Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, Number 2, 1998

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY (ISSN0042-143X)

EDITORIAL STAFF

MAXJ. EVANS, Editor

STANFORD J. LAYTON, Managing Editor

KRISTEN S. ROGERS, Associate Editor

ADVISORY BOARD OF EDITORS

AUDREY M. GODFREY, Logan, 2000

LEE ANN KREUTZER, Torrey, 2000

ROBERT S MCPHERSON, Blanding, 1998

MIRIAM B MURPHY, Murray, 2000

ANTONETTE CHAMBERS NOBLE, Cora,WY,1999

JANET BURTON SEEGMILLER, Cedar City, 1999

GENE A. SESSIONS, Ogden, 1998

GARY TOPPING, SaltLake City, 1999

RICHARD S VAN WAGONER, Lehi, 1998

Utah Historical Quarterly was established in 1928 to 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, SaltLake City,Utah 84101 Phone (801) 533-3500 for membership and publications information. Members of the Society receive the Quarterly,Beehive History, Utah Preservation, 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 3K inch MSDOS 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

Periodicals postage ispaid at Salt Lake City, Utah

POSTMASTER: Send address change to UtahHistoricalQuarterly, 300 Rio Grande, SaltLake City,Utah 84101

JEAN BICKMORE WHITE Charter for Statehood: Fhe Story of Utah's State Constitution HENRY WOLFINGER 181

GARY TOPPING. Glen Canyon and the San Juan Country W. L. RUSHO 182

CAROL CORNWALL MADSEN, ed. Battle for the Ballot: Essays on Woman Suffrage in Utah, 1870-1996 .EDWINAJO SNOW 183

COLLEEN WHITLEY, ed. Worth Fheir Salt: Notable but Often Unnoted Women of Utah .LYNN WATKINS JORGENSEN 185

VIVIAN LINFORD TALBOT. David E. Jackson: Field Captain of the Rocky Mountain Fur Frade JOH N W. HEATON 186

GREG MACGREGOR Overland: Fhe California Emigrant Frail of 1841-1870

JAY HAYMOND 187

JAMES H MAGUIRE, PETER WILD, and DONALD BARCLAY, eds. A Rendezvous Reader: Fall, Fangled, and Frue Fales of the Mountain Men, 1805-1850 JOH N D. BARTON 188

SALLY ZANJANI. A Mine of Her Own: Women Prospectors in the American West, 1850-1950

JUDYDYKMAN 189

May Procession at the Guadalupe Mission, 1943. Courtesy ofArchives of Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.

In this issue

Every time and place has a few saints and scoundrels, and so does this issue of the Quarterly. Of course, nobody is really all one or the other, but according to local memory in Millard County, Dr. Elizabeth Tracy came close. The doctor— well-bred, gentile, and forty years old—came out to the near-empty "North Tract" to marry a crusty Irish judge In short order she made herself indispensable to the entire community, and not only because of her great medical skills.

Near the other end of the spectrum, the brash James Monk used a whole arsenal of creative techniques to build his own fiefdom among the mountains and miners of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Inevitably his audaciously built house of cards collapsed as he lost his mines and what money he had He also lost one last battle: he had to go to church.

As fascinating as such characters are, the past is largely made up of ordinary people figuring out how to live in an uncertain world Too many of these stories go untold, but in this issueJorge Iber unearths some as he describes how the Great Depression affected Utah's Hispanics. Although all of them faced overwhelming challenges, individual experiences varied, and so did responses The article shows, however, that most Hispanics found strength in their common culture as they worked to maintain community.

Starting the issue off is the written report of the man who faced the daunting task of surveying the southern Utah/Colorado boundary. The work certainly didn't resemble a survey job in, say, Kansas, but Rollin Reese and his crew struggled through canyons, rivers, and mountains to get the job done Along the way Rollins recorded his impressions, giving us a clearer sense of a time and place—which, in fact, is what all the stories in this issue do

We end with a personal tribute to S. George Ellsworth, recently deceased Fellow of the Utah State Historical Society It is a well-deserved accolade to a giant in our profession—a man who, in the eyes of Utah historians, achieved sainthood a long time ago.

Rollin J. Reeves and the Boundary Between Utah and Colorado

EDITED BY LLOYD M. PIERSON

TH E LAND SURVEYS OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES of the United States have been important ever since day one. As states and territories were designated from the original thirteen colonies and from purchased and conquered lands, and as settlers immigrated to claim public lands, federal land surveyors were almost on their heels, sometimes ahead of them. Working according to various federal laws that determined new state and territorial boundaries, surveyors—both government and contract—eventually covered the nation.1

Lloyd M. Pierson is retired and lives in Moab, Utah. He served eighteen years with the National Park Service as ranger, archaeologist, and superintendent and nine years with the Bureau of Land Management as staff archaeologist.

Complete copies of the Reeves report reside in the land offices of the Bureau of Land Management in Salt Lake City and Denver The original is in the National Archives (cartographic records of the General Land Office, Record Group 49) A copy was kindly provided the author by Jerry Thomas and Brad Groesbeck of the BLM in Utah

1 After the Land Ordinance of May 20, 1785, surveyors used the rectangular survey system as opposed to the metes and bounds surveys of the original thirteen states At the time of Reeves's survey, the U.S General Land Office wasresponsible for managing public lands, and besides setting boundaries, the surveys were designed to provide information that would assist in management decisions

A transit, used by surveyors to sight the "target" on a surveying rod. All photos USHS collection.

RollinJ Reeves was a contract surveyor, paid by the mile, experienced and, as is apparent from hiswritings, educated, intelligent, and perceptive. His 1878boundary survey between Colorado and Utah was induced, in part, by Colorado statehood in 1876 and by the settlement of southeastern Utah.2 As required by his contract, Reeves made a detailed record of his monumenting and surveying work; in addition he provided a summary of his observations, many of which have historical value, since little is known of the area he was surveying in the late 1870s.

Southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado were in the first period of settlement when Reeves did his boundary survey. There is little in the historic record regarding the life and times of the settlements he visited; no newspapers were extant in the region at that time. In fact, Reeves's report is one of the few documents about southeastern Utah prior to the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition of 1880; his observations are therefore quite valuable.

In his report, Reeves provides information about little-known roads and mail routes of the period, which helps us to understand the settlement of the region He also provides descriptions of early residents, including Peter Shirts, an early settler of the SanJuan; the settlers at La Sal, Utah; Utes and Navajos; and area ranchers near the Big Bend of the Dolores River. In addition, his evaluation of the economic possibilities of the area are cogent and quite interesting. Apparently, the type of document Reeves produced has received little attention from researchers. Yet Reeves's attention to details— given at the government's insistence—indicates a rich resource of little-used material lying in the archives of the General Land Office.

Reeves's handwritten field notes consist of three basic parts: a short introduction detailing his arrival at the starting point, a mile by mile record of his survey, and a detailed summary of his observations along the boundary line and vicinity.

COLORADO-UTAH BOUNDARY LINE FIELD NOTES 3

[OF U.S SURVEYOR ROLLIN J REEVES, 1878]

Havingbeen designated bythe Honorable Secretary of the Interior on the 11th ofJulyA.D. 1878to execute the surveyof the boundary line between the State ofColorado, and the Territory of Utah, in accordance with the Act

2 Colorado's Enabling Act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stat 474) designated the western boundary of Colorado at 32 s longitude west of Washington, D.C s The report has been transcribed aswritten, without corrections.

The rod,or "story pole,"couldtelescope shorter or longerto compensatefor rough terrain.Also shown is atripod,onwhich thetransit wasfixed.

of Congress, approved June 20th 1878; and having on the 26th ofJuly 1878, entered into a contract with the Honorable Commissioner of the U.S.General Land Office, Iproceeded, without unnecessary delay to Ft Garland, Col and Alamosa, Col the latter being the terminous of the Denver and Rio Grande Rail Road.4

At those points I purchased supplies and transportation, employed several additional assistants and finished the outfitting for the proposed survey.

While en route from Washington to Colorado, I had stopped at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and called on Gen. Pope, who informed me that a Military Escort had been ordered toJoin us from Ft. Wingate, New Mexico Territory, but on my arrival at Ft. Garland Col. Gen. Hatch, the Commander ofthe Districtin which the survey lies proposed to furnish an Escort from the Military Camp on the La Plata river, in S.W. Colorado.5 Accordingly, after the change was sanctioned by Gen.

4 The Act of Congress authorized the survey of the Colorado-Utah boundary, not to exceed $15,000 in cost. Ft. Garland is located 26 miles east of present-day Alamosa, Colorado, and was established in the 1850s.The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad got to Alamosa in 1878 See Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, Rio Grande Mainline of theRockies (San Diego: Howell-North, 1980), p 371

5 General John Pope was commander of the Department of the Missouri Edward Hatch

Colorado- UtahBoundary103

Pope, our escort, consisting of "D"and "K"Companies, 9th Cavalry,6 Joined us (D Company did) about the time we commenced the real survey of the boundary line,while wewere encamped on SanJuan River.

The special instructions, with my copy of the contract and Bond were mailed to me from Washington D.C.on 3rd August '78,and received byme at Animas, Colorado about the 20th ofAugust '78.7

Messrs Tuttle and Gorringe arrived in Fort Garland with me, and we were afterwards joined by Messers Dallas, Toof, Mosely and Sturgus The remaining members of our party were employed from Colorado.8

Having completed our preparations we started on Aug 15 '78 for the South West corner ofColorado The distance isabout 300miles On ourway we stopped two days at Tierra Amarilla, NewMexico, to purchase pack-animals (burros.)9 Also several days atAnimas, Colorado to replenish our supplies, complete the rigging of our pack-saddles, and get ready for the final start to the Initial Monument, still about 100miles distant

After aweek ofhard marching wearrived on the North bank of theSan Juan River, Sept 4, 1878.AtMitchell's Ranch, about 50miles from the beginning corner, we werejoined by Mr. Shirts, an old and experienced mountaineer, who claimed to be familiar with the country and the Indians in this region, and who subsequently, for about twoweeks, acted as our guide and interpreter in dealing with the Navajo and the Ute Indians.10

We arrived about noon on the 4th dayof September 1878.

During the afternoon and the following morning a rude raft was constructed of dry cottonwood logs and on the same day (5th Sept.) Messrs

was only a colonel, but he wasin command of the Ninth Regiment of Cavalry,with headquarters in Santa Fe and companies scattered throughout NewMexico and Colorado In the spring of 1878, companies D, G, I, Kand Mwere encamped on the La Plata Riverjust north of the NewMexico boundary because of Ute Indian troubles in southern Colorado. Specifically, theywere there at the request ofAgent Weaver at the LosPinosAgency TheUtes were being forced to move to newreservations inwestern Colorado from eastern Colorado and northern New Mexico See William H Leckie, The Buffalo Soldiers (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967), pp 205-207 Seealso Monroe Lee Billington, New Mexico's Buffalo Soldiers, 1866-1900 (Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1991), pp 45-46, 58,117

6 The Ninth Cavalry consisted often companies Officers were white,while enlisted men and noncommissioned officers were black soldiers, including many former slaves and veterans of the CivilWar Companies usually consisted of three officers and 35men Company DwasledbyCapt Francis D Dodge and Company Kby Capt. Charles Parker. The latter took over escort duty on October 19, 1878.See Regimental Returns, Ninth Cavalry, September and October, 1878,RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, National Archives

7 Animas, Colorado, wasa short-lived mining townjust north ofpresent-day Durango

8 Reeves had hiscrew swear to do an adequatejob asrequired by the General Land Office and as directed by that office J J Sturgus, Leonidas Dallas, C H Gorringe and,joining them later, Henry Potmecky were chainmen. Reeves listed himself as surveyor and astronomer, aswas Capt. H. P. Tuttle. Edwin Toof, along with Dallas, Mosely, Sturgus and Potmecky,joined Reeves at Ft Garland, Colorado Tuttle and Gorringe were already with Reeves Others in the crew were Shannon, Kelly and Scott, who joined later in Colorado

9 Tierra Amarilla isa settlement in northern NewMexico, some 75miles southwest ofAlamosa It is a little out of the direct line of march from Ft Garland to Animas

10 Peter Shirts was a bachelor who in 1877 settled at the mouth of Montezuma Creek where it enters the SanJuan River See David E Miller, Hole in theRock (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1959), pp 25,33 TheHenry L Mitchell extended family settled atthe mouth of McElmo Creek the summer of 1878 SeeRobert S McPherson, TheNorthern Navajo Frontier,1860-1900 (Albuquerque: University of NewMexico Press, 1988), pp. 40-42.

Sturgus, Shannon, Kelley and myself tried to cross the river by getting on the raft and poleing and paddling it across the river, but the current was too strong (estimated to be 7 miles per hour) and we were carried about two miles below our starting place and landed on the same (North) side of the river

Finding it impracticable to ford or raft the river, we next sent two of our party some 50 miles above our Camping place, to bring down a skiff said to be owned by a son-in-law of Mr Shirts, at a settle. / . i-nPeter Shirts merit on the river at that place.

After four days travel the men returned without the boat, stating that the owner wasuseing it so constantly during the present high water, that he could not spare it, though urged strongly to do so by Mr Shirts. He would neither sell, nor hire, nor loan it.

Bythis time the river had fallen several feet, though still too high for us to ford without too great danger. We now built another, similar raft, larger and more easily handled, constructed of 9 dry cottonwood logs, tied together with "Sling and lash" ropes belonging to the pack train. Raft was about 14 feet long by 8 feet wide Mssrs Tuttle, Gorringe, Mosely, Kelley, Shannon, Dallas, Scott, Sturgus and myself crossed on this raft, to an island; then towed the raft around the foot of an island, then all, except Gorringe and Mosely crossed on raft to second island, then towed the raft about 300 yards up stream, and crossed to the South Shore of the river

All bedding, instruments, clothing [line missing from copy] the raft with Tuttle and myself, and the remaining five men clung to the sides of the raft, wading, swimming and pushing it to the opposite shore, which we reached about 500 yards below, the point from which we had embarked.

12

The riverwhere we crossed including two islands,was about 1000 yards wide, current strong (probably 6miles an hour) water muddy and from 3 to 7 feet deep When we first tried to cross, on 5th September, itwas from 10 to 15feet deep in the middle, and the current stronger

In the afternoon Mess. Tuttle, Shannon and Iwalked up Navajo Creek about 4 miles, then separated, and came back to the river along opposite sides of the Mesas bordering Navajo Creek We found no corner. 13

11 This wasprobably Mancos, Colorado The Mitchells had come from southwestern Colorado, and Shirts (sometimes spelled Shurtz) had come from southern Utah, both to farm and trade with the Navajos The Mormon "Hole-in-the-Rock" exploring party found them still there in 1879, firmly entrenched The "skiff" may have been the "home made" canoe Shirts is reported to have had the next year See Miller, Hole in theRock, p 150

12 In the summer the SanJuan River, after a high spring runoff inJune, can flood from rains farther upstream At other times it isalmost dry, and "push boating" on the SanJuan isawell-known aspect of river-rafting there

1S Present-day maps show no Navajo Creek near the Four Corners monument, but they do show "Todastoni Wash"justwest of the monument at the same location as "Navajo Creek." The "corner" Reeves was looking for is the Four Corners monument where the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah meet

During the day several Navajo Indians, who had come from their Reservation on the South Side of the river, to trade with the Ute Indians on the North Side the river, forded the river on their horses about two miles above the Camp where we had rafted. IAfterwards crossed and recrossed on my horse several times at the same ford but the main party recrossed to the north side on the same raft on which they had first crossed the day before

The next morning Sept 11th '78,a Navajo Indian, directed byMr Shirts, crossed the river and escorted by Mr Gorringe, proposed to show us the corner for a consideration Abargain was made He took us directly to the true corner, which was East, about Kof a mile of Navajo Creek and away up on a high mesa, [line missing] a fair state of preservation, and was clearly identified by descriptions furnished us from the General Land Office. [Illegible] Capt Tuttle's drawing.

On same night (Septr. 11th 78) Capt. Tuttle and Mr Gorringe made observations for azimuth of Polaris at its eastern elongation, which occurred about 8 P.M

They had a favorable night with very satisfactory results (See Astronomical Report of Captain H.T Tuttle, pages 11and 12bound with this volume) [not included here].

We camped on the river SanJuan about XA mile North of the transit, and they came into Camp about 10P.M.with all hands in good spirits. The result of the observations on Polaris being so satisfactory with a resulting well defined azimuth, itwas decided to prolong the line to the North Side of the San Juan river, and get a new Meridian from the opposite side. This was almost absolutely necessary also on account of our great trouble in communicating with the Camp on the North Side,where were most of our blankets, provisions and (except transit) most valuable instruments

Commenced at the Initial Monument, identified by the discriptions furnished by the U.S. General Land Office.14

Barometer reads 25.33 in. It is a compensated aneroid, manufactured by L. Casella, London, England No. 2195. It was a new instrument and had never been used in the field.

[From page 10 through 349 of Reeves's report he describes mile by mile, in excruciating but necessary detail, the land and each monument he set. These notes are not given here].

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The instrument used in the execution of this surveywere the same used by Capt. H. P. Tuttle. They are fully described by him in his astronomical

14 The

p 202

"initial monument" is the Four Corners sandstone marker set in 1875 by C Robbins Later it was replaced by the present concrete monument See Lola Cazier, Surveys and Surveyors of the Public Domain, 1785-1975 (Washington: U.S Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 1977),

One hundredfeet long,thechainwasstretchedbetweentheman with thetransitandthe manwith the rod.

report, and as that forms a part of this complete report their repeated description isnot considered necessary.

They consisted of a new transit made byWm Wurdeman, Washington, D.C. I purchased this instrument from Mr.Wurdeman for boundary surveys. The needle of the compass had lost its power, which I did not discover until we had entered upon the survey For this reason our results for variation are not entirely but only approximately reliable In all other respects the instrument was in good condition.

A sextant manufactured by Spencer Browning and Cos., London, England Thiswas the same instrument used byProf Denison in his and my survey of the Washington Ter and Idaho Ter Boundary line

An Aneroid Barometer, manufactured by L. Casella, London, England. This was a new and superior instrument and was loaned to us by the Bureau of Engineers, War Dept Two superior field glasseswere used by the forward and back flagmen, and greatly facilitating their work.

An extra sextant, loaned to us by the Engineer Bureau, was carried constantly with us to use in case our own became impaired

I also carried a new standard steel tape which was used only in testing

Colorado-UtahBoundary107

and regulating the two steel-wired brazen-linked chains which were used in measuring the boundary line.15

A number of steel chisels, hammers, marking irons, axes, hatchets, saws, spades, shovels, picks etc etc all of convenient and appropriate construction, were provided and used as occasion required

The points on the line where the flagmen were stationed, and where the transit subsequently stood, are indicated in the field notes by the abbreviation T.P. meaning Transit Point, or Turning Point. They are frequently, but not invaribly noted. The reason for noting them at all is to define certain points along the line between the mile corners, and to which we could return if necessity required. Theywere usually marked by awooden peg driven into the ground by the front or head flagman, at the precise point where the flag pole was first stuck on the line.16

The flag poles were the same used in the survey of the Dakota-Wyoming boundary line, but were freshly painted.17

Bearings were frequently taken from various points along the line, but it was impossible to take many from the mile corners. Generally no natural objects could be seen, and when seen were often not appropriate objects to use for bearings Stones were used for mile corners when ever they could be found They were considered superior, more durable than wood

The best stone and wood were used which could be obtained from the surrounding country. Where the stones are not of the required dimensions, it isbecause they could not be found and were not to be had.

The monument commemorating the corner common to the Territories of Utah, New Mexico,Arizona, and the State of Colorado, which was the initial point of this survey, and which was established byMr. Chandler Robbins, U.S. Surveyor in 1875, is situated on a flat and lofty mesa about one-half a mile South of the SanJuan River, and about one-quarter of a mile east of Navijo Creek. Starting from this corner the line very soon descends several hundred feet into the Navajo Creek Valley, thence climbs a spur of the bluffs on the south side of the SanJuan River, thence having crossed this spur, descends abruptly to the south edge of said river.

There isa lowbottom bordering the SanJuan River, on the north side, from one-eighth of a mile to one mile wide and continuing, with occasional breaks where the bluffs come abruptly down the waters edge, for many miles up and down the river.

15 Reeves had two different teams of chainmen measuring the distance as a check on accuracy Chains and links are no longer used today, as surveyors are much more accurate with a radar-type instrument

16 When Allen D Wilson returned to resurvey and fill the gaps in Reeves's line in 1885,he did find most of Reeves's monuments, but not all See Allen D Wilson, Field Notes, Of thesurvey remarking and completing a portion of theBoundary Line between the State of Coloradoand the Territory of Utah, RG 49, National Archives

17 Reeves had surveyed the Wyoming-Dakota boundary line in 1877 See C AlbertWhite, A History of theRectangular Survey System (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1982), p 156

Cottonwood trees, willows and aspen are found in this valley in great abundance. The grass on the hills immediately north of this bottom is good, which makes this a good stock range all along the river.

Soil in the valleyissecond rate, but it can be used cultivated by irrigation from the river.18 The timber isof a fair size, though much of it isdead. The valleyon the north side isabout one-quarter of a mile on the boundary line,which latter crosses the river three times on the second mile Near the crossing by the line the valleyhas evidentlybeen used bythe Navajo Indians, in caring for their sheep, Since we saw ruins of numerous corrals, and great quantities of sheep croppings allalong the river in the bottoms.19 These Indians are known to own large and numerous bands of sheep, and we suppose they have used this bottom to protect their stock from bad weather, and to keep their flocks intact, grazing them on the surrounding hills,watering them from the SanJuan, and herding them in the bottom, protected bybluffs and timber and brush

A band of about thirty Ute Indians came down from their northern homes and camped on the San Juan about two (2) miles above where we were encamped. They were well armed and mounted, and had brought ponies with them to trade with the Navajo Indians, who came from their reservation immediately on the south side of the river and who forded the river on horse back, loaded with blankets of their own manufacture, which they traded for the ponies of the Utes.20 No hostile demonstrations were made by either Indians, Soldiers or Civilians and we had no trouble with them during our stay in the vicinity.

After reaching the high bluffs, on the north bank of the SanJuan river, the line traverses a rolling elevated, grass-covered table land, mainly free from brush and timber for about thirty miles, ascending Northward and crossing numerous, rocky ridges hills, valleys and canons, all having for about sixty miles, a general Southwestern slope toward the SanJuan River valley, and into which they nearly all empty21 Their general trend isfrom East and north-East to West and Southwest

The surface is badly broken, the walls and bluffs, rocky and steep, and the timber which we gradually enter about the 25th mile, is mainly Pifion, very tough and stunted, and having its bark full of sandgrit, dulling the axes and making our progress slow and difficult.

In the vicinity of McElmo and Montezuma creeks numerous ruins of ancient buildings, in various stages of preservation, were seen and exam-

18 In this Reeves was prophetic, for Mormon pioneers were trying this method offarming a couple of years later in the Bluff area.

