| Show written tor for thu this paper ANDREW LETTER BURNHAM WARD san juan co nov 23 1893 in company with elder david edwards I 1 left bluff on the san juan river early in the morning of the ast dinst our course lay up the river for a distance of twenty five miles over a very sandy road on which we passed the site of montezuma a mormon settlement that went down the river nine years ars ago or during the floods of 1884 we C also passed the trading post kno known wn as guillett Gu illets and thence after leaving the river to the right we passed through the southwest corner of the state of colorado being a part of the ute indian reservation and encamped for the night on the mancos a tributary of the san juan after traveling during the day fifty five miles the next day we traveled thirty five miles to burnham ward also called fruitland froitland Fruit land and formerly known as olio in san jun county new mexico where we were kindly received by bishop luther C burnham and family the burnham ward comprises about twenty five families of whom the lesser half reside in fruitland froitland Fruit land and vicinity and the greater halt half on the la plata an other tributary of the san juan the san juan valley at the place where the center ot of fruitland froitland Fruit land is located is about one and a half miles wide and about four or five miles long tapering off to a mere canyon both above and below the soil is very rich and productive and is is especially adapted for fruit culture hence the name fruitland froitland Fruit land was suggested for the name of the post office when was effected a few years ago al ai the point where fruitland froitland Fruit land is situated the san juan river runs in a westerly direction across it is the navajo indian reservation above fruitland froitland Fruit land about twelve miles is the town of farmington justly renowned in this part of new mexico for its extensive orchards and fine quality of fruits fruitland froitland Fruit land is sixty i miles southwest of durango in colorado the only town of any considerable size in this part of the country besides the saints who reside here there are a large number of non mormons cormons in the immediate vicinity some of them attended our meetings held here du during ring i our visit and listened with great attention to the preaching there is room here for many more settlers and the few saints here are very anxious that their ward should grow but although it is thirteen years since the first permanent mormon 3 settlers came in here they are too few in number as yet to make a lively and interesting branch of the church among the resident brethren here who are known to a great number of saints in utah and elsewhere may be mentioned elder ira hatch our famous indian interpreter and elder john R young who is extensively known in southern utah and other places the saints on the la plata live in a scattered condition in the narrow valley through which the stream mentioned winds its way in in a southwesterly direction until it falls into the san juan nine miles above fruitland froitland Fruit land and three miles below farmington the latter is a non mormon town the la plata saints have been unsuccessful with their crops for the past two years hence when fc them I 1 found most of the brethren away freighting or working in different places in order to earn the means wherewith to support their families franklin archie young a grandson of the pioneer lorenzo D young of salt lake city presides preside over the branch on the la plata the other name for which is jackson there Is is no post office here yet though one has been petitioned for and the peo people p ae consequently get their mail from farmington eight miles distant the center of the mormon settlement on the la plata or the point where the meeting house stands is fourteen miles east of fruitland froitland Fruit land and about eighteen miles south of the boun boundary daTy line between mexico and colorado above that part of the valley occupied by our people there are a number of non mormon settlers in fact there is a string of ranches extending clear up to the indian reservation line which is also the southern boundary of col colorado rado if more latter day saints could be jn n deuced to locate on the la plata me e branch here could become a flourishing settlement there is a natural reservoir site between the rolling hills skirting the valley on the west and by the expenditure pend iture of a little money and considerable sid erable labor abor the high water of the creek could be husbanded hus banded and utilized during the irrigation season the soil on the la plata pila is good the climate splendid and fuel plentiful ANDREW JENSON MANCOS MONTEZUMA co colorado nov 28 1893 before leaving fruitland froitland Fruit land new mexico on the dinst elder brigham young the san juan stake presidency F A hammond wm halls and platte D Lyman Elders robert watson charles and others arrived at that place after attending conference at mancos elder young was sick having been exposed to the in inclemency clemenc y of the weather in camping put out nights president hammond who is is now somewhat advanced in years was also tired and worn out after aate r excessive traveling the san juan stake of zion certainly leads all other stakes in the mountains in point of magnificent distances whenever the stake presidency den cy start out on a visit to all the wards in the stake it means a journey over rough sandy and mountainous roads of four hundred and fifteen miles the nearest settlement to the headquarters of the stake is montebello Mont ecello fifty miles distant fruitland froitland Fruit land is ninety mancos ninety and moab eighty miles away from bluel where president hammond and his second counselor elder lyman reside wm halls the first counselor resides in mancos in other words the san juan stake of zion embraces all the saints residing in