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Show They B CireaUedl A New sam, and quaking asp for firewood, light, and for building purposes. Tliey experimented to see which types of crops would lie liest aiLipted to this new lx;-- I land. And sometimes it was a choice seeds or retaining ween almost starving for future use. They hud no idea when to to plant. plant the crops or what crops Margaret Van Nov Irolilev Writer all Now that elections arc over, ami tahave future the lor the rosy promises ken on a t ruer ftxiis. the eHrt s are fivin ahead. its a message: hurt! tiiuev he With our oil supply caught up in the crises, inflation expl.xling to Mi, I, He i. of unheard heights, the l.usiness world anil fliMHls, (ire earthquakes anil of other disasters painting a grim Ihlnre destruetiou. we are liable to feel pretty sorrv for ourselves. Mans of us are asking how we tan future. What will we do 10,10 with the an should there !c economic crash? a war? whole a drought? Some predict that our of the on is verge it. know w ay ol life as we have What do? we What tan extinction. others done licfore us? They learned by trial and error. elseWater, always in rich abundance scarce as a now commodity where, was and as precious as gold. Each immigrant was given water rights according to his land, and the water was constantly divided with newcomers. As Siam as possible, each family acoxen for quired its own cows for milk and small own its plowing. Each family kept herd aliout the farm during the summer lst lems in 1855 56. with grasshoppers so thick as to "darken the sun. To quote one resident, One day, like a cloud, the lake when a they went to fly over north wind came up. and they settled the waves right on the lake where washed them to the shore. I have seen them for miles along the edge of the feet to how learned lake, in some places almost six months, but until they were the winter, fialder they store high. during unonto Tliey tried crushing the hoppers compelled to turn the animals out burnor them themselves or for fend roller, during drowning der a the ranges to could not the winter months. Those that did not per- ing them, but to no avail. Tliev fields their in drive to cattle of a plant save enough grain ish were the object big to owner each next with coming the the spring, spring. and "They lived on boiled greens had pick out his animals. The grasshoppers and roots game. Sawmills A Necessity starved the rabbits and wildlife, too." Until they learned the art of preservHie History of Torx-l- County" outexing by drying and brining meat, they the pioneers' struggle to take care lines w ith nachanged it, staggering the butchering, bad of themselves by experimenting usefultaking turns so that each member the discovered Tliey tive plants. meat and none was wasted. , grease-woo- d nettles weeds, of The first major industry, which was ness segix-s- pigsalt weeds and other the was sprouts, the in valley, almost a necessity used to sustain life plants which were sawmill. Several sprang up and afforded was extremely tough. when the going lomlier for building as well as use as a to these peowere Trees important barcommodity that could be sold or oasis-likthe communiand soon, of ple tered for grxxls, and a source employkind ties flourished with trees of every ment forthe men. clime. this Popular that would grow in of meMoney w as an almost unheard black black locust, a for groves, and decade, dium of exchange, soon lined elms and walnuts slippery barter and trade was used in the transacstreets and graced the small farmyards. tion of business for all types of articles houseincluding farm produce, clothing, Orchards dotted the land, with alhold wares, furniture, horses, cattle and most every farm sporting apples, and pears, poultry. peaches, apricots, cherries, be As sixin as a crop of grain could and currents, the with grapes, along blosharvested, the settlers began thinking of indeed desert terry bushes. Hie well under gristmills. Gristmills worked somed like the rose under the hands of for having the barter system. In return these impoverished pioneers willing to his wheat or grist ground into flour for carve out a paradise with their own his family, the settler would pay some of the flour to the mill owner, who in turn They introduced medicinal plants would sell it to other customers. various states and European counfrom Salt manufacturing - a natural to the tries such as burdock, tansey, catnip, area - began early both as a requisite for others. spearmint, dandelion and many or selling. cattle and man and for trade War The settlers did not have earthWar was not unheard of either. Acbut contend with, floods to of or quakes, cording to Virgie Cooleys History a was 1857 of they had almost every other disaster, the Grantsville, spring manmade or those delivered by nature. lain had snows The of time rejoicing. Once again they used their know how ditches deep on the level and irrigation incident each with to and ingenuity cope held more than ever licfore. New arrivals as it came along. had brought plenty of seed grain to trade Indians were a constant source of for luinlier and other commodities. The trouble to the settlers. They stole cattle future was looking up at last. and horses, and did a lot of malicious Then in July, the terrible news hit several of the United damage as well as killing the valley. The' President of the new inhabitants. At first they tried bewas sending an army to subdue States friending the tribesmen, giving them the rebellious Mormons, and President setmeat and grain, but to no avail. The call for the Brigham Young had sent a tlers finally built forts, or mud and dirt, territorial Militia to mobilize for active straw or rough hewn plank walls, fortiwere