Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 68, Number 1, 2000

UTA H HISTORICA L QUARTERL Y (ISSN

0042-143X)

EDITORIA L STAF F

MAXJ EVANS, Editor

STANFORDJ LAYTON, Managing Editor

KRISTEN SMARTROGERS, Associate Editor

ALLANKENTPOWELL, Book Review Editor

ADVISOR Y BOAR D O F EDITOR S

AUDREY M.GODFREY,Logan, 2000

LEEANN KREUTZER.Torrey, 2000

ROBERT S MCPHERSON,Branding, 2001

MIRIAM B MURPHY,Murray, 2000

ANTONETTE CHAMBERSNOBLE,Cora.WY, 2002

RICHARD C.ROBERTS,Ogden 2001

JANETBURTON SEEGMILLER, Cedar City, 2002

GARYTOPPING, Salt Lake City, 2002

RICHARD SVANWAGONER, Lehi, 2001

Utah Historical Quarterly was established in 1928 to publish articles, documents, and reviews contributing to knowledge of Utah history.The Quarterly is published four times ayear by the Utah State Historical Society,300 Rio Grande,Salt Lake City, Utah 84101.Phone (801) 533-3500 for membership and publications information. Members of the Society receive the Quarterly, Beehive History, Utah Preservation, and the bimonthly newsletter upon payment of the annual dues:individual,$20;institution, $20; student and senior citizen (age sixty-five or older), $15; contributing, $25; sustaining, $35; patron, $50;business, $100.

Manuscripts submitted for publication shouldbe double-spaced with endnotes.Authors areencouraged to include aPC diskette with the submission For additional information on requirements,contact the managing editor.Articles and book reviews represent the views ofthe authors and are not necessarily those of the Utah State Historical Society

Periodicals postage is paid at Salt Lake City, Utah

POSTMASTER: Send address change to Utah Historical Quarterly, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City,Utah 84101.

2 IN THIS ISSUE

4 The Gardo House: A History o f the Mansion and Its Occupants By Sandra Dawn

Brimhall and Mark D. Curtis

38 Seeps, Springs, and Bogs: The Changing Historic Landscape o f Smithfield By Robert Parson

55 "Another Goo d Man": Anthony W. Ivins and the Defeat o f Reed Smoo t By Kristen Smart Rogers

76 BOO K REVIEWS

M Guy Bishop Henry William Bigler: Soldier, Gold Miner, Missionary, Chronicler, 1815-1900.

Reviewed by Jessie L Embry

JohnAlton Peterson Utah's Black Hawk War.

Reviewed by Edward A. Geary

P.T Reilly Lee's Ferry: From Mormon Crossing to National Park.

Reviewed by W. L. Rusho

GeneA Sessions,ed Mormon Democrat: The Religious and Political Memoirs ofJames Henry Moyle.

Reviewed by F Alan Coomb s

CraigDenton People of the West Desert: Finding Common Ground.

Reviewed by Dennis R. Defa

Glenda Riley Women and Nature: Saving the "Wild" West.

Reviewed by Patricia Ann Owens

William C Davis The American Frontier: Pioneers, Settlers, and Cowboys, 1800-1899.

Reviewed by Michael W. Johnson

90 BOO K NOTICES

96 LETTERS

ON THE COVER: The Philip Dern Company painting the Gardo House, May 14, 1908. SHIPLER PHOTO, USHS COLLECTIONS

"What man has made, man can change."

FredVinson, speaking in 1945 about war

Humans have a propensity for changing both things that they have made and things that they have not made And although everyone knows that "nothing endures but change"—Heraclitus said this some 2,500 years ago—it is not hyperbole to say that the pace of both kinds of change has accelerated beyond comprehension.

Consider the evolution of the Salt LakeValley landscape Before human habitation, it moved slowly through geologic and climatic modulation (with occasional severe "bumps," to be sure).When human cultures began to locate in the valley, perhaps 10,000 years ago, their modifying influence was slight For centuries, their crossings and dwellings were only small scratches on the land

Of course, the slow rate of change changed with the arrival of Euro-American settlers The southwest corner of State Street and South Temple is a slice of time and space that poignantly shows how quickly the city rushed through social, cultural, and physical modulations. Our first article describes the brief lifetime of a

building that once stood on the site In the mere forty years the Gardo House existed, the city evolved from a rural community to a fast-paced commercial center In the end, the Gardo, like so many other extraordinary buildings, could not withstand market pressures.

Human manipulation of the land takes many forms When the first pioneers in Cache Valley dug the first irrigation ditches, for instance, they altered the flows of underground water As our next article shows, when a subsequent generation decided to pipe the irrigation water, they shifted the system again, drying up lovely springs and wetlands How little we humans comprehend the larger consequences of our decisions to change one or two things.

Not only landscapes but also social patterns change, and at an increasing rate Our final article describes the senatorial election of 1932,when economic depression had slammed into peoples lives.And yet, Reed Smoot, the powerful senior senator from Utah, did not recognize that the political and social landscape had undergone upheaval. Failing to adapt to or address the calamity that had engulfed the nation, he suffered the consequences on election day

To record the process of change and its meanings is an enormous challenge. But by seeking to understand the larger environment in which change occurs, perhaps those who pay attention to history can help ground the process of change. They may be the ones to ask"why?"They may be the ones to offer a long-term perspective or to question consequences.

That said,we acknowledge that we ourselves have changed a landscape—that of the Quarterly itself.The journal has gone through some interesting design permutations over its sixty-seven years, but we have not pursued change for the sake of change The masthead we have replaced, created in 1969,seemed to evoke a specific time in history.Yet the Quarterly is notjust about the "oldWest,"nor is it a medium for pigeonholing any part of history Our endeavor is to search beyond stereotypes for new understandings of the past—and then to explore and re-evaluate those understandings The new masthead is only a design, but we hope that it will contribute a better sense of that endeavor.

In the spirit of the search for understanding, we invite you to walk through the lobby of the Eagle Gate Plaza, where the Gardo House once stood; or along the roads west of Smithfield; or through your own neighborhood Stand for a moment Think of what has gone before, and what will come after. Contemplate change.

Th e Gardo House: A History o f the Mansion and Its Occupants

By SANDRA DAWN BRIMHALL and MARK D CURTIS

ON NOVEMBE R 26, 1921, a crowd gathered at 70 E South Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City to watch the demolition of a Victorian mansion. One onlooker was ninety-year-old John Brown. In spite of the November chill and the fact that it was his birthday, Brown had come to pay his last respects to the doomed building; he had been the construction foreman for the house when it was built almost fifty years before. But even for those Utahns without personal ties, the place was special The building being demolished was the Gardo House.1

ABOVE: The Red Cross moved into the Gardo House in 1917. At the opening reception, Governor Spry delivered a speech from the front porch.

Sandra Dawn Brimhall is a writer living in Salt Lake City. Mark D. Curtis is an architect licensed in Utah and California. He resides in Sacramento, California. Photo captions were written byAlan Barnett, coordinator of the Utah History Information Center All photos are from USHS collections Deseret News, November 28,1921.

The Gardo House, also known as Amelia's Palace, has been an object of great curiosity and controversy. At one time the mansion was heralded as one of the finest homes between Chicago and the West Coast. But, no less than its unusual architecture and legendary interior, the people associated with it have been an integral part of the home's distinctive reputation

The home had its beginning when, during the last years of his life, Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (LDS or Mormo n church) perceived a need for a place where he could receive official callers and entertain the dignitaries wh o traveled great distances to see him He selected a lot on the corner directly south of his Beehive House and began construction in 1873. The Mormon prophet was fond of naming his homes, and one source claims that he borrowed the name Gardo from a favorite Spanish novel.2

William H. Folsom, one of the designers of the Gardo House, was the father of Amelia Folsom Young, for whom the house was nicknamed "Amelia's Palace."

Joseph Ridges, designer and builder of the tabernacle organ on Temple Square, and William Harrison Folsom, Young's father-inlaw, worked together to draw the plans and superintend the construction. Folsom, who had been LDS Church Architect from 1861 to 1867, had played a vital role in the design and construction of the Salt Lake Theatre, Salt Lake Tabernacle, St. George Tabernacle, Salt Lake Temple, Manti Temple, St George Temple, and many private residences.3

There were widespread rumors that the Gardo House was being built for Folsom's daughter, Harriet Amelia Folsom Young, who was allegedly Brigham Young's favorite wife It was indeed Young's intent that Amelia would serve there as his official hostess. According to his daughter Susa Young Gates, family members agreed that Amelia, who was young, childless, refined, and talented, was the ideal wife to assume such large social responsibilities.4

Amelia had first become acquainted with President Young on October 3,

2 SusaYoung Gates,"The Gardo House," Improvement Era 20 (1917): 1099-1103;Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter JH), September 2, 1873 (microfilm, LDS Church Historical Department, Salt Lake City); ClarissaYoung Spencer and Mabel Harmer, Brigham Young at Home (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1972), 219-21 Other accounts say that the house was called "Gardo" because it seemed to stand "guard" over the city The Beehive House was a residence forYoung's wives,as was the adjacent Lion House.

3 Paul Anderson, "William Harrison Folsom: Pioneer Architect," Utah Historical Quarterly 43 (1975): 241, 247, 251; Gates, "The Gardo House," 1099-1103; Nina Folsom Moss, A History of William Harrison Folsom (privately published biography, 1973),37-44, copy in authors' possession.

4 SusaYoung Gates, The Life Story of Brigham Young (NewYork:Macmillan Company, 1930),350-53.

1860, when he welcomed the Folsoms' wagon company to Salt Lake City. Tall and graceful, with blue eyes and light brown hair, Amelia was intelligent and charming She was also an accomplished pianist and vocalist. Young began courting her almost immediately; they married on January 24, 1863.3

Progress on the mansion was slow There obtaining the necessary lumber, plaster, granite

Brigham Young and his wife Amelia Folsom Young in what is probably a composite photo. Gossip about this "favorite wife" has fueled popular interest in the Gardo House.

were numerous delays in and glass.6 President Young,

5 See Eugene Traughber,"The Prophet's Courtship: PresidentYoung's FavoriteWife,Amelia,Talks," Salt Lake Tribune, March 11, 1894,typescript copy,MSA-578,Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City

Most of the gossip concerning Amelia appears to have originated with Ann Eliza Webb Young, who divorced Brigham Young in 1876 Ann Eliza claimed that Amelia demanded to be "first wife," insisted on her own home, and was pampered, ill-tempered, and despised; see Leonard J Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses (NewYork:Alfred Knopf, 1985),421

At Amelia's funeral, Brigham's son Richard W.Young said, "She [Amelia] came into the family of President Brigham Young when he was nearly 60 years of age while she was young and attractive, but blessed with a mental grasp of the problems of the day PresidentYoung's health was enfeebled on account of an onerous life and he needed great care Aunt Amelia was a natural nurse and performed the duties expected of her in a most praiseworthy manner... From these incidents came the report that Amelia was President Young's most favored wife He however was an absolutely just man... As the years grew on, however, the family learned to love Aunt Amelia She was sojust, so fair that I can truthfully say that she had the love of every member of the family."

Heber J Grant, who was also a speaker at the funeral, echoed these sentiments He said,"I believe no higher tribute could be paid Sister Amelia than the fact that President Brigham Young's wives loved his young wife." Deseret Evening News, December 15,1910

In the Traughber interview, Amelia was quoted as saying, "I can't say he [Brigham Young] had any favorites," but privately she told friends she believed that Emmeline FreeYoung wasYoung's favorite wife; see California Inter-Mountain News, August 9,1949.

6 George Reynolds, Salt Lake City, June 6, 1876, to Brigham Young, Letter Books, Brigham Young Papers,LDS Church Archives,Salt Lake City, Utah

who was often away on church business, was seldom available to sign requisitions or make important decisions However, on one occasion, after returning to Salt Lake City from a visit to St George, he expressed displeasure with the style of the home, calling it his "tabernacle organ."7

After three years of construction, the Gardo House was nearing completion when an unfortunate accident occurred near Arsenal Hill (now Capitol Hill), a repository for gunpowder and explosives On April 5, 1876, two young hunters fired their guns into one of the powder magazines. The resulting explosion showered the city with 500 tons of boulders, concrete, and pebbles. Many persons were injured; some, including the hunters, were killed.8 The explosion also broke several of the glass windows in the Gardo House, and new glass had to be ordered from the East By May 20 the windows were reinstalled and construction had resumed.9

Brigham Young never lived to see the completed mansion; he died on August 29, 1877 The settlement of Young's estate was divided into three parts: church properties in Young's name, properties belonging to his private estate, and properties where legal ownership was unknown. In his will, Young had provided both Mary Ann Angell Young and Harriet Amelia Folsom Young a life tenancy in the Gardo House, and in order to secure their claims, the two women occupied the mansion briefly while it was still under construction. Although the legal ownership of the mansion was in question, the settlement credited it to Young's heirs instead of to the church, at the highly inflated figure of $120,000 Of this sum, approximately $20,000 was paid to Mary Ann Angell Young and Harriet Amelia Folsom Young.10

John Taylor succeeded Young as church president. His counselor George Q. Cannon and other church leaders suggested that Taylor occupy the Gardo House after its completion, but he repeatedly refused However, when church members unanimously voted on April 9, 1879, to make the Gardo House the official parsonage for LDS church presidents, President Taylor reluctantly accepted their decision."

Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, and Angus M. Cannon were appointed as a committee to oversee completion of the mansion.12 The finished

7 Joseph Heinerman,"Amelia's Palace," Montana:The Magazine of Western History 29 (1979): 54-63

8 Melvin L Bashore, "The 1876 Arsenal Hill Explosion," Utah Historical Quarterly 52 (1984): 247-49; Salt Lake Herald, April 6, 1876

' George Reynolds, Salt Lake City, May 20, 1876, to Brigham Young, Letter Books, Brigham Young Papers.

10 Leonard J. Arrington, "The Settlement of Brigham Young's Estate, 1877-1879," in Pacific Historical Review 21(1952): 11-13 According to Arrington, it was discovered during probate of the estate thatYoung owed one million dollars to the church One of the credits the church granted the estate against this indebtedness was a $120,000 credit for the Gardo House Interview by Sandra Dawn Brimhall with Dr Dee L Folsom, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 23, 1990; notes in Ms Brimhall's possession Harriet Amelia FolsomYoung resided the rest of her life at a house at PWest and SouthTemple She never remarried She is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery

" Brigham H. Roberts, The Life ofJohn Taylor: Third President of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: George Q Cannon & Sons Co., 1892),331

12 JH, December 27,1881

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

View of the Gardo House from the northeast in the 1870s, while it was still under construction. Note the scaffolding on the tower and the empty window openings awaiting the installation of window sashes. The picket fence seen here was later replaced with wrought iron.

home had four levels, including the basement, with a tower on the northwest corner. The foundation and basement were made of granite. The exterior walls were of 2 x 6 studs infilled with adobe bricks, with lath and plaster on the inside and two layers of lath and stucco on the outside. The interior woodwork, which included a spiral staircase, paneling, and decorative trim, was carved in black walnut by local artists Elegant furnishings, paintings by local artists, and mirrors imported from Europe graced all the rooms."

O n December 27, 1881, the Deseret News published a letter from John Taylor announcing a public reception and tour of the Gardo House on January 2, 1882, from 11 a.m until 3 p.m More than two thousand people attended the reception and toured the home President Taylor greeted all the visitors, who were entertained by two bands and several renditions by the Tabernacle Choir. A year later, on February 22, 1883, the mansion was dedicated as a "House unto the Lord" in a dedicatory prayer offered by Apostle Franklin D Richards.14

John Taylor's move to the Gardo House was regarded by Mormons as the fulfillment of a prophecy. Legend had it that some years before, when Taylor's financial circumstances had been the poorest, Heber C. Kimball

,3Levi Edgar Young, "Historic Buildings of Salt Lake City," Young Women's Journal 6 (1922): 309-11 Several writers estimated that the church expended between $30,000 and $50,000 to finish the building and furnish its interior Wilford Woodruff estimated the cost at $15,000; see Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff's Journal, 1833-1898, 9 vols (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1989),January 2, 1882, entry Salt LakeTribune, February 3, 1957.JH, September 2,1873, gives the dimensions of the house.The Tribune article claims that Ralph Ramsey, a famous Utah woodcarver, did some of the woodwork in the Gardo Ramsey had done woodwork in the Beehive House and Lion House and had carved the eagle on Eagle Gate However, he moved from Salt Lake City to Richfield in 1874, which may have precluded him from working on the Gardo House In addition, it has been noted that the style of the woodwork in the Gardo was dissimilar to that of Ramsey's work 14 JH,January 3, 1882 MosesThatcher,William Jennings,Angus M Cannon, and their wives were particularly noted as being among the guests.Also noted were Joseph F.Smith, Franklin D. Richards, Francis M Lyman,John H Smith, and Daniel H.Wells Matthias F Cowley, ed., Wilford Woodruff: History of His Life and Labors (Salt Lake City:Bookcraft, 1964),545.

had boldly prophesied that Taylor would someday live in the largest and finest mansion in Salt Lake City.15 But there were some Mormons and many non-Mormons who were not pleased with the reception or with Taylor's occupancy of the home. Rachel Emma Woolley Simmons recorded in her journal:

Brother John Taylor gives a reception in the Gardo House I have no fault to find with him for moving into that house, but I think it would have been more becoming if he had stayed in his own home. It was a great expense to furnish it in the style it had to be I don't believe he is enjoying it much. I heard that his wives were not pleased with the move."

The Salt Lake Daily Tribune 'was extremely critical of the affair and of the church in general. In an editorial published the day before the reception, the newspaper wrote, The favored saints have received an invitation to call upon President John Taylor at the Amelia Palace tomorrow We want the poor Mormons...to mark the carpets, mirrors, the curtains and the rest, and then to go home and look at the squalor of their own homes, their unkempt wives,their miserable children growing up in despair and ignorance, and then to reflect how much better it would have been for them, instead of working hard for wages.. if they had only started out as did Uncle John, determined to serve God for nothing but hash.

Although John Taylor was undoubtedly the most influential man in the territory, he was uncomfortable with the opulent image his occupancy of the Gardo House portrayed.

The Tribune went on to accuse the church of attempting "to build up an aristocracy in Utah, where the few are to rule in luxury, while the many, to support the luxury, are to toil and suffer."17

O n January 5, 1882, the Deseret News published a rebuttal to the Tribune's scathing editorial The newspaper pointed out Taylor had taken up his residence in the Gardo House in response to the vote of the Mormon people and that he, as church president, should

.be at least as well housed and cared for as prominent men in Church or State here or elsewhere... We are pleased to see that one of the veterans of the latter-day work, who has traveled from land to land and from sea to sea,who has suffered with the exiles and bled -with the martyrs, forsaken all things for the truth...is now surrounded with comfort, and has a place to lay his head and to receive his friends

Taylor himself also wrote a letter, published in the Deseret News, express-

15 Roberts, Life ofJohn Taylor, 331

16 Kate B.Carter,ed.,"Journal ofRachel EmmaWoolley Simmons,"in Heart Throbs of the West, 12vols. (SaltLakeCity:Daughters ofUtah Pioneers,1939-51),11:179

" Salt Lake Daily Tribune, January 1,1882.

ing his feelings about the situation. He reminded critics of his initial reluctance to move to the Gardo House and his concern that his occupancy of the mansion would place an intolerable barrier between him and church members. Taylor acknowledged that his family had also been opposed to the move, preferring their own homes and familiar surroundings. He explained he had eventually been persuaded that

Zion should become the praise of the whole earth, and that we in this land should take a prominent and leading part in the arts, sciences, architecture, literature, and in everything that would tend to...exalt and ennoble Zion [It is the president's duty] to take the lead in everything that is calculated to...place Zion where she ought to be,first and foremost among the peoples.18

Both newspapers were correct in implying that the issue of the Gardo House was much broader than the mere occupation of the mansion by a Mormon leader. To Mormons, who had celebrated their church's jubilee in April 1880, the house was a symbol of achievement It was tangible proof that the persecutions and hardships they had endured over the past fifty years were not in vain.19 On the other hand, many non-Mormons viewed Taylor's installation in the home as a threat in the continuing struggle for economic and political supremacy.

In 1882 another important event intensified suspicions and ill feelings between Mormons and non-Mormons In March that year, Congress passed the Edmunds Act, which made polygamy a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $500 fine. It also disfranchised polygamists and declared them ineligible for jury duty or public office.20 In response, John Taylor held a meeting in the Gardo House with sixteen general authorities of the church to discuss the Edmunds law and its threat to their religious practices and to statehood. According to Wilford Woodruff, "President Taylor with the rest of us came to the conclusion that we could not swap off the Kingdom of God or any of its Laws or Principles for a state government."21

Despite these pressures, the polygamous Mormon leader endeavored to conduct church business as usual within the Gardo House. Every morning at 8:30 George Reynolds, secretary to the LDS First Presidency, reported for work at the mansion Reynolds recorded at least two important revelations that Taylor received in the Gardo House However, President Taylor eventually decided to make outward appearances conform as much as possible to the requirements of the anti-polygamy laws. He told his wives, ". .under the circumstances it will be better for me or for you to leave this

18 JH,January 5, 1882

" Deseret News,January 5, 1882

20 James B.Allen and Glen M Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976), 381; Roberts, The Life ofJohn Taylor, 331

2i Wilford Woodruff Journal, November 27, 1882, as cited in Heinerman, "Amelia's Palace." The Edmunds Act amended the Morrill Antibigamy Act of 1862,which had outlawed polygamy, disincorporated the church, and prohibited it from owning more than $50,000 worth of property not directly used for religious purposes

The front hallway, looking toward the doors of the entry vestibule. Note the fine leaded glass windows and elaborate black walnut staircase with its octagonal newel post. In reporting the demolition of the house in 1921, the Deseret News explained that these elements were to be salvaged from the house, but if they were saved, what became of them is unknown.

place; you can take your choice. " Taylor's wives opte d to retur n to their own homes, and his sister, Agnes Schwartz, became matron of the home.22

Mormons began to feel the teeth of the Edmunds Act when federal officers arrived in Utah to replace existing lawmen and enforce the new law. Federal marshals made raids on Mormo n households, searching for lawbreakers and witnesses

The Gardo House served as one meeting and hiding place for those fleeing from federal marshals. According to John Whitaker, son-in-law of John Taylor,

The Gardo House was a rendezvous where the brethren and sisters on the underground would often come in the night to meet their loved ones Samuel Sudbury, a mysterious man, was custodian of the Gardo House and was ever on the alert for the approach of marshals and deputies searching for polygamists It was the rule that the Gardo House was to be closed at 10 p.m without exception, and no stranger was permitted after that hour.23

22 Bruce A.Van Orden, The Life of George Reynolds: Prisonerfor Conscience' Sake (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 121-24 The first of these revelations was received on October 13, 1882 In it, George Teasdale andHeber J Grant were called to fill twovacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,and Seymour B.Young was asked to serve asoneofthe first seven presidents ofthe Seventies priesthood quorum The revelation also called for increased missionary work among thevarious Indian tribes in the West and for a general reformation among priesthood bearers and church members The second revelation, received in April 1883, reorganized the Seventies quorums throughout the church John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, reported by G. D.Watt (1886; reprint Salt Lake City: BrighamYoung University, 1967),26:15354; Roberts, The Life ofJohn Taylor, 485

23 Journal of John M Whitaker, May 21,1886, as cited in Heinerman, "Amelia's Palace." Joseph F Smith, who later became sixth president of the LDS church, met and courted one of his plural wives,

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Church leaders were considered prime catches by federal lawmen. Taylor's homes, the church offices, and the Gardo House were always under the surveillance of spies and deputy marshals As persecution mounted, President Taylor decided to go "underground"—into hiding. His last public appearance was in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on February 1, 1885.24 A few weeks later, on March 13, marshals made a massive raid on the Gardo House to capture Taylor The raid was unsuccessful, but other raids soon followed. Taylor's tough-minded sister, Agnes Schwartz, often held raiding marshals and deputies at bay at the front door of the mansion, admitting no one unless he presented papers properly signed by a federal judge.25

O n one occasion, deputies searched the house for Charles W Penrose, editor of the Deseret News, who was hiding under the name of Dr Williams. The deputies combed the house from top to bottom but could not find Penrose, who was concealed in a specially built closet on the top floor. At one point, the lawmen stood within a foot of him. Penrose later recalled, "I had such a cold and wanted to cough so badly I held my breath until I almost burst, and was thankful Mr. Frank Dyer, the U. S. Marshal, left so I could relieve myself coughing."25

O n November 1, 1886, John Taylor's family assembled in the Gardo House to celebrate his seventy-eighth birthday Taylor, who remained in hiding, dared not attend but sent a letter expressing love and concern for his wives and children. He deeply mourned that he was unable to comfort two of his wives, Jane and Sophia, who were dangerously ill Taylor closed his letter, "Some of you have written that you 'would like to have a peep at me.' I heartily reciprocate that feeling, and would like to have a 'peep' at you on this occasion, but in my bodily absence my spirit and peace shall be with you."27

Mary Schwartz, while hiding at

Joseph F Smith, April 26, 1984, Bountiful, Utah, copy in Mr Curtis's possession and in LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City.