19 Obviously Reeves mean "droppings," a distinct signature of the presence or passing of sheep

20 The SanJuan River had long been, in peaceful times, a meeting place for Utes and Navajos bent on trading When the Elk Mountain Mission tried to settle in the present-day Moab area in 1855, the missionaries, accompanied byUtes, trekked to the SanJuan River to trade with the Navajos. See Ethan Pettit Diary, p 4-6 (manuscript copy in Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley)

21 Reeves iswriting about the so-called "Great Sage Plain" east of present-day Monticello, Utah, and the canyons draining from it into the SanJuan River to the south

Navajos typical of those seenbythe surveyingparty. Therewereno hostileincidentswith either the NavajosorUtes.

ined. Some of these are fully noted and described at their proper places in the foregoing field notes The first fifty miles of this boundary line passes through the North-eastern quarter of the ruins region, which latter extends from this northern boundary away down through Arizona, New Mexico and into Mexico and Central America.22

From about the sixteenth mile station north of the beginning corner, up to and including the one hundred and thirtieth mile, the drainage is into the Dolores River. From thence North the drainage is into the Grand River.23

From about the fiftieth to the ninetieth miles inclusive, the topography is represented on the maps of Dr Haydens surveys as being a broad sage brush plain, free from timber, with rolling surface and generally a fair country over which to prolong the boundary line. We found it to be an almost impassible region, cutup by boss canons, having perpendicular sand stone

22 The prehistoric ruins in this area are SanJuan Anasazi (Pueblo) dating up to the late 1200s. There are both open sites and cliff dwellings here The boundary lines passes, at about mile 28, right next to the Holly Group of ruins, a part of Hovenweep National Monument These are spectacular buildings with towers

23 Reeves must have meant "sixtieth mile" instead of "sixteenth,"for the drainage into the Dolores does not begin along the boundary line until one gets a little north of present-day Monticello, some 60 miles north of the Four Corners The Grand River is,of course, the present-day Colorado River, the name having been changed in 1921 at the request of Coloradoans

walls, and one of the most difficult sections to chain or travel over that I have ever seen. 24

There are no settlements by white men, immediately along the line from the initial monument, the the [sic] one hundred and fiftieth mile corner. The only settlement near the line, for the first ninety miles, is about thirty miles east of and opposite to the thirty or thirty-first miles on the survey At that point there are several ranch-men living in cabins on the south side of the Dolores River, at what is Known as the big bend of the Dolores River, or at the mouth of East Canon. There are no women nor children, but about a dozen bachelors who have built cabins and own large bands of cattle and horses. The most prominent among them are the May Brothers. Here too is the last Post Office, until we reach the ninety second mile.25 The only other settlement near the line is on Deer Creek, or what is marked, "Tukuhnikavats Creek" on Dr Hayden's maps. The post office is called La Sal City. The settlement is located about six miles west of the boundary, on Deer Creek opposite the ninety first mile. It consists of some eight or ten families, embracing from thirty to fifty people, among them some very respectable women and well appearing children. There are about a dozen cabins already built and several under construction. The first settlers arrived about twoyears ago, and all have come from the west, not from Colorado or any point east They are an industrious, enterprising and peaceful community There are no Mormons among them, though living in the Pi Ute County, Utah.

Thousands of bushels of vegetables were raised there last summer. Some grain was grown and many tons of native hay was cut from the surrounding prairie It is located at the Eastern base of the Sierra La Sal, is probably seven thousand feet above sea level, has rich soil, fine grass, Pine and Cedar and Pifion timber, and well located for irrigating from the waters of Deer Creek. Mr. Isaac King is the Post Master and keeps the station. They have a weekly mail from the west and one from the East This was the last mail and settlement on our way north. On October 17th ,we mailed our last

24 Hayden's description is based on the account of the Gannett-Gardner parties, members of his survey group who, after being ambushed by Indians at the mouth of Peters Canyon (nine miles north of present-day Monticello) in 1875, crossed the plain from northwest to southeast on the crest of the drainage, avoiding the canyons cutting into the plain from both sides This isthe route of the Old Spanish Trail and the present-day highway Reeves was forced to take the hard route cutting across canyons that mostly run at an angle to die boundary line Hayden's surveys were made to get detailed geographical information on lands of the West open to settlement See F V Hayden, Ninth Annual Report of the U.S. Geologicaland Geographical Survey of the Territories Embracing Colorado and Parts of Adjacent Territories in the year 1875 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1877).

25 The settlement at the "Big Bend" of the Dolores Riverjust downstream from present-day Dolores, Colorado, had by 1878 a post office named after the river, i.e Dolores, in a ranch house See Duane Smith, "Valley of the River of Sorrows," in George D Kendrick, ed., The River of Sorrows (Denver: U.S Government Printing Office, n.d [circa 1982]), pp 10-13 The Mays, R W "Dick" and "Billy," had an isolated ranch near the Utah-Colorado line. In 1881 Dick was killed by Indians, which triggered a battle between whites and Indians ending at Pinhook in the LaSal Mountains See Faun McConkie Tanner, The Far Country: A Regional History of Moab and La Sal Utah (Salt Lake City: Olympus Publishing Co., 1976), pp 117-46

letters there in going north.26 Our next opportunity was at Los Pinos Indian agency, probably 45 miles east of the line, where we mailed letters one month afterwards on November 17th '78

With the exception of the narrow strips of land immediately in the creek bottoms, no good agricultural land of any quantity was discovered along the line. The soil in Deer Creek and Dolores River valleys could be irrigated and be made productive, but the canons of the latter are so deep and the valleys are so narrow that they are almost unavailable to settlers, and are too small tojustify improvement. The whole Grand River valley so far as we saw it, seems almost a desert. There is no good grass and the soil is worthless On the south side of the river, there was nothing but red sandstone cliffs and mesas and canons, bold and picturesque in appearance, but apparently utterly worthless for any useful purposes. On the north side of the river in many places, there isa narrow, bottom covered with cottonwood trees, while about half of the distance along the river up and down the stream, the banks consist of steep, high bluffs, impossible to ascend, and shutting out the view of the river from the wagon-road and trail, which forms the highway between Colorado and Utah, and follows for many miles the north side of the river Most of the timber along the line is Mountain Cedar, Pine, Pifion, Aspen, Cottonwood (in the valleys) Willows and large sage.

The Pifion isgenerally of small size,very rough and knotty and the bark is filled with sand grit, quickly taking off the edge of axes used in clearing and marking the line Two wagon roads were crossed: one on the sixty first mile bearing North west and South East, leading from settlements in Utah to the settlements in Colorado, commencing at Salina, Utah, and extending a south-Easterly direction, around the Southern base of the Sierra La Sal, thence South Easterly into the Mining town of Parrott City, Colorado, via, the Big Bend of the Dolores River, and thence over the Mancos River.27

The road isgenerally in fair condition, but there are several very steep and rocky hills which are so bad that the strongest-built wagons only can

26 The families that settled in the fall of 1877atwhat isnowknown as "Old La Sal"were the Tom Rays, Philander Maxwell, Dr William McCarty and sons, Niels Olson, \he Silveys, and probably others (Faun McConkie Tanner, ibid SeeFrank Silvery, Historyand Settlement ofNorthern Sanfuan County,Utah (Moab:TimesIndependent, 1990), pp 2-3 Old La Sal,which was abandoned in 1930, islocated in Section 34, Township 28South, Range 23Easton the U.S Geological Survey 15minute LaSalQuad., dated 1954 (twelvemiles east of present-day La Sal) The post office was established September 12, 1878,with William Hamilton as postmaster (National Archives to author, May 16, 1958) No Isaac King shows up in any of fhe local histories A mail routewasestablished between Salina,Utah, and Ouray, Colorado, in the spring of 1878 SeeTanner, p 81 Reeves iswrong about the religious preference of the settlers of La Sal, assome of them were Mormons See Norma Palmer Blankenagel, The Salt and theSavor. . . La Sal and Her People (privately printed, 1982), p. 29. Deer Creek runs into LaSalCreek today La SalCreekwasnamed Tukunikavatsbythe Hayden parties,aswas what isnow known asSouth Mountain See Lloyd M Pierson, "LaSalMountains; Ute Names," Canyon Legacy, No. 26 (1966), pp 2-5

27 Parrott City was a short-lived mining town on the La Plata River west of present-day Durango and at the base of the La Plata Mountains See Henry Gannett, The Origin of Certain PlaceNames in the U.S., U.S Geological Survey Bulletin 197 (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1902, Reprint 1978), p. 202. The road generally followed the route of the Old Spanish Trail.

Uteencampmentat Los Pinos,1874.

travel them with any safety. My own wagon had both axels broken and was left (abandoned) in trying to carry supplies to us on Grand River. The only other road we encountered waswhat is known as the old Salt Lake wagon road This is in better condition, has been considerably traveled and worked It was first built by U.S Troops, many years ago, and has been much used since.28 This road is the main thoroughfare between Colorado and Utah. It begins at the southern terminous of the Utah Central Rail Road and bears in a general east direction, strikes Grand River, about fifteen miles west of the boundary line, thence follows the North bank of Grand River

28 Colonel W W Loring with 50 wagons and 300 men traversed this route in 1858 traveling from Camp Floyd, Utah, to Fort Union, New Mexico, at the same time building a road that most likely is the one later called the Salt Lake Wagon Road See LeRoy R Hafen, "Colonel Loring's Expedition Across Colorado in 1858," The Colorado Magazine, Vol 23,No 2 (1946), pp 49-75

about sixty (60) miles to a point about forty (40) miles east of the line, thence crosses it and takes its course up Gunnison River for some thirty-five miles, after crossingwhich it continues in the same direction to within twelve miles of the Los Pines Indian Agency,29 where it branches and leads east and south into the SanJuan mines, and then east to the railroads and to Denver, Colorado

From the sixtieth mile on the line to the one hundred and fiftieth mile the whole surface is exceedingly broken and rough: much worse than one can conceive without having seen it The one striking feature is the prevalence of "boss Canons," These are canons cut into the solid sandstone rocks by mountain streams and torrents The walls are generally perpendicular on all sides, making them seem like a huge box These banks and walls frequently extend for many miles in an east and west direction, and, being too steep to descend even on foot, we were frequently compelled to travel several miles to get down into one of these canons, asjust as far again in order to get out The pack animals were obliged to go even further In many instances, we walked from two to four miles to make a half mile in distance & S. [stay?] on the line, while our camp at night would be from five to seven miles away, and we would have to walk it after the days work was done in the evening and before commencing work in the morning.

In one instance, between the thirty seventh and forty-second miles, we were obliged to take the pack train some twenty miles around, east of the line, to cross a canon. 30

Again, about the eighty-seventh mile the surface near the line was utterly impassable and everybody was compelled to travel over forty (40) miles to reach a point one mile north of the quitting point, and on the meridian we were establishing.31

This occasioned a three days delay. In both of these places the men at work on the line could not get to the pack train and it could not be brought to them, so they were compelled to remain out all night without blankets, provisions or water. I did not know then and do not understand how this could be avoided in such a country on such a survey, unless every man iswilling to carry his own blankets and rations. To do this, and work at the same time, most men are unwilling to undertake. I know of no way of avoiding these hardships in locating a boundary line properly through such a country.

From one hundred and nineteenth to the one hundred and thirty first miles, the surface on the line was simply impassable. The entire party includ-

30

31

29 Reeves means the Los Pinos Agency

Reeves was crossing the Squaw Canyon drainage west of present-day Cahone, Colorado. He went to the east to staybetween it and Cross Canyon and then headed into the Squaw Canyon drainage.

This must have been the canyon of La Sal Creek at Milepost 92, asit isa precipitous canyon, but a 40-mile detour seems a little extreme Asa contract surveyor Reeveswasprobably selling himself and the difficulties of thejob so as to make up for not monumenting sections of the boundary

ing our Military escort of about thirty men, and all our animals, with their packs, were forced to abandon the line and seek a route to the east of the boundary, in order to cross the Dolores River and get out upon the high, rocky mesa on the north side of the Dolores River.32 Although the distance on the meridian of the boundary was only eleven (11) miles, we probably traveled from fifty to sixty miles, and were tramping five days, in reaching the prominent white rock cliff on the boundary which we had carefully chosen, before quitting the lines, and the identification of which can not fairly be questioned. The field notes show that on this section of the line the distances were determined by astronomical observations for latitude, made on the meridian at the quitting and beginning (resuming) points, and the distance between them computed and reduced to miles and fractions of a mile As there was no fit surface over which to measure a base line, no triangulation could be resorted to. Neither Captain Tuttle nor I knew of any other satisfactory way of prolonging the boundary line and yet keeping the distances even more nearly correct than by chaining I do not consider it feasible to cross the Dolores River from the south to the north side, near the line, and still get up on the line to a point that could surely be identified, nearer (further south) than the natural object chosen by our party It is utterly impossible to cross to the north side of the river on the boundary line, or even get on the line on the north bank of the river with the animals carrying the blankets, provisions, instruments, etc.

No such point is accessible Even though a reckless and adventurous mountaineer should climb to the north wall of the river near the line, he could not be placed in line, because the nearest point to which the transit could be carried on the south side of the river, would be where we placed our final monument, viz at 119 V% miles on the line and which is probably three to four miles from the southern edge of the north wall of the Dolores River.

33

For the first 92 miles no running water was crossed by the boundary line Water was found in tanks or pockets in the rocks in holes in the beds of dry streams, and by digging in low sandy bottoms

The scarcity of water, especially at this season of the year (September and October) caused great inconvenienc in having frequently to locate camp several miles from line Water for cooking purposes, and to be carried in canteens by the party atwork on the line, was transported in Kegs, on the backs

32 Reeves has run into the deep canyons leading off the northeast side of the La Sals and draining into the Dolores River The map of the route taken by Reeves's military escort support groups, drawn by Lt B S Humphrey, Ninth Cavalry, shows them moving along the route of the Old Spanish Trail and setting up temporary supply camps. The cavalry followed the route of the Old Spanish Trail from Colorado through Moab to a point north of Moab, where they headed east on the Salt Lake Wagon Road This avoided most of the rough country the survey was going through but probably made their task of supplying the survey party more difficult See Lloyd M Pierson, "Buffalo Soldiers Come to Spanish Valley," Canyon LegacyNo. 28 (1996/97), pp 2-8

33 Reeves's milepost 119J4 is on South Beaver Mesa overlooking the spectacular canyon of the Dolores River a few miles above where it enters the Colorado River near present-day Dewey, Utah.

Cartoonof aslacker. Whiletherewere some surveyorswhoskimped on theirfieldwork,it is clear that RollinReeves did getupfrom hisdesk tosurveytheColoradoUtahborder.

of pack animals, but the animals themselves had to be watered every day or two. Twenty three miles [mules] and horses were constantly employed by the surveyors, besides about one hundred and fifty that belonged to the government, and were employed by the two companies of cavalry acting as escort

The warm weather and lack of water caused no little suffering to both men and animals while the time employed in hunting water and in traveling to and from camps, located awayoff the line,was nearly, ifnot quite, equal to the time actually spent while immediately at work on the line of survey. 34

From the 92nd mile north, water was more abundant and several mountain streams were crossed. Among the largest streams were, besides the Grande and Dolores Rivers, Deer (or Tukuhnikavats), Roc and Granite Creeks, and Little Dolores River. Roc Creek, Deer Creek and Little Dolores River were the only running mountain streams. Rock Creek was the largest and most beautiful mountain stream crossed by the line. Dolores River flows through a deeply-cut canon of red sand-stone, probably fifteen hundred feet below the general elevation of the surrounding bluffs. It can be reached from only one break in the walls, on the south side near the line. The route is down an old Indian trail referred to in the foregoing field notes. This seemed to be an abandoned road, and I think we were the first white men 34

As a contract surveyor dependent on future jobs and paid by the mile, Reeves may be making a case here for a higher rate per mile in rough country

to follow it. There was no evidence of its having been used for several years. Had this almost obliterated ponny trail not been discovered, I think we should have been compelled to go from 30 to 50 miles out of our way to find a pass down into the canon, and get out on the line, on the North side of the river. The last six or seven miles of the line, i.e. from the 144th to the 150th mile, crosses an usually broken surface The breaks of all the South shore of the Grande River are similar to those in the vicinity of the Dolores River. They consist mainly of a series of successive, deep sand stone canons, with intervening rocky ridges and mesas. Their general trend isfrom East to West, and the drainage is into Grande River. I cannot conceive of any useful purpose to which this country may be adapted

The grazing was excellent in most places along the line, but the average altitude being great, water usually scarce, and most of it considerably below the general level, the country bordering the line can hardly be considered a first class grazing region. Stock would usually require feeding during a portion of the winter.35

There were no practical miners nor geologists among our party and consequently, no mines nor minerals were discovered.

Very little opportunity was afforded our party for hunting and fishing since our time was so closely occupied directly with the survey.

Elk and Deer were frequently seen near the line, in various places, most notably between the 90th and the 115th mile. In the vicinity of Deer and Roc Creeks, I saw several bands, numbering from five to ten in each The soldiers killed a few. The Cinnamon Deer [bear?] was the only kind seen and that was on the Dolores River, and a few miles South of Deer Creek. Fish were caught in SanJuan, Grande and Dolores Rivers. There is evidence that Grande and Gunnison Rivers are wide, deep and swift streams during high water. Much trouble and danger isfeared in our prospective return to the 150th mile point, this spring, on account of these rivers.36 There are neither bridges, ferries, nor settlements along these rivers for many miles, East and West of the boundary line.

No hostile Indians were encountered, no dangerous sickness endured nor serious material losses sustained during the prosecution of this survey

During the first month wewere enroute from Washington to the initial point of survey, it rained nearly every day, that being the rainy season in Colorado. Afterwards we were blest with fair weather almost continually. The work of locating the line was begun on September 12, 1878, and we finished the 150th mile monument, where work was suspended in a snow and rain storm, on the afternoon of Sunday, November 10th , 1878. On the night of October 14th , it

35 Reeves's analysis is fairly accurate, but in the next few years after his survey, the country filled with ranches and livestock See Utah Historical Quarterly Vol 32, No 3 (1964) for more information on Utah's cattle industry.

36 To finish the boundary survey and marking north to Wyoming

rained very hard, and the next day, it snowed several hours, falling four or five inches. Much of this snow remained on the ground all winter.

After suspending work, we traveled the old Salt Lake Wagon road up Grande, Gunnison and Uncompahgre Rivers, crossing each, and entering the Lake City tole-road about one hundred and twenty-five miles from our starting place. Thence to Ft. Garland, via Lake City, Antelope Park, Wagonwheel Gap, Delitorte37 and Alamosa, arriving at Fort Garland November 29, 1878

I trust it may not be out of place for me to express my appreciation of the great services rendered by Capt. H.P. Tuttle, who acted as the Astronomer of this survey. He has been a faithful, industrious and patient worker and assistant from the very inception of this survey to the final suspension of field work on the Grande River. In his subsequent reductions and reports, he has shown the same worthy traits of character.

Capt. Charles Parker of K Co. 9th Cavalry, who has had charge of our military escort, has performed his duty in avery praise worthy manner and I am under great personal obligations to him, and to his command, for many voluntary and gratuitous acts of kindness and assistance, rendered my party and myself.38

I am grateful to for the evident and hearty interest they have taken in protecting us and facilitating the establishment of the boundary line.39

37 A confused rendition of Del Norte, Colorado. Reeves crossed the SanJuan Mountains between Lake City and Alamosa viatwo passes, each around 11,000feet in elevation, in winter, with no complaints. Thejob was done and he was heading home.

38 Capt Parker with part of Company Kapparently waswith the surveyors to fend off Indians while Lt Humphrey with the rest of the company kept the supply lines open

39 In his seminal History of theRectangular Survey System (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1982), p. 172, C.Albert White states that the boundary lines of Colorado follow straight lines of longitude and latitude However, the boundary with Utah has a deviation bearing two miles to the west starting at about the 81s1 milepost and continuing northwest, coming back on a more northerly line at about milepost 89 One source {The DenverPost, March 16, 1958) saysReeves had cloudy nights and could not see Polaris, the north star, during that time, but his notes indicate he may have had a problem in triangulation going across a canyon Reeves came back and finished the line to the northwest corner of Colorado the next year In 1885 Wilson reran the boundary and found tbe deviation, but, according to law, once the line wasset it could not be changed, and sowe have the "bent"boundary between Colorado and Utah See Franklin Van Zandt, Boundaries of the United States and the Several States, U.S Geological Service Professional Paper 909 (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1976).

Dr. Elizabeth Tracy: Angel of Mercy in the Pahvant Valley

BY EDWARD LEO LYMAN

WHIL E THE LEGENDARY Mormon women physicians Ellis Shipp, Romania Pratt Penrose, and Martha Hughes Cannon were in the twilight of their careers, another Utah doctor—this time a gentile—was earning a similar, though more geographically limited, reputation In 1910, Dr Elizabeth Cahoon Tracy—at around the age of forty—began her first marriage and second medical career amidst the drab greasewood-covered lands of the so-called North Tract area of west Millard County.1 In a place where transportation was still poor and the population was considerably larger than itwould be in later years, the min-

A native of Delta, Dr. Lyman teaches history at Victor Valley College, California, and continues a rigorous writing schedule

The author acknowledges the earlier contributions of local historian LaVellJohnson, on whose work he has heavily drawn

1 Locals consider the area surrounding Delta, Woodrow, and Sutherland to be "west Millard County"; in reality, the area ismiles from the county's western border

Photo courtesy of Great Basin Museum, Delta, Utah.

Dr. Elizabeth Tracy: Angel of Mercy 119

istrations of this kindly doctor easily made Elizabeth Tracy legendary in her own right.

By 1910 the area where Dr. Tracy would live and practice had attracted a number of settlers still hoping to establish prosperous farms in the early twentieth century. The land was being developed, largely by non-Mormons, under the Carey Act;2 these developers had agreed to assist the Mormon-dominated irrigation companies in impounding winter runoff at an enlarged Sevier Bridge Dam in southeasternJuab County, making a great deal more water available downstream in Millard County Largely because of the supposed abundance of irrigation water available for these vast Pahvant Valley lands, the promoters became successful in recruiting settlers from throughout the American Midwest, California, and places in between.

The centerpiece of the new agricultural development scheme was the uncleared but fertile fields soon named Sutherland, which became some of the most productive land in Utah. Several milesfarther north, another community, named Woodrow after the recently elected president of the United States, also sprang into existence. Unfortunately, most of the soil there did not prove quite as productive as that in Sutherland. YetWoodrow settlers, and those on even worse land farther out in an area mainly called Sugarville, worked just as hard as their neighbors in grubbing greasewood stumps, plowing land, and digging irrigation ditches—and they held equally high aspirations for eventual prosperity.

