasons? Give some proofs of the rotundity of the earth. Name die great divisions of land and water and also give the races of people. Define the different kinds of government existing among men and state under what form of government we live. Orthography: How many sounds are in the English language and how are they represented? Give a few leading rules governing the use of capital letters. What does a difference of accent some­times serve to do? Give an example. Education: Write an essay expressing your philosophy of Education.1" One of the candidate's examinations is found in the Dixie College Archives. It reads: "Care should be taken that the heart, as well as the brain, should be educated; if the latter is cared for to the neglect of the former, we will see the intellectual knave, destitute of the true object of education." It is interesting that the author (in 1887) saw Dixieites as a favored people.15 A report for Gunlock in 1882 gives the following picture: twenty-three students were enrolled although only eighteen were attending. Another five of that age group were not enrolled. The value of the school included twenty-five dollars for the land, fifteen dollars for the furniture and $600 for the building. The report was signed by 146 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY trustees Jeremiah Leavitt, Joseph S. Huntsman, James W. Hunt, and William E. Jones. A budget report for the Pine Valley School District in the year 1884 shows an income of $341.65, with about half coming from tuition and half from territorial school apportionment. The male [full-time?] teacher was paid $200 and the female [part-time?] teacher $90. At the same time the town of Washington reported 102 students enrolled. Again, about half of its budget of $608 came from tuition and half from territorial taxes, with $385 being paid to one male teacher.16 By the 1880s a county superintendent took over the testing responsibility and even the job of visiting schools to make reports to the state, but the local trustees still did the hiring and were responsi­ble for buildings and teachers' salaries.17 An alternative to this Mormon and state system came in the form of schools sponsored by Protestant churches. Nationally, several Protestant churches-particularly Presbyterian, Congregational, and Episcopalian-undertook to "Christianize" the Mormons. In their minds the practice of polygamy by Mormons was tantamount to their being infidels. While their representatives in Washington were pursuing legal means to eradicate the practice through federal legis­lation, some churches undertook to proselytize Mormons back into mainline churches. Their strategy was to locate schools in Utah. They anticipated that parents would recognize the superiority of the Protestant schools and would want the best for their children. Once children came to the schools, perhaps the parents' confidence would be won over, and families could be brought back to Protestantism. Professionally-trained teachers were sent on missions to Utah. Congregations in the east collected funds to build schools and pay salaries. Many such schools were opened throughout the state. Washington County was the scene of some such developments. Reverend A. B. Cort from Chicago came as a missionary to St. George in the 1880s. His welcome was not warm but he persisted, especially in establishing schools. Reverend Duncan McMillan had established Presbyterian schools elsewhere in Utah and soon accepted Cort's invitation to do so in Washington County. Young women were sent as missionaries to start schools: Virginia Dickey was the teacher in STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 147 Washington, Fannie Burke taught in Toquerville, and a Miss Stevenson taught in St. George. Later the Reverend Cort and Miss Stevenson were married. As statehood neared, Reverend Galen Hardy came to St. George where he and his wife enrolled seventy students from 1893 to 1898 when his mission ended. Reverend Clayton Rice took up the mission in 1908 and was well liked in St. George, but the congregation and school dwindled. He left in 1911 feeling that not much could be done in St. George, despite the friendships he had made. Religion Religion was a dominant element in the daily life of Washington County's people. It was the driving force, the purpose for creating this portion of Zion in the desert; it was the common bond that united the people not only in their villages but beyond them to the whole territory. The fusion of religion with all other elements of daily life was almost total. Often the commercial and political leadership overlapped with the religious hierarchy. Education, entertainment, daily labor, family life, health and sick­ness, clubs, theater, celebrations, recreation, schools-all were per­vaded by the religious convictions and values of the people. It was not institutional structures alone that produced this fusion; individ­ual commitments to the shared religion were also important. With that common bond, the people regarded canal budding, road con­struction, erecting dams, and creating civic structures-as part of building up Zion. Planning and