24 Roberts, The Life ofJohn Taylor, 490; Heinerman,"Amelia's Palace."

25 JH, March 13,1885

26 Journal ofJohn M Whitaker, May 21, 1886 In hisjournal,Wilford Woodruff recorded the details of another raid, which he regarded as one of the most important events of his life On February 8, 1886, he and other apostles held a meeting in the church historian's office During the meeting, approximately twenty federal marshals surrounded the church historian's office and the Gardo House As Woodruff believed that he and Erastus Snow were the only two persons liable to be arrested, the two men locked themselves in a small bedroom They waited more than an hour while marshals made a thorough search of the Gardo House, Lion House, Beehive House, president's office, and tithing office. When the marshals turned their attention to the historian's office, Woodruff prayed to the Lord to direct him.When he finished his prayer, "Brother Jenson stept in to the Room with his glasses on I put my Glasses on I said to Brother Jenson I will walk with you across the street to the other Office We walked out die door to the gate together There was a Marshal [on] each side of the Gate & a Dozen more on each side of the side walk leading to the Gardo... And the Eyes of all the Marshals was Closed By the power of God... The saints knew me.The Marshals did not... I recognized No one nor paid attention to any one.The dangerous feature of the operation was the Eyes of all the Brethren in the Streets followed me from [the] time I left the Historians office untill I Entered the Presidets office.... When I shut the door of the Clerks office Behind me I felt to shout Glory Halluluhuh though I said Nothing ownly thank God." Erastus Snow also eluded the lawmen SeeWoodruff, Wilford Woodruff'sJournal, 8:376

27 Quoted in Roberts, The Life ofJohn Taylor, 392-400

the mansion; Mark Curtis interview with Edith Smith Patrick, daughter of

O n February 19, 1887, church leaders' worst fears were realized when Congress passed the Edmunds-Tucker Act. The new law dissolved the Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, abolished woman suffrage in the territory, disinherited children of plural marriages, took control of Utah's Mormon-dominated public schools, dissolved the Perpetual Emigrating Company, abolished the territorial militia, and confiscated virtually all church property. The crusade against polygamy took a heavy toll on the church and its followers. John Taylor died while still in hiding, in Kaysville, Utah, on July 25, 1887 On July 28 Wilford Woodruff and others went to the Gardo House to view Taylor's remains, which were lying in state at the mansion. The next morning at 6 a.m. the Taylor family assembled at the Gardo House to pay their last respects before his body was removed to the Tabernacle for the funeral.28

The day after the funeral, the United States District Attorney for Utah brought a lawsuit against the church to enforce the escheatment provisions of the Edmunds-Tucker Act. The court appointed Frank H. Dyer, United States Marshal, as receiver to hold and administer church property. Dyer seized the general tithing office, the Gardo House, the church historian's office, and other church properties such as buildings, farms, mines, livestock, and stock in various corporations. The Mormons were forced to pay the government high rental fees to retain the use of their property. Rent for the Gardo House was initially set at $75 per month but later skyrocketed to $450 per month.29

Wilford Woodruff succeeded John Taylor as fourth president of the church. He kept an office in the Gardo House, where he frequently held public and private gatherings and occasionally spent the night The new prophet spent part of each day at the Gardo House attending to correspondence, conducting interviews, and signing temple recommends. O n Thursdays and Saturdays the First Presidency and other church leaders held prayer meetings in the mansion. They also met regularly to discuss the completion of the Salt Lake Temple, the operation of Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI), the selection of delegates to Congress, and the ordination of new apostles.30

In August and September of 1890, Wilford Woodruff took a 2,400-mile journey to visit the principal Mormon settlements throughout Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. After returning home for a brief stay, he traveled to San Francisco, where he met with business and political lead-

28 Thomas G Alexander, Mormonism in Transition: A History of the Latter-day Saints, 1890-1930 (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1986), 3-ll;Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff's Journal, 8:449 Brian H Stuy, ed., Collected Discourses,Vol. 1 (1886-89) (Burbank, CA:B H S Publishing, 1987),39

25 B H Roberts, A Comprehensive History ofThe Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols (Orem, Utah: Sonos Publishing Inc., 1991), 6:194-96 Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff's Journal, 8:508; Leonard J Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1958),368;JH, November 17, 1921;Heinerman,"Amelia's Palace."

30 L.John Nuttall Diary, November 24, 1889,as cited in Heinerman, "Amelia's Palace."

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

LDS church president Wilford Woodruff and his counselors, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith. During Woodruff's administration he used the Gardo House as his office and paid the federal government rent to do so.

ers Isaac Trumbo , Judge Morril l Estee, Senator Leland Stanford, and Henry Biglow He returned to Salt Lake City convinced by what he had seen and heard that the very existence of the church was in jeopardy The government was threatening to confiscate church temples, halting all ordinances for the living and dead; to imprison the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles; and to confiscate the personal property of the saints. The beleaguered prophet arrived at the conclusion that he must act for the temporal salvation of the church by advising members not to enter into plural marriages. Woodruff sought and received divine confirmation of this decision on September 23, 1890. The next day, his counselors and the apostles sustained the revelation and drafted what would become known as the Manifesto.31

O n October 5, 1890, church leaders held a special meeting in the Gardo House to discuss a recent telegram sent from Washington, D. O , by territorial delegate John T Caine Caine had learned that the government would not accept the Manifesto unless all church members officially affirmed it. The next day, at general conference, Mormons unanimously voted in favor of the document. The Manifesto eased some of the tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons Church leaders were cautiously optimistic

11 Alexander, Mormonism in Transition, 3-11; Roberts, Comprehensive History, 6:218-19; Joseph Fielding Smith, The Life ofJoseph F. Smith: Sixth President of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1938), 297;Doctrine and Covenants of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989),291-92.

that the government would eventually return their confiscated property and reinstate their rights as citizens.32

Further meetings were held in the Gardo House to discuss local, state, and national politics as well as religion. In these meetings, church officials frequently debated whether Utahns should align themselves with the national Democratic and Republican parties.33 Previously, the political parties in Utah had been the Mormon People's party versus the non-Mormon Liberal party. Church leaders eventually came to the conclusion that the Mormons' political solidarity had been a factor in creating gentile opposition to the church.34 In May or June of 1891, a special political meeting was held in the Gardo House According to James Henry Moyle, who was present at the meeting,

We were there for some time, but little if anything was done until we were advised that George Q. Cannon, then on the underground, was to be present.We had not seen any member of the First Presidency of the Church for some time I can only remember the gist of what he said, but it was to this effect.. "Our people think they are Democrats, but they as a rule have not studied the difference between the two parties If they go into the Democratic Party the Gentiles will go into the Republican Party. .and we will have the same old fight over again under new names So,as many as possible of our people must go into the Republican Party."

Moyle told Cannon that he had always had a strong preference for the Democratic party; Cannon reassured him that he should feel free to follow his conscience. Church leaders later published a statement encouraging Mormons to join the national parties, and they sent elders to various stake conferences to instruct the people along the same lines.35

In November 1891 Bishop J. B. Winder gave notice to the federal receiver, Frank H. Dyer, that Wilford Woodruff would vacate the Gardo House by the first of December. From 1887 to 1891, the church had paid the government more than $28,000 in rental fees for the use of its own property During this time, church leaders had hoped the Gardo House would be judicially declared an official church parsonage, exempt from escheatment under the laws of the land. When no exemption materialized, Woodruff decided that he would rather move than continue to pay the $450 monthly rent Upon learning of the church's intent to leave the mansion, the receiver immediately advertised for a new tenant. In January 1892 the Gardo House was leased to the Keeley Institute for $200 per month, much less than the church had been forced to pay. 36

The Keeley Institute was an organization founded in 1880 by Leslie Enraught Keeley for the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. Keeley's

32 Abraham H Cannon Journal, October 5 and 7, 1890,as cited in Heinerman,"Amelia's Palace."

33 Heinerman, "Amelia's Palace."

34 Alexander, Mormonism in Transition, 3-11

35 James Henry Moyle, Mormon Democrat: The Religious and Political Memoirs, ed Gene Sessions ([Salt Lake City]:Historical Department of the Church ofjesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1975), 177-81

36 JH, November 13,1891; Deseret Evening News,January 4,1892.

cure was allegedly made from "double chloride of gold," but it was actually a composition of atropine, strychnine, arsenic, cinchona, and glycerine Patients at the institute, wh o were gradually weaned from their habits, received periodic injections and ingested a dram of the formula every two hours. They were also required to follow a regime of healthful diet, fresh air, exercise, and sleep However, Keeley's treatment attracted little attention until 1891, when the Chicago Tribune published a number of articles praising his work and launching a wave of popularity for the treatment Franchises using Keeley's name sprang up across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and England.37

Th e franchise that rented the Gardo House was the only Keeley Institute in Utah and was considered the "most thoroughly equipped institute in the West." Patrons were predominantly middle-class men, although "ladies" visiting the institute for treatment were assured of seclusion and privacy.38 The institute occupied the Gardo House for a little over one year.

In 1893 President Benjamin Harrison pardoned former polygamists and restored their civil rights A joint resolution of Congress restored the

37 Mark Edward Lender, The Dictionary of American Temperance (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1984), 270-72; Cheryl Krasnick Warsh, "Adventures in Maritime Quackery: The Leslie E. Keeley Gold Cure Institute of Fredencton, N B." Acadiensis 17 (1988): 108, 117, 122-23;JamesT.White, The Dictionary of American Biography (New York: Scribner's, 1936), 335-36. Leslie Enraught Keeley was born in Ireland May 4, 1834 His parents moved to Quebec in 1835, and when he was a young man Keeley moved to Beardstown, Illinois, where he studied medicine with a physician During the Civil War, he served as an assistant surgeon with an Illinois regiment, participated in Sherman's March to the Sea, and was captured by the Confederates Keeley completed his medical degree in Chicago in 1864 He eventually settled in Dwight, Illinois, where he engaged in the general practice of medicine In 1879 he announced that he had discovered a cure for alcohol and drug addiction The following year, he established in Dwight the first Keeley Institute.

Keeley carefully avoided the appearance of quackery by employing only physicians at his establishments and by keeping the cost of treatment as low as possible The program was one of the first in the nation to recognize alcoholism as a disease and to offer rehabilitation instead of punishment Yet the "gold cure" was the most controversial alcohol treatment of its time Opponents argued that there was no such substance as "double chloride of gold" and warned of possible side effects such as rashes, fatigue, weight loss, mental confusion, and even blindness Despite such warnings, more than 400,000 individuals enrolled in the program, which was endorsed by churches and temperance workers According to Warsh, "the system was successful for a great many alcoholics"because of"the mutual support, non-judgmental attitudes, and recapture of lost dignity" that it provided, not because of the formula.

Keeley Institutes flourished until Keeley died, leaving an estate valued at one million dollars By 1936 only the parent institution in Dwight, Illinois, and a branch in LosAngeles, California, were in operation We have been unable to locate any current listings for Keeley Institutes

38 Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1902

The Gardo House in about 1892, when the home was occupied by the Keeley Institute.

church's property.39 On August 15, 1894, Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal, "I went to the Gardo with Cannon & Smith Clawson andTrumbo. The Building was badly damaged by the Keley Institute." The church expended more than $2,000 to clean and repair damages to the mansion.40 However, church leaders decided to discontinue using the Gardo House as an official church parsonage, and they made arrangements to rent the mansion to Mr and Mrs Isaac Trumbo

A non-Mormon, Isaac Trumbo had been born in Utah Territory and moved to California as a young man He became interested in Utah mining and railroad properties, and he visited Salt Lake City as Utah was fighting its sixth battle for statehood. Trumbo soon laid his business ventures aside and began an eight-year crusade for Utah statehood. He masterminded a successful public relations campaign that promoted favorable newspaper coverage, and he lobbied in Washington, D O , for the repeal of antiMormon legislation and for statehood.41

Expecting that Isaac would be rewarded for his efforts by a senatorship, the Trumbos decided to leave California and establish their residency in Utah As a favor to church leaders, the couple decided to move into the Gardo House and act as hosts for dignitaries visiting Salt Lake City Emma Trumbo, along with her interior decorators, came to Utah ahead of her husband to prepare the mansion for occupancy. Her arrival caused a flutter of excitement among local society leaders who anticipated lavish, San Francisco-style socials at the Gardo House The Trumbos spent months and great sums of money to redecorate the home and to transport many of their beautiful furnishings from their stately San Francisco residence.42

An assortment of people, including church leaders and former members of the Mormon underground, took an interest in the project and came to view the restoration. One of the visitors toured the mansion with Emma and pointed out various places of concealment, such as hollowed walls and

39Thomas Alexander, Utah:The Right Place (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 1995),205

40 Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff'sJournal, vol 9,315,327

41 Edward Leo Lyman,"Isaac Trumbo and the Politics of Utah Statehood," Utah Historical Quarterly 41 (1973): 129-30, 135, 142-49 Trumbo was born in 1858 at CarsonValley,located in the Nevada section of the Utah Territory Although his grandfather, Col John Reese, was a Mormon, Trumbo's mother married outside of the religion, and he grew up without ever affiliating with it During his childhood, his family moved to Salt Lake City, where one of their neighbors was Hiram B Clawson, a cousin of Trumbo's mother and one of the city's most prominent men.

In California Trumbo made his fortune through successful mining and business ventures He also joined the national guard, where he achieved the rank of colonel, a title he used throughout his life. In 1887 he and Alexander Badlam, another California businessman with a Mormon heritage, visited Washington and met with Utah congressional delegate John T Caine They expressed sympathy for the Mormons and the hardship caused by the newly passed Edmunds-Tucker Act On their return trip to California, the two men visited Utah to explore mining and railroad properties and to visit church leaders Trumbo's interest in Utah was probably renewed by his relationship with Hiram B Clawson, who was also involved with mining interests in Eureka, Utah It was at this time thatTrumbo became interested in statehood.

42 JH, September 17, 1899; The Argus, September 22, 1894,as cited in Heinerman,"Amelia's Palace."

Isaac

years, but they moved back to San Francisco after Trumbo failed to realize his political aspirations.

mattresses, where polygamists had hidden from federal lawmen. H e also called her attention to a crack in the boarded ceiling of the Gardo House's tower through which fugitives had watched their pursuers. 43

When Utah finally achieved statehood on January 4, 1896, Trumbo wrote a letter to church leaders reminding them of his great sacrifices and of his desire to become one of Utah's first senators.44 He arrived in Salt Lake City on a Sunday, ostensibly hoping to avoid a brass band or crowd at the railway station. But when no such fanfare materialized, the Trumbos were chagrined, and they became somewhat bitter Emma later recalled, "He might as well have chosen a week day, for all the difference it would have made. What the Mormons wanted was Statehood. Gratitude? That had flown to the mountain tops, and frozen there."45

The lukewarm reception at the railway station was a harbinger of things to come. For a variety of reasons, Trumbo never became a senator. He had tried to curry the favor of both Mormons and non-Mormons and was distrusted by all Many Utahns regarded him as a Californian interloper, motivated entirely by self-interest. Church leaders denied that any promises had been made to Trumbo for his services, and George Q. Cannon questioned his character. "He is not a person whose manners and characteristics we would desire to represent us," he felt, "for he is very ignorant, and then he would be, no doubt, a boodler, accepting bribes for services which he would render." Cannon was referring to the fact that Trumbo and some of his associates had been suspected in some circles of buying newspaper and delegate support.45

According to B H Roberts, there had always been a general understanding that Utah's senatorships would be divided between Mormons and non-Mormons. It had also been assumed that territorial delegate Frank J. Cannon, son of George Q., would be elected as one of Utah's first senators. Non-Mormons, believing that Mormons would have too much influence with Trumbo, supported another candidate.47 There is some evidence that

43 JH, September 17, 1899.

44 Lyman,"Isaac Trumbo."

45 JH, September 17,1899.

46 A H Cannon Journal, November 21,1895, in Lyman,"IsaacTrumbo.'

47 Roberts, A Comprehensive History, 6:338-40

Trumbo and his wife rented the Gardo House for a number of

Trumbo's wife, who later wrote bitter and outrageous falsehoods about Utah, was also one of the causes of his unpopularity. Emma once acknowledged, "My husband said I always gave the Mormons much uneasiness; they never felt quite sure of me."48

When their political dreams went unrealized, the Trumbos moved out of the Gardo House and returned to San Francisco. After their departure, William B. Preston, a member of the church's presiding bishopric, sent them a bill for rent due on the mansion. The Trumbos, who claimed they had spent $17,000 on the home, were incensed The problem was compounded when a San Francisco newspaper reported that Trumbo had been the church's financial agent, using church money and property to further church goals.

Wilford Woodruff immediately wrote an apology to the Trumbos, and the church promptly made a $10,000 settlement with them concerning the Gardo House.49 Subsequently the First Presidency, at Trumbo's request, issued a written statement that was published in the Deseret News on February 5, 1898. The statement eloquently came to the defense of both the church and Trumbo, denying the allegations that he had ever acted as church agent or used church funds for any purpose The First Presidency concluded, "In the time of our deep distress, when bitterness and hatred were manifested against us in almost every quarter, Colonel Isaac Trumbo came to Utah, and showed an interest in our affairs It is sufficient to say that probably no single agency contributed so much to making Utah a State as the labors of Colonel Isaac Trumbo and his immediate friends."50 In spite of his disappointments and misunderstandings with the people of Utah, Trumbo remained on friendly terms with Wilford Woodruff. The aged prophet visited Trumbo several times in his San Francisco home, and it was during one of these visits that he became ill and died, on September 2, 1898.51

Soon after the Trumbos vacated the Gardo House, Bishop J R Winder and Alfred William McCune called at church headquarters to visit with members of the First Presidency. McCune told them that he and his wife, Elizabeth, were building a new home and wished to rent the mansion for two or three years Church leaders, relieved to find a suitable new tenant, accepted his offer and set the rent at $150 per month.52

McCune had initially made his fortune as a railroad contractor, but he later branched out into the timber and mining industries, owning business

48 Salt Lake Tribune, September 17,1899

49 Lyman,"Isaac Trumbo."

50 JH, February 5,1898

51 Lyman, "Isaac Trumbo."Trumbo spent the remainder of his life in San Francisco In 1911, he was evicted from his home for failure to pay an $18,000 mortgage debt He was eventually forced to auction off many of his furnishings and art treasures, which were valued at $200,000. On November 2, 1912, Trumbo was the victim of a brutal beating and robbery and was left for dead on a San Francisco street He never regained consciousness.EmmaTrumbo remarried after her husband's death.

52 JH, September 17,1897

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

LEFT: Alfred McCune arranged to rent the Gardo House while he and his wife were having a new mansion built. RIGHT: The photo of Elizabeth McCune appeared in a national publication highlighting Utah and its prominent residents in May 1901, about the time the McCunes moved out of the Gardo House.

interests throughout Utah and in parts of Montana, British Columbia, and South America. McCun e was respected by his contemporaries for his integrity, his congenial personality, and his generous donations to worthy causes He was also civic-minded and, like Trumbo, politically ambitious In 1899, he ran for the Senate as th e Democrati c candidate against Republican incumbent Frank J. Cannon and several other candidates. When none was able to get a majority of votes, the election went down in history as the time when Utah was unable to select or send a senator to Washington McCune later tried again for the Senate but was defeated by Thomas Kearns.53

Elizabeth McCune had as many diversified interests as her husband had She served in many prominent church positions and became close friends with Susa Young Gates, one of Brigham Young's daughters. An active supporter of women's rights, Elizabeth attended the 1889 International Congress of Women in London After being voted patron of the organization, Elizabeth was entertained by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle.54

At the Gardo House, the McCunes repainted the interior, added many beautiful touches to its furnishings and fittings, and decorated the parlors and halls with marble statuary from Italy.55 While the family lived there, sev-

53 See Stewart L Grow, "Utah's Senatorial Election of 1899:The Election that Failed," Utah Historical Quarterly 39 (Winter 1971):30-39 Of all the candidates, McCune came closest to winning As the possibility of his victory grew stronger, however, a Republican legislator accused McCune of trying to buy his vote. Investigations into the charges did not substantiate them, but the damage had been done. See also George M. McCune, "Alfred William McCune" (privately published biography, 1972, photocopy in authors' possession) Alfred William McCune was born July 11, 1849, at Fort Dum Dum, near Calcutta, India His parents, Sergeant Matthew McCune and Sarah Elizabeth Caroline Scott McCune, were British transplants to India, where Matthew served in the Bengal Artillery of the East India Company The McCunes were introduced to Mormonism by two English sailors and were baptized in India in 1851

The family emigrated to America in 1856 and eventually made their way to Utah McCune spent his boyhood years in Nephi, where he and his family, who had lived an aristocratic lifestyle in India, were compelled to become farmers When the Union Pacific branch of the transcontinental railroad came to Utah in the late 1860s, McCune and his brothers found profitable employment as freighters and graders for the railroad. On July 1, 1872,he married Elizabeth Ann Claridge, his childhood sweetheart.

54 Ibid

55 Levi EdgarYoung,"Historic Buildings of Salt Lake City," 309-11

eral of the children, little entrepreneurs like their father, set up a lemonade stand in front of the newly constructed Alta Club on South Temple. McCune was surprised and embarrassed when he discovered the stand on his way into the Alta Club with several business associates. He shut down the budding business and sent his children home.56

When they moved to their new house, the McCune Mansion at 200 North Main, the McCunes took with them all their furnishings and decorations from the Gardo House.57 The church, heavily in debt from the Edmunds-Tucker Act, decided to sell the Gardo House to Colonel Edwin F. Holmes at the sacrificial price of $46,000. When the transaction was completed in May 1901, a new era for the stately old home began.58

The mansion achieved the height of its glory while it was occupied by Holmes and his wife, Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes, who was famous as Utah's "Silver Queen." Susanna, or Susie, as she was known by friends, had come by her fortune through investments in Park City's Mayflower and Silver King mines. A widow, she had been introduced to Colonel Edwin F Holmes by Thomas Kearns, one of her business partners, in 1895 Although Susie was sixteen years his junior, the two discovered they had much in common and they began a lengthy courtship.59

Susie and Holmes were married in Ne w York City on October 12, 1899 After a two-year honeymoon in Europe, the couple returned to Utah Holmes purchased the Gardo House as a birthday present for his

56 Interview by Sandra Dawn Brimhall with Jay Quealey, grandson of A.W McCune, 1990, Salt Lake City, Utah; notes in Ms Brimhall's possession

57 Gates,"The Gardo House," 1099-1103 Alfred William McCune and his wife resided in the McCune Mansion until 1920, when they moved to Los Angeles When they left Utah, the couple donated their beautiful home to the LDS church The church later converted the mansion into the McCune School of Music and Art

President Heber J Grant noted in a speech that many people had attempted to persuade him to move into the McCune Mansion and use it as the official residence of the church president Grant declined the offer, considering it a waste of church members' money; see Gospel Standards: Selectionsfrom the Sermons and Writings of HeberJ. Grant, comp. G. Homer Durham under the direction ofJohn A.Widtsoe and Richard L.Evans, LDS Church Archives, Salt Lake City.The church's acquisition of the McCune Mansion, which was newer and more modern than the Gardo House, may have been one of the factors in the church's decision to demolish the Gardo House

After the death of his wife in 1924, McCune moved to France, where he resided until his death in 1927 At the time of his death, his estate was valued at fifteen million dollars The McCunes are buried in Nephi, Utah.

58 JH.May 6, 1901;Gates,"The Gardo House," 1099-1103

59 Susanna was born May 6, 1859, in Richmond, Missouri She crossed the plains when she was five years old and spent her youth in Plumas County, California In 1884 she made an extended visit to Park City to visit friends It was there that she met and married her first husband,Albion B Emery Emery, who was originally from Maine, emigrated to the West in search of gold in 1869. He eventually moved to Tooele, Utah, where he was elected by the Liberal party asTooele's first non-Mormon county clerk and deputy recorder. In 1880 Emery moved to Park City, where he worked at a variety of jobs, eventually becoming one of the town's leading citizens

The couple became wealthy from investments in Park City's Mayflower and Silver King mines.When Emery died prematurely on June 16, 1894, from heart and liver disease, Susie and their adopted daughter, Louise Grace, became heirs to his estate. Susie proved to be an astute and tough-minded businesswomen. It was reported that she managed her money into a vast fortune Holmes was a widower and a wealthy businessman who had made his fortune in the lumber and min-

new bride. There were widespread rumors at Mr. and Mrs. Holmes relaxing in the the time of purchase that the couple planned shade of the southwest porch in to raze the mansion to make way for a more Juj igi6 magnificent palatial residence. The rumors were quickly laid to rest, however, when they spent more than $75,000 to renovate and refurbish their new home

During their travels in Europe, the Holmeses had purchased beautiful furniture, carpets, draperies, paintings, and bric-a-brac. The couple hired William J. Sinclair, an interior decorator with Chicago's Marshall Field & Company, to redecorate the house, incorporating their acquisitions Sinclair and his associates searched European and American cities for additional furniture, fabrics, and light fixtures for the mansion.60

O n December 26, 1901, the Holmeses threw a lavish party to celebrate the completed renovation The event was hailed by local newspapers as the

ing industries He was born August 8, 1843,in Orleans County, NewYork, and was largely a self-educated and self-made man. During the CivilWar, Holmes enlisted as a private in the Union Army and was eventually promoted to the rank of captain Like Trumbo, he preferred to be addressed as "colonel," an honorary title,throughout his life.

