ROBERT GARDNER1 TYPICAL FRONTIERSMAN AND EARLY U T A H PIONEER
By Dr. Wm. J. Snow Robert Gardner and his brother Archie were two of the first mill men in Utah. They built and operated both lumber mills and flour mills. Their forebears were Scots, coming to Canada in 1821. Here these two brothers grew to manhood. Robert describes this wilderness country as follows: "My father immigrated to Canada in 1821 * * * I think he located in the backwoods of Canada in the township of Dalhousie, Banthest district, upper Canada. This was a very poor part of the country consisting of rocky ridges covered with heavy timber." x In 1844 Mormon elders visited the city and within a year the Gardner family was converted. Robert thus describes his initiation into the Church: "In the beginning of January, 1845, in company with a few Saints we went a mile and a half into the woods and cut a hole in the ice and I was there baptized * * * in the stream called Brown's Creek." From now on Roberts' zeal almost outran his judgment. In the summer of 1845, he made a round trip to Nauvoo, traveling a large part of the way on foot. " M y wife" said he, "made me a lot of crackers. I put them in a two bushel sack and I traveled on foot. I packed them on my back and they lasted me to Nauvoo. But it was a pretty good day for crackers, better than it was for money." These few incidents preliminary to his pioneering in Utah illustrate the calibre of the man. Returning to Canada the Gardner family began preparations to join the Mormons in their westward march, no matter where their destiny might be. Accordingly we find the Gardner family at Winter Quarters in 1846, and with Apostle John Taylor's company in 1847. Robert relates many thrilling and some tragic incidents of the long trek across the plains, but these cannot be related here. From his diary I quote: "At the mouth of Emigration Canyon on October 1, 1847, my wagon was badly broken, my team nearly given out, and myself worn out. W e looked over the valley. Here was not a house to be seen * * * but we were glad to see a resting place, and felt to thank God for the same." No time was spent in repining. Pioneering in all fields was immediately begun. To quote: " M y brother Archie and I soon went to work building a sawmill on the W a r m Springs two miles 'Robert Gardner did not keep a daily journal, but from time to time recorded significant incidents and events in his eventful career. In 1884, he elaborated these, filled in the lacuna, and produced a very interesting memoir. Quotations in this article are either from the original notes or the Memoir.