enlisting work groups were often the subjects of religious meetings. Life in a village Mormon ward was fairly communal. Though each family worked its own land, built its own shelter, and assumed responsibility for its own actions, there was much shared life. Perusing the minute books of the Hebron LDS Ward from 1872 to 1879, for example, one comes across the following entries: 27 Oct 1872 Z. Parker reported that his visits indicated that his half of the town was in good condition. J. Pulsipher said that his half was also but that he and Bro. Terry worked on a misunderstand­ing until well into the night and felt better 26 Jan 1873 Teaching meeting. Encourage our women and girls to 148 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY read good books and not waste much time with novels. Fast meet­ing well attended. 2 Aug 1874 Reported that Jacob Hamblin has built a fort on the Colorado River to keep Navajos from coming up to steal horses. 12 Feb 1875 Bishop Jones of Panaca, Director of the Washington [cotton] Factory visited, urging members to subscribe to the fac­tory. $300 was raised. 2 March 1878 Bishop T. S. Terry admonished the members against taking a difference before a court of the land instead of a bishop's court. He decried such an instance in Salt Lake. 5 May 1878 Problem of wild horses eating up the range was dis­cussed in Priesthood meeting. 9 June 1878 Priesthood meeting voted to have irrigation water four hours per lot this season. 29 August 1878 The bishop discussed some ill feelings between some of the brethren. This was talked over and everything was made right. "Good counsel was given by Bishop Terry and others, exhorting the brethren to try to live together in peace as a band of brethren and God would bless us." 16 November 1878 Bishop expressed gratitude for the superior harvest-1700 bushels of grain "with which God has blessed us." He further presented the water ditch accounts, showing the tax per lot this season to be $3.50.18 If these entries seem to lack spiritual content, it is because they are minutes of the priesthood meeting rather than the sacrament services. Religion to these people included more than worship. It permeated relationships with each other, work, town policies, read­ing material, allocating labor, planning the harvest-virtually every­thing in the daily life of the people. The word "counsel" surfaces often in the record. This refers to a dimension of the authoritarian lifestyle that characterized the Dixie community. It was common for members to "seek counsel" of those whom they sustained as their inspired leaders. They sought such counsel in decisions about staying in the area or moving elsewhere, about remaining as missionaries or asking for a release, about taking another wife or changing jobs. People were not required to seek counsel, but it was common. The "double edged" dimension of seek­ing counsel was that once one sought counsel, it was expected that STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 149 one would follow it. The counsel was usually sensible, even gentle, but it was given in the context of the greater good for the whole group. The people of Dixie were often anxious to ask for such advice from Erastus Snow. Even more valued was counsel from Brigham Young who was always willing to deal with personal requests. Elizabeth Wood Kane, non-Mormon wife of Colonel Thomas Kane, who helped negotiate the peace of the Utah War, accompanied Brigham Young on a tour through the southern colonies. She described one of these regular sessions where the Latter-day Saints came to seek counsel: I noticed that he never seemed uninterested, but gave an unforced attention to the person addressing him, which suggested a mind free from care. I used to fancy that he wasted a great deal of power in this way; but I soon saw that he was accumulating it. Power, I mean, at least as the driving wheel of his people's indus­try." Daily Religious Life Lenora Cannon Gardner of Pine Valley provides a Mormon woman's view of life inside a Washington County LDS ward: Ian 5 fast day I went to fast meeting and to testimony meeting. I was appointed to hunt up something to go to the World's Fair. Jan 7 Went to Primary. Geo. started school [teaching]. Jan 12 Abraham Burgess came for me to go and help make his baby's clothes that was dead. Jan 141 got up very poorly but I went to Primary and after supper Pa and I went to Celestias and to Jeters and spent the evening. Lizzie brought Halley home to stay allnight. Jan 15 Pa and I was invited to Sister Lloyds to selabrate Sister Slades birthday, went to meeting in afternoon and evening meet­ing. Jan 16 Comenced to sno. I cut Pa's blue flanel shirt it snowed 5 or 6 inches. Jan 21 Finished Angus shirt. Lizzie went to Alice's set her calico quilt together. I went to primary Ian 22 I went to meeting. Amanda Hale, Royal S. and John Chad was here for supper 150 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY Ian 28 pleasent but cold boys took wagon and went to G.V [Grass Valley]. I was poorly did not go to Primary Jan 291 was sick and did not go to meeting went in the evening.20 Seven days in