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CARSON VALLEY

By WM. JENNINGS

            [PRINTER'S Note—Under special Instructions from the Secretary of the Nevada Historical Society, this article, in regard to spelling, punctuation, and capitalization of words, is printed exactly as written]

            Mr. Wm Jennings: I was born at a place called _____ in Worcestershire, England, September 13, 1823, and emigrated to New York, America, in 1847. From there I went to Missouri, and emigrated to Utah in 1852. I came here not as a member of the Church, and found things in Utah rather quiet in those days, very little of Salt Lake City compared with the present time. On my arrival here I settled down on a farm at Cottonwood but stayed only a few weeks and then came into the City and commenced butchering. The people then were generally farming, & stock raising a little. The principle business was trading with emigrants and providing for them as they passed along—trading good horses for poor ones, good cattle for poor ones, &e. and furnishing them with flour which was cheap at that day—prices were—wheat about 50c a bushel. The following Spring flour went up to $6.00 and 7.00 per 100. The people then were cautioned not to sell the flour, and if I remember right Brigham Young advertised in the frontier papers for the emigrants to bring their flour for they were short here.

            It was on the 29th August 1852 that the revelation on Polygamy was first read publically in the Tabernacle and I was present when it was read. Immediately afterward, I believe, Mr. Spencer and some others started out on a Mission to Europe, and through the States I think, carrying that revelation with them.

            I don't know as I can state fully all the particulars of events just at that time, but I remember some of those principle points.

            In 1852 there was a mission got up here to Carson Valley by the two Reeses and others. I don't know whether the church had anything to do with his (Reese) affairs or not in buying out a mill at Genoa

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on Carson River. In the spring of 1856 I was called to go there. Started from here about the 1st or 10th of May. We went in wagons, Mr. Layton & myself, and we landed in Carson somewhere the latter part of June. We made a very nice trip along and we settled in Washoe Valley. The Mission that year was called to build up that country. There were a few ranches near us in Washoe Valley. Reese had a store up at Genoa on the Carson River and there was a little settlement in Jack's Valley. The Carson Valley people I think were mostly apostate Mormons before this Company went there. This was the first genuine Mormon settlement there. The Reeses were partially connected with the Church. Orson Hyde was sent out there as a Probate Judge that Fall. When we went there Orson Hyde was building a saw mill. There was quite a little company of men in Gold Canyon at that time which place was about 30 miles E. of us. I was as certain then as I am now that there was a silver mine in the locality of Gold Canyon, and the reason that I had for it was, that as they opened up Gold Canyon nearer to the summit little gulches were filled with very fine gold and this gold became lower grade all the time and they worked up more silver; and from what I had read my idea was that there must be a silver mine in that Canyon. In the fall of 1856 Comstock himself came into the Valley. I think he crossed the Humboldt country with a herd of sheep. I was the first man that met him and relieved him for he was pretty destitute. This was the man that afterwards discovered the Comstock Mine.  He went up to Montana and died there. I started for California in 1857 and then home. The Mormons were ordered home in the Fall of 1857 on account of the U. S. army being on the road to this place. This broke up that settlement. I came home in the Spring, but the majority came in the Fall being then ordered home. We sold out all we had. I sold my ranch in Franktown for a trifle. In the first place I bought out a ranche of Mr. Best, myself and Mr. Layton. We did not log it, but there were too many rattlesnakes, and then we moved to Franktown, a little town that we built up there. The settlements before us were only one or two ranches, in that valley. Part of our ranche, the Ophir Mills were after built on. I carried across the Slippery Fall that Spring in a pair of Saddlebags between $6000 & 7000.00 of gold dust about as much as I could pack; three of us traveling across the mountains from Carson Valley, and on our return we came over the way from Stockton and Murphy's Camp, by the big trees.

            Orson Hyde stayed down there in Franktown and built a large lumber mill in the fall of 1856. He came home either in the Fall of 1856 or early in the Spring of 1857, after selling his mill. The irons for the mill were brought from California.

            When we came back here matters were in rather a poor state. Some of our people were out on the road trying to hinder the progress of Johnson's Army; the cry was that they were coming in here, they were

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on the Sweetwater River in August I think. There was plenty of time for that army to come right in here but they traveled up & down Hams Fork and what for nobody could find out, and finally they settled down in Bridger. Col. Van Fleet was the Quarter Master of the army, and he came in here, when I remember hearing him, in the Social Hall, say that he believed there were 10,000 troops of our people out there on the Sweetwater, when in fact there was about 100, perhaps only 50, and they were actually afraid to move their army. Fort Bridger is about 20 miles this side of Green River. Our people were camped between here and the Sweetwater. In 1856 there were considerable settlements started on the way down to the Missouri River. We had started what they called the "Express" and they were making settlements along the road of this Express.       

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money was distributed through the Territory, by giving labor to the people, and I looked upon it as a Godsend to the Mormon people.

