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Show Volume XXX Issue IV The Ogden Valley News Page 9 October 1, 2023 The Story of Ogden Valley: Part VII nated as the days on which to call for the mail. Often, the mail carrier had to make his trips into the valley on snowshoes when the snow was deep. However, in four years of service, David M. Moore missed only two trips and those were due to high waters which made the roads impassable. At the end of the four years, he received a new contract in his own name. In relating his experiences, Mr. Moore remarked: “My first job was carrying the mail to Ogden Valley between 1869 and 1873. I made two trips a week and received $3.00 for each trip made. Those dollars were as large as cartwheels.” Henry Shelton was the next mail carrier. He served for almost 40 years. By May 1887, a tri-weekly mail service had been established between Ogden City and the Huntsville-Eden district. It was operated on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. A post office was established at Eden in December of that year. Mary Ballantyne, wife of Richard, was the first postmistress. In 1893, through the efforts of R. N. Ames, justice of peace at Liberty, a post office was established at that community, with Joshua B. Judkins as postmaster. Walter Lindsay was the first mail carrier from Eden to Liberty. For many years the pioneer settlers of Ogden Valley had visitors during the spring and summer months. Hundreds of Indians, belonging to the Ute, Bannock, and Shoshone tribes, passed through the valley on their way to the hills beyond. Here they lingered for weeks at a time while they trapped animals for their pelts, hunted and fished, and dried meat for their winter’s supply. It was a sight not to be forgotten to see a parade of a large tribe of these red men pass through a pioneer village. All of the Indians rode horseback, single file or two abreast, and occasionally a trailer made of two shafts would be dragged along behind a pony with the owner’s scanty possessions. Often, they would stop at the settlers’ homes to beg. However, they caused little trouble when passing through except for occasional thefts and threats. Nevertheless, the white people felt ofttimes that their lives were in danger because of the threats made…. But they finally came to learn that if they treated the Indians fairly, they would not be harmed. Brigham Young’s Indian policy was again demonstrated to be correct. In the fall the bands of Indians again paraded through Ogden Valley on their return to the warmer regions for winter. Now they were Note: This series on Ogden Valley was taken from Chapter 18 of the 5th edition of “Beneath Ben Lomond’s Peak” by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Weber County Chapter (1995), which was compiled and edited by Milton R. Hunter, Ph.D. The book was 昀椀rst written and published in 1944. When the warm sunshine began to beat down upon the snowbanks, there was always the danger of snowslides. On March 12, 1875, a large snowslide came down Bridge Canyon at Liberty. James Burt had just left his house when he heard a loud rumbling noise. He turned to see his house, wife, and four children being carried away with the snow. His loud and frantic cries for help rang out over the valley, as he ran down the slope to the assistance of his family. After carrying the house four blocks, the snowslide stopped moving. Some of the neighbors came running with shovels and worked desperately to dig the family out of the snow. The mother and three children were saved, but one little girl could not be found. All day they continued digging. Finally, the foundation of the house was reached, and the little girl was found lying near the stove. She had been killed instantly for her neck was broken. It was the opinion of the citizens that she was sitting in a highchair by the stove and the force of the blow as she fell broke her neck. In this mountainous region, there were bears and other wild animals which molested the settlers and especially their livestock. James Wilson’s death was one of the first fatalities of Eden’s citizens. He and his brother Robert were in the canyon after wood. Their gun had been placed in a clump of brush. Suddenly a bear appeared. As the men scrambled for the gun, it was accidently discharged, and James was killed. It was very difficult to carry mail to Ogden Valley in pioneer days. David Moore secured the government contract for carrying it in 1869. His son David M. Moore made the trips on horseback over the North Ogden divide, going one day and returning to Ogden the next. George Mowie also made some of the trips. The mail, weighing about 40 pounds, was carried in saddlebags on each side of the saddle. For a number of years all of it for the valley was delivered to Huntsville. The people of the other settlements were obliged to call there for it. At first there was no regular time for delivery, but later, Wednesdays and Saturdays were desig- heavily laden with their harvest—food