thirty-one were devoted to attending religious meet­ings, the majority of them as an officer in the children's activities on Saturdays. She dressed the body of one dead child for burial and consoled a girl whose mother died. She did washing for another twice, made a fire at a neighbor's house, and "hunted up" a quilt to send to the world's fair. She and her family made five visits to friends' homes for social occasions and had overnight visitors in their home twice. It was a full month in a communal setting. Weekday religious activities-a children's program called Primary- were held largely in homes. Even Sunday School meetings were in homes. Monthly fast-and-testimony meetings held in the church on the first Thursday of the month were important to her as a time when members spoke of their own spiritual feelings. Her days and those of her female peers were punctuated by a regular routine of religious meetings. There was another equally important side to Pine Valley religion: weddings, births, missionary farewells, deaths, reading clubs, spin­ning and sewing bees, caring and fasting for the sick, quilt-making sessions with sister neighbors, and above all, visiting. These activities often required considerable preparation and time away from home, dressing a body for a burial, helping as a midwife, gathering rags for rug-making, preparing food for a wedding. Relatives and friends often came for visits that lasted several days. All this was centered around religious sisterhood. In many ways it was a rich life; certainly it was a communal one. The residents took great pride in their Pine Valley community. The church building was a masterpiece and fam­ilies were central to the religion. Religious life in St. George was more institutionalized than it was in the villages. For one thing, the St. George preaching meetings were held in the tabernacle and often provided the occasion for hearing celebrated leaders such as Erastus Snow or many of the other aposdes who traveled through. Visits from Brigham Young brought memo­rable sermons: STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 151 Sunday 29 March 1874 Br Brigham spoke in the afternoon, quite lengthy for him, on a variety of subgects, [sic] showing that what we were entering into now was only the first step toward learning the order of Heaven, and the Lord wanted us to learn it that we might learn more and more, that after a while we might take another step, then another, and so on by faith until we should become aquainted with the order of heaven, and know how to conduct ourselves when we got there but at present pulling against each other as we wer[e] now doing, we would never enter into the Kingdom of our Father, and this step was the commencement of "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." . . . And again, as he has done time and time again, [he] counseled the saints to be self-sustaining and strive to make within themselves that which they needed, and urged them to entirely forego the fashions of the world and practice industry, economy, prudence and frugality, in all their ways of life, in diet, Clothing, labor etc. Said that the Prophet Joseph told him that People were very apt to take cold when sitting over closets [outiiouses] when cold damp noisome air came up when attending to the wants of nature and more espe­cially females. Made some sound and sensible remarks on eating and what to eat to promote health and longevity, also on sleep and sentitation [sanitation]. Remarked that he would like the people to study chemistry, astronomy, and kindred sciences that we might know and comprehend what we used and had to do with every day and learn the comp[o]nent parts of the elements that surrounded us and be able to make them subservient to the building up of the Zion of God in the last day. Said that the Earth on which we dwell was a mere speck among the vast creations of God, and the inhab­itants of other worlds would fail to see it even with the most pow-erfull telescope we were in possession of. Showed the benefits that would arise from wearing clogs or wo[o]den bottomed shoes on this cold damp mineral ground, and gave many very useful hints on home and domestic economy.21 Charles Lowell Walker was a devoted Mormon. For a time he served as second counselor in a St. George bishopric, but most of the time his callings focused his efforts on visiting members in their homes, blessing them during illnesses, and teaching Sunday School. He was particularly active in bands, theatricals, lectures, and com- 152 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY munity celebrations for which he composed poems and songs. The picture we get from his wonderful journal is of a developing urban atmosphere-there were many cultural and religious events in St. George. He participated almost weekly in Erastus Snow's prayer cir­cle, composed of the apostle's close associates. He attended several church functions each week and responded to them candidly in his journal. He read the Deseret News regularly, keeping up on interna­tional as well as national and territorial news. This is also reflected in his musings. As a