Jacob Hamblin and John Wesley Powell

TAU-GU, CHIEF OF THE PAIUTES, OVERLOOKING THE VIRGIN RIVER WITH J.W. POWELL, AGE 39. Circa 1873 - Grca 13806

In 1870, Jacob Hamblin met the explorer John Wesley Powell. Powell had descended the Colorado River the previous year. Three of Powell's men had been killed near Mount Trumbull, southwest of Kanab by Shivwits Indians. Although there is some recently manufactured controversy over the killings, Powell described the meeting with the Indians:

This evening, the Shivwits, for whom we have sent, come in, and after supper we hold a long council. A blazing fire is built, and around this we sit — the Indians living here, the Shivwits, Jacob Hamblin and myself. This man, Hamblin, speaks their language well and has a great influence over all the Indians in the region round about. He is a silent, reserved man, and when he speaks it is in a slow, quiet way that inspires great awe. His talk is so low that they must listen attentively to hear, and they sit around him in deathlike silence. When he finishes a measured sentence the chief repeats it and they all give a solemn grunt. But, first, I fill my pipe, light it, and take a few whiffs, then pass it to Hamblin; he smokes and gives it to the man next, and so it goes around. When it has passed the chief, he takes out his own pipe, fills and lights it, and passes it around after mine. I can smoke my own pipe in turn, but when the Indian pipe comes around, I am nonplussed. It has a large stem, which has at some time been broken, and now there is a buckskin rag wound around it and tied with sinew, so that the end of the stem is a huge mouthful, exceedingly repulsive. To gain time, I refill it, then engage in very earnest conversation, and, all unawares, I pass it to my neighbor unlighted. I tell the Indians that I wish to spend some months in their country during the coming year and that I would like them to treat me as a friend. I do not wish to trade; do not want their lands.

Heretofore I have found it very difficult to make the natives understand my object, but the gravity of the Mormon missionary helps me much.

Then their chief replies: "Your talk is good and we believe what you say. We believe in Jacob, and look upon you as a father. When you are hungry, you may have our game. You may gather our sweet fruits. We will give you food when you come to our land. We will show you the springs and you may drink; the water is good. We will be friends and when you come we will be glad. We will tell the Indians who live on the other side of the great river that we have seen Kapurats (one-armed—the Indian name for Powell) and that he is the Indian's friend. We will tell them he is Jacob's friend."

The Indians told that the three men had been killed in the belief they were miners. They had come upon an Indian village, almost starved and exhausted with fatigue, had been supplied with food and put on their way to the settlements. On receipt of news that certain Indians had been killed by whites, the men were followed, ambushed and slain with many arrows. Powell observes that that night he slept in peace, "although these murderers of my men were sleeping not 500 yards away." Hamblin improved the time in trying to make the Indians understand the idea of an overruling Providence and to appreciate that God was not pleased with the shedding of blood. He admitted, "These teachings did not appear to have much influence at the time, but afterwards they yielded much good fruit."

Much later recent accounts try to lay the blame for the killings on the Mormons, tying the whole thing into the Mountain Meadows massacre. However, the Mountain Meadows incident occurred twelve years before the Powell expedition in September of 1857. It stretches belief beyond credibility that Jacob Hamblin would have been even indirectly involved in killing anyone.

Sources unless indicated

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

Indian trouble in old Northern Arizona

The exploration of settlement of northern Arizona was not free of frontier violence. Although the Indians were not being displaced during the early years of the exploration, they were a constant threat to the missionary/explorers. Dr. Jas. M. Whitmore and his herder, Robert McIntire were killed by a band of Paiede Paiutes and Navajos on January 8, 1866. The Indians also drove off horses, sheep and cattle. The incident reportedly occurred four miles north of Pipe Springs, just south of the Utah border with Arizona.

