Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 1, 1995

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY (ISSN 0042-143X)

EDITORIAL STAFF

MAX J. EVANS, Editor

STANFORD J LAYTON, Managing Editor

MIRIAM B. MURPHY, Associate Editor

ADVISORY BOARD O F EDITORS

MAUREEN URSENBACH BEECHER, Salt Lake City, 1997

KENNETH L CANNON II,Salt Lake City, 1995

JANICE P. DAWSON, Layton, 1996

AUDREY M. GODFREY, Logan,1997

JOEL C JANETSKI, Provo, 1997

ROBERT S MCPHERSON, Blanding, 1995

ANTONETTE CHAMBERS NOBLE, Cora, WY, 1996

GENE A. SESSIONS, Ogden,1995

GARY TOPPING, Salt Lake City, 1996

Utah Historical Quarterly wasestablished in 1928to publish articles, documents, and reviews contributing to knowledge of Utah's history. The Quarterly is published four times a year by the Utah State Historical Society, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. Phone (801)533-3500 for membership and publications information Members of the Society receive the Quarterly, Beehive History, and the bimonthly Newsletter upon payment of the annual dues: individual, $20.00; institution, $20.00; student and senior citizen (age sixty-five or over), $15.00; contributing, $25.00; sustaining, $35.00; patron, $50.00; business, $100.00

Materials for publication should be submitted in duplicate, typed double-space, with footnotes at the end Authors are encouraged to submit material in a computer-readable form, on 5 1/4 or 3 x/i inch MS-DOS or PC-DOS diskettes, standard ASCII text file. For additional information on requirements contact the managing editor Articles represent the views of the author and are not necessarily those of the Utah State Historical Society.

Second class postage ispaid at Salt Lake City, Utah

Postmaster: Send form 3579 (change of address) to Utah Historical Quarterly, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101.

MELVIN L BASHORE and SCOTT CRUMP Riverton: The Story of a Utah Country Town RICHARD S. VAN WAGONER

85

RICHARD W SADLER and RICHARD C ROBERTS The Weber River Basin: Grass Roots Democracy and Water Development M. GUY BISHOP 86

C. GREGORY CRAMPTON and STEVEN K. MADSEN. In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1829-1848. PETER H DELAFOSSE 87

GRANT UNDERWOOD. The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism....KENNETH W GODFREY 88

HUGH C. GARNER, ed. A Mormon Rebel: The Life and Travels ofFrederick Gardiner. WILLIAM P MACKINNON 89

ROY WEBB Call of the Colorado....RICHARD D. QUARTAROLI 92

WILLIAM HAAS MOORE. Chiefs, Agents, and Soldiers: Conflict on the Navajo Frontier, 1868-1882 NORMAN J. BENDER 94

In this issue

Separated by some 200 miles of Colorado Plateau country, the communities of Kanarraville in Iron County and Blanding, Monticello, and Moab in San Juan and Grand counties responded to World War I in remarkably similar ways Initially, southern Utahns shared the feeling widespread among Americans that the Great War was a European conflict best left to the Europeans themselves to resolve. But when German submarine attacks on the high seas drew the U.S into the war, southern Utahns answered their nation's call with men for the armed forces, Liberty Loan drives, sewing and knitting projects, and watchfulness for German spies that some believed were operating in the Utah hinterland. The first two narratives in this issue paint a vivid picture of wartime in southern Utah through the use of first-person accounts and newspaper reports

One of Utah's famous scientists, John A. Widtsoe, is the subject of the next article Focusing on his years as director of the Utah Experiment Station in Logan, it tells of revolutionary changes in farming brought about by scientific studies in agriculture.

Rounding out this issue is a delightful account of Utah's state flower, the sego lily. Fact and folklore about this beautiful native plant abound. From pioneer stories of eating its bulbs to poems and songs written in its honor, the author tracks the sego's symbolic metamorphosis over almost a century and a half.

World War I veterans in aJuly 4 parade in Blanding, Utah. San Juan County Historical Commission photograph donated by Frank Wright.

Soldiers, Savers, Slackers, and Spies: Southeastern Utah's Response to World War I

BY MARCIA BLACK AND ROBERT S MCPHERSON

O N APRIL 6, 1917, PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON signed ajoint resolution of Congress that launched the United States into World War I, a conflict the nation had watched unfold in Europe for three years. The general population favored such an act, although some felt that diplomacy still offered a better solution Once the country was committed, however, most people locked arms, dug in for the fray, and looked for the best way to succeed in a war that had already exacted a terrible price in men, money, and equipment from America's allies.

Some of these sawmill workers enlisted together and participated in the obligatory farewells in Blanding before making the trip to Moab and the train station at Thompson. Left to right: unknown, unknown, B. Frank Redd, unknown, Arvel Porter, Fred Carroll, Bill Young, Kenneth Helquist, Mildruff Young, and Morley Guymon. Courtesy of authors.

Ms Black, a graduate of College of Eastern Utah-San Juan Campus, Blanding, is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science at Southern Utah University, Cedar City Dr McPherson, a member of the Advisory Board of Editors of Utah Historical Quarterly, teaches history at CEU-SJ

SoutheasternUtah's Response to WorldWar I5

Rural southeastern Utah appeared to be one of the least likely areas in the United States to be affected by these events, since the combined white populations of Grand and San Juan counties numbered fewer than ten thousand and were spread over approximately 11,500 square miles.1 A back-to-the-earth homesteading movement had been underway for the previous seven years, as the great sage plain east of Blue Mountain yielded to the plow of the dry farmer. Yet vast stretches of slickrock and canyon country remained just as vacant as the day they were formed.

Towns like Blanding, Monticello, and Moab served as the centers of activity for this huge geographic area that supported a population primarily employed in agrarian and livestock industries Each of these towns offered the amenities of civilization, including two newspapers—the San JuanBlade in Blanding and the GrandValley Times, later The Independent, in Moab. As with most newspapers in a rural setting, the life of the community pumped through their pages, providing a fine record, albeit for public consumption, of births and deaths, comings and goings, successes and failures, as well as prevalent attitudes of those who read its columns. Often a weekby-week description of events ensued.

Not surprisingly, when America committed itself to World War I the newspapers of southeastern Utah provided the clarion call to arms. Patriotic sentiments ran high, but filling the draft quotas established by the government required more than just enthusiasm. For instance, the induction board screened seventy-four men from Grand County and eighty men from San Juan to fill their respective quotas of twenty-three and twenty-seven. The military fully expected only 50 percent of the men between the ages of eighteen and fortyfive to be eligible for service because of physical disabilities, marriage exemptions, or alien status. What the review board encountered was surprising. Every inductee was required to pass a physical examination, but a large portion of the unmarried men were "rejected on some minor defect" while the married men "went through with flying colors."

2 Twenty-four of the eighty men from SanJuan passed the physical examination; nineteen of them filed for exemption because

1 Deon C Greer, et al, Atlas of Utah (Provo, Ut.: Brigham Young University Press, 1981), pp 114, 119

2 Grand Valley Times [hereafter cited as GV7], July 27, 1917, p 1; Sanjuan Blade [hereafter cited as SJB], August 11, 1917, p LJustin A Black Interview with Louise Lyne,July 11, 1972, p 9, Utah State Historical Society and California State University, Fullerton, Southeastern Utah Project

of dependent relatives. A similar figure of 30 percent eligibility held true in Moab. The final summary of the first draft notice in San Juan eventually listed sixteen eligible, fifty-six discharged, five already enlisted, and three unaccounted A second call for eighty-five men netted thirty-one eligible.3

The U.S. provost marshal, Gen. E. H. Crowder, facing similar problems nationwide, believed that the ten million men needed to fight the war could only be obtained through a draft system since "The volunteer system for raising an army is gone It will never return The principle of selection has been tried and proved by our people."4 Yet, obviously, a better means was needed to determine eligibility, so he repealed existing regulations and instituted a new system of classification.

The draft boards of Grand and San Juan started by mailing questionnaires to registrants concerning former occupations, physical fitness, official positions, religious responsibilities, citizenship, dependents, and attitude toward the war Based on the responses, the government placed the potential inductee in one of five categories. Class 1 included single and a few married men whose enlistment would not disrupt adequate support of their dependents or stifle agricultural and industrial pursuits. Class 2 consisted of those who could join the service without disrupting the support of any dependents and who worked in agriculture but did not hold a key position Class 3 comprised those supporting dependents and who held a prominent agricultural position but were not married. Class 4 were men taken as a last resort, without regard to dependents or position. Class 5 were those absolutely exempt. A year after this law went into effect, Grand County had either registered or had serving almost 300 men. 5

Although the draft cast the largest net of procurement, many volunteered, especially as the spirit of national service took hold in the communities. Omni Porter, foreman at the Grayson [Blanding] Cooperative Company's sawmill, could attest to that. His entire crew of five men attended a farewell dance for some enlistees. Early the next morning they also set off to enlist, leaving their foreman with 150,000 feet of logs waiting to be cut. Porter complained that he had

SoutheasternUtah's Response to WorldWar I7

lost his engineer, his ratchet setter, two off bearers, and the planingmachine man His proposed solution: hire women. 6 Two other boys from Blanding wanting to enlist caught a ride to Thompson to board the train but were captured by their girlfriends and, as the story goes, were married on their way home. They never made it to the war. 7

W. W. Barrett was the first of many to leave San Juan County to serve his country. Although his name was not at the top of the draft list, he volunteered to be the first to go Many others followed his example One man sold his plumbing outfit and car to enlist The army welcomed his knowledge of mechanics and gasoline machinery, making it improbable he would ever enter combat. Riley Hurst, a young boy during the war, told of his seventeen-year-old brother who wanted

William Riley Hurst and his sisters Nedra, Dora, and Gwen, 1918. His officer's uniform, ordered from Montgomery Ward, made other Blanding boys envious and gave the girls a crush on him. Some returning soldiers saluted him, thinking from a distance that he was an officer. He hated to outgrow it. Courtesy of authors.

to sign up with the others so badly that he was willing to lie about his age His father, reluctant to let him enlist, said if he told his true age he could go The army accepted him Eventually fifty-four men from Blanding wouldjoin the service; only three would not return.8

6 S/B, August 10, 1917, p 1

7 Riley Hurst Interview with Robert S McPherson, April 2, 1992, in Blanding, MS in possession of author

8 SJB, September 7, 1917, p 1; SJB, February 22, 1918, p 1; Albert R Lyman, History of Blanding, 1905-1955 (Blanding, Ut.: Author, 1955), p 1; Hurst Interview

Those not fortunate enough to don a uniform found other ways of promoting the cause. Donations to Soldier's Welfare, war stamps, liberty loans, the Red Cross, and food rationing provided important symbolic as well as real means for every individual and community to express support for the war Newspapers equated financial assistance to military service, pointing out that "Somewhere in France today, your boy is fighting to save the world from tyranny . . . they are giving their lives freely for you [so] you should therefore lend your money just as freely. ... Be ready to go the limit."9

Federal, state, and local governments established quotas and expected them to be filled A good example of this trickle-down approach is seen in the federal government's attempt to raise $10 million for Soldier's Welfare Work. Of this amount, Utah had to raise $100,000 and SanJuan County $190. The Council of Defense for San Juan, a local organization tasked to coordinate a variety of war-related activities, decided to raise the sum by splitting the amount as follows: Bluff $30, Blanding $70, Monticello $70, and La Sal $20. To create a fund of $20 for contingent expenses, the Council added an additional $5 to each community's assessment.10

The people of San Juan were more than willing to support this and other programs. In predominantly Mormon communities the church became intimately linked with the process. On one occasion LDS leaders devoted a Sunday afternoon meeting to the purchase of Liberty Bonds, as patriotic speeches centered on the importance of their sale. Monday morning found ready buyers. By Tuesday night, $37,000 worth of bonds had exchanged hands, while several outlying districts still had not reported. Newspapers listed the amounts individuals pledged, with highs ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 and a low of $50. Within a week's time, San Juan County had reached its goal of $50,000 with the help of "231 patriotic citizens." Six months later San Juan again went "over the top," the headline using trench warfare terminology, as the county met its $30,000 assessment.11

Grand County's spirited sales pushed it to the top of counties in the state for per capita war savings and thrift stamp sales. Unfortunately, it sank to fifth position when other counties such as Piute and Carbon edged it out; SanJuan had advanced from the twenty-seventh

9 S/£,June20, 1918, p 1

10 SJB, November 6, 1917, p 1

11 SJB, October 26, 1917, p. 1; SJB, November 2, 1917, p. 1; The Independent [hereafter cited as 771, April 18,1918, p 8

SoutheasternUtah's Response to WorldWar I9

to the twenty-first position among the twenty-nine counties. Later, Grand again assumed the lead, working hard all the while to maintain its edge on patriotism.12

Many of these monetary accomplishments required great sacrifice in a region where poverty abounded. Alice Black provides a good example of the price of patriotism. She had been saving money for a year or more to visit some friends The anticipated cost of the trip was $50, which she had saved penny by penny When Alice attended the previously mentioned Sunday meeting, the ringing patriotic speeches convinced her to abandon the trip and buy a Liberty Bond instead. Expressing no disappointment or regret, she was proud of her purchase and more than ever supported the war effort.13

Parents encouraged children to save their change and invest in Liberty Bonds. National estimates claimed that if 20 million children in the United States each saved a quarter a week to buy a thrift stamp, then $260 million would be earned to help feed, clothe, and arm the men in the trenches.14

Community groups used different approaches to make this a reality. The Independent offered a free thrift stamp for every new subscription brought in The paper reasoned that this would give the young people business experience as well as help them do their bit for Uncle Sam Students in Monticello earned sufficient money to pay for $300 worth of Liberty Bonds. The school board paid the boys to chop and haul wood while the girls sewed and knitted.15

Youths also raised agricultural products for the war. When it became apparent that the United States would have to double its food production in order to meet demands, the secretary of agriculture sent out the distress cry—"S.O.S."—which he translated as "Soldiers of the Soil." He challenged boys and girls to raise more crops, thus "rendering as great a service to their country as the soldiers in uniform." Southeastern Utah established its soldiers of the soil program; in Moab and surrounding areas twenty-four boys enlisted in the "greater crops" campaign to raise beans and corn. The parents' class of the LDS Sunday School organized a contest with prizes for the aspiring farm hands. In San Juan, the "M. I. A. [youth group]

12 77, May 2, 1918, p 1; TI, August 1, 1918, p 1; GVT, September 20, 1918 p 1

13 SJB, November 2, 1917, p 6

14 Karl Lyman Interview with Carolyn Black, March 19, 1992, p 1, San Juan County Historical Commission; SJB, February 1, 1918, p 5

15 TI, June 13, 1918, p 4; SJB, December 21, 1917, p 1

[was] to Help Win the War" by pledging its financial support and "work, work, work ."16

The metaphorical joining of soldiers with agriculture did not occur by chance As many young men volunteered or were drafted, a labor shortage arose in the fields San Juan County commissioner George A. Adams talked to Gov. Simon Bamberger and federal officials about keeping the young men, soon to be drawn into the service, at home on the farm. Adams believed that "a soldier in the agricultural field—a soldier of the commissary, as President Wilson calls him—is at present of as much service to his country as a soldier on the battlefield." He hoped to arrange for those who volunteered to count towards filling the quota of soldiers, reducing the number of men drawn from the county.17

The shortage did not turn out to be as serious as initially expected. Relief came from a number of areas such as the machinery brought in to help; imported Mexican laborers; a working reserve

GVT, May 18, 1917, p 1; SJB, January 18, 1918, p 1

SJB, August 18, 1917, p 1

Cavalryman Fred Keller, left, courtesy ofErma Perkins Keller; and Ray Harvey of Blanding, right, courtesy ofBritta Bradford. Both photographs in the SanJuan Historical Commission Collection, Blanding.

SoutheasternUtah's Response to WorldWar I11

comprised of hundreds of boys representing every county in the state; and men, skilled in farm work, who volunteered to help.18

The government also did what it could to encourage farmers. Homesteaders who left for the service had their time in uniform counted as part of the required residence on the land In 1917 the government asked those who remained on the farm to increase their production of wheat by 12 percent, translating in San Juan County into an additional ten thousand planted acres. This was facilitated by plowing new land or old pastures and by exchanging labor and machinery. By 1918 wheat was so desperately needed that the federal government asked Utah to produce one million bushels more than the five-and-a-half million produced in 1917.19 San Juan dry farmers rose to the call, enjoyed the government-regulated price of two dollars a bushel, and did their best to support the established goals, never thinking much about the long-term effects these programs would have on the soil. That debt would be paid later, in the 1930s, with the establishment of the Soil Conservation Service.

The other side of the food production program called for decreased consumption. The government instituted regulations to insure sufficient food for the soldiers In 1918 the people of southeastern Utah, living in an area of significant agricultural production, followed the same rationing cycle established throughout the nation. Mondays and Wednesdays were wheatless with an additional wheatless meal every day throughout the week. Tuesdays were beefless and porkless. Customers could purchase white flour only if the same amount of substitutes, such as bran, corn meal, and barley flour were also obtained One "war bread" recipe called for 33 percent potatoes Hoarding of any foodstuffs was labeled not only unpatriotic but also "direct assistance to the enemy."20 Thus, everyone was encouraged to buy less, serve less, and waste less.

One of the greatest bulwarks against waste and inaction came through the response of women to the war.Although they did not leave home to fight, their contributions to the war effort stood shoulder to shoulder with those of the men Many positions usually occupied by males were now thrown open for women One widow in Blanding, whose son was in the army, decided to learn to drive four horses on a

18 77,June 27, 1918, p 4

19 SJB, September 4, 1917, p. 1; SJB, September 21, 1917, p. 1; SJB, February 22, 1918, p. 1.

20

172,

George Arthur Hurst, 'Journal," p

Utah State Historical Society Library; SJB, February 1, 1918, p 1; SJB, March 22, 1918, p 4; SJB, February 8, 1918, p 5

sulky plow. The newspaper reported, "There may be stumps and stones, as is often the case in new land, but this American mother is as game for all the bumps and possible tip-overs, as she would ask her sons to be when they meet the enemy."21 Many other women helped keep their family farms afloat as male labor became scarce.

Governor Bamberger visited SanJuan County several times during the war, and on one occasion voiced his appreciation for women's contributions to the war effort. Red Cross work in Utah was an honor to all, he said, and the state was second to none in reaching its quota of men for the army and navy. Bamberger believed that mothers should feel proud and honored for the opportunity to furnish their government with that most dear to them, their sons. 22

Like their male counterparts, women also readily enlisted for local war service. Each female registrant received a card with different activities from which to choose. In Blanding seventy married and single women appeared at the registrar's door, filled out the fifty available registration cards, and indicated their willingness to sew, knit, and do work that would not take them from home Thirteen of the seventy offered to join the Red Cross nurse program, requiring them to be ready to leave on twenty-four-hour notice.23

Local newspapers ran advertisements for women's work on the Wasatch Front—stenographers, typists, telegraph operators, laboratory assistants, inspectors of small arms ammunition, statistical clerks, and a variety of other positions—opened to lure them into thejob market.24

How many women responded to these opportunities is difficult to determine, but in southeastern Utah nursing became a wellrespected wartime occupation that removed women from their homes. Grand County furnished one student nurse for the Red Cross, with several more willing to serve. Eventually, others joined their ranks. Their course of training covered a three-month period after which they were assigned to war hospitals to provide "the best that the womanhood of America can offer in courage, devotion, and resourcefulness."25

21 SJB, March 8, 1918, p 1; SJB, March 22, 1918, p 1

22 SJB, October 19, 1917, p 1

23 Catherine Moore Interview with Jessie Embry, April 23, 1979, p. 13, Southeastern Utah Oral History Project, Charles Redd Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; SJB, November 9, 1917, p 1; SJB, November 16, 1917, p 1

24 TI, May 9, 1918, p 7

25 TI, August 1, 1918, p 1; TI, August 8, 1918, p 1

However, not all of women's traditional qualities were desirable. Using the stereotype of a gossip, local newspapers listed ten "patriotic don'ts" for females. The article started with "Until the world is stricken dumb, women will talk," then went on to place as a top priority "Do not chatter. Keep to yourself the news you hear, your own impressions, and your apprehensions."26 The column then warned that women should not listen to alarmists or complain about hardships but instead be moderate in their spending, encourage the departure of soldiers to the front, and radiate confidence. The fervor shown by women in accepting these various roles was summarized by a bit of doggerel appearing in the San JuanBlade a week before Christmas 1917. The unknown author wrote:

The old hen merrily cackled her lay Asshe flew from her nest in the new-mown hay. And she sang the chorus from day to day— "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!

I'm working for the U.S.A. Hurrah for the U.S.A.!"

She roamed through the meadows with willing feet And caught bugs and grasshoppers,juicy and sweet And she sang as she worked: "Our soldiers must eat Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!

I'm glad to work for the U.S.A Hurrah for the U.S.A.!"27

In the spirit of the old hen, each community formed its own Red Cross chapter through which to funnel goods and services to soldiers. For instance, Grand County received a request for 305 pairs of socks and 51 sweaters to be delivered in two months Sizes were given and only the best was expected At Christmas the Red Cross workers, in cooperation with the LDS Primary organization, shipped 100 homemade fabric articles to soldiers at the front.28

The Red Cross also held auctions in every community in southeastern Utah. Citizens of Bluff raised $95 for their local chapter, a substantial payment considering the small population and its involvement in other fund-raising activities In Monticello one such auction epitomized the wartime fervor Everything from quilts to hair tonic and watches to chickens brought in cash. Several items were purchased then donated and resold two and three times. But no one surpassed

six-year-old Pearl Mortensen when she removed her beaded bracelet from her arm and said, "Sell this for the Red Cross."29 Other children gave rings and nickels, fetching five dollars and one dollar respectively Total sales for the evening brought in $235

Grand County stamped its own brand on money raising. Local cattlemen donated heifer calves to be labeled with the mark of humanity—ARC—American Red Cross. Two or three calves from each rancher accumulated into a herd of sixty animals that were shipped to the National Western Stock Show in Denver There the Red Cross entered the cows in a competition with the prize money and sales credited to the appropriate county chapter. The people in Grand County counted their war chest as $2,500 richer.30

Underlying all of these physical sacrifices was an unrelenting conviction that defeat of the Germans was a righteous,justified undertaking. Bydemeaning the enemy and painting their actions as despicable, the United States prepared itself psychologically to destroy its enemies with a clear conscience Southeastern Utah arose from its generally peaceful pose and started a vitriolic campaign that mirrored national sentiments. Fueled by reports from the front lines that Americans had found Belgian girls and women chained to German machine guns, that torture and other forms of cruelty were the order of the day, and that submarines were sinking cargo vessels on the open seas, antiGerman sentiment skyrocketed.31 One article from Philadelphia, reprinted in local papers, took well-known phrases and added some "German" twists such as "Blessed are the child-murderers, for they shall inherit the earth"; "Be sure you are right handy with firearms, then go ahead"; "Dishonesty is the best policy"; "Hell on earth and hatred for all men"; and "Do unto others as you suspect they might do unto you if they ever get to be as disreputable as you are."32

The religious tinge to many of these quotations was not by chance The LDS church and its membership took a very strong position against German aggression by placing the war in an eternal perspective. One church speaker came to Blanding from the Agricultural College of Utah (present Utah State University) and insisted that the United States Constitution was an inspired document, that the "government [was] destined to complete victory," and that "Mor-

29 77,April 18, 1918, p 3; 77,June 6, 1918, p 1

30 TI, August 8, 1918, p 1

31 GVT, September 6, 1918, p 1

32 GV7;june21, 1918, p. 5.

monism stands right squarely and without reserve for the right in this war." The speaker's "words met the perfect response of silence, not free from tears, for the nineteen soldier boys from Blanding who have aroused a keen sympathy in the hearts of all who know them."33

Three weeks later the SanJuanBlade reprinted a speech given by Secretary of Commerce William C. Redfield in which he claimed, "The things we saw and see are but the outward and visible signs of an inward and dominant evil. . . . [fostered by] the presence of the malign power that gave them birth."34 Redfield rooted himself firmly in the New Testament's Paulinian duality, where the forces of good and evil wage a continual war for domination of the earth Hearkening back to Puritan New England, he warned, "We fight not the people called the Germans, not even the political entities known as the central powers, so much as evil enthroned among them using them for its purposes, possessing them as devils are said to have done mankind of old."

