Not exactly walking and not exactly Arizona again

If you ever had any reason to wonder why Apple is making so much money, here is the answer:

Not exactly walking and not exactly Arizona

This is the most amazing (and dizzying) tour of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. If you have a big monitor, you really feel like you are right there. There are a whole bunch of other panoramas on this site, some of which are absolutely incredible. I especially like the one of Double Arch in Arches National Park.

For even more amazing images, try the software PTgui Gallery. You have probably never seen such impressive photos. This is amazing. Then you can see how it is all done on the Zoomify page.

Digging the ditch

The ancient inhabitants of the low deserts in Arizona were well acquainted with canal technology. In the Salt River Valley the canal system is said to use at least 1000 miles of canals and irrigate over 100,000 acres of land. See The AncientHohokam Canal System in the Valley of the Sun. The early Mormon pioneers had no knowledge of this vast canal system when the began the laborious process of digging canals from the water backed up by brush dams to irrigate small fields in and around St. Joseph, (now Joseph City) Arizona. But the ancient inhabitants of the Salt River Valley and the Mormon pioneers had a lot in common; both used rudimentary manual tools to dig their ditches and canals.

Considering the tools and methods used anciently to dig canals, there is no doubt that anyone, modern or ancient, would have the same challenges and have to use similar tools. Although modern tools are electronic and high sophisticated, the dirt still has to be moved. Today our tools move more dirt with less manual effort, but at the time the pioneers came to northern Arizona, they had essentially the same tools possessed by the early inhabitants. The pioneers did have one advantage, animal power, through horses and oxen. But there was no real substitute for a pick and shovel.

Despite these relatively primitive methods of moving dirt, the pioneers managed to dig ditches and build substantial dams within a few months of their arrival along the Little Colorado River. Unfortunately, the River did not cooperate in the effort. Before the first year's crop could be grown to harvest, the summer rains had washed out both dams and ditches, leaving the fields to dry out and burn up in the summer sun.

The first dam built by the residents of Allen's Camp and Obed cost the settlers $5000. It took 960 man days of work and an additional 500 more man days of work on the ditch. That was the dam that washed out with the first flood in 1876. In 1877 another dam was built upstream from the first, only to be washed away in the summer rains. Again in 1879 yet another dam was built.

And so it continued until finally, cement and engineering won out with a dam that let the water run over the top when the floods came.

For some idea of the attitude of the people after so much hardship, here is a contemporary account:



Living on the river was not easy but it was worth it.

The above story is in:
Abruzzi, William S. Dam That River!: Ecology and Mormon Settlement in the Little Colorado River Basin. Lanham, Md: University Press of America, 1993.

As long as my time spent walking in Arizona, I think this picture about says it all.

A window into the future

From the muddy waters of the Little Colorado River we jump into the future. Those pioneers who struggled to cross the big Colorado at Lee's Ferry and Pearce's Ferry could little imagine that within the lifetime of their children, the mighty Colorado would be tamed by one of the largest engineering feats to that date undertaken in the history of the world. Here is the construction of Boulder (now Hoover) Dam, the largest dam of its kind at the time it was built:



This is an amazing story. Be sure and watch for the comparative size of the people to the huge structures built for the dam. Although Lake Mead is not used for irrigation directly, many more dams would dot the Southwestern landscape before the pioneers established reliable water and power supplies.

Living without rain

Map of Arizona Precipitation

Depending on the definition, Arizona has as many as five climate zones. See Map. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences of the University of Arizona, Cooperative Extension Service defines the climate zones as follows:

Zone	Title	Elevation (in feet)
1	COLD MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS	6,000-8,000
2	COOL PLATEAU HIGHLANDS	4,000-6,000
3	HIGH ALTITUDE DESERT	3,500-5,000
4	MID ALTITUDE DESERT	2,000-4,000
5	LOW ALTITUDE DESERT	1,000-2,000

Fortunately, the early settlers of Arizona saw the agricultural potential of the area despite its natural desert appearance. That potential was only realized as a result of extensive irrigation activities. Here is an animated map showing how little rainfall the state receives over a year. You can also see from the map above (click for enlarged image) that almost all of the state receives less than ten inches of rain a year. By definition, all of that area with low rainfall is considered to be desert.

The area of northern Arizona where the early Mormon settlers first set up camp, was as much of a desert as the rest of the state. Although the area falls in the part of the State designated as Cool Plateau Highlands, the name is anything but descriptive of the area. It is a flat, mostly treeless sandy desert. Summer temperatures can reach well over 100 degree F. Winter temperatures sometimes drop to almost 20 degrees below zero. The only water in the area comes from intermittent streams like the Little Colorado River. The river can be a raging torrent in the Spring and completely dry in the Summer. Without supplemental water from a very few mountain streams that reached the desert, the pioneers could not have survived.

Truly, there are few places in the world less likely to host an agricultural community than the high plateau of Arizona along the Little Colorado River. You have to understand both the religion and the culture of these people to even begin to understand why they came and even more, why they stayed.

A very nasty muddy stream

Little Colorado River Flickr

The earliest Mormon settlers into Arizona in 1876 found the Little Colorado River to be "like a running stream of mud of reddish color." (Quoted from John A. Blythe in Tanner, George S., and J. Morris Richards. Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region. Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1977, page 32). Joseph H. Richards used the words in the title to this post to describe the river. See Tanner, page 33. For the settlers camped on the banks of this unpredictable stream, they would depend on the river for almost all of their water for forty years.

I drank the water from the Little Colorado River off and on for most of my earlier years and I can still distinctly remember the muddy taste of the water. The early journals describe filling large containers with the water and letting it settle over night only to find only an inch or so of clear water in the top of the barrel or kettle. Although the River enters the world as a clear, cold mountain stream, by the time it crosses the desert plateau, it is salty and bad tasting.

The main problem with the River however, was its unpredictability. In the Spring and early Summer it would flood and wash away the diversion dams. Within a few weeks the river bed could be bone dry. When the pioneers arrived on the river bank and established the four small settlements that are today combined in Joseph City, they began immediately to plow and plant crops. Just a few days later they began building a diversion dam on the river to turn the water into ditches to irrigate the crops. In that very first year, they planted a total of fifty acres or wheat, sixty acres of corn, and potatoes, melons and gardens. In July, a summer thunderstorm flooded the river and washed out that first dam. Without the water in the ditches most of the crops failed. See Tanner, page 32.