Quoting Gottfredson's History of Indian Depredations in Utah at page 179:

Early in the year 1866 the Navajo Indians who were on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, being more numerous and superior than the Shevete Indians who inhabited the Utah side of the river, would often cross over and compel the less powerful tribe to do their bidding. Frequently they also captured and made slave of some of them. On this certain occasion some of them crossed over and compelled the Shevet's who were camped in the neighborhood to assist in killing Dr. J. M. Whitmore and his hired man, Robert McIntyre, and drive away their sheep-herd and some cattle. This took place in the beginning of a big snow storm. When Dr. Whitmore and his hired man left the herd-house Whimore had on his overcoat and carried in pocket two twenty dollar gold pieces. The Shevete Indians secured the men's clothing but not knowing the value of money, the gold pieces were later recovered. The Navajoes took the sheep and cattle over the river and they were never recovered. About the 20th of January, 1866, a company of armed men from St. George went in search of the murdered men. They came across two young Indians and compelled them to assist in the hunt. They acknowledged having seen the killing, but claimed they had no hand in it. There was about eighteen inches of crusted snow on the ground and the bodies were covered up. The men rode forward and back, four abreast and finally Colonel Pierce's horse stepped over the body of Dr. Whitmore and uncovered one hand which was raised above the body. When the whites informed the Indians that one of the murdered men had been found, one asked if it was the man with whiskers. When answered in the affirmative, he said: the other is over this way, they followed the Indian and then found Mclntyre's body. There was a camp of Indians not far distant and Captain Pierce, with some of his men, went there and found the murdered men's clothing. The Indians refused to be taken prisoners and put up a fight, which resulted in seven of them being killed.

The McClintock version of the same incident is quite different in many details, at page 72:

There was pursuit from St. George by Col. D. D. McArthur and company. A tale of the pursuit comes from Anthony W. Ivins, a member of the company, then a mere boy who went out on a mule with a quilt for a saddle. The weather was bitterly cold. The bodies were found covered with snow, which was three feet deep. Each body had many arrow and bullet wounds. The men had been attacked while riding the range, only Mclntire being armed. A detachment, under Captain James Andrus, found the murderous Indians in camp and, in a short engagement, killed nine of them.

During the next few years there was continual conflict between the Navajo raiders and the Mormon colonists in southern Utah. The Shevete Indians are now more commonly called the Shivwits and there is no modern designation for the Indians referred to a Paiede Piautes.


Sources unless indicated
Gottfredson, Peter. History of Indian Depredations in Utah. Salt Lake City: Skelton Pub. Co, 1919.
McClintock, James H. Mormon Settlement in Arizona; a Record of Peaceful Conquest of the Desert. 1921.

A fight with the Indians

Not only did the early pioneers and explorers have to deal with the extreme temperatures and desert conditions of northern Arizona, there were frequent confrontations with the Indians, primarily the Navajos. In our present society of overwhelming political correctness, we have a tendency to downplay the role these often violent conflicts played in the story of the settlement of Arizona and the other western states.

Ammon M. Tenney had an experience that was retold by James McClintock in his book Mormon Settlement in Arizona. Although the book is entitled a peaceful conquest, the reality was that the conquest was not always peaceful.

Here is the story as told to McClintock:

Ammon M. Tenney in Phoenix lately told the Author that the Navajo were the only Indians who ever really fought the Mormons and the only tribe against which the Mormons were compelled to depart from their rule against the shedding of blood. It is not intended in this work to go into any history of the many encounters between the Utah Mormons and the Arizona Navajo, but there should be inclusion of a story told by Tenney of an experience in 1865 at a point eighteen miles west of Pipe Springs and six miles southwest of Canaan, Utah. There were three Americans from Toquerville, the elder Tenney, the narrator, and Enoch Dodge, the last known as one of the bravest of southern Utah pioneers. The three were surrounded by sixteen Navajos, and, with their backs to the wall, fought for an hour or more, finally abandoning their thirteen horses and running for better shelter. Dodge was shot through the knee cap, a wound that incapacitated him from the fight thereafter. The elder Tenney fell and broke his shoulder blade and was stunned, though he was not shot. This left the fight upon the younger Tenney, who managed to climb a twelve-foot rocky escarpment. He reached down with his rifle and dragged up his father and Dodge. The three opportunely found a little cave in which they secreted themselves until reasonably rested, hearing the Indians searching for them on the plateau above. Then, in the darkness, they made their way fifteen miles into Duncan's Retreat on the Virgin River in Utah. "There is one thing I will say for the Navajo," Tenney declared with fervor. "He is a sure-enough fighting man. The sixteen of them stood shoulder to shoulder, not taking cover, as almost any other southwestern Indian would have done."

