CHAPTER 3
EARLY ROADS, GRAZING AND SCHEMERS, AND OUTLAWS T X he geography of the Uinta Basin and the establishment of an Indian reservation kept the area isolated from the rest of Utah for m u c h of the nineteenth century. Wagon roads and trails into the Uinta Basin were virtually nonexistent until the establishment of army posts. Unlike much of Utah Territory, where Mormon pioneers and later the territorial government built or funded road construction, roads in and out of the Uinta Basin were first built primarily to serve the transportation needs of the U.S. Army. The first wagon road built into the Uinta Basin was built in 1882 when the army constructed Fort Thornburg in Uintah County. With the aid of William A. Carter, Jr., son of Judge William A. Carter of the Fort Bridger area of Wyoming, the army had built the Carter Road over the Uinta M o u n t a i n s to Carter, Wyoming, to supply Fort Thornburg. W h e n the army moved to the newly constructed Fort Duchesne, the Carter Road was extended to the new fort. The Carter Road proved to be very difficult to haul heavy freight over from the railhead to the army posts in the Uinta Basin—especially during the fall, winter, and early spring seasons. Delays in mov68