For a comprehensive history of the Silver Queen, see Judy Dykman and Colleen Whitley, The Silver Queen: Her Royal Highness Suzanne Bransford Emery Holmes Delitch Engalitcheff (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1998) Dykman andWhitley believe that Susies fortune was much less than the fifty million dollars reported by eastern and local newspapers

60 Elite, March 15,1902; Heinerman, "Amelia's Palace."

The Steinway piano, nicknamed the "Aida," decorated with scenes from Verdi's famous opera.

most brilliant reception in the history of Salt Lake City. Elite, a society magazine published in Chicago, described several of the mansion's fortythree rooms in detail

The walls here [salon] are of old rose satin brocade and the woodwork of ivory enamel A reseda green carpet covers the floors as background for rugs of priceless value in Persian silk and some skins of great beauty A second interior is of the dining room where the design is Gothic The ceiling, woodwork and all the furniture are in Belgian oak... At present the side walls are in dull gold glaze with bronze, dull greens, red and silver in Gothic design.... The carpet is of rich red, and the draperies are of red with application of cloth of gold Midway between the two rooms a Tiffany electric fountain is placed and the tables so arranged that upon feasting occasions the tables may be extended and united with the lovely fountain as a centerpiece In artistic equipment the house is magnificendy magnificent."61

The Gardo House soon became the gathering place for an elite, predominantly non-Mormon society that included Senator Thomas Kearns, Governor Heber M.Wells, financier D. H. Peery, and Perry S. Heath, owner of the Salt Lake Tribune. Fort Douglas military officers, clergymen, politicians, businessmen, educators, and the Holmeses' relatives were also regulars at the mansion. Like other wealthy socialites of their time, the Holmeses set aside a day or two each week when they would be "at home" for friends and acquaintances to call—and they often received two to three hundred visitors a week They were soon widely acknowledged as the reigning king and queen of Salt Lake City society.62

Now it was the Mormons' turn to gaze at the Gardo House and wonder what went on inside. The children of church president Joseph F. Smith, who resided across the street in the Beehive House, wistfully watched the

61 Salt Lake Tribune, December 27, 1901; Elite, March 15,1902;Silver Queen Scrapbook, 1902-1904, Utah State HistoricalSociety,MICA-633

62 Interview by Sandra Dawn Brimhall with Susanna Harris Hartman, California, October 2, 1990; notesinMs Brimhatl'spossession SilverQueen Scrapbook

SHIPLEB PHOTO

comings and goings at the Holmes residence There were endless dinners, luncheons, receptions, teas, dances, card parties, and other events for them to observe. On some nights, the Holmeses put out a beautiful red carpet from their door to the end of the sidewalk to greet their expected visitors The guests, men with big black capes and women in furs, always arrived in elegant horse-drawn carriages.63

Newspapers and magazines had a field day reporting social events at the Gardo House and chronicling the couple's activities Susie employed local musicians such as the Deseret Mandolin Orchestra, the Niles Mandolin

63 Edith Smith Patrick interview

Floor plan of the first floor of the Gardo House, taken from the "Demolition Plan," a study commissioned by Heber J. Grant. Using this plan, plans from similar Folsomdesigned houses, and interior photos, Mark D. Curtis and MHTN Architects, Salt Lake City, have reconstructed plans and elevations for the entire building. MHTN architects Steve Bennion and Bill Nelson, Judy Dykman, and members of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers have also created a large model of the house, now on display at the Pioneer Memorial Museum in Salt Lake City.

Orchestra, chamber music groups, and popular vocalists to entertain at her social gatherings She decorated the rooms of the mansion with carnations, roses, lilies, azaleas, chrysanthemums, tulips, palms, and syringa provided by Huddart Floral.64

The couple actively supported local social and cultural events. When famous entertainers visited the state, the Holmeses often held theater box parties at the Salt Lake Theatre or arranged for private performances in their home. On May 17, 1902, a local newspaper announced that Susie had hired worldwide-celebrated pianist Alberto Jonas for a musicale at the Gardo House Jonas, who had received rave reviews for his performances at Carnegie Hall and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was the founder and director of the renowned Michigan Conservatory of Music. The Holmeses invited more than two hundred guests to the concert and arranged for Jonas to give another recital at the Salt Lake Theatre for the general public His performance was considered

64 Peter T Huddart, the premier florist of the period, had apprenticed under the head floral director for the Prince ofWales See Silver Queen Scrapbook and JH, January 1,1902

Shipler identified this room as the "Den." On the author's floor plan it is labeled as the "Conservatory" and is looking toward the "Fountain House." The furnishings and decor in this room reflect the popularity of exotic Middle Eastern styles among wealthy Americans in the early part of the century.

to be one of the outstanding cultural events of the year. 6b

The Holmeses did not spend all their time socializing and entertaining . They were also occupied with civic affairs, real estate ventures, and frequent travel, closing the Gardo House to visitors when they were out of town During the course of their travels through the United States, Europe, and Asia, the couple acquired many priceless pieces of art. In order to display their acquisitions, in 1903 they began planning a two-story building to the west of the Gardo House The structure, which cost approximately $10,000, was completed in 1904 The ground floor was used as a garage, and the second floor was an art gallery, ballroom, and theater. On February 20, 1904, more than 400 guests were invited to attend the grand opening of the art gallery.

An immense flag made of red, white, and blue electric lamps was placed above the entrance to the mansion The guests were welcomed in the drawing room by a receiving party that included the Holmeses, Governor and Mrs. Heber M.Wells, Mayor and Mrs. Richard P. Morris, Colonel and Mrs. John W. Bubb, and Mr. and Mrs. Fisher Harris. According to one newspaper account,"From 9 o'clock until midnight...the entire house was thrown open for the entertainment of the guests and the already beautiful rooms were made more beautiful by the use of many palms and cut flowers." The Holmeses had also engaged a quartet and orchestra that per-

SHIPLER PHOTO

Deseret Evening News, May 17, 1902;Silver Queen Scrapbook.

In 1916, Harry Shipler, commissioned to photograph the Gardo House, produced sixty images of the house's interior and exterior. Here is his photo of a table set for sixteen in the dining room. His photos here and on the next pages illustrate the elegance and opulence for which the mansion was famous.

forme d in the drawing room and art gallery.66

The art gallery, considered by many to be the finest in the West, was "filled with the best works of old-world masters, as well as some of the finest examples of local artists' productions." The Holmeses also displayed porcelain sculptures, vases, Japanese embroidery, and an endless array of curios from all parts of the world. One of their most prized possessions was a $4,000 Steinway piano that they purchased in 1903 According to local newspapers of the period, the piano, nicknamed the "Aida" for the opera scenes painted on its lid and sides, was one of the most exquisite and costly pianos ever manufactured by the Steinways and was second only to art pianos made for celebrated Europeans After the grand opening, the Holmeses made the art gallery available to the general public two days each week.67

The couple enjoyed their position as local society leaders for well over a decade During the years immediately preceding World War I, they began spending more and more of their time at their California home, El Roble, near Pasadena. On June 6, 1917, a local newspaper announced that the Holmeses had decided to sell the Gardo House and move their treasures to California They sent a California architect, whom they had previously hired to design a new residence, to Utah to examine the mansion The pur-

SilverQueen Scrapbook. Ibid.

UPPER LEFT: The Hallway on the second floor. (Note the photographs of Indians exhibited on the wall. The Holmeses were participants in the popular twentieth-century fascination with fading Native American cultures.)

UPPER RIGHT: The Drawing Room (or Main Parlor), looking toward the Music Room, LOWER RIGHT: The Library (or Office). LOWER LEFT: The Billiard Room in the basement of the house, furnished with a billiard table and a card table.

The interior of the Art Gallery was lit by large skylights, leaving wall space for exhibiting the Holmeses' art collection. The gallery also included a small stage for performances. Note the large portraits of Susannah and Colonel Holmes on the wall at the left. The exterior view shows the gallery from the north side.

pose of his visit was to determine the feasibility of also removing the Belgian glass windows, black walnut interior finishing, and spiral stair casement from the Gardo House. The Holmeses were disappointed when the architect rendered the verdict that they would have to leave the fixtures behind.68

There was widespread speculation concerning the future of the Gardo House Local newspapers published rumors that the mansion would soon be demolished to make way for apartments or an office building There were also reports the couple was negotiating with Mormon church representative Charles W Nibley for the church to repurchase the property. But the ultimate fate of the Gardo House was temporarily postponed when the Holmeses unexpectedly offered the mansion to the Red Cross until the end of the war According to the Salt Lake Tribune, "Amelia's Palace...was yesterday dedicated to the service of humanity and is to become the headquarters of the Red Cross and auxiliary workers of Salt Lake County—an

A large flag hung from the tower of the Gardo House during World War I when the Red Cross occupied the mansion.

army of volunteers that is expected to reach a total of 10,000 within the next few weeks." Red Cross leaders, who had been in desperate need of a place where they could centralize their operations, regarded the mansion as "ideal" for the needs of their organization.69 O n Decembe r 1, 1917, the Re d Cross moved into the Gardo House and celebrated with a reception that included speeches and a brass band that played a variety of patriotic songs.

William Spry, former governor of Utah, gave a tribute to the Holmeses and praised them for their long record of kindnesses and manifestations of unselfish spirit. More than two thousand people attended the event. It was estimated that between six and seven hundred young women from Salt Lake City eventually volunteered for service.70

Re d Cross workers were undoubtedly pleased to find the carpets, curtains, desks, tables, and telephones in shipshape condition, ready for immediate use. The Salt Lake Tribune described the Gardo House's transformation:

The first floor is devoted to the executive and supply departments.The second floor has offices....The large room to the east is the instruction room, where classes will be held. .to the south and west is located what is to be known as the 'transient room.'This is regarded as one of the most important of facilities, it being planned that any transient or visitor who desires to do Red Cross work and who has not time to attend classes regularly may be supplied with materials and given the opportunity for work as desired The art gallery and ball room have been transformed into the department of surgical dressings."

69 Ibid.,November 20,1917

70 Ibid., December 1, 1917;Mrs W Mont Ferry,E O Howard, R.J Shields, History of the Salt Lake County Chapter ofAmerican Red Cross, 1898 to 1919, 10.Photocopy ofunpublished MS in Ms.Brimhall's possession

GARDO HOUSE

In this view looking southeast over Salt Lake City from near Main Street and 200 North in about 1876, the new Gardo House is prominent even in the distance. Despite its historical significance and relatively good condition, the house was demolished a mere forty years after its completion. The demise of this Utah landmark was the result of a number of factors. South Temple had seen its heyday and was slipping into decline. Changing economics, including the impact of stock market drops and the federal income tax, were making lavish mansions difficult to maintain. Also, by that time the city's commercial district had expanded to encompass the house. Ultimately, the property had a greater market value as commercial real estate than as residential. The photos on the following pages show the evolution of the cityscape surrounding the Gardo House.

UPPER LEFT: Looking across the front lawn of the Gardo House toward the Hotel Utah, July 1916; the LDS church offices on the right were still under construction when this photo was taken, LOWER LEFT: A shipment being loaded in front of the Juvenile Instructor office on South Temple, 1914; the LDS Church Historian's Office, the Gardo House, and the Alta Club can be seen in the background. UPPER RIGHT: Construction on the Belvedere Apartments on State Street in 1919; the Gardo House is barely visible. LOWER RIGHT: Construction on the new Federal Reserve Bank, which replaced the Gardo House, in 1926. The commercial district of the city had grown and ultimately swallowed up the mansion.

Classes on elementary hygiene, home care for the sick, dietetics, first aid, knitting, and the making of surgical dressings were soon regularly held in the mansion.71

At the end of the war, the Holmeses resumed their efforts to find a buyer for the house, and on March 20, 1920, the LDS church bought it for $100,000. Two months after the transaction, the Re d Cross vacated the mansion and moved its headquarters to the Utah State Capitol.72 The church intended to use the mansion to house the LDS School of Music, which the Deseret News called "one of the greatest schools of music in the West." The school, which included piano, vocal, and wind departments, served as a training ground for the Tabernacle Choir. O n October 2, 1920, the Deseret News reported that the church would also reopen the art gallery as a permanent exhibition hall for local artists.73

However, during the next few months, the church received a purchase offer from the Federal Reserve Bank. The bank, which was quickly outgrowing its quarters in the Deseret Bank Building, was seeking a new building site in the downtown area O n February 26, 1921, local newspapers reported that the church had sold the Gardo House to the bank for $115,000. Church leaders issued a statement assuring the public that the LDS School of Music would continue to function in a new locality and announcing tentative plans to place the Gardo House upon piles and move it, using rollers, to one of several sites that were under consideration.74

An article in the Deseret News a few weeks later gave further details concerning the plans to relocate the mansion:

The moving of one of Salt Lake's old landmarks.. may be one of the most spectacular events staged in the city, if the moving is found to be feasible President Heber J Grant said this morning he is having several streets of Salt Lake measured to see if there would be adequate passage way for the moving of the old Gardo House from its location on South Temple and State streets When in San Francisco last week President Grant consulted one of the best known engineering experts in the country in regard to the moving of the building This authority said it could be done easily provided five carloads of the necessary equipment could be shipped from San Francisco for the removal.75

71 JH, December 1,1917,November 28,1921

72 Deseret Evening News, March 20, 1920, May 4, 1920

Colonel Holmes and Susie lived in their California home, El Roble, until Holmes's death in 1925 In 1930, Susie married a Serbian doctor named Radovan N Delitch The marriage ended in divorce two years later, and Delitch later hanged himself in his cabin during an ocean cruise Shortly after his death, Susie sold El Roble and auctioned offher Rolls Royce, furniture, paintings, and the famous "Aida" piano In 1933 she married Prince Nickolas Engalitcheff The couple spent most of their time in California and Europe until Engalitcheff's death in 1935.When Susie died in 1942, at age 83, shehad spent almost all of her fortune. At her request, she was buried in Salt Lake City's Mount Olivet Cemetery alongside her first husband, Albion B Emery Legend has it that for many years the exact location ofher grave waskept a secret because ofthe persistent rumor she was buried in asilver dress andthat there were silver dollars in her coffin

73 Deseret Nei«f,April 28,1920;JH, October 2, 1920

74 Deseret News, February 26,1921 According to the Improvement Era 29 (1925-1926): 517,"The work of breaking ground for the Federal bank building, corner ofSouth Temple andState St., began onJanuary 25, 1926."The Federal Bank Building has nowbeen demolished; the site is occupied by the twenty-sixstory Eagle Gate Plaza andTower, which was constructed in 1986

75 JH, March 10, 1921,March 26,1921

The completed Federal Reserve Bank. The Eagle Gate Plaza now stands on the site.

Ther e was widespread speculation on ho w and •where the Gardo House woul d be relocated All rumors came to an end on April 8, 1921, when newspapers announced that the mansio n woul d no t be moved and that it would soon be torn down After researching and discussing the issue, church leaders had come to the reluctant conclusion that the moving expenses, estimated at over $20,000, were more than the church could afford and that the aging Gardo House, with its high ceilings, winding stairways, and outdated bathrooms, was too expensive to maintain.76

The Federal Reserve Bank had signed a contract with the Ketchum Builder Supply Company to raze the Gardo House, and on November 26, 1921, the Ketchum crew began to demolish the home. Efforts were made to salvage doors, windows, mirrors, fixtures and other valuable items from the mansion These souvenirs were later sold at auction and many of them were scattered throughout Utah.77 A local newspaper, commenting several years earlier on the demolition of Brigham Young's schoolhouse, had summed up the mood of the times.

The old Salt Lake is going Slowly but surely the landmarks that bind the Salt Lake of history to the growing metropolis of the intermountain west are being torn down to the ground, and on the nude earth where they once stood are being erected modern structures, beautiful enough in design, but bare of historical interest.78

The Gardo House and its occupants played a pivotal role in Utah's architectural, economic, political, and social history. The mansion, like other historical Utah landmarks, must never be forgotten.

76 Ibid.,April 8,1921

77 Ibid., November 17 and 28,1921

78 Silver Queen Scrapbook.

Seeps, Springs, and Bogs: The Changing Historic Landscape of Smithfield

By ROBERT PARSON

Smithfield, Utah, sits about thirty miles south of the Utah-Idaho border at the eastern edge of Cache Valley. In the fields west of town lies an area not unlike those in other Utah valleys where drainage from the mountains, along with the drainage of civilized endeavors, accumulates. Here it is possible to forget that one is living in a high mountain desert. The aquifer rises in springs and seeps and settles in watercresschoked bogs, eventually finding its way, by tributary, to the Bear River

The springs in the west fields are far different from the muddy Bear. Alongside the gravel road leading west from town, an old tin cup used to hang on a fencepost next to a small bubbling spring It was a community watering hole, and many passersby stopped to enjoy a cool dip from the pristine waters. Although it is likely that no one ever got sick from drinking the spring water, people gradually began to avoid the practice. If nothing else, the demise of the community watering hole was symbolic of change. The old gravel road is oiled now, and

ABOVE: Construction on the Richmond-Logan Canal in 1923. This canal was west of and parallel to the Logan-Hyde Park-Smithfield Canal.

Robert Parson is the university archivist for Utah State University The author would like to thank John Walters,USU documents librarian, for his invaluable comments

the spring is dry But even if it were not, no one would think of drinking from it today.

Despite this and other changes, the landscape still looks familiar. The Merrill and Noble spring stream, for instance, still meanders to the west through the fields and pastures where, when it is not being used for irrigation, it merges with Summit Creek and continues in its course toward the Bear River. But, like the community watering hole, it flows less vigorously than it once did

Over time, the springs and drains in the west fields created a haven for wildlife: yellow-breasted and red-winged blackbirds nested among cattails; frogs gorged themselves on insects drawn to the cool, moist micro-climate; water snakes found refuge in culverts and outlet pipes to the drain fields; and trout that in spring or fall migrated there to spawn grew fat and pinkmeated on a diet of freshwater shrimp.

No w much of that landscape is disappearing. Willow trees, which depend on high water tables, are slowly dying The groves of cottonwoods and poplars that farmers planted to shade out the moss and weeds in the canal are also succumbing to decreased levels of groundwater. Gone, too, are the wet areas in the center of fields that farmers learned from experience not to cultivate and where one could stand on the sod, bounce up and down, and feel the earth shake for fifty feet all around Recent human activity has been the main agent of change. Yet change has not been confined to the recent past; decades ago, it was probably human manipulation of the landscape that first created these springs and bogs.

Since the time of first settlement, traditional irrigation has substantially altered the flow of groundwater in Cache Valley The construction of canals that diverted water from riverbeds and streams, conveying it along the high benches to various laterals along the way, resulted in a complex re-plumbing of Cache Valley. Not only was the 'water forced from its original channels, depleting those flows, but it also seeped away from the canals, altering the flow of groundwater to lower lands.1 This re-plumbing made it possible for settlers living closer to the valley's center to reuse the wastewater for their own irrigation needs; but it also changed the terrain.

Altered landscapes may be as inevitable as the passing of a generation. Though less severe than those occurring in other high-growth areas of Utah, the west field changes demonstrate that the environment is scarcely more permanent than human existence Both man and nature have altered Cache Valley's landscape. Prior to human habitation, Lake Bonneville inundated the valley. This Pleistocene-era lake occupied nearly 20,000 square miles of present-day northern and central Utah, in large measure determin-

1 This was particularly true of the Logan, Hyde Park, and Smithfield Canal, which headed at the mouth of Logan Canyon In its meanderings along the mountain slope and over the gravel benches, the canal was said to lose nearly half of its diverted capacity See Samuel Fortier, The Water Supply of Cache Valley, Bulletin no. 50,Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah, 1896, 19.

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

ing Cache Valley's subsequent geology and hydrology Gradually, beginning about 12,000 years ago, a predominantly wet, cold climate warmed and dried until the great prehistoric lake shrank to only its present remnant, Great Salt Lake.2

Grasslands dominated Cache Valley's landscape prior to settlement.3 As late as 1830 bison still grazed its extensive range, 4 and native peoples successively occupied or vacated the valley as the climate dictated About 800 years ago, the climate changed from hot and dry to cool and wet, at which point the Shoshoni followed the rains to Cache Valley.5 Historian Brigham D. Madsen characterized the Cache Valley Shoshoni as "one of the most ecologically efficient Indian groups in North America." For eight hundred years the Shoshoni fashioned a livelihood in Cache Valley, successfully adapting to changes in the landscape. Their adaptation to the decline of the bison, for instance, demonstrates the group's extraordinary resourcefulness. The arrival of thousands of settlers, however, was a development that proved insuperable even to the resourceful Shoshoni.6

When Mormons began moving into the Smithfield area in 1859, they realized that they were encroaching upon the Shoshoni. 7 Although Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders instructed these early settlers not to fight but to feed the Indians, conflicts soon developed between the two peoples The Shoshoni responded to Mormon incursion by stealing crops and livestock. The Mormons reacted by sequestering themselves in a fort and in some instances arresting Indian rustlers.8 The conflicts forced the settlers to postpone agricultural development outside the immediate vicinity of the fort

In the acres of prime farm ground beyond the confines of the fort, those who had settled Smithfield saw a land of unfulfilled potential, an area that they deemed suitable for Zion Traditionally, the Shoshoni used these same areas along the creeks and streams in the west fields as a source of fresh

2 Around 15,000 B.C., the lake had breached Red Rock Pass in southern Idaho, an event that quickly lowered the lake more than 300 feet and shrank it to 14,400 square miles

3 A.C Hull and Mary Kay Hull,"PresettlementVegetation of CacheValley, Utah and Idaho," Journal of Range Management 27 Qanuary 1974):29

4 Ibid., 27

5 Brigham D Madsen, The Northern Shoshoni (Caldwell, Idaho:Caxton Printers, 1980) 17-18

6 Brigham D Madsen, The Shoshoni Frontier and the Bear River Massacre (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1985), 15

7 Joel E Ricks, ed., History of a Valley: Cache Valley, Utah-Idaho (Logan: Cache Valley Centennial Commission, 1956), 32-59 "Mormons" refers to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also referred to as LDS).

8 On July 23, 1860, as the settlers in Smithfield prepared for the following day's pioneer celebration, a band of Shoshonis descended upon the settlement with the intent of freeing one of their members who had been incarcerated for horse stealing A gunfight ensued between the Shoshonis and the settlers standing guard The Indian prisoner was killed, and one of the guards was wounded As the Shoshonis made their escape to higher ground they opened fire on two settlers from another community who had stopped by the banks of Summit Creek for lunch One of the men,John Reed, was killed Further on, the small force of Shoshonis met two more settlers, who were returning from the canyons with a load of logs.The Indians again opened fire, killing Ira Merrill and wounding his brother Solyman See Olsen and Olsen, The History of Smithfield (Smithfield, Utah: City of Smithfield, 1927), 13-15.

