Our Pioneer Boys, III

OUR PIONEER BOYS. BY SOLOMON F. KIMBALL. III. The events witnessed by the pioneers, during the early years after entering these valleys, became so commonplace that they caused little comment, consequently no written record of them was kept. The art of photography was in its infancy, hence only few pictures of these early-day scenes were taken. Doubtless it will be interesting to the young readers of the Era to learn more about the customs and habits of the Indians at the time civilization first broke in upon their wild lives and surroundings. The Indian wigwams were curious-looking habitations- They were constructed of tent poles covered with skins of wild animals, sewed together with thread made of sinew. Sharpened bones and other instruments served the pur. pose of needles. The Indians called their tents "wickiups." Their clothing was made from the skins of wild animals, and beautifully tanned. The poorer among them dressed in clothing made from rabbit skins, Pah Utes— Buffalo Robe.

OUR PIONEER BOYS. 835 with the hair side out. Their bedding was made of nicely dressed skins of buffalo, bear and other wild animals. Their food consisted largely of the jerked meat of big game, such as buffalo, bear, elk and deer. They generally caught fish with seines and traps made from woven willows, but sometimes they shot them with bows and arrows. When the berries were ripe great quantities were gathered, dried and cached in dry places for winter use. Wild artichokes, segoes and other palatable roots, that grew in great abundance in the valleys and on the hillsides, were dug and used as food. Great quanties of pine nuts were gathered. What the early settlers termed a cricket and grass- Pacer-Represents Poor Indian. hopper farnine> the Indians could well call a cricket and grasshopper feast. When these hopping and flying insects passed over the land, many tons were gathered, dried or roasted by a slow fire, and then ground into meal. The hot cakes made from this meal at first sight looked quite savory to the newcomers, but the feeling was dispelled when the wings and legs of the grasshoppers were discovered in the delicious temptation. Bows and arrows were the Indians' principal weapons, the former being sometimes made from split mountainsheep horn, scientifically constructed and neatly bound with sinew. The arrows were made of grease-wood, or other wood, with sharp flints at one end, and three split feathers at the other, both ends securely fastened with sinew. The male Indians, from the gray-haired veteran After the Feast — the Fat Boy.

836 IMPROVEMENT ERA. to the small boy, each had a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over the shoulder and hung to the back. The warriors could shoot with these almost as effectually as the ordinary man can with a gun. The younger generation of pioneer boys took great pride in fashioning after the Indians in this respect, and in some cases learned to outdo them at their own game. During the summer season it was no unusual sight to see a crowd of boys dressed in buckskin pants and moccasins, shooting at a mark with bows and arrows. Many of them became experts at this sport. In those days Livingston, Bell & Company's store was the business part of town. It was located where the Constitution Building now stands. The clerks and sports took great pleasure in watching the Indians and white boys shoot at ten cent pieces. The person who could hit a dime twenty paces away, won the prize. There was much interest manifested by all concerned, and quite a rivalry existed between the Indian with Bow and Arrows. Where the Constitution Building now Stands, Opposite 7 C. M. I., in 1855.

OUR PIONEbJR BOYS. 837 Oliver Buell. Indians and the boys. The Indians were very much humiliated to see Oliver Buell carrying away more dimes than any other one of the contesting parties. The pioneers learned many valuable lessons in economy from the Indians. When the service-berries, chokecherries and other wild fruits were ripe, many families went into the mountains, spending several days at a time, gathering berries. These were dried and put away for future use. The common garden currants were also dried and mixed with service-berries. When stewed, these made a splendid sauce. The service-berries being sweet, supplied the place of sugar — a costly luxury, which sold at one dollar a pound . The new settlers learned the value of jerked buffalo meat. So, during the summer months, when times and circumstances permitted, they went out on the plains in parties to hunt the buffalo. Many of our brethren wore full suits of buckskin clothing. These suits became quite fashionable, and lasted for years. There were neither rich nor poor in those days; everybody knew everybody else, and though hard times knocked at many a door, the people were happy and contented. Music was a rarity, although Uncle Dimick Huntington made lively melody with his martial band. On many an evening one could hear the boys practicing on the drums and fifes. The drums were made by Uncle Dimick. On the Dimick Baker Huntington, Interpreter and Member of the Mormon Battalion. Born May 26, 1808. Died Feb. 1. 1879.