SJB, December 21, 1917, p 1

6yiJ, January 4, 1918, p. 1.

Army Air Corps planes over San Antonio, Texas, in training for World War I combat. Lt.J.J. Williams, son of Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Williams of Moab, is flying one of them. Mitch Williams Collection, Dan O 'Laurie Museum, Moab.

One wondersjust how accepted a tongue-in-cheek letter, purportedly written by Kaiser Wilhelm II to Lucifer, was by the residents of southeastern Utah. In it the kaiser complained that Satan had compared him to Nero, the Roman emperor, and that really the German was far worse and should not be slighted. After all, Nero could not bomb schools to kill children, drop poisoned candy to them, or sink ships transporting women and babies At the end of a fairly lengthy admission of sins, the kaiser made Lucifer this offer: "Let us have a dual throne. With your experience coupled with my nature, we should be able to make a hell that would surpass all previous efforts."35

Some writers used poetry to express their sentiments about the kaiser Albert R Lyman, a local historian and editor of the Blade, penned a few lines entitled "The Kaiser's Goat" that captured the down-home spirit against the Germans as personified by their leader.

Bill had a little submarine

Built byVon Peter Krupp, And everywhere his playmates sailed He tried to blow them up

They begged that he would cut it out And though he said he would, He got some more torpedoes And torpedoed all he could

These playmates met one afternoon

To talk about Bill's boat, And climbing boldly o'er the fence, They got his little goat.

They hung it byits little neck, And there it's hanging still, And on the fence iswritten "The goat of Kaiser Bill."36

On the positive side, the LDS church armed its citizenry with a very clear picture of the enemy and what should be done about him Although its young men serving on missions were draft exempt, one soldier from Blanding wrote home saying there were about 2,000 Mormons attending church with him at Camp Lewis, Washington.37 Recruiters appealed to Mormon values. Utah's 145th Field Artillery ran an article in the San JuanBlade asking, "Why not go with your own brothers, cousins, and relatives? Why not lend your strength and

35 SJB, March 8, 1918, p 1

36 SJB, September 4, 1917, p 1

37 SJB, August 10, 1917, p 1; SJB, December 14, 1917, p 1

SoutheasternUtah's Response to WorldWar I17

talent by the side of your brother Utahn, that autocracy may be forever drowned?" After all, "highly trained, efficient, and lovable" officers led the "flower of Utah among the enlisted men."38 The real, however, could be very different from the ideal.

The opposite faction from those serving their country included "slackers and spies." While very little evidence exists concerning the activities of either of these groups, the papers cried for vigilance against both. When Grand County announced its fourth Liberty Loan campaign, it also specified that every property owner in the county would invest in government securities, stated the amount and rate at which this would be done, and generated a list of people and incomes within the county to insure that it was People were told that after the war, when all the accounts were in, there would be only two groups to which everyone would belong—those who did and those who did not do their duty.

To insure that those who did not were properly recorded, the committee supervising the collection of money had twenty "slacker" cards to be sent into the Treasury Department with the name of the recalcitrants. TheIndependent reported problems in Davis County with slackers who were not paying their share towards the "people's war." Records checks and retribution would follow.39 In San Juan, Sheriff Frank Barnes hunted down Ernest Spencer at his trading post twenty-five miles south of Bluff because he had reportedly failed to register for the draft. The trader claimed he had taken care of that business in Mancos, Colorado, and that he was innocent. The newspapers did not report the final outcome of this incident, but Lyman recorded in his history at the time that "There is not a yellow streak nor a slacker in the entire county Its Council of Defense is as firm for democracy as the old Blue Mountains itself."40 Spencer was probably innocent.

The animosity against those who did not participate in the war effort became intense, as neighbor watched neighbor to insure each was doing hisjob. The more dramatic the displays of patriotism became, the better it was to avoid the slightest hint of being a laggard

The following verse, though not the best example of controlled rhyme, illustrates the fever pitch felt by some against slackers.

38 SJB, March 22, 1918, p 1

39 GVT, September 20, 1918, p 1; 77,June 13, 1918, p 4

40 SJB, October 11, 1917, p 1;Albert R Lyman, "History of San Juan County, 1879-1917," MS, p 116, Special Collections, Harold B Lee Library, Brigham Young University

Ifyou can hold your tongue when German backers Are loosing theirs and damning Uncle Sam; Ifyou can keep from cussing out the slackers And flaying smug hypocrisy and sham; Ifyou can wait and not be tired of waiting, While reptile papers keep us on the rack; Ifyou can stand the pacifistic prating, And never have ayearning to strike back-

Ifyou can seeyour country's cities plastered With sycophantic warnings against war; Ifyou can watch ayellow-livered dastard Refusing to confront things as they are; Ifyou can see a swarm of crawling lizards, Squirming through the marriage license doorMen with atom souls and smaller gizzards, Disgracing those who honored names they bore-

Ifyou can hear an orator denouncing The liberty for which our nation bled; Ifyou can let him gowithout a trouncing Or punching in the bally traitor's head; Ifyou can smile when lying propaganda Seduces men who ought to know the truth; Ifyou can tolerate their rotten slander And bear itwith an idle fist, forsooth-

Ifyou can sneer at men who wear the khaki, Orjeer at those who wear the navy blue; Ifyou can whisper like a skulking lackey, About the men who have the nerve to do; Ifvanquishment of brutal foes appalls you, Ifyou can't prove your right to be a manYou may be everything your mother calls you, But believe me, you are not American.41

Spies, on the other hand, were not as easy to detect or as easily proven guilty. Today, the thought of spies ranging through the isolated countryside of southeastern Utah is ludicrous, but during the war years it was serious business. Indeed, the reasoning followed that because it was such an unlikely place that it was ideal for the enemy to observe the war movements within the country People considered it better to "apprehend a dozen men who later prove themselves to be beyond reproach, than to allow a single guilty person to get away."42

Official sources outside of the counties gave credence to the re41 E.C Ranuck, "Straight Talk," SJB, September 7, 1917, p 1 42 GV7; October 19, 1917, p 4

SoutheasternUtah's Response to WorldWar I19

ality of spies Sheriff Barnes, for instance, received a letter from the governor's office saying that a widespread conspiracy existed, targeting the destruction of livestock, grain, and food storage facilities. The message encouraged Barnes to take immediate steps to protect these things. He told all cattlemen to arm themselves when they rode the range and to bring in anyone looking suspicious. A week and a half later the Council of Defense organized a company of fifty men armed with high-powered rifles and appointed four men to furnish a "military map" of San Juan County. To enhance self-defense the sheriff inaugurated a rifle and revolver club to improve marksmanship.43

Approximately two months later Mormon Apostle James E. Talmage was quoted from the pulpit as saying, "There is no place in this church for traitors, whether they be native or foreign born"; they must be "dealt with." The war, he believed, was "a necessary preliminary to the coming of Christ."44 On the same page an article warned, "everyone should look out for spies." People were advised to write letters that contained no military information, to "look with suspicion on strangers," and to "ferret out the spies who walk abroad throughout the land .. . [in order to] run the enemy aliens to earth and nip their treacherous, murderous and destructive activities in the bud." Not surprisingly, the local government ordered all female German aliens in southeastern Utah to register onJune 17, 1918.45

With a theoretical German hiding behind every rock and sagebrush, it was not long before reports of them started to surface. "Enemy planes" flew over La Sal until, eventually, the government identified them as American aircraft flying out of the aerial school at Columbus, New Mexico. Young Riley Hurst, who suffered with nightmares generated by terrifying propaganda, recalled riding with a friend from Monticello one evening and looking at a star Soon the star was "moving," and by the time he got to Blanding, it was a German plane spraying the wheat crops with poison. His friend's dad confirmed the observation, rooted in a common belief of the wheat farmers in the area. 46

Perhaps the most insidious German "plot" was the smallpox epidemic that erupted in the winter of 1918. The first person to contract

43 SJB, November 16, 1917, pp 1, 5

44 SJB, February 1, 1918, p 1

45 77,June 13, 1918, p 4

46 GVT, July 27, 1917, p 1; GVT, August 17, 1917, p 1; Hurst Interview

the disease, David Black,Jr., stated unequivocally that he had gotten it from a person on the Navajo Reservation. Six or eight other cases appeared, causing Blanding to go into quarantine Rumors as to its origin spread, crediting the Germans with infecting the mail. When the state sent vaccine to treat the disease, rumors again spread that the enemy had contaminated the serum. Wiser heads prevailed, insisting that the only way to prevent a full-scale epidemic was for people to avail themselves of proper medical treatment.47

The experience of the men who left southeastern Utah to serve in the armed forces varied with each individual and circumstance Yet a general pattern flowed through what many of them encountered or at least what was reported in the newspapers. The first in a series of events—the sendoff—was one of the most indelible. The initial step was a banquet and dance hosted by the soldier's town. Patriotic decorations, a live band, and a number of tables placed in a prominent position for those departing and their families all accentuated the importance of national service A respected individual, after the meal, gave a rousing speech, followed by the new enlistees sharing their thoughts. In some instances citizens circulated a purse to defray expense of travel to the recruiting stations in Green River, Price, or Salt Lake City. Finally, the dance went well into the night.48

The following day, townspeople escorted the men by car (relatively new to this area) on a long journey over bumpy dirt roads that wound through the hills and over the slickrock One group added cars as they traveled so that by the time they departed Moab, forty vehicles lined the way. 49 Most enlistees entrained in Thompson for Salt Lake City. After an initial introduction to the military they went to their branch specialty school where they learned a trade in artillery, infantry, or some other skill. Training sites included Fort Riley, Kansas; Camp Kearney, California; Camp Lewis, Washington; and Camp Mills, Long Island

Life at these facilities was rigorous but surprisingly pleasant for the Utahns. One artilleryman enthusiastically described his impression of Camp Kearney near San Diego. Where six months before only brush had existed, there now were miles of paved streets, sewage and water systems, electric lights, many "modern conveniences," and "cantonments and tents almost as far as the eye can

47 SJB, January 18, 1918, p. 1; SJB, January 25, 1918, p. 1; SJB, February 8, 1918, pp. 1, 4.

48 SJB, November 9, 1917, p 1; SJB, August 10, 1917, p 1

49 SJB, September 21, 1917, p 1; GVT, September 21, 1917, p 1

SoutheasternUtah's Response to WorldWar I21

see."50 Conditions in camp were more advanced than in his hometown of Blanding, where electricity, water, and sewage disposal systems were nascent and paved roads nonexistent. No wonder the soldier penned, "We have plenty to eat and to wear, and worked but a small portion of the time. . . . We soldiers have an easier time of it than the ones left behind." Other men offered similar sentiments: "This is the life for me"; "We have good eats and good beds The cars are the best they have in the East. .. . I am having the time of my life"; and ". . . we are enjoying good health and everything else that falls to the lot of the soldier. . . . good quarters, good food, good clothing, and best of all, we are in with a good lot of men."51 This last point is instructive since most of the recruits from southeastern Utah came from a homogeneous background Though not all were Mormons, a large enough percentage from Utah were so that they could congregate in fairly significant numbers on Sundays. One man wrote, "We have one of the best batteries [artillery units] in camp. It is made up of men from Utah and Montana, the majority of us are Mormons and there are a few returned missionaries among us and they are doing a splendid church work here We always hold Mutual meetings once a week."52

SJB, November 2, 1917, p 6

GVT, September 20, 1918, p 1; SJB, December 7, 1917, p 1; SJB, February 15, 1918, p 1

SJB, February 15, 1918, p 1

Life at Camp Lewis near Tacoma, Washington, where some of the recruitsfrom Utah trained. Man standing isJesse Larsen ofFerron, brother ofMrs. J. W. Williams ofMoab, Mrs. J. W. Williams Collection, Dan O'LaurieMuseum, Moab.

Aside from the religious aspect, many of the men called upon skills acquired from their rural lifestyle at home. Letters attest to the benefit of obtaining proficiency in marksmanship, packing horses and mules, mechanical ingenuity, and living out of doors.53 One thing that many held in common was a desire to ship out to France. The men's letters frequently mention that if they missed the fighting it would be the "disappointment of [their] life." One soldier wrote that inasmuch as "the United States is fighting for the democracy of the world ... I want to do my part."54 Another said that when an officer canvassed his company for volunteers to go to France "the entire company stepped forward at once and the question as to who should go, had to be settled another way."55

Once the soldiers arrived in Europe their likelihood of survival was fairly good. Ratios based on statistics from the allied armies showed a 29:1 chance of being killed; 49:1 chance of recovering

SJB, August 17, 1917, p 5; SJB, February 22, 1918, p 1

S/fi, November 2, 1917, p 6

SJB, March 22, 1918, p 1

Funeral march down 400 East, Moab, to the Grand Valley Cemeteryfor the burial ofJames Foy, the town'sfirst casualty in World War I. He died ofpneumonia at a training camp in the East. Essie White Collection, Dan O'Laurie Museum, Moab.

Southeastern Utah's Response to World War I23

from wounds; 500:1 chance of losing a limb; and that for every ten men killed by bullets another would die from disease.56 The previously quoted figures from Blanding of fifty-four men serving, three of whom died, seem to support these statistics

On November 11, 1918, the Germans signed an armistice ending the war. News of the surrender tore through the towns of southeastern Utah like unexpected lightning in the crisp fall air. Rapid demobilization allowed many of the men in the service to be home within three months. The towns held official welcome-back-andthank-you-for-serving celebrations that rivaled the occasions of their departure Festivities in Monticello started at 3 p.m and lasted into the early morning hours The obligatory banquet, speeches and responses, and dance added a new wrinkle when the returning soldiers and a lieutenant staged a drill exhibition during intermission.57 Following the conclusion of this display of patriotic fervor, the uniforms were hung in the closet or consigned to mothballs, to be resurrected for annual Fourth of July or Pioneer Day celebrations in the future. The war was finally over for southeastern Utah

In summarizing the attitudes and actions of the people of Grand and San Juan counties toward World War I, it is easy to relegate them to a naive, quaint period of American history, when the idealism of the Progressive movement, the emphasis on patriotic history, and an our-nation-right-or-wrong attitude blinded people to the stark realities of financing and waging a war part way around the world Certainly not everyone bought into the plan Yet enough people subscribed to these beliefs to establish a pattern of fervent love of country and its causes. When Studs Terkel referred to the activities of World War II as fighting "the good war," he just as easily could have turned the clock back twenty-three years and applied his phrase to World War I. Along with the tremendous death, destruction, and hatred, there surfaced strong feelings of love, devotion, patriotism, and sacrifice not found to the same degree in most of the wars the U.S has fought recently Southeastern Utah, like much of the nation, rose to the occasion and offered its services unstintingly, reflecting involvement, not isolation and disillusionment. That would come later, with time.

56 77,August 1, 1918, p 1

57 SJB, February 26, 1919, p 1

Kanarraville Fights World War I

BY KERRY WILLIAM BATE

KANARRAVILLE, ABOUT TWENTY MILES SOUTH OF Cedar City in Iron County, boasted a population of around three hundred in 1918 The town's reactions to—and participation in—World War I are available in diaries, contemporary newspaper accounts, church records, and oral history interviews conducted in the 1980s. Because of these rich sources we know that town members, though torn between patriotism and isolationism, grumblingly did what they saw as their duty but questioned the basic premises of "The Great War." Kanarraville's experiences may speak to the general reactions to the war in rural Utah

AthleticJesse Roundy, left, one of thefirst Kanarraville men drafted, was sent to a lumber camp. Photographs are courtesy of the author unless credited otherwise.

Mr Bate is housing programs manager for the Division of Community Development, Utah Department of Community and Economic Development. This paper was presented at the July 1993 Annual Meeting of the Utah State Historical Society

Kanarraville Fights WorldWar I25

A January 3, 1915,l letter from Maryanne Campbell Wilson, a Belfast, Ireland, cousin of Kanarraville's midwife Young Elizabeth Stapley, anticipated a question:

I'm sure you are anxious to hear how we get along these war times Well, we have much to be thankful for. We have food to eat (tho much dearer than usual) and at any rate we only eat to live, but some people live to eat. It will be harder on them than us. .. .Ireland is not so badly off as England or Scotland She has peace as far as the war is concerned, save for the men she has sent to the front The Government thinks she should send more men, and so do we all. So that this dreadful war might be brought to an end. Yes there has been talk about peace, but I am afraid itwill not come yet.

Maryanne added, "People are afraid to cross the ocean Now so many ships have been sunk by the cruel Germans, who seem to have no pity for women or children." She wrote again in mid1916 saying, "We are praying that God may bring an end to the war. He could stop it on a moment if it was His Will Peace is beautiful. God grant we may have it soon again." And she added, "Did you hear of the Rebellion in Ireland at Easter. . . ?"2

Despite this sort of subtle proselytizing for the war, most Utahns were far from enthusiastic. Woodrow Wilson, campaigning in 1916 that he had kept the United States out of war, received such a landslide in this state that he helped elect Utah's first Jewish governor, Simon Bamberger, despite a Republican-sponsored antiSemitic parody of the Utah State Anthem published in the Iron County Record: "Democracy's latest star/ Jew-tah, we love thee./ Thy Lucre shines afar,/Jew-tah, we love thee."

But even before Wilson's second inaugural the public realized

Midwife Young Elizabeth Steele Stapley at her spinning wheel. Lettersfrom her Irish cousin provided Stapley with a European perspective on the war.

1 Misdated 1914; typescript in my possession.

2 Probably lateJune 1916; typescript in my possession

that American involvement in the war was almost inevitable because of the continued sinking of neutral ships Maryanne Wilson had complained of in 1915. On January 31, 1917, Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare, and three days later the United States severed diplomatic relations. Calling it an "irony of fate" after the recent election, the IronCountyRecord editorialized on February 9, 1917, that war would "be somewhat of a disappointment to those fond but hysterical wives and mothers who cast their votes for Wilson for the sole reason that he had 'kept us out of war.'"

On April 6 the county newspaper's predictions were realized as war was declared, followed by proclamations from the governor of Utah and the president of the Utah Agricultural College calling upon the people to organize and cooperate in increasing productivity for the war effort.3 Iron County school superintendent L. John Nuttall lectured to "a good sized audience" in Kanarraville "on the subject of war and the need of more and better cultivation of our farms."4

The midwife's Irish cousin was predictably happy: "I see America has Joined 'The Allies.' What have you to say to that? We are all pleased to have America help us to stay the Giant Never was such a war, and never was such a wicked Leader. The Kaisers name will go down to posterity with a black Mark against it Like the Bible Kings . .. he feared not God nor man."5 Mormon missionaries wrote the midwife's Australian nephew that "Our people in America are now greatly excited over the war and are making rapid preparations to assist the Allies The world is in a dreadful condition ."6

The jingoistic Record was as enthusiastic as European cousins, endorsing the recently passed Conscription Act on May 4, 1917. But a note of caution was sounded by the Kanarraville correspondent to the IronCounty Record on June 1, 1917: "Registration Day June 5th seems to worry some of the young men," commented the reporter, "also some of the women don't feel any too well about it They feel that if the men could do their scrapping on their own land it wouldn't be so bad."

But with typical obedience Kanarraville people turned registra-

"June

3 Iron County Record, April 20, 1917, p. 1, carried Governor Bamberger's April 11, 1917, "Proclamation" as well as a statement by E G Peterson, president of the Utah Agricultural College

4 Iron County Record, April 20, 1917

26, 1917; copy in my possession.

6 Arthur D Taylor and William C Heckmann to Mr D S Todd, Esq., Essington, New South Wales, May 29, 1918; copy in my possession.

tion into a patriotic celebration and registered all 32 men of draft age. 7 When the first conscription list of 202 was drawn for the county's quota of 46 men, only 3 were from Kanarra.8 Even those who escaped were hardly comforted: "Owing to the fact that so many of the men examined last week were found deficient," reported the Record on August 17, "and to the further fact that a heavy percentage filed affidavits of exemption, it was found necessary to call for some 62 additional men to take the examination." Among the first 125 men examined in the first group and "found physically fit and did not claim exemption" were Kanarra'sJesse C. Roundy and Leland C. Stapley. William A. Olds, originally rejected as not meeting the weight guidelines, was found fit when that requirement was adjusted

The Record of August 17, 1917, carried an article about eager Iron County volunteer Gene Woodbury, who was turned down by the army, navy, national guard, and even something called the "aviation corps." "He is all broken up over it and practically discouraged with living," noted the newspaper. 9 Significantly, few from Kanarra were eager to volunteer Of the 16 Kanarraites who eventually served, only Emery Pollock was a volunteer. "Nobody wanted their family [members] to go,"Arvilla Woodbury explained, "but [if] they were drafted in, they had to go. . . . they were afraid they'd git killed."10

The first 6 Kanarra draftees were announced in the Record on August 24, 1917, of which one, Victor L. Sylvester, never served, probably because he had a wife and small child. Four men left Kanarraville on September 19: town athlete Jesse Roundy, good-natured sheepherder Wells Williams, nearly illiterate George E Roundy (he described his race as a "whight" in his War Service Questionnaire11),

registration were Leo S. Balser, Ellis Christensen, Lorenzo Wendell Davis, Wallace Davis, Leon Davis, David E[lmer] Davi[e]s, Wain [sic] Davis, William Andrew [sic, Albert] Olds, Gustave Henry Pingle, William Grant Piatt,John D. Parker, George E Roundy,Jesse C Roundy, Horace M Roundy, Marion A Roundy, William B Stapley, Leland C Stapley, Carlos E Smith, Victor L Sylvester, William Bazel Williams, Kumen D Williams, Wells A Williams, Joseph E Williams, Daniel R Webster, George Berry Williams, Junius F Williams, Lorenzo J Williams,Jewett Wood, Raymond A Williams,John Layron Williams, and Noel B Williams On July 6 the Record added Joseph Victor Ford to this list

8 Iron County Record, July 13, 1917, p 4;July 27, 1917, p 1 The Record of August 17, 1917, says the quota was 48 men

9 Iron County Record, August 17, 1917, p 8; somehow Woodbury finagled himself into Company D 2d Balloon Squadron (see the Record, November 23, 1917, pp 1, 5, for a letter he wrote his father from Omaha).

10 Interview with Harriet Arvilla Ford Woodbury,January 31, 1988, p. 13. This and subsequent interviews cited in this article are in the Utah State Historical Society Library, Salt Lake City

" World War I Service Questionnaires (hereafter WSQ) 1914-1918, series 85298, reel 19 box 9, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City

7 According to the Iron County Record, Kanarra men registered in the first

and mischievous Leland C. Stapley12 ("I'm gonna grease yer head an' swaller ya whole!" Leland used to growl at his little cousin, Leola Stapley Anderson13) "A banquet was given the departing soldier boys the day before their entrainment at Lund," the Kanarraville correspondent reported on September 28, adding, "The old martial band was out in full force and a rousing meeting was held in the afternoon. Fruit and melons were served to all present, followed by a dance. The boys all expressed their appreciation of the honor shown them."