CHANGING HISTORIC LANDSCAPE

water, shade in the summer, and shelter in the winter.9 For the Shoshoni, Go d had complete d his -work in the west fields. For the Mormons, God's work had just begun. Perhaps, because of their religious enthusiasm, early Smith-field settlers saw their conquest of Cache Valley as being less severe than conquests taking place in other regions But although Mormons may have been motivated by high ideals, the result was still the same for the Shoshoni

The Shoshoni preference for small, tributary streams was a factor in their removal from Cache Valley O n January 29, 1863, Colonel Patrick Connor, commander of a garrison of California volunteers sent to Utah Territory to guard the overland mail route, attacked the Indians at their winter camp on Beaver Creek (renamed Battle Creek), a small tributary to the Bear River in northwestern Cache Valley. The Battle of Bear River ranks as one of the worst Indian massacres in the history of the western United States, with some accounts placing the number of Indians killed, many of them women and children, as high as 400.10

Mormon settlers did not participate in the massacre. Colonel Connor's removal of Shoshoni resistance, however, allowed the valley's early settlers to move out of their fort and begin developing outlying lands. As with all settlements in Cache Valley, settlers laid out the town of Smithfield in the

' Interview with J Cash Smith,July 1990 Mr Smith, whose home is on land originally homesteaded by John and Elizabeth Hammer, has found countless arrowheads and grinding stones adjacent to Summit Creek Furthermore, dairy farmer LaMar Tarbet encountered several artifacts while excavating a corn silage pit adjacent to the Hopkins Slough in Benson, Utah These finds would indicate that the Shoshoni frequented these sites

10 Newell Hart, The Bear River Massacre: Being a Complete Source Book and Story Book of the Genocidal Action Against the Shoshones in 1863 and Gen. P.E. Connor and How He Related to and Dealt with the Indians and Mormons on the Western Frontier (Preston, Idaho: Cache Valley Newsletter Publishing Co., 1983), 18384 A more accurate number is between 250 and 300

Map of the Smithfield area; cartography by Connie Bartos. i Cornish ,

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

vicinity of a reliable water source Summit Creek heads high on the western slope of the Bear River Range of the Wasatch Mountains and flows down Smithfield Canyon; in 1860 the pioneers tapped the creek for irrigation to water the lots in town and the adjacent farmland.11 Hundreds of fertile acres remained to be irrigated farther to the west and south, and settlers began developing springs for irrigation as early as 1860 Hopkins Springs, named for early Smithfield settler Ezekial Hopkins, and Merrill and Noble Springs, also named for prominent early Smithfield settlers, irrigated more than 500 acres in the years immediately following the Bear River Massacre.12

In 1870 John and Elizabeth Ann Ainscough Hammer bought and homesteaded land west of Smithfield. They began using a series of unnamed springs that surfaced near, and eventually flowed into, Summit Creek.13 Although the Hammers' original development irrigated only a small area adjacent to the springs, the canal system that still bears their name would, by the early 1890s, be extended west to irrigate more than 300 acres in the vicinity of present-day Benson.14

In 1896 Samuel Fortier first documented what the Hammers and other irrigators in the valley already knew—that Cache Valley is one of the most well-watered areas in Utah. As a professor of civil engineering at the Agricultural College of Utah (now Utah State University), Fortier measured rivers, creeks, and springs in the Utah portion of Cache Valley during the summer of 1896.l3 He hoped to discover what portion of the valley's water supply was unappropriated and therefore available for use. He also hoped, by comparing the amount of inflow into the valley with the amount of outflow, to determine how much of the seepage from irrigation canals and farmland was finding its way back into the Bear River and whether the river's flow actually increased as a result. Fortier may have been the first hydrologist to fully appreciate the interconnectedness of Cache Valley's complex groundwater and surface water network.16 Furthermore,

11 Settlers also diverted a portion of Logan River, which heads in the same general area as Summit Creek but flows to the south and west down Logan Canyon Samuel Roskelly of Smithfield, along with settlers from Hyde Park, Logan, and Richmond, formed the Logan and Richmond Irrigation Company and in 1864 commenced building a canal to divert water from the Logan River and convey it north to Richmond Additionally, the Logan, Hyde Park, and Smithfield Canal was also eventually extended north along the bench line between Logan and Smithfield, paralleling the Logan and Richmond Canal; it was used to irrigate lands at Hyde Park and Smithfield See Samuel Fortier,"Irrigation in Cache:Arrival of the Pioneers and Development of the Present Irrigation System," Logan Journal, July 20, 1897, in Leonard J Arrington, A Sourcebook on the Economic History of Cache Valley, prepared for the Cache Valley Historical Society, May 1956,181 Copy in Special Collections and Archives,Utah State University, Logan, Utah

12 In the District Court of the First Judicial District of the State of Utah in and for the County of Cache, Utah Power and Light Company, plaintiff, vs Richmond Irrigation Company et al., defendants, Final Decree, Before Hon.James N. Kimball, District Judge, February 21, 1922, 31-32. Hereafter referred to as Kimball Decree

13 Smithfield Diaries,MS collection 34:2:12,Special Collections and Archives,Utah State University.

14 Kimball Decree

15 Fortier, The Water Supply of Cache Valley, 1

" The complexity of CacheValley's geologic formations makes it particularly difficult to chart the flow

Faculty of the Agricultural College of Utah, 1893. Samuel Fortier is on the back row, third from right. The photo was taken in Old Main.

his efforts provide a particularly valuable historic record—the first-known measurements of the various water sources in the valley. Because at the time of Fortier's reconnaissance the irrigation system in the vicinity of Smithfield had been in operation for more than thirty years, the springs in the west fields probably flowed more than they had before settlement. Drainage and seepage from canals and higher farmland tended to raise the level of groundwater, 'which came to the surface in springs. However, the absence of measurements prior to Fortier's makes it impossible to know with certainty how much the flow had changed.17

of groundwater, as Fortier discovered More recently, Robert Q Oaks has contended that the long-held assumption that all groundwater within Cache Valley is interconnected and eventually flows to the Bear River is invalid for some areas of the valley See Robert Q Oaks, Subsurface Cenozoic Deposits: Baseline for Stratigraphic and Structural Interpretations of Southern Cache Valley, Utah, with Applications to Groundwater in Tuffaceous Sediments of Tertiary Age (Logan: Department of Geology, Utah State University, 1997), 7 Nevertheless, Oaks allows that for the area between Smithfield and Hyrum the assumption is probably correct

17

Although there are no known scientific surveys prior to Fortier's, there are hints that waterlogging in the west fields was a problem during the nineteenth century Dick Smith, who was born at Smithfield in 1882, stated that his family had some land west of town that "had the water come up in it,"which created difficulties in planting and harvesting crops See interview with Dick Smith, contained in Charles S Peterson and Glen Bailey, "Cache Valley Farmers: Some Social Profiles, 1890-1915," prepared for the Ronald V Jensen Historical Farm (September 11, 1979), 3, Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Nevertheless, it is know n that in the early years of the twentieth century seepage from higher farm groun d and canals had begun saturating farm ground in the west fields, creating seeps and bogs and, in some cases, flowing springs. In 1916 R.A. Hart, an engineer working for the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering, investigated a tract of land southwest of Smithfield owned by James Roskelly, the grandson of early Smithfield settler and Mormon bishop Samuel Roskelly. Hart noted that "the area was at one time cultivated and was very productive of grain, hay, beets, and potatoes" but was now "largely too wet for cultivation [with] much of it being an almost impassable bog." Hart also noted that the "injury was due to seepage from the irrigation of higher lands."18

Hart supervised the installation of 1,350 feet of tile, with a 400-foot branch lateral, to drain the sixty-five-acre tract. After installa-

Irrigation engineers examine a dam site in Logan Canyon, 1921. FROM LEFT: W. W. McLaughlin, chief of Division of Irrigation, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering; S. H. McCrory, chief of Bureau of Agricultural Engineering; Samuel Fortier, principal irrigation engineer; L. M. Winsor, irrigation engineer, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering; R. A. Hart, drainage engineer, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering.

tion he reported that the drain field developed at least a second-foot of water. "The line was very effective," Hart noted, "draining all the land from the north...and drying up the spring...at the lower manhole."19

By initiating this and other projects in the west fields, farmers and engineers hoped to minimize the damage caused by the inefficiency of earthen canals and flood irrigation. Pioneer farmers had used flood irrigation as the earliest means of bringing water to their land. In addition, the early ditchmakers had generally employed few scientific principles, and they devoted little attention to water conservation Former Utah State Engineer T R Humphreys explained the method used by early irrigators as follows:

The pioneers used wooden plows and ox teams to dig canals, or dug them by hand They had no levels, so they used a Jacob's Staff or a home-made plumb This was a

18 R A Hart, "Report of the Drainage of Tract #1, Smithfield, Utah" (Berkeley, CA: U S Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering, Drainage Division, 1916), 1

19 Ibid., 5 A "second-foot" of water refers to one cubic foot per second (cfs) One cfs is a flow of 448 gallons per minute, or 646,272 gallons per day

CHANGING HISTORIC LANDSCAPE

Installation of drain tile near Newton, Cache County, 1930s.

The tile was crisscrossed loosely so that water would drain along the tiles and eventually flow into a pipe. Works Progress Administration Photo.

frame 16 by 20 feet, with a stake on each side. One stake was longer than the other, by a measured amount, so as to define the amount of fall needed for water to run downhill A plumb bob was suspended over the center of the frame to achieve the exact measured fall With this device, the canal could be laid off 20 feet at a time.20

Except for the problem of waterlogging, most of the canals and ditches delivered irrigation water reasonably well. Although water engineers usually opposed inefficiency, Hart seemed to realize the potential that the drainage projects held for irrigators on lower lands, and he contended that the water developed from drains more than paid for their cost. O n a subsequent project he reported that the water discharging from the "drains in this locality is very desirable for irrigation and the discharge no doubt will be permanent."21

The permanency of the drains' discharge, however, rested on the continuation of the inefficient system initiated by the valley's pioneer ditch-makers The installation of these drains benefited companies such as the Bench Irrigation Company, which held only secondary water rights at the end of the Bench Canal The company incurred no expense in their installation; higher irrigators who wanted to drain their fields bore that. But because the drains emptied into the closest available natural channel, the water dis-

20

"Proceedings and Papers of the Cache Valley Historical Society," vol 3 (1953-1954), 114, contained in the Cache Valley Historical Society Collection, MS collection 43,Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University J William Hyde related how the Smithfield and Hyde Park Canal waslaid outin the vicinity of Hyde Park, south of Smithfield: "They dugit in I860...the year they came out here...with one team ofhorses andshovels All they had [was] aplow, team.,.and shovels No engineering instruments They had a Brother Lamb [that would] sight it He'd sight if the water could go a block, ifhe thought it [•was] level,why they'd go that way Then ifthe land fell that way,he'd go there, ifit fell back here That's why the ditch don't gostraight. It'd fall, then have to go the other way to get up enough speed to make it up the hill." Seeinterview with J William Hyde, August 13,1979, in Peterson and Bailey, "Cache Valley Farmers: Some Social Profiles," 25

21 R A Hart,"Drainage ofSmithfield Tract # 3"(Berkeley, CA: U S Office ofPublic Roads and Rural Engineering, Drainage Division, 1916),6

MANUSCRIPTS DIVISION MARRIOTT LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

charged into spring streams and sloughs already used by the company, resulting in a significant windfall

The Bench Canal had originally been built to water lands adjacent to the Merrill and Noble and Hopkins Springs Later, it was extended to water fields to the west. This original extension of the canal had taken place during a period of wet years, which began in the late 1860s and extended through the mid-1870s In particularly wet years, farmers actually found it unnecessary to irrigate Since during these years the original users of the springs had more water than they needed—and in fact had a need to remove water—the farmers below were able to extend the canal water to their land. Many Mormo n farmers attribute d the wet perio d to Providence, and they began looking forward to a time when God 'would so moderate the elements that they would actually be able to plow in the canals and ditches.22

God failed to cooperate, however, and drought returned in the early 1880s. Historian A.J. Simmonds has written extensively on the movement of settlers onto lands along the west side of Cache Valley, particularly on the Big Range (grazing land west of the Bear River) at Cornish and Trenton, during the 1870s By comparing the wet period of the early 1980s with documents from the wet period of the late 1860s and early 1870s, Simmonds discovered that changes in groundwater flow in 1984 may have paralleled conditions during the earlier period. Armed with the original survey maps of U.S Deputy Surveyor Andrew Jackson Stewart, Jr., Simmonds revisited areas where settlers had constructed cabins in the early 1870s and found in 1984 that "almost every place a cabin showed on the 1876 maps, there was now a flowing spring."23 The wet period of the 1870s, then, brought a peak in groundwater flow that the settlers capitalized on by moving onto the otherwise-dry Big Range The subsequent return of dry conditions in the mid-1880s caused the springs to dry up and forced settlers to abandon their claims. Alternating wet and dry periods, then, served to expand and contract agriculture within Cache Valley. If wet conditions were the norm during the 1870s, it is reasonable to assume that the first users of springs in the west fields had a greater need to remove than to use water. Hence, these original appropriators of water probably embraced and advocated the idea of extending the canals to accommodate their neighbors to the •west, in Benson

As they appropriated water, water users in the west fields, as in Utah generally, established themselves as holding either primary or secondary water rights. Utah water law, while still evolving, has always rested upon

22 Whether or not Mormons ascribed to the rain-follows-the-plow theory, they were adamantly convinced that God would intercede with nature on their behalf. See Henry Nash Smith, "Rain Follows the Plow: The Notion of Increased Rainfall for the Great Plains" in Huntington Library Quarterly 10:182-84 and "Gleanings from H-West: Rain Follows the Plow" in Montana: Tlie Magazine of Western History 49:4 (1999),92-95

23 Logan HeraldJournal, July 2, 1984

three basic principles. First, water is a public resource, and appropriators acquire only a right to its use, not absolute ownership. Second, water can be appropriated only for "beneficial use," which means that an appropriator cannot claim more -water than he or she can use for irrigation, stock watering, milling, mining, or domestic use Third, water rights are based on what is expressed in the colloquial phrase: "first in time, first in right." Senior appropriators, those who began using the water first, had the right to use an amount that they could beneficially use before other, junior, appropriators could use the water The initial user, therefore, became the primary, or senior, right-holder; all other users were secondary, or junior, right-holders. County courts (before statehood in 1896) and county commissions (after statehood) distributed the water first to primary users and then to users with the next earliest date of priority In 1901, the State Engineer's Office assumed this responsibility.24

The Bench Irrigation Company, which had begun diverting water from Hopkins Springs and Slough and the Merrill and Noble Springs in 1874, was one of the secondary rights-holders on these two water sources. 25 The individuals wh o had first developed the springs had primary rights Therefore, before the stockholders of the Bench Irrigation Company could hope to receive any water, the primary rights-holders on the springs had to be satisfied.

Water issues in the drainage were made more complex by the rights held by Utah Power and Light. The Kimball Decree, issued in February 1922 by Judge James N. Kimball of the First District Court at Logan, addressed these claims. The case arose when Utah Power and Light Company sought a judgment on water rights with respect to the Bear River and its tributaries.26 In 1912 Utah Power and Light had acquired the hydroelectric rights of the Telluride Power Company and had begun using Bear Lake, which was adjacent to but not physically connected to the Bear River, as a storage reservoir Utah Power and Light connected the lake and the river by building two canals that allowed the company to divert water from the river into the lake and from the lake into the river. In 1917 the company installed a pumping plant on the lake's north shore to more efficiently control the flow of water from the lake to the river. With this development, Utah Power and Light could control the amount of water in the river and successively generate hydroelectric power at five downstream power plants

Since, as Samuel Fortier had supposed and as subsequent researchers confirmed, the flow of Bear River increased dramatically in its meanderings through water-rich Cache Valley, Utah Power and Light desired to

2J Frank W Haws, A Critical Analysis of Water Rights and Institutional Factors and Their Effect on the Development of Logan River (Logan: Utah State University, 1965), 72-73 See also Wells A Hutchins and DallinW.Jensen, The Utah Law of Water Rights (Salt Lake City:State Engineer's Office, 1965),3

25 Kimball Decree,33.

26 Ibid., 1-9

know its exact entitlement to Cache Valley's drainage.27 It also sought to establish the priority of its rights against subsequent users, particularly those who had installed electric pumps on the river To establish the priority of its own rights, the company sued all the irrigation companies in the valley. Although the chief concern of Utah Power and Light was to generate power through its "non-consumptive" water rights, in 1912 the company had acquired the earliest consumptive right on the Bear River when it purchased the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company's rights in the Bear River Canal in Box Elder County. The related agreement between the power company and the canal company required Utah Power and Light to deliver a specified amount of water, either the natural flow from the river or storage water from Bear Lake, to the canal company Naturally, rather than paying to pump water from Bear Lake, Utah Power and Light preferred to deliver water that the river picked up in Cache Valley.

In its decree ruling on the power company's rights to this water, the court required each litigant to prove the date on which it had begun utilizing the water beneficially and the amount of water it had historically diverted. However, the decree failed to recommend a standard method by which defendants could measure their irrigation streams. Still, for a fiveyear period the court received testimony, and, according to engineer Frank W Haws, the irrigation company claims were "investigated and verified by" Utah Power and Light. If the power company contested the claims, it could bring a challenge to the court. Although Haws described some of the claims as "vague and meaningless," he also noted that the decree has "weathered [the] storms, [and] never been set aside."28

It is interesting that another wet period preceded the 1922 Kimball Decree.29 Most likely, in order to claim high amounts of water use, irrigators measured their streams during peak flows. If so, the measurements probably reflected higher volumes than would have flowed during normal or dry periods. The Kimball Decre e was therefore generous in its allowances of water to irrigators For instance, it allowed the Bench Irrigation Company a combined diversion from the Hopkins Springs and

27 In 1925 George D Clyde conducted research on the Bear River and concluded that the river gained at least 100 second-feet of flow in Cache County. See George Dewey Clyde, "Hydrographic Studies on the Bear River in Cache Valley From June 15-September 15, 1925," George D Clyde papers, MS collection 176:1:5,Special Collections and Archives,Utah State University.

28 Haws, A Critical Analysis of Water Rights, 97 The decree has been often challenged by both irrigators and Utah Power and Light; disputes have been worked out through the office of the State Engineer Because the decree granted Utah Power and Light priority rights on groundwater seeping into the Bear River, municipal rights are secondary to those of the power company Municipalities drawing from the groundwater must replace it with some other source of water; as a result, the pressure to build dams on the Bear has been strong

29 Norman E. Stauffer, Jr., "Lake Stages of the Great Salt Lake," MS 698, Special Collections and Archives,Utah State University As the final destination for all the drainage of CacheValley,the level of the Great Salt Lake is a good indicator ofjust how wet or dry the climate is. In about 1923 the lake reached an elevation of 4,205 feet above sea level,its highest elevation between the 1870s and 1980s,when it again approached the mid-1870s level of 4,211.5 feet

Slough and the Merrill and Noble Springs of eight second-feet, fixing the date of priority at 1874.30

The eight-second-foot figure that the court granted in 1922 has created some contention between shareholders in the Bench Irrigation Company and state water officials; irrigators have been angry when the water in the canal has not matched the amount of water granted in the decree.31 However, even in non-wet years, after the development of extensive drains in the west fields the Bench Canal probably did carry that volume of water at certain times of the year. In October 1896 Samuel Fortier had measured Hopkins Springs and Slough as flowing at 6.5 second-feet, while measurements for the Merrill and Noble Springs showed a flow of 5.8 secondfeet.32 Whe n R A Hart oversaw installation of the drains in 1916, he believed that the return flow would develop three second-feet per mile of drain. So by 1922 this flow from the drains, coupled with the spring flow,33 might well have given the two sources a combined flow of nearly fifteen second-feet

In the interest of better distributing the water from Hopkins Springs, farmers at both the upper and lower portions of the canal worked cooperatively, at least twice a year, to clean the ditch Furthermore, farmers at the canal's tail end often staggered planting their grain and cutting their hay to coincide with senior irrigators' periods of inactivity. Therefore, once senior appropriators had taken their first cutting of hay and were waiting for it to field-dry, junior irrigators watered their pastures or grain Similarly, if those at the lower end of the ditch postponed the planting of grain until two weeks after their neighbors at the top of the ditch had planted, they would not need water until higher irrigators finished.

Although irrigators engaged in a number of efforts to ensure the smoothest possible operation, secondary users of springs in the west fields often experienced either feast or famine Cooperation worked well during those years with favorable weather conditions, but in less favorable years junior water users were compelled to plant promptly, and inevitable conflicts occurred. With construction of a sugar processing plant at Amalga in 1916 and a canning factory at Smithfield in 1918, farmers introduced new crops into their rotations Because sugar beets, peas, and sweet corn required more frequent and timely irrigation, cooperation between senior and junior irrigators began to break down. After 1917, when electricity became available in the areas outlying Smithfield, many of the irrigators at the tail end of the Bench and Hammer canals installed electrically driven

30 The Bench Irrigation Company had re-channeled these streams,which originally flowed in different directions, into the Bench Canal.

31 Minutes of the Bench Irrigation Company,January 7, 1990 Record in possession of the company's secretary,Benson, Utah.

32 Fortier, The Water Supply of Cache Valley, 40 33 Hart,"Drainage of Smithfield Tract # 3,"6

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

pumps along the banks of the Bear River to supplement their water rights on spring sources. 34

Even as the holders of secondary rights had to scramble for water, th e flow of Hopkins Springs and Slough remained fairly constant. In 1925 George Dewey Clyde, workin g for the Agricultural Irrigation Division of the USDA, took measurements Heavy spring precipitation had followed a year of below-normal winter precipitation that year, resulting in very little runoff. The early spring rains, which continued at timely intervals throughout the summer, made it unnecessary to irrigate for much of the season. Less irrigation brought less return flow from seepage, and, according to Clyde, this caused "a marked deficiency in ground water supplies."35 Although Clyde noticed this deficiency in June, he recorded measurements that showed the combined flow of the springs and slough at 6.9 second-feet—more, even, than Fortier's 1896 measurement of 6.5 second-feet Unfortunately, Clyde did not measure the flow of the Merrill and Noble Springs, but they likely also continued to discharge at approximately the same level as they had in 1896.

At this time, the amount of land irrigated by the springs west of Smithfield had not increased or changed appreciably since 1890 The population of Smithfield increased from 1,386 in 1890 to a peak of 2,708 in 1920. Thereafter, the population declined to 2,383 in 1950. Throughout this period, the flow of springs in the west fields remained constant, even though a considerable number of artesian wells had been developed in the aquifers of Cache Valley Prior to 1920, only about 400 wells had been driven, with most of these near Logan, the county seat.36 But by 1946, when William Peterson, director of the Utah Cooperative Extension Service, surveyed the groundwater resources of Cache Valley, he identified more than 1,200 wells in the Utah portion of the valley Peterson stated his reasons for conducting the survey as follows:

34 This action has become a matter of contention When the irrigators installed the pumps, they neglected to change the points of diversion from the springs to the river; therefore, they lost their original date of priority, and the date of their rights became the date they began pumping from the river These former senior rights holders then became junior to Utah Power and Light In the late 1980s, at the insistence of UP&L, these irrigators had to begin paying for the water they pumped when it became necessary to augment the flow of the Bear River with storage water from Bear Lake.

35 Clyde,"Hydrographic Studies on the Bear River in CacheValley."

36 Statistical Abstract of Utah, 1973 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah), 31;William Peterson, "Ground Water Supply in Cache Valley, Utah, Available for Domestic Use and Irrigation," New Circular Series no 133 (Logan: Utah Cooperative Extension Service, 1946), 62-101

William Peterson, director of Extension Services at the Agricultural College.

CHANGING HISTORIC LANDSCAPE

This study has been prompted by the general acceptance that CacheValley is interpreted through its geologic history and the hundreds of flowing wells already developed to be an ideal artesian basin, with large promise of additional underground water development However, many believe development already has gone to or beyond full capacity Hundreds of home-owners in the valley have driven wells for domestic use and in the past ten years many wells have ceased to flow, compelling their deepening or the installation of pumps Larger wells have been driven for irrigation purposes, and their large flow has been interpreted as a direct cause of the reduced flow of the upper wells near the fringe of the artesian basin.37

Even with increased withdrawal from wells—few of which, admittedly, -were in the vicinity of the west field springs—the springs continued to flow at or near their previous levels. Peterson monitored the Hopkins Springs apart from the discharge of the slough and reported that it flowed at 3.7 second-feet In calling attention to the importance of return flow from irrigation and drainage, he also noted that the slough and springs combined could flow anywhere from eight second-feet to thirty-second feet.38

The inefficient use of water resources—through flood irrigation and earthen canals—continued to supply the springs, seeps, and drains in Smithfield's west fields with a consistent discharge as late as 1968 This was true even though drought afflicted northern Utah between 1952 and 1968, with twelve out of sixteen years producing below-average precipitation.39 Furthermore, by 1970 the population of Smithfield had increased 33 percent Despite these combined developments, in 1968 the U.S Geological Survey reported a consistent flow from Hopkins Springs.40

Between 1968 and 1990, the year in which the Survey next measured the flow of springs in Cache Valley, dramatic changes occurred in the groundwater system. The streams arising from the flow of Hopkins Springs and the Merril l and Nobl e Springs were noticeably diminished Furthermore, as each irrigation season progressed, the usual increase in flow from the drain fields did not materialize.41 As a result of return flow and seepage from higher irrigation, the drain fields and springs had usually reached their peak flow in late summer But rather than increasing in output, many of the drains began drying up Although drought had again struck northern Utah, drought alone cannot explain the sudden decrease in the flow of Hopkins Springs, a source that had until 1990 survived periods of drought and remained remarkably consistent.42

"Peterson,"Groundwater Supply," 1

38 Ibid., 23-24

39 William J Alder,"Climate of Salt Lake City, UT," NOAA Technical Memorandum, NWS WR-152 (Salt Lake City: NationalWeather Service Forecast Office, 1996),53

40 L.J. McGreevy and L.J. Bjorkland, "Selected Hydrologic Data: Cache Valley, Utah and Idaho," Utah Basic-Data Release 21 (Salt Lake City: U.S Geological Survey, 1970), 18

41 Farmers along the Bench and Hammer canals, as well as primary appropriators of the spring sources, all noticed the declining flow of groundwater in the west fields.