838 IMPRO VEMENT ERA . Fourth and Twenty-Fourth of July the people of Salt Lake were treated to lively music. About fifty wide-awake young patriots belonged to the band. When they played ''Yankee Doodle," and "The Girl I left Behind Me," the horses that were near by commenced, figuratively speaking, to walk off on their hind legs, and look for a place to jump off. There was besides a good brass band in town, but it was a tame affair compared to the drum and fife company. Everybody was honest in those days, speaking in a general way, and one could leave the doors of his house unlocked, and be gone from home a month or two at a time, and return to find everything just as it had been left. Ephraim Knowlton Hanks. Born March 2, 1826. Died June 9, 1897. Charles F. Decker. Pioneer Mail Carrier and Lieutenant Utah Militia. The mails were received from the East several times a year, and their infrenquency almost made it appear to the pioneers that they were living in another world. Feramorz Little, Eph. Hanks, and Charley Decker, three of the bravest of pioneer boys, often loaded several pack animals with mail, and took it to Laramie, where other mail carriers from the Missouri river met them. Here they exchanged mails, and then returned to their homes in the mountains. It required from forty to fifty days to make the rounds, the Government allowing them one thousand dollars a trip. On

OUR PIONEER BOYS. 839 one occasion Eph. and Charley were caught in a fearful snowstorm, which blockaded their way for twelve days. They were well supplied with provisions, and managed to get into a cave with their animals, where they safely remained during that time. Their animals were compelled to subsist on pieces of jerked meat rolled in flour. It took ninety days to make that trip. On another occasion their provisions gave out, and as their amunition had become wet, while crossing a river, they were unable to shoot game. There were plenty of fat buffalo near by, however, and they were determined to have some fresh meat, even though to obtain it they must engage in hazardous adventure. Eph., possessing a good horse and being a born athlete, chased after a big, fat buffalo, ran his horse close to its side, then with both hands grabbed its mane, jumped astride, and while the animal was running at full speed,Eph. with all his might drove his long knife into the buffalo's heart. This thrilling episode over, they jerked the meat and continued their journey as if nothing unusual had occurred. These two men each crossed the plains probably more times than any other white man. They performed the perilous journey upwards of sixty times. Ephraim Hanks possessed the gift of healing to a remarkable degree, and always carried a small bottle of consecrated oil. Often he administered to the sick Indians, with wonderful results. To them he was known, from Salt Lake City to the Missouri river, as the man who could talk with the Great Spirit. Several time his life was saved, he declares, through the guidance of dreams. He was always found in the front ranks facing any danger that Kanosh. Chief of the Pauvantes, who had headquarters at the present City of Kanosh.

840 IMPROVEMENT ERA. threatened the Latter-day Saints. During the winter of 1850, we found him in company with about one hundred of his comrades fighting hostile Indians on the banks of the Provo river. The redskins were strongly entrenched behind a breastwork of cottonwood trees, and in possession of a double log house which stood near by. They were well armed, and made a stubborn fight. Little headway was made by the boys the first day. The snow was deep and crusted, giving the savages every advantage. Captain Geo. D. Grant soon discovered that nothing could be accomplished until the I'te Indian Squaw and Pappoose.

OUR PIONEER BOYS. 811 red-skins were routed from their stronghold, which seemed impregnable; so he made up his mind to capture the house at all hazards. He therefore ordered Lieutenant William H. Kimball to select fifteen men, charge upon the house, and take possession. Among the heroes chosen were Eph. Hanks, Lot Smith, Robert T. Burton Orson K. Whitney, James Ferguson, John R. Murdock, A.J. Pendleton, Barney Ward, Henry Johnson, Isham Flyn,and five others, whose names are unknown. They were mounted on good horses; and soon after the word was given to charge, they were in possession of the double log house. When the savages saw them coming they scampered away in double quick time, after deliberately emptying their guns at the approaching enemy. The shower "White Horse." KiowaChief. "He has taken more scalps than any other Indian on the plains."