We will have more stories about the Navajos and the Mormon Settlers.

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

Finally, a pioneer route into Arizona

Beginning on March 18, 1863, the venerable explorer and missionary, Jacob Hamblin, returned to Arizona with a party of six white men and the Hopi Indians they had taken with them the year before. Once again they tried the western route into Arizona, crossing the Colorado at a place that became known as Pearce's Ferry. This fortuitous discovery opened a way into Arizona that did not require the effort of either the Crossing of the Fathers or the yet to be established Lee's Ferry at the mouth of the Paria. Pearce's Ferry now lies beneath the waters of Lake Mead.

After crossing the river, the explorers were overtaken by Lewis Greeley, the nephew of Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune. Lewis had been sent down to the river by apostle Erastus Snow. Notably, on this trip, Hamblin and his band made their way deep into the Grand Canyon to visit the Hava-Supai Indians. Although the group did not penetrate deep into the Hava-Supai territory, they were undoubtedly the first white men to see the spectacular Havasupai Canyon formerly called Cataract Canyon. Having hiked into Havasupai Canyon three times, I can imagine the difficulties experienced in traveling in this very rugged area.

The explorers continued their trek eastward following along the Moqui Indian trail south of the Grand Canyon. However, they had a mission to accomplish and did not take any side trips to see the canyon. After delivering the Indians back to their villages, the explorers struck out to the southwest, passing to the east of the San Francisco Peaks, stopping just a few miles north of what is now Flagstaff, Arizona. Later, a settlement called Fort Moroni or Fort Valley would be established six miles west of LeRoux Springs.

The party was searching for the Beale Trail, named after Navy Lieutenant, Edward Fitzgerald Beale, who, beginning in 1857, surveyed a route along the 35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arkansas through Oklahoma to Fort Defiance and on into California.

The Hamblin party followed the Beale Road but found the way very dry and went for 56 hours without water. Also, ten of their eighteen horses were stolen. They reached St. George on May 13, 1863 after establishing a practicable wagon road from St. George to the Little Colorado River and the Hopi villages. This set the stage for the settlement of the Little Colorado River communities. But there is still more story to tell.

Source unless otherwise noted:

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

The First Tour Around the Grand Canyon

Jacob Hamblin, apostle to the Lamanites

In the winter of 1860, Jacob Hamblin and others returned to northern Arizona to retrieve the body of George Albert Smith, Jr., who had been killed by the Navajos. The party had to fight snow and ice and were only able to find the skull and the larger bones which were returned for burial in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Death was the constant companion of the early explorers and colonists. Northern Arizona was so remote from contact with the rest of the country, that everyone entering that expansive desert had to rely on whatever was at hand to survive. In the current world of instant communication it is virtually impossible to imagine the isolation of these early pioneers.

In 1862 Jacob Hamblin was again called upon by Brigham Young to venture into the heart of the Colorado Plateau and visit the Hopi villages. President Young recommended that this expedition cross the Colorado south of St. George in order to find an easier crossing of the river.

Hambin, who lived in the town of Santa Clara had lost his grist mill and other improvements to a flood. Many other residents of Santa Clara had also had their homes destroyed and crops ruined by the flooding of the Santa Clara River. It is notable that floods in recent times have caused similar damage in the same areas along the Virgin River, of which the Santa Clara is a tributary. Leaving his home in shambles, Hamblin took twenty men and a small boat.

