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

Back to the pioneers into Arizona

The 1873 Roundy Expedition to Arizona was almost a complete failure, likely more from the attitude of the pioneers, rather than any particular conditions in Arizona. Bishop Lorenzo W. Roundy has the distinction of drowning at Lee's Ferry in 1876.

"The year before the above incident, in the spring of 1873, President Brigham Young had called a number of people to establish settlements in Arizona. They met at the tabernacle in Salt Lake where they were given instructions by President Young. A company of these people headed by Lorenzo W. Roundy stopped in Kanab for a short time in April as they were on their way to Arizona. After the river was crossed, the expedition was abandoned when they saw the desert wasteland and because they feared Indians. They returned to Utah. Among these were Charles S. Cram and family, who first settled in Johnson, but later located at Kanab. They brought with them a number of cows and horses which they first ran in Stewart Canyon.

According to John R. Young, it was 1873 that the road over 'Lee's Backbone' near Lee's Ferry was built.

Zadok Judd, Jr., says that he, Walter Dinsor, and L. C. Mariger from Kanab worked with the other men in Southern Utah on this project. They repaired the road from Kanab and spent about three weeks building the road over Lee's Backbone. On their way home they met the Lorenzo W. Roundy company. He says, "Thus we opened the gateway from Utah to Arizona and it was, I suppose, the only wagon road used for many years."

From information attributed to a manuscript "History of Kanab" compiled from old journals, etc. by Rose H. Hamblin. See Jared Pratt Family Association.

Jacob Hamblin's Narrative gives a more complete account of the death of Bishop Roundy:

In May, 1876, Brothers D. H. Wells, Erastus Snow and other leading men among the Saints, were sent to visit the new settlements in Arizona. I was sent with them as a guide. The Colorado was then high — a raging torrent. The current shifted from side to side, and the surging of the waters against the rocks caused large and dangerous whirlpools.

We put three wagons and some luggage on the ferry boat. We were under the necessity of towing the boat up stream one mile, to give a chance for landing at the proper place on the other side of the river. When taking the boat around a point of rock, the water poured over the bow. Word was given to slacken the tow rope. In doing so, the rope caught in the seam of a rock, and the draft on the boat continuing, the bow was drawn under water.

In a moment the rapid current swept the boat clear of its contents. Men, wagons and luggage went into the surging waters. When I plunged into the cold snow-water to swim, my right
arm cramped, which caused me to almost despair of getting ashore. A large oar was passing me, and I threw my arm over it to Save myself from sinking. About the same time Brother L. John Nuttall caught the same oar, so I thought it best to try to swim with one arm. However, I was soon able to use both, and went safely to shore.

I ran down the river bank, got into a skiff with two others, pulled out to the heads of the rapids, and saved a wagon and its contents on an island. The other two wagons with all the valuables they contained, including the most of our supplies, passed over the rapids into the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. On getting together we found that Brother Lorenzo W. Roundy was missing. He was said to be a good swimmer, and it is probable he was taken with the cramp and sank at once. His body has never been found.

Brother Lorenzo Hatch sank deep into the river, but saved himself from drowning and was picked up by the skiff. Brother Warren Johnson and another man hung to a wagon until they were taken up with the skiff, just in time to save them from going over the rapids.

This unfortunate affair occurred on the 28th of May. We gathered up what was left of our outfit, and visited the missions at Mowabby and Moancoppy, and the settlements on the Little Colorado.

Little, James A. Jacob Hamblin; A Narrative of His Personal Experience As a Frontiersman, Missionary to the Indians, and Explorer. Disclosing Interpositions of Providence, Severe Privations, Perilous Situations and Remarkable Escapes. Designed for the Instruction and Encouragement of Young Latter-Day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Deseret News, 1909.

Birding in Arizona

Arizona's diversity is a major benefit to bird watching. From Ramsey Canyon in South, nearly at the Mexican Border to the Grand Canyon in the North, Arizona presents such a variety of habitats that there is almost not enough time in one's life to see it all.

There are a number of books available about Arizona birds. Here are a few of the most recent ones:

Burns, Jim. Jim Burns' Arizona Birds: From the Backyard to the Backwoods. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2008.

Alderfer, Jonathan K. National Geographic Field Guide to Birds. Arizona & New Mexico. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2006.

Radamaker, Kurt A., Cindy Radamaker, and Gregory Kennedy. Arizona and New Mexico Birds. [Edmonton, Alta.]: Lone Pine Pub. International, 2007.

Tekiela, Stan. Birds of Arizona: Field Guide. Cambridge, Minn: Adventure Pub, 2003.

I have been using Peterson, Roger. A Field Guide to Western Birds: Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100. Meridian, with a Section on the Birds of the Hawaiian Islands. Boston: Mifflin, 1961 since I bought it new about 1970 or so. There are newer editions available. I shy away from coffee table books with glossy pictures, they seldom have much real information. I can't vouch for any of the books above, but we didn't fin the Tekiela book particularly useful.