Of future importance to Dr Elizabeth Cahoon, a man named Jerome Tracy was one of the first to become established at Woodrow. Tracy, a former NewYork statejustice of the peace, "was educated for the [Roman Catholic] clergy, but renounced his training and wandered where he pleased," according to longtime Delta newspaperman Frank A Beckwith Most recently, Tracy had been prospecting and mining throughout the Southwest, particularly in Arizona When he left employment in a mine nicknamed the "widowmaker" because of its many silicosis victims, he came into contact with promoters of the Oasis Land and Water Company project in west Millard County, and he committed to developing a farm on two forty-acre tracts near a crossroads location soon to become Woodrow

Tracy's first winter on the raw land was relatively mild, and he was comfortable in the canvas-topped sheep camp he placed on the site.

2 The CareyAct, passed in 1894, provided for the reclamation of arid lands byconveying up to one million acres to states that were willing to promote irrigation projects

The next year he had a framedlumber granary built in preparation for the good barley or wheat crop he expected. All the fields needed was one good irrigation, but that never occurred, because the Burtner-Delta dam broke that year. All the farmers on the project lost their crops from lack of water. The dam washout essentially bankrupted the Oasis Company, and although many families abandoned the area and others voiced major discouragement, Tracy and a few other hardy pioneers remained optimistic over the region's prospects as a great agricultural center. They proved to be correct. West Millard became the country's premier alfalfa seed-raising region and is still the leading alfalfa hay producer in all of Utah and perhaps the entire Intermountain West.

There is no reason to believe that Jerome Tracy, described as a "short, bristly Irishman," held any grudge over the dam washout, the irrigation company's most serious crisis. However, later records from his justice of the peace court for Woodrow precinct indicate that he was consistently impatient with the successor irrigation company when it allowed water delivery canals to overflow, creating difficult mud hazards along the roads of the community that he, more than anyone else, was charged to oversee and protect. More than once he levied fines on the Delta Canal Company for offenses that others might have been more likely to overlook.3 The judge was notorious as "a most colorful character," and he was "keen on issues as he saw them."4

Tracy had already met Dr Elizabeth Cahoon through the mediation—some alleged that it was connivance—of a mutual friend. While most people considered Tracy abrupt and somewhat opinionated, he was apparently also a good-looking, interesting middle-aged man. At one time, Elizabeth inquired if he ever swore, although she had

Judge Jerome Tracy. Photo courtesy of author.

3 Woodrow PrecinctJustice Court Records, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

4 Millard County Chronicle, July 31, 1947, in which Elizabeth's close friendJosie Walker told the "Life Story of Dr E.R.C Tracy."

undoubtedly heard of his fluency in that aspect of communication. His reply that he never did "in the presence of ladies"was apparently adequate.Jerome sent Dr. Cahoon an issue of the local newspaper promoting west Millard County,5 and while she had probably already committed to becoming his wife, she read it, liked what she saw, and agreed to come to Utah to marryJerome and live with him on his farm. Referring to the fact that he had wooed and won the hand of the impressive doctor in marriage, Utah friends universally agreed that thejudge's "oratorical ability many times exceeded his ability as a farmer "6

Dr. Cahoon metJerome at Salt Lake City, where they were married on September 10, 1910. Two weeks later, they arrived at the boxcar depot of Akin, soon to be Delta, where they walked a short distance to a tent serving as the first public eating place in the infant town and had a good breakfast The proprietor informed them that the postmaster was anxious for the bride to retrieve the mail forwarded to her, because all the wedding gifts sent from the East were too much for his cramped log cabin quarters. After a ten-mile drive in

6

Jerome Tracy and Elizabeth Cahoon Tracy before their marriage. Photo courtesy of Great Basin Museum.

5 One of those who refused to be discouraged by dams going out for two successive years was former mining camp newspaper editor Norman Dresser, whose initial issue of the Millard County Chronicle featured an article on the area's potential. Elizabeth Tracy later served as Dresser's local correspondent in exchange for a free subscription

LaVellJohnson, ed., "Elizabeth R Cahoon Tracy, M.D.," MS., Great Basin Museum, pp 10-15

a white-topped buggy, Elizabeth first saw the fourteen-by-ten windowless granary that, aswas typical for the area, would be her home until better quarters could be moved to their property within the year. Jerome was known to quip at the time, "It's not so hot, but it's all we got.'"

The couple was soon marooned for the winter in their desert location, at that time two and a half miles from their nearest neighbor. But the bridegroom had sowell provided for winter supplies that on occasion local stores came to him for replenishment when freight was not delivered with sufficient promptness at Akin Besides, as Elizabeth later recalled, she and her husband had a good library and the time to enjoy it Judge Tracy, according to Frank Beckwith, was a "voluminous reader and the best posted man in seventeen states . . . original, full of mirth,just oozing reminiscences," and as such would have been particularly good company. Jerome also loved classical music and had many good records that would have helped occupy the time; no doubt theywere played on a spring-propelled Victrola, since it would be more than a dozen years before electric power would be available in the vicinity.

The Tracy home in Woodrow. Also visible is a sidebar mower, perhaps the one Elizabeth sat on as she contemplated her life. .FromWest Millard County, Utah, a booklet produced by the Delta Commercial Club, undated. Courtesy of author.

7 LaVellJohnson, "APiece of God's Green Earth for Me," typescript MS., Great Basin Museum, Delta, Utah, pp 1-6

One day not long after the first winter, the relatively new bride was sitting on the spring seat of a mowing machine facing the inevitable Pahvant Valley wind with her back to the house, perhaps becoming accustomed to the scenery so different from her earlier life. Her husband came up behind, slipped his hands over her eyes and quietly inquired of her thoughts Assuring him of no worries or anxiety for the future, she replied rather romantically that she was cruising through her present life with him with "a sense of freedom and exultation." Elizabeth later recalled that even in subsequent years they "lived and worked and dreamed together" with a "mutual sense of freedom from care and responsibility."8 Other aspects of her life indicate that she actually did feel an acute sense of responsibility for others, but it iscertain that those yearswere indeed a happy and satisfying part of an eventful life.

In one notable incident, thejudge publicly displayed his affection for his wife. Many dances were held at Woodrow Hall, soon erected across the road from their home Elizabeth usually attended, but because of a lame leg she never danced. At one of these dances Jerome suddenly came across the floor, leaned down, kissed her, and stated for all to hear, "God, Betsy, I love you." One of her closest friends concluded that certainly Elizabeth "had experienced the richness in life from this relationship."9

As a local correspondent to the Millard Progress, perhaps Elizabeth Tracy described Woodrow to the readers in the fall of 1915. Woodrow was not a town or anything similar but was simply an agricultural district which centered on a crossroads intersection. The Tracys happened to reside on one corner; the others were occupied by a district school, a country store, and eventually the Woodrow recreation hall Yet the crossroads was the vital center of a community with as much unity and spirit as any closely situated urban neighborhood.10

This community had a higher concentration of non-Mormons than any other area in Millard County. The 1920 census indicated that the population of 431 was divided almost equally between Latter-day Saints and so-called gentiles But since more than half of the LDS residents were children, the preponderance of non-Mormon adults in the area was quite large. The situation was similar aswell in the com-

9 Millard County Chronicle, July 4, 1935; ibid.,July 31, 1947

10 Millard County Progress, October 22, 1915.

8 Dr Elizabeth Tracy, "Impressions of a Tenderfoot," Millard County Chronicle, July 4, 1935 LaVell Johnson, penciled notes of interview withJohn DeLappJr., Great Basin Museum; Millard County Chronicle, July 2, 1981

munities being established farther north and west, particularly in Sugarville.

Born at Dover, Delaware, to strictly religious parents, Elizabeth had obtained a good education, including eventually an M. D. degree, an achievement that was still unusual for a woman. Tracy's early medical practice was at children's hospitals in New York City, with some time at Bellevue Hospital. While there is every indication that she intended to retire from practice when she married and moved to Utah, there were simply too many people in need of her impressively effective services for her to deny them. She was to serve selflessly in the less-than-prosperous North Tract area of west Millard County for a full twenty years.

Perhaps another reason Elizabeth changed her plans and reentered the medical profession was her disappointment at not becoming a mother herself. The quilt-covered child's trundle bed that neighbors saw, placed carefully under the big bed of the granaryhouse, was eloquent testimony of the lady's hopes. It probably took less than a year for Elizabeth and Jerome to realize that, for them, the time of child-bearing had passed. Local historian LaVell Johnson aptly conjectured, "That empty trundle bed explains why Elizabeth Tracy worked so hard to save every baby she could which was born to a mother in the [land-irrigation] project." A close friend in the Millard County years, Cornelia Turner, noted the care the doctor took to tie her new infant's hair with a pink ribbon. Elizabeth "loved to wash and play with babies," she stated. This observation is further corroborated

Woodrow Hall, the community center located across the street from the Tracy home. USHS collections.

Dr. Elizabeth Tracy: Angel of Mercy

by the doctor's own statement that "each new babywasabeautiful and precious thing beloved by all."11

One of the emergencies that essentially forced Elizabeth Tracy back into medical practice was her diagnosis that a neighbor boy, Taggy Hersleff, had a ruptured appendix. She knew he would die if not rushed to Salt Lake City for surgery, so the Tracys took him to Delta, and the doctor accompanied him by train to the cityfor the successful operation. Another crisis, apparently early in her North Tract residence, occurred when a young neighbor boy—probably Ed Miller—severely burned his hand. Elizabeth sat him in her rocking chair, carefully cleaned the hand, and applied some type of salve to each bit of burned skin. Then she bandaged the throbbing hand one finger at a time, instructing that the bandage should not be removed for about three weeks. When examined after the requisite time, the skin showed no scar tissue, and even after fifty years the former patient could demonstrate full use of his hand

LaVellJohnson concluded that Elizabeth Tracy "could no more shut her eyes to her neighbors' plight than she could shut her heart." The otherwise doctorless Woodrow-Sutherland-Sugarville region had too many babies to deliver, fractured bones to set, and other medical needs to attend to, and the conscientious doctor could not ignore such demands. Over the years, under primitive conditions with oftenimprovised materials and equipment, Dr. Tracy's success at practicing the healing artswas phenomenal.

12

At first, those requesting the doctor's care brought their own conveyances to take her to patients, but Dr. Tracy soon secured agood driving team and buckboard and learned to drive them over the rough roads at good speeds Night and cold did not deter the fur coat-clad doctor on her errands of mercy When the roads were too muddy, she was even known to travel byhorseback Many of the dwellings to which she was called were shacks, tents, and camp wagons, where she performed her work with skill equal to that which she had demonstrated in the best of conditions in NewYork City.John DeLapp recalled that his mother had once assisted Dr. Tracy by holding a girl on a dining room table while the doctor sutured wounds inflicted bya horse bite.13

It isuncertain whether Elizabeth Tracy had ever engaged in gen-

11 Johnson, "God's Green Earth," pp 2-6; Millard County Chronicle, July 4, 1935;ibid.,July 31,1947

12

13

LaVellJohnson, pencil notes, Great Basin Museum; Ruth Clark Done, letter to Great Basin Museum, February 23, 1993,drawing on information from her aunt who had once spent awinter boarding with the Tracys

LaVellJohnson interview withJohn DeLapp, copy in Great Basin Museum

eral practice prior to her arrival in Utah, but her experience in a major metropolitan children's hospital certainly helped her master one of the most challenging and appreciated areas of a physician's calling, pediatrics. She was believed to be "unsurpassed in the diagnosis of children's disease."Whether or not she had previous experience, the doctor also became an expert at delivering babies and caring for the mothers, in some instances bringing every child in a family into the world

And more than a few adults owed their lives to her skill and medical knowledge. Illustrative of her success is a brief entry in a local newspaper stating, "Mrs. Herman Holdredge was critically ill last week, but with Dr. Tracy in attendance, is getting along nicely." One of the most appreciated aspects of Elizabeth's practice was her bedside manner, for she always talked out the case and relieved as much anxiety as possible. As patient and friend Josie Walker reminisced, "her patients were stimulated by her conventions. Her humor was rich and juicy. One often forgot to groan and laughed instead."14

One of the notable contrasts between Elizabeth Tracy and most other contemporary (male) doctors was the use to which she put her skill with a sewing needle. Not only was she famed as a seamstress, making gift clothes for neighbor and namesake children, but when she was waiting for an expectant mother's delivery, she frequently occupied the time stitching baby clothes for the new arrival. Her husband divulged that she did not buy white outing flannel by the bolt but in multiple bolts for that purpose. Her sewing skill undoubtedly helped her improvise surgical bandages and perhaps other useful appurtenances of the profession, since she did not have access to the ready-made items available to her during her New York years. 15

The Tracys were particularly unoccupied with financial concerns Even with those patients who were fully able to pay substantial fees the doctor charged but twenty-five dollars for a child's delivery, including subsequent check-up visits—less than half of what a doctor in northern Utah would charge. As early observer Frank Heise recalled, "Money was scarce and many times she knew she would never receive a dime for her services, but she never refused to answer a call, regardless of weather conditions or time of day or night."16 Her calls were

14 Millard Progress, March 5, 1914; Millard County Chronicle,July 31, 1947

15 LaVellJohnson, ed., "Jerome and Elizabeth Tracy Helped Found Woodrow," MS., Utah State Historical Society; Millard County Chronicle, July 31, 1947

16 "Biography of Frank Heise," holograph, 1967, Great Basin Museum.

frequently offered free to those in distress who were reluctant to request assistance. Often her payment was in kind: a bag of alfalfa seed, a load of hay, ahome-cured ham, a quarter of beef, chickens, or eggs. These items found their way into the kitchens of needy people farther along her route as often as they reached the Tracy household. A vivid example of Elizabeth's characteristic generosity and love of her neighbors was the first-hand experience of theJenkins family, who lived at the same crossroads as the Tracysfor over a decade. Lynn and WandaJenkins recalled that the doctor was their mother's closest friend and that she gave the family many gifts. On one occasion Mrs. Tracy made beautiful embroidered silk dresses for each of the four Jenkins daughters. One of the doctor's prized possessions was a specially made gold-tinted carnival glass dish given by friends as a wedding present Young Wanda, who often helped with the Tracy housework at the larger house soon moved across the canal from the original, demonstrated such fascination with the dish that Elizabeth presented it to the mother to give the girl later asawedding present— and it is treasured to the present time. Similarly, when Mrs.Tracy was preparing to leave Woodrow after her husband's death, she urged Bob Jenkins to do her a favor by taking the big Dodge touring car off her hands, the only approach that would have persuaded him to accept the offer. The family enjoyed the automobile for years thereafter. The most lasting impression of the two neighbor girlswho had the opportunity to observe her over much of her West Millard career was that

"North Tract Gentile Pioneers, " according to notes made by LaVellJohnson. USHS collection.

Elizabeth Tracy "was kind in every way—areal humanitarian." Not coincidentally, thatwas precisely the term the widow of a former doctor colleague, Ivie Smith, used in reference to Elizabeth.17

Dr Tracy played an essential role in helping another family residing not The treasured dish that, like so many far awaymake it through the extended things, Dr. Tracy gave away. crisis of losing a relatively young husband and father. With some frequency, the doctor would drop byto persuade the mother, Henrietta Barben, that her daughters could handle the family's housework while Henrietta accompanied the doctor on house calls,where she sometimesstayed to assistafter Tracymoved on to take care of other cases Mrs. Barben did sufficiently well that in subsequent years Dr. Tracy's successors continued employing her in similar ways.In some cases, when the family paid their doctor bill the entire account went to the widow-assistant, no matter how much she protested that it was more than her share In addition, the eldest Barben daughter did washing and ironing for the Tracys,asshe did for others in the neighborhood. The Tracyspaid her adollar for each session, andwhen she protested that others paid her less, thejudge called them "skinflints," insisting on continuing the higher fee.

Henrietta Barben recalled that after thejudge died and Dr.Tracy began severing her ties toWoodrow, itwasa "hard blow"to many she had helped and encouraged for so long The sprightly Henrietta, in her mid-90s at the time of her reminiscences, concluded, "I don't think many of us would have made it through all the hardships if it had not been for the encouragement and help of Jerome and Elizabeth Tracy."18

One of the strongest demonstrations ofrespect isnaming a child after aperson. Itisimpossible at thisjuncture to count the number of maleTracysand female Bettyswhowere named for the doctor,but the number wasunusually large and included Tracy Fullmer and Tracy Shields, Elizabeth (Betty) Shipley Swenson, and Elizabeth (Betty) DeLapp Baker. Childless herself, Dr. Tracy always remembered her

17 Interview with Lynn J Wilson and WandaJ Parish, Victorville, California, June 22, 1993; Ivie Smith (widow ofDr Bernard H Smith) toM E Bird, April 12, 1974, inBird file, Great Basin Museum 18 LaVellJohnson, ed., "Henrietta Barben Autobiography," MS., Utah State Historical Society

little namesakes with gifts on their birthdays. She gave the Shields boy a corduroy suit she probably made herself and thereafter sent an annual check A decade after she moved from the area, she sent a rather large check from Florida, confessing that in her declining years she would probably be unable to continue the practice.19

Elizabeth's family had been devoutly religious, with her father serving at least part of his time as a clergyman. In the Delta area, the doctor was an active member of Reverend Charles H. Hamilton's Presbyterian church, the first Protestant congregation there. But the judge, a former student for the Catholic priesthood, never had much appreciation for the sermon delivery methods of the reverend, whose habit it was to pace the floor and wave his arms as he preached. Jerome drove Elizabeth to church services each Sunday then stayed in the car and read the newspaper until she was ready to leave. Elizabeth was also a teacher in the community Sunday school at Woodrow, and her Mormon friend, Josie Walker, described her as a "deep student and teacher of the Bible."

Elizabeth's faith, far from passive, was one of assurance that God possessed curative powers far beyond those of the physician. This faith undoubtedly stemmed from her own experiences as a child witnessing the fervent devotion of her mother While involved in a prank at a Philadelphia school, Elizabeth fell from a second-story window, severely injuring her leg. The doctors advised that without prompt amputation the child's life was injeopardy. The father argued for a one-day delay while he and his wife sought divine intervention for their daughter A storm further postponed the surgery, and when the doctor came to announce that it was too late to operate, he was astounded to discover no reason for such a procedure. The mother explained the good condition of the leg in terms of her promise to the Lord that "ifElizabeth could survive [they] would see to it that she went to college and learned to be a doctor." They kept that promise, although obtaining admission to medical school and training in a male-dominated environment must not have been easy. Elizabeth always remembered that it was not doctors who had preserved her ability to walk, albeit with a lifelong limp and usually with the aid of specially made shoes.

How natural it was that during her West Millard practice, when she encountered another little girlwith crippled legs, she would do all

19 LaVellJohnson, ed., "Autobiographies of Rom and Cassie Shields," MS., Utah State Historical Society, p. 5.

in her power to assist in alleviating the child's condition. When Ruby, daughter offriends Reuben and Cora Turner, wasonly three years old, Dr. Tracy took her to Salt Lake Cityfor surgery and personally nursed the little girl through the first part of the convalescent period. It was not likely that Elizabeth expected the operation to do more than improve the use of Ruby's legs,which had been afflicted with muscular spasms since birth She confessed byletter to the girl's mother that the "case was more complicated than was expected but no more than [she had] feared." Then, implying that the final outcome was in the hands of Providence, she stated, "Iwant you and allyour family to use the utmost faith and prayer that [the] condition of irritability does not return again Have her blessed for it and have all her friends and relatives who have power in healing treat her for it in their own way." While assuring her parents that much of the muscular irritation had been eliminated, the doctor confessed, "I am willing to trust in the faith of a good Mormon to overcome such tendencies." Elizabeth, whose kindness and dedication are still remembered in the Turner family, then stated that while Ruby's experience seemed like an "awful ordeal to put a little one through," the child had actually withstood it better than an adult would.

Dr Tracy also treated another of the Turner girls, Connie, who had her thumb almost severed by awashing machine motor belt. The doctor relocated the member then sutured the wounds as best she could and stated, "Her thumb is so small, let's leave it a few days and see if it will start to heal." It did, and though always crooked, it had been saved.20

Another illustration of the ecumenical nature of Elizabeth Tracy's faith in the greater healing powers of the Almighty is an account of her role in the delivery of the eldest son of her close friend, Josephine B. Walker. As the difficult labor reached a point of crisis, the doctor turned to the husband and confessed, "Winn, we cannot save Josie and the baby except through prayer." Those present—Aunt Mary Abbott, the husband, the laboring mother, and the doctor—all prayed fervently in their own way. Thereafter the delivery went forward without further trouble. When it was over, the doctor showed the new father the horribly torn placenta, which further illustrated that a safe delivery had been truly miraculous. The appreciative mother later

20 "AHistory of Cornelia Sanford and Reuben Lorenzo Turner," privately printedJuly 1973, pp 12-13, 15, copy in Great Basin Museum; Tracy to "My Dear Mrs Turner," undated but fall 1915, in R.L Turner file, Great Basin Museum.

recalled "how reverent [Elizabeth] was of the religious views of the homes into which she went! One always felt her faith when in dire need."21

Because Elizabeth and her two other female classmates had encountered opposition and chauvinistic obstacles during her medical training, she became sympathetic to the women's rights movement. Girls who were her neighbors in Utah recalled her repeatedly assuring them that females were at least as important as their male counterparts Josephine Walker stressed, "Dr Tracy's views on a woman's place in the world were emphatic and pronounced," and while she was not known to have taken an active political role other than participating in the important women's club movement, she certainly led out in asserting equality through her example.

One of the great needs in any newly established settlement was for social contacts, particularly for those women who had few regular interactions with neighbors. The Mormon residents ofWoodrow who elected to do so could travel with reasonable convenience to the Sutherland Ward social and religious functions Elizabeth was among the prime instigators of social contact among the remaining female residents of the tract, some of whom resided in wagons, tents, and shacks with virtually no conveniences. Frequently she stopped at a lonely mother's house and took her and the children to another isolated house to visit while she made her professional calls, returning for them on her wayhome Sometimes she took needy female patients home with her and secured assistance for their care in her own house. Dr. Tracy trained inexperienced housewives in the basic domestic arts as well. An excellent cook, she contributed several good recipes to a locally published cookbook, and she was also an early advocate of fresh fruits and vegetables for good nutrition

Another woman in the area, Doris Ottley, also thought extensively "about some sort of social contact" for the rather isolated women of the North Tract. After mentioning this to her neighbors, Mrs. Daley and Mrs. Pound, and upon the latter offering her home for the first meeting, the three women set out to invite other area ladies to a gathering set for August 12, 1913. Thus began what Mrs. E E Pound, the first president, named theJolly Stitchers While the initiators were all Sutherland Mormons, the center of the organization soon shifted northward to Woodrow. This may have been partly

21 Winifred W Williams, comp., The W.R. WalkerFamily Book (privately printed, 1987), copy in Great Basin Museum

because of Dr. Tracy, who is definitely credited with quietly promoting and nurturing the Jolly Stitchers, which flourished for more than half a century. This was more than simply a ladies' sewing circle; the Jolly Stitchers took on many of the civic and educational improvements in an area that came to feel community spirit as fully as any urban neighborhood.