One early settler complained that they had no salt for their bread, but that the river water took care of the problem.

That first dam was only the beginning. Although many of the first settlers abandoned the mission and went back to Utah, those that stayed and those that came in later years, built and rebuilt the dams year after year from 1876 to 1923 when the last and most stable dam was finally constructed.

Irrigation, the life blood of the West

One of the most amazing things I remember seeing as a child, was when I first traveled out of the state of Arizona and realized that the farms were growing crops just using the rain that fell out of the sky. I still have a hard time believing that it is possible for a plant, other than a native desert plant, like a fruit tree or a vegetable, to grow without supplemental water from a sprinkler or a ditch.

We have always grown a garden, now for more than forty years, and each and every plant depended entirely on the water we provided from a hose on the side of the house. If we missed even one watering session, we risked losing the whole garden. If we left town, we had to arrange for someone to come over and water the garden, a common neighborhood task.

Modern irrigation can involve hugely expensive pumps and equipment, with automated sprinkler systems running in gigantic circles. But along side these computer operated high-tech systems, there are still the old faithful irrigation ditch with its gravity fed watering system.

The whole idea is to block a river or stream with a diversion dam at a level above the place where the water is needed. The water is then conducted downhill in a series of canals and ditches passing through diversion gates, until it finally gets to the field where it is to be used. I learned very early in life that the water does not run from the feeder ditch into the rows, but is siphoned in by large plastic pipes. When doing the irrigation, you put a hand over the end of the pipe and fill it with water from the ditch by dunking it in the water. When the pipe is full of water, you drop the pipe over the ditch bank and the weight of the water starts a siphoning action draining water through the pipe to the row in the field. It is very hard work and fortunately, I didn't have to irrigate too many times using siphons. Some people do that almost every day of their lives.

But, before there was plastic pipe, you had to build little feeder ditches to each row and stand there and make sure the water got to each row and then shovel like crazy before the water flooded over the rows and washed away the plants.

Irrigation ditches were a subject of constant maintenance. The ditch banks would get soft from the water and eventually leak. Small leaks always became larger leaks. I was already through with field irrigation by the time someone thought about lining a ditch with cement.

By the way, I didn't mention that the water was stored in huge reservoirs and delivered to the fields in large canals or feeder ditches. During the growing season the water runs 24/7 and you get your irrigation turn by virtue of the number of water shares you own on a rotating basis. So, guess what? Your water turn can come any day of the week, including Sundays and holidays and can be at any time, 2:00 am, 3:00 am. You get the picture. Almost nothing, not even funerals or weddings will interfere with a water turn. I can't tell you how much fun it is to get up at 2:00 am and try and find the water head and lead the water down to your field or lot. It is a lot of work trying to turn a ditch full of water down a side ditch and then dam off the main ditch so the water will run down your feeder ditch.

Irrigation from a ditch turns the whole field into a swamp. That is why it is sometimes called flood irrigation. I am intimately acquainted with a variety of types of mud in Arizona. Most people have a set of boots or shoes left by door or in a shed specifically dedicated to irrigation.

It is somehow comforting however, to realize that right now, somewhere in Arizona dozens, perhaps hundreds of people are standing out in the heat, rain or shine, irrigating fields.

Early morning recumbent ride instead of walking

Many times a week for the past few years we ride our Catrike recumbent trikes on various routes through Mesa, Arizona. Usually, we go for about an hour or so and ride about seven or eight miles. Here is a Web album of one of the rides we took this morning.

Bike Ride.081409

I plan to photo the other rides too.

Comment on Ceremonial Porpoises

One of my readers attributed shopping carts in the canal to Ceremonial Porpoises. I have never seen a porpoise in the canal, but, of course, that does not mean that they do not live there. However, they might have a hard time stealing shopping carts without any legs to stand on. Just like this attribution has no legs to stand on.

The Fabled Water Bottle Burial Ground

We set out on our search for the fabled Water Bottle Burial Ground reportedly located along the canal in Mesa. It was an unusually wet and stormy day, with lowering clouds and rain showers. The canal bank was deserted, probably because of the rain. It rains so infrequently that people freak out when they think about getting wet and stay indoors.

Our first indication of civilization as we know it, was the high protective screen on the bridge over the canal. I speculate that it is to keep despondent people from jumping from the bridge and drowning in the canal. Notice that the fence extends about four feet from the edge of the bridge. One morning someone had driven their car into the canal and it was under this bridge. Driving into the canal is a regular occurrence in Mesa and the Salt River Valley.

Next we see a walking lady making her way down the canal bank. The Water Bottle Burial Ground is invisible to those who are not in tuned with the spirit of the canal.

There it was, the Burial Ground. I conjecture that future generations will find layers of plastic that they will mine for the hydrocarbons.

The banks of the canals are coated with fabulous shells. It is easy to resist picking them up however, since you do not want any extra weight so you can survive the fierce summer heat.

Every so often, about every 100 yards, the Salt River Project has placed lovely yellow steps in the canal bank. If you fall into the canal and can swim, you can swim to one of these steps and get out of the canal. If you can't swim, you need to fall into the canal right next to the stairs.

Walking lady is still walking.

Canals banks, power lines, retention basins, irrigation ditches, all sorts of things to see along the canals.

More shells, just so you get the idea.

Another artifact of the canal banks, a shopping cart. Most of these carts end up thrown in the canal. I never did understand why the people who steal shopping carts throw them in the canals, but there are places where there are dozens of shopping carts rusting away in the canal water.

Walking lady reaching her goal of a walk along the canal.

Walking the canal bank

Mesa Canal from Flickr

Irrigation ditches and canals are a basic fact of life in the Arizona desert. From the times of the ancient Hohokam Indians to the present, water has been running through our neighborhoods. Walking the canals is an almost daily routine. There are usually wide dirt roads on either side of the canals and there is no vehicular traffic. You can watch the birds, ducks, pigeons, doves and a few humming birds fly over or swim in the canal water. You can also see the fish. There are thousands of huge fish in the bigger canals. I understand that these fish include catfish, bass, trout and the white amur. Another surprising thing is that the sides of the canal roads are partially paved with shells. The bottom of the canals are alive with mollusks.

