History Blazer, December 1995 The Sego Lily is a sacred plant in Native American legend. Sego is a Shoshonean word thought to mean “edible bulb.” The flower thrives in desert-like conditions. It blooms in May and June. There are about seven variations of the plant in Utah. The white flower species displays three large, waxy petals. Each petal, on the …
Ben Holladay, the Stagecoach King, in Utah
Becky Bartholomew History Blazer, January 1996 In the mid-1800s Ben Holladay was famous as the colorful owner of the largest stagecoach line in the world. He had six homes, a stylish wife of American Revolution lineage who helped him collect art and books, daughters married to European counts, and an international playboy son. The other son helped manage his steamship …
The Steamboat Era Was Glamorous but Very Brief in Utah
Yvette D. Ison History Blazer, March 1995 On May 23, 1871, nearly 3,000 people stood by the banks of the Bear River in Corinne to witness the launching of Utah’s first steamboat—an event that excited the imagination of the public. About a year earlier, Corinne businessmen had conceived the idea of creating a steamship line to rival the newly constructed …
Old La Sal Was Once a Thriving Cow Town
Miriam B. Murphy History Blazer, November 1995 Ghost towns, colorful reminders of the old west, are generally relics of the mining industry. Utah, however, has several ghost towns of other origin. This is the story of old La Sal, the ghost site of a once vigorous cow town, now stripped of its houses, stores, barns, corrals—and even its name. According …
Robbers’ Roost in Utah’s “Outback” Was a Haven for Outlaws
Jeffrey D. Nichols History Blazer, August 1995 Between the Colorado, Green, and Dirty Devil Rivers lies a wild stretch of land crisscrossed with steep-walled canyons and hidden draws. For over 30 years this inhospitable terrain served as a hideout for outlaws of every description. Robbers’ Roost was a stronghold of the Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy’s motley band of bank robbers, …
Utah Had Hollywood Style Western Gunfights
Becky Bartholomew History Blazer, March 1996 Utah Territory had its share of bona fide, shoot-em-up gunfights. In 1890, for instance, Price was as surprised as lawman Jack Watson when Watson was gunned down in broad daylight on its main street. He had had a colorful career. As a Confederate soldier he sustained a wound to the instep that gave him …
Just Who Was the Outlaw Queen Etta Place?
W. Paul Reeve History Blazer, May 1995 According to legend, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Harry Longabaugh) infamous Utah outlaws noted throughout the West for their daring train, bank, and payroll heists, had a variety of female companions–but none quite as mysterious as the wild and sophisticated Etta Place. Some say she was a native of eastern Utah and …
Josie Bassett—Jensen’s Remarkable Woman Rancher
D. Robert Carter History Blazer, December 1996 Josie Bassett stands out as one of the most colorful characters in Uintah County’s colorful past. She was a unique blend: a sweet, generous, lovable white-haired lady who occasionally rustled cattle, poached deer, and brewed bootleg whiskey to survive and help family and friends. For 50 years she lived alone in a cabin …
Military in Utah
Thomas G. Alexander Utah, The Right Place Condensed by Brittany Nelson During the 1850s and 1860s relations between Salt Lake and Washington continued to deteriorate. On the one hand, Mormons still wanted to be masters in their own house; on the other, they sought to have advantageous economic links with the outside. Brigham Young had announced a policy in 1852 …
Mountain Meadows Massacre
Morris A. Shirts Utah History Encyclopedia In April 1857 a California-bound wagon train estimated at 40 wagons, 120 to 150 men, women, and children, and as many as 900 head of beef cattle, in addition to draft and riding animals, assembled near the Crooked Creek, approximately four miles south of present-day Harrison, Arkansas. Most of these emigrants were from northwestern …