The expedition crossed the Colorado at an unknown location, possibly near the mouth of the Grand Wash, presently near the Arizona/Nevada state line and under Lake Mead. The party struck out across the desert towards the San Francisco Peaks and finally reached the Hopi villages. If you are unfamiliar with this area, you should know that except for prominent mountains, the land is very flat and you can see for many, many miles. It is fairly easy to navigate because of the reference points of the high mountain peaks, such as the San Francisco Peaks, over 12,000 feet high. Those particular mountains can be seen for over 100 miles to the north looking south.

The men returned to Utah after visiting the Hopis, returning by crossing the Colorado River at the Ute Crossing (Crossing of the Fathers) now deep under Lake Powell. The crossing was dangerous because of the cold and ice on the river. On the return trip, food became so scarce, the explorers were reduced to eating crows.

To be continued.

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

Jacob Hamblin's second missionary trip into Arizona

In 1859, President Brigham Young of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon), sent Jacob Hamblin on a second trip to visit the Moqui/Hopi Indians. The 1859 company consisted of Marion J. Shelton, Thales Haskell, Taylor Crosby, Benjamin Knell, Ira Hatch and John William Young. As was the usual custom, the expedition left in the Fall after the farm crops had been harvested and reached the Hopi villages on November 6. The explorers used the "Ute Ford" also known as the Crossing of the Fathers.

Unless you have experienced the combination of wind and cold on the Colorado Plateau, you can have no idea of the hardship these early explorers suffered. Temperatures can change more than 40 degrees in a 24 hour period. In the winter the temperatures fall well below freezing, but the wind blows nearly every day and the wind chill factor can fall into the single digits.

Again in 1860 Jacob Hamblin was sent as a missionary to the Hopi villages. This 1860 expedition had George A. Smith, Jr., the son of an apostle of the Church, Thales Haskell, Jehiel McConnell, Ira Hatch, Isaac Riddle, Amos G. Thornton, Francis M. Hamblin, James Pearce and an Indian guide, Enos. The party tried to cross the Colorado at the Paria without success. After finally crossing the Colorado at the Crossing of the Fathers, the party was immediately attacked by Navajo Indians. Smith was shot by the Indians when he inadvisedly gave his revolver to an Indian to inspect it. The party continued on despite the threats of the Indians.

As James H. McClintock narrates, "The Indians readily admitted responsibility, stating that it was in reprisal for the killing of three Navajos by palefaces and they demanded two more victims before the Mormon company would be allowed to go in peace. The situation was a difficult one for Jacob, but he answered bravely, "I would not give a cent to live after I had given up two men to be murdered; I would rather die like a man than live like a dog." Jacob went out by himself and had a little session of prayer and then the party started northward, flanked by hostile Navajos, but accompanied by four old friendly tribesmen. Smith was taken along on a mule, with McConnell behind to hold him on. Thus it was that he died about sundown. His last words, when told that a stop could not be made, were, "Oh, well, go on then; but I wish I could die in peace." The body was wrapped in a blanket and laid in a hollow by the side of the trail, for no stop could be made even to bury the dead.

About a week later, Santa Clara was reached by the worn and jaded party, sustained the last few days on a diet mainly of pinon nuts."

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

Coming to Arizona -- The Welsh Legend Expedition

Picture of Jacob Hamblin, Mormon Explorer.

Before we get to the story of the first settlers, including Henry Martin Tanner and his new bride, we need to review how the country became known to the Utah Mormons as a place of possible settlement.

The trail from Southern Utah to Arizona crossed some of the ruggedest and most inhospitable country in the entire continent. Water was always a problem and the relatively high altitude made winter travel extremely dangerous. During the early years, there were only two practical ways to cross the Colorado River, either at the western end of the Grand Canyon at Pearce's Ferry or at the famous Lee's Ferry, located between Glen Canyon and Marble Canyon at the mouth of the Paria River.