In the summer in the early morning at 6:00 am it is almost 100 degrees. We walk down to the canal and along the canal road. We say hello to the running bag lady. We watch the running blubber man. We are passed by the running fru-fru lady. All the usual characters are there, including us, I presume. We are probably known as the slow older couple walkers. A lot of the walkers and runners have dogs. Evidence of their passage lines the canal road.

The raised roads next to the canals give walkers and bike riders a distinct perspective -- the backyards and rear lots of homes and businesses. In a lot of cases, the view is not good. It is amazing the amount of trash some people have in their rear yards. For the most part, the trash is kept far away from the canals however, there is seldom so much as a piece of paper along the canals. One exception is water bottles. They seem to pile up in drifts. You also have to ignore the huge amount of dog droppings, but keeping a positive attitude, you can enjoy your walk.

Now, why did I switch from talking about Arizona pioneers to talking about canals? That is simple, the pioneers would never have succeeded in settling this huge desert without water and they got water from canals coming from rivers. In the modern day there is a disconnect, the Central Arizona Project canal that carries water from the Colorado River across the state to somewhere near Tucson. But in the early days canals were a fact of life in Arizona, so much so, that when I go elsewhere and there are no canals or irrigation systems I wonder how the plants live. So it is on to the next chapter in pioneering Arizona, the water projects.

Henry Martin Tanner -- a noble pioneer

My great-grandfather, Henry Martin Tanner, died on March 21, 1935 at the age of 82 years in Gilbert, Arizona. He was the father of seventeen children and seventy-eight grandchildren. At the time of his death, he had seventeen great-grandchildren. His grandchildren are almost all dead by now and his great-grandchildren are all at or approaching the traditional retirement age of 65. There is no way to estimate the number of his great-great-grandchildren or their descendants but the Sydney Tanner book (see reference below) estimated his descendants at 1025 in 1982. That number has increased considerably since then because my wife and I alone, currently have twenty-eight grandchildren. It is very common for me to encounter one of his descendants, my cousins in Arizona and elsewhere.

It is impossible to measure the impact that this one family has had on the history of the Southwest. If you thought that pioneers had to have been hard characters, Henry Tanner was the exception. George A. Parkinson, Henry's brother-in-law wrote to Henry's son George S. Tanner, in 1947, and said, "George, in regard to my appraisal of your father, words would fail me to give you my estimate of that wonderful soul. I think if ever a child of God will enter the Celestial Kingdom of God he will. Never in my life have I known a sweeter, purer person than he. I don't believe an unclean thought ever entered his mind. A lover of the beautiful things of life like flowers, and saying sweet things. God bless his memory. What more can I say of him?"

Again from George S. Tanner. "[Henry Tanner] was a great favorite with children of all ages. His quiet gentle ways quickly won them over and no one could compete with him for the affection of a little child. His interest in everyone led them to believe that they were his favorites and many a parent and child has been heard to make a statement to that effect. At his funeral service James M. Flake, one of his lifelong friends, stated that when the news of Henry M. Tanner's death reached them one of his sons remarked, "I always felt I was Brother Tanner's favorite."

Two accounts of Lee's Backbone

Pioneer-reinforced remains of treacherous Mormon Wagon Road on the Lees Backbone Mesa flickr

In a previous post, I talked about the location of Lee's Ferry across the Colorado River. I also mentioned Lee's Backbone, the hill the prioneers had to climb with their wagons after crossing the river going south. Early Arizona pioneer, Jesse N. Smith described Lee's hill, or Lee' s backbone, as follows: "The ascent was bad and the descent difficult and dangerous, the worse road I ever saw traveled with vehicles."

At the time, future LDS Church President, Wilford Woodruff, who visited this area several times, in his diary described the backbone as "The worst hill Ridge or Mountain that I Ever attempted to Cross with a team and waggon on Earth. We had 4 Horses on a waggon of 1,500 lb. weight and for two rods we Could ownly gain from 4 inches to 24 with all the power of the horses & two men rolling at the hind wheels and going Down on the other side was still more Steep rocky and sandy which would make it much worse than going up on the North side. The trip down the backbone and across the river tested one's resolve to continue the trip. As one weary traveler observed, If Mr. Lee had a backbone as bad as that I surely pity him. It didn't seem possible for the horses to pull the wagons up as the road was so sleep and the boulders so big, and it was just as bad on the dugway on the other side. Everyone who ever came over that piece of road had great cause for thankfulness they were not killed."

The Empty Colorado Plateau

What would it have been like to travel from Utah to Arizona in the late 1800s? What if your destination was one of the four small Little Colorado River colonies? It is not difficult to get a feel for the challenges faced by the pioneers. It is only necessary to get a good look at the land surrounding modern-day Joseph City, Arizona.

One way to get an on-the-ground experience is through Google Maps' Street View. Here is a view of the country just a mile or two south of Joseph City on the McLaws Road:


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Of course, you have to imagine there being no road and no telephone poles but otherwise this is a pretty good representation of the way the land looked over 130 years ago.

Pretty discouraging? I should say. Here is a view from Interstate 40 of the present town of Joseph City. Unfortunately, Google hasn't made a drive through Joseph City yet. Use your mouse to look around 360 degrees and get an idea of what it might have been like to arrive in the 1800s:


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Where was the ferry at Lee's Ferry

Remains of the historic Mormon Wagon Road (Honeymoon Trail) on a steep rocky ascent. flickr

Dangerous wagon road used a century ago to arrive at Lees Ferry, the only way to cross the Colorado River. flickr


In my many trips to Lee's Ferry, I had never focused on exactly where the ferry crossed the river. The present road ends in a parking lot and a boat ramp, mostly used by river outfitters to start trips down the Colorado River. The National Park Service brochure describes the location of the ferry as "just upstream from the Lees Ferry Launch Ramp." But the old pictures are not that helpful. One of the landmarks mentioned by many crossing the ferry was "Lee's Backbone," See the pictures above and below.

