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.
Do you have a copy of Chas Peterson's book Take Up Your Mission? He is rather biased toward the history of Snowflake, Arizona, but is also a good source.
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