Journey of Faith ~ Interactions With The Indians ~~ David R. Gunderson, author

With permission of David R. Gunderson, we include the following book to our blog.   I will do a few increments at a time, as I have done with the Andrew Madsen and James Monsen histories.  I will also paste the pages over to David's own blog page: http://davidrgunderson.blogspot.com/

This book will be of interest to not only the Gunderson Family but also to the Brotherson, Ericksen, Peel,   Madsen, Larsen and more.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Chief Walkara (Walker) and the Walker War

   

Settling of Sanpete County

After coming to Utah, prior to coming to Mount Pleasant, many of the pioneers located in and about what is now Salt Lake, Utah and Cache Counties.

In June of 1849, scarcely two years after the arrival of the first company of pioneers in Utah, Chief Walker (Walkara, mean­ing yellow) and Chief Sowiette with a band of Ute Indians visited President Brigham Young in Great Salt Lake City, and asked that colonizers be sent to the San pitch valley, named after an Indian Chief, Sanpitch, a brother of Chief Walker, to locate there and teach the Indians how to till the soil, and to build their homes and become civilized. This valley was described by them as "good land having much water." An exploring company with Chief Walker  as guide was sent out to investigate. They camped on the present site of Manti, August 20th, where they were kindly received and entertained by the Indians. After remaining there a few days, they returned to Great Salt Lake City and reported conditions favorable for settlement.



Although Chief Walker and Chief Sowiette, who was the older chief, with a band of Indians had visited Great Salt Lake City, and had asked that settlers be sent to Sanpete, Chief Walker proved to be a treacherous, blood-thirsty Indian, always stirring up trouble that he might have victims to slaughter; and seemed to regret the white man being there, as did a number of the Indians who were his followers and who plainly showed that they resented the presence of the pale face. Had it not been for the great and good Chief Sowiette who with his policy of peace proved to be a friend of the white man, the people in the little colony of Manti would have been massacred during the first winter.  About July 1, 1850, Chief Walker, with a band of 700 San pitch Indian warriors with their squaws and papooses, returned from an expedition against the Shoshones. They camped in a semicircle about the settlement of Manti where they held frequent war scalp dances and proudly exhibited their trophies of war; forcing the squaws and papoose prisoners to dance with the scalp of their kindred attached to poles. While they were thus amused, Chief Walker, with his leading men, would tantalize the colonists and threaten to treat them in a similar manner. The fiendish actions would sometimes keep up all night long; occasionally a shriek or a blood curdling yell would burst forth from the Indian camp, and the small colony of pioneers would lie on their beds, not knowing what minute their lives would be taken by the hands of the blood thirsty Indians.

Walker Indian War

At Manti, in the early summer of 1853, while most of the able bodied men were away, some at Hambleton at work, among them being James C. Meiling who later pioneered at Mount Pleas­ant, and some in Salt Lake City for supplies, Chief Walker and a band of painted warriors, demanded that Charles Shumway and others, against whom Walker had grievances, be delivered to them that they might be tortured and put to death. When this demand naturally was not granted, Walker threatened to massacre all the people then in camp, mostly women and children and old men.