One of the earliest attempts to find a pathway into the northern Arizona wilderness came in 1858, when President Brigham Young sent an expedition lead by Jacob Hamblin to investigate rumors that the Moqui (Hopi) Indians had a dialect that embraced many Welsh words. The expedition included Durias Davis, a Welshman, Ammon M. Tenney later a notable settler in Arizona, William Hamblin, Frederick Hambin, Thomas Leavitt, Samuel Knight, Ira Hatch, Andrew S. Gibbons, Benjamin Knell and a Piute guide, Naraguts. These early expeditions were conducted mainly during the winter months, causing the participants extreme hardships but necessary because of the need to maintain their farms during the warmer months.

Incidentally, descendants of Andrew S. Gibbons intermarried with my family and I have several Gibbons relatives.

Brigham Young had heard that hundreds of years before a group of Welsh explorers had settled in the area of northern Arizona. After a long and difficult trip into the Hopi/Moqui settlements, it was determined that the Hopi language had no Welsh words at all. In future posts I will discuss the legends that Welshmen may have come to the Southwest, but that is another story for now.

This early expedition was notable in that Hamblin and his party found two places to cross the Colorado, one was rediscovered at the location known as the Crossing of the Fathers. This crossing had been used by the Dominguez-Escalante expedition in 1776. The other potential crossing point was discovered at the mouth of the Paria River but was not used by the expedition. The explorers found the Hopi or Moqui villages just in time to keep from starving to death. They stayed for a time with the Indians and four of the expedition members, William Hamblin, Leavitt, Gibbons and Knell were left at the villages as missionaries. Those left behind returned that same winter.

The Crossing of the Fathers was found to be impractical for most purposes and future expeditions concentrated their efforts at the mouth of the Paria or avoided the issue altogether by starting out across the Colorado south of the Grand Canyon.

I have spent most of my life traveling around this area of northern Arizona. The general route followed by this original expedition and later ones roughly parallels Highway 389 (Arizona) and 59 (Utah). I am always amazed that these early explorers found a way to survive in this country.

Continued...

Source: (other than noted above)
McClintock, James H. Mormon Settlement in Arizona; a Record of Peaceful Conquest of the Desert. 1921.

Coming to Arizona

At the suggestion of the Mormon leader, Brigham Young, a company was organized in 1851 to purchase a tract below the Cajon Pass in the State of California. Members of the company included Amasa M. Lyman, Chas. C. Rich and Collins R. Hakes, who was later the President of the Maricopa Stake in Mesa. They purchased what was known as the Lugo Ranch, consisting of some nine square leagues, including an abandoned mission. The original purchase price was $77,500, but the price eventually climbed to $140,000. In today's money, taking into account the extreme inflation since 1851, the equivalent price of the $140,000 would be more than $3,580,000. However, the purchase price was a "good deal" considering the entire area was in the San Bernardino Valley.

One of the settlers who came that year to San Bernardino was my Great-great-grandfather, Sidney Tanner. My Great-grandfather, Henry Martin Tanner, was born the next year in San Bernardino. Many years later, I would serve in LDS Church with President Hakes' grandson, Clayton H. Hakes.

Unfortunately, for California and fortunately for Arizona, the San Bernardino pioneers were forced to leave in 1857 and 1858, because of the invasion of Utah by Johnston's Army. The Tanners, along with many of their neighbors, moved back into Utah, settling in Beaver, Utah. Although the departure from California is often characterized as a retreat due to the invasion, many of the settlers left because of threats of violence from vigilantes in California.

Next time we will follow Henry and his new bride, Eliza Ellen Parkinson, on the long and dry trail into Northern Arizona.

Source material, in part:

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

Shorts and the Salt River Valley

Located just south of the center of Arizona, the Salt River Valley is home to the huge Phoenix/Mesa Metroplex. It is called a valley because it is encircled by low to medium high mountain ranges. The city has grown so large that some of the outlying suburbs are actually out of the valley entirely and in different watersheds.

