| Show IN SOUTHERN UTAH in northern utah an opening between the mountains would not be called lied a valley unless it was at least a atle or two in width with corresponding length anything smaller than that would naturally be called a canyon by most people but should this osage be applied to certain portions of southern out bern utah there would scarcely be any ny valleys at all hence after travel ing for some time lu in this country and getting etting used to the physical features of cl the e same we learn not to be so exacting in regard to acreage but willingly call every little nook and corner between the sand hills and rocky olivis a valley in this sense mong long valley though a mere canyon VA TaZy varying ingin in width from one hundred yards to three fourths of a mile and ab about out fifteen miles in length may be considered a sample valley of southern etab through the entire length of long valley flows a small stream the headwaters of the main branch of the rio bio virgin or virgin river affording scarcely enough water to irrigate the thirteen hundred acres of tillable land the valley contains near its head the valley branches out inac several canyons all ail of which run from the summit of the mountains or the rim of the basin and are full of timber mostly the long leaf pine the sol soi i 1 of the valley is generally a heavy clay though sandy in some places the climate is mild and pleasant and the valley adapted to the growth of small grain and the hardier sorts of fruits the altitude of the lower end ot of the valley or the point where mount carmel is situated is feet above the level of the sea there are three wards or settlements in long valley glendale orderville derville Or and mount carmel and a part of a fourth one namely the graham ward thus named in honor of its bishop elder graham D mcdonald Mo Donald this ward consists of the settlers living in a scattered condition on the headwaters of the rio bio virgin and kanab creek the whole strength of the ward consists of sixteen families or souls most of whom are ranchers they live so scattered that meetings are seldom held in the wintertime winter time as the snow fall here is very deep it being so near the top of the mountains from the point on the rio bio virgin where the west schoolhouse school bouse stands there being another one at upper kanab also called vermillion park and east graham six miles east the distance to kanala to in thirty five miles to the top of the mountains the rim of the basin itis it is live milea and to panguitch thirty five miles this is the first ward the missionary inquires after as he wends bends his way from the north to this part of southern utah following the windings of the rio bio virgin for a a distance of about ten miles down the canyon glendale to is at last reached and the traveler is in formed that he has arrived at iong valley proper although he failed to note the point where he emerged from the canyon glendale however is a fine little village inhabited by thirty seven families famili ec or souls who farm on a small scale and let their stock graze on the thousand bills which hem in the place on all sides glen dale is noted for its superior quality of fruits and muddy streets it has the finest meeting house in the kanab stake anti ami the largest church bell in kane county some of the fastest race horses in southern utah and as fine filae healthy looking ladies babies as can be found on this side of the rim bim of the basin Orde Or derville iville the largest settlement in liong valley lies about four miles southwest and down the stream from glendale this famous place was first fint founded in the year 1875 by a keople people who were deter mined to so solve ve the problem of the united order and carry its principles principle whether their neighbors would do so BO or not this the good saints saint of order ville did successfully for a period of over ten years during which time an experience was gained that will never be forgotten by those who passed through it and I 1 wa assured by sever al of the brethren who stuck to it till the last that they never felt happier in their lives than they did when the order was in complete running order and they were devoting their entire time talent and strength for the common good the good teel re elings lugs brotherly love and unselfish motives which characterized most of those who were members of the order were predominant until the last and from prest edwin D woolley and thomas chamberlain the latter presiding as bishop at orderville derville Or for many years I 1 learned the pleasing fact that when it came to winding up the aff affairs airs of the order in 1886 1885 on a toots basis which previously had been agreed upon not hardly a murmur complaint or harsh word hordof of any kind was heard from any of the members all exhibited a spirit of magnanimity and unselfishness such as has seldom before been witnessed even among latte rd saints since the breaking up of the order the town of Or derville has decreased con sider ably in population but those who remain are stul still a u cited happy and god fearing people ever ready to respond to every duty and comply with every call made upon them from time to time to help along the cause of albu henry W esalio aepli u is the present bishop of orderville