A Trip South with President Young in 1870

A TRIP SOUTH WITH PRESIDENT YOUNG IN 1870.

BY C. R. SAVAGE.

II.

Leaving Beaver, our road led up a long canyon, amid pinyon pine and cedar, thence to Buck-board Springs where a mili-

tary escort from Parowan awaited us. After watering and feeding our animals, we moved on to Paragoonah, receiving there a warm reception. The Sunday School children, with a brass band, were out in full force. By the time we reached Parowan, the procession was quite formidable, and thus with waving flags and joyous music, the tried and true leader of the "Mormon" people was welcomed to the pleasant city of Parowan, one of the oldest in the southern part of Utah, and also one of the prettiest, containing neat homes and well-arranged surroundings. Many of the old Indians were there to see "Bigam," as they called him; he had a dispute to settle among them, which he did to their satisfaction. They said he never talked "forked," always "straight." Many of the Nauvoo veterans were there also. Each one wished to go over the story of the exodus from Nauvoo, until the President was nearly talked to death. The house was besieged by visitors all day. Just how the President was always able to talk on matters that his listeners most desired to hear, I never learned, but there were times when he seemed to be more than usually apt, and often amusing when giving counsel on home topics, and exposing the who were not honest in their dealings. A petty tricks of some man with a sack of ore came to see the President. He described

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its wonderful richness in glowing terms. The president listened attentively, and when the man had finished, remarked: "Brother if you have a good thing in view, take care of it." This was all the encouragement he got in his mining operations. Some men who delight in saying mean things about President Young, say that he opposed mining and tlie development of the country, and make other uncomplimentary remarks about him. This is a misrepresentation of him. It is, however, true that he remarked: "A poor farmer makes a poor miner," meaning that if a man was a farmer he would better stick to his farm than run away to the hills and prospect. He knew that it took brains and ability of a high class to mine successfully. Brigham Young was right. As to his desire to develop the resources of the country, he always stood head and shoulders above all his critics. Leaving Parowan we went on to Cedar City, but before we reached it, a military escort of cavalry met us; they were all wellmounted and equipped. They formed into line and preceded the company into Cedar. I often thought, "who among the popular men in the States would be treated with more homage and genuine attention in moving from place to place than the prophet and leader of the unpopular Latter-day Saints!" I was conceited enough to

believe that none of the popular men of that time had as many genuine friends as Brigham Young. I am satisfied that hundreds were ready to stand between him and death, and were ready to sacrifice their lives to save his, if it were necessary.

The ruins of the old smelter erected to make iron from the mountains of rich ore in sight of Cedar City, were shown to me; also an old iron bell made of the iron. The complaint made was that it was so magnetic they did not know how to treat it. But it will be done; the foundation for the great iron works yet to come was laid by the pioneers years ago. It is in such matters that the genius of a founder of nations is seen in the life of Brigham Young; he never stopped to ask, "Will it pay?" "Is it necessary?" was his query. In every city, town and hamlet in Utah, his creative brain proposed many industries that aimed to give labor,and develop resources previously unnoticed. Much of his talk in every place was directed to show the unrealized possibilities ^before the people, the needed improvement in their-

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lives and the cultivation of the better qualities of their natures. I never heard him take a text from the Bible except once. Brother Brigham did not believe in loud laughter; he seldom more than smiled, and rarely repeated jokes to provoke laughter. President Garfield once advised a noted politician never to make people laugh, saying that the popular appreciation of a public man was lessened when he sought to make them laugh rather than to think. The next stop was at Kannara, the highest settlement on the route, located on the rim of the basin — elevation nearly seven thousand feet — a cold and cheerless place. Near by, the water runs on the south to the Pacific ocean, while to the north, to the sink of the Sevier. Meetings were held in a log meeting house. The people in Kannara were pleased to look upon President Young and his friends. There are some wonderful rocky glens near Kannara and plenty of timber in the mountains. On March 9, we began the descent into Dixie country. One witnesses the strangest change in a short time, from northern to southern growths. The old song comes easily to mind:

Mesquit, soap-root, prickly-pear and briars, Dixie is the promised land that every one desires.

The road is a rough, rocky one along Ash Creek, and very hard for wagons and animals, but this road is a vast improvement upon the one over the Black Ridge, made famous by another old song which I remember in part:

At length we reached the Black Ridge, My wagon it broke down; But I couldn't get a carpenter For I was twenty miles from town .

So with an old cedar post I fixed an awkward slide.

But the wagon rocked so heavily That Betsy couldn't ride.

The first place reached was Belleview, then Harrisburg, near which place the town of Silver Reef is located. Silver is there found in sandstone. At that time, no such place was in existence, and I slept near a stone wall whose pebbles contained silver. We stayed ^11 night in Harrisburg. At one place in the Dixie country, I wit-