Preparations were made to resist the attack. However, the aged Chief Sowiette pleaded with his people to let the white man alone, and his policy of peace again prevailed. Chief Walker, humiliated at what he termed cowardice of his tribe, mounted his pony and rode off to the mountains to hide; no doubt thinking Sowiette's followers would come to him. He and his followers remained surly, and frequent pow wows were held in the mountains. On the 18th day of July, Arropine, a brother of Chief Walker, enraged at being caught stealing cattle, killed Alexander Keel, a guard at Payson. This act, it is said, was the beginning of the noted Walker Indian War which lasted three years. On July 9th, a band of blood thirsty Indians fired upon guards at the Hambleton and Potter saw mill, but were forced back. Before this they had made many attempts to take the stock belonging to the Hambleton settlement. Once they tried to take them out of the corral, which, however, was well guarded. On this occasion they had crawled in the bed of the creek until they were opposite the corral which stood on the bend of the creek. They then jumped in and attempted to stampede the cattle, but the guards discovered them in time and the Indians fled. During the night of July 19th, they again made an attempt to make a raid on the corralled cattle but they were fired upon by guards, and two of the Indians were killed. The other Indians made their retreat, carrying with them their dead comrades and leaving behind them a gun, and a blood-covered blanket. On July 20th, in a raid made upon the cattle at Manti, several head were stolen. An attack was also made on the range near Nephi. At Springville, after the Indians had wounded William Jolly, the people became alarmed and in order to protect their homes and families, they were at once organized. Captain P. W. Conover, with a company of fifty men, was sent from Provo to assist the settlers at Hambleton, and on July 23rd, the troops met the savages at Hambleton's and Potter's mill, where a fierce and bloody battle followed, resulting in the death of six warriors, while the others fled to the mountains. The few settlers at Ham­bleton were not considered strong enough to protect themselves against the savages, and the following morning the veterans and their families, cattle, and provisions were moved to Allred's Settle­ment, about six miles south, where about fifteen families had settled and built a fort in 1852. While the settlers were rushing to Allred's Settlement for shelter, their wagons, homes, saw mill, and lumber at the mouth of the canyon were burned and destroyed by the raging Indians who were on the war path. The Indians did not wait long before making another attack, and on Sunday, August the 2nd, they attacked Allred's Settlement; they rounded up all the cattle, leaving only a few calves which had been cor­ralled, and drove them towards the mountains. The herders were fired upon and forced to flee to the fort for protection, while the Indians with loud shrieks and yells, waving their arms and red blankets, rode away in defiance. 

For the purpose of recovering their cattle and horses, a posse was at once organized and was soon upon the trail of the Indians. When they neared the herd, a number of Indians rushed with Indian strategy back toward the fort as if to attack the wives and children left there, and the posse was compelled to return to protect their families. When they neared the fort, the Indians fled towards the mountains, joining those of their tribe who were rushing on with the cattle. Two of the herding ponies escaped from the band and returned to the fort. This gave the settlers means of communication with Manti, the only point from which they could hope to obtain help.

A messenger was immediately dispatched and by riding west and then south across the valley, succeeded in evading the Indian scouts. The messenger reached Manti at three o'clock in the after­noon, having made one of the quickest trips so far recorded. When the news reached Manti, drums were beat and the cattle were rounded up at once. Sentries were posted at all important points, while hasty preparations were made to send relief to
All­red's Settlement. A number of good wagons, drawn by ox team, accompanied by teamsters and twelve mounted guards left as soon as it was possible, arriving at the little settlement at daylight the following morning. The settlers were then taken to Manti and given quarters in the fort, which had been erected there that year. From here, with the aid of the militia, some of the settlers re­turned to their farms at Hambleton, to irrigate their lands and harvest their crops which turned out quite well considering the circumstances. January the 6th, 1854, Allred's Settlement was burned by the Indians. The entire population of Sanpete County

numbered at that time 765 men, women, and children, all of whom remained and fortified themselves at Manti until the spring of 1854. September 30, 1853, four ox-drawn wagons loaded with grain left Manti for Great Salt Lake City. A few hours later, under the leadership of Isaac Morley, they were followed with twelve wagons drawn by horses. These wagons were loaded with provisions and feed, as well as a number of Saints enrooted to at­tend the semi-annual conference. Arrangements had been made for camping at Shumway (Duck) Springs, near Moroni; from there they were to travel together through Salt Creek Canyon. For some reason, the first teams kept going until they reached Uinta Springs (Fountain Green) where they camped over night and the horse teams did not overtake them as planned. Early on the morning of October 1st, the Indians made an attack and all four drivers, James Nielson, William Lake, Thomas Clark, and William Reed were killed and their bodies so badly mutilated they could scarcely be recognized. The grain was emptied from the sacks, which the savages took possibly for clothing. When Morley's company came along, they found the three bodies; later Clark's body was found in the bottom of a wagon box, covered with wheat emptied from the sacks. He had been scalped, his head crushed, his body cut open and his heart taken out.

