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Show 2 - FIFTIETH TIMES - MARCH 15, 1996 HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT OF NORTHERN SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH —from the writings of Frank Silvey (This is the second in a series from the Silvey writings which capture much of me color and feeling of the eariy settlers in southeast Utah.) up homesteads in the Moab Valley, but as they had a considerable number of cattle (about 3,000 head), they wanted a summer range for them, so went exploring and found a great range on the northeast side of the La Sals. About a year after the settlement of La Sal, the Taylors and John Shafer drove their cattle to near what is now known as Taylor Flats. Here they built a cabin and corrals. About a year later they built a corral near the head of Hop Creek on the east side of the La Sals. Kirk Puckett came to the Taylor district in 1880. He FIRST SETTLERS In the history of the first settlement of La Sal, (now known as Old La Sal) let us not confuse La Sal proper with the present La Sal Post Office, which was named Coyote, by the Ray’s, Maxwell’s, Webb’s, goshorn and others, so I am using Ia Sal and Coyote in their proper places. The first bona fide settlers of La Sal were Mr. and Mrs. Tom Ray and family of eight children. They were pioneers of Tennessee and immigrated to California in the early seventies. After a residence of three years in California, they moved to Mount Pleasant, Utah. Early in the spring of 1877 they left Mount Pleasant and headed for a new country—La was a prospector and owned a small bunch of fine Oregon horses. He explored and found Sinbad Valley. He lived there a few years and then left the country. Kirks Basin was named in his honor. Sally’s Hollow was named after “Sally” (a man) Culbertson who located there about 1886, but who left the country soon after: MANCOS OR BUST Neals Olson, a friend of the Rays and Maxwells at Mount Pleasant, hired out to drive an ox team fer Andy Menefee in an effort to cross the country in some manner to Mancos, Colorado, where Mr. Menefee had friends and had taken a homestead. With three ox teams and wagons, in company with two other drivers, they crossed the Colorado Sal. They had a good team and wagon and about sixty head of fine Durham milch stock. Upon arriving at the head of Moab Canyon, now known as the Dugway, they experienced considerable difficulty in crossing the river, but they finally reached the east side of the and pushed on to Coyote where the Maxwells had just ar— rived. Here, as the Indians would say, “wagon road came back" as only the Rays had made tracks to La Sal, six miles then mlled Grand River (Colorado) in safety. Here they distant, and that was cast. Olson and Menefee knew that they camped near the Old fort that had been built about 1855 by a colony of Mormons numbering about forty, who were going to settle the valley and try to convert Indians to their religion. But the Indians were no doubt jealous of the white man’s settlement of the country they had always claimed as their own. must go southeast a distance of about a hundred miles before they could reach Mancos. No one knew the country at that time, but after exploring ahead a few miles, they found an old Indian trail. As it was headed in the right direction they decided to follow it a ways. What canyons, rims and mountains were ahead of them, they did not know. Would they strike water for themselves The Mormons were attacked by the Indians and two white men were killed and one wounded, and all were told to leave “pronto.” As they knew the Indians would be reinforced by large numbers, the Mormon Colonists decided to abandon the fort and leave the valley. This they did. This first settlement of the Moab Valley being a failure, the valley was for a number of years deserted by the white men. The Rays found and their stock? Would the Indians waylay them? They did not know, but they had the true pioneer blood in their veins. They had stout hearts, stout oxen, and stouter wagons, so struck out for the mountains. Upon reaching Coyote they were better pleased, but exploring about six miles further on they said, “Mancos or Bust.” They struck out across the country, mashing down sage brush and in places cutting trees so the wagons could go through. They experienced little difficulty for about eighteen miles, or until they reached the lower end of Ijsbon Valley. Here they must leave the valley and get out on top of a rise of about fifteen hundred feet. finding some fair water in some rock tanks near the foot of the hill they camped and explored ahead on foot. At the foot of the hill they found _a sloping ledge with a smooth rock bottom, and by following this up on a heavy only two settlers here in 1877, a Frenchman and “Nigger” Bill. The Negro said he had forty head of “horned stock” (Cattle), running near the river, he had brought into the val- ley that year from “the settlement.” The Rays were looking for good range and ranch so they they found what they wanted in La Sal. Here they settled on grade, it carried them about a mile and a half to a second what they named Deer Creek, about a mile southwest of where the main settlement of La Sal was made a year later. step, very steep, but no ledges, only heavy pinions and cedar About two months later came Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Maxwell, parents of Mrs. Tom Ray, Philander Maxwell, Sr. , Neals Olson and Tom Maxwell. Later came Billy McCarty and family. They settled on Coyote Creek, which is about one mile northwest of what is now called the La Sal Post Office. Here they built good, substantial cabins, three in number and about seventy-five yards apart, for protection the wagons. From here they traveled about one and a fourth miles through timber and small parks until they reached the last rim on the third step. After much exploring they found a break in the first rim that they thought they might ascend with a considerable amount of work. As they had no powder from the Indians. Philander Maxwell and Billy McCarty had at that time about two thousand head of cattle. This was the first large bunch of cattle to locate in San Juan County. About this same date Lester Taylor, “Buddy” Taylor, A. A. Taylor, and Crispin Taylor came to Moab Valley. Later Norman Taylor, the first Postmaster of Moab, the Wilsons, John Shafer, Sr., and a number of other settlers arrived. Lester, Buddy, and Arthur Taylor and John Shafer, took trees. They used oxen and their axes to clear out a path for or steel to blast out a way, they did the best they could with picks, shovels, and crow bars. They made it possible for the wagons, although it was very rough, there being many rock “jump offs.” They managed to get their wagons up by doubling up the ox teams. They named this hill out of the Lisbon Valley, the “Three Step Hill” as it had three jump—offs, or steps. Traveling in a southeasterly direction, they found Summit and Piute Springs. Keeping the Ute Mountain as a landmark, —-More Silvey, p. 7 |