John D. Barton Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 In 1836 William Craig, Philip Thompson, and Previtt Sinclair built a fort at Brown’s Hole, where Vermillion Creek merges with the Green River. Brown’s Hole was a favorite wintering place for mountain men and Indians because of the mild winters and abundant forage and game animals. After news of the fall of the …
Seeking Adventure
Coarse-frocked Spanish friars from Santa Fe, New Mexico, penetrating the Great Basin in 1776—year of the nation’s Declaration of Independence—were Utah’s first tourists of written record. The Spanish Fathers came not to see the scenery—though they made the first written account of it in their journals and maps–but were trailblazers seeking a suitable shorter route between two Catholic frontier mission …
The Rivera Expedition
Thomas G. Alexander Utah, The Right Place Anxious to expand the Spanish Empire to thwart the expansion of other European powers, and to enrich themselves, New Mexican authorities sent expeditions northward. In 1765, a Ute from the north had sold an ingot of silver to a blacksmith in Abiquiu, a small settlement northwest of Santa Fe. That transaction set in …
Preston Nutter Made Utah the Home of His Cattle Kingdom
Preston Nutter ranch Max Evans History Blazer, November 1995 When Preston Nutter died in January 1936 at the age of 86, the Salt Lake Telegram described him as “Utah’s last great cattle king” and “one of the last links between the old west and the new.” As “king” of the range, Nutter was one of the best known cattle barons …
The Telegraph was the Information Highway of the 1860s
Miriam B. Murphy History Blazer, October 1995 On May 24, 1844, the message “What hath God wrought” was sent by telegraph from Baltimore, Maryland, to the Capitol in Washington, D.C. A new era in long-distance communications had begun. Within a few years local companies were busily stringing the “talking wire” between many cities and towns. In 1861 the Pacific Telegraph …
A History of Utah’s American Indians, Preface
A History of Utah’s American Indians, © 2000 Preface, pp. v-viii Allan Kent Powell The commemorations of the Utah Statehood Centennial in 1996 and the Sesquicentennial of Utah Settlement in 1997 were cause for reflection not only on these milestones in Utah’s history but also for a reexamination of the people, events, and movements that constitute Utah history. To …
A History of Utah’s American Indians, Conclusion
A History of Utah’s American Indians, © 2000 “Conclusion: The Contemporary Status of Utah Indians,” pp. 315–40 Robert S. McPherson The preceding tribal histories have brought the reader through the period of termination to more contemporary times. But what direction has Indian affairs taken over the past decade or so, and what does the future promise? Significant adjustments have been …
A History of Utah’s American Indians, Chapter 7
A History of Utah’s American Indians, © 2000 “The Navajos of Utah,” pp. 264–314 Nancy C. Maryboy and David Begay Introduction Navajos have been living in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest for hundreds of years. The land of the Navajo includes areas of southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico. Navajo people traditionally and historically refer …
A History of Utah’s American Indians, Chapter 5
A History of Utah’s American Indians, © 2000 “The Northern Utes of Utah,” pp.167–224 Clifford Duncan Creation and Migration Stories of the Utes The story of Sinauf, the god who was half man, half wolf, and his brothers Coyote and Wolf has been told many times in tipis and wickiups. According to Ute legend, these powerful animal-people kept the world …
A History of Utah’s American Indians, Chapter 4
A History of Utah’s American Indians, © 2000 “The Paiute Tribe of Utah,” pp. 123–66 Gary Tom and Ronald Holt Tabuts [elder brother/wolf] carved people out of sticks and was going to scatter them evenly around the earth so that everyone would have a good place to live. But Shinangwav [younger brother/coyote] cut open the sack and people fell out …