Early-Day Recollections of Antelope Island II

EARLY-DAY RECOLLECTIONS OF ANTELOPE ISLAND. BY SOLOMON F. KIMBALL. II. Antelope Island is about eighteen miles in length, and from four to six miles in width. The east side of it is comparatively smooth, and a good wagon road extends almost its entire length. On the west side there are many beautiful little glens, coves and precipitous canyons, and the land is rough and rugged from one end to the other. The wild horses that once roamed over it possessed character- istics peculiar to themselves, and in many ways seemed to be as intelligent as human beings. There were two reasons for this. In "ihe first place, they came from good stock. The ''Mormon" Church, under the direction of Fielding Garr and Briant String- ham, invested thousands of dollars in valuable stallions and brood mares which were turned loose on the island. In the second place, they became nimble, wiery and sure-footed by continually travel- ing over the rough trails of the island from the time they were foaled until they were grown. It became second nature to them to climb over the rugged mountain sides, and to jump up and down precipitous places four or five feet high. The speed which they could make while traveling over such places was simply mar- velous. They neither stumbled nor fell, nor matter how rough the country nor how fast they went. They were naturally of a kind disposition, and as gentle as lambs, after having been handled a few times. But with all of their perfections, they had a weakness

EARLY-DAY RECOLLECTIONS OF ANTELOPE ISLAND. 425 that made many a man's face turn red with anger: they loved their island home, and it was hard to wean them from it. When a favorable opportunity presented itself, during the summer months, they would take the nearest cut to the island, swimming the lake wherever they happened to come to it, and keep going until they reached their destination. Lot Smith's favorite saddle horse plaved this trick on him several times, even taking the saddle with him on one occasion. Briant Stringham died in 1871, and, sad to say, after that there was no interest taken in the island horse. There were then about five hundred, and they were allowed to run wild. For four years they never saw a human being. The Church people were anxious to get them off, and, in 1875, contracted with Chambers, White & Company, agreeing to let them have one-half of all they could deliver in Salt Lake City. These parties employed four horsemen to assist them. They shipped their cutfit over to the is- land and began work at once. Near the north end, on the east side, they built a corral close to the lake. Ten tons of hay were stacked in the center of it. They built a fence from the corral to a little steep bluff, a half mile away. This formed a wing on the south side, and the lake formed one on the north. They were then ready for business. Stationing their hired men along the north end of the island, to prevent the wild horses crossing to the east side, the three contractors rode south in search of horses. They had not gone far when they discovered between sixty and seventy head grazing on a low side-hill. Keeping out of sight, until they came close in behind the horses, a signal was given and a rush made towards them. The wild animals started in the right direction, and everything seemed to work like a charm. One of the contractors, an old stage-driver, dressed in white, who had never chased wild horses over a rough country before, got his eyes fastened upon several beautiful fnimals which he thought would make good stagers. With his hat in one hand, and his bridle reins in the other, he went tearing down the hill, as if the "Old Nick" himself was after him. He followed a narrow trail through sagebrush as high as his horse's back, and soon came to a place where the trail forked. He took the right hand fork and his horse took the left. He went sailing over the high sagebrush

426 IMPHO VEMENT ERA. like a seagull in a whirlwind. His saddle horse was found several days later, and the old man was ready for another run by that time. Everybody took a hand in the chase, as it meant several thou- sand dollars, provided this band could be corralled. The men were all excited; discipline and prearrangements were thrown to the wind. The wild horses were almost frightened to death, and were in the lead at least half a mile. They ran into the corral, around the haystack, and out of the gate. Every last one of them got away. This was a sad disappointment, and far-reaching, since an island horse was never known to be caught in the same trap twice. It seemed like all the other horses on the island had been let into the secret, for the next day they could not find one within ten miles of there. Mr. Chambers and his companion rode around the island to scare them back, but had a hard time to find the blind trails that led north, on the west side. The country for miles around seemed to be made up of large and small boulders cropping out of the ground from one to ten inches, which made it almost impossible for valley- raised horses to travel. There was one place where they had to jump their horses up a steep cliff almost four feet high. They had to lead them for miles, the country was so exceedingly rough. Their horses went stumbling along as if foundered. Subsequently they rode around the island almost every day for two months, and became acquainted with every nook and corner. They visited old "Daddy" Stumps' home several times, and found nothing left but the old cabin. Inside was a prospect- or's outfit, with several week's provisions on hand, but no sign of any person. One of the most beautiful little nooks on the island, is on the top of the mountains, five miles from the north end. It covers about one square mile of ground, and slopes to the west. It is made up of low hills and shallow hollows, dotted here and there with cedar and other evergreen trees. A half mile below, is a small pool of living water, the only place within five miles where one can get a good drink. This was the home of the wildest horses. On one occasion they saw an antelope galloping over the hills with one of these wild bands. It was probably the only one left to represent its once numerous kind. In early days, when numer-