Actually having men in service may have prompted townsfolk to participate in the Second Liberty Loan subscription: only 9 Kanarraites had subscribed $800 to the First Liberty Loan drive despite preaching in church in favor of it.14 But 47 townsfolk subscribed $4,75015 to the second. In addition, the Kanarra District School subscribed $100. Draftee Leland Stapley's sister Lenna remembered that the townsfolk "were patriotic, I've never seen more patriotic people than they were then We bought war bonds, even the school went out, I can remember I was only a fifth grader or something, we went out and gleaned beans, sold em, and bought a war bond."16 The bond was eventually cashed in to buy the school a Victrola.

While the local newspaper was touting "one of the greatest film attractions yet produced"—TheBirthof a Nation—a new list of registrants was published with men in first through fifth classes Leon (pronounced "Lee-own" in Iron County) Davis and his hard-drinking cousin Wallace were the only Kanarraville men in the first class, which, the Record reported, was "arranged in classes according to the

12 Iron County Record,]une 1, 1917, p 5, shows George

Record

July 6, 1917,

came in from the sheep camps to spend the Fourth." Also see Record, September 28, 1917 Leon Davis was listed as one of the six, but for some reason he was not drafted at this time

13 Interviews with Leola Amelia Stapley Anderson, November 21, 1987, and November 24, 1979, p. 36.

14 "Brother S J Foster was here and spoke in the interest of the Liberty Bonds . . ; Brother Frank Wood also spoke in the same cause"; Kanarraville General Minutes, Book D 1914-1922, January 4, 1914, to March 19, 1922, p 86 (atJune 10, 1917, sacrament meeting)

15 Iron County Record, June 8, 1917, p. 5; June 15, 1917, pp. 1, 4, lists hundred-dollar Kanarraville subscribers of the first drive asJohn W Berry, Hyrum C Ford, ReesJ Williams, John H Williams, J W Williams, Joseph S Williams, William A Berry, and fifty-dollar subscribers asJohn W Piatt and William Spendlove Subscribers to the second drive are listed in the Record, November 10, 1917, but are not identified by place of residence Therefore my calculations are based on the names of persons I know lived in Kanarraville at the time, assisted by the fact they are mostly listed together

16 Interview with Rebecca Alenna Stapley Williams, February 1, 1988, pp 14-15

Roundy was herding sheep at the time he was drafted; the

of

says "Leland Stapley and Kumen and Wells Williams

Kanarraville Fights WorldWar I29

order in which they will be drafted."17 ByJanuary 25 the Record was reporting that "Rens Davis goes this week to Hurricane Valley to take the place of one of his boys who will have to take the physical examination for military service. About ten of our boys have been placed in class one, and with four already in the training camps and three on missions, we will feel the scarcity of help." Seven Kanarra men were examined "and found fit for service."18

So on February 1 the town held "an entertainment in honor of the ten boys who successfully passed the examination for the U.S Army. A short program preceded a dinner, which never in the history of Kanarra was a better one given. At night a dance was given. The Parowan orchestra furnishing music."19 Town storekeeper Riley G. Williams furnished all the boys dinner, and two baseball games were organized between "the soldiers" and "the rest of the town." It was not a good omen that the "town" beat the soldiers twice.20

The Third Liberty Loan drive began in earnest in early April 1918, with the Record predicting that "with the stirring events on in Europe, it should not be hard to obtain subscriptions this time."21 "We had in attendance at our afternoon services last Sunday . . .

U.T. Jones and Emily C. Watson in the interest of the third Liberty Loan," the Kanarraville correspondent reported on April 19. Iron County was responsible for coming up with $94,000 of Utah's $10 million allotment. Kanarraville was dunned $5,000 and expected to raise it by April 18. However, only $4,750 had been raised by April 26, according to the Record.22

" Interview with Reba Roundy LeFevre, January 15, 1988, p 29; Iron County Record, January 4, 1918, p. 1; only one person was in second class, seven in the third class, and in the fourth class five with Kanarra associations: #13 William Albert Olds, #66 Joseph Ammon Ingram, #182 Victor L Sylvester, #218 Joseph Victor Ford, and #225 Percy Newton Wilkinson. This list was revised and published in the Record on January 11, 1918, with the following names added to first class:Jos E Williams, Marion A Roundy, Jos. F. Williams, Leo S. Balser, David E. Davis, Jewett Wood, William B. Stapley, Wm. V. Williams, Lorenzo Wendell Davis; third class: Horace M Roundy; fourth class:John Layron Williams, Wm. Melbourn Williams, Wayne Davis, Raymond A. Williams, Junius F. Williams, Lorenzo J. Williams, and Noel B Williams On Birth of a Nation also see "Special with Clansman Group," Iron County Record, January 11, 1918, p. 4.

18 Iron County Record, February 1, 1918, p 1

19 Iron County Record, February 8, 1918, p 1

20 Iron County Record, February 8, 1918, p 1; February 15, 1918, p 3, carries a letter by David Elmer Davies correcting the initial story which saysJames S Berry—not Riley G Williams—gave the soldiers a dinner

21 Iron County Record, April 5, 1918, p. 1.

22 "Thjrci Liberty Loan Drive On," Iron County Record, April 12, 1918, p 1; "Liberty Loan Roll of Honor," April 26, 1918, p 8 Only $3,300 was raised from people who are identified as Kanarraville residents; however, I have identified as Kanarra residents the following individuals whose residence was not listed in the article: J W Berry ($200); W A Berry ($100); George Berry ($900), Claude Balser ($50), and Leo Balser ($50)

James Lorenzo "Rens" Davis returned home from the sheep herd in late February thinking that two of his boys were shortly to be drafted That proved erroneous, and he complained that "he was misled,"23 but not for long A sub-headline in the county newspaper on May 10, 1918, announced, "TWO KANARRA BOYS TO ENTRAIN TODAY'; and the story explained that Iron County's quota "for the present month will be 32. Of this number two, Leon and Wallace Davis of Kanarra, will leave this afternoon for Camp McDowell, California." The newspaper went on to explain that "Oline Parker, of Kanarra, will leave either the 12th or 13th for Boulder, Colorado." (However, Kanarraville seems to have had no Oline Parker, and no such person can be found in published lists of Utah's World War I soldiers.) These draftees were followed on May 26 by handsome William B. Williams, town sprinter Jewett Wood, and sheepherder Kumen ("Que-man") B. Williams. (Kumen's mother was not ready for this and mournfully referred to her soldier-sons as "the two little boys."24) William's shy brother Ervin soon joined these men, but not all of them stayed to serve Athletic Jewett Wood came home on June 5, allegedly discharged for defective teeth, but townsfolk suspected it was for a certain mental vacancy (when a 35-mileper-hour speed limit was posted in town, he commented solemnly that "I couldn't make that dorn thing git up to 35!"25). Perhaps their conviction that Jewett was not quite bright was reinforced by the county newspaper report that he "has nothing but good words for the camp and the military training he has been receiving."26

Still, the manpower shortage continued and the federal government served notice that men without useful occupations would be drafted. These included not only gamblers, fortune tellers, race track and bucket shop attendants, but waiters, bartenders, passenger elevator operators, domestics, store clerks, theater attendants, and ushers.27

Recently returned missionary William B. Stapley followed his brother Leland into the service, reporting to the local board on June

2S Iron County Record, March 1, 1918, p 4

24 Interview with Harriet Arvilla Ford Woodbury, January 31, 1988, p 15; "Recruits Will Leave May 26th," Iron County Record, May 17, 1918, p 1

25 Iron County Record, May 24, 1918, p 4; Anderson interview, pp 43-45; Woodbury interview, pp 11-12

26 Iron County Record,]une 14, 1918, p. 4.

27 "Men Without Useful Occupations to be Drafted into Army," Iron County Record, May 24, 1918, p 1; "Registrants Must Work or Fight,"June 21, 1918, p 1

14 "That upset my dad, my mother," recalled William's sister, Lenna Stapley Williams. "It was hard to get communication at that time, World War I. Telephone, newspaper. We didn't have TVs or radio then. I know it was a big worry."28 But there were some payoffs: William B. used his first army paycheck to buy the elegant Sophia Parker an engagement ring.29 William was followed two weeks later by Lorenzo Wendell "Wennie" Davis, the snare drum player in the Martial Band, who had been out herding sheep in Panguitch; Wennie was sent to Camp Lewis in Washington.50 E'»y July anxious parents got word that Leland Stapley and Wells Williams were to be sent overseas, and in late August more Kanarra boys were called up: fiery Will Roundy's common-sense son Marion, who had received his induction notice on April 13,31 and a dour young German farmer, Gustave H. Pingle. On August 23, 1918, the Record published the names of 34 draftees, including five from Kanarra. However, Pingle was turned down at Camp Lewis. The Kanarra correspondent to the newspaper reported a week later that "Five of our boys answered the call to go to the colors This call has taken all of the first draft men in class 1 from this place and all but one in the registration of June 5, 1918." The fall registration showed 29 Kanarra men on this list.32

28 Rebecca Williams interview, p. 14.

29 Sophia Parker Stapley, Together Again: An Autobiographical History (Oakland, Calif.: Third Party Associates, 1976), p. 220.

30 Interview with Lynn Reeves and Ella Batty Reeves, January 16, 1988, p 18; Iron County Record, June 28, 1918, p 4

31

32 Iron County Record, September 20, 1918, p 1; November 1, 1918, p 1; November 8, 1918, p 5; November 29, 1918, p. 5.

William Berry Stapley.

Interview with Reba Roundy LeFevre, January 15, 1988, p 28; Iron County Record, April 19, 1918, p 4 Iron County Record, July 5, 1918, p 4: "News has been received from Camp Lewis that Leland Stapley and Wells Williams have, or would shortly, leave the camp for over-seas."

Sheepherding cousins Wendell (Wennie), Wayne, Ceylon, and Virgil Davis.

Perhaps typical of Woodrow Wilson's 1916 Utah voters was Kanarraville's Phebe Reeves Davies, a staunch Republican who was so worried about her son Elmer being drafted that she voted Democratic. She lived to be 102, but she never made the mistake of marking the Democratic ticket again.33 Elmer, the catcher on the town baseball team, was drafted in July and sent to Camp Lewis. "I don't believe in wars," he explained later. "I don't think they settle anything. ... I didn't want to fight anybody, but I did want to stick up fer our rights Now, that's the way I feel about it I figger you got to stick up fer your rights, an' I think that was the attitude, mostly But I don't know, it don't seem like you git very for in a lotta these squabbles, they jest makes a few more enemies! I'm not very quarrelsome myself; I think it's better to have a friend than an enemy."34 Elmer's sister Bessie's response to the draft was even more pointed: "we all hated it like everthing."35

The brothers Leo and Claud Balser presented quite a contrast: Leo was handsome, well-built, and six foot tall, weighing in at 180 pounds; Claud was small, sickly, and hard of hearing.36 But both were called up at the same time as Davies.

Reports of some Iron County deaths were not long in following these drafts Henry M.Jones of Enoch and ElmerJesperson of Cedar

" Interview with Sylva Mae Davies Williams,June 27, 1988, p 5

14 Interview with David Elmer Davies,January 16, 1988, pp 1-2

'

5 Interview with Bessie Elizabeth Davies, February 1, 1988, p 1

36 Interview with Fredrick Wilford Balser, May 28, 1988, pp 10, 22

City were the first reported fatalities But even with such a modern thing as an aviation corps, in some areas military science had made little progress In 1777 Dr Benjamin Rush had issued a circular to officers of the Revolutionary Army of the newly "United American States" and warned, "A greater proportion of men perish with sickness in all armies than fall by the sword." As it was in 1777, so it was in 1918: half of Cedar City's war dead died from influenza,37 though no one from Kanarraville lost his life in this war.

Leland Stapley, the 91st Division bugler, sent his diary to his mother, Harriet "Hattie" Berry Stapley. She proudly turned it over to the Record, which published it April 18, 1919, as "WAR EXPERIENCES FROM IRON COUNTY SOLDIER'S DIARY." Stapley had been sent to Camp Lewis, Washington, and from there across the country to Camp Merritt, New York. "People at every station gave us candy, cigarettes and wished us good luck," he noted with satisfaction After nine months in New York he sailed on the ship Dano to Halifax tojoin a twenty-two-ship convoy "Life on board was one continual jam," he wrote. "We had daily inspections which are the curse of a soldier's life. The trip across was one hard knock with another. The main excitement was the sighting of a whale now and then, and the rush for the canteen when it opened."

Stapley landed in France on July 22, 1918, and shipped from there to LeHavre. "We traveled on an English ship, being fed on fish which nearly made us all sick from the smell," he wrote, "but after living on tea and dried fish in this rest camp for two days, we would have welcomed the grub that was thrown through the porthole of the ship." From there he was shipped out in a boxcar, which did not impress him when he noticed it was labeled "8 Horses or 40 Men." When he finally got to Lou Vere, he said, "The first thing we did was to 'police' up the town and taste some of the French wine And the next thing was trying to learn the French language But we found it much easier for the French to learn ours." On September 3 he "hiked to Bonnett. There we got our first instructions in air bombing. One was not allowed to smoke after dusk in the open."

Things began to heat up on September 21 when he wrote, "Another red-letter day. While here we had our first taste of Fritz. One afternoon we were all engaged in a little card game, we heard a whiz

37 "Memorial Services for our Gold Stars," Iron County Record, February 21, 1919, p 1; L H Butterfield, ed., Letters of Benjamin Rush (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1951) 1:140 (and see also 1:130 and 1:146)

through the air that made us duck our heads and chilled our blood. The shell landed about 150 yards from our quarters and sounded like it was in the house." Five days later he found a real battle:

Sept. 26th. 3:00 p.m.— zero hour. It is impossible to describe the noise made by the cannon Hundreds of them firing at the same time with huge shells bursting all around. The lights of Broadway are mere glimmers when compared with the lights of the battle The flashes of the guns, star shell lights and signal rockets lighted up the horizon in one continuous stream of fire. Daybreak found us moving through the forest DeHesse and every tree and bush screened a light of heavy guns We traveled in trucks to the edge of no man's land From there we made our way on foot carrying machine guns and equipment and rations in a light pack. In marching over no-man's land, which had been in the hands of the Germans for four years, we had to cross one large shell hole after another. We saw the effect of artillery fire No farmer ever turned over the soil more thoroughly than the artillery had plowed up the forest of Cheppie There was not one tree but that was full of shrapnel Kilo after kilo—it was one shell hole after another. Some of the sights along the road would make a strong man weak. We halted at sundown on the outskirts of Very to eat. Some of us didn't have time to eat. I had three boxes of A.M and with a slice of bacon hanging from my mouth I made myway through Very which was being shelled by heavy Hun guns That march was the hardest part of the fight for it looked just like a death trap to me, as men were falling here and there, with shells on all sides of us, but we marched right through. We spent the second night in the rain with only a rain coat.

Then the diary entries get very brief: "dodging H.E.'s and shrapnel and air raiders"; "A Hun plane came over and dropped two large bombs, the first striking near to us and the last one came down on a group of engineers killing forty men and fourteen horses. Such was the excitement each day"; "Two runners were killed. . . ."; "One's nerves sure go to pieces in time under shell fire ."; "One could see

Leland Campbell Stapley, Utah State Archives.

Kanarraville Fights WorldWar I35

now and then a skull of some brave warrior who had been dug up by a high explosive shell"; "thirty-two Boch[e] prisoners killed"; "had some sneezing gas which is nothing very nice One cannot keep his mask on when he gets in touch of that gas."

The diary abruptly ends on November 11, Armistice Day, with Leland concluding, "This is only part of what happened, yet it will do you till I get home. . . . The boys from Iron county who were along with me are Wells Williams of Kanarra, Stanley Benson, Thomas H Myers,John Mitchell, Claud Harris and Oscar Thornton of Parowan. All are feeling fine and looking for the day for for [sic] them to sail for home." He signed off, "Your Loving Son, Bugler LELAND STAPLEY."

Probably Leon Davis had the most adventurous life overseas because he was sent to Siberia to fight the Red Army. Leon, who found it hard to leave home, complained that the mail was undependable and that the cooks "had big sores on em." Moreover, he was convinced that "he had the meanest sergeant ever lived."38 He also kept a diary as wonderfully readable as Leland Stapley's It begins on June 23, 1919, with a train ride from Shkotova to Kangow in company with "a million bed bugs to an inch in the train car our squad stayed in."39 Next day, with an eighty-

or ninety-pound pack, he

Leon Davis, seated, and hisfriend O'Brian, who was shot and bled to death, bothfought the Red Army in Siberia. Photograph courtesy ofRaymond Davis, son ofLeon.

38 Interview with Donna Davis Munford, March 2, 1992 (not taped) Munford reported that Davis crossed the ocean in "a really creaky old battleship and they had a storm and the old sergeant had them come on deck and asked if there were any Mormons on board; so he stepped out and he [the sergeant] said, 'dismissed; this boat will never sink.'"

39 Typescript of "Diary of Leon Davis While in Russia," furnished to the author by Mr Davis's son Raymond Davis on July 14, 1993

hiked to a mountain top, writing that "The Bolschivicks had blown up three power houses in about ten miles so we road when we could and walked when we had to." The "Bolschivicks" had also blown up or burned out bridges all along the way. The following day, "the Bolschivicks opened up on us. I had just moved and a big slug hit where I was standing just a second before. . . . We shot three or four guys on the hill. By this time our Corp [or]al had came back, and we turned around and saw three Bolschivicks right behind us We all shot and got them and we thought there were more behind so we retreated back to the bridge. . . . There were 156 Bolschivicks killed and 2 Americans wounded." He disarmed two of the dead Russians and found they had "two packs, two guns and ammunition. One of the packs contained a can of powder, under clothes, a cup, bread and a pocket book that had about 41 rubles in. The other about the same." This day ended with the complaint, "We had supper about 6 p.m no dinner and a darn little breakfast."

They were near a town called Kazunba when they "came on a Bolschivick out post. They had to leave in such a hurry they left one shoe and all their clothes. They also left a can of dynamite. We got within about 1 mile from town and they opened fire on us. We fought for about an hour, one man in my squad got hit in the foot and bled to death—Peter Bernell " Next day, "We buried Pete Our squad were pale-bearers, a squad to fire the volley Our squad went first with the body and then the squad to fire the volley and then the rest of our Company and a company ofJaps there were four graves and Pete's made the fifth one within two or three days. We buried him then went back to camp. That was our Fourth ofJuly."

The mail was unreliable: Leon recorded one day, "Got 15 letters from Ma and one from Kitty " The food was too reliable: "We got up and had reverly then breakfast which consisted of bacon, cornmeal mush and molasses no sugar or milk. We have had this for about one month straight and most of the time hard tack so damn hard you couldn't break it with an 'ax.'" Next day: "we had the same thing for breakfast."

August 9 was a special day: "The regemental band came up last night and played a few pieces The band sure sounded fine The Y.M.C.A. man came up and gave us all a bar of chocolate and some cigarettes. ... " On August 10 "fourteen of the class 'A' boys turned in their equipment today to return to the states and they sure are a tickled bunch. I wish I was with them. ... " K.P. was no more welcome

in Russia than anywhere else: "Got up and went on K.P. it was hell we had to scrape spuds as big as marbles for three meals for 250 men we never got through until 7:30 p.m." That night "No 3 outpost fired 2 shots and some of the boys got out of bed and put on their clothes, but it didn't bother me much I turned over and went back to sleep Next morning we found out they were shooting at a porky pine and thought it was some Bolschivick." The diary ends on September 11, although Leon was not discharged until November 4, 1919.

The last U.S. "crusade" to have had a dramatic impact on townsfolk was the abolition of polygamy. Unlike the resistance generated by the "raids" of the 1880s, the drafts and loan drives of the war years enjoyed the unwavering support of the Mormon church hierarchy. Church leaders preached from the Kanarraville pulpit the importance of subscribing to the bond drives Bishop's counselor Joel J "Dode" Roundy was an optimist, explaining in church that "he looked for good to come out of the war," and he argued later that

Kanarraville thespians in a March 20, 1911, performance of ByForce of Impulse. Back row, 1-r: Jesse Williams, Lem Willis, J. J. Roundy, Will Stapley; middle row: ReeseJ. Williams, Leo Balser, Jode Williams; front row: Sade Reeves Williams, HettieDavis, Adlai Wood, Frances Pollock Williams. Photograph courtesy ofJoan Norman Williams.

"the Mormon soldier boys are preaching the gospel by example."40 Perhaps Dode Roundy was not thinking of his nephew, Leland Stapley, sampling French wines and complaining that he could not smoke after dark. It was more comforting to think of his son Jesse Roundy serving a mission like his son Ren than to imagine Jesse killing people.

There was also the pleasant side benefit of this war that some of Kanarra's wildest young men began to more soberly contemplate their prospects for eternity. "Sister Harriet Balser told of Leo and Claud writing home and saying they believed in the gospel and they wanted a book of Mormon," Kanarraville church minutes noted on October 6, 1918; and Wells Williams won a headline ("Wells Williams Sees Religious Awakening") in the IronCounty Record on November 30, 1917, with his comments in a letter to his brother R.J. that "You know I believe that I am a better boy since coming to training. At least I attend church more often, and now that I am out here I can see a greater need of taking a deeper interest in the study of Mormonism; and there is no question but that the Mormon boys are gaining distinction here in camp." Wells was to become a Kanarraville bishop.

National press reports of Utah's enthusiasm for the war effort seemed to have a positive effect elsewhere: Kanarraville's William Grant Piatt wrote appreciatively from the Alabama mission field that Utah's oversubscription to the Liberty Loan drives and enthusiastic patriotism made hisjob easier. Even a letter from Kanarraville's gentle missionaryJames Lorenzo Roundy took on military metaphors as he spoke of putting "on the whole armor of God . . . tak[ing] the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit "41 A reputation for obedience to authority, personal cleanliness, and a reticence about patronizing prostitutes made Mormons seem like attractive military recruits One gentile major stationed at Camp Lewis, Washington, was quoted in the local newspaper on November 30, 1917, as saying, "I wish that all the boys were Mormons, as they are the boys looked to for good, clean moral bodies, and they are the ones

40 Kanarraville General Minutes, Book D 1914-1922, p 90 (sacrament meeting September 23, 1917); at this meeting "BrotherJohn W Piatt bore testimony He advised the boys to go [to] the temple of the Lord before going to the war"; p. 105 (sacrament meetingJuly 7, 1918).

41 "News From the Alabama Mission," Iron County Record, May 17, 1918, p 4;July 6, 1917 pp 1, 4; November 23, 1917, p 4 Piatt also congratulated the South on its patriotism: "The states which once ceceded [sic] from the Union are now the first in obedience to their country's call." See Roundy's letter—where the headline mistakenly says "Elder J A Roundy Writes Interestingly" instead of Elder J L.—in the Record, January 4, 1918, p. 5.

that are capable of doing things efficiently." However, rural Mormon boys also took their prejudices with them: volunteer Pratt Tollestrup of Cedar City wrote the Record casually that "The other day a couple of Nigger soldiers broke out with the smallpox," and his only worry seemed to be that the disease would spread to the white troops.42

Given the Mormons' conviction that they had higher moral standards and a better form of religious organization than others, townsfolk worried most about the effects degenerate gentile values would have on their rambunctious young men. "Brother Bently here in the rest of the Sunday School spoke a time on the morality of the world and the footfalls [sic] for the soldier boys from among us, also of the snares which will be laid for our young people at home," the ward minutes reported February 10, 1918.