derville Or mount carmel is the lowest settlement in long valley it lies three miles southwest of Ot derville and twenty miles northwest of kasab kanab it has twenty four families or one hundred and twenty seven beven souls sad aad a bishop henry M jolly that weighs pounds by far the largest bishop in the kucab stake of zion nearly everybody in the place has a natural right to call him father or uncle he be is one of the logg tried and faithful veterans of the church and seluis to have the confidence and goodwill of the people of his bis ward generally mount carmel possesses some of the best farming lano lani in kane county but only a very limited amount of it the same as Or orderville derville and glendale Glen dalf about nine mile below the townsite the valley in upon the rio blo virgen which as it receives several tributa tributaries ries in its ica course down through the narrow valley has haa now become quite a mountain stream through a box canyon about twenty miles milea long which has haa the reputation of never having been explored in its entire length the rio bio virgen finds its ita way over a series of rocky ledges to the lower country which we call our dixie 22 from this place I 1 go to chanab kanab to attend the quarterly conference I 1 have now visited the different wards and branches of the church in the kanab stake of zion attended the quarterly stake conference held at kanab on the ath and ath of march angheld and held special meetings with the saints in glendale Orde iville and mount carmel I 1 have had bad a good time with the people been treated with the hospitality and kindness characteristic of the ants of southern utah and been in obtaining a great deal of valuable historical information the kanab stake of zion embraces nearly all of kane county utah and a small portion of northern arizona it comprises organized wards including a number of small email branches and the total membership to is 1475 souls or families which ia souls and 89 families less than the stake contained in 1877 when it was first organized this decrease in population la in due principally to the breaking up of the united order at Or derville about seven years ago which caused a number of families who had settled in long valley for the sole aole purpose of identifying themselves with that institution to move away again as soon as a the order was dissolved the present stake presidency consists of edwin 1 I wooley of kanab president thomas chamberlain of Or derville first counselor and daniel of upper kanab seo sec nd counselor As most of the readers of the NEWS perhaps already know kane county consists of a vast tract of desert country of that peculiar character which marks the land on either side of the colorado river the surface of the country is very broken and consists ch chiefly lefly of sand hills mountains and add a variety of clay formations there are also several notable mountain peaks on the northern part art I 1 and a number of elevated table ra lands ads or plateaus all confirming the opinion expressed in the chapter of physical utah descriptive of the country lying below the rim of the basin kane county however has some excellent farming land which by great labor and unyielding per sevear ance has been made very productive most of this lies in narrow strips along the headwaters of the rio bio virgin and kanab creek the two principal irrigation streams in the country long valley contains upwards of halt half the population of kare kace county and when 14 lt is understood that this is a more mere canyon which in its widest points scarcely measures half a mile from bluff to bluff it will readily be seen that only a very very small portion of this whole southern country to is fit for cultivation the rest must forever re main as it now IP IF a barren waste at least until kind hind providence providence by some come extraordinary feat of the elements shall bring about a radical change in the physical features of the country I 1 feel certain that had bad it not been for the latter day saints who under the advice and counsel of the late president brigham young and apostle erastus snow located settlements on the rio bio virgin all of southern utah would be almost uninhabited today there might perhaps have been a few ranches in some of these nooks and corners of the mountains where we now have flourishing towns of respectable size but this thin surely would have been all I 1 must say in this con i action that this is a pretty good stock country horses horsep sheep and cattle do well by feeding on the nutritious grasses which abound on the extensive decerb de gerb and the sheep industry especially to is very successfully carried on in nearly all the settlements of the saints in this section of country kanab ward the largest in the stake comprises the town of kanab the villages of Fre fredonte Fredo dont nf johnson and and ore or e or two families at lees perry ferry it has a total membership of souls or 95 families the present bishop is joel H johnson the town of kanab is pleasantly located ort on the east bank of kanab creek immediately below the mouth of the canyon and on the edge of the desert which extends as far to the south and southwest as the eye can reach and is bounded on the southeast by the celebrated buckskin mountains about twenty