“Wagon Ruts at Lee’s Backbone” photo by Gary Ladd.

For most travelers on the trail to Arizona this was the worst stretch of road. I thought maybe if I looked at a lot of maps I could find a mention of the location of the ferry. Finally, in a technical publication of the USGS "Map Showing Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of the Lees Ferry Area, Glen Canyon, Arizona By Richard Hereford, Kelly J. Burke, and Kathryn S. Thompson 200" I found a reference to the exact location of the ferry across the river. It is located a few hundred yards upstream from the boat launching ramp. In the aerial photos, the road shows clearly. Early photos confirm the location. Now I am interested in going back to Lee's Ferry, yet another time to take photos of the actual ferry location.

Pioneer Trails in Northern Arizona

If you know what to look for, aerial views of Northern Arizona still show the old wagon roads winding along the edges of the valleys. Many of the routes now have modern highways, even freeways and Interstates, but the marks of the thousands of wagon wheels are still markedly visible on the desert soils. If you look at a Google Maps view of Lee's Ferry, on the south side of the river, there is a faint mark running up from the river. This is the old wagon road.


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As I pointed out in a previous post, another road, the one crossing the Colorado at Pearce's Ferry is visible just north of the Interstate 40 Freeway and also just north of the Old Route 66. Almost any view of the old road with also show the wagon road sometimes to the north and then crossing to the south. Obviously, the pioneers did not have the ability to bridge washes or climb steep ridges.


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Because of the nature of the desert soils, these marks may be the longest lasting evidences of the pioneer migration into Arizona!

Celebrating the 24th of July

On the 24th of July, 1847 the main body of the pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. As stated by President J. Reuben Clark in his address on the 100th anniversary of that same event, "These tens of thousands who so moved and so built were the warp and the woof of Brother Brigham's great commonwealth. Without them Brother Brigham had failed his mission. These were the instruments -- the shovelers, the plowers, the sowers and reapers, the machinists, the architects, the masons, the woodworkers, the organ builders, the artisans, the mathematicians, the men of letters, all gathered from the four corners of the earth, furnished by the Lord to Brother Brigham and the prophet leaders who came after, that he and they might direct the working out of His purposes. These wrought as God inspired Brother Brigham and the other prophets to plan, all to the glory of God and the upbuilding of His kingdom."

Every year of my life we have remembered the pioneers on the 24th of July, sometimes with parties, rodeos, parades, fireworks and cannon blasts, but other years with a simple acknowledgement of the heritage handed to us from these who sacrificed their entire lives to establish outposts in the desert. Let us not forget our heritage!

As President Clark concluded, "So to these humble but great souls, our fathers and mothers, the tools of the Lord, who have, for this great people, hewed the stones and laid the foundations of God's kingdom, solid as the granite mountains from which they carved the rocks for their temple, to these humble souls, great in faith, great in work, great in righteous living, great in fashioning our priceless heritage, I humbly render my love, my respect, my reverent homage. God keep their memories ever fresh among us, their children, to help us meet our duties even as they met theirs, that God's work may grow and prosper till the restored gospel of Jesus Christ rules all nations and all peoples, till peace, Christ's peace, shall fill the whole earth, till righteousness shall cover the earth even as the waters cover the mighty deep. Let us here and now dedicate all that we have and all that we are to this divine work. May God help us so to do."

They of the last wagon

Please take time this glorious 24th of July to remember our pioneer heritage. Whether you have a holiday or another day at work, you can take time to remember those who gave their lives to establish Zion in the tops of the mountains. At the 100th anniversary of the entrance of the pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley, On October 5, 1947 President Clark presented his talk titled, "To Them of the Last Wagon."

This talk is available in its entirety here on the Mormon Times. Take time to listen to President Clark's tribute.

A hard looking country

Marble Canyon from New York Public Library

Traveling from Utah to the Northern Arizona Mormon colonies was more than an adventure. Of the few accounts that survive Daniel McAllister's is a study in understatement. This account starts in Salt Lake City in 1876 with teenager McAllister's narrative:
[Spelling as in the original]

Feb. 2: We rolled out at 8 a.m. ox very lame. p.m. ox better we went 18 miles, camped at Smith's on willow creek, got hay there fore nothing.
Feb. 3: We rolled out early traveling 17 miles and camped at Gleasons near Pleasant Grove got our supper for us and hay for our cattle for nothing.
Feb. 7: We reached Levan at dusk. Cattle very tired.
Feb. 19: we travelled 13 miles the last half heavy snow.
Feb. 20: We traveled 5 miles, very heavy snow all day, the snow was from 2 to 3 feet deep.
Feb. 22: We traveled 4 miles some men and teams from Panguitch came to help make the roads the snow very deep.
Feb. 23: Bro. H. 0. Spencer of Orderville and Bro. Fletcher of Mt. Carmel with a lot of other men and teams came to help us out of the snow.
Feb. 25: We traveled 8 miles to Orderville . . . Bro. Spencer told us to make ourselves at home while we staid there.
Feb. 26: We started for Kanab and went as far as the foot of the dugway on our road to Kanab and while going up the dugway we tiped over. I went back to Mt. Carmel for help. I got 3 men to come to help me.
March 3, 1876: we went 26 miles in all that day. The reason we made that big drive was to catch up to Bro. Smith and Allen.
March 5: The 16th Ward boys broke the tung out of their wagon.
March 7: I with some others went down to Soap Creek Gulch to look at the scenery. It was the grandest sight I ever saw.
March 8: I with a lot of others went down to the Colorado to get the first sight of the river, but the river was so far down that we could not get down to the water, a lot of the boys tried to shoot into the water with their revolvers, but couldent do it.
[This is in Marble Canyon about 12 or 15 miles below the bridge.]
March 9: We traveled 8/2 miles to the ferry Lee's' when our wagons was ferryed over the river the wind blew us up stream and grounded us and we had to pull our wagon off the boat onto the shore by hand. The roads were terribal rugh over the mountain. One of the horses give out.
March 17: Went about 9 miles to the Little Colorado . . . The water in the river was very muddy we filled a 7 gallon kettle to settle over night and in the morning there was only an inch of clear water so we had to make the best of it.
March 18: One of Wm. Hardys horses got in the quick sand and got mires, but we got him out all right.
March 23: Nooned at Grand Falls. They were very pretty. Rone Shipman and I night-herded the stock.
March 26: When we drove the stock to water, a lot of them got mired, we had quite a time getting them out.
March 28: We traveled about 5 miles to the ford known as sun set crossing the river was high and we had a hard time to get across.
March 30: We whent about 4 miles to the place designed for a settlement [Allen's Camp].
April i: I have been choping trees down for house foundations to day. This is a hard looking country.