EARLY-DAY RECOLLECTIONS OF ANTELOPE ISLAND. 427 ous, they learned to regard the horse as their best friend. During hard winters, when the grass was deeply covered with snow, the horses out of necessity would paw the snow off the grass and eat the best of it, then move along to pastures new. The half starved antelope followed closely on their heels, to gather the crumbs that fell from the proverbial "table." The antelope's appreciation of this generous act was not soon forgotten, so, during the summer months, when times were good and they were feeling the benefit of the rich bunch-grass that had taken effect upon their lean ribs, they felt hcnored to have the privilege of romping over the island with their highly esteemed friends and benefactors. On one occasion, in the early fifties, when Heber P. Kimball and com- panions were corralling one of these wild bands, a herd of ante- lope ran along with them almost to the house. Hebe, touching the flanks of his horse with his spurs, darted out towards them and lariated the fattest one in the bunch, the others then scampering off to the foot-hills. When Mr. Chambers and companion visited such places, the wild horses generally discovered them first, as they appeared to have their sentinels out in time of danger, while their scent was as keen as a bloodhound's, giving them a double advantage. When they saw one coming, the old stallion, the leader of the band, would hide his family of horses behind a clump of cedars or in some other convenient place. He would then get back of a high rock and stand upon his hind legs, resting his front feet upon the rock, peeping over so that he showed no part of his body but the top of his head. Many times they were seen doing this as well as other tricks of a similar nature. They would then watch the movements of their pursuers, and when these got disagreeably close, the horses gave the alarm, and away the animals would go, single file over the rough mountain trails, at the rate of ten miles an hour. Another trick the horses often played was this: When they saw one coming towards them, they would run at full speed over the nearest ridge and, just before going out of sight, would turn sharply to the right or left. Then, when well out of sight, would wheel around and run in the opposite direction. Their followers, at breakneck speed, would cut across the country to

428 IMPROVEMENT ERA. head them off, but when they reached the top of the ridge, would discover that the horses had gone the other way, and out of sight. They kept a person guessing all the time, and none could tell what trick they would spring next. Near the north end of the island, to the west side, is a little mountain that projects out into the lake. By following the lake shore, it was about four miles from this mountain to the corral. After the horses had been driven from the south end of the island, they generally took refuge behind this little mountain. The men ran them through the deep sand the whole distance around to the corral, and in this way captured nearly one hundred head. One day the men got about ninety wild horses behind this mountain, but, unfortunately, some of them were the same that had been corralled before but had gotten away. After they had been run through the sand to the extreme north end of the island, rather than be corralled, they lunged into the lake and swam to the promontory, some fifteen or twenty miles away. Among the first horses caught were some of the largest and best on the island. Daring the month of May there came a severe snowstorm, and eighteen of the most valuable of these chilled and died. The balance were shipped to Layton and placed in a pasture where they remained until the men had com- pleted their work. Sever? 1 of the island horses were used as saddle animals to take the place of the clumsy valley horse, which was not fit to ride over a rough country. By the middle of June, the horses on the island were as fat and sleek as seals, and the large bands were broken up into small ones. The men worked faithfully for ten days, but never corralled a horse, and were almost discouraged. They finally adopted a new plan. There was a place on the west side where two trails paral- leled each other for a mile. Apparently there was no way of crossing the island for several miles south of this point. Neither was there any way of getting around these trails, or going from one to the other. At the north end of the upper one was a natural gate formed by two large rocks. Here the men spent a week in building a stone corral. They walled up the lower trail at the south end to prevent the horses from going that way. While this work was going on, they often saw wild horses looking