many, duty. The volunteers, which fied with adobe brick. The cattle had to were sent to Echo Canyon, ill prepared, le guarded at all times. most of them on foot, poorly clad, exhausted, some with feet bleeding and with scarcely a blanket apiece among them, they spent a miserable winter just trying to exist. at By Spring, the families waiting home were instructed to leave their farms and travel south. This they did. An eyewitness account describes their homes plight as they abandoned their and began their trek south. They were old shirt and poorly clad. Perhaps an few rags for a and dress a ragged pants, the children would make up the family clothing. Orders had been given to preall pare to burn all buildings, destroy if the army tree no leave standing Not Only Enemy crops, should seek to occupy their homes. The Indians continued to be a probthis. They were prepared to do lem until the settlers became more nuwith the. govv a treaty Fortunately, merous. the confrontato halt a called ernment the not only enemy were Indians But tion before it materialized. The coming who sought to rid the land of the pioneer of the soldiers actually opened a mutualthe to History intruders. According The solly agreeable trading of supplies. of Tooele County, we read, In the vegetaof milk, needed eggs, diers green grain spring of 1856, the green carpet horde for an had of bles. supplies a brought when They and thick was heavy men thousand they of although descended ten army creaking ugly black crickets 2,500. were were The only . . actually foothills. crops from the Rebellious Mormons the ground swept before them, leaving it. burned hay for $40 a ton, sold had bought fire a They bare as though the settlers for $35. to their ox teams The settlers dug trenches, lined them butter and eggs for traded when afire The set pioneers with straw which was filled with the insects. They plowed used uniforms which were washed, turned and made into coats, skirts and ditches and filled them with water hopcrickets trousers for the children. When school The crickets. the ing to drown convened that fall, all the little rebelretreated after a special prayer meeting later weeks few lious Mormons were pledging allea returned was held, but giance 'to the flag each morning, warmly when the wheat was knee high. This Tooele in Army Blue. of clad time the entire community It was a happy ending, but it also armed with oak brush commenced to them saw another conflict arise - inflation. slaughter the foe and finally drove The History of Tooele County rethe back up canyons. cords figures from Camp Floyd records At times the pioneers were plagued calico the aided were but by citing sugar at 65 cents a pound, bv grasshoppers, Salt 45 cents a yard, one handkerchief, $2, Great from came which seagulls, nails $5 a pound, tobacco 50 cents a Lake in flocks to feed and disgorge and plug, candles 35 cents each. feed again, and at times the wind blew the What the settlers couldnt buy, they out upon the invading grasshoppers made or improvised with what they had. and drowned were where lake, they Broom cane was introduced and raised washed in upon the shores in great winwhich improved over housekeeping with brine, some cases, pickled by drows, in art of twig brooms. They mastered the remaining several years. Some of mud from adobe pits. A Cloud Like making these adolie walls are still standing to Grantsville was having similar prob Ix-in- Ieih.ijrs a retelling, ill a small wav. of the plight of the pioneers who first came to this valley will serve as an example of what lium.m ingenuity, toil, courage, and the aliility to fashion something from soominglv nothing w ill serve as an inspiration and a guide to us. For "nothing" was what these outcasts" from the I'nited States found when thev arrived in the sagebrush covered valof lieaut v ley. a valley w ith some promise in the pine- - covered mountains and with several picturoscpie streams lined with w illow-- wandering alxmt the valley floor. There were also marshes, a huge salty lake, and a hundred square mile tract of salt desert. 1,1, box-elde- r, ijv r. That Nolxxly Wanted It was a place that would lie inviting for a place v to those who w ere looking - those who had wanted else t noltodv eadv lost homes and most of their - ready to start from thlv A Place possessions atch, almost. in 184J They began arriving late for a place to who were looking milies or trappers or tie - not mountain men and wandered through had ners who itinued to explore the territory. In order to survive that first winter, hills and e of them burrowed into the or shelter, ill dugouts for a temporary canyons the wav into nearby ked their rooms, limiter and then built split-losettlers first the of valley me homes stuck re fashioned of willows, the ends woven together o the earth and then in the J coated with mud. Others lived in. west come gon boxes they had Soon the temporary shelters were chim-y- s with log homes with stone of windows and for heat and light g re-,e- Lslin soaked in oil. d That winter was hard, as they had too late to plant any crops. They id on whatever wild game or fish they ild find. Snows fell early and often and ar-e- recorded the Tooele County Utah Pioneerslfistory of in mghters of One snowstorm swept oele County, and drifted Lr the vallev for 48 hours tall willows that ; snow as high as the of snow ;w along the creek. Two feet ca-i- s d to be shoveled out of some of the fire. a start before they could newcomers were depending on These ir most important asset - their cattle to eserve them through the coming plantmeat. But 's of crops and for producing fend for to loose turned iny of them, fierce the in died, emselves, perishing nter storms. The settlers salvaged the les