Show r easterner L lauds a u d s san a juan n mountains and early pioneers by ernie pyle in washington daily news of july 27 monticello utah you feel as though youre in a new country when you get to Mon monticello 10 I 1 think it reminds me more of alaska than anywhere else monticello is s amt a little place and very high seven thousand feet on the slope up to the blue mountains people are nice here in that great warming way of people who are somewhat isolated but not isolated into sourness this morning my car start on a cold morning in these altitudes the automatic choke work all the people up here have taken the automatics off and put on hand chokes I 1 had to get pushed the garage man had gone up the mountain to fix a tractor so I 1 went into the dry goods store and asked the man if he knew where I 1 could hire a car to push me he said he ft push me but hed pull me said he like to push people because the bumpers slide off and bust out the pushers lights so he came up and pulled me around half of monticello before we got the thing started take a penny for it no sir he said looking at my license plates 1 I might get stuck in washington some time and need you to help me and I 1 be there I 1 said well somebody would he replied in we went up on the mountain this morning the blue mountains rise to over feet and a forest service road winds up through the heavy timber I 1 love it up there its a wooded fresh sparkling natural world icy clear streams tumble down little gorges flowers grow luxuriantly the air is so pure can actually feel the changer pure and fresh and good for a in n there are deer and bear beara and mountain lions but we we see any and there is the deep clean silence of the forest somehow you feel regenerated up there IN we went up to see a man he lives on the mountain top his name is roy musselman he is a hunter and trapper he has a reputation for mountain lions under his belt from inquiring I 1 gathered that he is somewhat of a recluse chise re he comes down the mountain only occasionally casio nally for supplies nobody had seen him lately we found his cabin all right but he there his old stove was piled with stuff his wooden bunk had oil cans on it my old daniel boone senses told me he had not been there for at least three weeks there was no way to find him we loitered around up there for half an hour reluctant to leqve leave the pleasant heights and as we continued on page 5 easterner L lauds a u ds san juan mountains continued frow fron first page came back down again onto the wide flat plains we looked back up at the high forests and the long ridge and said to ourselves hes up t there h e r e somewhere among the trees just living off the forest we find him but hes all right he lives the way nature lives ie one of the first settlers around monticello was a mormon named parley butt he was one of the first in the town of bluff to the south and into dove creek cree k to the east we met him yesterday in dove creek hes a character if ive ever seen one he was in the mormon scouting party that first penetrated southern utah he was a member of the fated group that made mormon history by their experiences at hole in the rock that party spent a whole year crossing the colordo colorado river and many of their members died parley butt was in in bluff in 78 he must be close to 80 now he owned the first store in dove creek he rents it out now 1 I dont rent it out he be says my wife rents it out ashes bi bigger ager than I 1 am I 1 dont even know what we get for it parley butt is a lovable rascal ugly as a mud fence aw dont get nervous he wont mind with huge queer gold teeth in his lower jaw he doddles around dove creek with a fly swatter in his hand hes got an ornery grin on his face id like to know hi him lm better he has been very rich in his day was a great mormon cattle man and owned thousands and thousands of acres of land probably the first citizen of southeastern utah hes lost a great deal of that but hes doing all right too he has a good time he ran for the utah legislature once got elected by one vote he said if that was the best they could do nuts to em he refused to go to salt lake city he served three terms as sheriff of san juan county they tell how he tracked three desperadoes into the desert found them all asleep took their guns and then just sat quietly till they woke up and laughed at them utah and colorado will miss parley butt when hes gone hes got a sense of ironic humor that you seldom see in this day an and d age you find it mostly in alaska among in g the old boys the friend who is traveling with me chatted with parley butt at a different time than I 1 did when my friend started to leave parley butt said to him so long kiddo and when I 1 said goodbye to him he said well give my regards to all the good looking people in the world I 1 kinda doubt if a guy like that will ever die |