42 Wendell Munk, conversation with the author Mr Munk, who is now eighty-four years old, has farmed and lived in Benson his entire life As a neighbor, the author has had many opportunities to discuss the irrigation systems in the area with Mr Munk The drought that occurred in 1934 has been character-

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Municipal water development may account partly for the springs' decline. Population increased by more than 133 percent in Smithfield between 1950 and 1990, requiring an increase in groundwater withdrawals Furthermore, neighboring Hyde Park and North Logan, which also drew groundwater from the same aquifer, grew by 240 percent and 600 percent, respectively.43 In just three years, from 1987 to 1990, the towns and cities between Hyrum, in the southern part of the valley, and Smithfield increased their withdrawal of groundwater from 3,800 to 8,746 acre-feet annually. However, hydrologists traditionally have contended that a major source of groundwater recharge comes from unconsumed irrigation -water.44 The highly inefficient use of water resources in Cache Valley kept the flow of springs and spring streams relatively constant until 1990

During this period, most canals near Smithfield had efficiency ratings of less than 70 percent, while on-farm laterals rated only about 40 percent. For years, water engineers expressed concern over this perceived wastefulness, 45 and Utahns always have considered the conservation of water resources paramount Accordingly, Smithfield Irrigation Company laid plans for installing a pressurized sprinkler system in the early 1970s. At least fifteen years elapsed, however, before the company surmounted formidable economic and physical barriers and completed the project. When the new system finally did became operational, farmers and irrigation company managers began plowing in the canals and ditches The newly planted grass had hardly taken root where the ditches once ran before many of the drains in the west fields stopped flowing. Subsequently, the springs in the west

ized as the worst in recorded Utah history Nonetheless, farmers along the Bench Canal and the Hammer Canal, according to Mr Munk, continued to irrigate using the spring streams granted them by the Kimball Decree Although there was less available water, they survived the period better than did many of the farmers who relied upon the flow from Summit Creek, Logan River, or Bear River During the summer of 1934, Governor Henry Blood appointed a water conservation committee that met with local irrigation companies in an attempt to find additional sources of water and to mediate conflicts As the summer progressed, state officials began curtailing the use of pumps on Bear River in CacheValley because the irrigators all had junior rights to the Bear River Canal Company in Box Elder County.When state water officials arrived at the pump site of the Riverside Pump and Irrigation Company, however, they were met by the company's secretary, Clarence Homer Homer informed the state officials that the company's rights were not on the Bear River but on spring sources in the west fields, and although the pumping plant had been installed in 1917, they continued to draw water from both sources As a result, the Riverside Company's pump was the only one allowed to operate, unabated, in 1934 SeeTwentieth Biennial Report of the State Engineer to the Governor of Utah for the Bienniumjuly 1,1934, toJune 30, 1936, 68

43 1990 Census Brief: Cities and Counties of Utah (Salt Lake City: Utah Office of Planning and Budget, 1991), 10-12

44 Kim A Kariya, D Michael Roark, and Karen M Hanson, Hydrology of Cache Valley, Cache County, Utah, and Adjacent Part of Idaho, with Emphasis on Simulation of Ground- Water Flow (Salt Lake City: Utah Department of Natural Resources, 1994), 27, 54 See also Orson W Israelsen, Cleve H Milligan, and A Alvin Bishop, Needs For and Methods of Drainage: Logan-Hyde Park-Benson Area, Utah, Special Report no. 11 (Logan: Utah Agricultural Experiment Station),25.

45 "Working Paper: Irrigation Conveyance System Inventory Summary, Bear River Basin, Idaho-UtahWyoming, for Bear River Basin Type IV Study" (U.S Soil Conservation Service, 1976), 82-85; Frank W Haws,"Summary Report On Project 211:Lining of Irrigation Canals and Reservoirs" (Utah Agricultural Experiment Station miscellaneous report, 18.16:63 no 56), 16, Special Collections and Archives, Utah State University.

fields began discharging less. Wet areas and bogs began disappearing from fields, cattails died, and songbirds left In the years following the conversion, land previously used only for pasture would be cultivated in grain and alfalfa, and it would be watered from above instead of from below.46 During the drought years of the early 1990s, the U.S. Geological Survey measured the Hopkins Springs' flow at less than 1.5 cubic feet per second, less than half of what it had consistently flowed the previous eighty-six years Even with the return of normal precipitation during the rest of the decade, the springs in the west fields have yet to regain their previous consistency.47

Cache Valley's agricultural development has always been contingent on water Wet periods brought expansion while dry periods brought contraction Although the wet years of the 1870s helped make possible the initial settlement of Benson,48 increased groundwater sources from the west field drains further contributed to the settlement process. The Bench Irrigation Company, exploiting the increase in groundwater through spring sources and drains in the west fields, benefited most from the inefficient irrigation practices of higher irrigators. But those benefits vanished when higher irrigators began irrigating with sprinklers. During several of the ensuing years, the Bench Irrigation Company has failed to even clean the ditch of weeds and debris in anticipation of receiving an irrigation stream

Canals and ditches have long been regarded as a distinctive part of Utah's landscape. "The roadside irrigation ditches are characteristic of virtually all Mormon villages," wrote Richard V Francaviglia in 1978. They are "a symbol vividly demonstrating that the entire town is dependent for its very life

46 Conversation with Jeff Gittens, current president of the Smithfield Irrigation Company,January 29, 1998. The conversion from the old system to the new pressurized system was not without contention. Many of the older farmers in the area objected to the high price tag of conversion Some irrigators became disenchanted with the progress being made on the new system and proposed separating from the Smithfield Irrigation Company to form their own company Furthermore, when the new system did become operational the timing corresponded with the onset of drought, and Summit Creek, the system's main source of water, was insufficient to fully meet the demands of the irrigators Initially, the company's wells, which were used to augment the flow of Summit Creek during low water periods, were not plumbed into the system.This caused further confusion and contention among some of the shareholders until the wells were brought online The company also had some particularly complex arrangements for exchanges with water users on Birch Creek (a tributary to Summit Creek) and with the Logan, Hyde Park and Smithfield Canal; these took a few seasons to work out According to Mr Gittens, however, the bugs have been worked out, and the system now operates very well

47 D Michael Roark and Karen M Hanson, "Selected Hydrologic Data for Cache Valley, Utah and Idaho, 1969-1991,"Utah Hydrologic-Data Report 48 (Salt Lake City: U.S Geological Survey, 1992), 60 Secondary users of spring streams in CacheValley were not the only ones in Utah to feel the sting of efficiency In 1992 the Utah Supreme Court decided a case that involved a suit brought by a holder of a secondary water right against a holder of a primary water right. In Steed vs. New Escalante Irrigation Company, the court ruled that a primary irrigator had the right to upgrade and make more efficient its irrigation system (in this case a conversion from flood irrigation to pressurized sprinkler irrigation) even though the upgrade deprived the secondary right holder of his irrigation stream See David B Hartvigsen,"Water and the Law:Efficiency of Use vs Subsequent Re-Use," Utah Water News, November 6, 1992,4

48 The area that is now referred to as Benson was at one time divided into two areas The upper portion, that area closest to the west fields, was originally known as King, after the name of the post office Later, the residents of this area referred to their community as Riverside, a name used to differentiate between the two school districts After the Riverside School and the Benson School were consolidated, both the upper and lower portions were simply referred to as Benson

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

on the irrigation water coursing down from the mountains."49 Yet east of the point where the Hopkins Springs flow to the surface, most of the ditches and canals have vanished from the west fields today. The ditches that once conveyed water to city lots have been plowed in as well, bringing a substantive change to what had been a traditional part of Smithfield's landscape.

In Smithfield, as in many other towns, pipes and sprinklers have replaced the customary roadside ditch. But landscape is never static. In Cache Valley, it has undergone drastic change. O n the foothills and benches, the visible shoreline stages of Lake Bonneville are a reminder of just how dramatic those changes have been Compared with geologic change, human impact upon the landscape is minimal. Nevertheless, since settlement that impact has been constant. By the year 2020, water engineers estimate, Cache County will need an additional 15,000 acre-feet of water for increased municipal and industrial needs.50 Furthermore, as other irrigation companies convert from flood irrigation to sprinkler irrigation, and as farm land is developed for housing and commercial interests, less water will be applied to the surface of the land. As asphalt and concrete replace agricultural land, landowners will sell or transfer their irrigation stock to municipalities This seemingly inescapable dilemma of modern society will result in less recharge to the groundwater system, and as recharge of the aquifer subsides, the springs in the west fields may cease to flow entirely. As with previous changes in the west fields, their absence will certainly diminish the landscape

49 RichardV Francaviglia, The Mormon Landscape: Existence, Creation, and Perception of a Unique Image in the American West (NewYork:AMS Press,Inc., 1978), 13-14

s° Memorandum from Robert L Morgan to CacheValley water users (draft), March 20, 1997, 12, copy in author's possession.

"Another Good Man": Anthony W. Ivins and the Defeat of Reed Smoot

By KRISTEN SMART ROGERS

When in 1932 Utah senator Reed Smoot lost the seat that he had held for nearly thirty years, the moment was a bitter one for him Years later, he was still brooding over his defeat It was in an automobile at a funeral that Smoot reportedly fixed the blame for the loss on one of his fellow apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)."Bro Ivins had me defeated all over Utah before I knew a thing about it," he exclaimed.1

"Brother Ivins" was Anthony Woodward Ivins, a staunch Democrat who in 1932 was also first counselor in the LDS First Presidency.2 The man is largely forgotten now, but at the time Ivins had significant power, and during that election he was in a position to do some political damage He had the complete love and trust of his cousin, church president Heber J Grant, who was absent from Utah during the weeks before the election and had left Ivins to ABOVE-. Anthony W. Ivins (1852mind the store.3 At the same time, Ivins was 1934, LDS apostle and Democrat.

Kristen S Rogers is the associate editor of the Utah Historical Quarterly. The author is grateful to Thomas Alexander, Jill Mulvay Derr.A Hamer Reiser Jr., William and Donna Smart, and Jean Bickmore White for their comments and contributions Unless otherwise noted, all photos are from USHS collections

' Florence Ivins Hyde,"My Story," manuscript copy, MS A-1874, Utah State Historical Society.

2 Articles in LDS church magazines comprise the majority of biographical work done on Ivins Scholarly works frequently draw upon his papers, but he has not himself been the subject of extensive research. This study draws largely upon the Anthony W Ivins collection (MS B-2) housed at the Utah State Historical Society

3 See Anthony W Ivins diary, January 1, 1927-September 12, 1932, MS B-2:5, USHS, for more on Grant's absence.

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Apostle-Senator Reed Smoot (1862-1941, left) with President William Howard Taft in 1909.

no fan of Smoot's Whe n someon e worrie d aloud wha t woul d happe n if Smoot were not re-elected, Ivins shrugged it off "Oh, we will find another good man," he said.4 Behind that diplomatic but telling statement lay years of partisan conflict with Smoot

Despite Smoot's accusation, he likely 'would have lost the election with or withou t Ivins workin g against him. In 1932 the Great Depression had put Republican incumbents on precarious ground. Having suffered through three years of a dismal economy, the electorate had grow n angry at Herber t Hoove r and the Republicans; just at this time of desperation the charismatic and innovative Franklin D Roosevelt came onto the scene Perhaps worst of all for Smoot was the fact that some felt that the Hawley-Smoot tariff—his favorite accomplishment—had in fact precipitated the depression.

Although in retrospect a Republica n crash seems to have been inevitable, at the beginning of the campaign no one could foresee the conclusion; after all, Smoot had become something of a political institution and had easily won his last two victories. But the election was doubtful enough that the campaign grew heated, and both parties fought vigorously The question is: What was the part of Democrat Anthony Ivins in the "red hot"5 election of 1932?

An answer to the question must include a deeper look at the man himself. Amazingly, at Ivins's death in 1934 this now-obscure counselor in the

4 Milton R Merrill, Reed Smoot: Apostle in Politics (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1990), 136 Democrat James H. Moyle wrote to Franklin Roosevelt briefing him on the situation in Utah and calling Ivins "a very able and potential factor in the affairs of Utah He has always been a very fine and loyal Democrat, and by the way is not friendly to Senator Smoot politically and I don't think he has ever voted for him or advocated his election." See James Henry Moyle, Mormon Democrat: The Religious and Political Memoirs ofJames Henry Moyle, ed Gene Sessions (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, 1998),261

5 AnthonyW.Ivins to HeberJ. Grant, October 26,1932, MS B-2:9:7, USHS.

First Presidency was called the most widely known and best-beloved man in Utah. "He was the most remarkable all around man I ever knew," J. Reuben Clark said at his funeral.6 Eulogies noted his tolerance, judgment, self-sacrifice, gentleness, wisdom, and modesty "N o absent one in need of a friend ever went undefended, if Anthony W Ivins was present," wrote fellow apostle and ardent Republican Richard R. Lyman.7 Former Utah governor and Secretary ofWar George Dern said, "I have long regarded him as Utah's foremost citizen. His contribution to Utah's economic, cultural and spiritual 'well-being is incalculable But above all else, I would put his service in promoting internal harmony."8

Despite these accolades, Smoot was, according to conventional standards, far more visible and influential than Ivins; he loomed large not only in the Utah power structure but in Washington as well. After beginning his career as a Provo businessman and then becoming an apostle in the LDS church in 1900, he had run for the Senate in 1902 After his election, he did have to cross one major hurdle: Opponents challenged his right to the seat, claiming that his connections to the LDS church and polygamy—although Smoot himself was not a polygamist—disqualified him. He emerged victorious from the polygamy hearings, however, and went on to dominate Utah politics for nearly thirty years During that time, he served as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee and was able to secure many benefits for his supporters, including federal appointments, tariffs on Utah products, and funding for public projects.9

But the formidable Smoot must have recognized a potency in Anthony Ivins s influence, or he 'would not have thought that Ivins could engineer the election Ivins had developed his own personal and political power through wide experience and a natural talent for leadership. He had been an actual pioneer, having traveled to Utah with his parents in 1853 as a baby At age nine, he went with his family to colonize St George, where his skills as a cowboy and outdoorsman became legendary.10 In 1875 the church called him to explore Arizona and Mexico with six other men; this expedition lasted nine months and spanned 3,000 miles. He would serve

6 Quoted in David Dryden, "Biographical Essays on Three General Authorities of the Early Twentieth Century:Anthony W Ivins, George F Richards, and Stephen L Richards," Task Papers in LDS History, No 11 (Salt Lake City: Historical Department of the Church ofjesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1976),21

7 Richard R Lyman, "President Anthony W Ivins," reprint from Relief Society Magazine, November 1934, Pamphlet 13922, USHS Lyman had been a Democrat until about 1903 See D Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997) 668-69.

8 Thomas Cottam Romney, The Mormon Colonies in Mexico (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938), 133; "Great Mormon Personalities, An Interview Between Prof. M. Wilford Poulson and Instructor Jack R. Gibb (B.Y.U.)," radio program, KSL, April 3, 1938, Pamphlet 2697, USHS "Although it would seem unlikely, Ivins was, from all appearances, universally loved," wrote the researcher who catalogued the Ivins papers SeeAnn Hinckley,"Biographical Notes" for Anthony Ivins collection, USHS

5 For a biography of Smoot, see Milton R. Merrill, Reed Smoot: Apostle in Politics (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1989) His diaries are available in Reed Smoot, In the World:The Diaries of Reed Smoot, ed Harvard S Heath (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996)

10 John Koller,"Tony Ivins:Son of Saintland," in Golden West, January 1970

three more church missions, one to the Navajos and Pueblos of New Mexico, one to Mexico City, and one as head of the Mormon colonies in Mexico

Between these church assignments, however, Tony Ivins became manager of the Mojave Land and Cattle Company and part-owner of the Kaibab Cattle Company, the two largest cattle outfits on the Arizona Strip. He also performed often as an actor on the St. George stage and was known for his speaking and writing. And he rose to prominence in civic affairs, holding the positions of constable, county and city attorney (he had studied law by campfire light when he was on the range), county recorder, sheriff, city councilor, tax collector, and mayor. A friend of the Shivwits Indians, he became more deeply connected to them when he sent a letter to the federal government detailing their neglected and destitute condition—and also explaining that they were interfering with cattle operations on the Kaipairowits Plateau. In return he got an apology, a check, and an appointment as Indian agent. With the check he bought land on the Santa Clara River where the Shivwits Reservation remains today.11

Ivins's civic positions hint at what was a primary interest and talent of his: politics. In 1888, when Utah was moving away from the old People's and Liberal parties, Ivins and his brother-in-law Edward H Snow12 went around Washington County organizing the "Sagebrush Democrats." Later, when LDS church leaders decided to make Utah into a two-party state by visiting certain wards and suggesting to members which party to join, he refused to switch parties. According to Frank Jonas, only rarely did anyone object or refuse to comply with the instructions But when apostle Francis Lyman came to St. George to push the Republican party, Ivins "got up in the meeting and protested vigorously at the church trying to tell the members of the Church how to vote." Reportedly, Washington County never once voted Republican as long as he and Ed Snow lived there.13

According to local lore, Ivins was indeed an effective party man One anecdote tells of the time the Republicans sent a professional campaigner named Marshall to southern Utah. After a rousing rally in St. George, he planned to journey on to the already-Republican Kanab for his next meeting Tony Ivins offered horses, a buckboard, a camp outfit, and himself to take Marshall on the five-day round trip Dressed in his working clothes, Ivins looked like any other cowboy. So during the two days on the trail, Marshall preached Republicanism to this rustic, and by the time they

" Hinckley, "Biographical Notes," 2 Koller, "Tony Ivins"; Anthony Ivins, "A Mystery Solved," in Preston Nibley, ed., Pioneer Stories (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1943), 206 In one election, Ivins was simultaneously elected county attorney, county recorder, and sheriff; see Grant Ivins and Florence Ivins Hyde interview,June 27,1991, MS A-6047, USHS

12 Ivins married Elizabeth Ashby Snow (Libby),daughter ofErastus Snow,in 1878.

13 Frank H Jonas, "Utah, the Different State," in Frank H.Jonas, ed., Politics in the American West (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1969), 328-29. Grant Ivins and Florence Ivins Hyde interview, June 27, 1991,MSA-6047, Folder 1,USHS.

reached Kanab he probably thought he'd made a convert

But Tony had been listening carefully to all the arguments, and, just as he had figured they would, the people of Kanab insisted on a debate between the local boy and the campaigner The sophisticated Mr Marshall spoke first and made all sorts of eloquent promises, including that somehow the Republicans would hand the much-disputed Arizona Strip over to Utah. After he sat down, Ivins stood up in his khakis and wide-brimmed Stetson—receiving an ovation just for his plain clothing—and in prompt order deflated his opponent by telling the story of Satan offering Christ the kingdoms of the world "Do you know that Satan did not own a thimble full of God's green earth," he said, "but that the humble person he "was talking to had created it?" That did it. The audience leaped to their feet, clapping and whistling their appreciation at Tony's sarcastic brilliance Although Ivins went on to "finish the skinning" and his speech, the debate was essentially over. 14

Ivins no doubt felt that the Democratic party best represented his political philosophy, a philosophy that he explained in various speeches He believed that government existed to protect its people from enemies within and without, to regulate commerce, to build highways, to provide free schools, and to relieve local disasters. He abhorred subsidies and special favors, believed that the right to vote was a sacred privilege, and thought that all too often elected officials proved to be "rogues and swindlers."

His partisanship was not absolute or dogmatic, however. Ivins preached that "good and wise men" were to be found in all parties and religions. In fact, he spoke against the "baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally." Party politics, he said, served "always to distract the public councils, and enfeeble the public administration." Although parties "are useful....there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be...to mitigate and assuage" the spirit of party. In particular, Ivins warned against control of parties by "artful and enterprising" minorities.15

In making this statement, perhaps he had in mind, partly, Smoot's Federal Bunch, the political machine that had so effectively controlled Utah politics during the first years of the century. In any case, Ivins's stated political philosophy often found no mirror in the beliefs and actions of Senator Smoot For instance, according to biographer Milton R Merrill, Smoot had somewhat less reverence for the franchise; he was not enamored of the "popular clamor" and was opposed to the direct election of senators. In particular, he felt that the suffrage of women was a dangerous thing And special favors •were Smoot's specialty—at least that was how his Democratic opponents

14 John G M Ivins [?],untitled typescript sketch, MS B-2:l:2:28,1-3

13 Ibid., 4; Franklin S Harris, comp., Anthony W. Ivins Sermons, typescript, MS B-2:15, 90, 94, 117; MS B-2:15:4:5, 1,3,5

16 Merrill, Reed Smoot, 98,207,202, 230.

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

But in the early years, whe n Ivins was a rising political star in Washington County, the conflicts between him and Smoot were yet to surface. In 1894, southern Utah voters sent their favorite Democrat to the state constitutional convention, where he argued for woman suffrage and the consolidation of the state university system. Ivins's intelligence and abilities won him widespread admiration at the convention, gaining him so much attention that newspapers predicted his party would nominate him for governor in the state's first election.17

But fate—or possibly the Republicans—woul d intervene . Th e Republican-leaning LDS First Presidency of Wilford Woodruff, Joseph F. Smith, and George Q Cannon called Ivins to direct the Mormon colonies in Mexico Although Ivins's organizational and leadership skills and his previous experience in Mexico made him eminently qualified for the job, many saw the call as a move to get this popular Democrat out of politics. As for Ivins, he had many reasons, not all relating to his political ambitions, for not wanting to go But he obeyed and went.18

That significant chapter of his life lasted twelve years Perhaps it was during this period that Ivins first felt some negativity toward Smoot—because of the polygamy issue. As head of the Mexican colonies, it was Ivins's responsibility to marry polygamous couples. During the Smoot hearings, church leaders asked Ivins to testify to Congress that the Mormons in Mexico were not practicing plural marriage "I will not go for two reasons," he said. "First, it [is] none of the Senate's business what the Mormons [are] doing in Mexico and in the second place I refuse to perjure myself"19

17 Grant Ivins and Florence I Hyde interview

18 See H. Grant Ivins et al., reading group discussion on polygamy, September 26, 1970, MS A-6180, USHS Wilford Woodruff's politics are somewhat unclear; Michael Quinn believes that, based on the actions of his administration, his actual affiliation was Republican Smith and Cannon were both ardent Republicans See Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, 333-34

19 Ivins had helped write into the state constitution a law against polygamy (more accurately termed polygyny), and he chafed at his responsibility to marry couples who would then return to Utah as lawbreakers According to his son Grant, one time, after he had encountered some men who had plural wives in Mexico, he said,"Those fellows make me so mad When men will come to Mexico to break the law of the country under which they live and where they came for citizenship I have no respect for them." He also hated the church's cover-up of post-Manifesto polygamy.According to his son, he said that when he was called to Mexico "George Q Cannon said to me,'Now Brother Ivins, if you have occasion to meet Porfirio Diaz, the President of Mexico, we want you tell him that we are NOT practicing polygamy in Mexico.'""So he went down there with a feeling of disgust toward George Q Cannon," Grant Ivins said; see H Grant Ivins et al reading group discussion; Grant Ivins and Florence I Hyde interview; "Polygamy in Mexico as Practiced by the Mormon Church," typescript, 1970, Heber Grant Ivins collection, 1:16, USHS Diaz probably already knew about the polygamists One memoirist writes that in the 1880s "a delegation sought audience with Porfirio Diaz, concerning his attitude toward the practice of 'plurality of wives' in his country After explaining that Mexico had no laws which would interfere with their family practices, President Diaz added, 'It does not matter to Mexico whether you drive your horses tandem or four abreast.'"InAnnie R.Johnson, Heartbeats of Colonia Diaz (Salt Lake City:author-published, 1972), 14

As almost the only non-polygamist in the Mormon colonies, Ivins came under intense pressure to practice plural marriage himself; visiting authorities would tell his family that they would not reach the "Celestial Kingdom" unless he did But he refused "He was not the type to break any law,particularly one he had helped draw up himself," his daughter Florence said;see Florence Ivins Hyde,"My Story,"n.d., MS A-1874, USHS Of his wife, Libby, Ivins said, "No one has, no one ever will, no one ever can take her place";see Lyman,"President AnthonyW Ivins."

After his call to be a Mormon apostle in 1907, Ivins would have many occasions to disagree with Smoot's approach to politics. In fact, it was soon after Ivins arrived in Salt Lake City that Smoot waged a fight to defeat Prohibition—in opposition to the feelings of nearly the entire church membership. The senator mobilized his formidable political machine against Prohibition in order to please non-Mormons , but his stance whipped the Mormon community into a "moral frenzy"; some even called for Smoot's dismissal from the apostleship Whe n the political winds changed, however, Smoot changed his tune and in 1916 became the most "ardent prohibitionist of all."20 Ivins may well have detested this kind of political maneuvering.