The bodies were taken to Salt Creek (Nephi) for interment. Several Indians were seen watching from among the trees and bushes making gestures of joy over the massacre. When the wag­ons bearing the bodies reached Nephi, seven Indians who had followed at a safe distance were captured and shot. Although guards had been kept at the little grist mill at the mouth of the canyon, east of Manti, until sufficient flour could be ground for the winter, on October 1st, the Indians killed the miller, John F. Warner, and the guard, William Mills, whose bodies were found a short distance from the mill. Their clothing had been removed; their faces badly disfigured. The mill was left undisturbed; how­ever, the Indians returned and burned it. Indians were later seen wearing the clothing that had been taken from the bodies of the two men. Cattle about there were killed with poison arrows. The Indians claimed these acts had been committed because of the shooting of five Indians, alleged to have been killed by a company of immigrants enrooted to California.

In the spring of 1854, R. N. Allred and R. W. Allred, together with fifteen families left the Manti fort, having remained there over the winter after they had been driven away from Allred's Settlement by the Indians the fall previous. They located on Pine Creek, seven miles north of Manti. Isaac Behunin had built a home on this creek as early as 1851, but he had been forced to return to Manti for protection from the Indians. The site after­wards was called Fort Ephraim, which was really the first success­ful attempt towards forming a colony outside of Manti. During the fall of 1854, Fort Ephraim was substantially strengthened by the arrival of several Scandinavian families sent by President Young from Salt Lake City, to strengthen the colony in combating the Indians. During 1854, the Indians confined themselves mostly to Southern Utah. Yet often they invaded the herds of Sanpete County, stealing horses and cattle and making their escape in safety.

January 26, 1855, Walker, the great Indian Chief, who had caused so much sorrow and bloodshed in Utah, died at Meadow Creek, Millard County, Utah, and was buried with high honor. Peter Gottfredson, in his Indian Depredations in Utah writes, "Ac­cording to the cruel customs then in vogue among the savages, an Indian boy and an Indian girl and thirteen head of horses were buried alive with Walker's corpse, being secured near the corpse of the chief at the bottom of a deep pit or enclosure and left to suffer until death brought relief. It is said that two Indians passed by the place and the boy begged to be let out, but the Indians laughed and passed on. The boy said that 'Walker was beginning to stink.' " Walker had three brothers, Arropine, Sanpitch and Tabby. Arro­pine was made chief of his tribe and he with other Indians made a treaty of peace, a copy of which is found in Book B. Church Transfer and is as follows: "Be it known by these presents, that I, Siegnerouch (Arropine ) of Manti City in the county of San­pete, and Territory of Utah, for and in consideration of the good will which I have to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, give and convey to Brigham Young, trustee in trust for said church, his successors in office, all my claim to and ownership of the following described property, to wit: The portion of land and country known as Sanpete County together with all material and timber on the same, valued at $155,000, ten horses, valued at $500; four cows, $120; one bull, $40; farming tools valued at 810; in all 8155,765 together with all rights, privileges and appur­tenances there unto belong or appertaining. I also covenant and agree that I am the lawful claimant and owner of said property, and will warrant and forever defend the same unto the said trustee in trust, his successors in office and assigns etc.

"Siegnerouch (Arropine) His X Mark"

"Witnesses: George Snow, R. Wilson Glenn, John Patten."

This ceded to Brigham Young and the people of Sanpete County, which at that time comprised an unknown area, including all of southeastern Utah, and no well-defined description was given until an act of the legislature, approved January 10, 1866, gave the following boundaries: "All that portion of the Territory bounded south by Sevier County, west by Juab County, north by the summit of the range of mountains between Sanpete Valley, and the Spanish Fork river, thence by a line drawn due east from said intersection to the thirty-second meridian. Provided that the hay ground in Thistle Valley shall be included in the county." Thus ended the so-called Walker Indian War which had lasted three years.

Although a treaty of peace had been made by Arropine, some­times called Siegnerouch, the Indians could not be trusted, for even Arropine, hard-hearted and cruel, finding that he could play upon the fears of the "pale face" by his fine oratory, compelled them to pay tribute in the form of provisions.