If military-aged men were the biggest contribution Kanarraville could make to the front lines, it was the efforts of townswomen that accounted for the most significant home contribution. The Rocky Mountain Division of the Red Cross organized chapters throughout the state and asked members to canvass door-to-door for contributions. An IronCounty Record headline on November 30, 1917, stated that "Red Cross Work Begins Here Soon" and called for the immediate collection of linen The Mormon Relief Societies in the various communities accepted most of the responsibility for this work

The Kanarraville Relief Society, once moribund, had been completely reorganized in November 1911 when new—mostly younger— officers were installed. The new president was Sarah Catherine "Kate" Roundy, a homebody who "wasn't out in the public." The minutes report that Kate "Said She felt weak in trying to fill her position She was called to," but she was undoubtedly strengthened by the capable women assigned to be her co-workers Frances Rebecca Pollock Williams, Kate's niece, was appointed as first counselor. Frances was described by Thelma Berry Lovell as "very energetic" and "a pusher,"43 a judgment shared by Arvilla Woodbury, who described Williams as "one of the main ones. . . always up an' comin' an' doin' things." Williams was not only a Relief Society officer, but she also ran the post office, supervised the telephone switchboard, and revived the town drama club

42 Iron County Record, December 28, 1917, p 1; Noble Warrum, Utah in the World War: The Men Behind the Guns and the Men and Women Behind the Men Behind the Guns (Salt Lake City: Arrow Press, 1924), p. 288.

43 Interview with Thelma Berry Lovell,June 27, 1988, p 7

By 1918 the second counselor was Kate's regal sister-in-law, Harriet "Hattie" Berry Stapley, a religious woman who loved to read but did not share the Stapley talent for music She told a story about herself and her sister-in-law sitting under the awning of the house singing church hymns as their men came in from the field with a load of hay. "What's that noise?" asked one of the men. "Oh," came the answer, "that's the damned old grindstone!"44 Because Hattie's father had been killed by a mob in what became known as the "Tennessee Martyrdom," the Berrys were treated—and thought of themselves—as Iron County gentry.

Then there was the Relief Society secretary, Betsy Jane Parker Smith. "She was old, old, old," recalled eighty-seven-year-old Arvilla Woodbury: "Aunt Betsy come across the plains."45 Betsy had an excellent voice and used to team up with Kate's brother John Alma Stapley to sing "For the Mormons Shall Be Happy" at Fourth and

44 Rebecca Williams interview, p 9

45 Woodbury interview, p. 8.

The Kanarraville Poultry Club, 1917, included many women active in World War Iprojects. Back row, 1-r: Sarah Davis, Ellener Davis Pollock, Young Elizabeth Stapley, Liza Wood, Sarah Sylvester (club president), Sarah Catherine Roundy, Lou Stapley; front row: Rosell Pollock Christensen holding Maynard Christensen, Ingram, Naomi Wood Ingram with Ingram baby, Madge Stapley, Joseph Stapley, Nell Sylvester, Eve Nixon holding poultry magazine, Molly Williams.

Kanarraville Fights WorldWar I41

Twenty-fourth of July celebrations, and she was described by Lynn Reeves as "quite a public-spirited woman."46

At first even this November 1911 reorganization seemed halfhearted: the new officers were not formally set apart for their new positions until March 1912, at which time Kate, encouraged by twelve attenders, said that "she was pleased to see so many out."

When Kate had first attended meetings the older women had reminisced about Nauvoo and pioneer Utah. But under her stewardship they increased their teaching efforts by visiting the homes of townswomen, studied current events and disease prevention, and completed their own Relief Society Hall on the town square across the street from the Roundy home Though the hall was used as a school during the week, some of the war work took place in it. Heated with a pot-bellied stove that burned coal from Will Reeves's coal mine, it was as warm and comfortable as a home But it was hardly an architectural attraction: a half-basement structure locked with a huge bar over the front door, it was so solid and serviceable that when townsfolk got too rowdy with Dixie wine on the 24th of July, the Relief Society Hall doubled as ajail.47

Unfortunately, record-keeping was not a strength of the newly reorganized group. Kanarraville Relief Society minutes apparently were not kept from 1915 to 1920, the war years. Other records, however, fill us in Allie Knell of Cedar City was responsible for "Women's Work" in Iron County during World War I,48 and enough information can be picked up from the Iron County Record to feel certain she was successful Kate Roundy, as the local Relief Society president, supervised Kanarraville efforts. A description in the newspaper of the busy scenes in Relief Society halls throughout the area is informative: "White-haired grandmothers, whose fingers have not forgotten their skill, are using all their spare moments to knit warm socks and sweaters for the soldier boys; busy mothers are leaving their home duties undone to go to work rooms and sew on hospital supplies; school girls are turning out surprising quantities of Red Cross garments; even the tiny tots are begging to be allowed to clip rags or make wash clothes, or do something to help win the war."49

4"Reeves and Reeves interview, pp 13-14

47 Balser interview, p 11

48 Warrum, Utah in the World War, p 99

49 "Red Cross is in Financial Straits," Iron County Record, March 15, 1918, p 1; also seeJanuary 11, 1918, p 1, "Cedar Ladies Do Red Cross Work"; "Work of Iron Co Red Cross Chapter," February 22, 1918, p 1; "Work of Iron County Red Cross Chapter," February 22, 1918, p 8; "Red Cross Ladies Are Still Active," March 1, 1918, p 1; "Ladies, Attention!"June 14, 1918, p 1

The Red Cross needed crutch pads, wash cloths, ambulance pillows, comfort pillows, pillow cases, socks, sweaters, pajamas, bed shirts, bandages, napkins, tray clothes, ice bags, and hot water bottle covers. Kanarra's Relief Society sisters did "alia that," Reba Roundy LeFevre remembered "They knit their sweaters an' they knit their socks an' they done all this other stuff," spurred on because so many of them had relatives in military training camps. "My mother used to make a lotta that stuff," Lynn Reeves recalled. "I can remember her making those knitted sweaters, you know, sleeveless sweaters .. . an' she was a good seamstress ... all the women in town herejest buckled right in an really done whatever they could to help." Lenna Stapley Williams agreed: "I got so I could even knit," she laughed, "but I can't now."50

March 1918 stands as a month of special accomplishment. At the first of the month, Kanarraville women contributed ten pajama suits and were hard at work on socks, napkins, and handkerchiefs. By the middle of the month they had completed forty napkins, thirty-two ice bags, twenty-eight tray cloths, eleven pairs of bed socks, nine handkerchiefs, and twelve wash clothes At the end of the month the Relief Society had contributed an additional ten suits of pajamas, four sweaters, and many more socks. They were even instructed to contribute to the war effort by saving candy and gum wrappings made of tinfoil and worth sixty cents a pound. Meanwhile, the Dramatic Club staged a fund-raising minstrel show—"In Dixie"—to a packed house on a night of drenching rain and planned another play.51 When it was time to choose people to serve on the official Red Cross fund-raising committee, Kate's husband Dode was listed instead of the shy Kate.52 But it was the women who did most of the work. "The Red Cross made another call on us for funds," the Kanarra correspondent reported in the IronCounty Record on June 7, 1918 "The ladies from the Relief Society who are Red Cross members, took up the canvass, carrying Kanarra 'over the top.'" And then, in the querulous tone this correspondent adopted during the war, the article continued: "We feel that we are called on pretty heavy

50 Rebecca Williams interview, p. 15.

51 "Red Cross Ladies Are Still Active," Iron County Record, March 1, 1918, pp 1, 4; "Red Cross is in Financial Straits," March 15, 1918, p 1, 4; March 29, 1918, p 4; "Save the Tin Foil and Assist the Red Cross,"June 28, 1918, p 1

52 "Red Cross Drive On Next Week," Iron County Record, May 17, 1918, p 1 Also see May24, 1918, p 4: "The Red Cross committee has completed their canvas and the money sent to Cedar yesterday Kanarra is another town in Iron County that raised her full quota."

to keep up the war activities With only a population of 300 we have 11 men in service now and expecting more to go this month."

Another cause of complaint was rationing. The espionage law of June 5, 1917, was used as the basis for ajuly 15 proclamation restricting exportation of a large number of products; this was followed by the organization of the Federal Food Commission under Herbert C. Hoover He called for one wheatless meal a day, meat only once a day, and restrictions on other products like milk, fats, sugar, and fuel. "'General Rules' called on Americans to Buy less, serve smaller portions. Preach the 'Gospel of the Clean Plate.' Don't eat a fourth meal. . . . Full garbage pails in America mean empty dinner pails in America and Europe. . . ."53 Or, as the U.S. Food Administration put it more bluntly in a later comment, "BLOOD or BREAD." It was your patriotic duty to eat less because "You will shorten the war—save life if you eat only what you need and waste nothing."54 With Mormon stake president Wilford Day as the Iron County food administrator,55 the Kanarraville Relief Society sisters tried to obey the governmentmandated meatless, wheatless, and sugarless days. At first the Iron County Record pitched in with good cheer, publishing recipes for rice bread, potato cake, and oatmeal waffles.56 But even this pro-war newspaper was pressed to complain that "wheat substitutes are hard to find" and attacked Hoover's food administration efforts as "more of a detriment than a help."57 The Record was left lamely arguing that carrots could be substituted for flour in cookies, pudding, conserves, and soup. 58 Lucky for Kanarra folk the potato crop of 1917 was so successful that by the fall of 1918 they still had 2,000 bushels on hand and were wantonly using them for pig feed.59

Kate Roundy presided at a special sacrament meeting on March 17, 1918 "Sister Sarah C Roundy gave a report of the Relief work and conservation," the minutes reported, and the rest of the time was taken up by ReesJames Williams talking about war gardens and Rosa Webster Berry preaching on "Red Cross Work" and the "Red Cross Story—Life of Clara Barton." A few months later this was again

53 Warrum, Utah in the World War, pp 133-34

54 Iron County Record, May 17, 1918, p 1 Also seeJune 7, 1918, p 1, "Wheat and Meat Rations Reduced."

55 Warrum, Utah in the World War, p 136; Iron County Record, June 15, 1917, p 1

56 "Wheat Substitutes in Wartime Cooking," Iron County Record, February 22, 1918, p 1

57 "Wheat Substitutes are Hard to Find," Iron County Record, April 5, 1918, p 1

58 "Carrot to the Rescue," Iron County Record, April 5, 1918, p 3

59 Iron County Record, May 3, 1918, p 4

the main subject at a Kanarraville LDS sacrament meeting: "Sister E. Watson of Cedar City here in the int[e]rest of the Red Cross spoke about the necessity of our doing all we can to help in the Red Cross drive. Brother John Nuttall County Supt. of Schools spoke of the purpose of the Red Cross and what it means to the wounded and starving Brother Wallace Williams being a member of the Committee to gather Red Cross funds spoke a few minutes."60

How much appreciation all of this work by the Relief Society sisters received is unknown: Elizabeth Davies Parker used to threaten her daughters that if they did not get the dishes done, she would "call in the Relief Society ladies" to make their dresses, a chilling threat that prompted the girls' immediate attention and obedience.61

With their sons in training camps or overseas and their savings subscribed to Liberty Loan drives, the women busy collecting materials for bandages and pillows, and the county newspaper representing the Germans as barbaric Huns bayoneting the wounded, it was to be expected that there would be some inattention to civil liberties. This lapse was promoted by such groups as the Committee on State Protection: "Propagandists and other disturbing or disloyal elements were kept in check by the constant vigilance" of this committee, reported the official history of Utah's World War I activities, and added, "The work of this organization, while it could not be made public, was nevertheless effective and deserving of commendation."62 These efforts were aided by the IronCounty Record, which on November 30, 1917, felt compelled to reprint an Iowa editorial headlined "Satan Abdicates in Favor of Kaiser" and worried about sabotage, urging the organization of "Vigilance Committees, [and] Defense Committees" that would be "especially entrusted with the work of looking up any suspicious characters that may drift into or through our part of the country. . . . [The] feeling on the part of pro-Germans is bound to grow more bitter and acute, and we can expect more and more of these acts of treachery at home."

Not having any real local enemies, Iron County residents were quite content to manufacture them, as Clare McCoy of Salt Lake City learned to her discomfort She went to Cedar City as a representative of University Society Publishing Company in 1918. Hoping to sell children's books to anxious parents, McCoy spoke in hushed tones,

60 Kanarraville General Minutes, Book D 1914-1922, pp 102-3 (May 19, 1918)

61 Esther Parker Robb, "Stories and Early Memories," in Stapley, Together Again, p 99 b2 Warrum, Utah in the World War, p. 114.

lodged at a private home, seemed secretive, and asked too many questions about the local war effort. The snoopy Cedar City librarian, Mrs. Watson, knew intuitively that McCoy whispered to hide a German accent, was ferreting out information to assist the Central Powers, and that her long-range plans probably included sabotage. Watson sent a letter to McCoy, forcing the issue to a head. The suspect promptly submitted a long list of credentials, including references to some of the most distinguished citizens of the state, and wrote testily to the county newspaper that "If Cedar City is still insat[i]able" for proof of her good character, "I can haveJudge Strump of the Walker Bldg., of Salt Lake, and Lawyer Waldo, both friends of long standing, having known me all my life, produce the necessary legal documents to prove my identity." She concluded that "I have visited about seventyfive towns in Utah since we have been at war, including smelter and mining towns. My experience in Cedar City was the first of its kind."63

America's participation in the war was surprisingly short-lived, given the length of time the Central Powers and the Allies had been fighting. The armistice was signed November 11, 1918,just as Elmer Davies got orders sending him to Siberia. While the headlines were blaring in giant type in the IronCounty Record, there was other rejoicing: "Iwas damned glad the war ended," Elmer said later. "I was a little scared of the prospect of being shipped out."64

But after the celebrations there was a change. A nationwide epidemic of influenza just as the war ended did nothing to lift community spirits; there was cynicism and bitterness in response to the Treaty of Versailles; the sacrifices to "make the world safe for democracy" seemed a mockery as the world became safer for British imperialism; and a national mood of restlessness swept the country. This disillusionment was echoed in the words of Rulon Berry Piatt:

(Q) What wasit like down there [in Kanarraville] during World War I?

(A) Well I can tell you, itwas pretty tough going. You know how many boys?—there was twelve boys out of Kanarra went in that one bunch into the old Utah National Guard, they went to France, all the bunch, Utah Division, and there were twelve of the Utah boys right out of there, there was Ervin Williams, Kumen Williams, Will Williams, I believeJesse [Roundy] was in it—they don't all come

S3 "Apparently No Cause for Suspicion as Spy," Iron County Record, April 5, 1918, p. 4.

64 Kristina Messerly Loosley, "Veteran Reflects on Change," Daily Spectrum (Cedar City), Veterans Day 1987, quoted in pp 3-4 of the Davies interview; his surname is misspelled "Davis" in this article

to me right now, but there was a big bunch strolling out of Kanarra in that bunch.65

(Q) Were people pretty upset about the Germans and all that?

(A) Yes They didn't accept that war at all We Kanarraites never accepted it.

(Q) Didn't like the war?

(A) Yes,didn't think there was any sense in it

(Q) Whywas that?

(A) Well, they just weren't that temperament of people They just didn't like it

(Q) Wasit too far away?

(A) No, not particularly that, theyjust felt like it was too much of a money grabbing proposition monopoly—like Great Britain: Own the world! Germany wanted to own the world! That's what they felt.

(Q) So people down there were not very sympathetic?

(A) They were not sympathetic! At any time!66

Kanarraville townsfolk may have shared Rulon Piatt's disillusionment and suspicion. But they celebrated the return of the "soldier boys" with dances and parties and listened avidly to their war

65 Kanarraville men in World War I:

BALSER, Claud, inducted, 8-27-18 to 2-24-19, Inf (Warrum, p 310; Williams, p 30)

BALSER, Leo S., inducted, 8-27-18 to 6-12-19, MG Bn (Warrum, p 310; Williams, p 30)

DAVI[E]S, David E[lmer]., inducted, 8-27-18 to 2-4-19, D Brig (Warrum, p 335; Williams, p 30); WSQ red 1 box 3

*DAV1S, Leon, inducted, 5-10-18 to 11-4-19, Inf (Warrum, p 335; Williams, p 30); WSQ reel 7 box 3

DAVIS, Wallace, inducted, 6-10-18 to 1-11-19, Inf (Warrum, p 336; Williams, p 30); WSQ reel 7 box 3

GRAFF, A LeMar, inducted, 10-6-18 to 12-7-18, SATC (Warrum, p 351; Williams, p 30)

*POLLOCK, Emery L., enlisted, 2-11-18 to 7-9-19, BS (Warrum, p 275; Williams, p 30)

ROUNDY, George E., inducted, 9-19-17 to 1-24-19, D Brig (Warrum, p 412; Williams, p 30; Record, Sept 28, 1917); WSQ reel 19 box 9

ROUNDY,Jesse C, inducted, 9-19-17 to 12-30-18, D Brig (Warrum, p 412; Williams, p 30; Record, Sept 28, 1917);WSQreell9box9

ROUNDY, Marion A, inducted, 8-27-18 to 10-24-19, D Brig (Warrum, p 412; Williams, p 30)

*STAPLEY, Leland C, inducted, 9-19-17 to 4-28-19, MG Bn (Warrum, p 423; Williams, p 30; Record, Sept 28, 1917); WSQ reel 21 box 10

STAPLEY, William B., inducted, 6-15-18 to 12-17-18, FA (Warrum, p 423; Williams, p 30); WSQ reel 21 box 10

WILLIAM[S], Joseph E., inducted, 5-26-18 to 1-24-19, 145 FA (Warrum, p 438; Williams, p 30); WSQ reel 24 box 11

*W1LLIAMS, Kumen D., inducted, 5-25-18 to 1-24-19, D Brig (Warrum, p. 438, says Iron County; Williams, p 30)

*WILLIAMS, Wells A., inducted, 9-19-17 to 4-28-19, MG Bn (Warrum, p 438; Williams, p 30; Record, Sept 28,1917)

*W1LLIAMS, William B., inducted, 5-26-18 to 1-24-19, 145 FA (Warrum, p 438; Williams, p 30); WSQ reel 24 box 11

*Overseas duty.

Sources: Warrum, Utah in the World War, Opal Pollock Williams, Kanarra is a Pretty Little Town ([Kanarraville]: Author, 1984). The latter source, p. 30, lists Kanarraville's World War I veterans and shows a plaque erected in their memory by Bruce F Parker Williams and the plaque both list Arthur Hartley Woodbury, but according to Warrum, p 294, he enlisted from LaVerkin, 6-23-16 to 7-2-19 He moved to Kanarraville after the war

66 Interview with Rulon Berry Piatt, May 19, 1982, p. 11.

stories.67 "Elder William B. Stapley took up a portion of the time telling about life in the camp where he trained," reported the Kanarraville ward minutes of January 26, 1919: "Said the discipline was very strict but was allright when he got used to it. Said he enjoyed most of the time. Said he believed the gospel had been spread more by soldier boys than by Elders in the same length of time." But privately he told family members that his fellow soldiers were just "a waitin' for the sergeant to get up front and get on the battle line so they could all shoot at him."68

Kate's sonJesse Roundy ended up in a logging camp in the state of Washington. "ElderJesse C. Roundy told about some of his experiences in the lumber camp," the minutes explained on January 26; "Said it was a pretty rough life but not so bad as it might have been. Said he was not sorry of the time he had been in the training camp."

Reba LeFevre said that her parents, Kate and Dode Roundy, believed that World War I "was something that shouldn't be done And they didn't think our folks should have been over there But they would have kept on warring until maybe we'd of been worse than ever, so wejust went over and ended it right there. . . . they were horrified to think that France and England and all of them would send over here for soldiers to come over there and fight them." Midwife Young Elizabeth Stapley had definite opinions as well, despite the enthusiasm of her Belfast cousin "She thought it was jest put on Thought they was no use of having that war," explained her granddaughter; "Lotta people in Kanarra said it wasn't called for. Jest somebody wanted to gain an' theyjest stuck the war on." Elizabeth's

67 Iron County Record, February 14, 1919, p 5: "Another soldier boy has returned home He is Elmer Davi[e]s and arrived last Friday He looks and feels fine and is proud of his experiences while in Camp Lewis Also, another of our missionaries is back—E.lder Lorenzo Roundy He came in on the passenger car last Thursday He has only the highest of praise for the missionary labors, but of course is glad to be home again after 27 months in the mission field

"Last Monday there was a 'welcome home' party for our returned missionaries and soldier boys, which was crowded, both at the meeting and the dance The meeting commenced with singing 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' Prayer was offered by Bp Berry A duet was sung by the Misses Taylor and Bateman The address of welcome was delivered by R.G Williams Then there was a short talk by Kumen Williams, on behalf of the Sammies A short talk by Lorenzo Roundy, returned missionary Refreshments were served and the meeting was dismissed until the time for the dance During the dance Otto Reeves gave a short talk and the soldier boys gave a drill, but the house was too crowded to dojustice to them or to permit of the maneuvers they would like to have executed."

Also see Iron County Record, March 7, 1919, p 3: "Last Saturday evening, commencing at 4 p.m a welcome home party was given in honor of two more of our returned soldier boys—Leo Balser and Marion Roundy, who recently arrived from Camp Lewis The party consisted of a program, which commenced by the singing of The Star-Spangled Banner Prayer was offered by Otto Reeves The address of welcome was given by Bishop Berry A solo was nicely sung by Miss Taylor, and a Chorus by the soldier boys At the close of the meeting a bounteous repast was served by the committee and aids, with a dance in the evening The whole affair was a perfect success."

1,8 LeFevre interview, October 12, 1984, p 14

granddaughter Sarah, who had posed for a photograph in a uniform, came to agree with her grandmother: "it was uncalled for."69

Even church officials had trouble deciding what it all meant.

Brother William H. Lyman of the Iron County Stake spoke in the Kanarraville ward on May 18, 1919, "of the effect of the War and

the speculation as to what is going to take place now the war is over. Said he wondered what would happen if Germany refused to sign the peace terms." Then, in typical Mormon fashion, he put an intelligible gloss on the madness of men at war: the "first great conflict took place in heaven, and the war here is satan and his hosts trying to destroy the souls of men."

LeFevre interview, January 15, 1988, pp 31-32

^M^m^-s^ \WM"UNITV-

Jesse Roundy, inset, who served in a lumber camp during the war, and a photograph ofa July 4, 1918, parade in Seaside, Oregon, he seems likely to have attended.

The pointlessness of it all seemed exemplified in another letter— this time from Dublin, but again written by the Kanarraville midwife's cousin (April 8, 1919): "I am sorry to say 'Old Ireland' is not quite a comfortable place to live in just now. The ' SinnFeiners" want the British Government to give them a present of it. . . . Your boys ought to soon get home though some of them don't want to leave the army and I fear they will be wanted to settled the disturbed countries, who are all behaving so wickedly." And Maryanne Campbell WTilson prattled on about an army-captain cousin who "doesn't want to go home he wants to go to Russia to punish the Bolshevicks."

But Kanarraville had not fought the war to keep Ireland under the thumb of Great Britain nor to punish the wicked Bolshevicks. Perhaps it was fitting that with this letter the family correspondence ends.

The Utah Experiment Station in the Widtsoe Years

BY ALAN K. PARRISH

Ho w UNLIKELY THAT A BOY WHO IN THE EYES OF HIS KINSFOLK wa s bo m tO pilot the Norwegian king along the perilous coastline of the Norwegian sea would instead pilot scientists and toilers of the soil through some of the most significant advances in arid agriculture. The achievements of the Utah Experiment Station at the Agricultural College of Utah (ACU) during the years John A. Widtsoe was its chemist or director were landmark feats that established the station, the college, and the state as dominant forces in international agricultural studies In the early 1900s more of Utah's working force was involved in agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry than any other

Experiment Station, Agricultural College of Utah, Logan. Widtsoe Collection, Utah State Historical Society.

