In This Issue

John Steele. Courtesy of Genevieve S. Jensen.

Ensign Peak, the subject of the first article in this issue, is one of several prominences in the hills north of the State Capitol. Its shape, though distinctive, hardly qualifies as a peak, and several of its neighbors exceed its modest 5,414-foot height Nevertheless, Ensign Peak has been the scene of more history—some of it disputed—and the object of more planning, promotion, and preservation activity than most of the majestic peaks of the Wasatch range.

Evidently, the nascent settlement overlooked by Ensign Peak echoed with the howling of wolves in the early years. Organized hunts in the Salt Lake and Cache valleys attempted to eliminate wolves and other "wasters and destroyers." As the second article points out, these mass shootings of wildlife may offend late twentieth-century sensibilities, but today's more than adequate food supply was bound to change perspectives.

With self-sufficiency the "politically correct" watchword in pioneer Utah's temporal affairs, attempts to make paper for printing newspapers, announcements, and other communications come as no surprise. Paper was a costly import and its deliveries were erratic, the third article notes, but the first locally made paper embarrassed the craftsmen who had to print on it.

German immigrants have carved a major place for themselves in Utah history, and much has been written about them. But even a well-traveled road may have unexplored branches The fourth article presents an intriguing story of German settlers in Dutchtown near Eureka in the Tintic Mining District. Jakob Brand's notebook opened a new area of research that ultimately helped the author understand the dynamics of community life in Juab County and the interaction of German settlers there with those living in Cache County and other locales.

The final piece recounts the fascinating life of John Steele, a medical practitioner in Toquerville who struggled unsuccessfully to find marital bliss Renowned as a bonesetter and herbalist, Steele also dabbled in astrology and witching A legend in his own time, he remains larger than life almost a century later.