Show THE OUTER settlements editor deveret fews on monday the ath last I 1 u escalante in a two wheeled cehi superintended super intended by brother isaac portal bound for the marlon marion ward trave in a northwesterly direction along aftel creek I 1 noticed in a number of numerous caverns with which tn nearly perpendicular bluffs in ifil locality abound remnants of M mogot indian dwellings or fortifies nearly all of these are way up ol 01 on 2 mountain side and so situated that aft dweller once there would be absolute absolu safe from rn an attacking foe but baill buill puzzles a white man to how these cliff dwellers ever rem their elevated abodes except by the of such climbing apparatus as they ftc represented not to have perhaps the they Y pulled each other up kofl at the time by the means of raw hift larieta jariett jari lari ets or ropes made of materials although these ind indian many years ago were forced by hi inori more warlike war like tribes to vacate partog the country and move outa there bore are still remnants of their kitchen utensils ute neile IJ left in their old dwellings as well as corn bobe and other suggestive of the Mo quisa peculiar mode of living jiving after traveling up the escalante ere about five miles we come to the place where the main creek la Is formed by the junction of north creek and birch creek near a point locally designated as the upper end of lower potato valley we continue along birch reek areek which is ia the left band fork as we go 0 up and after traveling seven miles derther we reach mitchells helPs ranch and saw mill where our friends provide dinner for us continuing the journey up the creek and pae passing sida a soli tary form farm house we soon reach beai h the foot of the escalante mountain which we begin to climb through a forest of stately pines pi nee the ascent gets steeper and steeper and finally in order to reach the summit of what is called the addle II 11 I I we wind backward and for over a succession of duwayn along the he mountain side and finally jereb the top from which a 8 most magnificent ent view is ie had bad of the country lying bouab and east of ams u this conito of almost numberless mountain rid a bills and surn summits mits covered with pinion pines and ildari edan not an acre of level land is in eighty except the escalante or potato valey rattey desert which ii seen in the direction of the colorado river by plo through a little opening between two of the lower ridges 0 eee see something eom ething green which my companion told me was a part af a field near escalante calante Ea twenty miep distant in a southeasterly direction flom our point of observation our bre faret alft ulft farea U who first pioneered this thi 14 coun y rely deserve credit for even undertaking delta der aing taking a an n exploring trip through it to ay nothing of loc locating aCing a settlement aba there Ijo king oking eastward the henry moun baini on the west side and the blue mountains on the emide of the col ebado river raise their lofty peaks far above the intervening ridges and southward beyond the same river the mountains are plainly visible confining our vision within a smaller radius we look down into a leep abyss and over the tops of tall tail pines pin efland and perpendicular ledges covered with spruce and lower down with pinion pines and cedars the escalante Ee calante mountain forms a fart of the r rim m 0 of the basin the on its southeastern slope falling laeto the he colorado and those on the northwest into the east fork of the se va the snowfall here in the winter fc fa very tay heavy and for four or five together it is ia impossible for wagons to pass over at such times calante in ia out cut off from all communication with the rest of the world save byan by an occasional mail which reaches we place by WILY way of cannonville CAnn cannon onville ville and brought on horseback generally adu continuing tint ing the journey from the ulof the saddle we immediately i conMe commence noe the descent to sw et water a small mail tributary of the east forhand For kand atthe at the mouth of sweetwater canyon whets where the road forks the left hand one loading leading to panguitch we turn to the right through the valley and after crossing horse hone creek where there are a number of ranches and tam farm houses beeach we reach each the wilcox ranch ats at a point where the east fork enters entena a hilly and mountainous country which separates the east fork plateau from grass valley this place la is about sixteen miles from the top of the escalante mountain proceeding to pass through the hills after dark we at length reached a ranch on centre creek where we had bad expected to find friends who would keep us overnight over night but we found the ranch vacated although the doors and win dows were left wide open and the cooking stove in the little log cabin was yet warm waiting in vain for the return of the occupants my companion told me that he be remembered another ranch house lying across a creek and a mountain ridge a mile mi ie off setting out on foot in the dark to find the same I 1 was at length rewarded for my efforts by the discovery of a light alight in the direction of which I 1 now wend ed my way and soon reached another log cabin which was strongly guarded by a horde borde of dogs who at once disputed my right of way the largest once without further ceremony proceeded to try the stretching qualities of my coat tail the fracas that followed between the canines and myself brought the inmates of the ranch consisting of sister wilcox their daughter and two daugh tore in law to the front the men folks all being beli ng away to a distant ranch and the situation for a few moments became more embarrassing than ever As good luck would have it sister wilcox who had attended conference at pan duitch recognized my voice and made me welcome and returning after my companion we put up for the night the next day I 1 continued my journey to the marion ward where I 1 held a meeting with the saints in the after noon after which I 1 gathered historical information concern concerning ng that part of the country the marion ward embraces the south end of grass grams valley and the ranches located at different points in the east fork and its tributaries tributa ries as aa far south as sweet water the headquarters of the ward are at the village of marion thus named in honor of apostle francis marion lyman it is pleasantly located in the south end of alov clover pr flat near the point where coy creek empties into