At a general conference held in Salt Lake City, April 1855, a party of forty men from Sanpete were called to settle Elk moun­tain country. Leaving Manti May 23rd, after a hard trip they ar­rived at Grand River, crossing the stream on June 12th. The Indians were friendly and welcomed the "White Man." Corrals were built of logs and the Mormon Fort at Moab built of stone was finished July 19th. It was not long, however, until there was some feeling that mischief was meant by some of the Indians. On September 23rd, Wiseman Hunt, Edward Edwards, and William Behunin were killed and Captain A. N. Billings was wounded. The settlers entered the fort and it was at once surrounded by Indians, who gave notice that they intended to kill all the inmates. However, some of the friendly Indians interceded in behalf of the white man, and the imprisoned colonists were allowed to return to their homes with the understanding that the Settlement should be abandoned and that section be left undisputed property of the Utes. The colonists then returned to Manti.

The grasshoppers invaded the farms of Sanpete in 1855, and destroyed almost all the crops. However, in December 1857, there was much rejoicing and a general jubilee prevailed because of the abundant crops which had been harvested.

History of Mount Pleasant by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf pp:15-25

History Of John Henry Owen Wilcox

taken from Family Search written by J.O. Meiling

On December 25, 1775, in a little town in Rhode Island, was born Hazard Wilcox. He met and wed Sarah Seeley. In 1824 the resided at Benton, Arkansas, where on 14 Feb. 1824, was born John Henry Owen Wilcox, the youngest and last of a larg family and the subject of this treatise.

Little is known of his early life. Leaving Arkansas the family settled in Missouri, where in 1831 the father died. It was here in Marion County, Missouri that the boy accepted Mormonism. This new religion had aroused such bitter antagonism against its adherents that mob violence was prevalent throughout the Middle west. They lived in Jackson, Clay, and Caldwell counties in Missouri, being driven from place to place with less regard than for so many cattle. On one occasion, Grandfather escaped the wrath of the mob by hiding in a corn field, and another time he was clad in girls clothing to cover his idnentity lest he be taken away by a brother-in-law who was bitterly opposed to his affiliating with the Mormons. He witnessed the transfiguration of Brigham Young when he assumed the likeness of the Prophet Joseph Smith at the time a successor to lead the western trek was being discussed. When it was seen futile to further attempt to maintain the homesteads in the Mississippi valley, and hold their religious convictions, the Mormon converts, in accordance with the advice of the Prophet Joseph, prepared to head west into the unknown Rocky Mountain region. John Henry Owen, with his widowed mother and sister Jane, was among them and early in the summer of 1847, in a slowly moving ox drawn prairie schooner, set out in John Taylor's Company, bound for that unknown, unexplored western wilderness. Jane and Justus Azel Sealey were married 10 March 1842, and were in the same Company. Over the prairie lands, along the North Platte river, up the ridges and valleys, up of the Wasatch Mountains, and down through Emmigration Canyon continued that trek of more than 1000 miles, the like of which is recorded no where else in history. What were the emotions that surged through his being his being when , on September 30, 1847, from a vantage point on the Western Slope of Big Mountain, he gazed over Salt Lake Valley, a cheerless, desolate, uninviting desert wasteland? What did he behold in that panorama to bid him welcome, or to suggest that this is the long sought haven in which to build a home? Somber indeed, was the picture painted by Jim Bridger when he urged the original emigrants not to stop in Salt Lake Valley. Said he, "This is no place for civilized man. Nothing but wild beasts and savages could possibly survive the vigors of the elements and the destitution of this barren land. Nothing can grow and utter starvation will inevitably follow if settlement is attempted." Did Grandfather lament and want to turn back as did the children of Israel? Never. With a burning desire for a home in a land of religious freedom, as the obstacles that beset the way of the o conquer the obstacles that beset the way of the frontiersman, as in the woof there was woven into his being some of the most enduring fabric that ever formed a part of human character.

He first settled in Salt Lake, where on the 14th of March, 1848, he was married to Mary Young, a convert from Ontario, Canada, who also came westward in John Taylor's Company. In 1850, they moved to Manti remaining there until 1853, when they settled at Fort Hamilton, a settlement located some distance west of the present site of Mt. Pleasant. That same year, they moved to Pleasant Grove, Then to North Ogden. In 1860, he came to Mt. Pleasant whare they resided the rest of their lives. He homesteaded 20 acres of land Three miles north of the town and tilled this land for nearly 40 years until he became so feeble he could plow but a quarter of an acre per day.

