UTAH HISTORICAL QUATERLY VOL I - VI

Early days in utah's dixie

Utah Historical Quarterly State Capitol, Salt Lake City Volume 5 October, 1932 Number 4 EARLY DAYS IN "UTAH'S DIXIE" By Jacob Hamblin On the 1st Dec, 1854, I, Thales Haskell, and A. P. Hardy, started for the Santa Clara; we encamped that night on the Rio Virgin, when we met some of the Pahutes out on a hunting ex­pedition, among whom was their chief, Tatsorgorits. They were much pleased to see us, and more so when we told them we had come to live among them, and teach them to build houses and raise grain. They returned with us.to their lodges on the second day, and the chief desired us to camp near his lodge; we did so. On the third day they were much alarmed, having heard that some Utah Indians were on their way to steal their children that night. The chief asked if we would help them to fight: I coun­selled with my two brethren, and replied that we would if they attempted to steal their children, or if it were necessary. I then let them have ten rounds of ammunition for each gun they had. Spies were sent out, and everything made ready for the reception of these anticipated thieves. The old chief went aside, and began to preach to the Utahs, as if they were within hearing; he said, they must not come now to steal their->children; their white brothers-the Mormons-had come here, and would fight for them. He then came and told me I might lie down, but I must not sleep too hard; and he would wake me before the Utahs came. The night passed, and no Utahs came. The next day we went down the river Santa Clara eight miles, to where we pur­posed building houses for them and ourselves. On the 14th December, President R. C. Allen and H. Burgess arrived from Fort Harmony, and on the following day we com­menced cutting house logs. We chopped them, and the Indians carried them to the site of building. There is an abundance of cottonwood here, from 6 inches to 3 feet in diameter. We soon had one comfortable cabin for ourselves, and two for the Indians. Arrival of the Utahs! On the 17th December, "Sanpitch," a Utah chief, brother to Walker, and some others, arrived. Their business was to trade for children. He rather abruptly asked 132 THE UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY what we wanted to do there? We told him. "He said that Walker, the big chief, wanted we should keep away from there, that the Snakes had been killing the Utahs at Provo, and that the Mormons were glad." We told him that our chief had sent us, and we should stay until he told us to leave; and as for the Mormons at Provo/ they had been kind and good to the Utahs, and the Utahs in return had been mean, threatening to shoot, etc.; and if some of the Utahs were killed, it would teach the others to do better. We asked Tatsagorits, the Pahute chief, whether they wished us to stay, or leave. He said that the water and land are ours, and we wish you to stay. Sanpitch then said, "I was blind at first, go ahead; it's all right. I wanted to know if you were braves!" I had some good talk with Sanpitch on the work among the Lamanites in the last days, and of the Son of God. He said "that he (Savior) was not wise enough, when he was here before, to do what his Father wanted him to do; he took him" home with him, and he would become very wise, and would come again and destroy everything that was not good on the face of the whole earth, the mosquitoes, snakes, wolves, etc." He stayed eight or ten days, bought three girls, giving one horse and two guns for them, and many beads. The father and mother of one of them cried much on seeing their daughter go, but they had nothing to give her to eat, and the gun, her price, would help them to get food. From the oldest girl, aged about 12, as she was carried off, I beheld the tears falling fast and silently, and my heart was pained to think that she might become a slave to the Mexicans. December 24, we started for Harmony, and with Ira Hatch I again returned to the Tonaquint Station on the 11th January, 1855. After visiting the different encampments, on the 17th Jan­uary we were invited to "an Indian wedding," but the bride, hav­ing dreaded the ceremony had made her escape; and until the 24th, we were not permitted to behold this novel spectacle, even for the first time, and then by other parties than those named above. This squaw, with her present husband, had come to visit her family and friends; but the Indian she now lived with had stolen her from another a year before. Her former husband came, and claimed her. The chief said that they must fight for her. About fifty Indians arranged themselves on the sides of the combatants, the contending suitors, according to their feelings, and were about equally divided. They stripped themselves, ex­cept about the loins, and tied their hair back. The husbands commenced the fight, bruising each others faces, and causing the blood to flow, like the more civilized (?) duellists and prize fighters. At length one of them fell, when one of his friends took his place. Thus they continued