Forty Years Among the Indians: A true yet thrilling narrative of the author's experiences among the nativesJones, Daniel W. (Daniel Webster)
History
Forty Years Among the Indians: A true yet thrilling narrative of the author's experiences among the natives
Jones, Daniel W. (Daniel Webster)
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); Indians of North America; Latter Day Saint pioneers -- Biography
On the 29th of January, 1852, Miss Harriet Emily Colton was united to
me in marriage. All I will say at present is, that her life and labors
are as much a part of mine as is possible for a wife's to be. She was
my heart's choice from first sight, and so continued till the day of
her death. We lived on a farm quite a distance from the settlement for
some time after our marriage. My wife's father, Philander Colton, went
to California the spring we were married, leaving me in charge of his
farm and affairs. The farm was near the Indian camping ground; hundreds
of them were often around us. Sometimes they were more or less saucy,
but we treated them kindly. My wife seemed to have the same spirit as
myself in regard to the Indians, feeling friendly towards them and
wishing to see them taught and helped out of their degraded condition.
Nothing occurred in my experience during the remainder of the year
worth recording. All of the Indians around were friendly toward us, but
frequently spoke of being dissatisfied with the treatment received from
some others. Many will say, and with some truthfulness, that Indians
visit their revenge upon whites indiscriminately. Yet if one treats
them so as to get their real friendship, they are not apt to harm him.
I went as interpreter for President Young in the spring of 1853, to
Sanpete county, where some disturbance was threatened by Mexicans under
the leadership of a certain Dr. Bowman from New Mexico who seemed
inclined to make himself a name by committing some violent act in
defiance of law. There seemed to be a determination on his part and
those with him to revive the slave trade. He threatened anyone that
might interfere with him, saying he could bring all the Indians in the
mountains to help him. I was acquainted with this man while in New
Mexico. I met him while on a trip to Sanpete valley a few days before
I went with President Young's party. The moment Bowman saw me he began
to curse me for being a Mormon, saying he had power at his back to use
all the Mormons up. I felt some little friendship for him as is natural
for me to feel for anyone I have formerly known, and advised him to act
more careful, or he would get into trouble. I tried to reason with him,
but to no purpose, he went on down to Utah valley and there acted in
an insulting and threatening manner. Bowman's Mexicans were encamped
on the west side of the Sanpete valley. It was deemed prudent to bring
them in and keep an eye on them, until it could be decided what their
intentions were, for at this time it was seen that a growing spirit of
war was upon the Indians, and almost anything would stir them up.
Several little fusses of a private nature had lately occurred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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