Dr Parrish is associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University

occupation.1 The station's achievements had a far-reaching impact on the work life of this large component of the labor force and on the economic well-being of the state

John A. Widtsoe was an immigrant boy left fatherless at age six. He became an internationally known scientist and scholar, a distinguished educator, a college and university president, and an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A pioneer in arid farming and irrigation, he wrote acclaimed international texts on these subjects. He began his formal research while working in the Utah Experiment Station at the ACU

Widtsoe's father was a schoolmaster in Norway and his mother the favorite student of that schoolmaster. They hoped young John would follow his father in education. At age six, upon his father's death, the boy vowed to pursue that high ideal.2 In the ensuing years widow Widtsoe discovered Mormonism Following her new faith she and her sons,John and Osborne, immigrated to America, settling in Logan, Utah. When John graduated from Brigham Young College,

Above: John A. Widtsoe, July 29, 1892, Boston. Left: Widtsoe, left, and afellow Harvard graduate, Cambridge, Massachusetts, June 17, 1894. Widtsoe Collection.

1 S. George Ellsworth, Utah's Heritage (Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith, 1981), p. 374.

2 John A Widtsoe, In The Gospel Net: The Story ofAnna Karine Gaarden Widtsoe (Salt Lake City: The Improvement Era, 1941), pp 58-59

he was chosen as one of a small group to travel with their principal, J. M. Tanner, to attend Harvard, intending to return to advance Utah higher education. With a new mortgage on the family home and some notes obtained from friends, the Widtsoes sent John to further their dreams at Harvard He loved that marketplace of ideas and attended a wide assortment of classes there, but chemistry absorbed him most. He graduated summa cum laude in 1894. Harvard, Brigham Young College, Brigham Young University, and the Agricultural College of Utah offered him positions. His mother had been "careful to hold before her boys the ideal of service as well as education. What was the value of learning if not used for human good?"3 For John, work at the Experiment Station at the ACU provided the best opportunity for service to Utah education What work could serve man more than agriculture? By living at home his expenses would be minimal and the family debt more easily repaid. A promising career of service and an income to allay education debts were valid reasons for choosing the ACU, but more compelling was his longing to be at home. He accepted the position of chemist at the Experiment Station and started working in September 1894 at the age of twenty-two The Logan newspaper reported:

Last week one of [Logan's] favored sons returned home from the greatest institution of learning on the western hemisphere, laden with honors for his scholarly attainments [At Harvard] he graduated at the head of aclass in chemistry of 250 students, and now he comes home to take a position as Station Chemist in the Agricultural College of Utah

Byinquiry we learn that Mr. Widtsoe not only conquered the mysteries of chemical science, but that he has discovered a number of compounds before unknown in the domain of organic chemistry. In his new position at the A. C. his talentswill have a rare chance and his light will not be hid under a bushel, but will enlighten the way of the students under him.4

The ACU belonged to a land-grant college sisterhood that grew out of the Morrill bill signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. In 1888 Congress supplemented that bill by allowing an additional $15,000 for experiment stations. Utah took advantage of these measures by creating the ACU with the Utah Experiment Station The key appointment in the college was director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Widtsoe became the station's chemist in its fourth

1 Ibid., p 96

1 "A Bright Young Man," LoganJournal, 1 September 1894, 8

year. "Thejoy of seeking truth was mine,"5 he wrote, and at the ACU he was led to ponder the place of knowledge in the everyday occupations of men: "It was in these years that I formulated the philosophy of education which was to guide me through life."6

When he read in the 1893-94 annual report that no independent investigation had been done by the chemical division,7 Widtsoe immediately initiated several lines of inquiry:

Itwasthe experimental work that fascinated me.Aschemist to the experiment station, a good part of my time wasdevoted to investigation. Some odds and ends left by my predecessor were soon out of the way. Meanwhile there were days of thinking Agriculture begins with the soil What is the nature of Utah soils? It had been held that all experimentation should be confined to the College farm With the consent of President J. H. Paul, who was sympathetic with my ideas, I broke that precedent and travelled over the State, made observations and took soil samples in many parts of the state. Some of the results, many of them unique in that day, were published in bulletin form or in chemicaljournals The great variety of the soils of the State, and the astonishing fertility of some of them, led to the formulation of suitable cropping systems.8

Widtsoe had been the first Mormon to enter the collegiate division of the ACU faculty. Because he felt so good about his faculty associations in the first few months, he was surprised when approached by a leading faculty member who informed him of a private meeting in which it had been decided that in order to avoid "Mormonizing" the college, he should be asked to resign Of this Widtsoe wrote: "My temper rose sharply, and I begged my visitor to take back my answer. T would not resign; and, moreover, I would remain with the College until every one who sent the request had left the institution.'"9 He did outlast all those who had sent the request, but he learned from the experience and was ever after a proponent of tolerance and an enemy of prejudice.

Widtsoe was determined to help the common man succeed and have an impact on world needs. He saw the Experiment Station as the best means of facilitating this ambition Declining an offer from BYU, he wrote its president, "the toilers of the world are making the world, but they need assistance. Under present social conditions they can do

5 John A Widtsoe, In a Sunlit Land (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1952), p 42

6 Ibid.

7 Utah Agricultural College Experiment Station, Fifth Annual Report, July 1, 1893, toJune 30, 1894 (Salt Lake City, 1894), p 26

8 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, pp 47-48

9 Ibid., p 47

little else than toil; for that reason I feel a genuine happiness in applying, to the best of my ability, the results of modern science to the betterment of the lowly pursuits of life."10 To better understand farm toilers and their needs, Widtsoe and Joseph Jenson, a professor of engineering, traveled by team and buggy for more than six weeks, meeting with farmers in nearly every settlement between Provo and St. George.11

The "book farming" that Widtsoe and his colleagues represented met frequent opposition: "During these early years the first problem was to overcome the natural conservatism of the farmers— less in Utah than elsewhere if I have read other state reports aright."12 He did not let this opposition deter him, and soon the farmers looked forward to learning from the Experiment Station. Widtsoe investigated the things that would be most helpful to his farm constituents Since lucerne, or alfalfa hay, was Utah's chief forage crop, the chemical department undertook a three-year study of it and published their findings in two lengthy bulletins entitled "The Chemical Life History of Lucern."13 The research aimed at perfecting the crop and maximizing its yield to the farmer. E. W. Allen, assistant director of the Experiment Station, praised Widtsoe's work to the Board of Trustees, noting that these bulletins on alfalfa provided "a large part" of the government's knowledge of the subject Allen suggested cooperation with the government in research and experiments, particularly irrigation and forage plants.14 He called Widtsoe's bulletins on lucerne the best information ever issued. Franklin S. Harris, an agriculture scholar and subsequent president of the ACU, wrote of Widtsoe, "His studies of the chemical life history of lucern gave a scientific basis for handling that crop that has resulted in saving great sums of money not only to the farmers of Utah but also to those of the other parts of the world where lucern is raised."15

The sugar potential in Utah also became an active concern of Widtsoe and the station, and sugar beets became a successful crop across the state by the turn of the century. Widtsoe recalled:

10 John Widtsoe to George Brimhall, September 20, 1904, Brimhall Presidential Papers, box 10, folder 6, letter #90, Brigham Young University Archives, Provo, Utah

" Widtsoe to Lyman H Rich, undated, Widtsoe Family Collection, box 2, folder 11, Utah State Historical Society Library, Salt Lake City

12 Ibid.

13 Agricultural College of Utah Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 48 and Bulletin No. 58. See also "Lucerne," Utah Church andFarm28 (July 1894): 30

14 Board of Trustees Minutes, Utah State Agricultural College, vol. 1, pp. 541-42, Utah State University Archives, Logan

15 Franklin S. Harris, "ApostleJohn Andreas Widtsoe," Young Woman'sJournal, June 1921, p. 321.

The Utah Experiment Station55

The battle for a beet sugar industry wason There was some doubt as to whether sugar beets could be grown generally throughout the State Two years' test, in which small plots were planted to beets in practically every State location, and the resulting beets analyzed, we found that sugar beets could be grown successfully everywhere in the State.16

Persuading farmers to grow enough beets to supply sugar factories, though, was a serious problem that required frequent appeals.17

Through the scientific studies of the Experiment Station, farmers gradually learned how to grow better quality sugar beets and how to increase their production.

Prior to 1891 Utahns had to purchase their sugar from the East

By the turn of the century Utah sugar plants in Ogden and Lehi produced enough sugar to meet local needs. By 1902 factories were also

16 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p. 48.

17 Richard S Van Wagoner, "The Lehi Sugar Factory—100 Years in Retrospect," Utah Historical Quarterly 59 (1991): 195, 203

Above: Sugar beet seed test field. USHS collections.

Left: Home ofExperiment Station director at ACU. Widtsoe Collection.

operating in Logan and Garland, and it appeared that much of Utah's sugar production could be shipped to outside markets at substantial profit. In 1906 the state's total production reached 88 million pounds. Since Utah's consumption varied from 19 to 24 million pounds per year through the first decade of the twentieth century, a large surplus was available to market elsewhere

Though beets required large amounts of hand labor, they netted over $2.00 per ton or nearly $40.00 per acre. A government report stated it was "not probable that any standard crop would . . . yield better net returns . . . than beets."18 Sugar beets remained a big part of the local agricultural economy for a long time. In 1957 Utah distributed 676,987 hundred-pound bags of sugar. 19

Although the station made a major impact on lucerne and sugar beets, other research during Widtsoe's years as chemist also contributed to agricultural knowledge and success. A report summarizing the activities of the chemical department for a single year recorded numerous lucerne studies, 57 soil studies, 90 sugar beet studies, 75 studies of animal feed and digestion, 70 samples of milk, and 400 determinations of soil moisture in connection with tillage of corn It also reported extensive work for the other station departments and outside parties. In all, the agricultural scientists completed 3,000 studies or experiments.20 Attributing increased farm activity to the ACU and its Experiment Station, one historian noted, "A major revolution took place in agriculture in Utah after 1890. Between 1890 and 1900 the number of farms and the total number of acres of improved farm land doubled."21 For its contributions in the Widtsoe years the station became highly regarded both in and out of Utah.22

As Widtsoe delved more deeply into chemical research, he realized the value and the need of further training.

More and more chemistry of life fascinated me. There were processes within living plants, animals and humans which must be determined It seemed a field to which I could give my life So the decision was soon made to go forth again in search of knowledge—of discovered truth and methods of investigation—this time in Europe, for the foremost workers in what was known then as physiological chemistry were in European

18 Charles L Schmalz, "Sugar Beets in Cache Valley: An Amalgamation of Agriculture and Industry," Utah Historical Quarterly 57 (1989): 383

19 Marketing Ability of the Beet Sugar Industry (Salt Lake City: Utah-Idaho Sugar Co., 1957), pp 6-7

20 Utah Agricultural College Experiment Station, Eighth Annual Report, July 1, 1896, to June 30, 1897, pp 12-13

21 Ellsworth, Utah's Heritage, p. 374.

22 "The Work of the Utah Experiment Station," LoganJournal, April 30, 1895, pp 5-7

The Utah Experiment Station57

universities and laboratories Harvard generously appointed me to one of its four Parker traveling fellowships, with a substantial stipend. I borrowed more and was ready for a new adventure.23

Widtsoe and his new wife, Leah Dunford, left for Europe shortly after their marriage in June 1898. For two years he studied under some of the world's leading chemists at the University of Goettingen, Germany, where he received the degrees of master of arts and doctor of philosophy magna cum laude. He also studied at the Polytechnicum and other institutions in Europe. On his return a former professor at Harvard wrote of him, "owing to his recent study in Europe [he] is now as well qualified as anyone in the country for work in physiological chemistry, in fact I think there is no one in America so well equipped."24

While Widtsoe was still in Europe, his friend and tutor J. M. Tanner resigned as president of the ACU. Tanner convinced Widtsoe to apply for the presidency, which he did "halfheartedly."25 After losing by a single vote, he was elected director of the Experiment Station. He had also been offered the presidency of Brigham Young College (BYC) in Logan but declined in favor of the Experiment Station: "The main reason for my choice was this: Among our people [LDS] I think I am the only person who has so fitted himself for the kind of work required of the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station that no serious criticism could be offered against him."26

As director and chemist, Widtsoe charted the course of both the chemical division and the Experiment Station. It was a challenge he

23 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 53

24

p. 250.

25 Ibid., p. 70.

26

Leah Dunford Widtsoe, 1911 Widtsoe Collection.

This was Charles LoringJackson, Erving Professor of Chemistry at Harvard. See Widtsoe, Sunlit Land,

Widtsoe to Presiding Bishop W B Preston, undated, Widtsoe Family Collection, box 2, folder 4

obviously enjoyed: "The years that I served as director of the station was a period of almost complete absorption in service to the farmers of the State."27 Since his predecessor had concluded all previous research and publication, Widtsoe was free to determine new investigations to be undertaken. As always, he had a goal: "The Station, if it serves its purpose well, must discover something new that meets a distinct want in the State, and which can be applied by the farmers, so as to be of economic or other value."28 Following this course, he decided to "choose problems for investigation of first importance in Utah."29

Widtsoe did not rely on his training alone to determine the station's research agenda. He felt one must cleanse himself of the assumption that he understands everything known on a subject: "We must lay aside our preconceived notions, our prejudices and even our views of what may be the nature of the truth to be discovered in order that we may gather from nature all that she has in her keeping for us."30 Accordingly, he again sought insight on Utah's needs by boarding a buggy and visiting settlements from Logan to Kanab, over to St. George, and back to Logan. Not a single night was spent in a hotel nor a single meal taken in a restaurant. He lived right with the farmers and learned from them what their problems were. It took about four months, but he declared, "when I got back I knew what our experiment station should be working on."31

One thing Widtsoe came to understand was that "the future development of Utah will necessarily depend on the extension of the old irrigation systems and the creation of new ones."32 The irrigation work of the station brought the highest commendations of government officials and attracted the attention of irrigation experts. Cooperative efforts and substantial research contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture followed. Utah's work in irrigation became so well known that in 1903 the conference of the National Irrigation Congress was held in Ogden. A Logan newspaper reported:

27 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 81

28 Utah Agricultural College Experiment Station, Twelfth Annual Report, July 1, 1900, to June 30, 1901, p vii

29 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 73

30 Widtsoe to L. M. Winsor, June 10, 1910, Widtsoe Presidential Papers, box 31, folder 1, USU Archives

31 From a transcript of an oral interview with Richard Welling Roskelley, November 14, 1979, in Special Collections at USU, ref file MS509

32 "Of Interest to the Farmers Only," Logan Republican, March 13, 1903, p 1

The Utah Experiment Station59

The Agricultural Department at Washington is convinced that the methods adopted by Professor Widtsoe in this department are the best in the world, and were therefore willing to co-operate on the basis above mentioned Too much praise cannot be given Professor Widtsoe and his aidswho have brought this system of irrigation to such a state of perfection as to induce the officials of the Government to form a cooperation with our institution. This means a great deal when the number of experiment stations in the country are [sic] considered. The amount thus invested is aside from the general appropriation from the government.33

In 1903 only 1.15 percent (983 acres) of Utah's land area was under irrigation, yet the land was among the most fertile in the world and the conditions of sunshine and temperature were nearly ideal Insufficient rain and river water kept vast portions of land unimproved Land rich in plant foods but without water was worth between $1.50 and $2.50 per acre, while land with ample water and access to markets commanded between $100 and $300 per acre. For Widtsoe, "The conclusion is evident: The value of a farm in Utah does not reside largely in the land, but rather in the quantity of water under the control of the owner. The smaller the possible returns of the farm without irrigation, the greater the value of a water

33 "Important Experiments," Logan Republican,Jure 29, 1904, p 1

Winter 1902 view with ACUfarm buildings in the distance. Buggies are parked at present site ofTaggart Student Center, Utah State University. Widtsoe Collection.

right for it."34 This realization spurred the elaborate irrigation experiments he supervised Some of the most notable experiments ran over a ten-year period (1902-11) and involved fourteen crops. From these he learned that yield increased rapidly with the increase of water to a certain point and then decreased with more water. At his "break in the curve," the amount of water used was called the consumptive use. 35

Because of the abundance of fertile land beyond the reach of irrigation, the station conducted numerous studies on the feasibility of raising crops without irrigation. Dry farming as a distinct branch of agriculture for the purpose of reclaiming unirrigable desert or semidesert lands was pioneered by Widtsoe. In his text on the subject he defined the challenges:

The fundamental problems of dry-farming are, then, the storage in the soil of a small annual rainfall; the retention in the soil of the moisture until it is needed by plants; the prevention of the direct evaporation of soil-moisture during the growing season; the regulation of the amount of water drawn from the soil by plants; the choice of crops suitable for growth under arid conditions; the application of suitable crop treatments, and the disposal of dry-farm products, based upon the superior composition of plants grown with small amounts of water.36

Utah is semi-arid country with large deserts of scanty vegetation where rainfall is far below that of sections in which modern agriculture has been developed. Moreover, only small portions of the desert can be irrigated under the most favorable conditions. The first need of agricultural Utah, as Widtsoe saw it, was to make the natural precipitation produce crops, with or without irrigation, to the highest degree A study of the relationship between plants and water, historically and experimentally, became the central thesis of the station. The goal was to conquer the desert by scientific study. Investigation of farming under arid and semi-arid conditions had long concerned Widtsoe. In his copy of an 1895 station bulletin he noted: "Calculate: the amount of materials furnished by the water and retained by the soil; then the amount of material removed from the soil by the crops This, to learn the rate of exhaustion—if any exist."37 A systematic study was made of

34 John A Widtsoe, 'The Right Way to Irrigate," Agricultural College of Utah, Bulletin No. 86, p 57

35 Orson W Israelsen and Vaughn E Hansen, Irrigation Principles and Practices (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1962), pp 236-37

36 John A Widtsoe, Dryjarming, a System ofAgriculturefor Countries under a Low Rainfall (New York: Macmillan Company, 1911), pp. 9-10.

37 Utah Agricultural College Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 39, p 9

The Utah Experiment Station61

the amount of water needed to irrigate specific crops, and at what point more water was unnecessary or even harmful This work eventually determined the exact amount of water needed for each specific crop. The findings were published in station bulletins and in newspapers across the state.38 For example,

It has been calculated that to produce twenty bushels of wheat to the acre would require an annual rainfall of 11.4 inches In the northern section of Utah, that is all that portion north of Provo there is an annual rainfall, including snow, of about 13.47 inches. This shows that the northern section receives an annual rainfall, which if properly conserved in the soil, should be sufficient to produce twenty bushels of wheat to the acre,without the artificial application of water , 39

The station, the first agency to investigate the possibilities of arid farming, published several major reports of its findings.40 Bulletin No.75, the first published treatise on arid farming, described dry farming techniques. Instructions covered when to plow, letting lands lie fallow, when to plant seed, and what kind and how much seed to use. It signalled the beginning of a great new area of research. Vast areas of Utah land could not be brought under irrigation for many years and many others would probably never be irrigated; nevertheless, "These lands in most cases would make splendid dry or arid farms."41

Some farmers remained skeptical, especially during low moisture cycles. A series of dry summers worked a great hardship on those who had purchased expensive machinery, anticipating returns from their farms. Where water could be taken to arid lands, even at great expense, it was considered wise to convert dry farms into irrigated land "Good land with water can be depended upon to produce a crop each year, and forty acres of it is worth more than one hundred and sixty acres of dry farm with no certainty of a crop year after year."42 Despite disbelief and hardship, the station continued its work. It received an appropriation from the legislature to establish six dry farms across the state to experiment with the methods of dry farming and to demonstrate its possibilities Of one of them Widtsoe wrote:

38 See Agricultural College of Utah Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 80; "Irrigation Is Harmful Unless It Is Done in the Proper Way," Logan Republican, April 30, 1904, p 1; Agricultural College of Utah Experiment Station, Circular No. 2.

39 "Oflnterest to the Farmers Only," Logan Republican, March 13, 1903, p 1

40 Agricultural College of Utah Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 75, Bulletin No. 80, and Bulletin No. 94.

41 John A Widtsoe and Lewis A Merrill, Arid Farndng or Dry Farming, Bulletin No. 75 (Logan, Ut.: Experiment Station, Agricultural College of Utah, 1902), p 115

42 "The Dry Farms," Logan Republican, July 15, 1903, p 6

I met with theJuab County commissioners to secure county co-operation, which was readily given, though with some misgivings as to the outcome The chairman of the commission advised me to place the farm on the southern slope of the hill, since on the northern side we could only expect failure So challenged, of course, we located the farm on the northern slope We ourselves could only guess at the results Early the next spring, when only afew blades of wheat were showing, we were frankly more hopeful than certain. But in earlyJuly the farm was covered with bountiful yields of several dozen varieties of useful crops The farm looked like an oasis in the stretch of sage brush covering hill and valley At our invitation the peoplejoined an excursion to the farm They were interested and at the end of the day convinced andjubilant They gave three cheers there for the College. As I was leaving, there stood at the farm gate a depressed looking man. Ivolunteered help if needed. "No," he answered, "I amjust trying to figure out how those d fellows at the College could pick out the only forty acres on this hill where crops could be grown without irrigation." He also became a convert and the prosperous owner of a dry-farm on Levan hill.43

Levan Ridge and its surrounding country are some of the largest and most successful dry-farm areas in Utah.

Experimental farms were established in Iron, Juab, San Juan, Sevier, Tooele, and Washington counties. On these farms local agriculturalists could see demonstrations of growing crops without irrigation. The demonstrations enabled them to acquire an understanding of how the work was done and what results were obtained in a manner more productive than reading Scientific farming yielded splendid stalks of rye, wheat, barley, and oats on land that was commonly supposed to be valueless. The station received many accolades, but it remained difficult for the scientists to arouse sufficient interest in it among many of those who could gain the most from the findings.

Utah became known as the oldest of the dry-farming states, and national articles about dry-farming saluted Cache Valley residents as its inventor.44 Dry farming had one more test to pass—surviving a year of drought. Lewis A. Merrill answered that challenge by analyzing the harvest of 1910, a severe drought year. Returns from all sections of Utah and surrounding states confirmed the teachings promulgated by the Experiment Station. Widtsoe proved that it was possible to store two years' precipitation in the soil. Farmers who followed these practices "have this year reaped an ample harvest."45

43 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 80

44 John T Burns to Widtsoe, September 12, 1911, Widtsoe Presidential Papers, box 32, folder 4; F H Perry to Widtsoe, October 15, 1907, ibid., box 7, folder 1

45 Lewis A Merrill, "The Drouth of 1910," Deseret Farmer, August 13, 1910, pp 4, 5, 12

The Utah Experiment Station63

Visitors came from other states and countries to see first hand the station's success. L. H. Bailey, the prestigious dean of Cornell's College of Agriculture, asked Widtsoe, who was a member of the Irrigation Congress and president of the Dry-Farm Congress, to write textbooks on irrigation and dry-farming.46 These texts were used in France, Africa, Spain, Hungary, Australia, and all of North and South America.47 For pioneering irrigation and dry farming Widtsoe was dubbed "the father of the system of Dry Farming in the West."48 During the 1890s the amount of land farmed in Utah increased fourfold; and in the early 1900s farming extended farther into the Uinta Basin, the west deserts, and SanJuan County.49 Dry farming alone increased Utah's crop land by one-fourth.50 As late as 1967, 37 percent of Utah's crop lands were without irrigation.51

The ACU and the station sent several exhibits to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Competing with 64 agricultural colleges and 60 experiment stations, the Utah station's irrigation model won a silver medal.52 Cooperation was the key to the station's success, Widtsoe believed, for the cause of reclaiming a large portion of the earth's unoccupied surface was too great for personalities to injure the work.53 He wrote:

It is again a pleasure to mention the harmonious manner in which three departments, involving the labors of nearly twelve men, have worked together to carry out successfully the plans of the irrigation experiments It is believed that this series of experiments stands alone in the history of irrigation, when its comprehensive, thorough and strictly scientific treatment is considered.54

46 Widtsoe, Dry Farming, See also Widtsoe's The Principles of Irrigation Practice (New York: MacMillan Company, 1914)

47 His book on dry farming was translated into Spanish and used in Spain and its colonies; the French version was used in France's African colonies For evidence of Hungarian, Australian, and also South African use see Widtsoe to Burns, September 7, 1911, Widtsoe Presidential Papers, box 32, folder 4, and Widtsoe to Charles Cristadoro,June 12, 1911, ibid., box 52, folder 1 He was extensively involved with both individuals and the Dry-farm Congress in Canada His letters show Mexican and Brazilian contact with him for help in dry farming: Widtsoe to Eugenio Dahne, December 10, 1910, ibid., box 52, folder 3, and Warren Longhurst to Widtsoe, November 6, 1908, ibid., box 34, folder 2, are but two examples

48 J W Paxman to Widtsoe,July 11, 1912, ibid., box 27, folder 3

49 Charles S Peterson, "Cholera, Blight, and Sparrows: A Look at Utah's First Agricultural Agents," Utah Historical Quarterly 57 (1989): 139.

