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Show Sa7 Juan Diary Published By Utah Historical Sociefy Natural Bridges National Monument and the people of San Juan County are the fo-:us fo-:us J a fascinating diary bong bo-ng pc.foli.shed this month in he Utah Historical Quarter- y. Tiie three bridges of White Canyon were virtually un-siicvvn un-siicvvn when visited in April, 1905, by Utah artist-journalist I. L. A. Cuhncr. Culmer, a iaintcr of Utah scenery and Salt Lake businessman, met i( ens of residents as he .raveled through the county jn hi i way to make sketches ird photographs of the Caro-be, Caro-be, lvhrumd, and Little iridges as they were then lamed. Culmer's handwritten diary elks as much abeut local ; h-yr,, merchants, hotel- pers and Intl'ans as it does 'kout the countrvside, accor-ling accor-ling to Melvin T. Smith, dir ector of the Utah State Historical His-torical Society. The diary also says a oS abuut :hesr cliffs, prehistoric prehistor-ic inscriptions, "sheep cursed" curs-ed" water holes, floods, and the "vvicrd," magnificent structures in what later became be-came a National Monument. Mr. Smith said the diiry has been edited by Charlie II, Steen, retired archaeologist archaeolo-gist for the Southwestern Region Re-gion of the National Park Service in Santa Fe. Accompanying Accom-panying this special 33 page feature will be several reproductions re-productions of Culmer's paintings pain-tings and sketches, a page from his diary, two maps of the area, and photos of Culmer, Cul-mer, Bland'ng, and Zeke Johnson's pack train. Al Scerup was guide for 'Culmer's party. George V. Perkins and Freeman A. Niclson vent along as pack ' ers, and Franklin J. Adams as cook. During stops at Thompsons, .Moab, Blanding and Bluff and at cabins between these points Culmer Cul-mer talked with H. A. Bat lard, Tom Foy, Dr. J. V. Williams, Hyrum Perkins, W. E. Gordon, Orson Dalton Jim Joe a Mr. Talmy, Ben Hobbs, Charles Goodman and "Aunt Mary" Jones. At Fike's Hote He stayed at Fike's Hot?l in Thompsons and slept at Benjamin Perkins' in Monti-cello Monti-cello (where they were assured as-sured that tarantulas "won't bother strangers.") He dealt with Hammond's mercantile and Cooper Martin andj Company, Com-pany, both of Moab. Culmer's diary is packed with stories: of cowboys shorting up the Monticello school, fitting a long corpse into a short coffin, and being be-ing forced to eat liver; of new arrivals contracting "Mo ab fever" a form of lazi ness; of Indians daring to cress the flood-swollen San Juan River; and of pack mules filling the air witn "flying missiles." (While Cie ceffee can was in the sky, he smashed two potatoes against ag-ainst it with a well-directed blow.") Culmer's descriptions of "the handsome residences'' of Bluff; "the quick-sand and rushing torrent and tha impossible rocks;" the "gras-;sy "gras-;sy slopes and flowering meads" of Dead Bull Flat; and the "bewildering arrangements ar-rangements of crags and gorges" gor-ges" of San Juan County, make the diary among the most readable and most important im-portant records of Four Cor ners exploration. Copies Available Mr. Smith said extra copies cop-ies of the Quarterly containing contain-ing Culmer's diary will be available in limited quantities. quanti-ties. The magazine will be distributed later this month to members of the Historical Society as part of their $5.00 annual 1972 membership. Individual In-dividual copies usually sell to the public for $2.00 each, but Mr. Smith said, residents of this area may purchase ' the issue for $1.25 plus 25 cents postage) while supplies last. Orders may be sent to 603 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102. In addition to the diary, the Winter issue of the Quarterly devoted to Utah's vima' arts includes a lishiy illustrated article en the stone houses of northern Utah bv folklorist Austin Fife, and a fascinating study of the pho- tographers who followed the Mormons from Nauvoo to the Great Basin. Dr. Fife has pioneered in the study of Utah's delightfj! stone hou-es and has presented present-ed his findings to numerous groups. Although based upon research in the northern ntah counties of Cache, Box Elder, Weber and Davis, Dr. Fife's findings are reported in general gen-eral terms and apply to stone buildinps everywhere in Utah. Picture-Making ' Nelson Wadsworth's excit- ing 30 page account of picture-making on the frontier is based on years of investigative investi-gative research in archives, private collections, and in the - darkroom. It is titled "Zion's Cameraman: Early Photographers Photo-graphers of Utah and the Mormons." Residents of southeastern Utah history will find thu Quarterly authentic, scholarly, scholar-ly, and well-written, Mr. Smith said. The Society is the official state organization concerned with state and local historical events. Since 1897, it has encouraged en-couraged the collection, preservation, pre-servation, and dissemination of Utah history. An extensive research library, a bi-month-ly newsletter, an annual meeting, a photograph col- . lection, educational services and help in preserving and restoring historic sites are among the Society's activities. activit-ies. The Society publishes .ha Quarterly in four issues totaling total-ing mere than 400 pages annually. an-nually. Other recent publications publica-tions have been the biography biogra-phy of Gov. Wiliam Spry and a history of the Salt Lak: Tribune. Forthcoming publications publi-cations include a "Mormon Battalion Trail Guide" and a reck art catalog, "Prehistoric "Prehistor-ic Petroglyphs and Picto-graphs Picto-graphs of Utah." ' |