But it was another issue, the League of Nations, that revealed the gulf between Ivins and Smoot The senator opposed the League as proposed by Woodrow Wilson; in fact, he generally opposed Wilson himself During October general conference in 1916 he noted in his diary, "Ivins made a peace speech virtually endorsing Wilson's Mexican policy. During recess I saw pres Smith and suggested he call on Pres Pratt of the Mexican Mission to report conditions in Mexico and that would give him a chance to in part answer Ivins. This he did...."21 In 1919 Smoot wrote, "I see Wilson lauded at the [church general] Conference by Apostle Ivins and endorsed by Pres. Grant. I can't help but think it a mistake."22

The debate over the League of Nations brought a more direct confrontation. Most of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles supported Wilson's League, and the issue found its way into several sermons. In July 1919 Ivins spoke at a stake conference in Ogden urging his listeners to support the League At the end of his talk, stake president L W Shurtliff called for a vote by "those of you who agree with his remarks and who -wish for peace in the world." Apparently, all in the congregation wished for peace; all raised their hands.

Immediately the Republican press pounced upon Ivins. The Salt Lake Citizen printed a sarcastic editorial entitled "Smoot-Ivins Debate Would Shed Much Light." "Events seem to be shaping themselves for a magnificent debate between our senior senator and Apostle Ivins, one standing by the old constitution and the other seeking to convince himself...and others that the league covenant is a revelation from on high," the paper wrote. Ivins, who had spent so much time south of the Rio Grande in the "mental wilds" of Mexico, -was obviously twisting the constitution, the editorial hinted Perhaps at the conclusion of a Smoot-Ivins debate the presiding officer could say, "those of you who agree with the remarks of Senator Smoot, wish for peace, uphold the constitution of the United States and are

20 Merrill, Reed Smoot, 160-61,189-91

21 Smoot, In the World, 331 Wilson's policy during the Mexican revolution was not tough-minded enough for Smoot

22 Ibid., 416

in favor of the Fourth of July, -will please say 'aye' and cry 'down with Ivins and war.'"23

The Herald Republican, meantime, called Ivins's speech "one of the most partisan political speeches ever delivered in or out of a church in Utah. Mr. Ivins took an unfair advantage of his audience by forcing a vote under a false issue between patriotism and disloyalty. The system is the cheapest form of political trickery and is entirely unworthy of the high office Mr Ivins hold [sic] in his church."24

Ivins responded to both by letter To the Herald, he explained the speech and his position. He had only referred to the League in four speeches, and he had not made a truly political address for more than twenty years, he said. He had never asked people to vote upon the peace treaty or the League; to the contrary, he had advised them against any resolutions endorsing it Finally, he explained his support: "I endorse the league because I believe it to be the greatest forward movement for recognition of the universal brother hood of God, and brother hood of man that the world has ever known."25

To the Citizen, on the other hand, he sent a caustic letter calling the editorial writer a jackass. A debate between Smoot and himself would not be interesting, he wrote, because the two were not that far apart in their opinions "If the purpose of your article is to create a controversy between Senator Smoot and me, it is a dismal failure, for no such controversy will occur." He copied the letter to Smoot.26

Actually, a debate between the two apostles probably would have been interesting. The League certainly remained an issue among the Quorum of the Twelve. After October conference 1919, Smoot bemoaned President Heber J Grant's statement in support of the League and the unfortunate fact that the League had been mentioned in prayer The next year the same issue erupted in meetings of the Twelve. O n July 29 the men spent two hours discussing the League and Smoot's use of scriptures to support his political views. Democrat Stephen L. Richards joined Ivins in condemning Smoot On August 5 the Twelve discussed it again, with Ivins and others

23 Citizen,August 16, 1919.

24 Salt Lake Herald Republican, July 23,1919

25 Ibid.,August 15, 1919 Ivins went on to say,"I shall continue to work for, and preach peace on earth good will to all men, and advocate all that makes for this condition I shall show my Americanism by sustaining, and holding up the hands of the men who bear the burdens of state and national affairs, regardless of their political affiliation, as I have always done, and stand by and defend every churchman who is striving to establish Christ's kingdom on earth, regardless of sect or creed If this is fooling the people let the Herald 'make the most of it.'"

26 Ivins to E P Gallagher, Citizen editor, September 22, 1919, MS B-2:9:9:5 "I admit that there are many Burros in Mexico," he wrote, "they bear the burdens of the country by day, and keep one awake with their midnight serenade, but I am obliged to admit that I have never heard ajackass bray louder, and to less effect, than the one who brays through your paper." For more on the League controversy, seeJames B Allen, "Personal Faith and Public Policy: Some Timely Observations on the League of Nations Controversy in Utah," BYU Studies 14:1 (Autumn 1973), 77-98 Perhaps Ivins's public stance was mild in comparison to that of other church leaders; although Allen examines the split among church leaders, he does not list Ivins as one of the key players in the debate

insisting that Smoot act in accord -with the decision of the quoru m to suppor t the League. President Grant appears to have been a moderatin g influence, and whe n he expressed the belief that each membe r should act according to his convictions, the apostles dropped the issue.27

LDS church general authorities at a dinner. Heber J. Grant is at the center. On right side of table are Ivins and Joseph Fielding Smith. B. H. Roberts is toward the back, with white mustache. At left, front to back, are Charles Nibley, Rudger Clawson, George F. Richards, James E. Talmage, and Stephen L. Richards.

In other partisan issues Ivins and Smoot tended to line up on opposite sides In 1920 presiding bishop Charles Nibley, a strong Republican and a key confidant and political strategist for Smoot, was indicted for conspiring in restraint of trade in the sugar industry Smoot, worried that the indictment would affect his upcoming election, pressured Grant to speak in Nibley's defense at general conference. Ivins strongly opposed that action; nevertheless, Grant did make a statement asking members to withhold judgment.The statement displeased some Democrats, Smoot wrote.28

27 Smoot, In the World, 422, 449-51

28 Ibid., 457;Thomas Alexander, Mormonism in Transition: A History of the Latter-day Saints, 1890-1930 (reprint ed.: Urbana and Chicago:University of Illinois Press, 1996), 83-84.

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

In a diary entry on October 14, 1920, Smoot indicated a pattern of opposition from Ivins: At a quorum meeting "[Democrat] BH Roberts attacks and false statements made against me were brought up by Pres Grant... As usual Bro Ivins jumped in the breach for Roberts." At another meeting, Ivins spoke out against the church spending money to keep the partisan Herald Republican afloat. "I thought it best to say nothing," Smoot wrote. In time, Ivins's arguments that it was improper for the church to support a partisan, money-draining newspaper convinced Grant to sell the Herald.29

In 1928 Smoot recorded that Ivins had "in unmeasured terms condemned" Ernest Bamberger, a Republican candidate for senator, questioning the man's honesty and character "I answered him as he thought it was improper for me to support such a man." Though he probably spoke to his brethren with self-assurance, Smoot spent a sleepless night with Ivins's criticism running through his mind To his diary Smoot confessed that he himself recognized his candidate's failings, but he felt he had to do his Republican duty and support him.30

According to his public statements, Ivins would have deplored placing the good of the party over the need for "good and wise men" in office. But in 1932, with Smoot up for re-election, he may well have thought that the welfare of the Democratic party coincided with a need to "find another good man" for the senate At October conference that year 31 he said,

Is there not some responsibility resting upon the citizenship of the United States because of the indifference they have manifested, particularly during the past decade, in regard to those who are to represent them in Congress of our nation, the legislatures of our states and the boards of direction in the municipalities of those states and counties?

I believe I will say it—I believe that in many instances we have become so accustomed to and so committed to party rule, to arrangements made by professional politicians, regardless of the real voice and desire of the people, that we have felt it our duty to follow them whether they are right or wrong.Just a word of solemn warning: I say to you regardless of party politics, regardless of your past affiliations, in this time of extremity, and it is a time of extremity, see to it that honest men, wise men, capable men are sent to represent you in the organizations of the country.

Decrying the drift toward a paternal government that "will so intrench itself that the people will become powerless to disrupt it," he warned of enemies within the government and the government's policy of pouring money into programs and agencies.32 Adding to the weight of this speech

29 Smoot, In the World, 511; Merrill, Reed Smoot, 138 Church financial support for the Herald had begun with Joseph F Smith, a strong Republican After Grant became church president, Charles Nibley had approached him, explained the "arrangement," and convinced him to continue the support

30 Smoot, In the World, 692-93 One of Ivins's objections may have been that Bamberger was a leader of the Order of Sevens, a semi-secret Republican organization. For a discussion of the church's relationship to politics during the 1920s,seeAlexander, Mormonism in Transition, 50-59.

31 In Heber J Grant's absence, Ivins was "in charge" of conference He showed his independent mind by making several changes to the way things were usually done. See Ivins to Grant, October 10, 1932, MS B-2:9:7.

32 Harris, Ivins Sermons, 88-90 Ivins warned that if present policies continued the government would

was the fact that Ivins, who had been called to the First Presidency in 1921, was the presiding authority at the conference; for some weeks church president Heber J. Grant had been ill and in Chicago for surgery.

Ivins's remarks were not given in a vacuum but during an intense campaign. Indeed, it would be a watershed election as the nation desperately sought a way out of the mire of the depression The 1930 election, when Republicans had lost thirty seats in the House and eight seats in the Senate, had demonstrated the beginnings of voter discontent. By 1932 many Americans had begun to blame Herbert Hoover in a bitter, almost personal way for their suffering, while they looked to Roosevelt as almost a savior. In the midst of this turmoil, the Democrats in Utah had nominated a University of Utah professor named Elbert Thomas to run against the state's political giant, Reed Smoot.

Around the time of conference, a young church official—A Hamer Reiser, general secretary of the LDS General Sunday School Union Board—produced and paid for a flyer for the Elbert Thomas campaign. Reiser, who had known the candidate for several years, had actually placed Thomas's name in nomination at the Democratic convention. In a masterpiece of political "reasoning," Reiser set forth these arguments in the flyer: Although Reiser had voted for Smoot in the past, now "I don't want to be a party to anything that will mar his long career in public life." If elected, Smoot would probably be in the minority party and so would lose chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee, would meet "frustration and defeat" on every hand, and would suffer a loss of "prestige and influence." It was not "kind or considerate" to return a man of his age to the Senate under these circumstances, and even though the Republican party had probably forced Smoot to run, he should not be asked to sacrifice so much to save the party The voters could rescue him, though A vote against him would be a "vote of kindness and appreciation," while a vote for him would ask him to bear "humiliation, embarrassment, disappointment and defeat." "To let him devote the remaining years of his life to that service so dear to his heart [meaning the apostleship] would be the kindest and most unselfish way we could find of showing appreciation for his past service." The flyer then explained why Thomas would be an excellent successor.

33

After the handbill was distributed, according to Reiser, "All hell broke loose." Many Utahns were shocked at this young upstart's challenge of a

be in the banking, farming, and livestock businesses and would never pay its debts—an ironic statement given the fact that FDR's administration would soon redefine the meaning of deficit spending During the campaign, however, Roosevelt had not yet solidified his New Deal policies and, like others, was calling for a balanced budget as the solution to the depression; see Marriner S Eccles, Beckoning Frontiers: Public and Personal Recollections (reprint ed.: NewYork:Alfred A Knopf, 1966), 95-99

33 Albert Hamer Reiser Oral History, interview by William G Hartley, 1974, typescript, vol 4, appendix,James Moyle Oral History Program,Archives, Historical Department of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City This section of the Reiser oral history was closed to research until 1999 Without its evidence available, some historians have also assumed that Ivins either instigated or condoned the flyer; telephone conversation with Harvard Heath, February 1999

state icon, and they questioned whether Reiser could have produced the flyer alone. "People thought, 'That kid doesn't know anything about that. He's a dummy. He hasn't got ideas like that.'" Many therefore assumed that higher-level authorities were behind the handbill, and rumors grew that church leaders, particularly President Grant, did not want Smoot re-elected. Yet, despite speculations that someone had put "that kid" up to the job, Reiser always maintained that the flyer had been his own idea and his own work. He claimed that he had not even consulted Elbert Thomas about it.

Still, many believed that Anthony Ivins must have been behind the handbill. His involvement seemed even more plausible after a widely seen and discussed incident After the flyer became public, Reiser had been severely shunned; for instance, when he got on the elevator in the Church Office Building, others would get off and he would ride alone. As he later said, he lost friends and made enemies. One day Republican apostle Richard Lyman approached Reiser, angrily slapped his chest with the back of his hand, and said, "That was a dirty insult to Brother Smoot for you to -write that."

In the middle of this lonely time, Reiser recalled,

One morning as I walked into the Church Office Building through those double doors, I was coming in the front door and in from the inside coming out was President Anthony W Ivins Now President Ivins had never spoken to me in his life or my life till this time, and he stopped me before he reached the foyer full of people waiting to go up on the elevator. He said, so that nobody could hear what he said, taking hold of my hands with both of his hands and shaking them very firmly, "If they don't leave you alone,you come to me."

It was "the first time anybody had been friendly" to him. Nobody heard the words, but they saw the gesture, and within five minutes the whole building knew what had happened The rumors flew Reiser believed that "somebody might have tried to pin it [the flyer] on Brother Ivins because of that.... But President Ivins hadn't said a thing to me but that before or after. We'd never been together when we could have occasion to speak... I didn't know -what he thought or what his position was or how he felt toward Brother Smoot at all."34 This last statement is surprising. If true, it suggests that in public Ivins was extremely discreet in his political views.

PHOTO COURTESY OF A HAMER REISER JR Hamer Reiser a few years after the "flyer incident."

Smoot, however, had not experienced Ivins as politically discreet. After the election he called Reiser into his office, where the two met for the first time According to Reiser, Smoot asked him to confess who had persuaded him to write the flyer. "It's all my -work, my ideas, I take the full responsibility for it and nobody else had anything to do with it," Reiser responded.

"My, I wish I could believe that," Smoot said For him, the evidence against Ivins was clear. "There are certain people whose son went up and down this state telling lies about me," he said. According to Reiser, the "certain people" were Anthony and his wife Libby, and their son was Grant Ivins, who had campaigned hard against Smoot But, Reiser told Smoot, "I had no part in that."35

Several questions about this exchange remain unanswered Did Reiser mean only that he himself had not "gone up and down the state," or did he mean that he had no part in discussing and planning that part of the campaign for Thomas? Was Grant Ivins really telling lies, or did Smoot simply perceive criticism as defamation? And, most provocatively, what "part," if any, did Anthony Ivins play in his son's campaign?

A further provocative statement comes from Warwick Lamoreaux, -who had seconded the nomination of Elbert Thomas. Speaking of 1932, he said, "This was a year for young people to get involved There was the son of Anthony W Ivins, whom I loved and respected; I often went to 'Uncle Tony' for advice. His son, Grant Ivins, and A. Hamer Reiser were active and enthusiastic participants in the Democratic party."36 Almost certainly, given the context of the statement, Anthony's "advice" included political guidance It also seems likely that the three young Democrats, Lamoreaux, Grant Ivins, and Reiser, were closely associated in their campaign efforts. That Reiser professed not to know Ivins's politics is puzzling. And the exact role that Anthony Ivins played in advising this group—his son in particular—is simply not known

We do know, however, the steps that Ivins took to smooth over the Reiser controversy. Smoot's camp, of course, was alarmed by the rumors that President Grant wanted the senator defeated These rumors included the assumption that Grant wanted to make Smoot his second counselor in the First Presidency; counselor Charles Nibley had died in December 1931. Seeking an antidote to these rumors, Smoot supporters wrote to Grant and asked him to issue a statement of support for their candidate. One LDS church member wrote that Smoot, the instrument who had so ably advanced the cause of the church, was "being crucified by HIS OWN PEOPLE, on a political cross constructed of lies, slander and vituperation." The letter called for "immediate action" and a "powerful effort" to ensure Smoot's victory.37

35 Ibid

36 Dan E.Jones,"Utah Politics 1926-1932" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Utah, 1968).

37 W L Candland to Grant, October 14, 1932, MS B-2:9:7 See also "Rudger" [probably Clawson] to Heber J Grant, October 12, 1932, MS B-2:9:7 A telegram from the senator's secretary sent sometime

Th e rumors disturbed President Grant. H e wrote to Smoot and explained that he thought perhaps he should make a statement to clear the matter up, but then he wondered whether he might do more harm than good So he referred the matter to the man he most trusted "I am sending Tone a copy of this letter," he wrote, "and think it best that after you have considered what I have said that you talk it over with him."38

Back in Salt Lake, "Tone" Ivins was concerned both about the election and about the health of his well-loved cousin October 15 he wrote to Robert Judd, Grant's son-in-law, in Chicago, expressing concern that Grant's worries over the political furor were delaying his recovery. And the furor was great, Ivins wrote Both parties were using smear tactics, and the campaign had become, as campaigns usually did, one of "crimination and recrimination." In particular, he criticized the Republicans for trying to pull Grant into the fray. "Personally I think it was a great mistake that the telegram sent by our Senator's secretary should have gone to the President at all," he wrote.39

That same day, Grant's daughter Ray wrote from Chicago to "Uncle Tone." She too was upset at the rumors that so worried her father Her letter, though affectionate, is slightly remonstrative: "Now Uncle Tone, I'm a Democrat, but I suppose not a very good one, for men count more than party with me. I still cling to democracy because of the days when you were my teacher in this line." From her perspective in Chicago, it may have appeared that Ivins was putting partisanship above loyalty to her father Whatever the case, she felt that Ivins was the only one who could amend the situation. "In justice to father it should not be made to appear that his [Smoot's] defeat is what father desires...," she wrote."We are helpless in this matter Such help can only come from you."40

Perhaps Ivins felt a need to exonerate himself, for he later wrote to Grant, "Pay no attention to what may be said until you have heard both sides of the story." Ray was right, though; as the presiding church authority as well as perhaps the most visible Democrat in the church, he was the natural person to assume the job of damage control—both for Grant and for the party. It was not an easy task. Writing to Cousin Heber, he explained, "The past week has been the most trying that I have ever experienced." He reported that when he had received his copy of Grant's letter to Smoot, he had waited for Smoot to come "talk it over" as Grant had suggested But Smoot did not appear Ivins then took the letter to the meeting of the

before October 15 presumably covered the same ground; see Ivins to Robert L Judd, October 15, 1932, MS B-2:9:7

38 Grant to Smoot, October 10, 1932, MS B-2:9:7.Three days later, Grant wrote to Ivins to say that he would need additional surgery and that Ivins was the only person he had told—an indication of the trust between the two men; see Grant to Ivins, October 13, 1932 Close friends and family called Ivins "Tone."

39 Ivins toJudd, October 15,1932, MS B-2:9:7

m Ray [Susan Rachel] to Ivins, October 15, 1932, MS B-2:9:7 She closed her letter with affection: "Oh Uncle Tone, father and you are so closely held in my heart You are so busy now that I can't talk to you as I once did,but you can never know how much you have meant in my life."

Twelve, but again Smoot did not show up. "In fact," Ivins wrote with a tone of subtle criticism, "I do not think he has attended a meeting since you went away." But at the meeting Ivins was able to extract from the apostles a consensus that the president should not make a statement in support of Smoot Fiercely Republican Rudger Clawson was the only dissenter.41 Later, Ivins did talk with Smoo t abou t the matter, and Smoo t promised not to make Grant's letter public

But then Ivins received a letter from the Republican headquarters "appealing to the President of the Church to come out boldly in defense of his Churc h and people" — meaning to Ivins that he should "boldly advocate the election of Senator Smoot, notwithstanding the fact that...the majority of [the people] do not seem to be in favor of his reelection." To Ivins, of course, Grant's illness was only one of the reasons why a bold defense of Smoot would be a bad idea. Perhaps he thought public support for Smoot would not only damage the Democrats but would be bad public relations for the church as well He refused to forward the letter to Grant, and he told "them not to send such to the President but to leave him entirely alone."42

Later, Ivins bitterly reported to his cousin that this letter had been planned by apostles Rudger Clawson and Richard Lyman. The two had asked apostle James E.Talmage to join with them in preparing it and sending it. When Talmage asked why they had not conferred with Ivins first, Lyman replied that they had not thought the first counselor would approve of it They were right, of course. 43

Ivins's actions during this time were typical of him First, he was no doubt genuinely concerned for his cousin's welfare.44 Next, as a Democrat he probably truly did not want an official church statement in support of Smoot published. Finally, philosophically at least, he seemed to believe that the church should not interfere in politics Prominent Mormon Democrat James H Moyle said that "Until Q Reuben] Clark there was no Church interference in politics in Grant's administration, because Ivins was the one man who would not stand for that. He had a real influence with President

41 Ivins to HeberJ. Grant, October 21,1932,MS B-2:9:7.

42 Ivins toJudd, October 15, 1932

43 Ivins to Grant, October 21, 1932

44 "I have never been more disturbed than when we learned of your relapse, and never happier than when the change came," he wrote Grant "I thought of what might happen in case you did not recover, and felt that I did not care to live to see it."See Ivins to Grant, October 21,1932

Richard R. Lyman, LDS apostle and staunch Republican.

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Grant, but after the death of Ivins in 1934 and during the Clark period, noninterference 'was a thing of the past."45 Moyle was undoubtedly selective in his memory, as was Ivins in his personal attitude toward church interference; certainly church support of the League of Nations 'was an instance of "interference" that Ivins approved of. So in the Smoot case, it is hard to say how much Ivins acted out of partisan feeling and how much he acted out of his perception of the whole picture.

A further puzzle lies in his statement to Judd, "I do not hesitate if the question is asked of me to say that we do not desire that Senator Smoot be not elected, as some politicians have stated, but that we want him returned to the Senate. I do not however urge that people vote for him unless their better judgment tells them it is the proper thing to do."45 According to James H Moyle, Ivins never supported Smoot politically. Was the need to appear united more important than the need to tell the truth? Or did "we" stand for something beyond Ivins as an individual: an indication of his loyalty to Grant, who did want Smoot re-elected, or his sense of responsibility in representing the First Presidency? Whatever the reason, it must have been personally painful for Ivins to profess support for Smoot. He counteracted those statements—and the tendency of the parties to pull the church into politics—with an equable solution. He recommended (and no doubt wrote) a public statement to be signed by the First Presidency stating that the church had no position in the election and did not "attempt to influence the choice of any voter." The statement, to be published in the Salt Lake papers, urged among church officers "an attitude of neutrality and fairness that shall justify no criticism or offense on the part of the opposing candidates, or parties...." 47

4° Moyle Mormon Democrat, 173 Thomas Alexander points out that, although Ivins may have exercised discretion in public, he was extremely partisan in meetings of the First Presidency and Twelve during the 1920s; letter to author, April 21, 1999 Alexander believes that Ivins was as partisan as Smoot "Except when he could find a moral question like prohibition or machine politics, however, Ivins's principal contribution was to add balance rather than to drive the church into the Democratic column"; see Alexander, Mormonism in Transition, 57

46 Ivins toJudd, October 15,1932

47 Deseret News, October 31, 1932 Ivins's approach to this election would contrast sharply with the approach the church took four years later, after his death With Grant's approval, the conservative J Reuben Clark campaigned openly for Alfred Landon and wrote editorials for the Deseret News urging the defeat of Roosevelt; see Brian Q Cannon, "Mormons and the New Deal:The 1936 Presidential Election in Utah," Utah Historical Quarterly 67 (Winter 1999), 4-22

J. Reuben Clark in 1933, at about the time he left government service and joined the LDS First Presidency.

In responding to the proposal, Grant telegraphed, "Heartily approve publication," but he insisted that the statement make clear that the election would have no bearing on the selection of a new second counselor, since another man had already been called to the position "Shall be pleased to have my name with yours and [Rudger] Clawsons," Grant wired.48 A couple of days later, Grant wrote that Ivins had been inspired in handling this "difficult matter which came before you for a decision. My heart has gone out to you time and time again, knowing...how unfair men and women are in political matters." He expressed astonishment at "Richard's course"— presumably meaning Richard Lyman's part in the letter from Republican headquarters. He reflected on the costs of loyalty to the church then closed with an indication of the feelings he often expressed: "You have been as dear to me as a brother, and you have my unbounded love and confidence With a letter full and running over with love for you and all your loved ones, I am as ever,Your affectionate cousin."49

With the publication of the statement just a few days before the election, Ivins probably thought the election complications were over. As it turned out, though, the Democrats would still need some damage control Ivins had been in correspondence with J. Reuben Clark, the man selected but as yet unnamed as the new second counselor. Clark was in Mexico at the time, winding up his job as ambassador to that country before coming to Utah in his new position The letters that passed between the two were warm: Clark talked about the Mexican situation, invited Ivins for a visit, and—perhaps in the spirit of polite demurral—expressed that he was "just a little bit scared" that he could be really helpful as counselor.50

Ivins, in return, remarked on the boiling "political pot" and reported the nomination of Elbert D.Thomas, commenting that Thomas probably could

48 Grant to Ivins, October 23, 1932, MS B-2:9:7 Because of the vacancy in the First Presidency, Clawson, president of the Quorum of theTwelve Apostles,signed the statement

49 Grant to Ivins, October 26, 1932,MS B-2:9:7.The statement ran in the October 31,1932, edition of the Deseret News, and read as follows:

"Reports have reached us to the effect that our names are being used by politicians in support of, and against, candidates and parties in the present political campaign

"We wish it distinctly understood that in our official capacity we neither aid nor oppose any candidates or party

"We offer no counsel to members of the Church which may be considered partisan in its nature.We urge all to a dispassionate, intelligent and honest use of the ballot, but we do not attempt to influence the choice of any voter

"Moreover, we discountenance the use of any Church agency or facility in favor of or against any partisan or political interest We trust that all Church authorities and officers will cooperate with us in an effort to maintain, officially, an attitude of neutrality and fairness that shalljustify no criticism or offense on the part of the opposing candidates, or parties,in the present election

"In view of reports that are being circulated, we desire to say that the result of the forthcoming election will have no bearing on the selection of a counselor in the presidency of the church, for the reason that the selection was made months ago and accepted, subject only to the approval of the Church membership when the proper time comes

"[signed] HeberJ Grant,Anthony W Ivins,Rudger Clawson"

50 J. Reuben Clark to Ivins, October 14, 1932, MS B-2:9:6.

not be elected.51 Acknowledging the political climate in Utah, Clark wrote, "Speaking frankly and confidentially, I would prefer not to come to Conference unless I were to go immediately into the Presidency, because if I -were there in the middle of the campaign, I should probably be asked to get into it, and I have felt that I would prefer not to take part in what will probably be a very heated campaign just before entering the Presidency."52

However, Clark changed his mind when it became clear that the Republicans were in trouble. "The Senator had decided he wished me to speak," and he did In a letter to Ivins explaining this, Clark said that he tried to make his statement of support "in a form as not to give just cause for any feeling of any personal offense. That some of my Democratic friends may possibly not approve of it, I suppose I must expect; if so, I am sorry."