50 Ellsworth, Utah's Heritage, pp 375-76

51 Utah State Department of Agriculture, Utah Agricultural Statistics, 1984 (Salt Lake City, 1985), p. 11.

52 "A C of U Notes," Logan Republican, October 22, 1904, p 1 "A C at World's Fair," Logan Republican, July 30, 1904, p 1

53 Widtsoe to Burns, September 9, 1911, Widtsoe Presidential Papers, box 32, folder 4

54 Agricultural College of Utah Experiment Station, Thirteenth Annual Report, July 1, 1901, toJune 30, 1902, p. x.

Irrigation and dry farming were the principal focus of the station, but scientists also continued work on soil surveys and reclaiming alkali lands They experimented on the feed value of Utah crops, analyzed sugar beets and sugar beet pulp, and considered the development of new crops suited to arid farming. Dwarf Essex rape, they discovered, provided excellent fall pasturage for sheep and hogs and was remarkably drought resistant, and the Soja (soy) bean was heralded for taking nitrogen from the air and storing it in the soil. Studies of evaporation in soils were frequent.55

During his time as the director of the Experiment Station, Widtsoe oversaw the research and publication of bulletins on an impressive variety of subjects helpful to Utah farmers Of twenty-three published bulletins, four dealt with the feeding of animals, three with irrigation, two with arid farming, two with dairying, one with poultry, three with scientific findings in the beet industry, and five with fruits and vegetables. Other bulletins addressed devastating problems such as a blight, wheat smuts, moths, and smelter smoke. One reported on new farm equipment, while another presented the findings of a general soil survey of Salt Lake Valley.

Part ofexperimental dryfarm exhibit at the 1904 Utah State Fair. From the Experiment Station's Bulletin No 91, Arid Farming in Utah, published inJanuary 1905.

55 See Utah Experiment Station Bulletins Nos. 51-100.

The Utah Experiment Station65

To Widtsoe, research and publication were not enough: "Carrying the principles of modern agriculture to the farmers always seemed important to me. Unused truth has little value."56 He felt that not one farmer in ten realized what was available to him as a result of experiments in the products that every farmer raised. He urged farmers to "at once put themselves in touch with information freely imparted through the bulletins of the A.C of U."57 He also devised ways of disseminating new truths discovered at the Experiment Station. Experimental farms in representative areas of the state proved to be effective learning centers for many. Additionally, the state set aside money for teachers from the ACU to travel throughout the state and hold institutes for farmers.58 At least one of these was to be held in each county each year. Widtsoe recalled that "As time permitted, with specialists from the Station staff, I travelled over the State discussing with groups of farmers their problems While we taught them something, they in turn set our faces towards problems to be solved."59 Institute work did not always produce success. Widtsoe reported that only two people attended the lecture in Springville. He and a fellow professor gave their talks anyway and asked for a response. One attendee was the janitor who had remained only to lock the building The other, stone deaf, had stayed for the company but had not heard a single word.60 Despite an occasional flop, institute work became very successful, farmer turnout was impressive, and enthusiasm echoed in the press. As the Logan newspaper proudly proclaimed, instruction at the institutes was "disseminated in the delightful manner that comes natural to the average professor at the big school on the hill."61

A successful farm operation required teamwork The farmer's wife—a homemaker, housekeeper, cook, and merchant—was a vital

56 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 78

57 "Important Experiments," Logan Republican, June 29, 1904, p 1

58 Utah Agricultural College Experiment Station. Seventh Annual Report, July 1, 1895, to June 30, 1896, pp 19-20.

59 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 78

60 "John A Widtsoe," Deseret News, January 28, 1922, p 1

61 "Farmers Institutes," Logan Republican, November 11, 1903, p 1 The appreciation many farmers felt for the help of the college and the Experiment Station is expressed in a letter to the Deseret Farmer. "Professors J A Widtsoe and Robert S Northrop made us a very pleasant call yesterday as they were passing through our city on their way home from the Dixie capital, where they had been in the interests of the experiment farm that is located in that vicinity They were much pleased with the move that our people are making in arid farming, and assured us that it would be a paying proposition They expressed a willingness to do everything in their power to help us to make the move a success, and when we get the farm ready for seeding they will help in the selection of seed Deseret Farmer, April 13, 1905, p 4

factor in its operation Widtsoe recognized the women's importance and included sessions for them as well as men in the programs of the institutes:

Since the farmer's wife must also work intelligently if the household is to be happy, from the beginning of this period women's institutes were held with great success. My wife, well trained, and enthusiastically in support of the work of the College and Station, conducted most of the early meetings throughout the State in which the problems of the home and household were discussed.62

With Lewis A Merrill and J Edward Taylor, Widtsoe founded a newspaper called the Deseret Farmer and served as the general manager. It enjoyed a wide circulation and a long life. The Deseret Farmer published articles about irrigation, dry-farming, livestock, horticulture, fruit growing, and all else having to do with farming in Utah. Widtsoe wrote articles encouraging farmers to take advantage of the opportunities modern science was yielding.63 The paper announced the farmer's institutes and reported the proceedings to those who could not attend Widtsoe wrote that it "has done much to help the tiller of the soil and the husbandman in the arid region."64

All of these efforts to reach farmers were very successful. More than eighty years later a historian wrote, "In no feature were good times more marked than in the application of science to agricultural practices and farm life. Irrigation passed from rule of thumb to technology. . . . Dry farming became first a field of research then a way of life."65

Any assessment of the Utah Experiment Station must consider the economic impact it had on the constituents it was designed to serve. The Logan newspaper believed it was impossible to estimate the financial value of the work of the station but that some computations indicated that "were the directions given in the station bulletins generally followed, there would be an annual gain to the state of hundreds of thousands of dollars.66 One significant statistic is the increase in average farm values from $2,619 in 1900 to $9,499 in 1920.67

62 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 78

63 For a few examples see "Agricultural College of Utah," Deseret Farmer, September 15, 1904, p. 4; "Agricultural Education," Deseret Farmer, April 6, 1905, p 5

64 Widtsoe, Sunlit Land, p 79

65 Peterson, "Cholera, Blight, and Sparrows," pp. 139-40.

66 "Agricultural Experiment Station," Logan Republican, January 1, 1904, p 6

67 Ellsworth, Utah's Heritage, p 374

The Utah Experiment Station67

Just prior to completing his service as station director, Widtsoe wrote an article estimating the economic impact of several research activities of the Experiment Station in 1905 He showed that the varieties of wheat used by farmers in the state, as a result of the station's research, resulted in a total increase of at least 189,235 bushels or $113,541. Station research on feeding horses netted a statewide savings of 20,000 tons of lucerne with a cash value of $80,000. Studies on the optimum time for cutting lucerne showed that the value could be increased by at least one tenth, or 58,132 tons, with a cash value of $275,000. By following station guidelines on when and in what quantities to irrigate wheat, statewide yield was increased by 378,470 bushels or $257,082. The increase in sugar beet yields resulting from station research represented a statewide gain of between $150,000 and $600,000 for that important cash crop Widtsoe's analysis continued:

Of still higher importance have been the results which indicate that by the more economical use of water the irrigation area may be increased at least one-fourth without the building of any new canals. There are now 620,120 acres of irrigated land in the State. To increase that area one-fourth would mean an increase of 157,280 acres, each of which would certainly yield $10, which would result in adding to the annual wealth of the State $1,562,800 The value of such results isafact beyond estimations

Our work showing the possibilities of arid lands will certainly result in adding materially to the wealth of the State There are at present 51,972,480 acres of land in the Statewhich are not irrigated Ifonly one percent of this land can be made to yield fifteen bushels per acre without irrigation, and it does not seem at all impossible, the State would gain annually 7,795,860 bushels of wheat, with a value of at least 50 cents per bushel, or $3,897,930. If only one acre in a thousand can thus be reclaimed, the annual value to the State would be nearly $400,000.

John A. Widtsoe, 1902. Widtsoe Collection.

Calculations similar to these may be multiplied and the numerous experiments of the station can be connected with their financial value in such awayas to show that the Utah agricultural experiment station has done work which may make or is making for the State millions of dollars Asa money-making institution for the state the agricultural experiment station takes second rank to none, save it be to the public school system, which gives to men and women powers to use the results obtained by modern science.68

While benefitting farmers directly, agricultural advances also helped others. The Utah canning industry had begun in 1888. By 1914 there were thirty-two canning factories that produced 1,338,497 cases of fruits and vegetables that year These "factories employed 1,500 workers who received one-third of a million dollars in wages

By 1914 Utah ranked fifth in the canning industry among the United States. Utah canned products sold throughout the West and Midwest."69

These were happy and successful years for the Widtsoe family. Looking back over his years at the station, John wrote to a friend, "I do not know of any half decade in my life which I have enjoyed more thoroughly than my directorship of the Utah State Agricultural Experiment Station."70 The family enjoyed uncommon personal triumphs and endured common family tragedies. Though a towering figure in the college, Widtsoe became the martyr of an ugly statewide skirmish. Many citizens felt that Utah was too small to support both a university and an agricultural college. A move was afoot in the governor's office and the legislature to consolidate the two institutions by making the ACU a college in the University of Utah The controversy became particularly nasty at the ACU. The statewide impact of the Experiment Station, and Widtsoe's devotion to agricultural education, led William Jasper Kerr, president of the ACU, to label Widtsoe disloyal. As a result, Widtsoe was dismissed from the station and the college in 1905. The dismissal came as a severe shock to him and was without doubt the low point of his professional life. He deplored the insinuations of the dismissal and was keenly disappointed that he could not follow the projects begun under his tutelage to their conclusion. While the legislature resolved the consolidation controversy, Widtsoe went to BYU and founded its School of Agricul68 "Worth of the A.C of U.," Logan Republican, January 4, 1905, p 4 69 Ellsworth, Utah's Heritage, p 377 70 Widtsoe to David A. Burgoyne, February 25, 1938, Widtsoe Papers, box 109, folder 20, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City

The Utah Experiment Station69

ture. His two years at BYU were triumphant and highly acclaimed. They were also his last opportunity for significant research. In 1907 the consolidation controversy was resolved by the legislature and the policies of Kerr so condemned that he resigned his presidency. The Board of Trustees elected Widtsoe as his successor. 71 Administrative duties thereafter precluded significant experimental research

Widtsoe used his four years as chemist at the Experiment Station and his five years as its director to lay the foundation of a distinguished career. He became a world renown scholar, and his books, based on station findings, were translated into several languages. He steered the station along paths it would follow for many years and brought it to national and international prominence.

71 For additional information see my "Crisis in Utah Higher Education: The Consolidation Controversy of 1905-7," Utah Historical Quarterly 62 (1994): 204-21

The Sego Lily, Utah's State Flower

BY BRIAN Q. CANNON

PEOPLE LAY CLAIM TO A STATE OR REGION in a variety of ways In addition to working to improve a tract of land and obtaining legal title to it, people may cultivate affective ties to the land by highlighting distinctive features of the landscape and endowing them with symbolic meaning. Often those features possess practical value, beauty, historical significance, or psychological meaning A small but important feature of the natural environment that Utahns have memorialized in this manner is the sego lily. In 1911 the Utah State Legislature designated the sego lily, a delicate white blossom, as the state's floral emblem. They were neither the first nor the last Utahns to make use of the sego lily

In tracing Utahns' evolving relationship with the sego lily, the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan's ideas offer a useful theoretical framework. Tuan has observed that the ways in which a society perceives or interprets facets of the physical world may change "as mastery over nature increases and the concept of beauty alters." As this article demonstrates, Utahns during the first century of white settlement depicted the sego lily differently as their physical circumstances and relationship to the natural environment changed.1

Pioneer Mormons learned from local Indians that the bulb of a plant that the Indians called sego was edible. For instance, Newman Buckley "watched squaws go out every day and return loaded with

Sego lilies by Eastmond Art Service, Provo, Utah, 1932, from the cover of "When Segos Bloom in Utah, " a song by Will Hanson. USHS collections.

Dr Cannon is assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University

1 Yi-Fu Tuan, Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and Values (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1974), pp 4, 13, 99, 246

something." Upon further investigation he "found it was sego and thistle roots to store for the winter."2

Although some settlers may have eaten the sego lily out of curiosity after observing the Indians, most ate their first sego lily bulbs when starvation threatened in the winter of 1848-49. According to Brigham Young's Manuscript History, "many" settlers survived this lean season by eating sego lily or thistle roots and boiled rawhide.3

Pioneer Utahns who wrote about the sego lily in their autobiographies told how they had unearthed the bulbs with a sharpened digging stick or grubbing hoe.

Mosiah L Hancock detested "the back aching job" of digging sego lilies with a sharpened stick Richard Ashby, who herded cattle on the foothills as a youth and "often brought home a pint or so of segos," quipped years later that he was "still sore where the stick hurt him while leaning on it to punch into the soil for segos."4

Some sego bulbs were as large as hens' eggs or walnuts and others as tiny as peas, but most were about the size of marbles. Few settlers relished this food of last resort Louisa Morris Decker remembered all wild roots as "almost tasteless." Eliza R Snow praised the sego bulb's nutritional value highly but described the taste more modestly as "not unpalatable." M. Isabella Home wrote that the bulbs were "quite nice when fresh cooked, being mucilaginous," but "thick and ropey" when cool.5

2 Newman Buckley, quoted in Kate B Carter, ed., Treasures of Pioneer History, 6 vols (Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1952-57), 4:78.

3 Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1849, p 95, quoted in Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Utah (San Francisco: History Co., 1890), p. 288.

4 Benjamin Ashby, quoted in Robert L Ashby, ed., Ashby Ancestry (Salt Lake City: Stringham Ashby Stevens, 1941), p 23; "Mosiah L Hancock Journal," typescript, p 42, Brigham Young University Special Collections (BYUSC), Provo, Utah

5 Hyrum Theron Spencer, quoted in Carter, Treasures ofPioneer History, 4:78; Howard Stansbury, Exploration of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, 1852 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988), p 397; Eliza R. Snow: An Immortal: Selected Writings ofEliza R. Snow (Salt Lake City: Nicholas G. Morgan, Sr., Foundation, 1957), p 93; Louisa Morris Decker, quoted in Woman's Exponent 37 (April 1909): 50; M Isabella Home, "In Early Days: Home Life in the Pioneer Fort,"Juvenile Instructor29 (1894): 181-85.

M. Isabella Homefound cooked sego bulbs tasty. USHS collections.

Perhaps some pioneers paused to admire the sego lily's beauty or to attach symbolic significance to the plant's color, shape or hardiness. If they did so, they failed to record these reflections in their diaries and autobiographies. Regarding the sego lily primarily as a source of food, they focused instead on the size and taste of sego bulbs or on harvesting and cooking techniques

Although the sego lily itself apparently held little symbolic significance for early Utahns, the act of eating the sego lily came to symbolize many things for members of the pioneer generation. When it was no longer necessary to eat the sego bulb, some pioneers related tales of eating them in order to prove that they had suffered greatly. For instance, Aroet Hale told of eating the bulbs to "show to our children and the rising generation how their parents suffered in the early days."6

While some told of eating the sego bulb purely to demonstrate their tenacity in the face of adversity, others did so to prove that Utah belonged to them. By choosing to remain in Utah even when they had to eat sego bulbs, they maintained that they had earned the right to call Utah their home. Moses Thatcher ridiculed newcomers in the 1880s, charging that they "look upon the fair vales of Utah, and say it is too good for the 'Mormons.'" Thatcher retorted, "I can remember when it was not too good for us; when we had to boil roots and thistles for a livelihood; when we had to go on the hillsides and dig segoes."7

For some pioneers the fact that they had eaten the sego lily signified their virtue. Faithful pioneers who had followed the counsel of their leaders and shared their provisions with neighbors "had to dig roots to mix with their meal and flour," George W Bean explained This was "better" than being "too selfish to give of their plenty and surplus to the needy." Bean contrasted the actions of the faithful with those of a "prominent" woman who "prayed in the sisters' meeting for the Lord to bless the poor. . . . and open the way for them to find thistle and sego roots to sustain themselves. At the same time she had three barrels of flour buried in her dooryard, two of which spoiled that Spring."8

6 Aroet L Hale, "Diary [Autobiography] of Aroet L Hale," typescript, p 20, BYUSC

7 Brian Stuy, comp., Collected Discourses, vol 1 (Burbank, Calif.: B.H.S Publishing, 1987), November 11, 1888.

8 Flora D. B. Home, comp., Autobiography of George W. Bean: A Utah Pioneer of 1847, and HisFamily Records (Salt Lake City: Utah Printing Co., 1945), p. 38.

Some nineteenth-century Utahns who wanted to demonstrate that their religious convictions had not waned averred that they would gladly renounce the comforts of the world for a lowly diet of sego bulbs. Addressing a congregation in 1854, Jedediah Grant criticized all who "love[d] the world and the glory of the world" and who "liked to associate with our enemies, those who have a sneering and malicious spirit." Grant boasted, "I would rather dig thistle roots and sego roots to live upon, and eat boiled hides, and drink the broth from them, than to take such enemies into my house." Grant's contemporary Ezra Benson testified that he did not fear the persecution and famine that he believed would precede the second coming of Christ: "When these things come, we can eat thistle roots and drink buttermilk, and honor God, and have His Holy Spirit with us."9

Tales of eating sego lilies also served as a means of reminding Utahns how affluent and comfortable they had become. Mormon divines who feared that their congregations had become ungrateful hastened to contrast their listeners' relative prosperity with the early pioneers' dependence on wild plants Brigham Young wished aloud that those who took lightly their blessings of "wheat and corn and fine flour" would be "obliged to gnaw the ground in order to get out the thistle roots, and have no fingers to dig them with . . . until they know who it is that feeds them." Apostle Heber C. Kimball reminded a congregation in 1855 that they should not complain about their material circumstances: "When we first came here, and lived on thistle roots, segos, wolf skins, and like articles of food, we considered that we were doing well; then let us go to, and strive by the help of God to be Saints." George Q. Cannon likewise chastened a congregation for their ingratitude in 1889. Even in pioneer times when "many families never tasted bread for days and weeks together, the people living upon such roots as could be dug . . . rejoiced to an extent, I think, far greater than they do in their present comfortable position."10

For most Utahns prior to 1890, then, the sego lily was strictly a food—and an undesirable one that they had eaten out of desperation. The plant itself possessed little aesthetic or symbolic significance. The fact that people had eaten the plant, however, symbolized their tenacity and righteousness in the face of great adversity

J Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (Liverpool, 1854-86) [hereafter JD], 2:73, 3:61.

10 p , 3:196; 3:58; Stuy, Collected Discourses, vol 1, May 26, 1889

and buttressed their claim to Utah. Although many acknowledged, like William Leany, that "the Lord was with the people and none of them starved to death," few if any singled out the sego lily as an emblem of their divine deliverance.11

Although first-generation Utahns apparently attached little symbolic importance to the actual presence of the sego lily or its physical characteristics, subsequent generations romanticized the plant and ascribed new symbolic significance to it. Removed in time from the privations of the pioneer era, these later Utah residents perceived the sego lily primarily as a beautiful ornament laden with symbolic significance.

Other wild plants with flowers, most notably the thistle, had been mentioned by almost twice as many early settlers in their reminiscences as a source of food. Second- and third-generation Utahns ignored the historical reality and memorialized the sego lily rather than the thistle, though. Both the sego lily and the thistle boasted striking blossoms, but the thistle—the bane of western ranchers— also possessed sharp, spiny leaves that made it a nuisance. The Biblical tale of Adam and Eve, moreover, portrayed the thistle as part of a divine curse that befell the earth These factors may have predisposed Utahns to emphasize the sego lily's importance in the pioneer diet and to ignore the thistle altogether.12

Utahn women took an early step in glorifying the sego lily in 1892, as they prepared a display for the Woman's Building at the Chicago Columbian Exposition. The display, designed to reflect Utahns' industriousness and love of beauty, included two portieres made of Utah silk and graced by an embroidered sego lily motif In a description of the portieres, the editor of the Woman's Exponent explained that the sego lily was "the floral emblem of Utah."13 In a poem that was published shortly after the Columbian Exposition had opened, Lula Greene Richards, former editor of the Woman's Exponent, justified the selection of the sego lily as a symbol of Utah: "What

11 "Autobiography of William Leany, 1815-1891,"typescript, p 10, BYLSC

12 A list of pioneer autobiographies available at Brigham Young University was compiled using Davis Bitton's Guide to Mormon Diaries and Autobiographies (Provo, Ut.: Brigham Young University Press, 1977) Seventy-three autobiographical accounts written by pioneers of 1847-48 were identified and examined with the assistance of my research assistant, Richard Kitchen. Ten of the writers, or 13.7 percent, mentioned eating the sego lily, while 18, or 24.7 percent, mentioned eating the thistle Only two of the writers who mentioned eating the sego lily failed to also mention the role of thistles in their diet The Biblical reference to thistles is found in Genesis 3:18

13 Woman's Exponent 22 (February 1 and 15, 1894): 90

other flower so well could represent thee/Dear Utah, in high courts, where kings may tread," referring to the Columbian Exposition Although she did not romanticize the sego lily's beauty and admitted that "many [flowers] we find more elegant and splendid/In rich attire, with luscious, sweet perfume," she did rhapsodize about the plant's 'juicy bulbs," which she likened to "fat quails and precious manna." Richards concluded:

O'er the Queen Rose we all may be ecstatic, Accord the Indian Paint Brush charming power; Yetlet not grateful memory prove erratic, Or grant to Marguerite her sister's dower; Of hardihood and Faith most emblematic, We vote the Sego Lily Utah's Flower.14

Although Richards's poem resembled other Utahns' writings from the 1850s onward, which had employed the sego lily story to reinforce virtues such as hardihood and faith, its emphasis differed from that of the earlier writings. Whereas previous writers had focused upon the pioneers' willingness to eat the sego lily as a demonstration of their faith and hardihood, Richards focused upon the actual plant, identifying it as the state flower and maintaining that it symbolized faith because it "lent. . . hope" and hardihood because it bloomed "oft in sterile waste, all unattended."