result, he held passionate feelings against the so-called "enemies of the church" in Washington, D.C., who were esca­lating the legislative attack on polygamy. But most of his entries reported on meetings he attended, such as his following candid reac­tions to a conference: Br Covington represented Washington Branch. Bore his testimony to the truth. Robt Gardener spoke of the Rise of St. George, on tithing, etc. The General Authorities of the Church were presented (in a bungling manner by Bishop McArthur) and unanimously sustained by the People. A good spirit and feeling prevails. The Church teams that Started from here last May for the Frontier to gather the Poor have just arrived looking pretty well. P.M. F B Wolley gave some items concerning the death, murder of Dr King Robinson. He was the noted claim jumper, and no one seems to mourn his loss. Bishop Bunker spoke well of the Clara settlement. Br. Snow exhorted the saints in the outer Settlements to be watch­ful and guard against the attack of the redmen. Showed the course me government officials had pursued among this People. Exhorted die Saints to faithfulness, to read the scriptures and Serve God. The conference adjourned until the first Friday in May 1867. We had a good time and I believe the saints felt blest from die good teaching they received during the conference.22 Every few months a St. George Stake conference was held in the local tabernacle. Since Dixie was so isolated, very few people were able to travel to Salt Lake City to the semi-annual conferences of the Mormon church. The stake conferences thus served as the major reli­gious gathering for people in Washington County. The meetings were held for three days-Saturday, Sunday, and Monday-which meant that members from distant communities had to stay overnight in St. STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 153 George. This included people from the communities "up river" (Toquerville to Shunesburg) as well as those from Nevada and Arizona. These occasions required formidable arrangements. People in St. George opened their homes and often hosted as many as twenty friends and relatives. Housewives cleaned their homes and cooked plenty of food ahead. One person recorded: "All cooking was done on a large scale and included dried corn (soaked and simmered to tenderness), baked beans, bottled fruit, rice pudding, etc. On Friday at least twenty-five pies and three or four kinds of cakes must be baked and stored in the screen-doored pastery cupboard on the south side of the pantry. The deep shelves held pies three deep."23 People camped out in yards and even on the town square. Church leaders from Salt Lake City as well as from the stake spoke in two meetings each day. The three days served as a time for many other dealings-commercial, cultural, and ecclesiastical. They were an important time for family visiting, even for courtships. So the Dixie folks undertook their pioneering through a union of religion and society which reflected an inner expression. To many county residents if not most, religion was the most basic expression of their lives. They loved to dance, they flocked to the theater, they read books, they attended lectures, but all of that was supportive of and integrated into their religion. Recreation When the people of Dixie woke up each morning, they did not have to ponder long about what was ahead of them. Work was clearly the first priority and it dominated their lives. Survival was guaran­teed for no one; however, people also needed some relief from work. Mary Bertha Wood Hall recorded her girlhood memories of fun times in Grafton: When I was a girl, even a little bit of a girl, we'd have to piece quilt blocks. We'd all get together after school almost every day. We'd have to piece two or tiiree quilt blocks before we could play. When we'd get that done, we'd get up and play ball, run races, ride horses or just anything. When we were teenagers we had a lot of fun. We danced what 154 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY you call old-time dances: Virginia Reel, Quadrille, Minuet, Three Step, Schottische, Danish Slide-off, Round dances and many oth­ers. When anyone would get married, we'd have a dance. It sure was fun. The dances were really started by us young kids, but the older people came just because they like to dance. The cowboys like to come to the dances, too. They worked out there at Canaan at the big cattle ranch, and Cane Beds. Oh, they loved Grafton. They would sing and dance. Oh, it was really a plea­sure to have those guys come. Grafton had more music than any place I have ever seen. Nearly every night or every few nights, everybody in town with music would get out there in front of the school/church building and start playing. There would be accordions. They'd get on those steps and start playing, then everybody would come. Everybody would sing and everybody would dance. There was really a lot of pleasure that we got out of the hours we spent there.24 J. H. Jennings spent his boyhood in pioneer Rockville where he came as a lad in 1862 with his parents who he said "volunteered" to come. He dictated his