till all had a share in the EARLY DAYS IN "UTAH'S DIXIE" 133 melee, and most had their faces badly bruised. Only at times did they appear angry during this brutal ceremony. They oc­casionally stopped and wiped their faces, and rubbed and pulled their fingers. Before this the squaw had eaten a good meal, and sat down among the other squaws to witness, and await their feats of bravery. At this stage of the wedding her part became more prom­inent. Some one more daring than the others takes her by the arm, and leads her through the crowd until another opponent dares to offer fight again. This is a signal for another fight, and thus they continued till an hour after sundown, having com­menced shortly after noon. At one time they tried to haul her over the river, she escaped from them, and running towards me put out her hand that I might help her up the bank, and be­cause I stretched forth my hand to her aid I was counted in the ceremony, and fight was offered, but I escaped in consequence of not knowing their rules. Eventually they dragged her through the water to where were five or six lodges. The two claimants again fought there, and one of them seized the other by the hair. This, being con­sidered foul play, was the signal for a scene such as I cannot describe. They all commenced fighting like so many dogs, chil­dren and women shouting and hallooing. The bride was trampled under their feet, and fire was thrown into the dense crowd by the women. At length, having beat one another till tired, they quit. The squaw had fainted, blood issued from her mouth, and she seemed lifeless. Two of them hauled her back of one of the lodges, where they again quarrelled some time; they then tore off her buckskin shirt, fought over this till, they were tired, and one of the claim­ants having got the remainder of it bravely slept on it. This marriage, or the successful wooer, was not decided that night. The next morning I counted 100 Indians, who had collected for the fight on a convenient place near their lodges, where were two fires. They again took sides, and after they had teased and talked sometime they made a general rush at each other, beating one another till their faces were again bruised and covered with blood. After a while they again rubbed their faces and fingers, pulling the latter, and commenced pulling the same squaw about, and fighting as before, which they kept up till 3 P. M. of this day. The day following there was to be another fight for another squaw, eight miles farther down. I was asked to go with them, and went. At 9 A. M., they began as before beating each other; at noon began dragging the squaw; at 3 P. M. they dragged her to the lodges, and I could see no signs of life in her. 134 THE UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY The following day they commenced again to fight for the one so long contended for at first, because she did not want to live with the one that had gained her. He won her again, and she still refused. They tore her clothes off in dragging her through the brush, and started to drag her down the bank of the river. Then I ran between them and it, telling them, as well as I could, how unwise, how unkind! I was happily disappointed at the re­sult, for they stopped, and carried her almost lifeless to the camp, but were somewhat mad because she would. not live with the man who had won her. I then went to the chief, and told him that I would not stop with his people if they persisted in such conduct. He replied, "that was the way they got their women." I told him there was a better way* that if an Indian wanted a wife, and could find one that would live with him, that he should marry them, and they should love their women. You want I should write good to the Mormon chief? "Yes." I write truth to him, and it would be bad to write all I have seen done here, unless you try to stop it now. He and his chief men counselled that night, and in the morn­ing he came to me and said, "he did not want me to say anything about what had been done, for they were ashamed of it. Throw away all you have seen, and we shall stop such fights." That night, Jan. 28, I preached to them from the house top. Bros. Knights and Thornton having arrived from Cedar City with a donation of picks, spades, axes, &c, we commenced build­ing a stone dam across the Santa Clara for emigrating purposes, 80 feet long, 14 feet high, and 3 feet thick, the Indians helping. We had suffered some little for want of flour, &c, but a donation from the Parowan Saints came in good season. The Deseret News, April 4, 1855. EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF HENRY W. BIGLER Mon. 3rd. I went to look after the horses, came across a patch of grapes, they were as sweet as raisins. I ate so many until I found myself sick. At 1 p. m. broke camp, went up the river for 12 miles and camped for the night. Tue. 4th. Cloudy with some rain, traveled up the river 20 miles. Brother Keeler and I have but one animal to carry us through. Our provisions are nearly exhausted and that of the company's.