Until the group had a better meeting place, club meetings were generally held at the Tracys' new residence, a square-framed, threeroom building purchased from the neighboring Pitino family and moved to the central crossroads. Club records indicate that the portion of dues paid in kind, usually in eggs, was converted immediately into cash by Dr. Tracy, who also served as the quiet financial backer for most of the organization's needs Besides the welcome social interaction spawned by the semi-monthly meetings, the club affiliated with the Utah chapter of National Federated Women's Clubs. On several occasions, Dr. Tracy attended national conventions when they were held in the East and underwrote the expenses of others going with her. Elizabeth was also an active member of neighboring Sugarville's equally impressive Friendship Thimble Club, which erected its own

Jolly Stitchers gathering, 1920. USHS collections.

club building and developed a circulating library as early as the larger Delta and Fillmore communities did.22

Equally significant in promoting community cohesiveness was the movement to construct a local meeting and recreation hall. This started in 1916 at a Christmas party at the local store operated by George Webster The store was far too small for such a function, and when the conversation turned to the need for a place of entertainment and recreation, those present pledged their support. The next day, several people canvassed further in the area, securing similar commitments for either money or labor. This enabled the instigators to secure building materials from the lumber dealer in Oasis,Nels Peterson.

Built on land donated byRoy Stephens, the Woodrow Hall was in use by spring It was initially supervised by a board and manager, with individuals offering weekly moving picture shows there for a time. Within a few years, however, the original suggestion byJudge Tracy that the building would be best operated under the control of theJolly Stitchers was put into effect, and they retained control of Woodrow Hall for many years. 23 Records indicate that from time to time Dr Tracy loaned funds for furnishing and remodeling the building. As she was about to leave the area permanently after hosting her last meeting in 1930, she signed the notes over to theJolly Stitchers, making them legal owners of the hall aswell as its caretakers.

As the area became more fully developed and the population increased, the demands on Dr. Tracy grew aswell. With the purchase of an automobile, the range of her visits increased. When the judge balked at driving her, the doctor sometimes crossed the road to the school and got one of the older boys excused to do so.Archie Barben always enjoyed this opportunity, and the Shields brothers also remembered it fondly.

The car enabled her to easily reach the community of Sugarville. It was there that Dr. Tracy brought a new mother, Mrs. Joseph Brinkerhoff, through a range of emotions, from delight upon seeing the little boy to whom she hadjust given birth, to something like dismay upon being shown a second, and to a cry of desperation upon being shown the last of triplets. The boys all reached maturity.

Jerome Tracy was the long-timejustice of the peace in Woodrow,

22 Doris Ottley to Sister Qosie] Walker, March 15, 1949, Great Basin Museum, makes clear that the Jolly Stitchers, finally disbanded in mid-1993, were first formed by a group of Mormon women, including the bishop's wife But the organization was always non-denominational, with the women who were fully involved in Mormon Relief Society usually, if not always, in a minority

23 Ralph E King to Mrs W.R (Josie) Walker,June 18, 1968, Great Basin Museum

but that did not make him peaceful when he got behind the steering wheel of the relatively new automobiles he was among the first in the area to own. He was often inclined to drive down the middle of the road, shaking his fist and cursing others who presumed to use his personal thoroughfare, warning them to get out of hisway. On one occasion that young WandaJenkins witnessed, thejudge was bringing his wife to Delta, which at that time did not have an overpass across the railroad tracks. Tracy approached the railroad crossingjust as a train was coming He began his characteristic verbal outbursts and fist-shaking as he raced to get across the tracks ahead of the uncooperative locomotive. When the car barely made it safely across, the frightened Dr. Tracy gave him a tongue lashing the likes of which he had probably seldom received. It may have been after this experience that Elizabeth commenced being her own driver.24

The Tracys did occasionally get awayfrom everyday events by tak-

Picnic sponsored by theJolly Stitchers at "Diversion Dam" Spillway Grove, 1923. USHS collection.

24 Interview with Wanda J Parish, Victorville, California, June 22, 1993

ing motoring trips, both close by and crosscountry. One such trip was to the hills on the north end of the valley, including the ranch of the legendary Porter Rockwell. On another occasion, in 1923, they encountered and assisted afuture mayor of South Pasadena, California, who was stranded with flat tires in the vicinity of Garrison, on the western edge of Millard County Both parties were in the area to observe the filming of the movie Covered Wagon. The Californian, Ernest V. Sutton, remembered Judge Tracy as a tough-looking old chap with a squarejaw, hot temper, H and acid tongue. The doctor was described as "rather stout but very kindly," and "a most charming lady, cultured, vivacious with urbane address." One ofJudge Tracy's favorite stories of the occasion was that he 11 had let one of the movie people place a glass ofwhiskey on his head and shoot it off with a rifle. This made him, he quipped, "the only Irishman in all history who so wasted a glass of booze." His doctor wife discounted the tale as one of thejudge's yarns

Three years later, the couple took an extended tour through Arizona, Kansas City, New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington, D. C, and New York City. Leaving in April, they entrusted their house and farm to neighbors Bob and MinnieJenkins. They returned before the crucial alfalfa seed harvest. It is not certain that the local newspaper was correct in its comment at the time that thejudge was "one of the most prosperous farmers in Woodrow," but the Tracys had sufficient for their needs.25

It isnot known how often Dr Tracy's practice included residents of Delta, some ten miles away, but during the terrible influenza epidemic of 1918 she was fully involved there One nine-year-old girl, Ruth Stephenson, was the only member of her family not prostrated by the illness. Dr. Tracy visited her almost every day, offering instructions on how to assist her delirious and bedfast parents, mainly with spoonsful ofwater. The doctor found it necessary to instruct Ruth that

25 Millard Progress, April 16, 1926; Millard County Chronicle, July 6, 1946,August 16, 1956

Dr. Elizabeth Tracy: Angel ofMercy

if one of the loved ones stopped breathing she should put the bed covers up over his or her head until help came.

Little Ruth was encouraged to go down the list of telephone numbers asking other local residents for assistance, but except for her Uncle Bert, who cared for the family's livestock amidst the demands of his own afflicted wife and children, she was mainly alone Daily she walked outside to where she could see how many sheet-wrapped corpses had been added to those already frozen by the weather on a stairs platform of the school-turned-hospital/morgue across the street from the Stephenson residence. There were always new ones. The girl later recalled "poor Dr Tracy, [who] went day and night and looked as if she would be the next casualty." It is easy to understand the love and appreciation Ruth held ever after for the good-hearted doctor who helped her through the worst crisis of her life.26

Early in her Utah practice Dr. Tracy noted several cases of a mysterious disease. The symptoms were swelling glands, intense sickness, and fever. BishopJohn Fullmer contracted these symptoms in 1916, and as others did, he later credited Dr Tracywith saving his life After inquiring of the state department of health about the disease and getting no response, she began formulating her own theories. She recalled similar symptoms among New York wool sorters, whose disease, it was suspected, was carried by ticks. Tracy also noted that in Millard County most of those afflicted with the disease were men and boys, some of whom she had observed skinningjackrabbits that carried marked lesions on their carcasses. Tracy eventually hypothesized that the disease was transmitted from animal to human by insect bites. Finally, through former New York medical associates, Dr. Tracy brought her concerns to the U.S. Public Health Service, which eventually sent representatives to Millard County to investigate the disease and Dr. Tracy's theories of how it was transmitted. By then Delta had had a succession of physicians who had each utilized the same residence and office facility Here, in a new annex built at government expense and in an adjacent garage, government scientists improvised a laboratory that included numerous cartons of the fruit-preserving jars widely used by housewives at the time; probably these were used for bacteria cultures. Both local folklore and documentary sources establish that guinea pigs were also important in the experimental process, which was conducted in 1919.27

26 Ruth S Bishop, "Scrapbook and Notes," copy in possession of author

27 Johnson, ed., "Elizabeth R. Cahoon Tracy, M.D.,"pp. 10-15.

It was while Dr Tracy was coming to Delta for a chatauqua program that one of the researchers recognized her vehicle as it passed his hotel and, racing into the street, excitedly announced, "You're right, you are right! We've got it." She was thereby informed that the researchers had confirmed her hypothesis. Unfortunately, when the researchers reported that they had discovered the cause of tularemia, Tracy's name was apparently never mentioned

Dr. Edward Francis had been the lead researcher sent by the Public Health Service from Washington, D.C. Probably after conferring with Dr. Tracy, he examined several patients recovering from the malady; he also did an autopsy and took tissue cultures from one who had died At one point, Francis contracted the disease himself, which hampered research for some time A generation later, a memoir by Paul deKruif explained that the fanatically dedicated Francis had supposedly worked for many years on the problem of tularemia, the plague-like disease carried by rabbits. The book mentioned that the malady, which had nearly killed the researcher himself, was first found in Utah among people who had been bitten byinsects In none of the official documents is Dr. Tracy's contribution acknowledged, but she and the local residents understood her significant role in that matter, as in so many others.28

In 1928,Jerome Tracy died of a stroke.After funeral services conducted by his old friend, Ralph King, then Noble Grand of the local International Order of Odd Fellows lodge, the judge's body was shipped to Delaware for burial in his wife's family plot. Soon thereafter, Elizabeth began disengaging from her home of two decades, and in 1930 she moved to Sanford, Florida, to a comfortable cottage in some earlyversion of a retirement community. When in 1948 she was invited to come back to Millard County to a reunion, she replied that her infirmities were too great to allow it; but she confessed that as her still-alert mind wandered over the country, it dwelt more frequently, with fonder recollections, on the Pahvant Valley of central Utah than on any other place she had ever lived. Part of the reason maywell have been her understanding that there were so many people there grateful for her immense impact on their lives

Even as old age approached, Elizabeth contributed meaningfully to her community through church and club activities. Eventually,

28 Paul deKruif, Sweeping theWind: A Memoir (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1962), p 128; Ralph Chester Williams, "Tularemia," in The United States Public Health Service, 1798-1950 (Washington, D.C: U.S Public Health Service, 1951),pp 190-193;Roger Anderson, "Tularemia," GreatBasin Historical Societyand Museum Newsletter, Fall 1996

though, she became a "shut-in," without much human contact. Even as she was becoming less able to walk, she did her own housework by scooting about her home on awheeled chair In her late eighties she boasted of eating three square meals each day and sleeping soundly each night AFlorida newspaperwoman who interviewed Elizabeth at that time observed that "the smile of good fellowship and interest seldom leaves the face of the little doctor, though she lives alone in her tiny cottage and cares for it by rolling her chair from place to place."

But the poetic lines she penned to distant Millard County friends are poignantly revealing of her situation in her lastyears "Iam out of humanity's reach I must finish myjourney alone Never hear the sweet music of speech: I start at the sound of my own But busy as a bee waiting on myself from morning till night, and oh! so sweet memories of the past." One of her last communications to a west Millard friend averred, "As I near the other side, how convinced I am that there will be no Methodists, no Presbyterians, nor Mormons, but we will all be the followers of our LordJesus Christ." She summed up her life as she stated her philosophy, saying, "I am an old woman, almost blind and deaf but I am so filled with interest in my fellow men and the joys and griefs of others, I haven't found time yet to grieve for myself."29

She may still have had time for such lamentations, but it is doubtful if she indulged them during the seven additional years she lived, largely in a rest home, before she died in September 1955 at the age of ninety-six. Her remains were undoubtedly sent to the family plot in Delaware where her husband Jerome had been buried many years before

29 Maymie Hodgkin, "A Rich and Highly Useful Life," Orlando Morning Sentinel, September 18, 1947; Dr Elizabeth Tracy to Sutherland Ward committee,July 28, 1948, Great Basin Museum; Millard County Chronicle, October 6, 1955

James T. Monk: The Snow King of the Wasatch

BY C1TARLES L. KELLER

SOM E PEOPLE ARE LIKE THE CLOUDS that form over the Wasatch Mountains, appearing out of nowhere, then drifting across only to disappear on the other side, leaving no indication of where they might have gone One such person wasJames T Monk, a native of Kentucky, who in 1875 surfaced as a prospector and miner in the Big Cottonwood Mining District. This slightly built man—at 5' 6H" and 120 pounds—became aprominent personality in the district, and later his brash independence won him even wider notoriety; for a short time his name was seen almost daily in Salt Lake City newspapers. He then drifted out of sight and vanished, leaving behind little more than a few legends.

When Monk's name first appeared, he wasjust another hopeful

James T. Monk. Photofrom Prison Inmate Commitment Register, Utah State Archives.

Charles Keller is a writer-historian living in Salt Lake and currently working on a book on the human history of the Wasatch Mountains

prospector. In January 1875 he recorded a claim, the Zodiac Lode, on the south side of Big Cottonwood Creek, just down-canyon from the town of Argenta.1 The books of the Big Cottonwood Mining District were kept at Argenta, making that town an important focal point, perhaps the most important place in the district. Monk remained in Argenta, filing four more claims in the immediate area.

In July 1879, Monk rose above his relative anonymity when Richard Maxfield, newly elected recorder of the Big Cottonwood Mining District, appointed him as a deputy recorder. Maxfield may have had a problem with penmanship—literacy never was a strong point among miners—for the books show no entries written by his hand; all entries carry his name as recorder, but were written by his deputy.

And Monk was a gifted penman. His script was possessed of sweeping loops and curves and much underlining, often in several colors. Some claim names were announced in great and ornamented block letters, heavily underlined every time they were repeated In fact, Monk wrote in many styles and characters. Sometimes his script was slanted heavily to the right, other times to the left, and sometimes it slanted not at all. Most of it was highly legible, nearly as good as if it had been typed, although sometimes his entries were difficult to read. Often he used several styles in a single entry. It is likely that the styles changed when he moved his pen from one hand to the other, for Monk was ambidextrous and could write equally well with either hand.2

Certainly the flamboyance and idiosyncracy of these recorder's entries suggest much about James T Monk's personality. These suggestions are reinforced by the fact that in November 1879 he represented himself to a Salt Lake Tribune reporter as the recorder of the mining district when, in fact, he was still only the deputy.3 However, that was soon to change, for in the next July's election, Monk scored an easy 125-16 victory over Thomas Braley and became recorder in his own right, establishing a reign that would last over sixteen years

The Big Cottonwood Mining District became his district and Argenta became his town—literally. Argenta had been a significant,

1

18, 1875,

2 Salt Lake Herald, March 13, 1898

3 Salt Lake Tribune, November 12, 1879

Zodiac Lode,January

Big Cottonwood Mining District, Book C, p. 110, Salt Lake County Recorder Archives Argenta was a mining camp located eight miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon on the flatsjust above Mill A Gulch

albeit small, community in previous years, but by 1880 itwaswell into its decline; in fact, in March 1880 Monk wasreported to be the town's only inhabitant.4 He worked his claims around Argenta, developing his early claims through the old Dolly Varden tunnel, which he renamed the Monk Tunnel. He also expanded his holdings by recording new claims and relocating old ones, until he held much of the south slope of Big Cottonwood Canyon above Argenta and some area on the north slope. InJuly 1886 he recorded an indenture in which he sold to his brother,John H. Monk of New York City, the Universal Group, which included the Monk Tunnel and twenty-four claims encompassing almost 496 acres of ground, for $1,000.5

While he continued to work the claims, Monk also expanded his horizons. In 1886 he became the local agent for the Reed and Goodspeed Mining Company, which was operating the old Reed and Benson Mine in the south fork of Big Cottonwood Canyon. As mining recorder, Monk had in his possession all the mining records from years past The recorder's book for the old Argenta mining district, which had existed for a short time before being absorbed into the Big Cottonwood district, still had many blank pages, so Monk appropri-

Buildings at Argenta, a mining camp in Big Cottonwood Canyon. USHS collections.

ated that book and used pages 64 to 77for his accounts with the Reed and Goodspeed Mining Company.6 In late 1887 he also became a contractor for the company. The Reed and Goodspeed tunnel was then at 2,350 feet, and Monk took a contract to drive it another 200 feet. He promised "to put an end to the loafing and make it awarm winter for the boys."7 The followingJuly he filed an assessment notice for the Reed and Goodspeed Mining company, claiming that $5,170.09 was spent for work done on the Reed and Benson, Ophir, and Excelsior claims, and on the Reed and Goodspeed tunnel. He also filed three more claims as agent for the Reed and Goodspeed Mining Company and five more for himself and H. C. Goodspeed, all in the South Fork. In 1891 and 1892 he was filing claims in the upper part of Big Cottonwood Canyon but these as administrator of the estate of an old friend, Theophilus Hofer. Hofer was an old-time prospector who had filed many claims in the past and hence had frequent contact with the recorder A Swiss immigrant who was quiet, somewhat eccentric, and well-read, Hofer was frequently called "the philosopher." 8 On September 21, 1887, local miners and the residents of nearby Park City were stunned by the news of Hofer's death. He had been found in his cabin on the Big Cottonwood side of Scott Hill, having died several days earlier as the result of afracture of the skull. Bynow,James T. Monk had become Justice of the Peace for the Argenta district—Big Cottonwood Canyon—and sowas responsible for holding an inquest There was much speculation about Hofer's mysterious fracture. Many thought he had been murdered; others thought he fell against a rock and returned to his cabin to die. Unfortunately, Monk's inquest shed no further light upon the mystery, as his three-manjury came up with the "quaint" and "somewhat ambiguous" verdict that the deceased "came to his death by a fracture of his skull from some unknown cause."9 Although a rumor circulated that Monk was swearing out a warrant for the arrest of three men responsible for Hofer's murder, nothing further came of the investigation.

Asit turned out, Hofer had designated Monk as administrator of his estate. Monk filed a $1,000 bond and took over his duties, which included custody of Hofer's mining claims. Monk probably found it too much effort to do the assessment work on all the claims, so he

6 Argenta Mining District recorder's book, Salt Lake County Recorder Archives

7 Salt Lake Tribune, November 4, 1887

8 Park Record, September 24, 1887

9 Salt Lake Tribune, September 25, 1887

simply relocated them at the beginning of the year. This was a common practice when former claimants failed to fulfill their assessment obligations, thereby effectively abandoning the claim The person filing arelocation notice then became the new owner. This iswhat Monk did onJanuary 1, 1891,relocating and renaming seventeen of Hofer's claims asadministrator of the estate. Itwas an action that he repeated in 1892, but by 1893 his obligation to his late friend was apparently forgotten

In the early 1890s two new canyon resources were becoming increasingly valuable: water power and home sites. Recognizing the trend, Monk got into the act. On March 31, 1891,he filed a notice of the "Home Sweet Home" town site at Mill G Flat at the mouth of South Fork. His new town site was more than one mile square in size and ran up the canyon to the mouth of Days Fork. He then filed the Home Sweet Home and Defiance Westerly Water and Power Claim. This claim encompassed most of the water in the main canyon above the Defiance Westerly, one of Monk's own mining claims near Argenta. In filing the water claim, Monk specifically included the right-of-wayand the right to construct means of transmitting electrical or water power. Thiswasa remarkably forward-looking step, as the use ofwater power to generate electricitywas hardly more than a concept in Utah at that time Farther down the canyon, Robert M Jones was just taking preliminary steps toward the construction of the Stairs Power Station Yethere wasJames T Monk, keeper of the mining records in Big Cottonwood Canyon, taking action to tie up tremendous water and power resources in the upper canyon. But he was premature; it would be several more years before hydroelectric generating plants would appear in the South Fork, and then only small ones for the exclusive use of the mining companies that installed them Unfortunately, while the vision behind Monk's claimswas impressive, the claims were allowed to lapse and amounted to nothing.

During allthis time,James T.Monk hung on to hisposition as mining recorder. After his initial victory, annual elections for the recorder took place, but onlyfor a few years did anyone challenge him In 1887 Monk sent aletter to the Salt Lake Tribune telling of the election results and throwing in agood word for himself: 'Jimmylostcontrol of the boys at 3o' clock in the afternoon and then black eyesand cut headswas the order of the day.The boyslike grit, andJimmy has got plenty of it." The Tribune editor added a sarcastic comment, 'We had no idea there were so many legalvoters in Big Cottonwood, and are delighted at the show-

ing made; we trust they may all show up on election day."10

If any of those "legal voters" did show up at the general election, they would have seen 'Jimmy" there too, as the county usually appointed him as election judge. But it was likely that only a small proportion of the 248 "voters" in the recorder election would have been there. More than ten years later an allegation was published in the Salt Lake Herald that suggested Monk had a way of perpetuating himself in office. He would post notices or file claims on his own ground, listing many people on the claim. Those whose names appeared on a filed claim were recognized as miners in the district and therefore were eligible to vote in the recorder election. But the names Monk put on his claims included wives and children of miners as well as miscellaneous acquaintances, and some of the names may well have been fictitious. The Herald charged that at election time, if any of these people were not willing to vote for Monk, he would see that they were disqualified because they were not valid miners.11 This was a serious charge, but a look at the number of the votes cast at the elections lends some credence to it. Also, on three claims filed in April and May of 1883 there were a total of 103 different names. Monk put 43 names on Lord Nelson Safety Valve Lode notice, 27 on Defiance Easterly, and 35 on the Defiance Westerly. Only his name appeared on all three. No other name was repeated, and only 27 of the individuals had posted other claims in the district Perhaps Monk was building his own little empire, making himself king of his own little mountain. If so, it worked. The Big Cottonwood Mining District was his—for a little while.

Mining Recorder Election Results. Source: Big Cottonwood Mining District books M, D, E, E

In 1896 Utah became a state, an event of eventual importance to the audacious James T. Monk. In a sweeping revision of the old Territorial Statutes, the new legislature made some significant changes to the mining laws. Section 8, Chapter XXXVI, of the 1897 Laws of

Utah gave to the county recorders the responsibility for recording mining claims and gave the mining district recorders thirty days after the law took effect to turn their records over to the county recorder. Any mining recorder failing to do so would be guilty of a misdemeanor. 12 The lawwas passed, over the governor's veto, on Friday the 13th of March 1897, and took effect on May 10 This was not a happy turn of events for Monk or for the mining community at large. Many miners objected to the fact that theywould have to travel to the office of the county recorder, often a considerable distance from the mining district, to file claims or gain access to the books. They declared that the right to maintain their own books was given them by federal statutes and that the state could not take it awayfrom them There was much talk of asking the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the new law, and until that was accomplished, it was not likely that the books would be surrendered.

Meanwhile, other events were taking place in Big Cottonwood Canyon Word came into the city in the form of a note dated "Argenta, Utah, Feb. 6, 1897, at 6:05 am." It wasfrom Monk, who wrote, "Hell is popping up here. Been snowing sinceJanuary 28th , and this morning at the above hour the biggest snowslide that was ever seen in Big Cottonwood Mining District came down like a flash of lightning against the Recorder's office and over the mouth of his tunnel, carrying everything before it." The avalanche came down what is today known as the Argenta slide path, which originates in the upper reaches of what was known as Glacial Basin, on the northwest side of Kessler Peak.13 It crashed into the canyon bottom and turned toward Argenta, smashing and crushing everything there except the recorder's office The next day, at dawn's first light, Monk emerged from his recorder's office/home and took a look at Argenta flat but hardly recognized it. There had been a splendid growth of timber on the mountain sides, he wrote, but the avalanche broke it off and brought it down to the creek. The slide completely plugged the stream, backing water up a long distance, and so restricted the flow that the Stairs Power Station farther down the canyon had to shut down, as there was not enough water to drive the generators.