Clark must have known that his Democratic friends would not approve. In his statement he wrote, "We shall overcome this depression by the same methods our pioneer fathers and mothers used to overcome hard times, that is, by -working and saving We must not add to our burdens in doing this by voting into power a party pledged to politics destructive of the very vitals of our economic life." Further, "Nor to these two only [Hoover and Smoot] must we Republicans give our party loyalty and support, but to every other Republican on the entire ticket, Congressmen, legislators, State

LEFT: Anthony Ivins, astride "Blanco," in later years. FACING

PAGE: Reed Smoot.

Ivins to Clark, September 5,1932, MS B-2:9:6

' Clark to Ivins,August 28,1932, MS B-2:9:6

and county officers, down to the last and least of them."53

Ivins's response can only b e guessed. However, this communication from Clark is the last letter to or from him in the Ivins papers. Apparently, Ivins felt no need or desire to reply. Perhaps, where he once sent letters "Wit h assurances of confidence, esteem, and the fullest fraternity, [from] Your brother,"54 those feelings had altered with Clark's decision to campaign publicly.

He 'would have yet another nuisance to wrestle with President Grant returned to Salt Lake City on November 3 and promptly announced, "As a citizen, I am a staunch supporter of the Senator and President Hoover and intend to vote for them." Although he added that the church itself was neutral, in the eyes of many the real damage had been done. On e woman, Nellie U Hendricks, wrote to Grant that she was sick about the statement.53 Ivins patiently regrouped O n November 6, he sent a telegram to W W Mitchell, a student who had also written to Grant. "A statement will appear in tomorrow's Tribune signed by Pres. Grant in which he says that any statement made by him or any other church official, other than that published in the Salt Lake papers of Oct 29 and 30 is only his personal preference and is not intended to influence members of the church."56

O n the day before the election, then, the statement of church neutrality reappeared in the papers with this preface: "The following statement, previously published, is the only official statement of the presidency of the Church regarding the attitude of the Church in the coming election." Appended to the document was a clarification: "Any other statement by the president or any other officers of the Church is his personal preference and is not intended to influence members of the Church, [signed] Heber J Grant."57

The next day, of course, Smoot was swept out of office along with Republicans nationwide To the end of his life Smoot mourned that some

53 Clark to Ivins,with enclosures, November 1, 1932, MS B-2:9:6

34 Ivins to Clark, September 5, 1932

55 Deseret News, November 3, 1932. Nellie U. Hendricks to Heber J. Grant, November 4, 1932, MS B2:9:7

36 Ivins toWW MitcheU, November 6, 1932, MS B-2:9:7

37 Deseret News, November 7, 1932

of his brethren had turned against him, and apparently he blamed Ivins most. But he was wrong to think that Ivins could have affected the election either way. Political historian Jean Bickmore White believes that Smoot misunderstood how profoundly the depression had affected both the state and the nation "Conservative dogma and high tariffs are no match for the charisma of a Franklin D. Roosevelt in a time of desperation. [Smoot's] time had passed; he did not realize it; and he found a scapegoat in Anthony Ivins."58 Marriner S. Eccles, who later became a close economic adviser to FDR, recorded an instance of Smoot's inability to understand the crisis In 1932, the election year, he had met Smoot "when conditions in the West •were desperate. I tried to make him see the need for speedy government action on a substantial scale to assist the debtors of the area. But it was clear that Smoot did not understand what I was trying to say, nor for my part could I understand him."59

Although Smoot may not have understood the urgency of the depression, he was right that Ivins had sufficient political ardor to desire his defeat, and Ivins may have had underlying personal motivations as well Like other church leaders, he had to choose how to balance his individual opinions with his public role—a challenge that he no doubt could not perfectly meet.Yet the evidence suggests that in the election of 1932 his values of harmony and church neutrality took precedence over his partisan leanings If it is true that Hamer Reiser did not even know Ivins's political opinions; if it is true that Ivins chose to communicate President Grant's view by saying, "we want [Smoot] returned to the senate"; if it is true that, as James Moyle reported, Ivins "expressed the convictions of a real Democrat" only in private, and then only with "great reticence,"60 then he probably was not prone to using his high church position to benefit his party.

It is possible that Ivins managed or advised his son Grant's efforts to defeat Smoot If so, the degree of his involvement is hard to assess In light of the available evidence, one might speculate that he merely gave his son general counsel encouraging good judgment. One piece of evidence lies in his response to a letter accusing him of advocating the Republican party— which was itself an indication that his politics were not obvious to the public He wrote, "I have never told anyone how to vote, not my own sons and daughters, my only counsel has been to investigate and vote as they desired."61

A comparison of Ivins's political activities as a First Presidency member

38 Jean BickmoreWhite, written comments to author,August 18, 1999 ''' Eccles, Beckoning Frontiers, 92 Eccles, who became chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, argued strenuously for massive government spending—but only in times of depression—to stimulate the economy FDR adopted many but not all of his ideas Under the New Deal the nation recovered partially from the depression, but recovery became complete only with the government spending ofWorldWar II

60 Moyle, Mormon Democrat, 224.

61 Quoted in Dryden,"Biographical Essays,"18

IVINS AND SMOOT

with those of J Reuben Clark is instructive in evaluating Smoot's accusation. After becoming a counselor in the First Presidency, Clark continued to campaign for the Republicans; during the election of 1936 he coordinated the church's efforts to defeat Roosevelt. According to biographer Michael Quinn, Clark saw his role in the First Presidency, in part, as a spokesman for Republican, conservative causes. His strategies for pushing conservative policies within the church caused some to speak of his "dictatorial attitude." Ivins's daughter Florence records the occasion when the First Presidency abruptly released presiding bishop Sylvester Q Cannon, most likely because of his support of government welfare "That is another thing that would not have happened if your father had been here," people told Florence.62

Ivins no doubt struggled 'with his own partisanship as he worked to promote "internal harmony" in the midst of political controversy Yet it appears that he refrained from using his position to give his party an edge In fact, it may be his commitment to church neutrality and discretion that has caused this greatly talented man to remain in the background of historical studies. And perhaps it was his ability to subordinate his personal agenda to larger considerations that in 1921 caused staunch Republican Charles Nibley to tell Heber Grant—who was worried that if he chose his cousin as a counselor he would create an all-Democrat First Presidency—that it would not matter. For, Nibley said, "Elder Ivins was the wisest man among the apostles."63

62 Florence Ivins Hyde, notes, MS A-1874, USHS For more on Clark's political activities, see D Michael Quinn,J Reuben Clark: The ChurchYears (Provo, UT: BrighamYoung University Press, 1983) and Cannon, "Mormons and the New Deal." Sylvester Cannon's release in 1938 was probably the culmination of his ongoing disagreement with Clark over government welfare; see Garth L Mangum and Bruce D Blumell, The Mormons' War on Poverty (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1993), 119-24, 143 Cannon became a member of theTwelve in October 1939

a Alexander, Mormonism in Transition, 118

HISTORICAL QUARTERLY BOOK REVIEWS

Henry William Bigler: Soldier, Gold Miner, Missionary, Chronicler, 1815-1900

By M.Guy Bishop (Logan: Utah State University Press,1998.xiv + 208 pp.Paper, $19.95.)

HENRY WILLIAM BIGLER, like many others, learned about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon from missionaries. Because he believed, he left his comfortable life in West Virginia and followed the Mormons. He obeyed church leaders and joined the Mormon Battalion, served missions in California's gold mines and in Hawaii, and worked in the Salt Lake Endowment House and the St. George temple. His travels delayed marriage until he was forty He then lived happily with his wife until her death; he remarried two years later. Like most Utah Mormons, Bigler was never a polygamist Although he lived in poverty, his life was fulfilling because of his faith.

But in many ways Bigler was unique. He kept brief daybooks that were preserved He confirmed James Marshall's storyof discovering gold atSutter's Mill and provided a date. He corresponded with historian Hubert Howe Bancroft and shared his autobiography. Bigler's writings provide aglimpse into the life of an ordinary Mormon

While Bigler gained some notoriety for his role inthe gold rush, most Mormon and western historians have forgotten him M. Guy Bishop reintroduces this remarkable, ordinary man and recreates Bigler's world Readers see the Mormons inMissouri, Hawaii, and Farmington through the eyes of a believer Bishop masterfully places Bigler's experiences into alarger setting and shows how he was part of the whole When Bigler is silent about events,Bishop fills in the holes with details from primary and secondary sources For example, Bigler rarely kept ajournal about his life as afarmer and occasional schoolteacher in Farmington from 1856-79 Bishop expands Bigler's brief comments to describe life in a rural Utah community.

Bishop's strength is his ability to place Bigler in a setting, but it is also aweakness He often has to imagine Bigler's reactionsto events like the CivilWar; he takes a brief comment about the war and then adds two pages of general Utah history. At times like these, Bishop moves from writing a biography of Bigler to explaining Utah and Mormon history.Bigler is out of the picture.

Bishop also spends pages explaining why Bigler was not a polygamist or why he kept a journal Bishop frequently explains

that "perhaps" Bigler felt a certain way While some speculation is interesting, Bishop leaves nothing to the reader's imagination At still other times, he does not provide enough information. He could explain in more detail how Bigler's views of the Mormon Battalion changed from a reluctant march for an unhealthy government to an act of patriotism

Henry William Bigler left a brief but remarkable record of Mormon history. M. Guy Bishop has re-established Bigler as an example of nineteenth-century Mormon life

JESSIE L EMBRY Brigham Young University

Utah's Black Hawk War

ByJohnAlton Peterson (SaltLake City: University of Utah

Press,1998.xvi + 432 pp.Cloth,$59.95;paper, $19.95.)

ON SUNDAY,APRIL 9, 1865, the day that Ulysses S Grant and Robert E. Lee met at the Appomattox Courthouse to negotiate an end to the Civil War, another conflict erupted in Manti, Utah, when a Mormon settler named John Lowry grabbed a Ute called Jake Arapeen by the hair and pulled him from his horse While hardly on the scale of the great war that divided the nation, or even of the 1832 Illinois Indian war of the same name, Utah's Black Hawk War was the most extensive and costly Indian war in the state's history Over a period of seven years more than seventy white settlers were killed, many of them horribly mutilated Several thousand head of livestock were captured or destroyed in a series of cleverly executed raids, and dozens of settlements were temporarily abandoned Indian losses included not only the many killed in skirmishes or in brutal reprisals by the whites but also the wholesale removal of the Utes from their traditional homelands in central Utah to the Uintah Reservation, where little if any provision was made for their maintenance The period of the Black Hawk War saw hundreds or perhaps thousands of the Ute people die from the effects of starvation and disease, a catastrophic population decline from which they have never recovered.

John Alton Peterson has produced the first comprehensive study of this conflict in its historical context. He not only draws on the abundant Mormon sources—including contemporary official communications, speeches, newspaper reports, and a multitude of retrospective accounts—but he also mines the federal territorial, military, and Indian Affairs archives to recover the views

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of non-Mormon

federal

officials The paucity of records reflecting the Indian point of view presented a serious obstacle to the author's efforts at an even-handed treatment, but he has done an admirablejob of reconstructing the Ute perspective from contemporary statements as interpreted and recorded by whites and from the surviving oral traditions of the Utes and Paiutes The result is an admirable piece of research, a clearly organized narrative and generally persuasive analysis, and a satisfyingly hefty and thoroughly readable book.

Peterson makes it clear that the Black Hawk War was not an isolated event The 1860s and '70s were a troubled period as western Indians made their last desperate efforts to preserve their traditional way of life Violent conflicts in the surrounding region included the Paiute War in Nevada in 1860, the Bear River Massacre of the Shoshoni in 1863, the forced removal of the Navajo to the Bosque Redondo in 1864, and the Sand Creek Massacre of the Cheyenne and Arapaho in Colorado, also in 1864. However, each of those cases involved federal troops in decisive military actions against native peoples. The Black Hawk War, by contrast, was a protracted struggle between a mobile and wellarmed band of raiders and a poorly trained and poorly equipped local militia whose ineffectual response to the early raids encouraged their continuation.

The author argues that the conflict was the result of an "uneasy triangle" involving the Utes, the Mormons, and the "gentile" government and military officials In most instances in the settlement of the West, native land claims were legally "extinguished" before the widespread occupation of the land by white settlers. In Utah, however, this official action was delayed for several decades because of persistent disputes between Mormon leaders and federal officials over the issues of sovereignty, theocratic government, and polygamy. By the time of the Black Hawk War, more than 100,000 settlers had occupied land still claimed by the Indians and had established numerous towns and villages, introduced domestic livestock, diverted the streams, and fenced and cultivated the land on which the Indians depended for their sustenance. In contrast to the physical separation achieved in other regions by the removal of the Indians to reservations, in Utah, white and Indian communities lived side by side Increasingly cut off from their traditional food sources, the Indians were forced to beg for a living From their point of view, the food and clothing they received from the settlers was nothing more than a modest rent for the use of Indian

lands. But for the settlers, in a subsistence economy themselves, the Indian demands represented a burdensome and unjustified tax on already scarce resources. Several unsuccessful efforts were made to persuade the Indians to change their nomadic ways and adopt an agricultural lifestyle. When the Indians resisted, or through hunger or resentment killed the settlers' cattle, they were punished by the Mormon militia, sometimes without much effort to distinguish actual offenders from peaceful Indians This long association made many of the Utes and Mormon settlers personally acquainted, for better or for worse Peterson argues that these personal feelings played a role in the war, with the Ute raiders in some instances deliberately targeting individuals against whom they held a grudge and sparing the property or lives of those who had treated them kindly.

When the Ute raids began, Brigham Young was unwilling to call on the army to punish the offenders, fearing that federal troops would be used to enforce government policies against the Mormons He chose instead to suppress or play down public reports of the conflict and to rely on the unofficial militia, the Nauvoo Legion, and on a "vigilance policy" that consisted of withdrawing settlers from exposed locations, fortifying the remaining settlements, disposing of excess livestock, and guarding the remaining animals so closely as to make raids unprofitable for Black Hawk's warriors.The federal troops, under the command of the virulently anti-Mormon Colonel Patrick E Connor, were equally unwilling to go to the defense of the Mormon settlers, in part because of a widespread belief that the Mormons exercised undue influence over the Indians and planned to use them against the government According to Peterson's analysis,BrighamYoung's policies, when fully enacted, were effective in breaking up Black Hawk's band of raiders in 1867 Sporadic raids continued, however, until 1872, when federal troops finally brought the war to an end by forcing back to the Uintah Reservation a large group of Utes who had traveled to SanpeteValley for a Ghost Dance ceremony

Black Hawk himself remains as a rather shadowy figure, notwithstanding Peterson's efforts to flesh out a biography. Even his name is uncertain Black Hawk was a name given him by the whites. Peterson chooses from several possibilities the name Antonga, although he acknowledges that it too is not a Ute name

In an attempt to develop a motive for Black Hawk's hostility to the Mormon settlers, the author traces a pre-1865 history that is necessarily conjectural at some key points He suggests, on rather

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

scanty evidence, that Antonga-Black Hawk may have been involved in the March 1849 Battle Creek fight, the first violent confrontation between the Utes and the Mormon settlers On better evidence, he places Antonga as an ally of the Mormons in the bloody battle at Fort Utah in February 1850 Antonga was living in the fort when the heads of several dozen decapitated Utes were brought in, ostensibly for scientific study Peterson suggests that this experience may have transformed Black Hawk from a "friendly Indian" who had cooperated with the settlers to an implacable enemy who would await his chance for vengeance fifteen years later.

It seems clear, as Peterson claims,that Black Hawk was an intelligent and capable leader, impelled to action by the distress of his people and clever at exploiting political divisions among the whites. He used his tactical skills and knowledge of the terrain to stage lightning raids on the central Utah valleys, raids that were almost invariably successful while he remained in command. Operating from a winter hideout in the Dolores River region of western Colorado, he sold his captured livestock through white middlemen and replenished his forces with Navajos, Paiutes, and Jicarilla Apaches as well as Utes. His one critical tactical error was the Scipio raid of June 10, 1866, which required the raiders to drive the livestock more than thirty miles through the valleys before they reached the safety of the mountains. Intercepted by a militia detachment at Gravelly Ford on the Sevier River, Black Hawk was forced into a rare pitched battle.While he still escaped with the captured stock, Black Hawk suffered a serious wound that impaired his later activities and eventually contributed to his death four years later

In a gesture perhaps symbolic of his refusal to accept reservation life, the dying warrior made his way with a few friends to his birthplace near Spring Lake and there died on September 26, 1870, and was buried on a mountainside The grave was pillaged in 1917, and Black Hawk's remains were put on display for several decades before being re-interred with appropriate Ute ceremonies in a Spring Lake park on May 4,1996

EDWARD A GEARY Brigham Young University

Lee's Ferry: From Mormon Crossing to National Park By P.T Reilly

Edited byRobert H.Webb with contributions by Richard D.Quartaroli (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1999.xviii + 542 pp.Cloth,$39.95;paper,$21.95.)

MOST READERS ARE AWARE that the name Lee's Ferry refers not only to the ferry itself but also to the location on the Colorado River in northern Arizona about twenty miles south of the Utah border. Here at the cliff-bound mouth of the Paria River was the vital river crossing point for all travelers from 1871 until 1928 The first ferryman, John D Lee, wanted to name it "Lonely Dell,"supposedly because his eighteenth wife, Emma, had called it by that name Mormon officials who set up the ferry to provide a corridor for emigration into Arizona Territory wanted to call it the "Pahreah Crossing," but the notoriety ofJohn D. Lee— eventually executed by firing squad in 1877 for his leadership in the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre—led everyone to call it "Lee's Ferry."

To understand this book, it helps to know something about P.T. Reilly and how the book came to be written. Throughout most of his adult life, Reilly was known to be an opinionated, compulsive cynic,particularly about anything having to do with Colorado River history Perhaps his attitudes were formed in the 1950s, when he worked as a river boatman and heard expedition leader Norm Nevills relate stories of river history transformed into fictional tall tales.At any rate, Reilly became obsessed with learning—and eventually disseminating—the absolute truth, backed up by documentation and interviews

The entire history of the Colorado River was too much for anyone to tackle, so Reilly settled on researching the river's most historic point—the place that author FrankWaters had termed the "42nd and Broadway of the Colorado Plateau": Lee's Ferry Reilly studied river history from 1947 until his death in 1996, but he worked intensively on Lee's Ferry history from 1965 to 1985, investigating every lead, interviewing everyone concerned, checking all available records, no matter how obscure, and finally producing a two-volume manuscript that ran to over 1,000 pages. Reportedly, several publishers turned down the book as being too long and containing unsupported conclusions Fortunately, John Alley of Utah State University Press gambled that it could be edited into a fine book dealing with Utah and Arizona history To perform the editing, Alley contracted with Robert Webb, a

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hydrologist and Colorado River historian living in Tucson. Therefore, Webb can take much of the credit for turning the Reilly manuscript in the direction of a readable text by grouping paragraphs about the same subject together and by eliminating or toning down poorly supported conclusions. About 25 percent of Reilly's manuscript was eliminated

To keep the book to a manageable length, Reilly tacitly assumed that readers will have a basic knowledge of Mormon and southern Utah history and of the workings of the LDS hierarchy, particularly during the 19th century For example, the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the trials ofJohn D. Lee, although important to Lee's Ferry history,arejust briefly mentioned

Most attention is devoted to four individuals who built ferryboats, hacked out roads and trails across ridges, hung cables across the river, ferried thousands of travelers across the river, built cabins and farmhouses, tried to mine valuable minerals, built dams on the Paria River, and irrigated a farm to support growing families. These were Warren E Johnson, James S Emett, Charles H Spencer, and Leo Weaver. Of these four,Johnson and Emett, their wives, and their immediate families, lacking electric power and plumbing and forced to use only horsepower or their own manual labor, suffered great hardships. Charlie Spencer spent most of his time promoting the use of other people's money, even though his mining schemes were doomed to failure. Also doomed to failure was Leo and Hazel Weaver's mismanaged attempt to operate a dude ranch during the 1930s.

This book is, of course, much more complicated than the mere accounts of these four men and their families at Lee's Ferry. In fact, the very complexity of the history, involving literally hundreds of people, makes this book a difficult read. Reilly tried to adhere to a strict chronological order, regardless of the resulting choppy jumps from subject to subject, with some stories being split through chapters and some across chapters Webb recognized this choppiness and did much to eliminate it, but some of the problem remains

Reillys barrage of facts, however accurate, tends to obscure the inherent drama in many of the stories He almost never uses emotional quotes from original eyewitnesses His use of humor is so rare as to be almost undetectable. Also, one could question some of his flatly positive statements, such as "All structures built by John D. Lee have been destroyed," and "The Charles H. Spencer steamboat was too under-powered to ever go upstream."

Reillys most caustic criticism is directed at the National Park Service, the agency that took over Lee's Ferry in 1958 as part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Of course, in 1974 the federal government did pay far too much for the ranch, giving speculators a huge windfall profit But Reilly also casts several other verbal stones at NPS development—for example:"The most egregious item, cost-wise, was the construction of a new rest room north of the boat ramp." The building may have been expensive, but to most present-day visitors that restroom is the most vital and appreciated feature of the Lee's Ferry landscape

Included in the book are fairly good endnotes (although footnotes would have been much preferred) The lack of good understandable maps as well as photographs showing the topography around Lee's Ferry are the most glaring omissions.

For some unknown reason, the book lacks a concluding chapter —or even a concluding paragraph The final sentences in the book discuss the expensive NPS restroom in 1974—and the text suddenly ends. No mention is made of development or events in the 1980s and 1990s Editor Webb feels that Reilly wrote a final chapter but that it has mysteriously disappeared

Although the book is somewhat tedious to read, a persistent reader, learning of the succession of Lee's Ferry tragedies and of the valiant struggles that inhabitants made to live in an inhospitable environment, will come away with a feeling of sadness and, certainly, of respect for the men, women, and children who called Lee's Ferry home In summary, the book is a treasure of documented facts and short stories, many of them undisclosed before, a reference book well worth inclusion in any library concerned with either Colorado River history or with the history of early travel between Utah and Arizona

W L RUSHO Salt Lake City

Mormon Democrat: The Religious and Political Memoirs of James Henry Moyle

Editedby GeneA.Sessions (SaltLakeCity:Signature Books,1998.xxxvi + 379 pp.$85.00.)

