Saga of the Sanpitch Volume 17, 1985 - Sanpete County

property and the State would not consider resurveying the land or changing the original agreement. 3 The
colonists realized that a fatal mistake had been made and that the greater diligence and superior ability of
some would not be rewarded. After a hard day's work in the fields, the men sat up long hours in abrasive
debate over what management should or should not do. Hard feeling, divisiveness and weakness resulted.
Nevertheless, they did not give up and, thanks to the support of Governor Spry, were granted by the
Land Board delays in making payments.
Another setback hit them in the summer of 1913 when a cloudburst struck in the night with high winds
and torrents of rain. The storm was followed by a new sound, that of rushing water. In the morning they found
that rain, wind and flood had flattened the crops and filled the fields with rocks. A beneficent nature had
shown its other side and destroyed wheat for bread and seed. The colonists were the chief sufferers in the
valley.
Culinary water was still a problem. There were no springs or streams. Raw canal water was not usable
and a cistern built to hold it for settling broke soon after filling,, Wells of 100-foot depth yielded poor water.
Only the well on the Lieberman farm had good water and it thus became the community well.
By autumn of 1913 there were 33 houses and a combined church and school. Children were taught
in Yiddish and English and there was a choice of specifically Jewish or international-socialist study.
Filled with both hope and doubt, the colonists clung desperately to the ideal of a farmer's life. The
sore trials of climate, water problems and poor crops made them doubt they were in the right place. World
War I was approaching and cities were offering jobs paying wages which allowed a richer life. Some colonists
left Clarion, but new ones arrived to pursue the dream.
There were happy days, such as the Sunday morning they climbed into wagons and went into the
mountains to gather firewood. Overcome by the marvels of nature, they shouted, sang and danced. Brown,
filled with a divine presence, mounted a stump, raised his arms in prophetic stance, and extolled the goodness
of God0 They had a glorious day, though not much wood was gathered.
A picture of well-being belying their financial state was shown to visitors. An official high in the forestry
department reported finding the men busy in the fields and women in their homes made attractive with
flowers. Vegetables and trees were growing. First-crop hay was beginning to blossom, attended by humming
bees0 The visitor wrote in the 1915 issue of the Breeders' Gazette that Benjamin Brown was a modern Moses
who had led some of the Children of Israel from the tenements of the cities to a land of milk and honey.
J. W. Gribble of Gunnison promoted a banquet at which Jews and valley residents exchanged
compliments. At the dance which followed, the Jews watched wistfully, feeling out of place.
In 1914 the Land Board served notice on the Utah Colonization Fund that it owed $60,000 and
payment had to be made by January 1, 1915, or the board would take steps to make collection. On November
5 of that year the Land Board revoked water rights. The lands at Clarion were offered for sale at public auction
on January 18, 1916.
The court-appointed receiver for the colony believed they owed $75,000 in addition to that owed to
the state, bringing total indebtedness to $500,000 or more. The appraised value of buildings, livestock and
equipment was only $14,000. The board permitted the improvements to be sold separately, with proceeds
going to the colonists' creditors. Colonists were allowed to keep their livestock, which many sold to pay for
fare to Los Angeles or elsewhere. Only some half a dozen families hung on to land and livestock, 4
Some reasons for the failure of Clarion areobvious, chiefly the unsuitability of the site. 5 Rainfall
averages eight inches a year; 2-acre-feet of water per acre is inadequate. Irrigated land requires twice the
labor of other land and must be twice as productive to be competitive. Most Clarion lands are not rich enough
to produce grains profitably,, The soils produce good crops of alfalfa, but with hay selling then for $5.00 a ton,
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