Grandfather participated in the Walker and the Blackhawk Indian Wars. While residing at Fort Hamilton, he was employed at a sawmill in Pleasant Creek Canyon, where on one occasion he was left as a watchman while the other workmen went to town. In the early evening he heard the words, "go home." He paid no attention to this until the warning was repeated three times then he went home. On returning to camp the next day they found it a smoldering mass of ruin. The Indians had set fire to the lumber, the logs, the wagons and every combustible object, and driven off the cattle. This cost Grandfather his wagon and oxen, but did not deter him in his determination to strive on. He traded all his possessions, including a house and lot for another wagon and yoke of cattle.

Though he went hunting occasionally to augment the family food supply, he had little recreation, his first concern was to supply provisions for a wife and eleven children. His life was filled with toil, trials, hardships, privations, sacrifices and heartaches incident to life in that time. He was ambitious and worked at any form of labor available, including farming, logging, mining, building log and adobe dwellings. At one time he worked at a mine near Austin, Nevada, where he was so severely injured that he was weak for years. He was an expert log hewer, even made lumber by this method. His ability in making ox yokes was widely known and many men came to him for his service. On one occasion he exchanged a large load of poles for 40 pounds of wheat, which he planted on an acre and a quarted of land, and with joyousness they gathered from the threshing floor seventy bushels of grain. He grubbed oak brush for a peck of corn per day and thanked God for the opportunity of earning that 14 pounds of corn to help feed his family. In our day, we hear much about the full dinner pail but Grandfather well remembers the days his dinner bucket contained only a pinch of salt, with which he hoped to season a kettle of segas, thistle stocks, pig weed or other edible plants he might find to cook for his noon day meal. Grandmother Wilcox oft repeated, "As I look back on these agonizing times, I wonder how in the world we ever managed to keep body and soul together. I know, However, that it was through the graciousness of the Good Lord on High, we were able to withstand those terrible ordeals." The Mormons made the desert blossom as the rose, but the first "roses to bloom for grandfather were a few potatoes broduced from seed brought from California on pack animals and sold pour to a customer at 25 cents each.

Grandfather never learned to read or write, yet the feat of turning this sagebrush covered wasteland into fields of bounteous harvests, will be emblanzoned on the history of Utah by these early pioneers. It was not the call of wild, the desire for fame or fortune, or adventure that promted him to abondon his friends and posessions, but the hope of finding a place where he could dwell in peace and safety, unbomolested by a bloodthirsty mob determined to annihilate the converts to this newly-born religion. He had morality, truthfulness, and strict adherence to the golden rule worthy of emulation to the end of time.


"Well done, thou good and faithful servant, ... ... ..."



Written by J. O. (Owen) Meiling, Lehi, Utah. 4 Aug. 1939

Andrew Madsen's Journal Part IV

History of Andrew Madsen and the Early Settling of Sanpete County

Andrew Madsen Sr.

The following is an account written by Andrew Madsen concerning the settling of Sanpete Valley, the Indian Wars, Rattlesnakes in Manti, and Grasshopper Invasion.

David R. Gunderson  reproduced the original journal printed for private distribution several years ago and is currently working on a new edition to be published sometime in the future.

Mt. Pleasant as the name implies, is a city situated on a pleasant elevation in the north end of Sanpete County about one hundred miles south of Salt Lake City.  The site was selected by the early pioneers of Sanpete County as the most delightful and commending location for a rapid growing commercial and metropolitan city and its rapid growth and development fully demonstrate that the locators were not deceived.

After the Utah Pioneers had secured homes in Salt Lake Valley and were preparing to convert the desert into fruitful fields, a company of about fifty families from Salt Lake City and Centerville was organized and started late in the fall of 1849 for Sanpete Valley.