childhood memories at an advanced age, focusing especially on the entertainments in the town: Our amusements were going to church once a week and danc­ing. Sam Kenner was the fiddler, he also liked to play the banjo and sing for us. We had very good times dancing barefoot on the dirt floor. The first winter, church was held in the Stock's dugout because it was the largest place available. The next spring we built a bowery of cottonwood branches just west of Jacob Terry's log house. Here we held church and cel­ebrations on the 4th and 24th of July, and whatever otiier amuse­ments we had. We made swings on die cottonwood trees and went swimming in the river. There were few horses that first winter so we did very little horseback riding. Later when horses became more plentiful we spent what time we could horse racing and tak­ing our best girl for a ride. Sometimes we had an evening when we had a play or maybe it would be dialogues and songs and recitations. Charles N. Smith often read to entertain the crowd. After the program was over the benches would be pushed back and then we danced or had a spelling school. In spelling school we chose two leaders. They STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 155 would stand facing each other and would take turns calling some­one from the crowd to come up and stand by them until there would be two long rows facing each other. One person gave out the words, first to the leaders, then back and forth down the line. If you missed the word you had to sit down. The side that had some­one standing last, won out.25 In St. George dancing was highly appreciated, though it was undertaken with greater resources. Charles Walker records: "Thurs 20 [January 1870] At work as usual. At night went to a united Musical Ball consisting of the St. George and Santa Clara Brass bands, the St. George choir, and the St. Geo. Martial Band. Spent the night in danc­ing, playing and singing. Got home about 2 o clock a.m."26 Another way of relieving the pressures of living in the heat and austerity was to make fun of it. Charles Walker also was a boon to Dixie for his sense of humor and poetic pen. He wrote songs and eulogies and verses for many occasions. The following is one of his most famous. St. George's mayor during the 1996 statehood centen­nial, Daniel D. McArthur, sings it from the podium whenever he gets a chance, so the present generation is learning it all over again: ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON Oh, what a desert place was this When first the Mormons found it; They said no white men here could live And Indians prowled around it. They said the land it was no good, And the water was no gooder, And the bare idea of living here, Was enough to make men shudder. Chorus Mesquite, soap root, prickly-pears and briars, St. George ere long will be a place That every one admires. Now green lucerne in verdant spots Bedecks our thriving city, Whilst vines and fruit trees grace our lots, With flowers sweet and pretty. 156 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY Where once the grass in single blades Grew a mile apart in distance, And it kept the crickets on the go, To pick up their subsistence. Chorus The sun it is so scorching hot, It makes the water siz, Sir. The reason why it is so hot, Is just because it is, Sir. The wind like fury here does blow, That when we plant or sow, Sir, We place one foot upon the seed, And hold it till it grows, Sir. Chorus27 Leone Russell McMullin records another pleasant diversion from the tedium of pioneer labor: One fall Mother, Fattier, Uncle Lorenzo Russell, and myself, went out on Goose Berry Mountain to gather pine nuts. We came to an Indian camp, diey were gathering nuts too, so tiiey insisted on us roasting ours along with tiieirs. After diey were roasted, tiiey had us keep all we could get out of the cones, whether they were from our cones or not. Their mediods of roasting them was to dig a shal­low hole several feet across, pile the cones in the hole, covered with brush then cover with dirt and at several places around die mound the brush was set on fire, die dirt kept it from burning too fast and it heated die pile of cones enough to roast the nuts. After a long time, it was uncovered and die mound was surrounded by Indians witii a shallow basket. A large rock [was used] to crack the cone open on a smaller rock for a hammer, the nuts were put in die shallow basket and tossed to winnow out trash and empty nut shells.28 The 24th of July (Pioneer Day) was a time to celebrate. Arthur K. Hafen records: I remember, as a boy in Santa Clara, sleeping on an outdoor deck and being awakened at daybreak by the roar of salutes fired in St. George, and hearing the reverberations and echoes along the hills. Old Glory was hoisted and music by string or brass band was STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 157 brought to the home of every family by serenaders. In St. George it has been chiefly the martial band (fife and drum corps), but a brass band also played an important part in activities. This band was a community band, until later years the school sponsored a band. Other