This was not the first time that Monk and Argenta had been assaulted bysnowslides; during the night of Friday the 13th of February

12 Salt Lake Tribune, March 11,1897.

13 Salt Lake Tribune, February 7, 1897 It was an avalanche on this same slide path that cleared a wide swath of trees during the winter of 1995-96

1885, after aweek of heavy snowfall, an avalanche crashed down over the Monk Tunnel then struck the recorder's office, knocking down all the pots, pans, dishes, and anything else moveable. He later wrote, "It made me think when it struck the house that Gilmore's Band was play-

Citizens of a mining camp pose. Note the animals on the roof and the early photo jokesters on the back row. USHS collection.

ing inside."Monk then had to dig through fifteen feet of snow to reach a miner who had been working the night shift in the tunnel When he finally broke through, he found the miner sitting in the tunnel smoking his pipe—but the air was getting bad, as he had been in there for nine hours.14 Incidentally, the man was Dick Williams, one of those few valid miners whose names appeared on the three claims Monk filed in 1883.

The 1885 slide must have been minor compared to the big one in 1897; Monk was obviously excited when he wrote his note to the Tribune. But he still tried to make light of the situation. He closed his note with a postscript: "Everything is knocked hell west and crooked, but the Snow King of the Wasatch is all right."

15 And with that little comment, he gained himself a measure of notoriety, for the news media seized it with relish, and he became "The Snow King of the Wasatch" in the newsworthy events that followed.

On May 10, 1897, the state's new mining law went into effect, and the miners had to put up or shut up, as the saying goes. Their threats to defy the law appeared to have been little more than talk, for while the thirty-day period counted down, the records of mining districts began to dribble in, first from Little Cottonwood, followed by Hot Springs, West Mountain, and, at the last minute, Draper district. Only the Big Cottonwood district defied the law.James T. Monk stood alone.

It did not take long for the authorities to act. Salt Lake County RecorderJ. C.Jensen swore out a complaint, and onJune 13,only the

14 Salt Lake Tribune, February 20, 1885.

15 Salt Lake Tribune, February 7, 1897

third day after the deadline, Deputy Sheriff Andrew Burt went up Big Cottonwood Canyon, arrested Monk, and brought him into town for arraignment beforeJustice of the Peace McMaster. Either Monk or his supporters posted a $500 bond, and he was released pending a hearing, which was held four days later. There he was found guilty and fined $50 plus $17.50 for costs, but since it was the intention of the defense to make this a test case, a notice of appeal was given. In his testimony at the arraignment and hearing, Monk denied he had the books, saying that he had left them in the office and had suggested that some of the "boys"should see that they disappear, and disappear they did. He denied knowing where theywere.16 County officials were not amused. The county attorney, thinking he could prosecute Monk separately for each day that he withheld the books, brought a second charge against him, again for failing to deliver the books, but in court Monk's attorneys claimed that his former conviction of the same offense was a bar to the present trial.Judge Margetts agreed and dismissed the complaint.17

About this time, some mine owners were expressing apprehension as to the missing records, and it appeared that not all miners in the district were solidly behind the ex-recorder. Both Captain Goodspeed of the Reed and Goodspeed Mining Company and William F.James, superintendent of the Maxfield Mining Company, expressed concern about the missing records;James said that he had heard rumors of "doctored" records but declined to express an opinion on the subject. As for the effort to test the constitutionality of the new law, L.R. Rhodes, Monk's attorney, said that a fund to finance the test had been raised through contributions from nearly all of the district mining recorders in the state.18 The sides were being drawn for a battle that had barely begun.

Onjuly 16 County Recorder Jensen fired the next shot when he filed for awrit of mandate in the Third District Court requiring Monk to show cause why he should not deliver the records as required by law. On the 26th Judge Cherry of the district court, after examining a number of witnesses, granted the writ and gave Monk until the 31st to produce the records.19 When the end of the month passed without the appearance of the books,Judge Cherry found Monk guilty of con-

16 Salt Lake Tribune, June 14, 18, 1897; Salt Lake Herald, June 14, 18, 1897

17 Salt Lake Tribune, June 29, 1897.

18 Salt Lake Tribune, June 30, 1897

19 Salt Lake Tribune, July 17, 21,27, 1897; Salt Lake Herald, July 17, 27, 1897

tempt and committed him to the countyjail where he wasgiven a cell just off the inner corridor on Monday afternoon, August 2 This was pretty much what Monk and his supporters wanted, for now his attorneys could apply for a writ of habeas corpus and thereby bring the matter before higher courts on the question of the constitutionality of the law.20

Meanwhile, to make his stay injail more pleasant Monk's attorneys arranged for the Salt Lake Tribune to be delivered to him for his daily reading pleasure. Unfortunately, Monk did not long enjoy his newspaper. The following Sunday he was told he had to attend church services with the rest of the prisoners, this being one of the rules of the countyjail He had not attended religious services since he was thirteen years of age and, he said, he was too old to start now. For this indiscretion, his newspaper privileges were revoked. When his attorney visited him the following week and learned of the state of affairs, he wrote a letter of protest to the sheriff, Thomas P.Lewis.The sheriff sent the letter to the county attorney, who gave the opinion that the sheriff had the right to set reasonable rules and enforce them The following Sunday Monk again refused to attend church, so Lewis placed the defiant prisoner into solitary confinement.

This fact did not become known outside thejail until the following Wednesday when Monk's friend, C.J.O Irwin, tried to visit him Irwin had tried to see Monk the previous Thursday but was told that Wednesday was the only day he could visit a prisoner. When Irwin appeared on the proper day,he was again denied avisitation, this time because the prisoner was in the "hole,"or the "sweat-box," as the dungeon was known Irwin immediately contacted Monk's attorneys and wrote a letter to the editor of the Tribune, who published it the following morning.

"IsIt Russia?"the headline read "Will the proper authorities see whether it is true or not, and if it is see that the outrage is stopped?"21 With this bombshell thrown before the public at large, the authorities addressed the matter immediately; that very morning the county commission held a hearing with the sheriff in attendance. While the commissioners were reluctant to censure the sheriff's actions, they did pass a resolution recommending that the sheriff modify his rule to make church attendance optional for the inmates.

When the sheriff was interviewed that evening, he expressed

20 Salt Lake Tribune, August 3, 1897; Salt Lake Herald, August 3, 1897

21 Salt Lake Tribune, August 26, 1897

regret that he had found it necessary to discipline Monk and added, "The old man 22 isquiet and inoffensive in spite ofhisstubbornness. ..." The sheriff indicatedjust how stubborn Monk could be by saying that confinement in the "dark cell" had always been an effective punishment; only one man had stayed there as long as four days before giving up tojailhouse discipline But Monk had now been in the cell for five days and was as determined as ever. The sheriff also defended his decision to withhold the prisoner's newspapers. The papers would not be of any use to Monk anyway, the sheriff said, for the cell was in the basement, and was in complete darkness. But the pressures on the sheriff demanded action Reluctant to grant prisoners any freedom of choice, he took a bold step and abolished religious services in thejail. As the same time, he released Monk from the "dark cell"and returned him to his former quarters.

The matter was not yet closed; the next morning the Salt Lake Tribune published along editorial, concluding that had the matter not been called to public attention, the prisoner might have been tortured indefinitely. It then suggested that "sheriff Lewis should resign." On another front, the Free Lance Society took an interest in the case and adopted a resolution denouncing compulsory attendance of prisoners at religious services injails of Utah.23

About twoweeks later, Saturday, September 11, Monk filed a suit against Sheriff Lewis and the six men who were sureties for the bond posted by Lewis when he took office. The suit complained that the sheriff, withoutjust cause, had placed Monk in a dungeon for five days with nothing to eat or drink except bread and water and with only a dirty, wet blanket on which to rest. As restitution Monk demanded $25,000.24 This suit, however, did not come before the court for several months, and by that time it had been obscured by later events.

On the same day that the suit against Sheriff Lewis was filed, Monk's attorney filed a petition for awrit of habeas corpus in district court, seeking Monk's release on the premise that the law under which he had been convicted was unconstitutional. When Judge Cherry handed down his decision that the law was constitutional, an appeal was filed with the state supreme court. On October 4, that august body upheld the opinion of the lower court, saying that Monk had to produce the records or remain injail. 22

Monk was about fifty years old at this time 23 Salt Lake Tribune, August 27, 28, 30, 1897 24 Salt Lake Herald, September 12, 1897;Third District Court case #1416, November 21, 1897

Having carried the proceedings to this disappointing conclusion, Monk and his attorney saw no further reason to withhold the books of the mining district.25 Arrangements were made with the county attorney, and on October 6, Monk, his attorney, and some others went up Big Cottonwood Canyon toArgenta The group took a look at one of the mine workings nearby, and when they returned Monk was waiting for them with several boxes of records. The group returned to the city,where the prisoner was returned tojail. The next day the records were turned over to the county recorder. On October 8, Monk appeared beforeJudge Cherry and wasreleased from custody. He still had one or more charges against him, but it was the opinion of his attorneys that, now that the records were delivered, the charges would be dropped.26 After sixty-eight days of confinement, the Snow King of the Wasatch was again free.

Monk returned to Argenta, where he undertook to compose a long letter to the Tribune outlining the circumstances of his arrest and confinement and reaffirming his belief in the unconstitutionality of the new law. He asked for those in sympathy with his cause to donate to a fund to support his taking the case to the Supreme Court of the United States.27 The newspaper for the Tintic Mining District, the Tintic Miner, applauded his actions and noted that Monk's spirit had not been broken byhis confinement or by the ill treatment he had suffered injail.28

Monk's respite from legal entanglements did not last long. On November 11, on his return from one of his frequent trips into town, he found that the Monk Tunnel had been taken over by others; the lock on the door to the tunnel had been removed and replaced with another When a man in Monk's employ went to work on the tunnel, he was driven away at gunpoint Monk returned to Salt Lake City to institute legal proceedings to regain possession of his tunnel It was, after all, the focal point of his life. He had held it for over seventeen years and worked on it until it now was some 1,200 feet in length. It washis, he claimed, because of a lien he had put on itfor work he had done and also because he had relocated the claim. But the new possessors, including William C. Hall, Franklin Webb,Joseph Davis, George A. Lowe, and three others, said that they had paid for some of 25

28 Quoted in Salt Lake Tribune, October 30, 1897

the work Monk claimed to have done and that they held a patent on the Dolly Varden, the same claim.29 And indeed they did, or at least three of them did, for Mineral Certificate No 227 had been issued to Joseph Davis, William C. Hall, and George A. Lowe on February 20, 1878.

An interesting coincidence is that Hall, his wife, and his daughter were three of the twenty-seven people whose names Monk had attached to the Defiance Easterly claim back in May 1883. Hall, an attorney who specialized in mining law, had come to Utah in 1872 from Kentucky, which was also Monk's native state. Perhaps their common background, combined with their interest in mining, had brought the two men together in the early 1880s It is not likely that Hall would intend to defraud any man of a mining property, for he

Miners. USHS collections.

29 A claim only gave a miner possession of the land as long as he worked the claim; but when a miner filed a patent, a surveywas performed, after which the Land Office gave actual title to the land.

was an outstanding member of society, a man who had served several terms in the territorial legislature and had been secretary of state for Utah Territory during the Cleveland administration Later, he served for four years as ajudge in the Third District Court. He was known as a gentle, big-hearted and generous man who wasrespected by all who knew him.30

But Monk, feeling that he had been wronged, filed suit in the Third District Court.31 However, aswith his earlier suit against Sheriff Lewis, court proceedings moved at their own ponderous pace, and by the time the casewas called it had been overshadowed byother events. Nothing ever came of the suit, but over the years that followed, Hall and his associates filed and held the Argenta and Argenta Numbers 1 through 18 claims on the south side of Big Cottonwood Canyon, encompassing most of the area formerly held by the Snow King of the Wasatch.

On December 9, 1897, Monk's appeal from his conviction finally came up in the district court; the original verdict was upheld. On December 20Judge Norell sentenced Monk to pay the original $50 fine plus the costs in both thejustice and district courts, for a total of $138.95. But the show was not yet over. During the trial the county attorney said that he had not called attention to Monk's denials that he knew where the records were, because he intended to prosecute Monk for perjury. And so he did. Immediately after the sentence was pronounced, Monk was arraigned inJudge McMaster's court on two counts of perjury Bond was fixed at $500 on each count; since Monk could not raise that amount, he was sent to the countyjail.32

Bythe time the case came up for preliminary hearing, there had been time for the county recorder to examine the books of the Big Cottonwood Mining District. Perhaps the innuendos about irregularities in the records were behind this action;whatever the reason, questions were raised about several items, some serious enough for the charge against the Snow King to be changed to perjury and forgery. Based upon the testimony, Monk was bound over to await the action of the district court, but the bond was reduced to $250 on each count. Bythis time, however, Monk's financial resources were nonexistent. In an affidavit he filed in the Third District Court in midjanuary he said, "I,James T

Monk, do solemnly swear that owing to my poverty I am

unable to bear the expense of the above entitled proceeding ."33 Unable to raise the amount for the bonds, Monk returned to county jail.34

The trial began on March 9, 1898.The Snow King of the Wasatch was said to look somewhat paler than usual due to his long stay in the countyjail. He was first tried on the perjury counts. The proceedings lasted three days; after four hours of deliberation, thejury returned a verdict of guilty on March 12.35 The penalty for perjury was one to ten years in the penitentiary, but thejury recommended the mercy of the court.

Immediately the trial for the second charge of forgery began. This revolved about the location notice of the Safety Valve claim, one of the claims mentioned earlier that had a large number of names as locators. In fact, this one had forty-three names. The notice did not describe a physical location, making it what was known as a floating claim. And it had a curious format in that following the names of all the alleged locators there was a cryptic comment, "Adjoins D Wly W.SL James T Monk 1500 feet."36 This comment was the basis of the forgery charge, a charge that stood knee-deep in speculation and innuendo and was cloaked in a long-festering antagonism between Monk and William F.James, the superintendent of the Maxfield Mining Company.

Monk's Defiance Easterly and Defiance Westerly claims bracketed the DollyVarden on the east and the west.Just a short distance down the canyon, Mill A Gulch came down from the north. It was up this gulch that the original Maxfield claim and the Maxfield mine were located As the mine gained considerable depth, the owners decided to drive a tunnel from a lower elevation to drain the mine and facilitate the working of it. To this end, onjuly 27, 1886, W. F.James located the SeaView claim, which took in the width of the canyon bottom at the mouth of Mill A Gulch and extended down-canyon from there It was on this claim that the portal of the Maxfield Tunnel was located and where the company erected a power house and other supporting structures

The prosecutor charged that on October 26, 1896, Monk, with intent to defraud the Maxfield company, had added to the end of his

33 fames T. Monk v. Maxfield Mining Co., Third District Court case #1690,January 15, 1898.

34 Salt Lake Tribune, January 22, 27, 1898; Salt Lake Herald, January 22, 1898

35 Salt Lake Tribune, March 10, 11, 12, 13, 1898; Salt Lake Herald, March 10, 11, 12, 13, 1898.

36 Lord Nelson Safety Valve Lode, April 20, 1883,Big Cottonwood Mining District Book D, p. 389.

Sea View claim is at upper left, overlapping the Safety Valve claim. Dolly Varden claim is at lower right. Defiance Westerly was coincident with the Gold Coin claim on this map. Mill A Gulch entersfrom top center. Map from Lawrence P. James, Geology, Ore Deposits, and History of the Big Cottonwood Mining District (Utah Geological and Mineral Survey, 1979).

"floating" Safety Valve notice the comment "Adjoins D Wly W.SL James T Monk 1500 feet" and had changed the title to "Lord Nelson Safety Valve." The comment allegedly meant, "Adjoins Defiance Westerly west sideline,"which would place Monk's Safety Valve Claim to the west of the Defiance Westerly claim and therefore overlapping the Sea View claim. Since the Safety Valve claim was dated April 20, 1883, and the SeaViewJuly 28, 1886, the former would probably have had seniority in the view of a court. The prosecutor further accused Monk of adding 'James T Monk 1500 feet" in order to establish his ownership of the entire claim, the other forty-two names on the claim notice notwithstanding.

There were a few other matters that were not stated in the newspaper accounts of the trial and that may or may not have been brought out in court. Monk applied for a patent on his Defiance Westerly and Safety Valve claims at about the same time, orjust before W F James applied for his SeaView patent A surveyor acting for the U.S. Surveyor General's office made the field survey for the Defiance Westerly on October 26, 1896, the very day Monk was alleged to have made the changes to the Safety Valve claim notice.37 Between December 14 and 17, 1896, the field survey for the Safety Valve claim was made, keeping the original name even though it was alleged to have been changed by this time.38 Between December 23 and 25 the field survey for the Sea View claim was made.39 The official plats for the Defiance Westerly and SafetyValvewere signed off by the Surveyor

37 Mineral Survey No. 3317. Defiance Westerly, Bureau of Land Management office (BLM), Salt Lake City

38 Mineral Survey No 3322 Safety Valve, BLM, Salt Lake City The newspapers never explained why Monk would have changed the name

General of Utah on September 30, 1897, and for the Sea View on October 13, 1897.

Even though patents had not yet been issued for any of the three claims, the earlier date for Monk's application gave him reason to believe that the land claimed in the Safety Valve survey would ultimately be his.Indeed, onJanuary 15, 1898, the case 'James T Monkvs Maxfield Mining Company" was filed in the Third District Court In it Monk stated that since 1883 he had owned two claims known as the Defiance Westerly (17.383 acres) and Safety Valve (17.07 acres) Lodes. But, he complained, the Maxfield Mining Company's Sea View Lode had been surveyed to overlap the Defiance Westerly. Maxfield Mining Company had applied for a patent, but Monk wanted to be adjudged rightful owner. 40 Monk was injail inJanuary 1898, but the suit had been initiated some time before the date itwas filed in Third District Court, probably shortly after the Surveyor General of Utah had signed the plats of the claims the previous fall

At Monk's forgery trial, many witnesses testified both for and against the defendant. Some handwriting experts testified that the comment had been added to the claim notice sometime after the original writing of the claim, while other experts testified to the contrary. However, the fact that the Defiance Westerly claim was not filed and therefore did not even exist until more than a month after the Lord Nelson Safety Valve claim seemed to be the strongest argument that the "Adjoins D Wly" comment was not part of the original record. At 4:30 P.M on March 17 the case was given to thejury, which took only half an hour to find Monk guilty The penalty for forgery was one to twentyyears in the penitentiary, but again thejury recommended the mercy of the court. The Snow King of the Wasatch wasreturned to the countyjail to await sentencing.41

It may seem strange that the jury in the perjury trial took four hours to return the guilty verdict, when all evidence, including the court transcripts, pointed to Monk's guilt, but in the forgery trial, where the evidence was strong but not overwhelming, the verdict was returned in only half an hour. Apparently Monk had a friend on the first jury, for in its first vote thejury stood 7 to 1for a guilty verdict. Despite four hours of deliberation, the final vote was the same. In the

39 Mineral Survey No 3340 Sea View, BLM, Salt Lake City 40 fames T. Monk vs Maxfield Mining Co., op cit 41 Salt Lake Tribune, March 13, 16, 17, 18, 1898; Salt Lake Herald, March 15, 17, 18, 1898.

case of the forgery trial, only two ballots were taken, the first being 7 to 3 for conviction, the second being unanimous.42

During his first sojourn in the countyjail Monk had seemed to enjoy taunting the county officials; he seemed to hold all the advantages, and public opinion waswith him. He was certain that when the mining law was declared unconstitutional, or if its constitutionality were confirmed and he gave up the mining records, all charges would be dismissed He would then go back to Argenta, free to roam the Wasatch mining territory as he had before. But during this second period in the countyjail, matters were quite the opposite; this time the county officials held the upper hand, and the situation appeared increasingly dark. Still,when his friend C.J.O. Irwin visited him injail the day before his sentencing, Monk remained defiant When Irwin advised him to conform to the prison rules, Monk replied, "But I'm not going to the pen. I'm an innocent man." When Irwin repeated his warning Monk said, "I'll not go to church. You can depend on that. I'll seen them in h-1 first."43

On Saturday, March 26, 1898,Monk went beforeJudge Norrel for sentencing The prisoner was stolid and indifferent, and when asked if he had anything to say,he replied in the negative.Judge Norrell then sentenced him to two years in the penitentiary for each charge, but the two sentences were ordered to run concurrently. When Monk was taken to the penitentiary the countyjailer said that he wasrather sorry to lose his prisoner In spite of the trouble Monk had caused by refusing to attend the religious services, thejailer said, "He was one of the best prisoners I ever had."44

At the penitentiary Monk was given a striped suit and prison number 1022.When his admission record was being filled out and he was asked what his religion was, he replied: "Free Thinker."45 The prison walls placed Monk out of sight but not quite out of mind. There was still some curiosity about what would happen when Sunday rolled around and church services were held. But in his last chance for notoriety, Monk failed the press. He was reported to have asked one of the guards if he was required to go to church The guard replied, "Oh yes, we all go to church here." The Snow King said no more but promptly fell in line when the church bell rang.46

DeseretNews, March 18, 27, 1898

' Salt Lake Tribune, March 27, 1898

Ibid.

Department of Corrections, Inmate Prison Commitment Register, p 105,Utah State Archives Salt Lake Tribune, March 28, 1898

What goes on behind prison walls is generally not newsworthy, nor is the release of a prisoner after his term is served. As a result, nothing more was heard aboutJames T. Monk, the Snow King of the Wasatch. The patents on his claims were never granted, but the Maxfield Mining Company received its patent for the Sea View on June 3, 1899.47 To this day, however the Safety Valve survey, No. 3322, appears, overlapping the SeaView claim, on the mineral survey maps for the Big Cottonwood district. And in later years, miners in the Wasatch were still swapping stories about the legendaryJames Monk. While the stories varied, they all agreed that, like the clouds drifting off the lee side of the Wasatch Mountains, Monk disappeared and was neither seen nor heard of again

47 Mineral Certificate No 2360, Sea View, BLM, Salt Lake City

"We're down on Fourth South far from luxury, Down where the viaduct spans the D and RG, Most unpretentious, but somewhat quaint, With Guadalupe as our patron saint. "

Theme song of the Guadalupe Mission1

"El diablo nos esta llevando": Utah Hispanics and the Great Depression^

BYJORGE IBER

WHIL E MANY AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES enjoyed economic prosperity during the 1920s, Utah endured a severe post-World War I recession Decreased demands for metals and a return to full production by European farmers were crushing blows to the state's key industries.

Jorge Iber isa recent graduate of the University of Utah and isnow an assistant professor of history at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

1 Jerald H Merrill, "Fifty Years with a Future: Salt Lake's Guadalupe Mission and Parish," Utah Historical Quarterly 40 (1972): 254 The parish's theme song was sung to the tune of a Marian hymn

2 Aliteral translation is'The devilistakingus";however, Mexicans take thisstatement tomean, 'Things are going to hell."This paper uses the term "Hispanic"as an umbrella term for all Spanish-speaking people who lived in Utah. The majority of these people were born in Mexico.Allphotos are from USHS collections.