Among the original pioneers were the following ment, Seth Taft; Charles Shumway; D.B. Huntington; Barney Ward; John Lowry Sr.; Titus Billings; G. W. Bradley; Albert Petty; O.S. Cox; Albert Smith; Jesreel Shoemaker; Cyremus H. Taylor; Azariah Smith; Abraham Washburn; John D. Chase; Isaac Chase; Sylvester Hewlett; Wm. Potter; Gardner Potter; James Brown; Joseph Allen; Madison D. Hamilton; Wm. Richie; Harrison Fugate; Sylvester Wilcox; Gad Yale; J.Carter; Isaac Behunnin; Wm. Mendenhall; Edwin Whiting; Wm. Tubbs; John  Hart; John Baker; John Elmer; John Butterfield; Amos Gustin; John Cable; and W.K. Smith.

The pioneers cleared roads, built bridges and succeeded in passing through Salt Creek Canyon without a great deal of hardship.  They continued to move on southward in quest of a suitable location until the present site, Manti, was reached; thus being selected the frontier town of central and southern Utah.

The first camp was pitched on the stream now known as City Creek on the evening of November 22nd, 1849.  A few days later snow began falling and continued until the ground was covered to a depth of three feet.  The colony then changed quarters to the south side of Temple Hill where thy built dugouts which were occupied by some, while others remained in their wagons, on the hillside.

The Indians camped around the colony greedily devouring the dead animals which had died for want of food.  Th following Spring when the snow began melting and the days became warm, the peaceful colony were one day interrupted and startled by a continuous hissing and rattling of rattlesnakes which were found to exist almost everywhere throughout the homes of the settlers in boxes, cupboards, beds, etc.  A vigorous fight was at once inaugurated and hundreds were slaughtered in one night.

Of the two hundred and forty head of cattle brought in by the colonists less than one half were alive in the Spring, owing to the heavy winter.

The colonists were fortunate in having a fair supply of seed for planting.  The soil proved productive and crops began growing early, thereby giving some green vegetables for food within a short time after planting.  Ditches were made and water was easily taken out of the creek.  The crops grew and homes were erected until the settlers soon became comfortably situated.

About July 1st, of this year, Indian Chief Walker and a band of seven hundred warriors of the Sanpitch Indians with their squaws and papooses returned from a successful foraging expedition against the Shoshones and camped in a semi circle around the Colonists, remaining during the year.  They proudly exhibited their trophies of war, held frequent scalp dances and forced the squaws and children prisoners to dance with the scalp of their kindred attached to poles being significant of humbleness.  While thus being amused Indian Chief Walker and his leading men would tatalize the Colonists and threaten to treat them in a similar manner.  These fiendish actions would be kept up all night long, while occasionally a wild shriek or yell would burst forth from out of their camps.  The small Colony of Pioneers would lie in their beds not knowing whether or not their lives would be spared from the hands of the blood thirsty Indians until morning

President Brigham Young visited the Colony in August and christened the town Manti (in honor of one of the noted cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon).  The County he named Sanpete afte the Indian tribe then inhabiting this section, the chief of whom was Sanpitch.

A School house was erected of logs under the direction of Isaac Morley, Jessee w. Fox, and Mrs. Mary Whiting was installed as the pioneer teachers and the children were furnished the best opportunities of obtaining an education that the colonists could afforf.

A small grist mill was erected at the mouth of the Canyon by Phines W. Cook.  The only mill used previous to this was a large coffee grinder, which was passed from house to house as needed.

An act of Congress organizing Utah Territory was approved September 9th, 1850 and Brigham Young was appointed Governor.  A provisional form of government was instituted and Isaac Morley and Charles Shumway represented Sanpete County in the firs Legislative Assembly.  The Legislature met in Salt Lake City and passed an Act incorporating Manti which was approved February 5th, 1851.  Sanpete County was organized by authority of an act of the territorial legislature passed February 3rd, 1852 and Manti was made the County Seat.

In 1853 a Company of Veterans inaugurated under the direction of Madison D. Hambleton proceeded to move northward for the purpose of establishing a new colony and located on the stream just below where Mt. Pleasant is now situated.  The stream was named Hamilton (now Pleasant Creek) and the settlement was named Hamilton, giving honor to the name of their leader.  Early in March they built a sawmill at the mouth of the canyon and at once commenced cutting timber and sawing lumber for the purpose of building houses.  Work was at once commenced in clearing land, sowing and planting crops, building homes and they soon began to prosper.