EARLY-DAY RECOLLECTIONS OF ANTELOPE ISLAND. 429 over the tops of high rocks at them. When their work was com- pleted, they rode back to camp with a good deal of joy and satisfac- tion, feeling they had at last outwitted the cunning and crafty island horse. Bright and early the next morning, they rode south, on the east side, scaring up wild bands as they went, heading them in that direction. They also went around the south end, at the same time taking precautions to prevent the horses from crossing back to the east side. They then rode northward visiting every nook and corner, and making a clean sweep as they went. There was a good deal of enthusiasm among them, and excitement was at a high pitch. Their expectations were so great that they could hardly contain themselves. The majority of them were afraid that the corral would be too small, as they expected to capture almost every horse on the island, that day. They rode slowly along until they reached within a few hundred feet of the rock en- closure, when, with a rush and whoop, they ran their horses to the entrance of it. But lo and behold, all they discovered was a large horse track. This horse had deliberately walked into the corral, all around it, and then out again, and was gone! It seemed as if he had been sent there to inspect the work and report to the proper horse authorities, and- that the news had been sent broad- cast over the island, warning every horse of the cunning trap laid for them. Suffice it to say, every horse that had been driven around the south end of the island that day, had crossed to the east side, over a secret pass which only the horses knew. The men were dumbfounded and disgusted with themselves, and everything connected with Antelope Island. They rode back to camp with drooped heads, and not one of them uttered a word or batted an eye. Thev got their outfit together and the next day were in Layton "necking" island horses and getting them ready for the final drive to Salt Lake City. To cap the climax, sixteen head of their best horses lifted their heads and tails sky- ward, and with several snorts made a bee-line for the Sand Ridge. They went over fences, ditches, chicken coops and everything in front of them. Single file, they followed the railroad track, until they came to the railroad bridge over Kay's Creek. It was about one hundred feet across it, with sharp-edged ties at both ends. They planted their feet squarely upon these ties, better than a

430 IMPROVEMENT ERA. man could have done, and trotted right over. Not one of them stumbled or made a misstep. A farmer's horse in the field close by became excited and undertook to follow them, but the first step he took on the sharp-edged ties, he went head over heels al- most breaking his neck. After the horses had reached the Sand Ridge northwest of Layton, all the horsemen in Davis county could not have brought them back. The people of Kaysville stocked the island with ten thousand head of sheep. Feed became scarce, and many horses died of starvation. Adam Patterson, in 1877, purchased ten thousand acres of railroad land on the island, and the sheep were moved off that year. The Island Improvement Company obtained possession of the island, in 1884, and there were about one hundred wild horses left. They had become a nuisance, and Mr. John H. White and others went there with their long-range guns and exterminated them. Thus ended the horses of Antelope Island, once the pride of such men as Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and hundreds of others who knew the value of a good horse. The old Church house, built by Fielding Garr, in 1849, still re- mains in good condition. Mr. Scott Gamble, who has charge of the company's interests there, now lives in it. There are twenty- four hundred acres of land fenced in, and one thousand acres un- der cultivation. Thirty head of buffalo and six hundred head of Hereford cattle now roam over the island. Mr. John H. White, who has had more to do with Antelope Island since the days of Brigham Young than any other man, thinks that the day is not far off when the west side of the island will become one of the most noted pleasure resorts west of the Mississippi river. At some time not far away, the old veteran horseman who once chased wild horses over the island intends to visit it once more with some of his friends, and all who are able will ride over its rocky trails to view the scenes of their boyhood days. The festivities will close with an old fashioned camp-fire supper. [the end.] Salt Lake City, Utah.