Saga of the Sanpitch Volume 17, 1985 - Sanpete County

these fearsome intruders, the men carried the torches; and in the flickering light of these crude beacons, they
strove to annihilate them. On the precipitous, loose surface of the rocky hill, they slipped and stumbled, often
bruising themselves., As they bound up their bruises, their determination to subjugate and bring under control
this wild, unconquered region grew stronger, The rocky hill, which appeared to hinder their progress, was in
reality a severe but beneficent task-master, for it aroused in them an invincible determination to fight the
battles of pioneer life and win.
After the first night of the nauseating conflict, three hundred gaunt, spotted-backed rattlesnakes lay
dead. For several nights the unusual encounter continued, until the hordes of reptiles were exterminated, and
marvelous as it may be, not a man, woman nor child was bitten. Grateful for the outcome of this experience,
which had impressed them with the fact that success in the work of building their Zion could only be won
by eternal vigilance, the Saints gave thanks to God for their deliverance from this terrible menace.
The pioneers had overcome the rattlesnakes, but a veil had been drawn between them and the gray
hill, from whose rocky bosom the plague had issued. The hill, with its caves and holes, was no longer an
alluring refuge. The valley was green, and it beckoned charmingly. Accepting the invitation, the settlers moved
away from their protecting "dug-out."
CHIEF WALKER AND HIS INDIANS
Aroused to greater effort and imbued with the ideal of eternal progression, the pioneers ventured out
into the valley, where they made new hones in log cabins, the timber for which was brought down from the
mountains. Throughout the early spring, while the industrious settlers were building their new homes, they
were surrounded by the Sanpitches, a tribe of low-grade Indians, who had remained near the Whites during
the strenuous winter, living mainly on the carcasses of cattle that froze or starved to death. These idle natives
showed no signs of hostility toward the settlers as they moved from their dug-outs into the log cabins along
the nearby creeks. The outlook for the new settlement, in the greening valley away from the rocky point,
appeared brighter.
About the first of July the complexion of the situation changed, causing the colonists to again turn to
the gray hill for aid and protection. At this time, the fierce warrior-chief of the Utes, Walker, and 700 of his
tribe, fresh from a successful raid against the Shoshones, came into the valley. Proudly exhibiting their
trophies of war, they pitched their "wickiups" in a large semi-circle, east and south of the settlement, and then
commenced a demonstration of savage pageantry, which brought torture to their helpless captives and
foreshadowed ill for the little band of pioneers.
The victorious Walker, proud and haughty, was not to be trusted; even though it was upon his
invitation and profession of friendship that the pioneers had come into his country to make their homes. At
any moment he might treacherously attack the new settlement, whose crude log huts, few in number, would
provide small protection against an attack by an overwhelming number of savages. Realizing their perilous
situation, the dwellers of each humble hut sent forth fervent prayers to the Throne of God asking for
protection and guidance.
An invitation from the exultant Utes to witness their victory ceremonies was accepted reluctantly
by the Whites, who had no interest in the savage demonstration, because they feared a refusal would excite
the ill-will of the powerful chief. In the scalp dances which the pioneers were thus compelled to witness, the
prisoners, mostly Shoshone women, were forced to dance, carrying the bloody scalps of their slain kindred.
Amid the shouts of derision and savage laughter of their captors, the hapless prisoners, wailing in low,
agonized sobs, danced0 The haughty chief and his war crazed followers taunted not only the helpless
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