Reductions in these areas also touched rail transportation, causing layoffs and cutbacks that further slowed commercial activity. Although there were signs of a gradual recovery by 1925, economic trends during the decade did not keep pace with the rest of the nation. By 1929 the annual per capita income for Utah was $537, only 80 percent of the national average. 3

Although Utah's economy did not boom during theJazz Age, it still drew an increasing number of Hispanics. By 1930, more than 4,000 people of Mexican origin lived in Utah, with more than half of those (2,222) living in Salt Lake and Weber counties.These clusters of families were dependent upon agriculture (primarily sugar beet field work), mining, and transportation for jobs. But the Great Depression devastated these vulnerable industries and Utah's colonias;4 by 1940 the number of Mexican-born Hispanics in the state had dropped to 1,069. As occurred elsewhere, Spanish-speaking employees in Utah were among the first fired during industrial downturns.5

During World War I, Utah agriculture had greatly benefited from Europe's military turmoil By the end of the war, the price of sugar beets, the state's most important crop, had surged from $7.00 to more than $12.00 per ton But the upswing ended during the winter of 1920, and by November 1921 the price of beets had plummeted to $5.47 per ton. In 1922 farmers in the Cache Valley, the heart of Utah's sugar beet country, decreased acreage by over 60 percent. Lower earnings forced many to slash costs or to leave farming altogether. While enduring a steady decline after the war, prices for agricultural output declined another 61 percent between 1929 and 1932. A slumping sugar beet industry during the 1920s meant difficult times for Hispanics, but the Great Depression made matters even worse for "betabeleros" (beet workers) and their families.6

Natural aswell as economic disasters ravaged Utah's farms during the 1930s.A serious drought plagued the state in 1931,followed by a worse one in 1934.The winter of 1933—34wasunusuallywarm; by plant-

3 LeonardJ Arrington, "Utah, the New Deal, and the Depression of the 1930s," Dello G Dayton Memorial Lecture, March 25, 1982,Weber State College, p 9, copy in author's possession

4 The term "colonia" refers to a cluster or community of Spanish-speaking people.

5 Elizabeth Broadbent, 'The Distribution of Mexican Populations in the United States"(Ph.D dissertation, University of Chicago, 1941), pp 62-68, 113 Vince Mayer, Utah: A Hispanic History (Salt Lake City:American West Center, University of Utah, 1975), pp. 58-59.

6 Thomas G. Alexander, "The Economic Consequences of the War: Utah and the Depression of the 1920s,"in Dean May, ed., A Dependent Commonwealth: Utah'sEconomyfrom Statehood tothe GreatDepression (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1974), pp 57-60, 67-68; Dean May, Utah:A People's History (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1987), pp 173-74; Garth L Mangum and Bruce Blumell, The Mormons'War on Poverty (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1993), pp 94—95

ing time the water levelsin area lakeswere asmuch as 14feet below normal. In 1934 farmers planted 30 percent of their normal acreage and were able to harvest only 40 percent of what they had planted. These circumstances caused a drastic drop in the pay ofbetabeleros; in Idaho, for instance, wages decreased from $28 to $10 per acre

Conditions were so grim that Salt Lake City's Mexican consul feared that some of his charges would starve to death. The betabeleros who remained in Utah struggled to increase their earnings; most took their children out of school to assist in the fields. Actually, many contractors tended to favor large families with children older than six years of age. The wages paid to these people always remained slightly above subsistence level to keep them coming back to the fields season after season. 7

The family of Francisca "Pancha" Gonzalez toiled under these conditions Pancha was born in Amarillo, Texas, in April 1918 Her father came to Utah towork for the Union Pacific Railroad during the 1920s. Family members supplemented his earnings by working the sugar beet crop, but that was not enough—during the winters Pancha's father was often forced to steal coal to heat the family's home

By 1920 the family had grown to seven children, yet Pancha's parents never planned how they would support their new offspring. "That's the first thing you do now with the kids. We've got to save money. . . . Heck, in those days if you had enough to eat that was good," Pancha later recalled. Tragically, this tenuous strategy for survival failed at the worst possible time; Pancha's father died in 1930 while his wife was pregnant with their eighth child. This calamity deprived Pancha of even a rudimentary education since the children were now more essential to family survival than ever. Pancha became so frustrated with living conditions that she married at age fourteen in an attempt to escape. 8

Cruz Campero Garcia's experiences were similar Cruz was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, in May 1919.After stops in El Paso and Chicago, his family arrived in Salt Lake City during the 1920s. Cruz's father worked for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, but his pay did not

7 Arrington, "Utah, the New Deal, and the Depression of the 1930s,"p 13;Francisco E Balderrama and Raymond Rodriguez, Decade of Betrayal:Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995), p 75;Francisco E Balderrama, In Defense of La Raza: The Los Angeles Mexican Consulate and theMexican Community, 1929—1936 (Tucson: University ofArizona Press, 1982), pp 24, 34

8 Pancha Gonzalez interview, Salt Lake City, November 13, 1987, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accession 1369, Box 2, Folder 8, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah.

support the entire family. At age fourteen, Cruz quit school to supplement the family's income by working in the celery fields of Salt Lake County during the summers and by doing odd jobs during the rest of the year. Eventually, Cruz signed on with a local macaroni manufacturer, where his pay for seven days' work was $12.9

No other industry besides agriculture attracted a larger amount of Hispanic labor to the Southwest than "el traque" (railroad work). Most Spanish-speaking individuals toiled in gangs that maintained the lines, ajob that often entailed living next to the tracks. Upon completing their daily labor, these traqueros returned to "homes" that were nothing more than antiquated boxcars with limited furnishings and outdoor toilet facilities

The post-World War I recession damaged Utah's transportation sector, although not as severely as it did agriculture and mining. In 1921 rates, revenues, and employment decreased, but the slowdown proved to be only temporary. Total employment for Utah railroads

9 Cruz Campero Garcia interview, Salt Lake City,May 31,1985,Hispanic Oral Histories,Accn 1369, Box 1, Folder 12,Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

Traqueros were grateful for jobs, but wages were low.

increased slightly (from 7,700 to 8,000) during the 1920s. However, although itwashealthier than other sections of the economy, the railroad industry washit hard by the Great Depression. During the 1920s Hispanic labor had been a crucial element of the transportation industry in Utah, especially for the Union Pacific and Denver and Rio Grande lines, but the early 1930s brought drastic change. The number of Spanish-surnamed employees of the Union Pacific decreased dramatically and would not return to pre-depression levels until the start of World War II.10

Maria Dolores Garcia grew up near the Denver and Rio Grande depot in Salt Lake City Born in Chihuahua in 1917, Maria came with her family to Salt Lake City in 1923,and her father procured employment with the Denver line. Although her father never lost hisjob, it took great effort to make ends meet The Garcias bought canned goods in bulk and wore homemade clothes. Unlike others on the west side, the family managed to have Christmas celebrations every year, although fruits and nuts, not toys, filled Maria Dolores's stockings.11 Jose Mendel and his family experienced similar difficulties He worked on the tracks during the depression, and while he was grateful for the opportunity to work, he complained bitterly that the railroad took advantage of itsemployees Mendel's employer warned him that if working conditions were not to his liking he could leave; there were more than enough laborers willing to take his low-paying position. During the early 1930sJose earned only 38cents per hour, about $14 for two weeks of work. The family stretched his meager payby subsisting on potatoes and gravy. 12

Like traqueros and betabeleros, those Hispanics who chose to work for mines were also affected byfluctuating markets. After World War I the demand for metals decreased, and by 1920 Utah's production of gold, silver, lead, copper, and zinc had plummeted to more than 50 percent below 1917 levels. Utah Copper reluctantly began to close its mills in 1921, laying off more than 6,000 men in Bingham Canyon. In 1922 conditions began to improve, and by 1929 Bingham was experiencing a boom. The mines were operating at near-capacity, and employment was available During these years Hispanic workers held the

10 Alexander, "The Economic Consequences of the War,"pp. 73,86;Mayer, Utah: A Hispanic History, pp 58—59

11 Maria Dolores Garcia interview, Salt Lake City, November 2, 1984, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 3,Folder 4, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah.

12 Jose Mendel interview, Woods Cross, October 9, 1970, Spanish-Speaking Peoples of Utah, Accn 96, Box 1,Folder 1, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

lowest paying, least-skilled, most dangerousjobs, as they did in mines throughout the Southwest.

Unfortunately, prosperity did not last In 1930 copper began to lose its luster, and by November the metal's price had dropped below the break-even price of twelve cents per pound Employers attempted to keep as many people on thejob as possible, but by 1932 most had shut down operations. A disastrous fire in Bingham Canyon on September 8, 1932, compounded the economic crisis. Seventy-five homes were destroyed as the fire devastated the Highland Boy section of the canyon. 13

Despite these conditions, the parents of Esperanza and Gavino Aguayo managed to scratch out a living in Bingham during the 1930s. Gavino was born inJalisco, Mexico, in 1925. His parents were farmers who during the subsequent revolution fled Mexico andjoined Gavino's uncle in Bingham Canyon. There, Esperanza was born in March 1932, the year of the big fire. The fire destroyed the Aguayo home, but the family remained, moving to nearby Dinkeyville. Esperanza and Gavino were fortunate that their father alwaysworked, even if only one or two days aweek. The family bartered with neighbors for goods and services they could not afford, and they subsisted on tortillas and potatoes prepared by their mother Conditions were harsh, but the children felt lucky to be as well-off as they were. "You know, we were poor. . . . But really at that time ... we didn't know it. . .."14

As the Great Depression worsened, it did not matter whether one was a betabelero, a mine worker, or traquero; most colonia members faced daunting challenges to keep body, soul, and family together. Hispanic women played crucial roles in helping their communities and families persevere Both in Utah and in other parts of the country, Hispanas stretched budgets, raised their children, assisted neighbors, and worked outside their homes

Encarnacion Florez was one of the women whose family managed to survive on the west side of Salt Lake City during the depths of the depression; her son John, born inJanuary 1932, later told how his father, Reyes Florez, came to Utah during the late 1910s to work for the D&RG. Even during the economic crisis he managed to hold his job as a traquero while family members supplemented his salary by

13 Alexander, 'The Economic Consequences of the War," pp 61-63; May, Utah: A People's History, p 173; Balderrama and Rodriguez, Decade of Betrayal, p 17; Lynn R Bailey, Old Reliable: A History of Bingham Canyon, Utah (Tucson: Westernlore Press, 1988), pp. 161-64.

14 Esperanza and Gavino Aguayo interview, Salt Lake City, February 6, 1985, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 1,Folder 2, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

working in the beet fields during the summer and early fall months

Florez recalled that the family lived in an old railroad boxcar that had been divided into a kitchen and living area. Their "house" was located a mere twenty feet from the tracks, and Encarnacion fought a never-ending battle to keep the quarters clear of dust and dirt She also stretched the family's budget; beans and tortillas were daily fare in the Florez household.

Although theywere very poor, Encarnacion managed to raise her children with a deep sense of pride in the Mexican heritage. The Florez children faced a constant battle in school as teachers and peers humiliated them by claiming that their culture was "savage"and "barbaric,"but their mother patiently countered these influences by teaching her children about Aztec history, culture, and art. She also rendered valuable services to the lessfortunate of her community. The unemployed frequented the Florez boxcar because they knew that the lady of the "house" provided food for allwho asked

Concurrently, Encarnacion helped colonia members by being a "curandera," or traditional healer Neighbors often came to John's mother to seek cures for assorted maladies or to have their fortunes told. Sometimes the rituals worked, but often they merely provided spiritual comfort. According toJohn, "The thing about magic and folk medicine is that if it didn't work, you didn't do the ritual right. Magic only has to work once in a while."

Encarnacion Florez did much to help her family and community overcome the trials and tribulations of the 1930s. Still, her magic and beliefs were not enough to ameliorate conditions or spare her much heartache. She lost nine of her twelve children to childhood diseases; the family's poverty was certainly a contributing factor John summarized his depression experience by saying that "people who talk about the 'good old days' do so because they didn't have to live it."15

Although the Spanish-speaking women of northern Utah filled many roles, they, like Hispanas elsewhere, felt that their primary task was to raise their children to be "bien educado," or well-mannered.16 Traditional standards were even more crucial to these women now that they were living in "el extranjero," outside their nation and culture.

15 John Florez interview, Salt Lake City, May 10, 1984, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 1, Folder 9, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah; See also "Peoples of Utah" series in the Salt Lake Tribune, April 3, 1994; E Farol Benavides, "The Saints among the Saints: A Study of Curanderismo in Utah," Utah Historical Quarterly 41 (1973): 373-92

16 Balderrama and Rodriguez, Decade ofBetrayal, p 40

Clotilda (Tilly) Ontiveros-Gomez later recalled that even during the trying times of the depression her mother always emphasized proper manners. Tilly was born in 1918 in Chihuahua, Mexico; in 1919 her family came to the United States to work the beet fields of Idaho During the early 1920s some of her father's co-workers came to Utah to work at the smelter in Murray, and the Ontiveros soon followed. During the 1930s Tilly's father managed to stay employed as part of a skeleton crew. But the few days that he worked were not enough to support his family, so the children toiled in the beet fields. Still, they often went hungry Tillyrecalled that during these years she was so skinny that her ankles would poke holes in her stockings Although conditions did not permit them to get much formal education, their mother always reminded the Ontiveros children "to be clean people, to be good people. And to work hard." Perhaps these customs and beliefs did not do much to mitigate hardships, but they did help to reinforce self-esteem No matter how difficult times became, one could retain a humble pride in being "bien educado" and in remembering "lo nuestro."17

In addition to raising children, many Hispanas sought work outside their homes to supplement family income. Spanish-speaking women were a vital labor source in industries such as domestic work, food processing, and garment manufacturing. Maria Dolores Garcia helped her traquero husband byworking as a maid at the Park Hotel in Salt Lake City Her pay was minimal, but it provided the young couple with a rent-free apartment. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last because her husband drank too much and would take off to California for weeks at a time. Following the divorce Maria Dolores took in washing and ironing to support her two small children. She ultimately found permanent employment at a local bakery.18 Alex Hurtado's mother chose a different route. Alex's parents came with their families from Mexico during the 1920s and settled in Bingham. The young couple met, married, and had four children while living in the canyon But Eliza Tostado, Alex's mother, eventually divorced her husband and was faced with the dilemma of supporting her children. She was "independent as hell"and did not want to accept her ex-husband's child support money. Although she could barely read or write English, she took her cooking and domestic skills

17 Clotilda (Tilly) Ontiveros-Gomez interview, Salt Lake City, November 12, 1984, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 2, Folder 3,Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah 18 Balderrama and Rodriguez, Decade of Betrayal, pp. 43-45; Garcia interview.

and put them to use in running a boardinghouse in Bingham. Rooms were let to miners, and Eliza provided about twenty men with three meals per day This business allowed her to be self-supporting and to raise a small amount of capital with which to expand. Bythe early 1940s Eliza had saved enough to operate, alongwith her new husband, several bars and eating establishments in Bingham, Lark, and Ogden.19

During the desperate economic conditions of the Great Depression, many Utahns turned to the federal government for help In fact, the state received so much assistance that a Federal Emergency Relief Administration field representative described Utah as "the prize 'gimme' state of the Union."20 However, the Hispanic population, which was small to begin with and greatly reduced by the effects of the economic catastrophe, constituted a very small percentage of those on relief. Most left the state, and of those who remained the majority were simply too proud to ask for governmental assistance Others of these "survivors" were not aware of available programs

Newlyweds looked with hope to the future, but sometimes thefuture brought death or divorce in addition to poverty.

JuanitaJimenez's family faced many hardships but did not wish to ask for aid.Juanita was born in Calveillo, Mexico, in December 1908. In 1929 she came to Utah, where her grandmother had emigrated and set up a boardinghouse in the mining town of Eureka

19 Alex Hurtado, interviewed by author,July 28, 1995, Ogden, Utah

20 Richard White, It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own: A New History of the American West (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991), p. 473.For more information on economic conditions in Utah during the 1930s see R Thomas Quinn, "Out of the Depression's Depths: Henry H Blood's First Year as Governor," Utah Historical Quarterly 54 (1986): 216-39; Wayne K Hinton, "The Economics of Ambivalence: Utah's Depression Experience," Utah Historical Quarterly 54 (1986): 268-85

While there,Juanita planned to spend some time helping her grandmother and also to earn some money to "get better dresses"and then go back to Mexico. But while in Eureka, she met her husband. The couple eloped, married, and returned to live in the mining town. Her husband continued to work as a miner, although thejob affected his health Unfortunately, economic conditions were such that he could not changejobs, and he died several years later.Juanita wasforced to look for work but refused to ask for any governmental assistance. "We never got help from the government. We never asked for anything. We don't like that," she later explained.21

While many Utah Hispanics chose not to ask for help, some simply did not know that aid was available Pancha Gonzalez's family faced difficult times during the depression, but "no one ever told us about government programs that could help us."22

Some Utah Hispanics did avail themselves of federal aid. Roberto Nieves, a native of Puerto Rico, came to southern Utah when he was nineteen years old towork for the Civilian Conservation Corps While there, he received training, pay, room, and board He also completed his high school education, receiving his GED in 1941.This provided many opportunities for Roberto, who eventually returned to his adopted state after serving in the Navy during World War II.23

Manuel Garcia, Jr., also sought help from the government. Manuel was born in 1909 in the small town of Cantuna, Mexico He was brought to the United States when he was five years old; in 1919 his family arrived in Salt Lake City, where his father worked for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad for about forty years. Although the boy's parents wanted him to receive a formal education, he quit school in 1928 and went to work for the Denver line. Manuel's foreman did not care for Mexicans, however, and forced him to do "dirty jobs" to try to get rid of him So Manuel lasted only a few months before leaving for the beet fields of southern Idaho Unfortunately, during the economic downturn many of thesejobs disappeared, and Manuel had to stand in bread lines in order to eat. He eventually procured employment with a program that put men to work building and

21 JuanitaJimenez interview, Salt Lake City,June 22, 1985,Hispanic Oral Histories,Accn 1369, Box 2, Folder 12, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

22 Gonzalez interview

23 Roberto Nieves interview, Salt Lake City, November 30, 1972, and March 14, 1973, SpanishSpeaking People of Utah, Accn 96, Box 3, Folder 12, and Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1396, Box 4, Folder 2, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah.

fixing roads in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Thisjob allowed him to subsist until he was rehired by the railroad in 1937.24

The Great Depression had a mixed impact upon the colonias' social organizations. The community was reduced in size during the 1930s, and many individuals sought to create closer ties to remaining Hispanics. Patriotic celebrations, dances, parties, and cultural events served as rallying points and brief respites from difficult circumstances. In fact, austerity provided the genesis of Utah's most important Hispanic association of the time, the Centro Civico Mexicano.

Bertha Amador Mayer's social life during the late 1930s was centered around events sponsored by the Centro Civico Mexicano Bertha wasborn in Durango, Mexico, in 1912 Her family arrived in Salt Lake City in 1926, and Bertha married Vicente Mayer, a Union Pacific Railroad traquero, in 1931.Although Vicente remained employed during the depression, he seldom worked a full week. One of the couple's fewjoys during these trying times was their involvement with the new organization. The group rented halls and parks to celebrate Mexican traditions, culture, and holidays, but Bertha recalled that its most crucial function was to teach the children of the west side to take pride in their rich heritage. In 1936 Vicente was elected president of the group. 25

The Centro Civico Mexicano was not alone in celebrating Mexican culture during the depression. In Bingham Canyon events were often sponsored by the local group attached to the Sociedad Honorifica Mexicana. The association was headed byJesus Avila, who had worked in the canyon since 1924. The Honorifica organized socials and, in conjunction with the Salt Lake CityMexican consulate, tried to protect the rights of Mexican citizens.

Unfortunately, although many reached out tojoin with and help others, harsh conditions produced an opposite reaction in other colonia members. The time and financial demands of the social groups pushed some away; theywere willing to share in the festivities, but they ignored the plight of their brethren.

As a consequence, the 1930s were very frustrating for a community activist such asJesus Avila. Unlike the cohesion created by the Centro Civico, the Honorifica was often disregarded by members. Most did not pay their dues; at times the group had only five or six

24 Manuel Garcia,Jr., interview, Salt Lake City, Hispanic Oral Histories,Accn 1369,Box 2,Folder 1, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

25 Bertha Amador-Mayer interview, Bountiful ,Utah,June 14, 1972, Spanish-Speaking People of Utah, Accn 96, Box 2, Folder 9, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

Guadalupe Mission. The building, at 524 West, Fourth South, was demolished in 1970 for the rebuilding of the Fourth South viaduct.

active members. This apathy was difficult for Jesus to comprehend. Instead of uniting to help their countrymen, most "members" only appeared for parties. The Honorifica struggled through the 1930s, until it eventually became a mutual aid organization in 1940.26

The hardships of the times led many colonia members to turn to religion for spiritual and physical aid. For almost ninety-eight percent of Hispanics in the southwest United States, this meant that they sought help from the Catholic church.27 At Salt Lake City's Guadalupe mission, although the number of Hispanics in the area decreased during the depression, the congregation grew from around 480 in 1931 to more than 700 by 1939. The limited resources of the Salt Lake Diocese severely restricted the availability of services for this expanding flock, however.

Still, the mission was able to provide some much-needed assistance. The Sisters of Perpetual Adoration helped the children of the west side by teaching religion classes, Sunday school, and arts and crafts. The mission also sponsored a Boy Scout troop as well as Americanization classes. FatherJames Collins hosted sporting events, parties, film shows, and religious instruction. Asan incentive, the cash-

strapped mission inaugurated an auction system for all children's activities. Tokens were awarded for attendance, and the community generously donated small articles that served as prizes. Collins also contributed part of his meager salary to this cause. The mission's major effort was a summer school held between mid-June and midAugust; attendance ran as high as 250 children per day,with all faiths and ethnic groups being represented.28

The family of Maria Dolores Gonzalez-Mayo lived in Bingham but always came to the west side of Salt Lake to worship at Guadalupe. They could have attended the Holy Rosary Church near their home, but they preferred the "Mexican" atmosphere at the mission. Maria Dolores recalled that during the 1930s her life revolved around the activities at the center, where she attended catechism, daily mass, and choir practice under the watchful eyes of Father Collins and "las madres." Mission activities also celebrated the children's culture and partially sheltered them from the problems faced by their families. Father Collins "certainly made it an enjoyable [time] growing up. We don't remember so much the hardships, I think, as we do the good times."29

Reyes Rodriguez and hisfamily did not seek material aid from the Guadalupe Mission, but they were enriched by the spiritual work of Collins and the sisters. Born on the west side in 1932, Reyes was the son of Mexican migrant workers who came to the Salt Lake Valley in the early 1920s. During the depression Reyes's father worked as a dishwasher orjanitor to survive and to avoid taking government assistance. Although the family lived next door to Guadalupe, they chose to forgo direct help. But for Reyes, the mission, its staff, and his mother's volunteer work produced a spiritual awakening Collins's humility, spirituality, and caring for the poor changed Reyes's impression of the clergy; seeing his mother and Collins assisting others helped Reyes realize "a personal relationship with God," and also a desire to serve the less fortunate. Reyes Rodriguez was ordained a Catholic priest in 1968.30

Although the Catholic Church was a major influence on Utah's colonias, as it was on Hispanics elsewhere, Utah also presented a

28Jerald H Merrill, "Fifty Yearswith a Future," 251-54 See also Intermountain Catholic, November 23, 1934.

