GUNNISON
MASSACRE, INDIAN
VERSION
75
Today, on the north side of the river, six miles westerly from Deseret, a beautiful monument stands in the midst of indescribable desolation. Gone are the one-time thrifty willows, lakes and meadows. (The water that years ago was so abundant is now being used on farms higher up on the river—it is now the whiteman's water.) Members of the Arthur L. Cahoon Post of the American Legion quarried the shaft from a nearby field of black flint-like lava and transported it to the sport marked for many years by a cedar post. Near the top of the shaft, those patriots in peace and war secured a large bronze arrow head, bearing in relief the imperishable names of the dead. Into a mound of boulders and cement they planted the base of the shaft, with the bronze plate appropriately turned toward the setting sun. And there, dignified by its isolation, and within the silence of the far-reaching desert, the tribute of sympathy will stand through the ages. On Memorial Day, 1927, from 3,000 to 5,000 old, middle-aged and young residents of Millard County were massed around the Gunnison Monument. They were present for the purpose of participating in the dedicatory ceremonies. Feelingly, a very few of the aged pioneers rehearsed the story of the massacre. The monument, theretofore enveloped in the folds of the stars and stripes, was unveiled; members of the Arthur L. Cahoon Post fired a farewell salute. While the larger part of those present slowly disappeared within clouds of desert dust, a few lingered as if loathe to leave the tragic ground.
FATHER ESCALANTE A N D THE UTAH INDIANS (Continuing: "Some Useful Early Utah Indian References.") By J. Cecil Alter Here are the earliest first-hand references to the Utah Indians, taken verbatim from Escalante's journal as printed in The Catholic Church in Utah, edited by Dr. W. R. Harris. The student should also see Report of Explorations Across the Great Basin of the Territory of Utah, by Capt. J. H. Simpson, appendix R, by Philip H a r r y ; and H. H. Bancroft's History of Nevada, Colorado and Wyoming. These authorities assist in identifying Escalante's route. "Diary and Travels of Fray Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Fray Silvestre Velez De Escalante, to discover a route from charged the jury that they must find the prisoners guilty or not guilty of murder, a verdict of manslaughter was returned against three of the accused, the rest being acquitted. The sentence was three years' imprisonment in the Utah penitentiary, this being the severest punishment prescribed by statute."— History of Utah, by. Hubert Howe Bancroft, page 493.
