Early Day Scouts

Early Day Scouts BY SOLOMON F. KIMBALL On the 4th day of August, 1851, Doctor John M. Bernhisel was elected to the 32nd Congress of the United States, he being the first man to represent Utah in the legislative councils of the nation. He was a highly polished gentleman of the Sandy Hill, Pennsylvania, type, and traditionally a Whig. It fell to the lot of Eph. Hanks, Charley Decker, and ^ 63 George Clawson, the noted mail carriers of the West, to get Honorable John M. Bernhisel through to the Missouri river, so that he would reach Washington in time for the opening of Congress. Their outfit consisted of a light wagon, drawn by two mules, three pack animals loaded with government mail, and two saddle horses. dr. j. m. bernhisel The doctor discarded his broad- Utah's first representative in Congress. cloth and at ten o'clock on the morning of Aug. 9, 1851, a start for the national capitol was made. Everything went well with them until they reached the upper crossing of North Platte. Here they found no ferry-boat, but, having brought four ten-gallon kegs along in case of just such an emergency, they loaded everything into the wagon, ran it into the river, lashed a keg to each wheel and tied one end of a long rope to the wagon tongue ; then, with the other end, Eph. and Charley swam to the other side. In the meantime, Clawson had gone with the animals, taking the harness and saddles along with him. The scouts then hitched the team to the end of the rope and in this way the wagon was hauled over.

986 IMPROVEMENT ERA. E. HANKS The next thing was to get Utah's first congressman over — who was a poor swimmer. The scouts thought it too risky to take him over on the wagon, so adopted this plan : George and Charley, with one end of the long rope, swam back to where the doctor was, securely fastened the rope under his arms, then the three of them waded into the stream as far as possible, Eph. pulling in the slack rope from the other side as fast as they advanced towards him. The swimming then began in earnest, Charley and George helping the honorable gentleman, of whose Whig political inclinations they were well aware, as much as possible. When they reached the main channel they became separated, and then it was every fellow for himself. As soon as the boys let go of the doctor he cried for help. Eph. taking in the situation, and having the other end of the rope fastened to the horn of his saddle, put spurs to his fiery steed, and for the next hundred feet, Honorable John M. more resembled a good-seized flutter wheel, with full head on, than a delegate to Congress. After working over him for some time, the company moved on. Several days after reaching the Bluffs the Democratic mail-carrier scouts were convulsed with laughter when they read in the Frontier Guardian the following communication from the Doctor: CHARLES DECKER Independence, Missouri, Sept. 28, 1851. Orson Hyde, Editor Frontier Guardian, Dear Sir: — I arrived here this afternoon in good health. Should you deem it worthy of notice please say in the Guardian, that I am neutral in politics. In haste, I am truly yours, John M. Bernhisel.

EARLY DAY SCOUTS. 987 On their return trip the scouts ran out of provisions, but as good luck would have it, they camped near a company of gold seekers on their way to California who had plenty of everything. Decker went to their camp to purchase supplies, but the haughty captain refused to sell him anything. When Charley reported this fact to his companions, Eph., with a twinkle in his eye, said, "George, let's you and I give 'em a whirl." George had black eyes, Roman nose,and wore a full buckskin suit. With plenty of feathers, horsehair, charcoal and paint, Eph. and Charley were not long in making him look like a fullfledged Cheyenne chief of the most savage type. They spoke the Indian language fluently and had crossed the plains too many times to be outdone by a crowd of tender-feet. When everything was ready, Eph. went one way and George the other, the latter following a deep ravine, that led to the hills some distance above the emigrants' camp. They were mounted on good horses and armed to the teeth. Eph., in the garb of an old mountaineer, followed the river-bottom, keeping out of sight until he reached the main road, a half mile west of the gold-seekers camp. He then reversed his course, following a trail that led to their wagons. As soon as he reached camp he lost no time in telling them that they were in a regular hotbed of blood-thirsty savages who thought no more of pealing scalps from the ordinary emigrants than they did of eating a chunk of broiled beef after a hard day's hunt. After getting them worked up to a high pitch, here came THE MEDICINE MAN.

988 IMPROVEMENT ERA. Clawson galloping down the sidehill at breakneck speed, letting out yells that would have done justice to old Geronimo himself, When he reached camp he commenced to harangue the bystanders in regular Indian fashion, at the same time swinging his arms and pointing to the mountains, hills and plains. An excited crowd soon gathered around, and the captain, with flushed face and clinched fists, wanted to know what the trouble was about. After Hanks had talked matters over with the chief, he turned to the exasperated wagon boss and said: "Captain, he wants you people to understand that he owns this whole country as far as the eye can see and that you will have to pay dearly for the rich bunch-grass your hungry animals have been devouring. A CAMP OF THE SIOUX during the last five sleeps, or somebody about your camp will loose his scalp, just as sure as his name is Sitting Bull." The excited captain, turning to Hanks, wanted to know what the damages were, as he was more than willing to pay anything in reason rather than be bothered with a band of cold-blooded bulldozers of this savage fellow's kind. After the Chief and mountaineer had had another spirited talk, Eph. told the captain that the chief wanted some flour, bacon, beans, tea, coffee, sugar, and tobacco. The wagon boss ordered the commissary to bring forth the desired supplies and the re-

COUNCIL BLUFFS, 1852. FROM TI1K "LIVERPOOL ROUTE."

990 IMPROVEMENT ERA. quest was immediately granted. The chief continued to jabber away at the same time rubbing his stomach and making all kinds of horrid faces. The captain wanted to know what in the name of common sense the "old cuss was kicking about this time." Eph. good-naturedly explained to him that the chief's wife was very sick and he wanted some good brandy to rub over her stomach, as well as some candy for the kids. Clawson and Hanks were soon wending their way wickeupwards with everything that heart could desire, while the captain and his companions were congratulating themselves over the clever manner in which they conducted their case. Elder N. L. Hansen and Elder Jensen, writing from Holbaek, Denmark, April 1, say: "Holbaek always heretofore has been a strong anti-'Mormon' town, but we are now making steady progress, and our little branch is about the largest in the Copenhagen conference. We have adopted the 'English Class' idea, as a means of reaching some who could not otherwise become interested. We have thirty-one enrolled, and eight of these are non-members, most of them have become very friendly, and frequently attend our regular meetings. Our meeting place has become too small, and we are trying to find larger quarters, although it is only a year since we moved here from still smaller quarters. With faith and hard work, we hope to allay local prejudice, and obtain what we want and need. A portrait of the class is enclosed. Elders standing at back: Lars Jensen, Mapleton; N. L. Hansen, Brigham City, Utah."