As reported in
Tanner, George S., and J. Morris Richards. Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region. Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1977.

Introduction to Joseph City, Arizona

One of the first settlements made by the Mormon pioneers in Arizona was along the banks of the Little Colorado River. The surviving town is now called Joseph City and is located in Navajo County between Winslow and Holbrook right on Interstate 40 or the old U.S. Route 66.

In 1876, four companies were called to go to Northeastern Arizona to settle. Before leaving for their lifelong mission call, forty couples were married. These companies were led by Lot Smith, Jesse O. Ballinger, George Lake (brother of Lydia Ann Lake), and William C. Allen. Smith's camp on the Little Colorado was called Sunset, Ballinger's was called Ballinger's Camp, Lake's camp was called Obed, and Allen's camp was called Allen City (Allen's Camp). Later in 1878 the Little Colorado Stake was organized. Lot Smith was called as Stake President and George Lake was called as a bishop.

Quoting from Regional Studies in Latter-Day Saint Church History:

"The leading teams reached Sunset Crossing on the Little Colorado 23 March 1876; others followed during the weeks to come. They all traveled east the following day to a point about three miles east of present-day Joseph City, where a general council was held. They explored the area and selected town sites. It was decided that William C. Allen should go down the river to a location about one mile east of present-day Joseph City. George Lake would go across the river approximately four miles south of the Allen settlement. Lot Smith moved his group back to Sunset Crossing and selected a spot a little below that crossing. When Jesse O. Ballinger arrived, he selected a locale across the river from Lot Smith's site. The only other occupants of the area were Hopi and Navajo Indians, who were friendly and did not seem to be alarmed at the arrival of their new neighbors. Joseph City was founded officially on 24 March 1876. Because the settlers needed to provide food for themselves from the soil, John Bushman, one of Joseph City's original colonists, plowed ground the day after their arrival. He reported that the land looked salty. Time was precious, and the settlers hastily made preparations for crops. An irrigation ditch was surveyed and a diversion dam established so that wheat could be sowed on April 3, just ten days after their arrival. The colonies received names as follows: George Lake's camp was named Obed; Lot Smith's, Sunset; Jesse O. Ballinger's, Ballinger's Camp. William C. Allen' s camp also took on the leader's name being, called "Allen City." Interestingly, the last name was chosen by a three-year old boy, Frank Cluff, who drew it from a hat instead of the alternate choice, Ramah City. "

Regional Studies in Latter-Day Saint Church History, Arizona. Provo, Utah: Dept. of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University, 1989.

Brigham City Restoration Project

When the Mormon pioneers arrived in Norther Arizona, they first established four small forts or communities. Brigham City (Ballinger's Camp), Obed (Lake's Camp), Sunset (Smith's Camp), and St. Joseph (Allen's Camp). Of these four settlements, only St. Joseph, later Joseph City survive to the present day. There is presently a restoration effort directed at preserving the location of Brigham City. Quoting from the blog about the project:

As a small, but significant piece of church history, located in Northern Arizona, Brigham City was designated by the Arizona Governor's office as part of Arizona's Centennial Celebration in 2012. On July 17, 2006, while visiting Winslow on a Support-Your-Candidate stopover, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano was invited to visit the old Mormon fort located just outside of Winslow on the edge of the Little Colorado River. She liked what she saw and agreed to support the restoration of the Fort as part of the Arizona Centennial Celebration.

An Arizona Centennial Celebration Portfolio, issued from the Governor's office, now includes "Brigham City" as part of the statewide celebration in 2012. Because of this, all donations for the Brigham City Restoration project could possibly be matched by state funds allocated by the state for "Restoration of Arizona's Historical Sites".

Having spent time driving around Joseph City, I think it would be helpful to have a historic map of the locations to visit and see what is left of this monumental pioneer effort. The project is also mentioned on the Winslow City Website.

On the trail to Arizona

In 1877 the Mormon pioneers were well schooled in the ways of settlement. By this time, some of them had relocated by fear, by choice or by missionary call more than once. The instructions on what to take along on the journey were specific. Here is a list of the suggested items:



Click to enlarge image.

Notice some of the items on the list. A "snath" is the shaft of a scythe, which is the metal cutting part. This is not exactly your modern "72 hour" kit, but some of the items would be the same as those in a modern emergency kit. Imagine loading and unloading these items. This is much more than you could get into a modern pickup truck for example. I know from reading about my pioneer ancestors that many of them had far less than this suggested equipment, however, some had considerably more.

Reference;

Tanner, George S., and J. Morris Richards. Colonization on the Little Colorado: The Joseph City Region. Flagstaff: Northland Press, 1977.

The tiresome journey through the terrible remoteness

There are few accounts of the early trips across the Northern Arizona desert. David King Udall, an early pioneer in St. Johns, Arizona made the following comment about the trip in his autobiography; [Udall, David King, Ella Udall, and Ida Hunt Udall. Arizona Pioneer Mormon. Tucson, Ariz: Arizona Silhouettes, 1959.]

We reached St. Johns October 6, 1880, having traveled four hundred miles through a wilderness inhabited page 70 mostly by jackrabbits, prairie dogs, and roaming Indians. The Indians were friendly, due largely to the missionary work of Jacob Hamblin, Anthony W. Ivins, Ammon M. Tenney, Andrew S. Gibbons (Utah pioneer of 1847) and his sons, Ira Hatch, Thales Haskell, and others. Most of the country through which we passed was desolate beyond description. Its terrible remoteness was broken a few years later when the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (now the Santa Fe) was built through northern Arizona.