In the years following the Columbian Exposition, Utahns increasingly recognized the sego lily as an emblem of Utah. On April 3, 1896, the Utah Legislature adopted a seal for the new state. Like the territorial seal, it contained a large beehive as a symbol of Utahns' industriousness, but the new seal also contained numerous additional images, including "growing sego lillies" that replaced buzzing bees on the sides of the beehive.15

The new state seal inspired Orielle Curtis to write a poem entitled "Utah" that was published early in 1897. Curtis portrayed the sego lily on the state seal not only as a food for men and bees but as a "type of liberty"—an emblem of the new state's commitment to the American nation's traditional ideals She advised her fellow Utahns:

14 Woman's Exponent 21 (November 1, 1892): 65

15 Benjamin F. Shearer and Barbara S. Shearer, State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1987), p 58; Carter, Treasures of Pioneer History, 4:70-71; Bancroft, History of Utah, p. 460; Laws of the State of Utah, Passed at the Special and First Regular Sessions of the Legislature of the State of Utah (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Co., 1896), pp 297-98; Kate B Carter, comp., Heart Throbs of the West, 26 vols. (Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1939-51), 1:11-14; 2:256

In thyyoung days thy horoscope we draw, And stars auspicious tell of fates benign. Symbol of order, industry and law, The murmurous hive isemblem fitly thine. Still 'round that hive thy sego lilies twine— Manna for man and nectar cup for bee; Born in the mountain where thy sunbeams shine, Its peerless bloom is type of liberty; Be loyal like thy bees, and, like thy lilies, free.16

In 1897 the Woman's Exponent published a prize-winning poem by Utah author and historian Orson F Whitney for a statehood poetry contest In fifteen verses he related a romantic tale whose principal characters were two symbols of the new state: a sego lily, introduced as an emblem of moral purity, and a honey bee. In Whitney's verse the sego lily, a "divinely fair" blossom, was overlooked by the restless breezes and warm seasons in their quest for "a beauteous bride" because "her chastity their ardor chilled/For she was as the snow." One day, however, a bee "reached the lily's rock-girt land" and "bent and kissed the blushing flower," turning her tears to nectar which "sweetened all that bitter land." The poem concluded by describing the "lily's marriage feast," which Whitney likened to the fruitful union of Utah's desert landscape and the industrious Mormon pioneers.

Theywedded in the wilderness,— The Lilyand the Bee; And men maintain 'twas then God gave The Land to Industry;—

Gave Utah to the Pioneer Whose patient valor won Our land to law and liberty, For patriot sire and son

Her golden wedding day has dawned; Ring out a happy chime, And welcome here the wedding guest From every coast and clime ...

Come frigid North, come fervid South, Come generous West and East, And grace at Utah's bounteous board The Lily's marriage feast!17

16 Orielle Curtis, "Utah," Woman's Exponent 25 (January 1, 1897): 91

17 Orson F Whitney, "The Lily and the Bee," Woman's Exponent 26 (July 15 and August 1, 1897):

As the sego lily became more widely recognized as a symbol of Utah, entrepreneurs capitalized upon it to attract the attention of consumers. In 1904 the newly organized Utah Condensed Milk Company, headquartered in Richmond, Utah, began marketing condensed milk under the label Sego Milk. Shortly thereafter, H. B. Prout, a Salt Lake dealer in agricultural implements, carriages, and wagons, became the first Utahn to include the sego lily in the name of his business when he renamed it the Sego Implement and Vehicle Company18

By 1911, when Utah's lawmakers formally designated the sego lily as the state flower, the plant was already widely regarded as a fitting symbol of the state. In a poll taken among school children shortly before the legislature formally selected a state flower, the children "almost unanimously" identified the sego lily as their choice for the state flower Introduced by William Newjent Williams, a member

18 Joel E Ricks and Everett L Cooley, eds., The History of a Valley: Cache Valley, Utah-Idaho (Logan, Ut.: Cache Valley Centennial Commission, 1956), pp 217, 253; R L Polk and Company, Salt Lake City Directory (Salt Lake City: R L Polk, 1906), p 802 An early advertisement for Utah Condensed Milk Company's Sego Milk is found in Utah State Gazetteer and Business Directory (Salt Lake City: R L Polk, 1908)

Sego Milk plant of the Utah Condensed Milk Company. USHS collections.

of the State Senate from Salt Lake City, the brief bill formally designating the sego lily as the state flower read, "Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of Utah: Section I. Utah State Flower: That the Sego Lily is hereby selected as, and declared to be, the Utah state flower."19

A prominent resident of Salt Lake City, Williams managed a prosperous furniture company and socialized with other well-heeled residents in the Salt Lake Commercial Club He was a member of the Third Quorum of Seventy of the LDS church and had served in the State Senate for eleven years when he introduced his sego lily bill. Far removed from the necessity of subsisting on the roots of wild plants, but imbued with a respect for the pioneers, Williams could philosophize about the symbolic value of the sego lily

His bill, along with thirty-one other measures, passed the House on March 17, the day before the legislature adjourned, "with little discussion," the DeseretNews reported. In summarizing measures "worthy of special note" that had been passed by the legislature, the News failed to mention Williams's sego lily bill.20

Although the sego lily bill attracted little attention in the press, it caught the attention of Senator Williams's wife. A daughter of George A. Smith and Susan E West Smith, Clarissa Williams was serving as first counselor in the LDS General Relief Society presidency when her husband introduced his state flower bill. Early in 1913 she joined with her associates on the Relief Society Board in designating the sego lily as the official emblem of the Relief Society because of "its usefulness in sustaining life in the early pioneer settlements."21

1!) Carter, Treasures ofPioneer History, 4:76; Laws of the State of Utah Passed at the Ninth Regular Session of the Legislature (Salt Lake City: Skelton Publishing Co., 1911), chap 97, p 137

20 AndrewJenson, comp., Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, vol 1 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson Co., 1901), pp 673-74; Deseret News, March 18 and 20, 1911; December 29, 1927

21 Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), pp 194, 228; Relief Society Handbook (Salt Lake City: Corporation of the President of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1988), p. 1.

Clarissa S. Williams and her husband, State Senator William N. Williams, established the sego as a cultural icon. USHS collections.

The Sego Lily79

As the officially designated floral emblem of Utah and of the Relief Society, the sego lily commanded increased attention. Photographs or illustrations of sego lilies adorned guidebooks and popular histories of the state as well as the cover of the Relief Society Magazine. In 1916John W. Pike, an attorney in Salt Lake City, penned an ode to the state flower entitled "Our S>egoLily" that was subsequently revised slightly and published in the Salt LakeTribune. Like Whitney, Pike used the symbol of the snow-white lily to encourage moral purity:

When Flora, gracious queen of Flow'rs, First saw these hills and vales of ours, She strew'd the rugged landscape o'er With treasures from her floral store, Then plucked from out her chaplet rare The fairest flower that nestled there, And bade it bloom forever more Where flower had never bloomed before!

"Bloom, thou," she said, "that men may see Howwondrous fair aflower can be! Thy outer robe of spotless white Shall rival snow on yonder height; Thy breast, which myfond tear bedews, Shall radiant be with rainbow hues; And men shall think and speak of thee As, 'Beauty, robed in Chastity!'"

And here it blooms—as fair a flow'r Asever bloomed in Southland bow'r, Where never winds blow rude or chilly! Yethere, beside the lasting snows, It rears itshead, and fairer grows; And mutely shows,what man can see That Beauty's charm is Chastity! Thus, O belov'd, bloom on and on, Till all thygracious work is done; And Time shall leave thee, passing o'er Still more beloved and yet still more!— Our own, our mountain Sego Lily.22

Whereas earlier poems about the sego lily all contained at least oblique references to the sego's role in sustaining life in pioneer Utah, such as "juicy bulbs," sweet nectar, and "manna," Pike's ode

22 Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Century I, 6 vols (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1930), 3:353 The revised version printed in the Salt Lake Tribune was reprinted in Carter, Treasures of Pioneer History, 4:78-79 R L Polk and Co., Salt Lake City Directory, 1915 (Salt Lake City, 1915), p 779, identifiesJohn W Pike as a lawyer

did not refer at all to the lily as a food. Far enough removed in time from the historical events of the 1840s and 1850s that had initially drawn Utahns to the sego lily, he was able to regard the plant solely as a beautiful object, a symbol of virtue, and a reminder "that Beauty's charm is Chastity!"

During the First World War, Utah residents added yet another symbolic property to the sego lily by portraying it as an emblem of peace. A good example is Karl E. Fordham's poem "Sego Lily," which was set to music and published. It portrayed the plant as a symbol of home, divine mercy, freedom, and peace for Utahns fighting in Europe:

Tho' afar from Utah's flow'ry hills I roam, Or fighting in the ranks of men; Fair flow'r, the Sego Lilyof my home, Shall bid myheart return again Sego lilyof the valley, Sego lily, colors rare; In the beauty peaceful emblem on hillside so fair; Then we'll sing our song 'Praise to thee'. Flower giv'n byheav'n tenderly.23

Shortly after the close of the war, historian Levi Edgar Young of the University of Utah echoed Fordham in identifying the sego lily as an emblem of peace as he related an alleged Indian tale:

Many, many suns ago, the Indians lived in great numbers in these valleys of the mountains. They grew corn and berries in abundance, but they vied with each other to see who could gather the most food for their winter livingwhen snowswere deep and dayswere cold. Then they warred, and the tomahawk took the place of the game stick, and many Indians were killed The Great Spirit was displeased, and sent a heat over the land, and the corn and berries dried up The children were left without food, the sky became dark with great clouds for many moons,

Sheet music in USHS collections, inscribed in 1941 by the composer to Marguerite Sinclair, secretary of the Historical Society and a well-known singer.

K E Fordham, "Sego Lily," copy in BYUSC

The Sego Lily81

the earth refused toyield, and the sandsblew over the land. The Indians sorrowed and prayed to the Spirit One day the sun shone brightly, and up on the hills, the people saw a little plant, growing everywhere, even into the canyons and far above to the very peaks The Great Spirit had heard the prayers of the people and when the Indians tasted the root, they knew that the Spirit had saved them from death. So ever after, they never fought where the lily-bulb grew, and they called it the little "life plant" of the hills

Young neglected to cite the source of his tale, but the stereotypical references to "many suns," "many moons," tomahawks, and the Great Spirit suggest that the "legend" may have been embellished, if not fabricated entirely, by non-Indians. Whether or not it was authentic, the story, along with the idea that the sego lily symbolized peace, persisted long after the end of the First World War. Writing in 1932, historian J. Cecil Alter echoed Young, identifying the sego lily "as a symbol of peace between the Indian tribes, sent by the Great Spirit." As an indication of the legend's authenticity, Alter noted that sego lilies particularly abounded in the Salt Lake Valley, a place that had been regarded as "neutral ground between the Indian tribes."24

In historical lessons that she compiled for the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in the 1940s and 1950s, Kate B Carter also helped to perpetuate the image of the sego lily as "the legend flower of Utah, which long has been sacred to the Indians . . . [as] an emblem of peace."

In addition to identifying the sego lily as a symbol of peace, Carter and Young discussed the plant's role as a source of food for the pioneers. Far removed from those who had actually eaten sego lilies, they exaggerated the plant's desirability as a source of food.

Levi Edgar Young. USHS collections.

24 Levi Edgar Young, "The Sego Lily," Utah Educational Review 11 (September-October 1917): 10; Levi Edgar Young, The Great West in American History, University of Utah Extension Division Bulletin, vol 1, no. 6 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah, 1920), p. 7; J. Cecil Alter, Utah: The Storied Domain, 3 vols. (Chicago: American Historical Association, 1932), p 84

Carter fulsomely praised the "small succulent tuber" of the sego lily, claiming that it was "very palatable a sort of sweetmeat or tidbit, affording vitamins and variety." Similarly, Young averred that the sego lily was a "dainty food" whose taste was "sweet and pleasant."25

By 1947 when Utahns commemorated the one hundredth anniversary of the Mormon pioneers' arrival in the Great Basin, then, the sego lily's importance in Utah society had changed dramatically. A plant that had sustained life in the 1840s and had served until the 1880s as a symbol of the difficulty of life in early Utah had become in the popular imagination a delicacy and an abstract symbol of a state, a religious organization, and moral qualities such as peace and chastity.

These shifting portrayals of the sego lily reflected changes in Utahns' relationship to the environment Pioneers who had eaten the sego lily viewed the plant in utilitarian ways as a source of food. Even later in the nineteenth century, when most Utahns still lived close to the land in rural regions, this was reflected in Lula Richards's selection of "fat quails"—wild game that had sustained Mormons on their western hegira—as a metaphor for the luscious taste of the sego lily Writing as a member of the urbanized consumer culture that flourished in post-World War II Utah, Kate Carter by contrast likened the sego lily to something that could be purchased in a fine market or upscale restaurant: a "sweetmeat."

The symbolic metamorphosis of the sego lily reflected not only urbanization, commercialization, and an increased mastery over nature but also shifts in the relationship between whites and Native Americans in the region. Just as early white settlers lived close to the land, they lived near the encampments of Indians and saw them frequently. They sensed no need to romanticize the fact that Indians harvested and ate sego bulbs. Instead, they matter-of-factly reported that Indians had taught them about this new food. By the 1920s, though, the American Indian seemed to be vanishing, and Utahns of other races rarely interacted with them. For many Utahns of Levi Edgar Young's generation, and particularly for academicians like Young, Native Americans had become a highly romanticized, stereotypical abstraction It was natural that a generation interested in preserving the mythology of a seemingly vanishing culture should link the Native Americans and sego lilies through a romantic, highly symbolic legend.

20 Carter, Treasures ofPioneer History, 4:71-72, 76; Young, 'The Sego Lily"; Carter, Heart Throbs of the West, 1:12.

Shifting interpretations of the sego lily also reflected what the historian Gustive O. Larson termed the "Americanization" of Utah— the adoption of virtues enshrined by middle-class American society.26 Fearful of intrusions by non-Mormons into the territory, Jedediah Grant during in the 1850s and Moses Thatcher in the 1880s pointed to the role of the sego lily in the diet of pioneer Mormons to distinguish Utah Mormons from other American settlers. By 1892, when Lula Richards penned her poem, Utahns were renouncing distinctive religious and political practices and were scrambling to curry favor with Americans elsewhere. The sego lily had become a symbol that could give outsiders a favorable impression of Utah "in high courts, where kings may tread," as Richards noted. The fact that Utahns had selected a white lily, a symbol of moral purity, as the emblem of their state, might help to counteract silent films and popular literature that portrayed Utah as a land of harems and lascivious activity. Those like K. E. Fordham, who identified the sego lily as an emblem of freedom, underscored Utahns' devotion to American values His song "Sego Lily" not only portrayed the lily as an emblem of liberty but touted the patriotism of Utah's pioneer generation who "in their hour of deepest grief/To their country's call . . . gave relief by serving in the Mexican War. Fordham reminded listeners that Utahns in the past and in the present generation "sang America, I love but thee."27

In the years since 1947 the sego lily has remained the symbol of both Utah and of the LDS Relief Society. Much of the symbolic significance identified by commentators beginning with Lula Richards in 1892 is still mentioned in recent publications. A 1991 pamphlet entitled Symbolsofthe GreatState ofUtah, for instance, identifies the sego lily on the state flag as "a symbol of peace." The most recent Relief SocietyHandbook, published in 1988, mentions the plant's role in sustaining the lives of Mormon pioneers and also indicates that the plant "is an appropriate symbol of purity, beauty, patient waiting through winter and darkness, and storing of strength for a time of blossoming."28

26 Gustive O Larson, The "Americanization" of Utah for Statehood (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1971)

271 am indebted to my colleague Steven Epperson for encouraging me to explore these broader relationships

2H Symbols of the State of Utah (n.p., [1991]), copy in BYUSC; Relief Society Handbook (Salt Lake City: Corporation of the President of the Church ofJesus Chr.st of Latter-day Saints, 1988), p. 1.

Few Utahns today have eaten a sego lily bulb, and no one subsists on them For some the term sego lily means nothing Many others recognize the lily as an attractive flower, as a foodstuff in the pioneer era, or as an emblem of Utah. Over the past century Utahns have identified the sego lily as a symbol of peace, beauty, modesty, liberty, resilience, faith, and patience. Early Utah pioneers who subsisted on sego lily bulbs and regarded the plant purely as a source of food might be surprised at the multiple layers of symbolic meaning that have been attached to the plant The contrasting ways in which pioneer Utahns and residents of the state in this century have viewed the sego lily illustrate the importance of historical context as a factor in shaping environmental perception.

Sego lilies. USHS collections, gift of the Widtsoefamily.

A superbly researched, extensively documented, and well-written community history is rare. Like your neighbor's family movies, prolonged church meetings, or a warm glass of milk, most local annals are anesthetizing. But then few small towns have a champion capable of chronicling their past in a professional, engaging format.

Riverton, a prospering city situated along the banks of theJordan River in southwest Salt Lake Valley, is fortunate to have two such individuals in Melvin Bashore and Scott Crump. The duo, in cooperation with the Riverton Historical Society, have produced an extraordinarily readable local history This accomplishment is especially notable when one realizes that back files of historical Riverton newspapers are not extant.

The book's thirteen chapters escort the reader chronologically from the early 1860s to the present. En route we learn the history of the important irrigation canal companies that toiled to harness the fickle river that gave the town its name Drought, the great post-World War I influenza epidemic, and the 1938 school bus disaster that snuffed out the lives of twenty-three youths were tragedies that also affected the community.

Achapter of special interest, "From

Beetdiggers to Miners," provides us with the history of both Jordan and Bingham high schools. Current challenges facing the town of 15,000 are detailed in a final overview chapter

The work is enhanced by 50 highquality photographs, 150 brief biographies, and the intriguing reminiscences of early area settler Joseph E Morgan. The only significant disappointment is the lack of an index

Local histories by their very nature are reference books They invite inquisitive readers to return again and again in search of detail Without an index the task can be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

I would also like to have seen a treatment of Redwood Road, the main thoroughfare that Riverton has straddled since its founding For years I have pondered the source of that name in a valley that has no such giant trees.

For specialists and general readers alike, a reading of Riverton: The Story of a Utah Country Town will provide a rewarding experience The authors and the Riverton Historical Society are to be applauded for bringing this impressive book to press.

Riverton: The Story of a Utah Country Town. By MELVIN L.BASHORE and SCOTT CRUMP (Riverton, Ut.: Riverton Historical Society, 1994 xvi +422 pp $15.00.)

RICHARD S. VAN WAGONER Lehi, Utah

The Weber River Basin: Grass Roots Democracy and Water Development.

By RICHARD W. SADLER and RICHARD C. ROBERTS (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1994. x+

283 pp.

$26.95.)

The Weber River Basin makes a solid, possibly even path-breaking, contribution to Utah and western American water history The authors begin by recounting Utah Mormon perspectives on water use and development in the immediate aftermath of the Latter-day Saints' 1847 arrival in the Great Salt Lake Valley.

"Water and a New Kingdom," the book's beginning chapter, recalls defining aspects of water history in Utah: Brigham Young's leadership in decisions regarding not only water matters but all natural resource issues; the role of church leaders (i.e., bishops) in determining local water rights—in early Utah neither riparian nor prior appropriation viewsseems to have held sway but instead a more egalitarian stance of water allotments based upon need was the rule; and, of course, the communal construction of extensive irrigation canals. This informative base sets The Weber River Basin on solid footing because these same guidelines were basically followed throughout Utah

The next section of the book breaks down water issues to a more local level in the Weber River Basin bylooking at the counties that were involved. The major players were Weber and Davis counties because they had the larger populations and thus the greater water needs Yet the less populated, more rural counties—Box Elder, Morgan, and Summit—fought hard for their share of the water aswell. But as might be expected the political might was with Weber and Davis counties, thus forcing the neighboring rural counties into the role of the loyal opposition

Without a doubt the major player in the Weber River Basin project was the federal government, specifically the Bureau of Reclamation As elsewhere in the United States, the 1930s saw the completion of two Utah dams—Echo (Summit County) and Pineview (Weber County)—that would later come to bear heavily upon planning for the Weber Basin projects In fact this marked the first use of reclamation funds in the Weber Basin area.

The Weber Basin project began moving forward in earnest during the 1940s when water control moved from "private and church-sponsored efforts to involvement with the federal Bureau of Reclamation." Following its involvement with the Echo and Pineview dams, the federal government was not about to relinquish itsrole in reclamation in northern Utah

Although Professors Sadler and Roberts do make a strong case for the local role in forwarding the Weber River Basin project, as implied by the book's subtitle, it should be remembered that it was the federal government that finally brought matters to fruition

The Weber River Basin is an important book Even if somewhat overstating the local role at the expense of the federal, its local case studies shed much light on water issues in the Weber Basin and provide a model for future studies of Utah water history For this alone, Sadler and Roberts are to be commended

M. GUY BISHOP American Fork, Utah

Book Reviews and Notices87

In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1829-1848.

By C GREGORY CRAMPTON and STEVEN K MADSEN (Layton, Ut.: Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 1994 144pp Paper, $24.95.)

We are now celebrating the sesquicentennial of the opening during the 1840s of the great trans-Mississippi overland trails to Oregon and California. It is useful to remember, however, that these trailswere not the first routes to connect the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast One important early trail was the Spanish Trail, a 1,120-mile two-way trade route between Santa Fe and Los Angeles that passed through portions of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. Misnamed "Spanish," this trail experienced its heaviest use from 1829 to 1848, during the period when Mexico governed the American Southwest.

The Spanish Trail is shrouded in mystery While hundreds of contemporary travel narratives exist for the Oregon and California trails, only one travel diary covering the complete Spanish Trail is known Later government topographers and explorers who knew they were traveling along segments of what once was the Spanish Trail are primary information sources, but the available documentation is meager in comparison to other trails This was the challenge faced by Crampton and Madsen when they set out in 1976 to locate and map the complete route. In Search of the Spanish Trail is the result of many years of work that alternated periods of library research with field study

The book is organized around a series of twelve maps that trace the entire Spanish Trail from east towest "as it was known during the peak time of its use, about 1840." Complementing the maps are a systematic series of some 200 illustrations and an accompanying text that emphasize trail fea-

tures The illustrations include photographs by the authors and images and map details from nineteenth-century sources Separate book and map bibliographies and an index of names and places complete the book

The excellent maps highlight natural travel corridors and show the relationship of the trail to today's roads and towns The maps are not detailed enough for field use, but a list of the required USGS maps is provided for the adventurous Intended for "the armchair traveler and the modern explorer," the well-written text will acquaint readers with the primary information sources, key historical events, and main points of interest.

The disappointing packaging does not do justice to the book's achievement nor does it match its subject. The Spanish Trail passed through some of the most colorful scenery on earth, yet none of the illustrations isin color; the reproductions of the images and maps generally do not capture the charm and clarity of the originals; the paper quality and binding are inadequate; and the cover is off-putting Readers must look beyond the book's ragged clothes

To appreciate the experiences of early travelers in the American West, an understanding of their travel routes is of primary importance, and Crampton and Madsen have now filled a significant void In Search of the Spanish Trail is a welcome addition to the uncrowded literature of the Spanish Trail and to the history of the ^imerican Southwest

PETER H DELAEOSSE Salt Lake City

The Millenarian World ofEarly Mormonism. ByGRANT UNDERWOOD (Urbana: Universityof Illinois Press, 1993.viii +213 pp. $24.95.)

Baptist seminary professor Walter Rauschenbusch is alleged to have said that a love of Second Coming theology is in inverse proportion to the square of the mental diameter of the person who does the loving. Grant Underwood's scholarly, insightful, wonderfully written book regarding Latter-day Saint millennialism certainly negates Rauschenbusch's statement. This volume, a shortened version of his 1988UCLA doctoral dissertation, attempts to "link two fascinating realms of the world of knowledge—the study of Mormonism and the study of Millennialism" (p 1) The undergirding essence of the Latter-day world view, he asserts, was millennialism Mormon eschatology probes their mental universe as well as how they envisioned the millennium and thus is one of the most satisfactory models for understanding the beginnings of Mormonism (p. 2).