for tanning to make much needed nes. Having no money, and only possessing -- -- wt thev brought with them, the group mat-- r rvived by trade and barter. It was a in had what of they of a more sharing der for all to survive. Without A Garden of Eden Thus like Adam and Eve, without a irden of Eden, these early settlers began build a world with not much more than and eir native intelligence, ingenuity, to one no depend had operation. They to but themselves. And they were equal , e job. of the pioday, evidence of flic quality neer craftsmen. They raised sheep and carded and hxMiied the wool into cloth. Tliey satisfied their longing for sweets by raising raised a sugar cane. Practically everyone small patch of it and a molasses mill soon tixik care of the making of syrup. source of Sugar lieets were also a sweets, although they were not the sugar lieets raised commercially today. Tliey were Ixiiled and the liquid pressed out of them which was then cooked down to a , With homes of some sort built and to look for ops planted, they began earn a her ways to improve their lot. To cedar from charcoal ring, some burned -a Lake Salt City it to hauled aod. They each direction, in p that took two days cloth and other commodi- ley received s in exchange. Several sawmills immediately sprang farmers plowed , around the valley. The new and ingenious igation ditches, a ethod of watering for them. Forthe off the land. Tliey 1st part, they lived bal hauled t and maple and oak, pine, The very first sweetening produced locally was called honeydew, a sticky substance collected from grasses that meadow lands. It grew stuck together in was collected and dipped into a kettle of hot water to melt the honey. a They raised flax and through painsfor sew ing. thread made taking prxcss. for making Tliey established tanneries shoes. Tliey made soap, manufacturing their own lye from cottonwood ashes covered poured over straw and then with water. Whatever they needed, they were not afraid to try to make. This included silka try at fashioning silk, raising worms on mullierry leaves. This was one of the few unsuccessful pioneer ventures, but they did try. Although the pioneers lived under difficult conditions, and had staggering work schedules, they were hungry for the finer things of life which they had iiecoining outcasts. They known not only had deep spiritual strengths, talents and they also possessed all the skills for the cultural side of life. Music played an important part in of lifting them alxive the daily drudgery communities of the pioneer life. Most formed bands of exceptional quality makfrom immigrants already skilled in were given lesing music. Young people sons on various instruments which the the perilous pioneers had carted through wilderness. desert and of sea crossing and at the on excelled organ Daughters the piano. Drama was of the highest quality and the first buileb opera houses were among usual procedure was to The erected. ings build an edifice which could lie used for schools and also for religious meetings, the social life which meant so much to those pioneers. Education was an integral part of reas important to ligious life. Books were was as life religion, and schools good were established almost as soon as the wagons had stopped rolling. No Lack of Teachers Most of the writing was done with charcoal oi a piece of wood scrubbed clean after each use. Later, ink was made from Alderberries or Copperas Black. But whatever the school lacked in excellent supplies, it did not lack in teachers. Great emphasis was placed on literature. good grammar and the best in the aloud read were books Great homes and exchanged among the famiy lies. The genteel arts of courtesy, dig-nitand gracious good manners were In many cases, these tiny also stressed. far schools surpassed in cultural log of many great cities in best the aspects, their opportunities, says Virginia Alsop in her research for Tooele County History. As early as 1864, the town of Tooele had libraries. They were privately funded and some of them were established in had a thirst private homes. The pioneers exdeemed was it and for knowledge, need be this that tremely important filled. In 1894, two publishers started a la-for-e newspaper, The Transcript, and vowed that the paper would be breezily brilliant, winningly witty, curiously clean, satisfactorily sagacious and liberalin politics, ly loquacious, non- partisan well as independent in expression. . . as will constitute the talks editorial timely It was a contents of The Transcript. and of two print ready four page paper two of local news. Making do became easier as the to more and pioneers garden opened up more immigrants and travelers. Wor M this case extended lo wearing apparel. as they Coming from all walks of life, skills did. they brought with them the which were essential to carving out their new world. Thus it was that those adept with needles and a flare for fashion found an important qxit in pioneer life: milliweavers, tailors, seamstresses and aressential making were ners kiqit busy ticles of clothing as well as fashioning articles of lx auly and style. Stonemasons, carpenters, and artisans of every type sixin lent their skills lo transforming or replacing the crude log as huts into homes of quality and social halls, churches, well as erecting and businesses. At first some of their Itxils and hardware were crudely fashioned, but ingeniously useful. Blacktheir trade as did shopkeepsmiths plied ers of every sort. From the minutes of the Third Annual Fair. Sept. 1862 quoted in History of Torxde Comity": "Home manufactured cloth of almost every description was on display and showed that the in- habitants of Deseret could be well clothed without foreign