| Show HOW PIONEERS DID following la is ft a copy of a letter written by A B lambson Liam baon of this city to le chairman clawson of the pioneer sem centennial commission 8 aad 80 makes very interesting reading I 1 crossed we plains plain from missouri river to this valley in 1847 my family who accompanied me consisted of my wife melissa J Lam booty daughter of mark and buannah bu sti annah bigler and our infant daughter melissa 11 J who to ie cow the wife of bishop albert W davis of the firm arm of davies da vis howe co of this thib city we left the camp at winter quarters on the missouri river june cb and arrived in suit salt lake valley september 1847 we traveled in capt E K X fullet fulveia Ful leia 99 tong tea Paire peregrine grine sessions bertoni being the captain of fifty and daniel spencer the captain of one hu hundred adred I 1 was wa the blacksmith black emith of peregrine Ser lonk of fifty which really consi consisted of about sixty wagons I 1 think thick I 1 passed pared through mot most it if not all of the perplexing experiences i and trying circumstances incident luc adent to my occupation throughout all that long dreary and toilsome toi leome journey ot of three months and twenty one daye day I 1 had bad provided myself with a bellows oi 01 my own make improvised for the occasion aalon which I 1 carried on a plat furam form attached attee bou to the of 01 my wagon it was waa constructed out of a headless head leB barrel or bottomless bottomlee 8 lab I 1 tapering from bottom to top so 10 that thai the boods hoopa could be driven down from time to time lime to keep it air tight with a wooden diaphragm end and valve in ia the middle to the top and bottom were attached leather or cowhide w ir on as with the necessary air valve and b flows handle bundle and leather hose to be joined to the and furnace fur for the blast it was a complete skin every particular although in comparison with the lm im prove ments of these days daya it mient present a somewhat ungainly appearance for small incidental repairs re paira I 1 would set et my anvil on the ground dig a pit by the side of it to a convenient depth to stand aland in ID put up my bellows and go to work in almost less lem time than it takes taken to tell it but for heavy work tire setting and the like we would make an anvil block out ant of a tree stamp or the body of it prepared and met bet in the ground for the he purpose on one occasion with too toe help of the camp and one or two skilled assistants under my direction we measured cut welded and met et eighty five tires in one day this thin occurred a short distance west weal of old fort laramie Ija ramie before entering the black hills soon after our arrival in the valley a 00 company of 0 spaniards crime in with ft a large band of will horses I 1 bought seven head of them hem and with a half broken span epan of those I 1 hauled logs logo from red bed butte canyon to lasso chases saw mill mil built on the spring prang creek running through what Is IB now liberty park from these theae lop I 1 obtained lumber for or the building of my house bouse as aa it now stands on the corner of first west and north tern tem pie streets every nail used in construction st I 1 made on my anvil from old wagon tire iron it Is la Is uie he first house bouse built in this city with a plastered coiling cel ling I 1 empl employed benjamin W to do the carpenter work and die brother gilbert rolat did the plastering ering with clay end and sand band mortar there being no lime at that time theme theae were both workmen oo on the temple at nauvoo the adobes acobes are of e me ibe old style Is 18 inches long 9 inocea wide and 4 1 nones thick ana were made by beeme B martin and israel evans two of the battalion boys boy 10 and they oey were laid into the walls walla by jacob hollins hoffine also a member of the mormon battalion the old house till still stands as a when it was wae built bollt except that it has baa had its if third caver tog log of the first covering being of boaras my house was oom com alfted and I 1 moved into it with my lambly to in the fall of 1848 I 1 forged out of wagon tires me be mill irons iron for the first seven mills mill built to utah with the exception of lasso Chas chassels sils mill the irons ironi of f whlor he brought with him across the platani I 1 also forged t ti e dies diee punches and in ID tact all that pertained to the mint except the drop or hammer which was waa forged at the shop hop of martin H peck john kay cut the dies and coined the mousy william clayton and thomac bullock being associated with him in this work as aa accountant end and W eigher before this was done dr richard an eon weighed the gold duet dual brought from california by ane battalion boys aud and others into small mall packages package done up la in paper each package representing from one dollar up to twenty which passed current for money I 1 mention these laota facts for the reason that I 1 understand tile the credit of doing some ome of theae thaw things hm has been arrone bously given to other ether parties part lec I 1 there la is one ODO iLOla ent which occurred oear near the elk horn river that would make a thrilling though very brief chapter in the history of my life and pioneer journey to which I 1 will only bristly allude aa I 1 do not noi know tat any record w was ever made of it I 1 was la in company with jacob berbee traveling with an aa ex team and wagon from the Z ek horn toward winter quarters when guear the theP apao we wt wire re attached by indians tripped to the bare BUD but armed with june gum while we were unarmed before they could shoot we each grappled with an antagonist and a death struggle ruggle Bt ensued my companion was shot and killed by the savages while I 1 was waa miraculously delivered his hia body was taken back to the elk eiji horn and buried near its banka I 1 reached the camp io in safety though exhausted by excitement fatigue and hunger just juel before the report came to my wife that I 1 had bad been slain by In indian dlane at the moment however this word came to her I 1 was resting in the wagon under her care early in the spring of 1849 peregrine to me and asked it if I 1 could make a trap that mat woold hold a grizzly bear saying the bears beara were killing stock look in and around north will mill creek davis da via cout ity I 1 made the trap and only a few years before his death be told me that twenty seven bears beara had bad been caught in that trap I 1 wish to make a request that the party now having it in his bib pose aalon aulon will be sure to have the same ame exhibited at our coming jubilee I 1 would give more to see ee that trap than any ajay relic I 1 can call to of those early days daya I 1 desire to call to notice the song which was wai composed by elder bider P P pratt to be sung aung at our first harvest toasts which was wag celebrated at the old port fort on august letb 1848 having no way then of printing it copies were written and distributed among the few old veteran singer that belonged to the nauvoo choir and to mrs mn M J lambson ambion Jj belongs the honor of preserving the existing copy I 1 have been on two my first was wals to the state ut of virginia in 1844 but at the death of the prophet joseph smith and his hie brother hyrum I 1 was wao called home to nauvoo M my second was waa to the west weal indies indiee in company with aaron parr dr richardson aon and jesse turpin but not dot succeeding there in effecting an opening wt we returned to the united and I 1 filled my mission laboring in michil gan whose where I 1 a number of people and organized three branches bran chea of the church in 1866 1856 1 I left utah and went to nebraska Neb I 1 located at florence Plo renoe and carried on the business of blacksmith log jog there on a 8 somewhat extensive seats eale for about ton ten year beare I 1 was waa on en in we he fitting up of wagons and in inobe the work of general and outwitting outfitting out fitting lor for the numerous emigrant from year to year this being the general oui fitting and starting point ft fi r the extensive travel 0 these times across the plains tor for utah and the be great west I 1 am sow in my year my wife was waa 72 on the me of march last we have three daughters daugh tera and ORO SOD all of whom are married sod and have families our oar grandchildren dumber thirty six and our grandchildren great six B |