san juan and grand counties utah montezuma and la plata counties colorado and san juan county new mexico while the saints residing in moab utah and burnham new mexico depend chiefly upon fruit culture as a means of living the bluff people derive their chief revenue from tock stock raising and the citizens of mancos col and montebello Mont ecello utah raise small grain and hardy vegetables for their support and while the altitude of moab and bluff is a bout about feet above the sea level fruitland froitland Fruit land is about and mahcon and montebello Mont ecello ninety miles apart about feet above ocean level elder charles was my companion from fruitland froitland Fruit land to mancos a distance of about sixty five miles mainly through a hilly country covered with very extensive forests of cedar and pine coming up from the lower lands along the la plata toward the so called parrot mountains near the west base of which are situated the settlements on the mancos we encountered a severe snowstorm in cherry creek canyon where we encamped for the night the snow fell about six inches deep and the wind blowing through an opening ip the mountains made the night on one of the coldest that I 1 have ever experienced in camping out had it not been for the friendship ot of two young men loggers who lived in a tent pitched near a saw mill who invited us to such shelter as their frail canvas could afford the effects upon our not overly tough systems system might have proven very serious as we were not provided with sufficient bed clothing to keep us warm but by keeping up a fire all night and hugging it very closely at least a part of the time we managed to keep alive till morning when we continued our journey to mancos where by the kindness of friends we succeeded in thawing ourselves out in time to attend the afternoon meeting it being the sabbath the saints residing on the mancos number about forty families or souls they all live in a scattered condition on their farms and are nearly all doing well financially in all my travels among the saints in this intermountain inter mountain region I 1 have never seen such a country as this the whole valley and surrounding hills and mountains are covered with almost endless forests of cedar and pine it is mostly cedar in the valleys in order to make farms the settlers have to cut down the timber and wood almost the same as the people in the eastern states and canada have ele ave to clear farms in the timber thus we find on the mancos extensive wheat fields where the timber has been removed while on the intervening ridges the cedars stand undisturbed in all their primitive beauty lending interest and romance to the landscape in some places I 1 also noticed young orchards set out in the edge of native groves of cedar which served to protect the young trees from the cold winds of the north most of the saints on the mancos reside in a little valley of their own commonly known as the webber thus named for the man who first located there this valley extends north and south about nine miles and has an average width of two miles the main mancos valley which extends in a sort of crescent shape from northeast to southwest following lowing tol the main course of the stream is mostly inhabited by non mormons cormons Mor mons some of whom settled there before car our people began to locate in this country in 1880 the town of mancos containing perhaps upwards of one hundred inhabitants is situated on the river it has one large business house and a number of smaller ones a newspaper the mancos times is also published here the latter day saints meeting house is situated on the west side 0 of a hill about ya mile south west of the town of mancos the railway depot on the denver and rio grande southern railway is ya mile northwest of the town but the people do not patronize the road very much as the tare io 10 cents a mile is considered extortionate torti onate and when it comai comes to hauling freight it can be taken cheaper by teams than by rail according to the present rates hence most of the people who visit durango which is forty miles distant by rail and only thirty miles by wagon road generally travel in their old way our in the webber have lately built a schoolhouse of their own and the lady teacher engaged for this winter is a member of the church the facilities for more settlers here are most excellent and the good saints many of whom possess much more land than they can cultivate extend a hearty invitation to come in and share the fatness of the soil and the grand natural advantages of the mancos country with them we ought to have a much more numerous community here than we have at present and I 1 would not hesitate to use my personal influence with tho those thoe e of my co religionists who are in search of good homes to caa cast their eyes upon the fertile cedar covered lands on the mancos before they decide upon locating in less favored spots ot of the earth geo halls formerly of huntsville utah is the bishop of the mancos ward and his counselors are hiram M taylor and samuel S hammond elder soren jensen long and favorably known by a host of friends in utah and arizona owns one of the finest farms on the mancos last night I 1 addressed a large congregation of saints and strangers on church history in the meeting house the non mor mons on the mancos as a rule are friendly disposed toward the saints and both parties seem to cultivate a spirit of peace and friendship toward each other it is not at all unlikely that a number of the non members here will embrace the falness of the gospel in the near future at the late conference held here a large number of strangers were in attendance and seemed to be highly interested in the discourses delivered on that occasion I 1 have now finished my labors in the san juan stake and start this morning by team for durango thence by rail to the san luis valley ANDREW JENSON |