Underwood clearly places Mormonism in its millennial historical setting. He explains the differences and similarities of pre-millennialism, postmillennialism, apocalypticism, and millenarian movements Mormonism, he asserts, is pre-millennialist in its basic stance, which means that there would be two comings of Christ, two physical resurrections and two judgments (p 4) Latter-day Saint missionary work, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the gathering, and other essential doctrines and events had as their telechy the warning of the world that Christ's coming was near.

Like most millennialists, the Mormons' world wasdualistic:the good versus the bad, Heaven versus Hell, the saved versus the damned (p 9)

The book's chapters represent a validation of Underwood's thesis.

"The Eschatological Background of Early Mormonism," "Mormons as Millenarians," "Apocalyptic Dualism in Early Mormonism," "The Bible," "The Mormons and Millenarianism," "The Book of Mormon and the Millenarian Mind," and "Modern Millenarians" are chapter titles that make up the essence of this volume. Lest readers conclude that millenarianism was merely an American phenomenon, Underwood devotes one chapter to the millenarian appeal of Mormonism in England, coming to the conclusion that it was LDS millennialism that caused so many British to flock to the church Underwood here, aswell as in other parts of this volume, plows new ground Few, if any, Mormon historians have previously argued that millennialism was the core attraction for the thousands of English converts.

This book is essential for anyone interested in piecing together the LDS puzzle Some historians, church leaders, and a few theologians of late have argued that Mormon beginnings have been plowed, harrowed, leveled, planted, watered, cultivated, and harvested for so long by so many that the soil no longer yields good fruit. Underwood has shown that there still remains some fertile land in the terrain of Mormon beginnings

While this book is tightly argued, well crafted, and represents meticulous research—even looking at old sources in new ways—some aspects of this volume will disquiet thoughtful readers. First, Underwood declares that a "uniquely Mormon twist on Premillennialism" is the noting that before Christ comes the elect will be gathered However, in discussing the millenarian appeal of Mormonism in England, he does not show clearlyjust

why so many British preferred Mormonism over the various Methodist movements, the Christian Society of Robert Aitken, or the Irvingites. If, as one historian quoted by Underwood asserts, "There was nothing in [Mormonism] that had not been anticipated over the preceding half-century, and if there were scattered and isolated insights embedded in the English environment" (p 137), that gave to Mormonism its "familiar spirit" appeal, then why were thousands of English willing to sacrifice friends, homes, and family ties to become members of this very unpopular new religion? This question begs a more detailed answer than Underwood provides

To cite another example, Underwood asserts that early Mormon leaders argued that "history [meaning premillennial events] could be averted if Gentiles would speedily turn to the Lord" (p. 27). Today some church officials and theologians declare that the date of Christ's Second Coming is fixed and nothing mortals do can change or alter it. How did Mormon theology evolve from the 1830s and 40s position to that espoused today? I wish Underwood had provided more detail on this transition

To use a final example, Underwood clearly shows that early Mormons believed that Christ's Second Coming would be soon. He also asserts that beginning in the 1920s, mil-

lennial talk among Latter-day Saints has significantly diminished. Again, I long for more details about this important change in Mormon millennial expectations. One wonders if the wolf cry has been too often given

In spite of leaving the reader wanting more, this is a very significant volume. Underwood is the first historian to note the importance of Joseph Smith's 1843 poetic version of "The Vision" (D&C 76) and the breaking of Mormonism's apocalyptic dualism. Smith, toward the close of his life, emphasized "a pluralized rather than a polarized picture of Eternity" (p. 56). The poetic version of Doctrine and Covenants, section 76, catalyzed this new position for the Mormon leader Furthermore, Underwood's brief discussion of magic in early Mormonism isbalanced, sensible, and has the ring of truth (pp 106-7) I believe it a better, though much shorter, treatment of the subject than an earlier book devoted to this topic

Mormons continue to expect that one day Christ will come again and lead them to an actual thousand years of paradisiacal peace and prosperity. The Underwood book provides a sure foundation resting in Mormon beginnings upon which to base their hopes.

KENNETH W GODFREY Logan LDS Institute

A Mormon Rebel: The Life and Travels ofFrederick Gardiner. Edited and introduction by HUGH C. GARNER. (Salt Lake City: Tanner Trust Fund, University of Utah Library, 1993 xviii + 164 pp $21.95.)

When the movie Forrest Gump appeared last year its enormous popularity stemmed not only from Tom Hanks's portrayal of a kind, simpleminded Alabamian but also from

Gump's fictive involvement in so many of the tumultuous American events, movements, and upheavals of 1940-90

Hugh C. Garner's presentation of Frederick Gardiner's "synopsis" (mem-

oirs) isa real-life account of a more sophisticated (but equally poor) Mormon's participation in a kaleidoscope of the great events of American and LDS history a hundred years earlier. If Gump rubbed shoulders with Presidents Kennedy,Johnson, and Nixon as well as Gov George Wallace, Gardiner had repeated interviews or employment connections with Presidents Brigham Young and Lorenzo Snow, Gov Alfred Cumming, and Brig Gen Albert Sidney Johnston. If Hanks's character won the Medal of Honor while an infantryman in Vietnam, Garner's man served as a private in both the Nauvoo Legion and the Union Army and was on hand to witness not only the Utah War but also Maj Gen Ben Butler's seizure of New Orleans. If Gump traveled to Asia to play a small role in the reopening of U.S. relations with China, Gardiner crossed the Atlantic (aswell asthe plains between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City) a remarkable three times and steamed the Mississippi between New Orleans and St Louis at least five times If Forrest Gump was struck down by polio and surrounded by the scourges of narcotics and AIDS, Frederick Gardiner grappled at close quarters with the pervasive plagues of his day: cholera, yellowfever, smallpox, and alcohol

With more than five years of skillful hard work, editor Hugh Garner has brought to life from the Marriott Library's archives not a movie but a view of the Mormon church in midpassage as reflected in the reminiscences of one of its ordinary but highly ambivalent members For readers economically and politically inclined as well as those interested in history and religion, we also have here a view of an unskilled immigrant doggedly toiling at a wide variety of jobs to provide for his family without government safety nets

The story of Frederick Gardiner's life and travels during the period 1835-1903 is summarized well on the book's dust jacket and in the editor's seven-page introduction, which precedes the ten chapters into which he has divided Gardiner's hand-written manuscript. It is an account of the briefly educated son of an English canalman who converted to Mormonism as a ten-year-old and then migrated as a teenager to New Orleans in 1849 After a two-year pause in Louisiana to wrestle with a succession of unskilled jobs and a decision over the appropriate time to push on to Zion, Gardiner traveled to Salt Lake City in 1851 In 1853 his parents migrated from England to join him; he married and continued on through the mid-1850s in Salt Lake City as a store clerk and self-taught pharmacist During the fall of 1856 he experienced the upheavals of the Reformation aswell as the arrival of the rest of his family with the decimated handcart companies In April 1857 Gardiner was called to a mission to England, but after miles of pushing a handcart he suffered a painful hernia in what is now Wyoming and reluctantly returned to Salt Lake City in June 1857just ahead of the Utah Expedition's move west

Immediately after his return Brigham Young hired Gardiner to tend his tollgate at the mouth of City Creek Canyon, an arduousjob that he quit abruptly in a wage dispute after only a few months In this uncomfortable predicament, Gardiner sat out the Utah War during the winter of 1857-58. In the spring he fled Salt Lake City to General Johnston's bivouac at Fort Bridger to become a civilian quartermaster's employee, a move that triggered his excommunication by Brigham Young Returning to Salt Lake City with the army, Fred-

erick suffered harassment to the point that Governor Cumming arranged a military escort for the Gardiners to the federal garrison at Camp Floyd where Frederick found work as a physician In this role he tended not only to soldiers but to the small children who had survived the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857.

In 1859 the Gardiners left Camp Floyd and Utah with these survivors, returned to New Orleans, and spent the Civil War in that city, where Frederick worked as a peddler, pharmacist, physician's assistant, librarian, and bailiff while founding the Union League—an unpopular organization in that locale—and eventually served in the Union Army as a hospital steward After the war, notwithstanding his American citizenship, Gardiner returned to England in vain pursuit of promised employment as a rent collector, a disappointment that prompted him to return to New Orleans and then to Salt Lake City in the spring of 1869 after a hiatus in Omaha digging ditches.

To his surprise, Gardiner was greeted warmly in Salt Lake by not only his parents, siblings, and former friends but by Brigham Young, who immediately called him to a mission to southern Utah's Dixie region. Gardiner declined this service because of his desire to practice medicine in Salt Lake Citywhile avoiding further hardships for his family Hugh Garner surmises that notwithstanding Young's apparent acceptance of this decision it, in effect, completed Frederick Gardiner's break with the LDS church Nonetheless, Gardiner became a moderately prosperous (but unlicensed) physician and practiced medicine in Salt Lake City until his death in 1903 at age sixty-eight

When Paul Swenson reviewed A Mormon Rebel for the Salt Lake Tribune

(February 6, 1994), he took issue with the volume's title and accused Hugh Garner of reaching for a salable but inappropriate title because, as Swenson saw it, "there wasn't a rebellious bone in his [Gardiner's] body." Swenson's point is curious when one considers Frederick Gardiner's repeated jousts with authority and popular opinion: his two costly clashes with Brigham Young—an incredibly powerful man who combined roles as Gardiner's president, prophet, governor, commander-in-chief, and employer; his near court-martial in both the Nauvoo Legion and the Union Army; and his willingness to take an active, high-profile Union stance in wartime New Orleans even before becoming a U.S. citizen. Few men have demonstrated such a penchant for traveling through life swimming upstream

Perhaps more worthy of consideration isanother Swenson criticism: that Garner errs in the belief that—although interesting as history—"there is little in the remembrances to give us insight into Gardiner, the man." To the contrary, Paul Swenson argues, "seldom has a memoir of the period revealed more vividly the heart and soul of an individual than does Frederick Gardiner's straightforward report of his own life." In focusing on Gardiner's periodic self-criticism over his experiences with alcohol and abortions, Swenson overlooks what Hugh Garner detects: Gardiner's vague, distant treatment of such important figures close to him as his parents, wife, and children. AsHugh Garner points out, Gardiner—like many writers—presented himself as he wished to be seen rather than as he was.

Perhaps an even more telling aspect of Frederick Gardiner's writing style—one missed by both critic and editor—is his vexingly laconic way of

explaining his momentous decisions

For example, in describing his flight from Salt Lake City to Fort Bridger in 1858, Gardiner tells the reader: "I also would like to go [east] in order to learn more in regard to the practice of medicine." Ten years later, having returned to Louisiana from England, he simply tells us, "Business of all descriptions [in New Orleans] is very dull. I therefore determined to again move Zion-ward if possible to do so."

Once back in Utah physician Gardiner clearly agonized over whether or not to perform abortions, yet he remains silent on an 1893 description of him in the Deseret News as "the notorious Frederick Gardiner" as well as on his probably related prosecution the following year for failure to obtain a medical license—details that emerge only in Hugh Garner's carefully crafted footnotes Gardiner obviously wrote his reminiscences from the perspective of a religious man acutely aware of his own mortality, but he never tells his readers whether he retained LDS membership It is an important omission; church records are inconclusive on Gardiner's final status, and his memoirs project an intriguing ambivalence about his adopted religion vaguely like the cross-currents that washed through

the final thoughts ofJohn D Lee

If A Mormon Rebel has a flat spot it is the need to spend fifteen minutes or so adjusting to Gardiner's idiosyncratic spelling, punctuation, and phraseology which Hugh Garner has deliberately preserved. Once over thisinitial hurdle the reader easily falls into the flow of Gardiner's narrative much asone soon adapts to the rhythm of Shakespeare's plays or the cadences of Faulkner's and Conrad's novels

On balance, Hugh Garner—a retired air force colonel, former trustee of the Utah State Historical Society, and recently retired Salt Lake City attorney—presents in careful, scholarly fashion a fascinating memoir. His work comes close to the standard set by Bennett Stein in editing Andrew Garcia's reminiscences of 1879 Montana, Tough Trip Through Paradise. In view of Frederick Gardiner's adventures, it is a title that could have been used by Garner aswell

Based on the quality of this study, readers interested in territorial Utah await with anticipation the publication of Hugh Garner's work on John D. Lee's two trials.

WILLIAM P MACKINNON

Once again, river runner and historian RoyWebb has turned his research talents into another remarkable volume concerning the Colorado River of the West and its sister tributary, the Green River, roughly covering the area encompassed by the Colorado Plateau Webb opted to emphasize the

historical photographic record of river travel beginning with 1871 wet-plate cameras and culminating in the early 1960s when dams forever changed the character of both rivers.

As should be expected of an archivist, the author made extensive use of primary sources in photo-

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Call of the Colorado. By ROY WEBB (MOSCOW: University of Idaho Press, 1994 xii + 175 pp. Paper, $23.95.)

graphic, oral history, and archival collections, both institutional and private Chosen for their representation of the many river runners "who felt the call of the river," the chronologically arranged photographic images are categorized into five chapters: scientists, surveyors, and dam builders; prospectors; photographers; adventurers; and outfitters Some river runners lend themselves to more than one activity which leads to occasional repetitious narrative.

Using many never-before-published photographs, Webb gives a description of the image and sufficient background information to place the people and the photograph into proper perspective The use of heretofore unseen historic images elevates this work above the mundane, enlivening the topic while giving credence to the use of primary source materials

To cover most of the river-running history of the Colorado River system is quite an undertaking, a tremendous goal that the author has set for himself As he stated in the introduction, it is impossible to portray all the river runners in so short a work Indeed, it is difficult to cover this great river system in any length, even limiting the discussion to the middle sections of both rivers. Hesitation to write "impossible" is made, asWebb has done a wonderful job of presenting an interesting, informative, and entertaining overview of the subject. The attempt to cover a topic this large ultimately leads to a feeling of disappointment, for much discussion is left for some future discourse

For the trivial nit-pickers among us, some errors of fact and interpretation do exist: although correctly mentioned at least once, the continued misnaming of the Brown-Stanton survey as the Denver, Colorado Canyon

and Pacific Railway Company, instead of Railroad, is particularly disturbing; Dubendorff's name is correctly spelled, but Deubendorff Rapid is not; the jet boats Dock and Kiwi, were on the up-run only, so did not need overhauling at Boulder City after the down-run; the 1949 Marston-Hudson up-run attempt established the limit of navigation at the foot of 217 Mile Rapid, and their subsequent attempts did not get as far; and Ellsworth Kolb did not flip both boats in 1911 trying to run Soap Creek Rapid, only the second one, the Edith. Although Ellsworth Kolb denied successfully navigating this rapid, he was thrown out of the Defiance in the first run, held onto the gunwale, and pulled himself back in to finish the run, arguably making this the first successful run of Soap Creek A few photographs also are mislabeled, most notably "Ellsworth and Emery Kolb on the Defiance, 1911,"when it isactually Emery Kolb and Bert Lauzon, probably on Emery's boat, the Edith.

Call of the Colorado, however, is a highly enjoyable book for any river runner, particularly those who run the Southwest's canyons The serious student or specialist in river-running history will also benefit from it, although they will find themselves hoping for more detailed information. Webb has previously shown that he can write in depth on both biographical and geographical aspects of the Green and Colorado rivers. He is, no doubt, hard at work on his next book in what one hopes is a never-ending continuation of river running history.

RICHARD D. QUARTAROLI Glen Canyon Environmental Studies Flagstaff, Arizona

Chiefs, Agents, and Soldiers: Conflict on the Navajo Frontier, 1868-1882.

By WILLIAM HAAS MOORE (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994 xxiv + 355

pp

$45.00.)

"The history of conflict between American Indians and the United States is partially explained and greatly confused by crucial American myths" (p ix) Indeed it is, and William Moore has prepared a comprehensive and objective study of conflicts between the Navajo Indians and various agencies representing the United States in the late nineteenth century that dispels much of the mythology associated with this intriguing relationship.

In 1868 the Navajos, who had suffered through a period of exile at a remote location in eastern New Mexico, agreed to a treaty with the United States that permitted them to return to a reservation encompassing much of the land they had traditionally occupied in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. The author picks up the story of the ensuing trials and tribulations of the tribe at this point, and his narrative is divided, essentially, into chapters assessing the events that transpired during the tenure of each agent appointed by the Office of Indian Affairs to carry out the provisions of the treaty

The first three agents were practical men with military experience who were inclined to ignore rigid dictates of governmental policy that did not suit the Navajo lifestyle. Then, in 1871, the first agent appointed under provisions of the so-called Peace Policy of President Grant arrived at the Navajo Agency. The intent of the celebrated Peace Policy was to permit the churches of America to recommend good Christian laymen for service as Indian agents The Presbyterian church accepted this responsibility

for the Navajos, and, in the author's opinion, the agents who served in this capacity through the 1870s were less competent than their predecessors and less sympathetic to Navajo concerns. Working with the agents during the period of the Peace Policy were missionaries of their church who hoped to bring the blessings of Christianity and education to the Navajos

Although the intent of the governmental and ecclesiastical reformers may have been well meaning, the less than gratifying results of their attempts to "do good" to the Indians could be blamed on numerous factors The author skillfully analyzes the tense situations that evolved when the Navajos reacted adversely to attempts by the churchmen to change traditional tribal cultural and religious practices. Compounding these problems for the Indians were disputes with cattlemen, miners, and Mormon settlers who often ignored reservation boundaries as they pursued their own special interests. Crises that evolved from the sale of liquor to the tribe, from tensions created by a cult of tribal witches, and from the enslavement of some Navajos by their nontribal neighbors are also carefully considered.

Somehow the Navajos managed to survive and maintain their tribal identity throughout this transitional period No small factor in attaining this success was the ability of Navajo leaders to find a niche for their people in the larger society without losing what was characteristically theirs. With this conclusion, William Moore completes the weaving of a rich tapestry of

events that can only be regarded as an important contribution to the growing body of literature on the Navajo nation in the late nineteenth century The text isenhanced byajudicious selection of maps and illustrations,

along with copious notes and an impressive bibliography.

NORMAN J BENDER University of Colorado Colorado Springs

Book Notices

Turquoise Ridge and Late Prehistoric Residential Mobility in the Desert Mogollon Region. By MICHAEL E WHALEN University of Utah Press Anthropological Papers, No 118 (Salt Lake City:University of Utah Press, 1994. xii + 160 pp Paper, $27.50.)

The high desert Basin-and-Range topography of extreme southeastern New Mexico is the setting for Michael Whalen's ingenious study of relative "sedentariness" among prehistoric Mogollon farmers and hunter-gatherers who occupied this harsh region from ca. 500 to 1000 AD. Based on his excavations at Turquoise Ridge, Whalen assesses the changing reliance on domestics and wild foodstuffs through time and how that changing focus affected the movement of people through the landscape This is a question-driven archaeological study and, as such, is a rarity among most archaeological reports from the western U.S This well-produced monograph continues the outstanding tradition of the U of U series

Multiply and Replenish: Mormon Essays on Sex and Family. Edited by BRENT

CORCORAN (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1994 xi + 273 pp Paper, $18.95.)

The thirteen essays in this anthology are certain to provoke controversy, addressing as they do such topics as homosexuality, erotica, the probable monogamous standard in heaven, and reproductive ethics, among others. The entries represent a mixture of styles from the scholarly format to the personal essay. All but one have been previously published It is useful to read them together, for themes only alluded to in one piece may be given full treatment in another Thus they are linked together and present a multifaceted, but by no means exhaustive, look at a challenging subject

The Rainbow Trail: A Romance. ByZANE GREY. (1915; Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995 xiii +373 pp Paper, $10.95.)

The action in this sequel to Grey's more famous Riders of the Purple Sage takes place in northern Arizona and southern Utah and culminates at

Rainbow Bridge, which Grey first visited in 1913 after having written the earlier book. Typical of Grey's best work, which continued through the mid-1920s, The Rainbow Trail features not only dramatic action and scenery but also his reflections on the effects of white traders and missionaries on Navajo life A new introduction by Grey's son Loren effectively establishes the book's literary and cultural context

in 400 years. Through a combination of numbing hard work, much ingenuity, and a little luck, he made a success of it His memoir is both entertaining and thought-provoking as he moves from his experiences as a greenhorn to his mature reflection on the fragile desert environment

Good Years for the Buzzards. By JOHN DUNCKLEE. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1994. xi + 167 pp. $24.95.)

Fascinated as a child by a rodeo at Madison Square Garden,John Duncklee refused to follow his father's plan for him to attend an IvyLeague school and enter a business in Manhattan. Instead, Duncklee worked his way through the University of Arizona as a horse wrangler and in the 1950s leased a southern Arizona cattle ranch during the Southwest's worst drought

Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest. Compiled and edited by KATHARINE BERRY JUDSON (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994 x + 193 pp Paper, $8.95.)

This is a reprint of Judson's 1912 compilation with an introduction by Peter Iverson Many of the tales were taken from the pioneering work of ethnologists associated with the Smithsonian Institution or other agencies.Judson's contribution was to make them available to a larger audience interested in Native American stories. Many of the tales are creation or origin myths or feature that ubiquitous character coyote or some other animal

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCUIATION

The Utah Historical Quarterly (ISSN 0042-143X) is published quarterly by the Utah State Historical Society, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101-1182 The editor is MaxJ Evans and the managing editor is Stanford J Layton with offices at the same address as the publisher The magazine is owned by the Utah State Historical Society, and no individual or company owns or holds any bonds, mortgages, or other securities of the Society or its magazine.

The following figures are the average number of copies of each issue during the preceding twelve months: 3,313 copies printed; 90 dealer and counter sales; 2,469 mail subscriptions; 2,559 total paid circulation; 54 free distribution (including samples) by mail, carrier, or other means; 2,613 total distribution; 700 inventory for office use, leftover, unaccounted, spoiled after printing; total, 3,313

The following figures are the actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 3,294 copies printed; 30 dealer and counter sales; 2,441 mail subscriptions; 2,471 total paid circulation; 46 free distribution (including samples) by mail, carrier, or other means; 2,517 total distribution; 777 inventory for office use, leftover, unaccounted, spoiled after printing; total, 3,294

UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Department ofCommunity andEconomic Development Division ofState History

BOARD O F STATE HISTORY

MARILYN CONOVER BARKER, Salt Lake City, 1997 Chair

PETER L. GOSS, Salt Lake City, 1995 Vice-Chair

MAX J EVANS, Salt Lake City Secretary

DALE L BERGE, Provo, 1995

BOYD A. BLACKNER, Salt Lake City, 1997

DAVID D HANSEN, Sandy,1997

CAROL CORNWALL MADSEN, Salt Lake City, 1997

DEAN L. MAY, Salt Lake City, 1995

CHRISTIE SMITH NEEDHAM, Logan,1997

PENNY SAMPINOS, Price, 1995

THOMAS E SAWYER, Orem,1997

JERRY WYLIE, Ogden, 1997

ADMINISTRATION

MAX J EVANS, Director

WILSON G MARTIN, Associate Director PATRICIA SMITH-MANSFIELD, Assistant Director STANFORD J. LAYTON, Managing Editor

The Utah State Historical Society was organized in 1897 by public-spirited Utahns to collect, preserve, and publish LItah and related history. Today, under state sponsorship, theSociety fulfills itsobligations bypublishing the Utah Historical Quarterly andother historical materials; collecting historic Utah artifacts; locating, documenting, and preserving historic and prehistoric buildings and sites; and maintaining a specialized research library. Donations and gifts to the Society's programs, museum, or its library are encouraged, for only through such means can it live up to itsresponsibility ofpreserving therecord ofUtah's past

This publication hasbeen funded with the assistance of a matching grant-in-aid from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, under provisions of the National Historic Preservation Actof 1966 as amended This program receives financial assistance for identification and preservation of historic properties under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 The U.S Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or handicap in its federally assisted programs If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C 20240