29 Maria Dolores Gonzalez-Mayo interview, Salt Lake City, March 1, 1985, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 3,Folder 9, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah.

30 Father Reyes Rodriguez interview, Salt Lake City, March 1, 1985, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 4, Folder 8, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

unique situation: the presence of a Spanish-speaking congregation tied to the welfare network of the LDS church. Members of the LDSsponsored Rama Mexicana (or Mexican Branch, formed in 1921) did not evade the turmoil of the Great Depression, but they did have access to crucial links that helped them survive. Although the LDS church had a long tradition of assisting members economically, officials came to the realization that "the depression would not soon recede" and that "long lasting solutions"were called for Salt Lake City was severely affected by the economic collapse, causing the church to focus itsrelief efforts there. The Pioneer Stake, on the city'swest side, was particularly hard-hit. During the early 1930s, more than 50 percent of the workers in this area were unemployed. This created much difficulty for the Rama Mexicana's members in their attempt to pay tithing. Branch records indicate that aslate as 1939 more than 50 percent of the congregation wasnot up to date Aslate asJune 1942, 63 of the 124worshipers were exempted from this responsibility.31

By 1930 church leaders revived the Deseret Employment Bureau and formed inter-stake groups that attempted to assist individuals in need. An early initiative used church organizations both to search for

Father Collins (on left) with children, Sisters of the Perpetual Adoration (who came from Mexico to serve), and parish workers outside the Guadalupe Mission, ca. 1935.

31 Mangum and Blumell, The Mormons' War on Poverty, pp 94, 97; Record # LR-5089-2, Mexican Branch Minutes, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah

and to create employment opportunities. In October 1930 Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon praised this effort for registering 1,800 men and placing 1,200 injobs, mostly in the Salt Lake Valley, during the previous nine months. These stake-wide organizations also made arrangements with farmers to receive products, store them, and then distribute them to the destitute. Concurrently, individual stakes established community gardens and coal distribution centers. Finally, church organizations negotiated with county governments to provide public aid for needy Mormons. Direct cash benefits from the church were seen as a last resort for those who could not obtain help elsewhere.32 These new programs were supplemented by the Relief Society, which provided direct assistance in the form of goods to the indigent in the various wards.33 An examination of Relief Society disbursements reveals the magnitude of the economic calamity in Utah. During the recession of the 1920s the Society provided about $302,000 in goods per year In fiscal year 1930, distributions increased to about $350,000, and other church organizations spent another $185,000 on relief.34

The LDS church's assistance did not eliminate poverty and mis-

32 Mangum and Blumell, The Mormons'War on Poverty, pp. 97-99, 108.

33 The LDS Relief Society is a charitable service organization composed exclusively of women Its task is to distribute assistance to the needy as well as to refer destitute members to bishops for further assistance

34 Mangum and Blumell, The Mormons' War on Poverty, p 101

Members of the Mexican Branch, or Rama Mexicana, with Anthony Ivins, ca. 1929.

ery from the lives of the Rama Mexicana members, but it did make conditions more bearable. An examination of the branch records reveals the staying power of the five families that composed the core group of its 1929 roster. In a decade that produced a 73 percent decrease in Mexican-born Hispanics in Utah (from 4,012 to 1,069 individuals), the families of Manuel and Rafael Torres, Castulo Martinez, Eufemio Salazar, and Jose Zuniga survived the Great Depression with the assistance of their church's welfare network As the economy improved, these families were in a position to prosper To a great extent, their religious belief and the social connections it provided helped facilitate future economic mobility.35

Rafael Torres benefited greatly from the church's relief efforts. After going from onejob to another during the 1920s, Rafael's Rama connections helped him acquire a position at the Temple Square Hotel in 1930;in fact, LDSFirst Presidency member Anthony R. Ivins, who oversaw the Rama Mexicana, recommended Torres to the hotel's manager Rafael performed many tasks, sweeping halls, cleaning windows, and working as a bell boy Although his pay was only $75 per month, it kept the Torres family housed and fed. Rafael remained at

Rama Mexicana Relief Society members.

Utah Hispanics and the Great Depression

the hotel until 1944,when hejoined his brother-in-law's fledgling tortilla-making business.

Religious contacts helped Rafael get ajob, but his association with the LDS network did not overcome all obstacles Part of Rafael's duties included working in the hotel's coffee shop. He assisted the night clerk and felt, after afew years, that he could competently handle the management of the establishment. When the night clerk was promoted to another position, he recommended Rafael as his replacement. The hotel manager liked and respected Torres but did not promote him because "not everyone knows Rafael" ashe did, and they might not like having a brown-skinned individual at that post.36

Manuel Torres, Rafael's brother-in-law, also benefited from the church's employment program Manuel was assisted in finding employment at the downtown Salt Lake City ZCMI store. While grateful for thisjanitorial position, Manuel found it difficult to support hiswife and five children on the $80 monthly salary. By 1937 Manuel had befriended a Mr. Walhause, the manager of the store's delicatessen. Walhause often told Manuel that he was not satisfied with the quality or flavor of the tamales that he purchased for the deli, and the two men worked together until they created a workable recipe. Manuel then tried to sellhiswares throughout the city.He proved to be an able tamale maker and salesman and started his own business in 1938.37

A massive infusion of federal funds into Utah reduced the burden upon the LDS church's aid program. This helped ameliorate conditions but created a dilemma for the institution's hierarchy and members Where should Mormons turn in this hour of crisis—to their church or to the federal government? Between 1933 and 1936 leaders endeavored to formulate a welfare plan that would provide succor to those in distress yet still retain a work component as well as localized control. The culmination of this effort was the speech, "An Important Message on Relief," delivered by President HeberJ. Grant on April 6, 1936 Many of the initiatives previously used were incorporated into this plan. Mormons would receive employment assistance and commodities, not cash benefits asunder federal programs. This system created an extra layer of subsidy unavailable to Hispanics outside of the Rama Mexicana.38

36 Rafael Torres interview, Salt Lake City, October 15, 1984, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 4, Folder 7, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

37 Unpublished company history of Manuel's Fine Food, Incorporated, p 1 Copy in author's possession

38 Mangum and Blumell, The Mormons'War on Poverty, pp 112-47

As early as the winter of 1931-32 the benefits provided by the LDS church were creating a "delicate"problem in northern Utah. Did the church have to extend aid to all Mormons orjust to practicing ones? What assistance should be rendered to non-Mormons?39 The situation also perplexed some Hispanics. Circumstances in the colonias were difficult; should men and women forgo the religion of their ancestors to obtain desperately needed charity? Reactions to this predicament varied, although few Hispanics converted.

Ruth Torres, daughter of Rafael Torres, believes that there were some individuals who converted to get help, but for most, LDS membership was founded on religious conviction The aid Mormon Hispanics received produced some tensions, but ethnic ties caused most Spanish-speaking people to overlook denominational differences. Neighbors helped each other because suffering was widespread.40

Not all relationships were as genial as those described by Ruth Torres Maria Dolores Garcia faced the 1930s as ayoung divorcee with two young children. The commodities the church's welfare plan provided would have proved invaluable to her. Yet pressure to remain Catholic was intense. One of Maria Dolores's aunts converted and suffered strong condemnation from her family. The woman was admonished to simply "cut (herself) open and let the blood out" for changing something as crucial to her identity as the Catholic faith.41

The difference in efficacy of the Catholic and Mormon networks did create some animosity within the colonias during the 1930s. But this was not the primary impact of the Great Depression on the Spanish-speaking population. Because of the mass exodus of workers and their families, the remaining individuals, families, and organizations were drawn closer together. Neighbors helped neighbors, regardless of religious affiliation, and the worsening of economic conditions moved familial and ethnic ties to the forefront of social relations. Ruth Torres recalls that when it came to assisting other Hispanics, "we saw good (and need) in all of our people, both Catholics and Mormons."42 Responding to those needs, the Torres family often shared the goods they received from the LDSwelfare network with their neighbors. At the same time, the Rama Mexicana, the Guadalupe Mission, and

39 Ibid., p 105

40 Ruth Torres interview

41 Maria Dolores Garcia interview, Salt Lake City, November 28, 1984, Hispanic Oral Histories, Accn 1369, Box 3,Folder 4, Manuscript Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah

42 Ruth Torres, interviewed by the author, February 19, 1996, Salt Lake City

the Centro CivicoMexicano sponsored programs and events that benefited all community members. The Centro Civico sought to preserve a sense of cultural identity for the children of the west side, regardless of their religion. The group sponsored fiestas and classesdesigned to reinforce community traditions in the midst of grinding poverty.

During the depression, Utah's Hispanics, like other populations, wrestled with grim economic conditions. But they also faced problems unique to minority groups. Hispanics working in mining, transportation, agriculture, and the service industry were usually given the lowest-paying jobs, and the work they did was difficult, menial, and sometimes destructive to health; at the same time, these workers were given few opportunities for advancement. In order to have enough for the essentials, family members also tookjobs, and even then families lived at subsistence level.

Some Hispanics received critically needed assistance from the government; others looked to church and community groups for help. Still others chose complete independence, working through their financial problems on their own. No matter their situations or choices, however, the Hispanics in northern Utah gained important strength from their common background. In many cases, the shared community provided away to preserve and celebrate their culture, to give support to each other, and to relieve tensions. As families and individuals worked together, struggling to maintain the lastvestiges of normality, class and ethnicity proved to be strong bonding ties against the centrifugal power of economic adversity.

Hispanic children, Salt Lake City's west side, n. d.

In Memoriam: S. George Ellsworth, 1916-97

O N DECEMBER 22, 1997, UTAH LOST one ofitsforemost historian-teachers and authors The death of Utah State University emeritus professor of history S. George Ellsworth has taken from us a truly great teacher, an accomplished and productive author, a creative and dedicated editor of books andjournals, and a kind, understanding, and gentle individual.

I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been a friend and colleague of George Ellsworth for more than fifty years since we were fellow students in several history classes at University of California, Berkeley. There—not only in classrooms but in the famous Bancroft Library—we engaged in many conversations on the mysteries of life and history. And through our fifty-year association, we continued our exploration and examination of those ideas that motivated us as graduate students. I believe that George Ellsworth during his career achieved the goals he had set for himself to be a good teacher, writer, researcher. He was a devoted family man—a man who believed and practiced the best teachings of Christianity.

BornJune 19, 1916, in Safford, Arizona, George never departed

far from his small-town rural background. He always retained a deep devotion to his church and a strong commitment to the values he learned from his close family ties. These values he carried with him when he began his college training at Kansas CityJunior College. Initially he planned to become an architect, but his LDS church missionary experience pointed his life in another direction—the study of philosophy and history In 1941 as a history student ofJoel E Ricks, he graduated from Utah State Agricultural College (Utah State University) with a bachelor of arts degree in history. After teaching briefly in the public schools of Bunkerville, Nevada, he answered the call to military service. He served as a chaplain in the Philippine theater Following the war, he enrolled in the graduate history program at University of California, Berkeley. Under the guidance of Professor Lawrence Kinnaird, George completed his Ph.D in history in 1951

Even before he received his degree, George was employed to teach history at his alma mater, Utah State Agricultural College. Until 1983, he filled his role as teacher with distinction On three separate occasions he was selected by his students and colleagues as "Teacher of the Year." Several of his students have achieved distinction in history as a result of their training and motivation by this master teacher. It isestimated that George taught more than 10,000 students in classes on Utah, United States, Greek, and Roman history. His influence on seventh-grade students wasalso profound. For more than twentyyears, since 1972, his Utah's Heritage was the official history textbook for all of Utah's seventh grade history classes. The impact of this book on thousands of students is impossible to measure. But statements of numerous students attest to the intellectual awakening they experienced from studying George Ellsworth's book.

In another capacity, George Ellsworth began to serve a more mature audience when the Western History Association chose Utah State University as the sponsoring institution of the Association's new journal, the Western Historical Quarterly. As founding co-editor with LeonardJ. Arrington, George became the managing editor and later the principal editor who planned, designed, and selected the format and contents of the new journal. In appearance and content, it embodied all the positive qualities of what a historical publication should be Winning overwhelming support from the university administration, the Quarterly won enthusiastic approval from the Western History Association officers and members It was immediately recognized as an attractive and carefully edited historicaljournal that rep-

resented the goals and aspirations of the WHA. It provided the Association the elan and respectability that western history rightfully deserved. From 1970 to 1979, George Ellsworth brought the journal to a level of universal acceptance by the historical community. Further, under his tutelage his assistants were trained to continue this excellence when they assumed editorship at the time George retired as editor in 1979. Four years later George accepted emeritus status at USU. With his retirement, he now devoted his full time to the writing and editing of several books he had delayed publishing because of his many other scholarly activities on and off campus.

His off-campus activities consisted of serving his church in an administrative position; serving as a board member and chairman of the board of the Utah Endowment for the Humanities; serving on several committees involved in historical preservation; publishing major bibliographies; and microfilming and gathering historical documents for use and preservation in organized archival institutions

When the Utah State Historical Society in 1963 began the celebration of Utah's Statehood Day (January 4, 1896), George was selected to give the first Statehood Day address. For this and for his record of publications, he was in 1973 given the Society's highest award—Society Fellow. In 1984 the Western History Association presented George with an honorary life member award for his contributions to the Association.

After years of interruptions, in 1990 George completed the editing of the Addison Prattjournals, a monumental effort published by the University of Utah Press. Family histories and other edited books were completed by George in his post-retirement years.

When George married hiswife Maria, he acquired his most ardent supporter and fan. George and Maria, awriter in her own right, established the Heritage Room in the Merrill Library at Utah State University.Although plagued bymedical problems almost to the day he died, George was busily organizing and cataloging the mountain of his accumulated books and papers for deposit in the Heritage Room. Here students of history may enjoy and benefit from the lifelong dedicated history-making of the Ellsworths. There has been no greater devotion to history than that displayed bythe life of S.George Ellsworth. Itwas a privilege and honor towork with him and to call him my friend.

EVERETT L COOLEY Emeritus Professor of History University of Utah

Thiswork looks at the development of the Utah state constitution of 1895. The greater part of the study describes the 1895constitutional convention and analyzesthe document which that body produced The author, an emeritus professor of political science at Weber State University, also examines the territory's earlier efforts to gain statehood. In addition, she analyzes the changes that Utahns have made to the constitution in the century since its adoption. Throughout the study, she compares Utah's constitution to those of other western states

Her introductory chapter takes a broad look at state constitutions and finds them to be political documents that reflect the times in which they were written and the aspirations of those who drafted them. She then describes the six earlier constitutions (the first of which dated from 1849) that Utah territorial residents drafted in unsuccessful efforts to secure statehood Each of the earlier efforts at statehood foundered, largely over the issues of polygamy and the role of the Mormon church in the territory's political and economic life.

In contrast, White notes, the 1895 constitutional convention took place amid radically changed conditions. The Mormon church's formal abandonment of polygamy in 1890 and the dissolution of the exclusively Mormon People's party shortly thereafter laid the basis for the formation of viable Democratic and Republican parties in

the territory These developments opened the door to statehood. The author shows that the delegates to the 1895 convention consciously took a conservative approach in drafting the constitution. Anxious to achieve statehood, they rejected experimentation and avoided controversial issues likely to generate opposition to the constitution The constitution did incorporate a provision restoring woman suffrage (women's right tovote in the territory had been eliminated by federal antipolygamy legislation), but it avoided any mention of prohibition, although the issue had considerable popular appeal.

In discussing the major features of the 1895 constitution, the author avoids anarrow, parochial perspective. She notes that some of the delegates' concerns reflected tensions common to the underdeveloped West during this era For example, the delegates wanted to encourage outside investment, and therebyspur local economic development, but they feared dominance byoutside interests.Proposals to allow the state to subsidize or furnish credit tobusiness enterprises therefore produced lengthy debate

An appendix to the work provides biographical sketches of each of the delegates to the convention Although the sketches describe the delegates individually in terms of age, national origin, occupation, educational background, business and professional activities, and political affiliation, one

Charterfor Statehood: The Story of Utah's State Constitution. By JEAN BICKMORE WHITE (SaltLake City:University ofUtah Press, 1996 xii+154pp $29.95.)

key indicator—religious orientation (i.e, Mormon or gentile)—is omitted. The author also outlines the changes to the constitution since its adoption. Rather surprisingly, the features of the 1895 constitution that most reflected the troubled history of Utah Territory—the prohibition of polygamy and the strictures on separation of church and state—remain intact a century later In contrast, Utahns have substantially modified much of the remainder of the document over the years, rejecting any effort to rewrite the constitution in its entirety

Charterfor Statehood is a clearly written and well-organized study that should appeal to those interested in Utah's 1895 constitution. The book is

copiously illustrated with photographs of personalities, enterprises, and institutions important to the territory's development, and the text is garnished with entertaining (and occasionally acerbic) quotes from the proceedings of the convention and comment from the territorial press The reproductions of contemporary line drawings from the Salt Lake Tribune coverage of the convention are less successful, in part because a substantial number of the individuals portrayed in the drawings are not identified

HENRY WOLFINGER National Archives and Records Administration College Park, MD

Glen Canyon and the Sanfuan Country. By GARYTOPPING (Moscow: University of Idaho Press, 1997. 404 pp. $39.95.)

Is Glen Canyon now nothing but a memory, a wonderland obliterated from the earth, a vision seen only in our dreams? The emotional content of Glen Canyon remembered does indeed run deep, but as Gary Topping suggests in his new book, submergence under Lake Powell has not erased the colorful history of the canyon, nor has it affected higher canyons, mesas, and lofty plateaus.

Essentially, this is a synopsis of many individual and group histories centered within and near a geographical triangle that corners at Hite, Mexican Hat, and the confluence of the San Juan and Colorado Rivers Obviously, the historical players in this drama did not confine their actions to this triangle, so Topping has had to give readers sufficient background on the people involved. His method is similar to that used by C. Gregory Crampton in Standing Up Country, yet Crampton's history of the canyon country covered

a much larger area but in necessarily less detail.

If there is one common thread in Topping's history, it is the difficult, dramatic encounters—even at times confrontations—between man and nature, and in this case nature is represented by a highly colorful yet extremely rugged, arid landscape where overland travel was most difficult. A raft voyage down the Colorado River through Glen Canyon was comparatively easy, but even on the river, accidents and deaths sometimes happened

Many of the stories related by Topping will be familiar to students of Glen Canyon history He, of course, writes ofJohn Wesley Powell, of Robert B Stanton, of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition, and of the Hole-in-theRock trek. He also has researched and written about episodes and persons not so well known, such as guide and Indian trader John Wetherill, geologist Herbert E Gregory, archaeologist Neil

Judd, New Yorker Charles Bernheimer, iconoclast Charles Kelly, maverick Harry Aleson, and artist Dick Sprang, as well as many others.

Potential readers may be deceived by the attractive dust jacket, which features four colorful photographs of Glen Canyon scenery. An examination of the book itself, however, reveals only a few informal black and white snapshots (all in an appendix) of historical characters—but no photographs of that spectacular landscape! As a weak apology for this obvious deficiency, Topping refers frustrated readers to other books that contain scenic photographs He is more successful in filling the void, however, when he directs his considerable writing talent to graphic descriptions of human encounters with the rugged topography, a common theme throughout the book.

Only one map is included, and it is of such small scale—showing a large area with small detail—that its usefulness to a reader is minimal.

Although Topping is almost always accurate, he follows other writers who perpetuate the prevailing misconception that building Glen Canyon Dam was a substitute for the defeated Echo Park Dam Since this reviewer was employed for many years as a public

affairs officer for the Bureau of Reclamation, he has first-hand knowledge that Glen Canyon Damwas always a vital part of the Colorado River Storage Project; the project could not have been built without it Topping and others make their mistake by assuming, without checking, that Glen Canyon Dam was built solely to produce hydropower. Actually, hydropower was only a secondary purpose; the primary purpose was to create 27 million acre-feet of water storage in Lake Powell—water that could be used in drought years to meet downstream commitments of the 1922 Compact. Echo Park Dam would only have provided 6 million acre-feet of storage and could be safely eliminated.

While it is important to note Topping's lack of understanding of Glen Canyon Dam, the absence of scenic photographs, and the near-lack of maps, one should not overlook this generally well-researched and well-written volume, for it chronicles several interesting and important human stories of the Glen Canyon-San Juan region that have never appeared in any previous study.

W. L. RUSHO Salt Lake City, Utah

Battle for the Ballot: Essays on Woman Suffrage in Utah, 1870-1896. Edited by CAROL CORNWALL MADSEN (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1997. xii + 318 pp. Cloth, $39.95; paper, $19.95.)

Carol Madsen's choice of sixteen essays of uniformly high quality, along with her clear and concise introduction, places the battle for woman suffrage in Utah in a national context while also emphasizing the unusual elements of the Utah story She thus achieves her stated purpose of drawing attention to the history of woman suffrage at the state level, specifically Utah, a subject previously ignored by

scholars of suffrage Eight of the sixteen essays first appeared in Utah Historical Quarterly during the past three decades. Madsen also includes essays contemporary with the battle and others first published in BYU Studies, Dialogue, Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, and Journalism Quarterly.

The essays well exemplify Madsen's thesis that the fight for suffrage in Utah, while sharing some characteris-

tics of the struggle nationally and in the West, was unique, complex, and divisive, especially for Utah women.

Kathryn L. MacKay further drives home these points in her trenchant foreword and useful chronology. The territorial legislature gave Utah women the vote in 1870,enfranchising 17,179 of them, many times the number enfranchised by Wyoming in 1869 But, incredibly, Utah's non-Mormon women were willing to give up suffrage in order to win the war against polygamy. In 1878, when gentile women in Utah organized to repeal woman suffrage with the goal of defeating polygamy, Emmeline B Wells wrote, "We never thought that women could rise up against women It will be 'diamond cut diamond,' rest assured" (25) The 1882 Edmunds Act, which disfranchised all polygamous men and women, and the 1887 Edmunds-Tucker Act, which disfranchised allwomen in Utah territory, galvanized Mormon women to regain the vote

There was division among Mormon women as well as a chasm between Mormon and gentile women. Beverly Beeton reveals the competition for suffrage leadership between Emmeline B. Wells, editor of the Women's Exponent, and Charlotte Ives Cobb Godbe Kirby, fourth wife of William Godbe Joan Iversen recounts ironic alliances among Mormons, gentiles, and apostates. Faithful Mormons were aligned with the "radical" National Woman Suffrage Association led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, while the apostate Godbeites were allied with the "respectable" American Woman Suffrage Association led by Lucy Stone On the national level, differing views about suffrage for Mormon polygamists exacerbated the schism between the NWSA and the AWSA.