supplies for the long winter months ahead. They stopped long enough in the valley to augment their food supply with berries. The settlers had their first experience with the Indians soon after Hunt and his associates arrived in Ogden Valley in the fall of 1860. Little Soldier and his band of natives were there. They claimed portions of the land in the valley. For the sake of peace, the settlers found it wise to pay these natives an annual tax, and so a number of beeves, considerable flour, and vegetables were given to them each year. The Indians did not always wait for the tax to be given to them. In 1863, fifteen warriors, after killing a man at Mantua, crossed the mountains and camped in Ogden Valley. They killed a beef, “jerked” the meat, and left next day with 64 horses, 44 of them belonging to Captain Hunt, Joseph Hunt, an Indian named Weber Jack, and others, ten in all, pursued the natives. After a fight in which two Indians were killed, the white men returned with all their horses except two of David Garner’s William Halls gave the following account of a party of Indians that visited Huntsville in 1866: “The following named dignitaries Washa-kee, Wa-num-bitch, Bazit, Top-si-poih, Toihswoih, Woo-aah-goih, and Pash-up, chiefs of the Shoshones, and about 1,000 Indians, men , squaws, and papooses, came into this valley last Thursday, and camped a mile west of this settlement. “On Sunday the chiefs attended our meetings. All were very friendly. President F. A. Hammond called for a donation to be brought in next day and invited the chiefs and all the Indians to come on to the public square and receive their presents. Yesterday morning early they formed in procession and marched slowly, dancing at intervals, to the public square where the citizens retired to the east side of the square, and the Indians sang and played on the square. In an immense ring, danced round and round, circling to the left, and concluded by a sham fight, representing a recent encounter of seven braves with a very superior number of Arrapahoes, in which the Shoshones killed one and scalped him, and made their escape. The same scalp was seen in all their processions and dancing, stuck on a long stick, the squaws now and then striking it with little sticks. “After these performances, they came to the bowery and received four beeves, nine sheep, several sacks of flour, and 50 to 75 bushels of potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, etc. This last scene in the bowery was truly interesting; such a picture faithfully delineated, would have immortalized the name of the artist. “They have gone away feeling well, and we feel well, for though their company is very agreeable, our philanthropy is so large that we are willing their presences should benefit other settlements as well as ours” [William Halls, Deseret News, vol. 15, p. 309]. From The Past . . . Weber-Morgan Health Dept. Offers Drive-thru Flu Clinic Mark your calen- org/clinical-nursing-services/immunizations/ dars! Weber-Morgan Health Department is holding its popular drive-thru flu clinic on September 29 and October 13. No appointment is necessary. Adults and children are welcome. Bring your insurance card if you have one and enter from the east side of Adams Ave. and 23rd Street in downtown Ogden. For costs and a list of insurances we accept, please see our website at webermorganhealth. index.php. We will also offer pneumonia and Tdap vaccines. We don’t plan on offering the updated fall 2023 COVID-19 vaccine at this time because not enough is known about when it will arrive. We also know that since the last COVID vaccine became available, we will have to order it from a commercial provider and will no longer be able offer it free of charge to everyone. Details are still being worked out. We will update our website and social media sites as soon as we know. Harvest time. If you have any information about this photo, please call Shanna at 801-7452688 or Jeannie at 801-745-2879. The Ogden Valley News is looking for Ogden Valley and Ogden Canyon historical biographies, stories, and photos to use in its publication. Please mail, email, or call Shanna at 801-745-2688 or Jeannie at 801-745-2879 if you have material you are willing to share. -Flatwork -Decorative Concrete -Concrete Prep Schedule a Quote Today! 801-857-1567 Danny Graves Wednesday Night Saturday Night Sunday Morning First Friday | @DJFencingLLC 5:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. 8:30 a m. Fr. Joshua Marie Santos 801-399-5627 FrJoshuaS.Stambrose@gmail.com Saturday 5:30 p.m Sunday 8:00 a.m. or by appt. Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary, Middle School, and High School Providing a challenging, college-focused education in the proven tradition of Catholic schools, for the families of the Ogden Valley. We want to teach your children! For information on our program, financial assistance, tours, or application, please call 801-393-6051 or 801-394-1515. 2668 Grant Avenue, Suite #104A, Ogden, UT 801-612-9299 |