            When the army was at Fort Bridger, there were some men who were trading and buying tobacco and smuggling it in here and sell it, and the people would offer almost any price, also tea & coffee. The people used Barley for coffee. People used tobacco then who never used it before. I myself, bought a couple of plugs and I never had used it before. When the people moved from this City to go South, they started pretty early in the spring (1858) ; and to see the women & children traveling through the snow knee deep without any shoes or stockings—in fact they were so destitute for clothing that they had scarcely anything on to keep them warm—it was a sad sight. I suppose it was necessary that this should take place; for the move was published in the European papers as being the wisest policy in Brigham Young that could have been conceived of. We barricaded our doors and windows, and had those troops stopped there and undertook to scatter and plunder in the places they would not have been 6 hours before this City would have been in ashes, for our families went South for that purpose; but the army came in here and stayed out at Camp Floyd until they got a little cool. Mr. Kane then came out here and took the matter in hand. He put Mr. Cummings in his position as Governor. Of course the Governor appointed by the Government being in his position, when the troops came in they could not do anything only at the Governors command or to enforce the law under his direction.

            There was a proclamation issued by the Committee of Investigation or Peace Commissioners that if the people would come back home and settle down again, they would be forgiven. They came out here with this pardon in their pockets from the Government. (F. D. Richards—They said that if we would come back and be good citizens we should be pardoned for what seemed to be amiss. I was present at the conference we had with these Commissioners right here in this Council House.

            W. J.—The cause of the destitution that year was that we had nothing to bring in to market. Nobody stayed at home to raise anything.

            Feramorz Little & Ephraim Hanks first brought the news here of the approach of the army on the 24th July when the people were celebrating the day in Cottonwood.

            Between 1849 & '50 we were pretty comfortable though clothing was always scarce. It was more plentiful in 1849 & '50 & '51 than afterwards, because we got a great deal of clothing from the emigrants who passed through, in 1850 especially.

            Although Brigham Young was the Governor at the time this Army came out, he was never notified of their coming, and therefore he treated the soldiers as a mob, which was right in my opinion, for they should have notified him officially. His successor, Gov. Cummings, was appointed without notifying Gov. Young. Gov. Cummings was a Southerner, and when he got in here, Gov. B. Young turned everything over to him. On looking into the real state of things he found that the Library and Territorial records were all intact and not destroyed as had been reported to the Government, which report

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caused the sending of the army here, or it was the reason according to what the Government said. Governor Doty was considered a very fine old gentleman and we all respected him.

            Carson Valley, at that time accounted a pretty fine place, and we thought that if we built up that western country and on to California, there was the place for us to get some of our necessaries from Mr. Layton traded back & forth from Carson to California. He and I were on shares. He would carry mules for me & bring groceries &c. I bought some goods in 1857 and we brought them by the Stockton Camp route, which was the first time that route had been traveled by wagons.

            When the U. P. built their road here men got about $2 1/2 a day. Sharp Brigham Young took contracts on the U. P. and when they got through there was about $1,250,000.00 owing Brigham Young and the people. Prest. Young took 600,000 rolling Stock and that is how the Utah Central came to be built, this Stock being used in the construction of that road. The U. C. road from Ogden to here was built out of the Tithing & P. E. Funds. The last rail was laid in the Depot on the 10th of January. I was a member of the first organization. We then bonded the road for a million dollars to pay our debts; then our accounts was not worth only about $350.00 and I could not imagine wherever the money was coming from to pay the coupons, but the very moment that railroad came into this City the Emma Mine opened up and they shipped 100 ton a day of good ore. A great many English people have the idea that this mine was never worth anything but they have been misled on that point, although it is nothing today, still they are now trying to work it up again. There has been a great deal of ore taken out of that mine. The U. C. Railway commenced paying dividends from the first year, and it got to 1 per cent per month on par dividend, until 1871 ( ?). It is a good piece of road. I consider it worth more than the U. P. for miles, and as the country grows it will be better.

            Prest Young was the first miner in the country. He sent the first company out for mining. Why Prest. Young discouraged mining, afterwards, was because he knew it brought all the riff-raff here, and if we do no agriculture here, what would we do? It was all we could do to keep life ourselves then. He felt it necessary in order to maintain us and make our feet fast here that agriculture must be encouraged, and build homes for our families, and the people acted in accordance with this counsel. Then we had produce and sold to the miners who came in. If the mining industry was worked up we would have a home market for all that could be raised in these valleys.

            In regard to the Mountain Meadow Massacre there has been a good deal said about it being covered up and that the Mormons did not want to investigate it. At the time Johnson's army was here [name of some person] lived next door to me and we were very intimate. One time I saw him dressed up with revolvers and everything ready as if for a mountain trip. He told me there was a party of them going down to get Haight & Lee. Prest. Young had got up this outfit and was going to send them down there and they were then prepared to start. Wood came up from Johnson's army and some of their judges told him not to let them go. I know that Prest. Young asked one of the judges who was here then to hold to that case and search it and find

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out who was at the bottom of the massacre. He went down there but never did anything at all. I believe Prest. Young tried his best to get that settled, and I know he was cleared from anything. In January, 1858, Livingston and his party went down there and enquired into it, and they were satisfied that it was the Indians that did it.