Wikipedia has an extensive list of Arizona birds. Our all time favorite Arizona bird is the Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii n Especially, when they have a lot of little baby quail running around their feet. We see dozens of them every morning. The birds I remember most and associate most with Phoenix/Mesa are the Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura n and the Inca Dove, Columbina inca n

We are hoping to see a Condor on one of our trips through House Rock Valley or to the Grand Canyon but we have always just missed them flying by as of yet.

The Little Colorado River

Wikipedia

For the past few posts I have been giving the background for the Mormon pioneering of the Little Colorado River settlements. It is time to say something about the river.

For a good portion of my life I drank and bathed in the water from the Little Colorado River. It is a river in name only. In most parts of the country it would not even merit a name as a stream, although during parts of the year it is a raging flood. I could easily wade across and at some times even jump across the River.

There are a few things I distinctly remember about the water. The first is the taste. When I was young, in St. Johns, the water came out of the tap barely filtered. If you filled an ice cube tray with water from the tap (there wasn't anywhere else to get it) the cubes would come out half white and half red from the silt in the water. The water had a distinctive sandy gritty taste. All I have to do is think about it and I can still taste it in my imagination.

If you took a bath in the bathtub, you might want to fill the tub before you got in. In filling the tub you could always find two or three small leaches swimming around in the water. It was also a good idea to look at the glass before taking a drink.

The Little Colorado starts as a sparkling (they always use that word) mountain stream, high in the White Mountains of Arizona near Mount Baldy. As the river runs north out of the mountains it enters a small canyon and then runs into a large reservoir, Lyman Lake. The Lyman was the principal water supply for St. Johns and anywhere north. There was another small reservoir, called appropriately, the Little Reservoir, right off the hill from where I lived. But it was on private land and technically, even though it was "owned" by my uncle, we were trespassing when we played in the water floating rafts and swimming in the mud.

The Lyman was big enough for boats and water skiing. But during the current long drought it almost went dry several times. At the moment it is quite full as of 2009, but that could change by next year. There used to be a buffalo herd around the Lake, but it was removed quite a few years ago. Lyman Lake is a State Park and there is an entrance fee. There is also a nice campground and good fishing. But the State Park is scheduled to be closed because of budget cuts.

There are several Indian ruins along the River. Two of them have been open to the public for a charge. Raven House was promoted for a while and then closed to the public. There are two other ruins, Rattlesnake Ruins and Casa Malpais. Bother of which charge admission.

There are a number of springs and caves along the Little Colorado. The biggest spring is in the place called Salado or Salado Spring. It is a very deep artisan spring with clear water. The caves are mostly sink holes and as far as I could determine, very short. I always hoped that I would find a large cave, but it never happened.

After going north from St. Johns the River winds across the Plateau passing Hunt, Holbrook, Joseph City, Winslow and then going north to the Grand Falls. This is feature is either a little trickle of water or a roaring waterfall higher than Niagara. Eventually, after crossing most of the Navajo Indian Reservation, the River passes by Cameron and then into a deep canyon where it joins the Colorado.

The pioneers used the water for everything from drinking to washing. In a lot of the settlements it was the only water available. Next we will go back to the history of the settlements.

Routes to the Little Colorado

Wheeler's Geographic Survey Stereoscopic Views (1871-1874) Mouth of Paria River

For many years we have had a reproduction of a painting showing a group of Indians and Missionaries with Jacob Hamblin next to the Echo Cliffs. The official name of the painting is Chief Tuba and Jacob Hamblin, by John Jarvis, gousch, 1982. Interestingly, (to me anyway) the picture is painted right next to the Tanner Wash. By the way, a copy of Jacob Hamblin complete autobiography is here:
"Jacob Hamblin, a narrative of his personal experience, as a frontiersman, missionary to the Indians and explorer : disclosing interpositions of Providence, severe privations, perilous situations and remarkable escapes"

In the early 1870s Jacob Hamblin made several trips to the Hopi Villages and succeeded in surveying the different routes to the Little Colorado River area. Although the Little Colorado River is mostly a dry riverbed with a seasonal flow, it is the only semi-dependable water source in the entire area. Although from a modern perspective, it is practically impossible to understand why the Mormons would settle in such a desolate area, you can only begin to understand these settlements in the historic context of the time.

The Mormons had been literally driven across the continent by persecution. Our promised land consisted of a vast unexplored wilderness. Brigham Young's vision of the settlement of this wilderness did not include congregating in one large settlement. From the very beginning, Brigham Young sent out colonists to establish outposts in the major river valleys and along all of the major trade routes. This colonization extended from Canada on the north to Mexico on the south. There are hundreds of cities, towns and villages that were first settled by the Mormons. Some very large cities, like Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Mesa and many others, have resulted from this early settlement. The harsness and isolation of the early living conditions created a social and cultural structure that gave a legacy to all of the descendants of those early pioneers. Those same societal and cultural structures are still a dominent force in their descendants.