communities also had their martial band, which sur­vived through the years. The patriotic meeting was spiced with wit and music, and was enthusiastically attended by everyone. Sports on the public square were attended just as entiiusiastically, and old and young alike par­ticipated. Novelty races, such as sack races, egg races, potato races, nail driving by women, sewing buttons by men, and a great vari­ety of sports made fun for all. Of course, refreshments were not forgotten, prominent among which was the large barrel of lemon­ade from which each in turn might quaff. Children danced to the tune of a fiddle with organ accompaniment in the afternoon, and in die evening die same musicians set the adults afire. They danced with zest, and really enjoyed it. All ladies present shared, in vary­ing degrees, in the dance, for each fellow felt duty-bound to dance at least once with every girl present.29 Dixie Wine Mormons of the twentieth century are widely known for their abstentious lifestyle, so the subject of wine making in Dixie is to some Mormons something of an embarrassment. Stories abound about Dixie wine, almost in the tone of revealing a forbidden secret. It certainly was not such to the early Dixie settlers. For example, John S. Stucki recorded in his autobiography: The main object of President Brigham Young in sending our people to Dixie was to raise cotton for the people to make cloth­ing from. (There was no money to be obtained for very many years.) We also were to raise wine to be used for the Sacrament of this people, although water was used until this people could have wine of their own making which was to be the pure juice of the vine. I had the chance to furnish the first wine for the Holy Sacrament in Santa Clara, which was a great pleasure for me to have the right to do.30 The warm sandy soil of Dixie invites the vintner. Grapes thrive on the hillsides and bask in the summer sun. As a result, several vil- 158 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY lages specialized in raising grapes, especially Toquerville and Santa Clara, but people in Leeds and St. George and Washington were also proud of their grapes and active in wine making. The Dixie vintners learned quickly that wine making produced a saleable product that had many shipping advantages over bulky cotton bales. Wine not only was compressed into small packages but had a ready market. An obvious advantage of wine making was the proximity of mining camps where the product sold briskly. Pioche, Nevada, first provided a market and later Silver Reef became a boom town and a natural source for sales. John Conrad Naegle and his half-brother, Conrad Kleinman, learned the art of growing grapes and making wine in their youth in Europe. Naegle brought a wine press and distillery from California, and they became wine producers in Toquerville. Cotton in its raw condition was not useful to anyone until it was milled, made into cloth, and then into clothes. Wine, of course, cre­ated its own problem; the lofty ideal of preparing sacramental wine was quickly diverted to social uses and then, unfortunately, frequentiy to overuse and drunkenness. And consumption was not confined to gentiles. The abuse of the sacrament was a constant source of tale telling. Some elderly gentlemen were reported to have sometimes taken three or four long sips of the wine as the sacramental cup was passed along the rows. Eventually problems with abuse caused church authorities so much frustration that they decided to end the use of wine for the sacrament and discourage any production of wine. Wine and wine making have been a natural almost irresistible, source for folktales. Olive Burt, for example, combines the themes of polygamy, gentiles and wine making in this tale that conveniently makes its heroes and villains fit the local scene: Momer liked to tell about what happened to one ripening bar­rel in Toquerville. It was in the 1880's when U.S. government agents-deps-for deputies-were hunting men living in polygamy-cohabs. One of the most active deps was a fellow named McGeary. One night he came with an assistant named Armstrong to Toquerville to catch a cohab. . . . McGeary told his aide to go around to the back to watch while he stayed in front: they'd sure catch the miscreant that way. The second dep went around to the back of the small house. STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 159 There he saw a barrel with a canvas cover held tight with a hoop. He thought he'd step up onto this canvas to get a look in at the tiny window. But his weight dislodged the canvas, and down he went, kerplunk into the barrel. For only the briefest moment did he imagine he had fallen into the rain barrel. The fragrance of the ripening wine soon informed him. He climbed out, licked his chops, and then, using his cupped hands as a dipper, he went to work. Some time later McGeary became curious about the stillness at the rear of the cottage. He tiptoed around, saw his companion stretched out on the ground fast asleep, took in the situation-and using his cupped hands as a dipper, went to work. The cohab and his plural spouse had an