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nessed another evidence of the far-seeing policy of our President. He happened to see some little fellows playing with round stones for want of marbles — heard him say to I his wife: "Look into the buggy, and see if there are not some marbles." Surely enough they were produced, and given to the children. He also had some tobacco for the Indians. There seemed to be something for every emergency in that buggy. We are now in the land of craters, lava and scoria. Near each place inhabited by man are patches of green, but outside are sand and rocks, gravel and cacti. The places of settlement are narrrow strips of land near the beds of creeks. There were some pretty homes, and, considering the difficulties pertaining to new settlements, they were a marvel to me. All the results visible had required excessive labor. Ditch-making, home-making and farming, were all that the people had time for. During the summer months the heat is very great; but the winters are delightful. Already the trees were in bloom and the patches of lucern green and beautiful. The next day we moved on to Washington, a pretty village near St. George, where President Young had a cotton mill. The caravan stopped to look it over, and see the workmen making factory cloth from home-raised cotton, thus supplying a much-needed article. Yet the mill was not a dividend-paying institution. This did not worry the President. It was a home-made article and abso-

lutely necessary. An immense sum of money was required to get the mill started. From Washington to St. George, our train was a triumphal parade. On all the knolls were crowds of boys firing little cannons and guns; on the road were companies of cavalry and infantry, as well as the Sunday School children, and bands of music. I was luckily quartered in the residence of Apostle Erastus Snow. I enjoyed the sensation of being somebody of consequence, if only for a short time. Stanley, the explorer, says: "It is royal to be envied." Nothing was left undone to make the company happy the — homes of the citizens and their contents were at our disposal. The town was unlocked. No king or queen, or other potentate, could

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have had more genuine homage paid them than had the President and his friends. Stores were closed, business stopped, and the meetings were crowded. The best of music was enjoyed, and the most encouraging talk given by the visitors. Each speaker had his line of thought, each his pet subject. The President commented on topics of everyday interest. President Smith likewise.but with more reference to spiritual matters. Brigham Young, Jr.'s special points were upon every-day life; Lorenzo D. Young, doctrinal points; John W. Young's theme was architecture, with reference to the construction of homes, barns, schoolhouses, etc. Thus was furnished a program full of interest, and necessary to the condition of the people. At the time of our visit, St. George was the leading city south of Salt Lake City, and President Young did everything possible to build it up; he thought to make it his winter retreat, f8r springtime there is earlier by a month than in our valley. Joseph E. Johnson, one of the most valuable and progressive citizens there, was testing all He showed me mulberry branches that had kinds of fruit trees. grown from one-half an inch to three-quarters of an inch per day. He had figs, almonds, pomegranates and grapes of every kind growing luxuriantly. It required gigantic efforts to open up the land for cultivation

around St. George; the white substance known there as mineral, (Glauber's Salts), covered the ground and had to be washed out of it before anything would grow. The city water is obtained from a warm spring, and is healthful. Much wine was made from the vineyards. We had such a pleasant time that the trip to the desert and the Colorado river lost its charm; but we had to part with the people of St. George and the city's attractions. On Monday, March 14, we rolled out, climbing a mountain road for over fifteen miles. All signs of water were lost to view, but our guide took the animals down a steep ravine and found water in the holes in the rocks. Towards night, we reached a place on the Rio Virgen, once known as the Beaver Dam; but one of the storms that prevail there produced a flood that completely carried away the settlement. We camped on the river for the night, where the village once was.

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It was about this time that the Navajoes were on the warpath.

Each one of us had to stand guard during the night, gun in hand, and watch over the camp. My turn came at midnight. The onlysound I heard was the cry of the howling coyote— suddenly, I noticed a portly individual moving around; could it be one of the Navajoes? I summoned the intruder and found, to my surprise, that it was President Young hunting medicine for some one sick. Numbers of the friendly Pi-ede Indians came to our camp. The old chief, Thomas, was there. They shook hands withus, and were glad we had come, for they were afraid of the Navajoes; and so were we, but they did not know this. To my satisfaction, none of them appeared to disturb our peace. The next day we followed on down the Virgen river through sand and gravel, making slow progress. There was no timber in sight. Mesquit is the only wood that can be found in this region. The roots of the growth are dug from the sand dunes that surround them, and they make good firing. Yuccas and cacti of many kinds are found on the slopes. We camped on the river again, thirty-five miles from the Beaver Dam. There were no settlers on the river then, but we passed many fine tracts of land which were suitable for cultivation.

Our next day's travel brought us to St. Thomas, on the lower Muddy. The change from dreary wastes, to civilized life, was very acceptable. St. Thomas was a pleasant settlement of one story

abdobe houses; the occupants were young men and their families who had been selected in,and sent from, Salt Lake City. The houses were neat, plain, and comfortable. Cottonwoods were planted on the borders of each lot. The fields around the hamlet were bright with growing crops, and were in splendid condition. The timbers used in the roofs of the houses had been hauled seventy-five miles. It was necessary, in order to bring water to St. Thomas, to build a ditch eleven miles long. Think of the mountain of labor necessary to possess a home in that far-off and isolated location. Yet no one grumbled. I heard some complaints about the ants, and the sand storms that

prevailed there. Then there were so many Pi-ede Indians around that the settlers were taxed every day to help feed them. The government, at that time, did nothing to help the Pi-edes.

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Our meetings in St. Thomas were not as enthusiastic as in other places. President Young did not say much ; others took up the time. In mid-summer the heat is intense; I was told that the sisters poured the butter from bottles, when they used it; and that the hens would not run on the sand because it burned their feet when the sun was shining. I was impressed that many of the settlers would rather be somewhere else, but they did not say so. Settlers in new places are sometimes discouraged.

Near St. Thomas is a mountain of crystalline salt; everything around the place looks barren, sandy, and uninviting. The hills are covered with short prickly growths that are a terror to footmen. Our next trip was down the Virgen river, twenty-five miles, to the Colorado river. On the road, we passed huge cliffs of brown rock-salt. Very few flowers, and these of bad odor, adorn the sterile sand. Hieroglyphics are seen on the rocks, carved by races of men whose bodies are now low in the dust. There is no soil visible; the landscape is made up of salt, sand-rock and volcanic tufa. We finally reach the big river at its junction with the Rio Virgen. We camped on the plateau overlooking the junction. This j)lace is four hundred and fifty miles from Salt Lake City.