During the summer the Indians were seen skirmishing about in a sulky, sullen manner, showing a spirit of dissatisfaction and the great Indian Chief Walker, continually gave indications of a desire to stir up trouble between the colonist and the redskins, notwithstanding his treacherous pleadings for white neighbors to settle among them and teach them the principals of a peaceful and happy government.  This bloodthirsty chieftan's purpose was only for more victims to slaughter.

An aged, diplomatic chief, named sowiatt, pleaded with his people to let the white men build homes and dwell with them in peace and his counsel generally prevailed, because he was reliable old Chief and desired peace, while Walker was very treacherous and could not even be trusted by his own tribe.  Walker desired the scalp of Charles Shumway and at last determined to make an effort to get someone to torture so that he could frighten his pale faced friends.

One day in the early summer, while most of the able-bodied men were at Hamilton assisting M.D. Hamilton, or in Salt Lake City after supplies, Walker and a band of painted redskins entered Manti and demanded the body of Shumway and others  against whom they had imaginary grievances, that they might be tortured and put to death.  This demand was not granted and an attack was threatened.

The old men and  women, also boys who were remaining at home, determined to resist the savages at once making preparations for battle, but the leader Sowiatt conquered and hostility ceased.  This vexed and humiliated Walker so much that he abandoned his tribe and went into the mountains alone, hoping that his actions would draw the warriors' affection from the Sowiatt to him.

July 18th, Alex Keel was killed at Payson, Utah by Arropine, a prominent Indian Leader.  This act caused the breaking out of the noted Walker Indian War and on July 19th, a band of blood-thirsty Indians fired upon guards at the Hambleton sawmill at the mouth of the canyon, but were forced back.

During the night a raid was made by the Indians upon the cattle that were corraled at Hambleton trying to frighten them away, but they were fired upon by the guards and tow of the Indians were killed.  The other Indians made their retreat, carrying with them their dead comrades and leaving behind them a gun and blanket which was covered with blood.  The following morning the veterans with their families, cattle and  provisions made a retreat to Spring Town for safety, where James Allred and about fifteen families had settled and built a fort in 1852.

While the settlers were rushing to Spring Town for shelter, their wagons, lumber and sawmill at the mouth of the canyon were burned and destroyed by the raging Indians.

The following day raids were made upon the herds of Manti and several horses and cattle were stolen and driven into the mountains.  A similar attack was made  on the range near Neph and Wm. Jolley was wounded by Indians at Springville.  The colonists became alarmed and at once organized for a defence of their homes and families.

A company of fifty militia men under Capt. P. W. Conover were sent out from Provo to assist the settlers at Hambleton, who were very few in proportion to the savages.

The troops met the savages on July 23rd, at Hambleton's Mill and engaged in a fierce bloody battle resulting in the death of six warriors and a complete routing of the Indians, who fled to the mountains.

By the aid of the militia, the settlers of Hambleton harvested their crops and returned to Spring Town, but the Indians were on the alert and did not wait long to recruit from the previous engagement.  One Sunday, Spring Town was attacked and all the horses and cattle were rounded up and started for the mountains; the the herders were fired upon and fled to the fort for protection, while the Indians rode away, yelling and waving their red blankets in defiance.  A posse was at once organized and soon on the trail of the Indians for the purpose of rescuing their cattle and horses.  When they neared the herd, some of the Indians broke back towards the Fort as if to attack their wives and children and thus the posse were compelled to return and protect their homes and families.  When they neared the Fort, the Indians fled to the mountains, joining those of their tribe who were rushing on with the cattle.  Two of the herding ponies escaped from being stolen by the Indians and returned to the Fort, thereby giving the settlers the means of communication with Manti, the only point from which relief could be expected.

A messenger was dispatched immediately and by riding west across the valley, then south, succeeded in evading the vigilant Indian scouts.  The express Messenger reached Manti at about three o'clock in the afternoon, making one of the quickest trips ever recorded.