undisturbed night-and in the morning two red-faced deputies hurriedly left town.31 William B. Ashworth, speaking of drinking wine in St. George, said: "At the Sunday meetings the Bishop would inquire if there was anyone present who had over indulged during the week and wished to confess before partaking of the sacrament, they would have the privilege of doing so. Usually some of the elder brethren's consciences would smite them, and they would arise and confess to indulging a little too strongly. They were passed on each time and forgiven."32 Bob Naegle tells a story that took place when he was in the sixth grade in about 1907 or 1908. There were five fifty gallon barrels of wine in the tithing celler. In an effort to obtain some of the wine, a few of the youths in town broke out a window. Naegle continued: A friend and I were the smallest kids in town and we could crawl through the window by getting our shoulders kittywhompas and the older boys lowered us to die floor. They told us to go over and pull out a hose down the barrel and blow on it a little bit until die bubbles came and tiien draw on it and put the end of the hose in a gallon jug. Dewey tried two or three times and couldn't do it. So I gave a big suck on it and got a mouthful of two or three swal­lows. We filled 4 or 5 jugs that way.33 All of this is folklore, which means that the tales may tell us as much of the teller as of the events. Certainly Dixie is a place where tale telling is a favorite pastime, and Dixie wine is a rich source of tales. 160 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY Polygamy If wine making and wine consumption have generated many folktales, certainly polygamy has done the same. That form of mar­riage was not unique to Dixie, of course; it was a trademark of the early Mormon church. One practitioner of Dixie polygamy was Catharine Cottam Romney. As one of the "prettiest girls in St. George," according to her older brother George, Catharine attracted suitors and by her eighteenth birthday had a proposal for marriage. But she preferred Miles Romney, eleven years her senior, who was already married. He was an actor, master carpenter, orator, and bud­ding community leader. Being Romney's plural wife was preferable to Catharine to having a husband her own age all to herself. Not a few young women believed that their eternal status depended a good deal on the spiritual level of their spouse; and an established leader seemed more attractive to many of them. Catharine is an example of those polygamous wives who preferred polygamy to monogamy. There were certainly polygamous wives who would have preferred a monogamous relationship and many who found plural marriage most taxing. But a reading of Catharine Cottam Romney's letters, recently published, makes it clear that she defended the practice not only loyally but insistentiy. Stories told about polygamy are legion. One that captures the sympathy of some for plural marriage involves the cotton factory at Washington. A fondness has always been attached by many to the cotton mill and continues to this day. Many stories circulate about its social value. For example, C. L. Christensen from Sanpete County is supposed to have made a freighting visit to the mill. Upon his depar­ture, his wife reportedly told him not to return without bringing back a second spouse! When Christensen arrived at the factory, he had plural marriage on his mind. There he discovered a golden opportu­nity: the score or more young women who worked in the factory usually took their lunches out to the nearby hill where they enjoyed their sandwiches and each other's company. When Christensen noticed this practice, he confidentiy strode toward the group, climbed up on a rock, and called for their attention. "I am C. L. Christensen from Sanpete. I will be here today and tomorrow and I am looking STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 161 for a second wife. Take a good look. What you see is all I am. I am young and hard working and will accept inquiries the rest of the day here." Reportedly, he was able to communicate effectively because he rode away the next day with his new wife.34 Tales of eluding federal marshals are told and retold today as humor. They portray the enigma of a generally law-abiding people who were opposed to the nation's polygamy laws. A favorite tale is told of Dudley Leavitt, a well-known husband of five wives, who was surprised while bringing in a load of cotton to the cotton mill. One of the young girls at the front desk saw federal marshals McGeary and Armstrong drive up; she yelled to Leavitt to run and hide. Leavitt fig­ured that to hide would not work. Grabbing a cap and oil can from a machinist, he donned a worker's hat and began actively oiling the machinery. He climbed a ladder and crawled along a top scaffold and worked diligently, clearly in sight. The officers shifted the cotton about, kicked boxes, looked in barrels, and looked for trap doors, but they found no polygamists. The families who practiced polygamy in Washington County chose one of several options for their domestic arrangements. Sometimes families lived