It is likely that the severity of the desert left little time to write, with survival being of the utmost importance. The Tanners left no first hand account of their desert crossing, but a couple of stories about the dangers of the trail were preserved.

At one point all of the party's water was gone and the animals were about exhausted. They decided to have Henry Tanner drive the stock loose until they found water. He had hardly gone a quarter of a mile from the camp when he found plenty of water in the holes of the rocks in a stream bed. While Henry was driving the stock, Eliza drove the wagon. A wind storm came up and several trees were blown across the road which had to be removed before they could proceed. Imagine a 19 year old girl driving a team of horses in the midst of a huge storm so fierce that it was blowing down trees. Perhaps you can begin to see what kind of people these pioneers really were.

A Pioneer Legacy

Driving along Interstate 40 at 75 mph, it is nearly impossible to imagine sitting in an ox pulled wagon traveling along at 1 or 2 mph if the road wasn't too rough, maybe making up to twenty miles a day. No air conditioning, no heat in the winter, no fast food restaurants just off the freeway, no DVD to entertain the children, no radio, no weather service to warn of storms, no doctors, no hospitals, no traffic, no trucks, but there was plenty of wind and dust. The pioneers didn't know they had a spectacular view of the night sky, because that was the only view they had ever seen. If they wanted to eat, they had to build a fire and cook their meal. If they wanted to take a bath, too bad, it didn't happen.

Why did they travel into our Arizona desert? The answer is very complex. It starts with a prayer by a 14 year old boy in upper New York State and is still going on with their descendants today in a world wide Church called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The pioneers had joined the Church in a lot of different places. Some came from Europe, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, Norway and Australia. Some came from New England, some from the South and the Mid-Atlantic States. Many of them walked or rode across the continent before coming to Arizona.

The pioneers were farmers, carpenters, masons, teamsters and many other trades. They carried all they owned in their wagons and started from the ground up and built towns and cities all over the Mountain West. They established schools, colleges and universities. Their children were school teachers, businessmen and contractors. Their grandchildren were doctors, lawyers, politicians and judges. Their great-grandchildren are poets, university professors and artists. Their great-great-grandchildren study political science, neuro-psychology and astrophysics.

As we their descendants sing:

They, the builders of the nation,
Blazing trails along the way;
Stepping-stones for generations
Were their deeds of ev’ry day.
Building new and firm foundations,
Pushing on the wild frontier,
Forging onward, ever onward,
Blessed, honored Pioneer!

Text: Ida R. Alldredge, 1892–1943. © 1948 IRI
Music: Alfred M. Durham, 1872–1957. © 1948 IRI

A dry trek across Northern Arizona

On March 27, 1877 the pioneers left the banks of the Colorado River and began the long journey across the desert of Northern Arizona. From the Bushman Diary as quoted by George S. Tanner, "From the river south, the roads were sandy and hard to go along. We had to make considerable roads which delayed us some. Water being so scarce, we divided the company. Came to Walaipi Valley thirty miles long and ten miles wide, but no water. On Monday, April 2nd, came to Hackberry, a little mining camp. on the 3rd came to the old Beal road that was used in 1852. This road will take us past the San Francisco Mountains to the little settlements on the Little Colorado River. On April 13th, the first part of the company arrived at Fort Valley by the San Francisco Mountain. They remained there until April 20th when all the company came. All rested here until the 24th when the started for the Little Colorado."

It is reported by George S. Tanner that several of the Hunt girls left diaries of the trip and from those diaries it seems that the company was divided into three groups; the Bushmans and Manasseh Blackburn company, followed by the Westovers and their company, with the Hunts and Tanners taking up the rear. The description of the trip evidences difficult conditions that created extreme hardship. Here is the Hunt sisters' account as edited by George S. Tanner. The account begins at the Walaipi Valley where they rested their animals due to the availability of water and grass: (Spelling and grammar in the original).

"Here one of Henry's [Henry Martin Tanner] mares died of distemper." At Footoon Spring an ox in Hunt team gave out and had to be left. "There was very little grass here so we did not expect to see him again." On April 7th they came to Young Springs where they noted "a great many Indians but very little water. There being only two little springs, had it not been for a ranch (Peach Springs) three miles off the road on the left, the animals would have suffered greatly for water. We unloaded our light wagon and took the barrels and everything that would hold water up to be filled. Here our old Broad, our trusty near wheel ox, got down on a rockly hill and could not get up so we sold him to the Indians to eat. This left only two oxen in the team and we had to work cows in the place of the dead oxen."

The magnitude of the journey can be sensed by looking at the Google Maps of Peach Springs, Arizona, located just north of U.S. 66 and quite a bit north of the newer Interstate 40. You can still see the old wagon road in the aerial photos.

Source unless otherwise indicated:
Tanner, George S. Henry Martin Tanner, Joseph City, Arizona Pioneer. 1964.


View Larger Map

Across the Colorado and into Arizona

John Hunt and Henry Tanner explored the southern route. Instead of crossing the river at Lee's Ferry, they traveled to the south and crossed at Pearce's Ferry. As we learned previously, this crossing had been pioneered by Jacob Hamblin in 1862, but a regular ferry was not established until December, 1876 by Harrison Pearce, father of James Pearce who was later a pioneer in Taylor, Arizona. The site of the ferry now lies under the waters of Lake Mead.

South of St. George, Utah, the pioneer company was increased with the addition of the John Bushman company. John, accompanied by his second wife, Mary Peterson, and his daughter Lois, had previous agreed to travel with the pioneers to Arizona. The Bushman party also included Edwin Lycurgus Westover, his wife Joanna, Joanna's father, and her two small children.

In the words of John Bushman:

This road was very bad, dugways for miles, very hilly and water scarce. This is a new road from St. George to the Pearce Ferry on the Big Colorado River. Some places were almost impassable and rocky. On Monday, March 19th, we reached the Ferry and found Father Pearce very glad to see us.