When the news reached Manti, drums were sounded and their cattle was at once rounded up and sentries posted at all prominent points while hasy preparation was made for sending relief to Spring Town.

Twelve yoke of oxen and wagons, accompanied by teamsters and twelve mounted guards left as quickly as possible, arriving at Srping Town at daylight the following morning.  The colonists were taken to Manti and given quarters in a fort which had been erected that year.  The entire population of Sanpete at this time numberd only 765 men, women and children, who remained and fortified themselves in the Fort at Manti until the Spring of 1854.

Guards were kept at the little mill at the mouth of the canyon to prevent an attack from Indians until sufficient flour could be ground for the winter supply, but on October first, both Miller and Guard, John E. Warner, and Wm, Mills were killed by Indians who made their escape, leaving the mill undisturbed.  The indians, however, returned later and burned the mill, claiming that it was done in retaliation for the shooting of five Indians, who were convicted of stealing cattle and ordered executed by Major Higgins.

A few days previous to the killing of the Miller and the Guard, four ox teams loaded with grain started for Salt Lake City, being followed a few hours later by twelve horse teams hauling provisions, feed and a number of Saints enroute to the semi-annual Conference.  Arrangements were made for camping at Shumway Springs (now known as Duck Springs near Moroni) but the first teams kept going until they reached Uintah Springs (Now Fountain Green),

Before the rear team reached camp the Indians made an attack, killing all the drivers, Thomas Clark, Wm. E. Reed, Wm. Luke, and James Neilson driving away their oxen.  Having no use for the grain the savages cut open the sacks and scattered the wheat over the ground to complete their work of destruction and show their hatred for the white men.  The mangled bodies of those unfortunate freighters were picked up by the rear companhy and removed to Salt Creek (now Nephi) for interment.

Several Indians watched them from the  cover ofcedar and brushes on the mountain slopes, making frantic gestures of joy over their massacres.

A few days previous to this Capt. J. W. Gunnison a United States Topographical Engineer and a corps of seven men, including W. Potter of Manti, were killed by Indians while in camp on the Sevier River, near where the City of Gunnison is now situated.

During 1854, the Indians confined their depredations chiefly to southern Utah, but frequently invaded the herding grounds ofSanpete, stealing both cattle and horses and making good their escape.

On January 20th, 1855, Walker, the great Indian Chief died at Maddow Creek.  Arropine, who had begun the work of exterminating the white men became Chief of Walker'stribe and  made a treaty of peace.  Thus the Walker Indian War was ended.

On May 21st, 1855, A.N. Billings and a company of forty men were sent from Sanpete to settle the Elk Mountain country and make peace with the Indians.  They crossed the Grande River and erected the Mormon Fort, where Moab is now located.  In August some of the colonists returned to Manti and on September 3rd, the Indians made an attack, killing Wiseman Hunt, Edward Edwards, and Wm. Behunin and wounding Capt. A.N. Billings.  the colonists entered the Fort, which the Indians immediately surrrounded, giving notice of their intentions to kill all the inmates.

The next day some of the Chiefs interceded in behalf of the white men and the imprisoned colonists were permitted to return to their homes with the understanding that the settlement should be abandoned.  The request being complied with the colonists then returned to Manti.

In the Spring of 1854, R.N. Allred and R. W. Allred, together with fifteen families left the Manti Fort after remaining in the Fort over winter, where thy had stayed after being driven and forced away from Spring Town by the Indians the fall previous and located on Pine Creek seven miles north of Manti, the site afterwards being called Ephraim.  Isaac Behunnin had built a home on this creek as early as 1851, but had to return to Manti for protection from the Indians.  This settlement was really the first successful attempt towards forming a colony outside of Manti.  Several additions were made to their number during the fall of 1854 by families of Scandinavians from Salt Lake City.

The grasshoppers invade the farms in 1855 and 1856 and destroyed almost all crops, causing much hunger and starvation.  In December, 1857, a general jubilee prevailed through the colonies because of the abundant crops, which had been harvested, having overcome the two previous years of hardships.

To be continued ............