together in one house. Certainly the census records show several cases where two families were in one home. Another choice was for the families to live in separate houses in the same neighborhood or town-a preferable choice where wives did not get along well. Catherine Cottam Romney's account of her fam­ily described both systems at differing times. She first enjoyed living with one of the senior wives; later on, when another wife was brought into the family, the relationship did not develop closely and she lived separately. At one time, during their residence in Arizona, Romney's wives lived in three houses, all on the same block. Yet another arrangement was for families to be housed in different towns. Jacob Hamblin located one wife and her children at his Mountain Meadows ranch while two other wives lived in Santa Clara in the same home. When the Manifesto was announced in 1890 by Mormon church president Wilford Woodruff, withdrawing permission for further polygamous marriages, many families in Dixie welcomed it; they were exhausted by the long federal prosecution of polygamists. 162 HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY Others felt a loyalty to "the Principle" and were not pleased with the decision to suspend die system. Polygamy did not end immediately; it required several years for families to adapt. ENDNOTES 1. Thomas D. Brown, Journal of the Southern Indian Mission. Ed. Juanita Brooks (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1972), 10. 2. Ibid., 44-45. 3. Juanita Brooks, "Indian Sketches from the Journals of T. D. Brown and Jacob Hamblin," Utah Historical Quarterly 29 (October 1961): 356. 4. Brown, Journal, 43. 5. Ibid., 23. 6. Pearson Corbett, Jacob Hamblin, The Peacemaker (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1952), 270. 7 "Biographical Sketch of Elethra Calista Bunker, 1859-1901" (St. George: WPA, 1938), 7. 8. "Biographical Notes from the Life of Joseph I. Earl, 1852" (St. George: WPA, n.d.), 42. 9. Louise Leavitt Engstrom, "Island in the Stream: Anderson's Ranch 1884-1984," 11,15, unpublished manuscript, Dixie College Archives. 10. "Biographical Record of Martha Cragun Cox," Dixie College Archives, 48. 11. Mary Ann Hafen, Recollections of a Handcart Pioneer, (Denver: Privately published, 1938), 36-37, 39, 40-41, 47. 12. Cox, "Biographical Record," 74. 13. Josephine J. Miles, "History of Education in St. George," paper read at Daughters of Utah Pioneers, St. George Chapter, 28 January 1923. Miles lists others who taught in early St. George: Louise Worthen, Elida Crosby, Elizabeth Snow, Martha Cox, Josephine Snow, Mary E. Cook, Laura Gardner, Mame Ashby, Alice Worthen, Mr. J. A. Whitelock. After 1885 the teachers she remembers in St. George included Eliza Lund, Andrew Winsor, M. M. Harmon, Mary Redd, Isabell McArthur, Annie Cottam (Miller), Mary Nixon, Martha Snow, Zaidee Walker, Mary Judd, Mr. Romney, Eva Cannon, Mary DeFriez, Edith Ivins, Julia Sullivan, Mary Judd, Ella Jarvis, Charles A. Workman, Louisa Cox, Rachel Cottam, Kate Kemp, Mary Thompson, Jennie Lund, Josephine Jarvis, Rosina Jarvis, John T. Woodbury, Sr., Nephi M. Savage, and Lena Nelson. 14. "Tests to Teachers, and Some Scores," in Schools and Education folder, Dixie College Archives. STORIES AND REFLECTIONS 163 15. Ibid. 16. "School Trustees Annual Financial Report, 30 June 1884," in Schools and Education folder, Dixie College Archives. 17. Superintendents in Washington County prior to 1915 included George A. Burgon, 1868-72; Joseph E. Johnson, 1872-77; Miles P. Romney, 1877-81; Adolphus R. Whitehead, 1881; Moroni Snow 1881-83; Joseph Orton, 1883-85; John T. Woodbury, 1886-91; Levi N. Harmon, 1891-1900; Charles A. Workman, 1901-07; Edward H. Snow, 1907-08; W. O. Nisson, 1909-12; and Charles B. Petty, 1913-15. 18. "Hebron [ward] Record," II, 134-40. 19. Elizabeth Wood Kane, Twelve Mormon Homes (Salt Lake City: Tanner Trust Fund, 1974), 101. 20. "Journal of Lenora Cannon Gardner," Dixie College Archives. 21. Walker, Diary, I, 385. 22. Ibid., 271-72. 23. See L.D.S. Conferences in Utah's Dixie, in "Histories and Stories," typescript, Dixie College Archives, 30. 24. Mary Bertha Wood Hall, "Excerpts from the Life of Mary Bertha Wood Hall," Honoring our Ancestors (Hurricane, UT: Homestead Publishers, 1988), 54-55. 25. "Life Story of J. H. Jennings," as told to Anna Jennings Wood in 1940. Dixie College Archives. 26. Walker, Diary, I: 305. 27. Ibid., 369. 28. James T. Jones, "Old Grafton," unpublished manuscript, Dixie College Archives. 29. Arthur K. Hafen, Dixie Folklore and Pioneer Memoirs (n.p.: pub­lished privately, 1961), 16-18. 30. Family History Journal of John S. Stucki, Handcart Pioneer of 1860 (Salt Lake City: Pyramid Press, 1932), 52. 31. Olive W. Burt, "Wine-making in Utah's Dixie," Lore of Faith and Folly, ed. Thomas E. Cheney (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1971), 145-52. 32. Dennis R. Lancaster, "Dixie Wine," Sunstone3 (Summer 1976): 81. 33. Dennis R. Lancaster, "Dixie Wine," Master's thesis, Brigham Young University, 1972, 96-105. 34. "A Hint to Young Men in Search of Wives," Utah Historical Society, 29 (July 1961): 299-300.