importations." Myrl Porter wrote, "Using hand looms, the cloth was made from wool, and flax was carded by hand and spun into thread and woven into cloth. "The coloring of the cloth was an art in itself. The wool from the sheep was cardixl and by combining the black wool and white wool while spinning and weaving it, a color or blend known as sheeps grey was produced. Dyeing of cloth was accomplished by using indigo when obtainable, but this article was very scarce so home prepared dyes were Adam and scrounging for a living, the a deep have of Eves any generation need for the beautiful in life, which, in help these women were sent back east by more learned church leaders to e in this profession. Dixtors Ix'gan to come Ix'giimiiigalxHil 1856. , to the valley Other Cultures Although the pioneers were initially Mormons who were seeking for a king- dom where they could live in peace, they were soon "joined by immigrants from various countries and cultures each of them bringing with them their own determination to find their place in this wilderness. Tliey did their part in helpit would ing fulfill the prophecy that blossom as a rose. Each added his own know peculiar touch to the world we to-da- v. We are indebted to all these people for their strength and ingenuity and also for their history of the pioneering - they the story of kept journals which give us the conquering of the land. (amid it lx.1 that their endurance in the face of privation and isolation will to sec us through what lies ahead? help Might we tixi lx; called upon to pioneer in this same land? Shall we measure up as well and do as gixxl a job in perhaps rebuilding an old world into a new one? Time will tell. produce tan. Log wood brought from Salt Lake was used to produce black. One problem which will always plague builders of a new world is how to that matters. Jus Talkin y What a pity! THERE ARE some things in life that just shouldnt lie hurried. Like an all- - day sucker, adolescence was made to be savored, deliciously tested, tasted and rolled around on the tongue, the flavor extracted slowly, enjoyed to the last possible moment, not crunched, chomped and disposed of in a few seconds. Life happens in stages, not in a bunch. Its like losing your for baby teeth - when it s time come. them to come out, out they Nature provides a season for everything. The beauty of adolescence male or female - is innocence not sex appeal. Once that innocence is gone, so is the charm of --- If there is any advice I have for the younger generation (assuming they want advice which is to Slow they nfcver do) it time. Take down! your Some of them rush through youth as though they were afraid they might miss the last train to everywhere. TEENAGERS have always been in a hurry to grow up, but todays brood takes first prize for charging full tilt through adoles- youth. THESE full speed ahead juveniles remind me of little girls dressed up in mother s skirt, lipstick applied haphazardly, high heels dragging, with room for another tiny foot behind - all decked out with feather boa and fake Enduring four or five short pearls. , The only difference is that the olds are having fun. The adolescents cant wait not to have fun. to be torture akin to being stretched out on the rack or made to walk barefoot on a bed of hot LITTLE BOYS swagger around, spewing anatomical cence. years of zits and clumsiness seems coals. junior miss would rather be caught dead in a barrel of mackerel than to be without a date for the dance. . . WEARING braces for 18 whole7 months is literally the end of the world. . . And the most devastating experience in all of existence is having your dad tell your date what time to bring you home. . . A Hasnt it always been thus? Zits, braces, and flat chests are just part of the territory, right? WRONG, my friend. The chilling difference is that today few voices are telling the youth what time to come home or even to come home at all. Theres nothing in societys mores today d that says to get on the before you try for the brass ring (or for anything else). The bulk of the nations kids were weaned on the do- - your-owthing premise that teaches n- they dont have to ask or to answer to anyone. six-ye- ar Where these teens are concerned, its not playing at all. expletives, inhaling pot like a of the hero in a grade-gangster film. car-icatu- re . . merry-go-roun- how much time must be spent in care. Midwives and those naturally skilled in the care of the sick supplied the only available in some cases. Many of nx-dic- used. Yellow dye was obtained from the yellow rabbitbrush blossoms. Bark from the tag elder tree was steeped to produce reddish- - brown. Quaking asp bark and dried meadow hav was boiled to So what else is new? Beauty and Style No matter how hard life becomes or care for the sick. The settlers used plants ami other home remedies to relieve pain and suffering. However, as is to lx? lack of proper many died for the Whats more Today is all B Theyre trading today for tomorrow only to discover that what they really want is yesterday. How sad! HEY THERE! you ( with the painted face, with your padded form and your adults only bro- gue, whats your hurry? Theres plenty of time. Moses and the Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness before they reached the promised land. . . Jacob worked seven years in order to marry Rachael and got Leah instead. Then he worked seven more for Rachael . . . What have you got to complain about? The scriptures tell us that Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty- - seven years and begat Lantech. And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred and eighty-tw- o years and sons and daughters. . . begat Theres plenty of time for begetting. Whats the rash? |