I remember distinctly one of my first entries into the Salt River Valley. I was living in a small town in Eastern Arizona called St. Johns when my parents decided to move to the Valley. Although I had lived in Boston while my father was going to school, my only real memories were in and about St. Johns, high on the Colorado Plateau. I was only eight years old and just starting to discover the world. My grandparents lived in Salt Lake City, Utah and my mother was expecting a baby (who would turn out to be my first brother) but I didn't know that at the time, of course.

We packed up and left for Utah. In those days, traveling to Utah was an adventure. So was living with my grandparents for many months. Finally, it came time to move to Phoenix. My father had purchased a house and moved everything down from St. Johns in our absence, so I had never seen the house. This was long before freeways, and we had to drive down Highway 89, we drove into the city on Grand Avenue and I remember seeing the State Fair Grounds at the time the Fair was in full swing.

We arrived at our small house at 12th Street and Oak, on a street called Edgemere. This was a "newer" subdivision at the time, but today is in the very center of the oldest part of Phoenix.

I quickly started at Whittier School, since it was well into the year. The first day of school, my mother, thinking we were now living in the big city, sent me to school in shorts. Now, children may wear shorts today to school, but in Phoenix in 1953, that was phenomena. I had to hide behind a door at recess to avoid being mobbed. Needless to say, that was the last time I ever wore anything other than Levi's to school for the rest of my life.

Arizona from 2.25" off the ground

For the past three years or so, my wife and I have been riding Catrike 700s each week, at least three to five times a week. We average about 20 to 30 miles a week, summer or winter. In the winter we wear two or three layers of clothes. Even though it isn't that cold in Mesa, it is colder when you are going almost 20 mph. For all you bike guys out there, here is the technical data on the Catrike 700L

• Wheels Front 16 " (349)
• Wheel Rear 700c
• Weight 33 Pounds (15.0 Kg)
• Wheel Base 45" (1143mm)
• Wheel Track 27.5” (699mm)
• Total Width 31.5" (800mm)
• Seat Height 7.00 " (178mm)
• Turning Circle 18' 4 " (5.59m)
• Turning Radius 110" (2.78m)
• Gear Inch Range 25” to 130”
• Ground Clearance 2.25” (57mm)


As we quickly found out, we are essentially invisible, even with dayglo flags. We have evolved a whole system of traffic avoidance, with signals for any car entering the street either from a driveway or from a side street. We avoid cutting any corners and will not cross a major road without a significant lead space from oncoming traffic. We also ride mainly on side streets.

We have ridden with a few of our compulsive addicted road bike friends and it is interesting to see them working away while you lay there on the ground looking up at them, hardly trying to pedal. I can get up to almost 30 mph on the flat for short sprints. I realize real bike riders can do much better than that, but I am old and gray and they are mostly young and athletic.

We get a good view of the sunrise almost every morning and get to see a lot of birds and dogs. Some dogs just stare at us. Others consider that we must be food and almost pull over their owners trying to get at us. If a dog is not on a leash, we ride by really fast.

We do see a few recumbents now and again, but so far, no one has ever ridden with us except a few of our bike friends.

Looking out on Arizona

From where I sit each day to work on my computer, I have the most wonderful view. I can see the sky and watch the clouds, the dust storms, the rain and the sun march across the windows. I can see birds in the grapefruit trees, doves, grackles, wrens humming birds, sparrows, a parade of birds. I can see flowers, lantana, roses, bougainvillea, cactus, petunias, oleander in a season changing array. I can see the wind, sweeping through the pine trees, bending the palm branches and rustling the spider webs. In the summer, I can see the heat in waves scorching off of the asphalt of the street. I can see people working in their yards, conducting yard sales, watering their plants, cutting their grass and shrubs. I can see into the heart of American life as lived in the desert southwest.

I can contrast the world I see through my computer screen with the world I see out my window. On my computer I can see all that is good and bad in the world and I can chose to ignore the bad and look only for the good. I can tell whether or not the news is right or wrong. I can check facts, investigate hunches, look for inconsitencies, read about the great and wonderful things we have in our world, the world beyond my window. And most important, I can share what I see out my window and on my computer screen with many others.