Quoting George Shepherd Tanner's account of the river crossing:

Two days were used in getting the wagons and animals across the river. The wagons were ferried across without mishap but the livestock presented a difficult problem. The animals refused to swim the broad river and there was no other way to get them across. Henry was a skilled horseman and used to handling stock and it was his job to get the animals across. After scores of attempts which met with failure, the company was about to despair. He related that on the second day after many failures, a old Indian came into the camp and asked for food. While he was being fed, he noticed the men trying to get the animals to swim the river. One of the women noticed the the Indian showed a great deal of interest in the ferry operation. It came to her that this Indian had had experience in crossing the river with animals and she mentioned the fact to one of the men. By the use of sign language, he was asked if he knew how to gt the animals across. He said that he did and was asked to help. But he wanted to be paid. After some bargaining, he settled for a small sack of flour which he tied on the saddle of his horse. He then went down to the river and motioned for the men to drive all the animals into the edge of he water. At the right moment when all the animals were up to their bellies in the water, the Indian, who by this time had taken off what few clothes he had and was covered only with an Indian blanket, seized the top corners of the blanket in his hands and began flapping the blanket and letting out war whoops. The animals, now more frightened of the Indian than the river, quickly took to the water and headed for the other side. The last animal to take to the water was an old, lazy mule. As he was getting out his depth, the Indian threw his blanket to one of the men, seized the tail of the old mule and let him pull him across the river. When the mule saw the Indian on his tail he was so frightened that it is reported he made a new record in crossing the river. The Indian's long loose hair was streaming behind him in the water. He would put his head into the water for an instant, fill his mouth with water and blow it at the frightened animal and then let out another whoop. The animals could possibly be excused for being frightened. They even experienced some difficulty in getting the animals rounded up after they were across.

Next, into the wilds of Arizona.

Source unless otherwise indicated:
Tanner, George S. Henry Martin Tanner, Joseph City, Arizona Pioneer. 1964.

Ready for the journey

Typical Covered Wagon and Log Cabin

On January 25, 1877 Henry Martin Tanner and Eliza Ellen Parkinson were married in the St. George Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Henry was 24 years old and Eliza was 19. At the time of their marriage, Henry had already been called to settle in Arizona. They spent the next month preparing their wagons and obtaining provisions for the trip. Neither of them was a stranger to wagon travel. They owned a fine pair of mares called Mag and Puss. They were a spirited pair of horses and Puss would dance to music. Henry also had another span of horses and saddle horse, for a total of five horses in all.

Eliza's father, Thomas Parkinson, gave her a milk cow named Red. They also had other cattle for the trip.

Quoting from George S. Tanner's biography of Henry Martin Tanner:

In preparation for their departure, Sydney Tanner gave a reception and farewell, for the young couple in the upstairs of his ample home. In addition to the friends in Beaver who attended were the members of the Hunt family who were also going to Arizona. For the past year the Hunts had been living on Cove Creek two and a half miles from Joseph City, Sevier County, Utah. The Hunts had eight children, the oldest of whom was but one year younger than Eliza Tanner. They had three wagons of their own, one drawn by two yoke of oxen, one by two span of horses and a light wagon with one span of horses. The oxen were driven by a young man anxious for a bit of adventure by the name if Isadore Wilson. He was a neighbor of the Hunts. John Hunt drove the fair horse team and two of the girls, drove the light wagon. Also in the Hunt company was a four mule team owned by Manasseh Blackburn, also anxious for the adventure of the trip. His wagon carried mostly heavy supplies belonging 10 the Hunts.

Before leaving Beaver, Thomas Parkinson had mixed a large quantity of flour with soda and probably cream, at tartar so that all that was necessary in making bread was to add salt and water. The company left Beaver February 21, 1877, accompanied by Father Sidney Tanner who went one day's journey with them and hauled feed for their animals. Enroute to St. George, Henry and Eliza went by way of Toquerville for a few day's visit with relatives. Emma Ellen Stapley, cousin of Eliza, was at that time a girl of fifteen. Perhaps she little dreamed that ten years later she would be going to Arizona too. She undoubtedly met the Tanner couple on this visit. At St. George, Sam Porter, half brother of Eliza, joined a party of well wishers who accompanied them a mile and a half from the city to bid them God's speed.

Next, the journey to Northern Arizona

The migration begins -- Mormon colonization of Arizona

Wikipedia

The Arizona colonies were an extension of Brigham Young's plan for the colonization of the West. The settlers in these colonies were called as missionaries, some for the rest of their lives. The Arizona missionary call came in early 1876. Despite the exploratory work done by Jacob Hamblin and all of the others, this was a hazardous and tremendously difficult undertaking. Before their departure on the mission, all of the missionaries were re-baptized as a token of their devotion to their duty and "so they could enter into the work with their former sins forgiven and with renewed fervor." Tanner page 12 see citation below.

The original plan called for four settlements of fifty families each. The four leaders called were George Lake, William C. Allen, Jesse O. Ballinger and Lot Smith.

The Lake company was recruited from Cache, Box Elder and Weber Counties in Utah.
The Smith company came from Davis, Morgan, Summit and Wasatch counties.
The Allen company was drawn from Utah County.
The Ballinger company from Sanpete and Juab counties.

The companies did not all leave at the same time but the migration stretched out over two years or more. The first company left Salt Lake on February 3, 1876. They followed the trail across the north side of the Grand Canyon along the cliffs to Kanab. They crossed over into Arizona at Lee's Ferry. On March 23, they arrived at Sunset Crossing on the Little Colorado River. After traveling about twenty-five miles up the River, they held a council to decide on a location for the settlement.

After lengthy discussion, including input from James S. Brown, an Indian missionary. the council finally decided, after much discussion, to settle where they had stopped. The Allen company chose a spot four miles east of the town of Joseph City, Arizona. The settlement was originally called Allen's Camp. A few months later, the Allen Company was moved about two miles closer to the present settlement of Joseph City where the colonists constructed a fort. The fort was used by the colony for a number of years.

Source unless otherwise indicated:
Tanner, George S. Henry Martin Tanner; Joseph City, Arizona Pioneer, Born June 11, 1852, San Bernardino, California, Died March 21, 1935, Gilbert, Arizona. 1964.

