Honeymoon Trail to Utah

The Honeymoon Trail

The Mormon Temple at St. George, Utah, first in the West, completed in 1877, almost a year before the one at Salt Lake. In October, 1776, Father Escalate and his party passed within ten miles of the spot where St. George now stands, trying to locate a route from Santa Fe to California. The town was established in 1860 by 300 families sent there by Brigham Young.

The OLD CATTLEMAN picked up the morning paper. A two column headline caught his eye. "Old Honeymoon Highway to be Opened." The item went on to explain that "the route gained its romantic name from the fact that it was marked out by Mormon bridal couples who, in days gone by, went from Arizona to Salt Lake City to have their marriage ceremonies pronounced in the sacred precincts of the Temple."

The road was to be a star route affair to carry mail and passengers between Flagstaff, Arizona, and Kanab, Utah.

The old fellow smiled as he read the story. Well he recalled the early days of Mormon settlement in Northern Arizona, especially along the Little Colorado River, where, under the leadership of such adventurous spirits as Lot Smith, Joseph H. Richards, Jesse Ballenger, William Flake and several other Mormon pioneers, settlements were made in April, 1876, along the lower Little Colorado River at Sunset, Brigham City, St. Joseph first called Allen's Camp, and Obed. Later on, this chain of settlements was pushed on to the south and Woodruff, Snowflake, Taylor, Shumway, Pinetop and a few others which are now but faint memories of those early days came into being.

ham City, St. Joseph first called Allen's Camp, and Obed. Later on, this chain of settlements was pushed on to the south and Woodruff, Snowflake, Taylor, Shumway, Pinetop and a few others which are now but faint memories of those early days came into being.

These settlements were outposts of the Mormon church, pioneer vantage points from which could be spread the tenets of that great and powerful organization. Under the wonderful direction of Brigham Young, its president, these pioneers were pushed out on every side of Salt Lake.

Over this old road came these first pioneer settlers. It was just a wagon track across the deserts and valleys of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. Like the old cattle trails of the West, it followed the line of least resistance. If there was a single bridge or culvert on its many deep muddy "washes" or rocky canyons, this writer never saw them. Where hills and mountains were in its way it simply either went up and over them, or else dodged them by going miles around. Going down the steep grade into the river bottom where the teams and wagons were loaded on the huge clumsy old scow that John D. Lee used for a ferry; as he recalls it, there was a mile or so of "dug way" along the mountain side, because without it nothing on wheels could have gotten down. When these washes were running belly deep to a horse and as swift as a horse could run, the wagons went into camp and waited, sometimes days, for the water to stop running. Often when it did stop, there was two or three feet of soft, sticky mud deposited on the crossing, which necessitated hitching three or four teams of horses aided by long ropes pulled by the men and women to get the heavily loaded wagons through and across.

One of the strictest laws of the Mor-

DECEMBER, 1934. to Utah ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 7 An Arizona Pioneer Tells of the Old Road to the North

mon church is that every marriage ceremony involving members of the church must take place in a Mormon Temple, entrance to which is denied to everyone excepting adherents to that faith.

At that time, 1876, there was no such Mormon Temple yet finished in all the West. It was not until 1877 that the Temple at St. George, the largest settlement in Southern Utah, was completed after many years of hard work on the part of its builders. The Temple at Salt Lake was not completed and ready for occupancy until two years later. Even had it been, Salt Lake was entirely too for away for those early Arizona Mormons.

Just how the marriages were consum-mon Missionaries away back in 1861, in the region which was known to the Mormons as “Dixie,” because there the climate was such that almost everything in the way of crops and fruit could be raised successfully, from cotton to hard wheat and from oranges to apples.

It was named after George Smith, then first counsellor to President Young and who was in charge of all missions of the church in Southern Utah.

These wagons were of the type used by western sheep outfits and known as “Sheep Camp Wagons.” They were the usual heavy farm wagons fitted with hickory bows to support the heavy can vas cover.

The sides were widened out about a could be closed or opened as weather or other conditions permitted. The bedding was spread over a wooden frame work set on top of the sides. Under it was the general storeroom or cellar.

Generally, several of these wagons traveled together. On pleasant nights with a large wagon sheet spread on the ground these little companies set round their central camp fire, told stories, danced to the music of a mouth harp, accordion or a fiddle and had a thoroughly enjoyable time of it. Because of the roads and weather, they averaged not over 20 miles a day.

From the Little Colorado settlements the road led down along the east bank of the river until it reached a point a mated in accordance with the churchly edicts before either of these two first Temples were completed this writer cannot say.

In the year 1883, the Old Cattleman located his first cattle ranch on the south side of the Little Colorado River at the mouth of the Chevelon Fork of the Little Colorado, which joined that stream from the south about 12 miles east of Winslow.

Across the river from his ranch was what was then known as “The Old Mormon wagon road” leading to the north to Utah via Lee's Ferry and the Buckskin mountains. Beginning about the middle of November of each year hardly a day passed but that several covered wagons didn't camp along this road and opposite the ranch, their occupants bound for Southern Utah, “to go through the Temple at St. George. This town, by the way, was settled by Mormonfoot on each side at the top. In the right front hand corner stood a small cookstove, its sheet iron stove pipe sticking up through the white canvas cover from which at the proper time poured smoke that gave it a very “homey” appearance. On the opposite side was a cunning little cupboard in which were dishes and “eating tools.” Under it was a small woodbox. Outside on each side was fastened a 40 gallon water keg. Overhead from one of the wagon bows swung an ordinary kerosene lantern. The front and back openings in the cover were boarded up with a door in which was set a good sized pane of glass “for light and sight.” When moving camp, the driver sat inside with this door wide open. When cold or stormy, the lines were handled through a small trap door in the large one. A similar large door closed the rear end. When in camp, these doors few miles above the present Cameron bridge. Here it turned into and down the Moenkopi Wash, passing two small settlements, Moenkopi and Tuba City. The latter was named for the old Hopi chief “Tuba,” who lived at the spring there. His name means “pine trees.” Moenkopi is a Hopi word meaning, “the place of running water.” Tuba was settled by the Mormons in 1875. Lot Smith, the well known character, lived here for a few years, but was killed by the Navajo, in June, 1892, in a dispute over the grazing of Indian sheep. John W. Young built a woolen mill here in early days, intending to use Navajo Indian wool. But the Navajo used their wool to weave blankets and the project was not a success.

The old mill stood there as late as 1890 but everything movable had been carried off by Indians and passersby. (Continued on Page 17)