Show The Moab Story BY ELLIS FOOTE City Recorder I would like before taking leave of those first Moab pioneers pioneers pioneers pio pio- numbering 41 stalwart men in the year 1855 to pinpoint the events of that fateful year yearby yearby yearby by a few references to the diary of one who was there who lived and breathed those days and wrote them down His name was Oliver D B B. B Huntington He was the historian of the group Excepting portions in parentheses parentheses paren theses which are my own the following quotations are taken from Faun McConkie Tanners Tanner's excellent book A History of Moab Utah as will be the quotations in next weeks week's Moab Story Mrs Tanners Tanner's book was published by the Times Times Independent dent Press in 1937 and is about as hard to come by as a ten thousand dollar doUar bill and the bill wouldn't begin to get you the amount of information and scholarship contained In the book June 10 1855 Most of the teams were pear giving out when we reached the jumping off place just at sunset The off jumping place is a perpendicular perpendicular ledge 25 feet high down which Wm Huntington and Jackson Stewart the year previous pre pre- let five wagons with their loads by ropes taking their wagons to pieces The knowledge of this induced Pres Billings Dillings earlier in the day to take a company of men and move ahead to the off Jumping place where they worked a road over it tt We got allour all allour allour our 15 wagons down safely about nine three miles mUes more took us to the Grand Colorado River Note The dreaded jumping off oft place is now burled deep under our new four lane four lane highway high way but signs of the pioneer road around it are still visible on the hill h to the north Some Indians were about but appeared friendly although the day before an arrow was found sticking in Brother Ivies Ivie's ox about an inch The arrow was shot by a small Indian boy whose father apologized As one who on occasion has has has- had a barb or two sticking in his own hide I look with some sympathy upon brother Ivies Ivie's poor ox Especially since family family fam fam- ily y records show that the Brothen Brother Brother Bro ther then Ivie Ivle mentioned here was something of an ancestor my grandmothers grandmother's brother EF June 12 We went to hunt out a location and pitched upon upon up up- on a grove near the bank of the river a mile below our place of crossin crossing but we moved to a nice spring creek on the opposite side of the val val- valley ley Near present Palisades sub sub- division We had an awful rain I looked out of the wagon and saw a wonderful sight More than 20 streams running leaping leap leap- ing and pouring off the precipice es June 18 We went to the cache of wagons tobacco lead etc made the year before Probably probably Pro pro- bably made near present Musselman Musselman Musselman Mus Mus- selman ranch on upper Pack Creek Found the wagons a little and lead and ten spades but all else the Indians had taken All AIL hands were busy grubbing grubbing grub grub- bing brush plowing land building build build- ing a dam and performing temp c camp mp duties but the dam broke away which obliged us to go a mile farther up the cr creek k and take water from a beaver dam We made a a. a ditch three miles mUes long to our farms forms June 21 Considerable grain and potatoes were put In the ground but quicksand In the main ditch made considerable trouble We kept the gladly Invited all the Indians about us to meeting and preached to them The most honest and upright upright up up- right Indians I ever saw they believed all we could make them u understand |