The stage is set for the pioneer migration

The first real ferryboat at Lee's Ferry was built by John L. Blythe and began service on October 15, 1873. Since John D. Lee was arrested in 1874, he was long gone by the time of the early settlers in 1876 and 1877. As a note, John D. Lee was executed by firing squad on March 23, 1877. By 1877, the Paria Road, as it was known, was used for hauling freight into Arizona, especially to Prescott, which was, at that time, the Territorial Capital and remained so until Phoenix became the Capital in 1889.

When the first Mormon pioneer settlers started into the deserts and mountains of Arizona, there were no rail lines, everything coming into the State had to be hauled by horse or ox wagon. At that time the nearest railroad terminus was west of Yuma, many hundreds of miles from northern Arizona.

My Great-grandfather, Henry Martin Tanner, came to the Little Colorado River colonies in 1877, about a year after the first colonists began entering the Territory. One exceptional account of crossing the Colorado at Lee's Ferry comes from a narrative by Erastus B. Snow, who reached the river on January 16, 1878. The account is as follows:

The Colorado River, the Little Colorado and all the springs and watering places were frozen over. Many of the springs and tanks were entirely frozen up, so that we were compelled to melt snow and ice for our teams. We (that is J. W. Young and I), crossed our team and wagon on the ice over the Colorado. I assure you it was quite a novelty to me, to cross such a stream of water on ice; many other heavily loaded wagons did the same, some with 2500 pounds on. One party did a very foolish trick, which resulted in the loss of an ox; they attempted to cross three head of large cattle all yoked and chained together, and one of the wheelers stepped on a chain that was dragging behind, tripped and fell, pulling his mate with him, thereby bringing such a heft on the ice that it broke through, letting the whole into the water; but the ice being sufficiently strong they could stand on it and pull them out one at a time. One got under the ice and was drowned, the live one swimming some length of time holding the dead one up by the yoke.

This is the last reported time that the Colorado River has ever frozen. The incident in crossing the river was also recounted by Anthony W. Ivins, later a member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as related to James H. McClintock:

[T]he river was frozen from shore to shore, but, above and below for a short distance, the river was open and running rapidly." Great care was taken in crossing, the wagons with their loads usually pulled over by hand and the horses taken over singly. Thus the ice was cracked. Mr. Ivins recites the episode of the oxen and then tells that a herd of cattle was taken across by throwing each animal, tying its legs and dragging it across. One man could drag a grown cow over the smooth ice. Mr. Ivins tells that he remained at the river several days, crossing on the ice 32 times. On the 22d the missionaries and settlers all were at Navajo Springs, ready to continue the journey.

The journey continues...

Source unless otherwise noted:

McClintock, James H. Mormon Settlement in Arizona; a Record of Peaceful Conquest of the Desert. 1921.

Lee's Ferry

Now known more for its fishing and as a staging area for rafting trips down the Colorado River, Lee's Ferry has a long and varied history. We used to stop at the campground frequently to sleep overnight on trips from Arizona to Utah, but the National Park Service raised the entrance fee to $15 per vehicle and the camping fee to $12 per night per site. Since the total is only slightly less than the cost of a motel room, we have opted for the motels.

Lee's Ferry is upriver from Navajo Bridge. There are really two bridges, the old one now confined to foot traffic and the newer bridge which is the only way to drive across the river and the canyons by automobile between Hoover Dam and Mexican Hat. [There are two foot bridges at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and a ferry boat between Halls Crossing and Bullfrog Marina in Utah.]

Now to the history. The first European crossing of the river at the mouth of the Paria River (also spelled Pahreah) was in the fall of 1860. This attempt was unsuccessful and the exploration party, headed by Jacob Hamblin, finally gave up and continued up the river to the Crossing of the Fathers. The official "first" crossing took place in March of 1864 when Jacob Hamblin again tried the route. This time the party was able to transport fifteen men and their horses and supplies across the river.

In 1869 or early 1870 a fort with guards was built on the north side of the river. The official date of the establishment being given as January 31, 1870. In the fall of 1870 Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visited the mouth of the Paria. From time to time, other crossings were made at the location and by October 28, 1871 a ferry service had been established.

The name of the crossing came from the notorious John D. Lee, who has been vilified mainly by anti-Mormons for his participation in the Mountain Meadows massacre. Lee arrived at the crossing in 1872 and named it "Lonely Dell." Although he only lived there with his family for a short time, his name passed to the ferry and now the location. There has been much written about the incident at Mountain Meadows and a considerable amount about Lee, but I will not add anything to the present state of the scholarship on that incident.

Continued later.

Legendary Jacob Hamblin

From Find A Grave added by Chad Stowell

Few men in American history have the reputation for courage and truthfulness of Jacob Hamblin. He was truly one of the great men of our history and certainly of the history of the Southwest. One story that I have heard all my life gives an idea of the estimation in which the Indians held him.

As told by his son Jacob Hamblin, Jr. it is transcribed as follows:

One day my father sent me to trade a horse with an old Navajo Indian chief. I was a little fellow and I went on horseback, leading the horse to be traded. The old chief came out and lifted me down from my horse. I told him my father wanted me to trade the horse for some blankets. He brought out a number of handsome blankets, but, as my father had told me to be sure and make a good trade, I shook my head and said I would have to have more. He then brought out two buffalo robes and quite a number of other blankets and finally, when I thought I had done very well, I took the roll on my horse, and started for home. When I gave the blankets to my father, he unrolled them, looked at them, and then began to separate them. He put blanket after blanket into a roll and then did them up and told me to get on my horse and take them back and tell the chief he had sent me too many. When I got back, the old chief took them and smiled. He said, "I knew you would come back; I knew Jacob would not keep so many; you know Jacob is our father, as well as your father.

Jacob Hamblin died of malarial fever, August 31, 1886, at Pleasanton, in Williams Valley, New Mexico, where a settlement of Saints had been made in October, 1882. Hamblin's remains were removed from Pleasanton before 1889, to Alpine, Arizona, where was erected a shaft bearing this very appropriate inscription:

In memory of

JACOB V. HAMBLIN,

Born April 2, 1819,

Died August 31, 1886.

Peacemaker in the Camp of the Lamanites