As well as being divisive at a local and national level, the battle for suf-

frage in Utah was complex and unique due, in part, to the triangular dynamics among suffrage, polygamy, and statehood Beeton suggests Mormon women and the NWSA were "pawns" in the campaign for statehood waged by the Mormon male leadership against the federal government. Mormon women as "pawns" echoes the nineteenth-century cartoon image of Mormon women as dupes and slaves, described by Gary and Carol Bunker. In contrast, Lola Van Wagenen proposes that Mormon women were "well prepared in 1870 to assume an active political role in their communities" and were "activists in their own behalf (61). But, as Jill Derr explains, Mormon women did not think of themselves as autonomous. Rather, they believed themselves "stewards" or "helpmeets to the priesthood" in turning "the tide of man's degeneracy" (83)

Despite polarizing differences, Mormon women and their gentile sisters, locally and nationally, shared characteristics. Most believed, as Jean Bickmore White points out, women's votes would "purify politics and reform the world" (296) Indeed, Iversen asserts Mormon women embraced the "ideology of Victorian domesticity" which elevated "woman's status within the ideal Victorian home, without challenging patriarchal authority" (168). By choosing thought-provoking essays with a variety of viewpoints and including her own insightful analysis, Madsen succeeds in her goal to raise "questions among women that are still reverberating" (25) Furthermore, her inclusion of a refreshing firsthand account, the diary entries of Ruth May Fox for 1895, edited by Linda Thatcher, gives the reader an opportunity to apply the aforesaid theories to one woman in the thick of the battle Juggling pressing "home duties," Fox worked tirelessly for woman suffrage when it became the most bitterly dis-

puted issue at the Utah state constitutional convention Was she a pawn, an activist in her own behalf, a good steward, a political idealist, or the ideal

Victorian? Read this book and decide for yourself!

EDWINAJo SNOW Honolulu, Hawaii

Worth Their Salt: Notable but Often Unnoted Women of Utah. Edited by COLLEEN WHITLEY. (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1996. Cloth, $37.95; paper, $19.95.)

Recently, in the year of the Mormon wagon trains, a very curious thing happened less than a mile from the Salt Lake Temple Recessed inside a deep knothole high up in a very ancient tree, the shadowy figure of a weeping Virgin Mary appeared. Hearing of the apparition, my daughter and I decided to check out what has become a sacred shrine for many Hispanic immigrants now living in the fair state of Utah We found the tree surrounded with candles, flowers, and some rosaries My daughter bravely climbed the ladder to peer into the large, hollow knothole. Tacked alongside the figure were pictures of Mary which enhanced the resemblance of the silhouette in the tree. While we respectfully watched, whole families piled from vans to join previous worshipers praying and chanting in front of the curious edifice We were duly impressed and excited and agreed proudly, "Utah is not a one-note state."

I had much the same feeling of awe after reading through this collection of untold stories of unique and talented Utah women What a variety of lives and cultures are represented within these pages! We meet a nun, a worldfamous actress, politicians, and a Paristrained artist. We are also exposed to the problems of members of minority ethnic groups such as an Apache-born Indian called "Chipeta";Jane Manning James, a black Mormon pioneer; Keniko Muramatsu Terasawa, a modest Japanese bride who became a significant publishing voice for first- and second-generation Japanese immigrants;

and Esther Rosenblatt Landa, an esteemed Jewish leader who admitted that growing up in Salt Lake City did not adequately prepare her for the horror of the Holocaust of World War II. When Esther realized the extent of the persecution, she became one of the most powerful voices in America for peace and for a Jewish homeland in Israel

Best of all were the stories of Utah midwives: pioneer Patty Bartlett Sessions and Georgia Lathourgis Mageras, the latter working tirelessly to save the babies of frightened immigrant women whose husbands worked in the coal and copper mines These medical wonders with their magic touch were surely the forerunners of the wonderful women doctors who recently managed to deliver septuplets and keep them all alive

Many of the essays were published in some form at an earlier time, and it is incredible to see them all come together in such an accessible and attractive format. Most were written by a professional writer or historian. As a longtime consultant of the Family History Library trained to work with primary US, Canadian, and LDS materials, I was impressed with the careful documentation by the individual authors

Each story is complete and stands on its own. It is impossible to select a favorite, for each subject is different, which of course was the goal of the collection Definitely, all of the women affected Utah life in a major way

Of the artists and writers, it would

be nice to see samples of their paintings or prose.

This is a fun book to include on one's personal library shelf to continuously enjoy and acknowledge the heroic Utah women I must add a warning, however; do not read it all in one sitting. I did, and I soon realized I had my ladies mentally mixed up, with

(for example) club woman Eliza Kirley Royle living in Elizabeth McCune's mansion with a Mary Teasdale painting hung above the fireplace. Nevertheless, I have already read the book twice and eagerly look forward to a sequel

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, remains one of America's most spectacular scenic areas However, David E Jackson, whose name graces several places near the Tetons, remains virtually unknown Vivian Talbot's book strives to bring greater recognition to a man she contends represents "the enterprising spirit that brought the lands of the far western frontier" into the United States (p. 10).

Jackson joined William Ashley on his historic quest for fur-trade profits in the Rocky Mountains during the early 1820s While Ashley grew wealthy, men such as Jackson, Jedediah Smith, and William Sublette made names for themselves as mountain men. After Smith, Jackson, and Sublette bought Ashley out, Jackson emerged as an important partner and field captain, consistently keeping the company fiscally sound with his trapping skills Ancillary experiences to the trade, such as exploration, contact with Indians, and the romance associated with their wilderness sojourn helped create the enduring image of these men as heroic leaders of Manifest Destiny. They symbolized the rugged individualism once thought so crucial to nineteenth-century expansion

Within this context, Talbot explores Jackson's early years, his experience as a fur trade partner, and his subsequent

life as a failed entrepreneur. She posits that the man for whom one of America's most popular vacation areas was named "has remained the most enigmatic of all the prominent members" of the Rocky Mountain fur trade (p 9) Furthermore, she insists that his exploits have received scant scholarly attention because insufficient documentation "has given the false impression that he was less heroic than his colleagues and companions" (p. 10). She endeavors to place Jackson in his proper place within the pageant of American history

This volume represents an expanded version of the author's master's thesis. Talbot deserves credit for her exhaustive efforts to trace and document the mysterious life of Jackson. However, her perspective appears rooted in an earlier historiographical era Decades ago, historians began to move beyond examining American history through the lens of Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis which viewed trappers as the vanguard in the process of intrepid European Americans subduing the virgin wilderness to establish the country's borders and character. In addition, current historians generally attempt to use neutral terms to portray minorities Talbot describes Jackson's death in this manner: " David Edward Jackson died in the company

LYNN WATKINS JORGENSEN Sandy, Utah

David E. Jackson: Field Captain of the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade. By VIVIAN LINFORD TALBOT (Jackson, Wyo.:Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, 1996 138 pp Paper, $5.95.)

of a faithful Negro slave in a rented room ... " (p. 13). Many will find the characterization "faithful Negro" troubling

This book suffers from other problems. Talbot succumbs to the temptation to champion her subject uncritically As a result of the uneven documentation of Jackson's life, her narrative is full of speculation concerning his whereabouts, experiences, and

achievements. She relies too heavily on the biased family history, Keeping the Lamp of Remembrance Lighted, by Elmer Jackson Finally, in light of the fact that in 1993John C.Jackson published a 241-page biography of David Jackson, Shadow on the Tetons, one must ask if this figure warranted another volume.

JOHN W HEATON Arizona State University

Overland: The California Emigrant Trail of 1841-1870. By GREG MACGREGOR (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996 xvi +168 pp Cloth, $75.00; paper, $37.50.)

The purpose of this large (11- by 9inch) book is to publish a series of eighty-three black-and-white photos taken by the photographer/author during the previous fifteen years of his career. The decision to use black-andwhite photos is fortunate for admirers of "pure" photographic documentation Colors along the California Trail are sometimes subtle to bleak The landscape images in this book are breathtakingly beautiful due to the combination of expert photography and emotionally charged scenery The images are enhanced by contemporary diary excerpts, adding to the pathos of Mr MacGregor's photography He composes his photos in a way that is reminiscent of Diane Aubus's photography of human subjects in the 1950s and '60s—that is to say, with warts and all

MacGregor says he started wondering about the road through Nevada while driving east from California, then he grew curious as to why and how this road came to be in such inhospitable country. His opinion improved with knowledge acquired from people like Tom Hunt of the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) OCTA is an organization dedicated to emigrant trail preservation, a field not often

studied by academic history writers Trail buffs, or "rut nuts," as some of them like to say when declaring their passion for trails, are more inclined to be found on the trail or looking for it in an old beat-up vehicle, dirty in appearance and usually, but not always, four-wheel drive These people do not mind driving for days on unpaved roads or roadless ground in search of a rut or a final resting place of the first or last wagon train.

The book also has five maps to help readers keep track of where we are as we turn each page In a way, the book title, with its inclusive dates, makes the maps a bit misleading. The 1841 California-bound party led by John Bidwell and John Bartleson traveled with a group headed for Oregon When the trail turned northwest and left the Bear River near Soda Springs in southeast Idaho, the Bidwell party, without a map or guide, continued down the Bear River to its mouth at the Great Salt Lake They then turned west to go around the north end of the lake and found spring water to sustain them along the south side of the Raft River Mountains and the east side of the Pilot Range. Their ignorance of paths through the land was mitigated by their good luck at finding water The map

shows none of the California Trail followed by the 1841 Bidwell party through what is today the state of Utah

No one else followed this trail to California again, but one might be led to believe from the map that the Bidwell trail went on through Idaho.

In 1846, Lansford W Hastings tried to establish a cutoff around the south end of the Great Salt Lake, but he instead laid a trap for the unwary Donner-Reed party of that year. Their struggle to cross the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert led to a greater struggle in the high Sierra of Nevada-California in late October, and many died from the early snow The so-

called Hastings Cutoff was used extensively, but more people favored the trail around the north end of the lake, sometimes called the Salt Lake Cutoff, established by Samuel Hensley in 1848. This route took travelers to the north side of the Raft River Mountains into Thousand Springs Valley and the headwaters of the Humbolt River

The book's value rests in the quality of the images An introduction by Walter Truett Anderson helps get us started on the trail in Missouri, but the photo images carry us on to California.

JAY HAYMOND Utah State Historical Society

A Rendezvous Reader: Tall, Tangled, and True Tales of the Mountain Men, 1805-1850.

Edited

JAMES

MAGUIRE,

Fact is often stranger than fiction, and when the two are intertwined by a skilled storyteller they can become the stuff of legend, folklore, and oftrepeated tales Perhaps no other group of westerners took greater pride in their yarn-spinning skill and their unashamed embellishment of facts than did the mountain men To be fully accepted into the fraternity you had to survive Indian fights, make do without provisions, be able to whip your weight in wild cats, and tell a tall tale so convincingly to the greenhorns that they not only believed you but repeated the story to the next crop of newcomers You had fully arrived when you were dubbed with OZ'prefacing your name or mountain moniker This usually had nothing to do with age but rather seasoning in mountain lore and story-telling ability. Not that mountain men ever out-and-out lied; that would be hypocrisy, which all true mountain men hated But with dozens of tall tales circulating around the mountains, some true, some based on truth and

greatly embellished with each telling, and some tall tales—the feats of strength, fights with Indians, wild animal encounters, and unexplained phenomena—these stories of the mountain men provide plenty of source material a century and a half later for editors Maguire, Wild, and Barclay

Where possible the stories were taken directly from journals, newspapers, and other primary sources These stories capture the romance and hardship of the era The book is divided into twelve sections, including Famous Trappers, Indians, Critics of the Fur Trade, Animals, and Farewell to the Mountain Man Life. The stories are carefully chosen to educate and enlighten readers on mountain man lifestyle, relationships, craft, hardships, humor, and prowess

Skillfully added prose of explanation, interpretation, and editorial comment preface each section and story to assist the reader in placing a context. The stories themselves transport the

by

H.

PETER WILD, and DONALD BARCLAY. (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1997 xvi + 348 pp Cloth, $59.95; paper, $19.95.)

reader to greater understanding than what a mere discerning of the academic history of the era could ever disclose; they impart color, humor, and rustic homily of this highly romanticized era. In the editors' words lies perhaps the best summation: "We have created a book that is neither a history nor a treatise on the fur trade Rather,

it is a celebration of facts and fantasies so tightly interwoven that even the most dedicated scholars of the mountain man can't always distinguish the two."

When most people think of prospectors or Nevada, two stereotypes come to mind First, the prospector is a small, bent, gray-haired man trudging over the mountains with a burro Second, Nevada is an undesirable and uninhabitable desert wasteland In A Mine of Her Own, Sally Zanjani skillfully refutes both myths. Through an entertaining narrative, she shows that women have supported themselves in mining for over 150 years. Many of these women also chose to live in Nevada at least part of the time because they enjoyed the solitude and the area's rough beauty These facts may seem startling, because few academics have acknowledged women's contributions to mining until now. Also, until twenty-five years ago, few colleges or universities offered courses in women's history, and litde was published on this topic.

While most nineteenth-century American women focused their lives around their family or the men in their lives, some refused to follow convention. One of the atypical paths women followed was prospecting. Even though some ladies cooked, kept house, mended , and nursed the sick, they also scoured the hillsides and streambeds looking for minerals Once the "ledge" or "float" was identified, like their male counterparts, they set everything else aside and used all the tools of the trade to collect the ores. It has been said that most of these ladies could swing a pick

JOHN D BARTON Utah State University Uintah Basin Branch

Campus

and muck out a mine with the best of them. To date, Zanjani has traced the lives of seventy-seven women prospectors through records in California, Baja California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, Canada, and Mexico Sadly, she realizes there were probably scores of others who have fallen through the cracks, as no records exist to document their existence. Considering Brigham Young's attitude about mining gold or silver, it is also no surprise that few Utah women were miners before or after the turn of the century No true believer would risk her salvation looking for riches when her prophet advised his people to cultivate the land instead Thus, the few Utah women who became prospectors were generally non-Mormons

Through fascinating stories of women such asJosie Earp, Wyatt's wife, Zanjani illustrates that many of the women prospectors met a certain profile. Few had children, and those that did boarded them out, put them in orphanages, took them into the field— ignoring the need for an education—or moved to small towns where a school was available A surprising number were widowed or divorced; an unusual number were older women, and many who married more than once picked men who were much younger Many of the women also became excellent marksmen to protect themselves and their

A Mine of Her Own: Women Prospectors in the American West, 1850-1950. By SALLY ZANJANI (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997 xii + 375 pp $32.50.)

claims, but a few, such as Nellie Cashmen, had such a rapport with their male peers that guns were unnecessary Nellie also earned the reputation of an angel in every camp she worked for her numerous good deeds and efforts to help others. One man even defended her honor as a cook and threatened to kill a miner who complained about the food she had served him.

Manywomen prospectors were single, but a good number were married or worked with male partners By contrast, few women worked with other women Ironically, two of Utah's lady prospectors were picnicking and working together when they found silver in Bingham Canyon in 1863. Both were wives of General Connor's soldiers who were then stationed at Ft. Douglas. Some have downplayed their accomplishment, claiming it was accidental, but California records show that at least one of the women was an experienced prospector After Mrs Reid's and Mrs Burlingam's success, a group of nine military wives surveyed another part of Bingham Canyon and recorded the Women's Lode in May 1864. Following these strikes and others in nearby canyons, it was just a matter of time before Utah had a gold and silver rush Thousands flocked to Utah, and soon claims were recorded in many of the Wasatch and Oquirrh canyons in Salt Lake, Tooele, and Summit counties Eventually, claims would also be staked in other canyons in central and southern Utah.

Some of the women, likeJosie Pearl and Anna Rechel, were as honest as the daywas long and could be trusted implicitly. They may have exaggerated about their claims, but theywere loved because they were kind, generous souls. Others, like Mary Grantz and Dr Frances Williams, were criticized for promoting claims or towns that did not exist They also took money from family members and then spent it on themselves

Before becoming prospectors, some women had worked in mining camps

as actresses or saloon girls or served as cooks and boardinghouse managers, but none were domestics or housewives. A few professional women also joined the ranks, as at least one was a teacher, another a doctor, and one was a newspaper editor Others such as Anna Rechel may have had little education, but were well-informed Anna called the governor of Nevada more than once to offer her unsolicited opinion on the state's problems. She could also hold her own in any debate on current events. Without city life's distractions, she read a lot and listened to the radio when it became available

Where fortunes were concerned, most made little money, but those who struck it rich did not try to become society figures like Molly Brown, Baby Doe Tabor, or Ellie Bowers Instead some gambled their riches away, went on drinking binges, or indulged in spending sprees like their male counterparts. A few, such as Mary Grantz and Dr. Frances Williams, spent part of their money investing in mines that did not pay Very few, such as Belle Butler, had the foresight to save for retirement Despite her thrift Belle was also known for her philanthropy and was called the "Mother of Nevada."

Despite its pure entertainment value, Ms. Zanjani's book would appeal to academics and history buffs alike. It has an extensive bibliography of oral interviews, magazine articles, and books to give it credibility While it would be nice if it had more annotated footnotes to provide the "rest of the story," the author has carefully documented her research Her style is also a plus; the story flows well and her vocabulary is impressive. In conclusion, this is an informative book about a litde-known group of fun, colorful women. I hope every Utah and American history teacher has access to it

JUDY DYKMAN Granite School District Salt Lake City, Utah

Book Notices

Alexander William Doniphan: Portrait of a Missouri Moderate. By ROGER D LAUNIUS. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1997. xiv + 316 pp. $37.50.)

Alexander William Doniphan emerged as a hero of the 1838 Mormon War for his refusal to carry out the orders of his commanding officer to execute Joseph Smith and for his assistance to the LDS church during the difficult days in Missouri At the outbreak of the Mexican War, he was elected commander of the First Missouri Mounted Volunteers. He led his men into Santa Fe as the vanguard and largest component of Stephen Watts Kearny's Army of the West. From Santa Fe the Missouri volunteers moved south to El Paso, across the Mexican border, and on to Chihuahua City, winning national fame for their commander Prize-winning biographer Roger Launius offers a highly readable account of Doniphan's life—one that he finds was built on the principles of loyalty, hard work, patriotism, and active charity.

to swallow Quinn, after all, has been researching the LDS leadership since he was a teenager, including fifteen years working in the then-unrestricted church archives, so he has acquired an impressive pile of data on church politics

In his study, Quinn focuses on the "dark side" of those politics in the postJoseph Smith era, covering topics as disparate as finances and familial relationships. Some chapters focus on single periods of time. In one, Quinn describes the struggle within the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles over Ezra Taft Benson's promotion of the John Birch Society, giving an inside look at a conflict that most church members saw only through veiled references in conference talks The chapter "Post-1844 Theology and a Culture of Violence" suggests that during the mid-1800s "blood atonement" was no mere theory.

With 220 pages of notes and five appendices, the book is indeed a weighty statement that power can be misused—even in the most saintly of causes

The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power. By D MICHAEL QUINN (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, 1997. xii + 928 pp. $44.95.)

Although Quinn says that his study on Mormon power politics "can be faith-promoting for believers," for most believers it will probably be a bitter pill

Native American Verbal Art: Texts and Contexts. By WILLIAM M. CLEMENTS (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1996. x + 252 pp. Cloth, $45.00; paper, $19.95.)

Since the 1600s European and EuroAmerican scholars have recorded the stories and speeches given by Native Americans What appears as a simple

task of transcribing what was said is in reality far more complex, depending on the situation, the participants' cultural background, their emotions and body language, and the skill of the translator. Many texts, supposedly representing the speech and manner of an Indian orator, actually say more about the beliefs of white society during a specific historical period Clements, in scholarly fashion, reviews some of the main participants who have provided Native American texts to the public Included in the list are Jesuit priests, Henry Timberlake, Henry Schoolcraft, Natalie Curtis, and producers of contemporary anthologies. The author believes that only a few people have really succeeded in providing sufficient context for an accurate rendering of this oral literature The book is recommended for academicians and specialists in Native American studies.

past. . . . To marginalize the religious aspect of western history is to overlook an essential component of human experience" (vii)

The eight chapters that follow a brief introduction do a fine job of bringing the religious elements of modern New Mexico into focus and serving as a model for similar studies in other states. LeonardJ. Arrington is the author of the chapter on Mormons in twentieth-century New Mexico Other chapters deal with Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, the religious culture of the Jews, competition for Native American converts, and the evolution of alternative spiritual communities. A concluding chapter places the New Mexico experience within a national context Japanese Americans in Utah. Edited by TED NAGATA. ([Salt Lake City]: JA Centennial Committee, 1996 viii + 201 pp.)

Religion in Modern New Mexico. Edited by FERENC

M SZAZ

and RICHARD

W ETULAIN

(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1997 x + 217 pp. Cloth $60.00; paper, $19.95.)

A diversity of experiences characterizes religion in twentieth-century New Mexico Centuries old Native American ceremonies and sacred mountains contrast with "televangelists" and arena-like mega-churches. Although historians cannot be accused of overlooking religion in explaining Utah's development, editors Szaz and Etulain find that for much of the West there has been a conspicuous lack of interest in religion. "A cadre of 'New Western Historians'" they note, "has focused on 'race, class, and gender' as the chief means of unlocking the secrets of the

This engaging history gets off to a fine start with an article on the first Japanese in Utah—the Iwakura Delegation of 1872—by Dean Collinwood, Ryoichi Yamamoto, and Kazue Haag, and it maintains that same standard of excellence to the last page Alice Kasai, Raymond Uno, Sandra Taylor, Ted Nagata, and many others have also lent their talents in researching and writing the fifty or more articles and features that adorn this work. The reader will be well rewarded with a new appreciation for the wide range ofJapanese American activity and achievement in Utah

The book is an attractive object to behold. It is beautifully designed, nicely printed, and generously illustrated with over 500 interesting and well-captioned photographs

UTA H STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Department of Community and Economic Development Division of State History

BOAR D O F STATE HISTORY

PETER L. GOSS, Salt Lake City, 1999 Chair

CAROL CORNWALL MADSEN, Salt Lake City, 2001 Vice-Chair

MAXJ EVANS, Salt Lake City Secretary

MARILYN CONOVER BARKER, Salt Lake City, 1999

MICHAEL W HOMER, Salt Lake City, 2001

LORI HUNSAKER, Brigham City, 2001

KIM A. HYATT, Bountiful, 2001

JOEL C. JANETSKI, Provo, 2001

CHRISTIE SMITH NEEDHAM, Logan, 2001

RICHARD W. SADLER, Ogden, 1999 PENNYSAMPINOS, Price, 1999

PAUL D WILLIAMS, Salt Lake City, 1999

ADMINISTRATION

MAXJ . 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 Utah and related history. Today, under state sponsorship, the Society fulfills its obligations by publishing the Utah Historical Quarterly and other 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 its responsibility of preserving the record of Utah's past

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