842 IMPR 0 VEMENT ERA . of cold lead from the redskins' guns flew around the boys thick and fast. Nearly every one of their horses was killed. The men's clothing was riddled and torn with bullets. Several of the boys William Henry Kimball. (September, 1890.) Son of Heber Chase and Vilate Murray Kimball. Born Mendon, N. Y., April 10, 1826.

OUR PIONEER BOYS. 843 were wounded before they reached the house. Some of them afterwards declared that they actually saw the bullets turn aside before nearing them. That night the savages retreated in two George D. Grant. different directions, leaving their dead and wounded behind. The next morning the minute men followed the Indians. They were

844 IMPROVEMENT ERA. overtaken, and another battle ensued. Upwards of fifty red-skin warriors were killed during the three days' fight; the balance of their number escaped. Chief Big Elk, one of Chief Walker's leading generals, who led the fight, afterwards died from the effects of wounds received during the second day's engagement. Our boys lost only one man, Joseph Higbee, who was killed the first day. The Goshutes, of Tooele county, had for several years been killing the settlers, driving off stock and committing all kinds of depredations. Their headquarters was located in Skull Valley; but when the Indians were in mischief they hid in the Cedar Mountains, some twenty-five or thirty miles farther west. During the summer of 1851, a company of minute men volunteered to enter the stronghold of these bloodthirsty savages, and administer to them a lesson which it was believed they would never forget. The boys were not long in finding them. Early one morning they charged into their hiding place and annihilated nearly every warrior in the camp. They found tons of jerked beef prepared from stolen cattle. The boys were so busy during these troublous times that they found no time to keep a record of the number of Indians killed nor even the names of their comrades who participated in these battles. Among those who accompanied this expedition were Geo. D. Grant, Wm. H. Kimball, Robert T. Burton, Rodney Badger, Nathaniel V. Jones, Wm. McBride, James M. Barlow, John Wakely, Charles Westover, and Jesse Terpin. There were many friendly Goshutes who took no part in plundering the new-comers, and who were living in Skull Valley when this trouble occurred. The authorities were continually pleading with the Indians to cease from their murderous and thievish work. They held out to them a blessing in one hand or a whip in the other. With all the advantages the Indians possessed in the three battles during 1849-50 and 51, in which so many Indians were killed, it is remarkable that our brave "Mormon'' boys lost but one man. The savages undoubtedly came to the conclusion that the minute men were guarded by an unseen power, as it was almost impossible for the Indians to shoot straight enough to hit them, though they had no difficulty in killing their horses. After

846 IMPROVEMENT ERA. these conflicts the red-skins were afraid to fight the boys in the open, and therefore after committing their depredations they always made a break for the mountains. What fighting they then did was from ambush, which method presented a difficult problem to the whites. The minute men were then compelled to adopt a new system of fighting which they learned by continually braving the terrible dangers that threatened them on all sides. Sometimes they were compelled to follow narrow and dangerous trails for miles, single file, through box canyons where the savages could have dropped rocks on their heads as they passed by. Often they were strung out so far that the Indians could have attacked the front ranks without the knowledge of those in the rear. Sometimes at night signal fires could be seen on the tops of mountains, along their route, made by the Indians to warn their redskin friends of approaching danger. The boys fully realized that nothing Group of Black Hawk Soldiers. (Photo by C. R. Savage.) Taken on the day they returned from the Black Hawk Campaign, July, 1866. 1— Alma Pratt, Conrad Wilkinson, Wm. B. Dougall. 2— Wm. Goforth, Solomon F. Kimball, Jasper Conrad. 3— Henry Snell, Edward D. Woolley, Jr. but an overruling Power could bring them through such places alive. They had great faith in the blessings and promises made in the name of the Lord by their parents before leaving home. They were naturally of a religious turn of mind, and though they often remarked that their parents did the praying while they did the fighting, they never failed to attend to their secret prayers. Salt Lake City, Utah. (THE END.)