five miles distant kanab is the county seat of kane 1 county and contains a small court house bouse a district school house bouse four stores and a number of comfortable for table dwellings notwithstanding the fact that for several years past no crops have been raised and that there has not been even water enough brought into the townsite to keep the orchards and shade trees all alive ve the people are not poverty strick stricken eD as their stock industry has proven quite remunerative and they are now full of expectations and hope in regard to the future growth and prosperity of their town which by the way to is perhaps as healthy place as can be found in the mountains the climate being very pleasant and delightful nearly all the year around kanab is not a part of our so called dixie as the elevation of the town is feet above the level of the sei sea the people here speak of going to dixie which means the country in the lower rio bio virgin lying west ot of here the same as we do in the northern settlements when we speak of going to st george and adjacent settlements kanab is about miles by nearest read via southwest of salt lake city miles from salina the railway statler stat lor eighty miles east of ef st george and four miles north of the boundary line between utah and arizona the place was first settled in 1866 1865 was broken up the following year because of indian troubles and resettled permanently in 1670 1870 when kanab was first settled the bottom of the canyon as well as a large tract of country lying below consisted of ef fine grassy meadows with patches of willows and here and there thrifty cottonwood how ow there to an awful gorge which was washed out in 1883 1888 and following seasons by terrible floods which came sweeping down the canyon carrying everything away before it since that time the people of kanab dellann ha hal pent about sixty thousand dollars in n constructing dams dama and ditches which have been swept away nearly as fast as they were built causing a number of the inhabitants to become discouraged and turn their backs for ever upon the place that they otherwise would have made their permanent home now however there seems to be fair prospects ahead and the general opinion rodg am ng the people that the dam troubles are almost ended after experimenting for many years and trying the solidity of a number of points fur for holding bach the wat water erth the enterprising people of kanab have hav nearly completed ted a dam which they feel confident w ill stand the force of future flood and be the means of securing to the town an ample supply of water for all purposes this dam which it would take a chapter to describe should the details be given consists of an immense quantity of sand and earth piled up in the creek bed to the height of about 40 feet which corresponds with the depth of the immense gorge this mass maes is protected and strengthened in front the side that faces the water by rocks rocke called rip rap which mostly have been blasted from the mountain side aide in constructing a new channel for the water of the creek through the solid cliff the rear is protected by heavy timbers the dam is nearly feet wide at the bottom and tapers off to about 40 feet on top across the gorge it also measures about feet and the escape for the water of the creek is an artificial canyon blasted butof out of the solid rook rock at an enormous expense it is made sufficiently large to carry off all the water that can reasonably be expected during future floods and as the waste water will form a cataract catara cb down the face of the solid rocky mountain the dam which will be built tight as a pot will not be exposed to the least danger of being washed away through leakage the dam together with its artificial rocky run and the water ditch connected with it will cost nearly twenty thousand dollars before it is completed Besides strengthening the dam there is considerable ditch work to be done and a flume must be constructed to convey the water that la Is to be utilized around a rocky point for a distance of about forty rods johnson is a small settlement dating back to 1872 situated in a line fine little valley thirteen miles northeast of kanab it is a very romantic little spot the bluffs on either side of the narrow valley terminating in perpendicular ledges which abound in grottos eaves caves and a variety of very peculiar formati oi ot s at tb the e base of the cliffs numerous springs of pure water gush forth here also may to be seen the thrifty grapevine climbing the rocky hillsides hill sides and almost embrace the natural cedars growing on OB top of the cliffs on either side of the valley when the place was first settled some of the early pioneers sought shelter in the adjoining caves where they were well protected from the storms until they had time to construct othir other dwellings and even to this abia day there are several families famielec famil lec up kanab creek and elsewhere who dwell in natural eaves caves and who appear to be as comfortable and contented in these as aa other people are in dwellings constructed by human hand there are only thirteen families at johnson at present but the natural facilities would J notify justify a much larger population hence the saints composing the branch at this beautiful |
