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Show ~ AROUND THE BEND AGAIN... BY KEN SLEIGHT Taos trappers William Wolfskill and Ewing Young made a trapping trip into southeastern Utah and worked the San Juan River and other streams that flowed to the Colorado River. And in 1824 Antoine Robidoux led a group to the Green River. Denis Julien boated the Green and Colorado Rivers. Great caravans of Santa Fe traders, mountain men and those looking for new commercial opportunities followed the Spanish Trail. In the mind, one can envision long lines of mules loaded with woolen goods, produced by the Indian and Mexican people of New Mexico, headed toward southern California. Hundreds of trail drivers were employed, and Pack Creek became a favored location in which to rest and graze their stock. The year, 1846, is notable. We went to war with Mexico and the Mormon Church began its move into Mexican territory and settled the Great Salt Lake Valley the next year. The next 20 years would see some 70,000 Mormons traveling by wagons and handcarts to Utah. It was the best-organized mass migration in American history and possibly the best colonizing effort ever accomplished on such a wide scale. The war ended in 1848 and southeastern Utah reverted to the United States. That same year, the gold strike in California precipitated a gold rush that brought many thousands racing westward. : In order to control the Indians, the Mormons sent William Huntington in 1854 to explore the southeastern part of the territory. Heading south from Green River, his party of 13, including an Indian guide, had to lower its wagons over a craggy drop in Moab Canyon before crossing the Colorado River and driving south into Spanish valley. Following this, in 1855, the Elk Mountain Mission, a Mormon colonizing party, was formed. Outfitted at Manti, the party of 41 men under the leadership of Alfred N. Billings started off on May 21 with fifteen wagons, sixty-five oxen, thirteen horses, and assorted equipment and supplies. Arriving at their outpost south of the Colorado River, they quickly built a rock fort, 64 feet square. The 12-feet-tall walls measured four feet thick at the base tapering to one and a half feet at the top. The Opening of Southeast Utah A Sketch of Local History It’s been 15 years now since Jane and great 15 years. I’ve been here long enough and our region what it is today. Quite a sketch of the historical account taken from I bought Pack Creek Ranch. And it has been a to realize what has gone into making the ranch time it has been! So I take this time to write a an assemblage of well-known sources. ie ted to believe that the first humans dwelled here in this beautiful country more than 20,000 years ago. The land looked different then, I suppose, when thicker forests covered the mountains and high meadows and glaciers extended down the valleys from its high and marvelous peaks. And 10,000 years ago, we are told, mammoths, ene horses, giant bison and ground sloths roamed. And some 6,000 years ago, the climate became much warmer. And not adapting to the changes some species of animals died out. The natural vegetation changed too and the smaller bison and other game--deer, squirrels, rabbits and bear survived. When corn was introduced from the south, agriculture became a major mode of life for the desert-culture Indians. The Anasazi made their homes here in brush and rock shelters and shallow caves, and they hunted small animals and made beautiful baskets. They formed a social network over wide areas and traded with one another. Severe drought in the 12th century caused the huge population to drastically drop and by the following century, the Anasazi abandoned the canyons. Later, as history shows, the Ute and Southern Paiute Indians wandered widely over the area and dwelled among the foothills of the La Sals. They made their encampments at choice locations such as the one they had at the present Pack Creek Ranch. The Spanish were the first white people to explore this area. Juan Maria de Rivera made his way to the Gunnison River in 1765 and made two expeditions into:Colorado and Utah. In 1776, the Franciscan friars, Silvestre Velez de Escalante and Francisco Dominguez led a party from New Mexico into the area that ran northeast of the La Sal Mountains. Their intent was to reach Monterey, California. Though they failed in their endeavor, they i us a record of this "first comprehensive exploration” of Utah. Our heritage includes the trapper era that dominated the scene for a while. Kit Carson probably spent a winter trapping beaver on the Colorado River near the La Sal Mountains. THE LAZY LIZARD oe \ AND CHECK OUT OUR NIGHTLY RATES. "THE BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET" The Ute Indians nervously watched the Mormon encroachment as the Mormons took over their treasured lands (and the Mormons wondered why the Indians stole goods left unattended.) The Ute chief Arrapeen arrived at the new colony on July 14 and was incensed that the Mormons had squatted there people there. With tension and hostility growing, he told the Mormons not to bring any more people. Billings and five others then explored Mill and Pack Creeks that flowed westward from the La Sals. Near the present Pack Creek Ranch, they found William Huntington’s cache that he had left the previous year. The party then journeyed southward into Navajo country. On Sept 19, a party of six Mormons departed for Salt Lake City leaving a small party of 17 or 18 men at the fort. Predictably, trouble erupted. The Indians killed three of their number and the remaining colonizers fled northward. After the Elk Mountain Mission, Mormon settlement would be delayed for more than 20 years. There were a number of factors for this delay. The Utah War of 1857 to quell the Mormon rebellion consumed much time and resources. Also, upwards of 120 Arkansas and Missouri emigrants had been slain at Mountain Meadows. The massacre put a damper on colonizing efforts. All was not well in Zion. Then in 1859, Capt. John N. Macomb of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led a geographic and geologic expedition of ten men through the San Juan country: with a detachment of soldiers sent to protect them. His quote: "I cannot conceive of a more worthless and ee region.” Even the Mormon’s Deseret News commented that. southeast Utah was "one vast contiguity of waste and measuredly valueless, excepting for nomadic purposes, hunting grounds for Indians, and to hold the world together." With the close of the Civil War, change swept the country. The cattle industry Famous Philosophers who shop at the Mountain Rose: JEAN-PAUL SARTRE. INTERNATIONAL HOSTEL ARE YOU DIRTY? TAKE A SHOWER FOR $2 The Ute Indians nervously watched the Mormon encroachment as they took their treasured lands (and the Mormons wondered why the Indians stole ~ goods left unattended). "Behold MOUNTAIN "fresh all the thyme” the tomato... What does it FEEDING Bopy & SOUL Gourmet Specialty Foods Cheeses ¢ Meats ¢ Flowers ¢ Organic Produce Gift Baskets ¢ Catering * Cooking Classes 2001 ONE MILE SOUTH OF TOWN ON HIGHWAY 19! 259-6057 ROSE MARKET SIDEWINDER DRIVE e PARK CITY (Next to the liquor store in Prospector Square) 435-649-9525 M-Sat, 10am-7:30pm @ Sun, noon-5pm www.mountainrosemarket.com |