THROUGHOUT A LONG AND DISTINGUISHED career, James Henry Moyle harbored "two religions by his own count, Mormonism and the Democratic party" (xiv). For several years before his death in 1946 he produced voluminous materials to tell his story An early biographical effort was never completed, how-

QUARTERLY

ever, and Gordon B. Hinckley's James Henry Moyle: The Story of a Distinguished American and an Honored Churchman (1951) received only limited circulation before going out of print. Then the late Leonard Arrington, while serving as LDS Church Historian, encouraged Professor Gene Sessions to take on the project, an effort that resulted in the original version of Mormon Democrat, published in limited edition by the Historical Department of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1975 The present volume is a skillfully edited and updated second edition of that work, published by Signature Books as part of its Significant Mormon Diaries series Moyle was, after all, a force to be reckoned with as the Democratic party's unsuccessful candidate for governor of Utah and for United States Senator, as longtime Democratic national committeeman, and asAssistant Secretary of theTreasury in the Wilson administration He was called back into service as Commissioner of Customs during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, a position that he held well past his eightieth birthday.

Moyle's own words are on these pages The most persistent theme in his reminiscences is his exasperation with the decision of some of the highest leaders in the LDS church in the mid-1890s to embrace the Republican party and encourage the faithful to do the same. He regarded this action as absolutely incompatible with the constitutional principle of separation of church and state and as particularly odious because it represented ingratitude toward the Democratic party that he loved and which, in his view, had been historically much friendlier to Mormons than the Republicans had been His anger was directed in the early period toward Apostle-Senator Reed Smoot and even President Joseph F. Smith and in the 1930s and early '40s atJ Reuben Clark—and his style was often brusque. Yet time and again Moyle voices his abiding faith in the trueness of the church itself and its divine inspiration.

Fascinating sub-themes emerge: class conflict and family preference within Mormondom, a perilous mission field in the southern U. S. in the late nineteenth century, and the tendency in the same time period to tolerate less-than-rigorous adherence to the Word ofWisdom. Readers will also find countless summary judgments of political and ecclesiastical leaders, their abilities, and their character.

The way a book is regarded inevitably depends on who is doing the regarding Some pious Mormons (particularly ifthey are

also Republicans) may regard Moyle's pointed criticism of the church's leadership and his repeated assertion that even church presidents have been fallible human beings as tantamount to heresy Non-Mormons may think Moyle was dreadfully naive ever to imagine that the conservative leadership of a conservative church would observe a strict separation of church and state when it had within its power the ability to influence (some would say "dictate") public policy Those in between may marvel at Moyle's ability to embrace with such fervor, over a long period of time, two often adversarial allegiances (His sincere friendship with Heber J. Grant provides a touching example.)

Whatever their perspective, serious students of Mormon history or Utah politics will find much of interest in this occasionally repetitive memoir, and the fifty-three-page "Biographical Appendix," which provides valuable material on virtually every figure prominently mentioned in the text, is a bonus prize It is good to have Sessionssbook and Moyle's life more easily available.

F ALAN COOMBS University of Utah

People of the West Desert: Finding Common Ground

By Craig Denton

(Logan:Utah State University Press,1999 xvii + 203pp Cloth,$44.95;paper,$24.95.)

WITH THIS VOLUME, author and photographer Craig Denton creates a documentary view of some of the people that live in one of the least-populated and understood regions of the United States Denton begins by defining the "West Desert" as a place of geographic boundaries, but also a mindset, a metaphor. The place is the Great Basin, from western Utah to eastern Nevada. It is a basin-and-range environment, harsh and dry,an unforgiving place, in which the casual visitor finds it difficult to believe anyone would willingly live The metaphor is what Denton calls "a geography of the soul," a place where people of many diverse backgrounds and experiences come together to find a commonality in the land All the groups and individuals described in the volume share at least one common attitude: they embrace the isolation of the desert and hope to remain in their homes, away from urban centers and the problems that go along with them.

The volume begins by describing the land and its unique characteristics The common characteristic throughout theWest Desert is aridity. It is this lack of water that dictates the locations of the

UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

communities described and keeps the vast open areas free of human occupation Water is everything in the West Desert; for those who have enough, a good life is possible For those with too little water, life there can be tenuous.

Denton then describes some of the communities in the West Desert. The "first" people, Gosiutes and Paiutes, tenaciously hold on to the remnants of their land, culture, and past by living where they have always lived The "old west" people include ranching families that have survived on the fringes of the springs and mountain streams for generations and continue the struggle to make a living and provide for their families. Sheep-ranchers continue their annual cycle of moving sheep from high meadows to desert bottoms Prospectors still pick through the abandoned mines and search out possible new strikes.

The "new west" people include government employees who patrol and protect the public lands and their resources for all citizens; urban expatriates who, through PC and modem, bring their work and lifestyles to isolated towns and regions and forever change the face of these communities; and fundamentalists and dreamers, environmental and religious, who come to remake the world the way they wish it to be and to remain independent of government edict and public outrage.

The book provides a sympathetic look at the people who make the West Desert their home. The people and communities are portrayed on their own terms with little critical review. Denton gives voice to the uniqueness of the individuals and provides a medium for them to express their issues and concerns In the process, he uncovers some interesting details of desert life, thanks to the willingness of people to speak with him and share their stories and their overall acceptance of each other's idiosyncratic beliefs and opinions A weakness with the volume, one the author readily acknowledges, is the lack of the polygamist point of view Polygamist inclusion was not possible because of the unwillingness of that community to be involved.

The book is an important look at modern life in a remote region of the United States Directed toward the popular reader and not the academic historian, the writing is sometimes too formal.The photographs complement the text. Anyone interested in the history of culture of the Great Basin will find People of the West Desert interesting and informative

DENNIS R DEFA Salt Lake City, Utah

Women and Nature: Saving the "Wild" West

By Glenda Riley

(Lincoln:University ofNebraska Press,1999 xxx + 279 pp Cloth,$60.00;paper,$24.95.)

AS PART OF THE WOMEN IN THE WEST series this volume examines generations of women who have revered nature, explored their relationships with it, and pursued methods to preserve it. Focusing her study on the trans-Mississippi West because it "attracted an enormous share of environmentalists' attention" (xvi), Riley has a dual purpose with this book. Not only does she chronicle the women conservationists, many of whom have been omitted or slighted in the male-dominated historiography of environmental studies, but she also calls for additional research

Many women environmentalists and conservationists have been ignored or lack a full-length biographical study Also, there has been a dearth of studies related to gender differences, and this demands more scholarly analysis

The text is divided into ten chapters, a conclusion, extensive documentation, and a photo section. The opening chapter furnishes historical background and points out that women were forerunners in the conservation movement. Chapter two examines the English influence on environmental thought and activities Chapters three through eight concentrate on the development of the conservation movement from the early 1870s through the early 1940s Each chapter considers a distinct category of women: scientists, nature writers, visual image-makers, club women, athletes, and tourists The final two chapters examine the expansion of women's environmentalism since the 1940s, including ecofeminism

Alice Eastwood, a botanist; Mary Hunter Austin, writer; Florence Yoch, landscape architect; Julia Anna Archibald Holmes, climber; and Margaret Long, traveler, arejust a few of the women who studied, visited, and wrote about the West The obstacles they faced were many and varied. For example, clothing: dictates of the time required that women remain and appear feminine Women adapted and redesigned their outfits, readily accepted new fashions such as bloomers, and later began wearing men's pants Finding acceptable clothing for mountain climbing, hiking, and riding side-saddle were challenges conquered by these women Study, travel, and adventure were more important than the expected "women's place."

These women's activities proved that they were not frail creatures nor were they frightened by the outdoors They could tour

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on their own, ride horseback across mountains like Isabella Bird, and collect plant and animal specimens that formed the basis of museum collections; and most of all, these women inspired others to seek their own western adventures.

Riley contends that the inclusion of women, including women of color, in the history of the environmental movement presents a holistic view and forms a more complete story As societies' caregivers,women perceive nature in a distinct manner and offer more nurturing views of preserving the earth, its natural features, and its native peoples than do most men Women described nature and pictured it in feminine terms and thus offered and developed alternative ways of viewing the landscape and making environmental decisions.

This is an exceptionally well-organized, well-researched, wellwritten book—another coup for Glenda Riley,who has made significant contributions to the advancement of women's history. In the future, environmental histories will confirm that the late nineteenth-century political humorist Josh Billings was correct when he declared,"Wimmin is everywhere."

PATRICIA ANN OWENS

Wabash Valley College ML Carmel, Illinois

The American Frontier: Pioneers, Settlers, and Cowboys, 1800-1899

ByWilliam C Davis (Norman: University ofOklahoma Press,1999 256 pp Paper,$19.95.)

THIS IS A LAVISHLY ILLUSTRATED one-volume overview of the nineteenth-century West that retells the familiar stories of western settlement Originally published in 1992 by Salamander Books of London, England, the current large-format paperback edition is a product of the University of Oklahoma Press The American Frontier is not the typical fare expected from scholarly publishers It is a beautiful trade book that delights the eye but offers little that is new or challenging

For many years, author William C Davis was editor and publisher of Civil War Times Illustrated, a popular history magazine, and the glossy, highly illustrated approach in this book is drawn from that experience With its 280 historical photographs, artists' renderings of typical western characters, and color displays of "Old West" artifacts from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Davis's volume is reminiscent of the well-known Time-Life series.The very

readable text, which is organized thematically in eight chapters, is also more typical of magazine writing than scholarly literature There is a smattering of endnotes in each chapter for those who care about sources

Though the title of this work is The American Frontier and it professes to cover the entire nineteenth century, there is nothing here about the trans-Appalachian West that was arguably the "frontier" in the early 1800s.The book is,instead, about the transMississippi West Its emphasis, as described in the jacket notes, is on the "land and people...people prepared to fight hostile elements to create a place for themselves" and on the Indians whose land was usurped While more inclusive in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity than older western history books, this is still an "old school" approach hearkening back to Frederick Jackson Turner.

Within the eight chapters are the oft-told stories of western settlement. One finds Lewis and Clark, the mountain men, the Texans, the Mormons, the Indian wars, the Gold Rush, cowboys, lawmen, desperadoes, and more The "Frontier Community" chapter is a rewarding addition that provides some interesting social history content The stories are well-told, but there is not a great deal of analysis or interpretation.

This is a popular history of the American West. As a popular history, one would hope that it would take the best current scholarship and present it in a readable form for a general audience Unfortunately, Davis has largely ignored the vast additions to the literature that have come from the "new western history" movement One searches his references in vain for books and articles by the likes of Richard White,Julie Roy Jeffrey, or Richard Maxwell Brown.While the high priests of this movement can at times be a bit tiresome, one cannot ignore their important contributions. The West they have given us is not only more inclusive but is also far more complex and intellectually challenging

The book also suffers from the lack of a strong introductory essay A good overview at the beginning would have helped to put the thematic chapters into context and show the connectedness of their stories As the book stands,it is difficult for the reader to link major events and grasp a complete picture of the western past It seems that the book was made to be picked up and enjoyed in small doses rather than read from beginning to end. Indeed, the text appears to be of secondary importance to the graphic material.

While visually stunning, The American Frontier does not measure up to another popular western history book now on the market, The

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West: An Illustrated History, by Geoffrey Ward A companion to the PBS documentary series of the same name, this book uses extensive quotations to personalize the stories of the West, is based on current scholarship, and contains essays by outstanding modern scholars Its chronological approach makes for a more coherent telling of the western saga. Buy The American Frontier for its wonderful illustrations and displays of"Old West" material culture For an eloquent and thought-provoking rendition of the western past, buy The West while it still remains on the bargain rack

MICHAEL W.JOHNSON Utah State University

BOO K NOTICE S

And Justice for All: An Oral History of the Japanese American Detention Camps

ByJohnTateshi (Reprint;Seattle:University ofWashington Press,1999.300pp.Paper, $17.95.)

Real voices of real people can be powerfully affecting In this case, with so much at stake, the voices are that and more They are disturbing They are heartbreaking.

Subjected to unthinkable injustice in the "land of the free," these former internees relate wrenching memories. Each is a unique narrative; but, of course, the accounts are also all the same story These voices describe one of America's most disgraceful actions, a time when racism all but snuffed out justice and humanity forJapanese Americans

Those who know little about the Japanese American internment inWorld War II should read this book—but so should those who think they already know the whole story.

Desert River Crossing: Historic Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River ByW L Rusho (Revised ed.;SaltLake City:Tower Productions,1998.187pp Paper,$16.95.)

Through an abundance of historical photos and a finely written narrative, this updated edition of W L Rusho's book records the depth and breadth of events at Lee's Ferry. And the place has a broad history indeed; the

paths of Native Americans, explorers, Mormons, outlaws, ranchers, miners, and engineers have all intersected with the Colorado River at this point The book covers this history from the earliest travelers to the 1996 condor release at the Vermilion Cliffs. It also provides, for on-the-ground investigators, information on sites and area exploration.

Faces of Utah: A Portrait Edited by Shannon R. Hoskins (Salt LakeCity: Gibbs Smith, 1996 224 pp Paper,$8.95.)

When the Mountain West Center and the Utah Humanities Council put out a centennial call for essays about living in Utah, some 100,000 responses flooded the office.This volume collects only a fraction of them, a representation of the whole Among the strengths of this collection is the diversity of age and background among the writers. The book also presents a diversity of experience and opinion about the state Along with—and among—the inevitable essays focused on natural beauty, heritage, and nostalgia are individual voices that defy generalizations These voices include expressions of anger, thoughtful examination, worry, bemusement, gratitude, and more. The essays, then, provide a glimpse into a whole range of Utah experience To read them and thereby understand others'perceptions should be enlightening to Utahns of all persuasions

No Western Parallel: The Story of Questar Corporation By David Hampshire (SaltLakeCity: Questar, 1998 224pp $33.00.)

The author was allowed to ask "the most impertinent questions," and company officials "made a conscious effort" to avoid striking unflattering passages Inevitably, though, this is still corporate history, told from Questar's point of view. Outsider and antagonistic voices are largely silent. For instance, the account of the company's 1970s clashes with the Public Service Commission does not include interviews with PSC commissioners or staffers.

Nevertheless, the book is a valuable contribution to history, giving a solid overview of an important player in the state of Utah Interesting historical photographs spice up the first half of the book. Particularly fascinating are the accounts and photos of early industrial techniques and workers: the adventures of pipeline construction, the line riders who rode along the pipeline looking for problems, and the welders who worked on leaks until they passed out then were dragged away from the pipe,revived, and sent back to work.

The Frontier Army in the Settlement of the West

By Michael L.Tate

(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,1999.xx + 454 pp.$34.95.)

It was a military man, Gen Philip Sheridan, who rescued the Yellowstone region from development and environmental plundering; his vision and efforts led to the transfer in 1885 of these endangered lands to military management. The army took immediate steps to protect the ecosystem. Soldiers explained safety rules and environmental philosophy to tourists—and those tourists who harmed the park's natural features might find themselves locked in the guardhouse ofYellowstone Fort.

The purpose of this engaging book is to look beyond the army's stereotype as Indian fighters. Soldiers explored, built roads, did scientific studies, aided overland travelers, served as advocates of Indian tribes, assisted in disasters, acted as lawmen, provided medical services, and much more.As this volume convincingly demonstrates,the army's contribution to Euro-American settlement of theWest was large indeed.

Washington Matthews: Studies of Navajo Culture, 1880-1894

Edited by Katherine Spencer Halpern and Susan Brown McGreevy (Albuquerque:

University ofNew Mexico Press, 1997 xix + 304 pp $70.00.)

The first generation of anthropologists has been "dismissed by later generations of academically trained anthropologists as merely descriptive ethnologists," states the foreword to this volume, but "these men and women were the first to breach the ethnocentrism which blinded the American academic world to the value of non-western cultural traditions and in so doing laid the foundation for a new discipline" (ix)

Washington Matthews was the first systematic, sympathetic observer of the Navajos An army surgeon commissioned byJohn Wesley Powell to study the culture, Matthews took important notes on mythology, ethnobotany, ceremonies, and arts of the Navajos.The first section of this volume contains essays examining his methodology and the value of his work; the second half presents field notes, drawings,publications, and lectures by Matthews himself

News of the Plains and Rockies, 1803-1865: Original Narratives of Overland

Travel and Adventure Selected from the Wagner-Camp and Becker Bibliography of Western Americana. Vol2: Santa Fe Adventures, 1818-1843; Settlers, 1819-1865

Compiled and annotated byDavidA.White (Spokane:Arthur H Clark Co.,1996 510

pp.$50.00.)Vol3: Missionaries, Mormons, 1821-1824; Indian Agents, Captives, 1832-1865 Compiled and annotated byDavidA.White (Spokane:Arthur H.Clark Co., 1997 495pp $50.00.)

The narratives in these superb volumes are absorbing in themselves.But the elegantly efficient and helpful manner in which they are presented makes them even more valuable. A "Perspectives" essay precedes each section of the book, as do maps and travel times Each narrative is then introduced with brief paragraphs on the narrative's significance, the author's life, the author's travel itinerary, the highlights of the narrative, and the legacy of the events described.

Bone Deep in Landscape: Writing, Reading, and Place

By Mary Clearman Blew

(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,1999.208 pp.$22.95.)

Memoir, history, land, literature, notes on writing, tales, diaries, notebooks, letters: Blew stitches these "scraps," as she calls her material, into her essays. Ranging across the landscapes of Montana and Idaho, the essays attend to specific places—the Judith River, for instance, or a fenceline built by the author's grandfather—exploring the stories that reside in each Blew is a quilter, and, like a patchwork quilt, her writing may at first glance seem like a collection of disparate material, but these bits and pieces form patterns that show how place connects divergent stories,people, and times

The Kachina and the Cross: Indians and Spaniards in the Early Southwest

By Carroll L Riley (SaltLake City:University

ofUtah Press,1999 xiii + 336 pp $34.95.)

An excellent new look at contact, conquest, and cultural interchange from the first Spanish explorers to the end of the seventeenth century, this book is a fascinating synthesis of recent scholarship Anthropology, archaeology, and history all contribute here. For example, an analysis of the religious beliefs of the intersecting cultures is important to the book's chapter on missionization. To Franciscan priests, for instance, the Hopi Kachinas and other supernatural beings of the Southwest Indians were not imaginary but were actual minions of Satan— thus the priests' fervor in wiping out the Pueblo religions Throughout the book, insights into the material and non-material culture of both Spanish and Pueblos similarly enrich the narrative and illuminate the historical record.

Portraits of Basques in the New World

Edited byRichardW Etulain andJeronima

Echeverria (Reno:University of Nevada Press 328 pp $31.95.)

The first archbishop of Mexico was a Basque So was Juan de Onate, the first governor of New Mexico and the explorer who searched for the "riches" of Quivira. Starting with essays on these early players in the Europeanization of the New World, this book presents writings on a diversity of Basques As the title states, these are mainly portraits of individuals, yet they do demonstrate the range of Basque experience in the West, and they contribute an important perspective to the study of immigration.

All are interesting, but the stand-out essay returns to a theme commonly associated with Basques—sheepherding In it, Rene Tihista remembers his family's history and sheep business and his own teenage years herding for the family The book is worth picking up for this one unforgettable memoir

Singing Stone: A Natural History of the Escalante Canyons

ByThomas Lowe

Fleischner (SaltLake City: University ofUtah Press,1999.xix + 212 pp.Paper,$17.95.)

Fleischner's goal is to write natural history the way it was written before science and emotion went their separate ways His own love for the Escalante country, then, plays a prominent but not usually syrupy part in the book, and it is amply diluted by geology, geography, biology, prehistory, and history. The scientific/historical/naturalist aspects of the book are by no means complete, however Nor are they completely accurate The author lets stand implications that the Escalante is in the Great Basin (67),uncritically ascribes the Hopi creation story to the Anasazi (13), and cavalierly reads the minds of Archaic peoples (76). In addition, Fleischner has perhaps fallen into the habit that many nature writers do, that of manipulating reality for dramatic purposes For instance, he describes camping in "subzero air" in Bryce Canyon one night and the same day sweating heavily and gladly walking in water in the Escalante canyons, only 4,000 feet lower

But the project's goal is a worthy one.The account of the evolution of grazing policy, for instance, benefits both from the science and the "emotion" of earlier chapters Anti-environmentalists may dismiss the book after a glance at the first page or even the title; nevertheless, the book is a valuable document that shows how all aspects of aplace are interrelated.

Preserving the Glory Days: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Nye County, Nevada

By Shawn Hall (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1999.xiv +

301 pp. Paper, $21.95.)

First published in 1981, this expanded and updated edition gives directions for locating nearly 200 sites, along with town histories, photos, and assessments of present conditions Lacking in the directions are explanations of road conditions, however Are four-wheel drive vehicles necessary for some of the roads?The book does not say What it does show is that, beyond the long stretches of Nevada highways, ghost towns and old stories are hidden in nearly all directions.

The Western Range Revisited: Removing Livestock from Public Lands to Conserve Native Biodiversity

By Debra L. Donahue

(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999.xii + 388 pp.$47.95.)

As both a wildlife biologist and professor of law, Donahue knows her stuff. She contends that livestock should be completely removed from large tracts of BLM lands. It's a radical proposal, but the arguments, based on history, economics, science, ecology, and the law,are compelling

The traditional rationalizations for public land grazing—that it sustains a traditional culture, that it is key to the economies of the rural West, and that it is important to the preservation of open space—have driven land management decisions for decades.Yet Donahue points to flaws in these beliefs and concludes that "the current federal grazing policy is a largely unintended artifact of history, perpetuated by myth" (7) and that allowing grazing on arid lands is "indefensible public policy" (9).

The Maverick Spirit: Building the New Nevada Edited byRichard O Davies (Reno: University ofNevada Press,1999 x + 304 pp Paper,$17.95.)

Added together, the profiles of fourteen Nevadan leaders in this collection illuminate the evolution of this unique state.The book describes the rise of gaming,with all of its undercurrents and effects, through many angles

An oddly diverse group has helped birth the "new Nevada."The profiles, then, necessarily include such different individuals as the pugnacious and influential Las Vegas Sun editor Hank Greenspun, politicians SueWagner and Paul Laxalt, writer Robert Laxalt, casino promoter Bill Harrah, mob-man Moe Dalitz, civil rights activistJames McMillan, and UNLV coachJerry Tarkanian.

11-9-99

Dear Professor Lyman and Editors, Re:Arrowhead Trail and Charles E Bigelow [Summer 1999, 24264]

Great article Mr Bigelow lived in Dad's office in the Pickett Building, St George, Utah, for scores of years Always ate dinner at our home. I knew him from the 1930s on. He sold me a 1929 Studebaker as long as a train, also gave us two dogs.

And although he was crippled, he never lost a leg—was always a proud and self-sufficient man Mr Pulsipher [Howard Pulsipher, who remembered Bigelow as a "poor old man with only one leg"] had a tendency to "pull a long bow," as Dad used to say. He [Mr Bigelow] was never a"poor old man." He never borrowed or begged—had ample resources to pay his own way and support a wife

He left all his records to Dad—Ellis J. Pickett—and we gave them to Dixie College for safekeeping.

Just the other day I saw some pictures of him at my brother's house. Early on, he purchased burial lots for himself and wife in St George Cemetery

I remember him looking out the windows of my office in the Pickett Building and saying,"Charlie, some day up to eighty cars a day will pass by this road, Highway 91."

Attorney Ralph Hafen, Salt Lake City, has spent years collecting Charles Bigelow info.

Thanks again for a special article, Charles M Pickett Hurst, Texas

Editors' note: In a phone conversation about the letter, Mr. Pickett called Charles Bigelow a "fine, fine man." He said that you could always tell when Mr. Bigelow was in town because there was a big brown streak on the left side of any automobile he drove; while driving, he would chew on a cigar and spit the tobacco juice out the window

UTA H STAT E HISTORICA L SOCIET Y

Department of Community and Economic Development Division of State History

BOAR D O F STAT E HISTOR Y

RICHARDW SADLER,Ogden, 2003, Chair

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

MAXJ EVANS,Salt Lake City, Secretary

PAULANDERSON, Salt Lake City, 2003

MICHAEL W. HOMER, Salt Lake City, 2001

KIMA.HYATT, Bountiful, 2001

JOEL C.JANETSKI, Provo, 2001

PAM MILLER, Price, 2003

CHRISTIE SMITH NEEDHAM, Logan, 2001

ROSS PETERSON, Logan, 2003

PAUL D.WILLIAMS, Salt Lake City, 2003

ADMINISTRATIO N

MAXJ.EVANS, Director

WILSON G MARTIN, Associate Director

PATRICIA SMITH-MANSFIELD, Assistant Director

STANFORDJ LAYTON, Managing Editor

KEVINT.JONES, State Archaeologist

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.

This publication hasbeen funded with the assistance of amatching grant-in-aid from the National Park Service,under provisions ofthe National Historic PreservationAct of 1966 as amended

This program receives financial assistance for identification and preservation of historic properties under TitleVI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.The U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race,color, national origin, age,or handicap in its federally assisted programs If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity,or facility as described above,or ifyou desire further information, please write to: Director, Office for Equal Opportunity, Department ofthe Interior,Washington,DC,20240