the east p fork r E and about four miles southeast of whore where the latter stream enters a canyon on its way to junction on the main fork of the sevier below only about a dozen of the thirty three families of which the ward consists reside in the village while the remainder live in a scattered condition con d on ranches for a distance of about abo thirty five miles culbert king presides over the ward with isaac riddle riddie and henry mccullough Cullough Mo as counselors volney king is the ward clerk and deserves special mention for keeping the ward records to in good shape a duty that is sadly neglected in a great many places in the morning of wednesday june in company with brother henry J mccullough McCullou gb I 1 started far koo sharem in upper grass Va bailley Vall Illey ley on our road we passed the fatal spot where three friendly navajo indians early in 1874 were killed by some non mormon ranchman ranchmen ranch men a circumstance cum stance which came near bringing about aboul a war with the Nava joee joes and had it not been for the brave venture of the late jacob hamblin and others who risked their lives by going into the heart of the country to make satisfactory explanations to the indians indiana most moat likely the settlements on the upper sevier would have witnessed a second evacuation but brother ham blin succeeded 1 pacifying in the savages and induced them to send a delegation to the sevier country to examine the same and learn the facts connected with the uncalled for murder of their friends this delegation was soon convinced that the cormons mormons Mor IMor mons had had bad no hand in the killing and thus the friendly relationship between the saints and the Nava joes was preserved and has been continued up to the present time about twenty miles above the village of clarion we come to a place on otter creek locally known as the narrows here we found a very substantial dam constructed by some of our brethren a few years ago at a cost of about 2000 with a view to re ser eiring the water of otter creek for irrigating purposes sep the facilities for a nourishing settlement a few miles below were very good and the reservoir site being one of the best in the mountains our brethren were delighted with the prospects before them when two or three 00 ranch men living some distance below made objections to lo the reservoir being built not because it would interface inter feie fate with their rights in the least degree but aiom pure malicious and wicked motives so far as I 1 could learn and entered suit a ainah the brethren in the second district court where the no gorious mormon cormons hater ex judge boreman found an opportunity of venting his spleen against our people by rendering what is considered by both cormons mormons Mor IMor mons and in this locality an unjust decision the brethren were compelled to abandon their claims and improve improvements improvement men is above the Narrow swe entered upper grass valley and soon reached box creek where about a dozen fa famil milleo organized into a branch of the church with wm vest as president reside three miles further we reach the defunct town of greenwich where bishop edward A bagley the newly appointed bishop of grass grams valley ward resides with his family alone A short distance west near the he base of the mountains is the grass valley indian farm which was located by the late albert K thurber in 1873 for the benefit of the indians in this part of the country but at present there are only a few indians there three miles southeast of ef the bishops place we reach koos harem an indian name for a species of wild clover the largest settlement in grass gram valley here I 1 held a meeting with the saints in the evening and had a good time the next day thursday I 1 gathered historical information about koos harem and towards evening the bishop took me to burrville Burr ville a distance of four miles in just twenty five minutes here I 1 was introduced to bishop joseph L whitehead and held a meeting with the people in the evening grass valley ward embraces a all 11 hat bat put part of upper gran valley lying in pinto flute county it extends from the county line on the north for a distance of fifteen miles in a southwesterly direction to the narrows Narrow sll and embraces the town of Koo koosharem Koosh sharem arena and the scattered settlers residing along otter creek greenwich creek and box creek the ward has seventy three families and is presided over by a newly appointed bishopric consisting of edward A bagley geo A hatch and charles E the town of Koo koosharem sharem is pleasantly situated on the went side of otter creek and about midway between the mountains ou the east and west it is two miles south of the boundary line between pluto and sevier counties thirty four miles northeast of the village of marion in garfield county thirty six miles southeast of richfield in sevier county and about eight miles southwest of the south end of the celebrated fish lake the village of burrville Burr ville Is located on battle creek near the confluence of that stream with otter creek in sevier county the burr ville ward embraces the village of burrville Burr ville and the scattered settlers residing in the extreme upper end of grass valley in what is called plateau Pea the ward has twenty two families besides a number who do not belong to the church grass gram valley extends f from rom the northeast to the southwest for a distance of about forty five miles and has an average width of three miles milea owing to its high altitude the early settlers lose considerable of their grain through frost but of late years the lord has tempered the elements in a most mar bellous manner and good grain now matures throughout the entire length of the valley before it was settled it was one of the best grazing districts in utah and stock were taken there from sanpete valley and other parts of the country and herded during the summer season the culture of trees has not been practised practiced very extensively up to the present but some of the more thrifty farmers are now setting out shade trees and orchards which in due course of time will change the appearance peari pe arance ance of the settlements like the towns and villages on the lower sevier valley this morning in company with bishop whitehead of burville I 1 have come over a rough mountainous road to this romantic spot fish lake in the tops of the mountains and from here I 1 proceed to rabbit babbit valley andrew JENSON FISH LAKE pluto county utah june |