Now back to the story. During the years of 1871 to 1873, Hamblin and the other missionaries located a settlement on the Paria River (now abandoned), started a ranch in House Rock Valley (now a tourist stop and staging area for Colorado River cruises) and laid out a practical route from Lee's Ferry to the Little Colorado.

The earliest crossing of the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry by wagons was in 1873 by a exploration party headed by Lorenzo W. Roundy. The party traveled southward to Navajo Springs, then to Bitter Springs and on to Moen Copie (now spelled Moencopi or Moenkopi) just south of present day Tuba City.

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism (Ludlow, Daniel H. Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan, 1992.) notes that:

A party of scouts under Lorenzo Roundy examined the San Francisco Mountains and the Little Colorado River drainages for town sites. Brigham Young called 200 colonizing and Indian missionaries who, without adequate preparation, hurried south in the winter and spring of 1873. This mission foundered in the desert country north of the Little Colorado, and the missionaries retreated to Utah. Only John D. Lee and a few others held on at Lees Ferry and Moenkopi.

McClintock reports that Roundy "passed by a Moqui village and thence on to the overland mail route. The Little Colorado was described as "not quite the size of the Virgin River, water a little brackish, but better than that of the Virgin." In May of the same year, Hamblin piloted, as far as Moen Copie, the first ten wagons of the Horton D. Haight expedition that failed in an attempt to found a settlement on the Little Colorado." It is reported that the expedition reached the Grand Falls of the Little Colorado, but went no further.

Some of these 1873 missionaries stayed at Moen Copie (Moenkopi) until 1874 when trouble with the Indians convinced them to return to Utah.

At about this time, as stated by the Utah State University Libraries, a "Geographical Survey was led by Lieutenant George Montague Wheeler and traveled throughout the mountains, plains, and deserts in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and New Mexico. The purpose of these expeditions was to create maps and gain information that would be useful for future military operations, for the establishment of roads, and for potential railways. In addition, the survey was to catalog natural resources and record the location and population of the Indian tribes."

Paving the way for the settlers -- a great conference with the Navajo

Fort Defiance, New Mexico (now Arizona) by Seth Eastman (1808 - 1875), painted 1873 Wikipedia.

By 1870 it was assumed that the Mormon pioneers would settle somewhere in Arizona. One of the most obvious impediments to the settlement was the Navajo nation. It is reported that in 1869 the Indians had stolen approximately $1,000,000 worth of cattle, horses and sheep in southern Utah. In the autumn of that year, Jacob Hamblin, at Major J. W. Powell's invitation, gathered with the Major's party and some others, including Ammon M. Tenney, Ashton Nebecker, Nathan Terry and Elijah Potter, with an Indian guide to attend peace talks with the Navajos.

McClintock relates an interview with Ammon Tenney in which the great council, including U.S. Army officers, Powell, Hamblin's party and some 8000 Indians, took place at Fort Defiance. Fort Defiance had been established as a military outpost in 1851.

The U.S. Government, by this time, had a long history with the Navajos. Tribal land had been reduced by the Bonneville Treaty of 1858. Other treaties had been signed in 1849, and 1861.

It is important to understand the immediate background of this meeting. The Navajo had been at war with the U.S. for many years culminating with an unsuccessful attack on Fort Defiance in 1860. However, because of the U.S. Civil War, troops were removed from most of the forts in Arizona. After the war, Brigadier General James H. Carleton and Kit Carson were sent with troops to restore order and subdue the Navajo. This was accomplished through a brutal campaign of repression ending with the wholesale removal of the majority of the Navajos to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The exodus of the Navajos in 1864 is referred to as the "Long Walk."

Navajos on the Long Walk

In the Navajo Treaty of 1868 the remnant of the Navajos were allowed to return to their own lands. Despite the Treaty, raids along the southern border of Utah had continued unabated.

The Great Council was decidedly hostile. Hamblin spoke to the gathering and concluded as follows:

What shall I tell my people, the Mormons, when I return home? That we may live in peace, live as friends, and trade with one another? Or shall we look for you to come prowling around our weak settlements, like wolves in the night? I hope we may live in peace in time to come. I have now gray hairs on my head, and from my boyhood I have been on the frontiers doing all I could to preserve peace between white men and Indians I despise this killing, this shedding of blood. I hope you will stop this and come and visit and trade with our people. We would like to hear what you have got to say before we go home.

The response of the Indians as reported by McClintock is described as follows:

Barbenceta, the principal chief, slowly approached as Jacob ended and, putting his arms around him, said, "My friend and brother, I will do all that I can to bring about what you have advised. We will not give all our answer now. Many of the Navajos are here. We will talk to them tonight and will see you on your way home." The chief addressed his people from a little eminence. The Americans understood little or nothing of what he was saying, but it was agreed that it was a great oration. The Indians hung upon every word and responded to every gesture and occasionally, in unison, there would come from the crowd a harsh "Huh, Huh," in approval of their chieftain's advice and admonition.

It is notable that in John Wesley Powell's account the participation of Jacob Hamblin in the Great Council is entirely omitted.

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