Long ago some white men were riding along down by Pipe Springs. They saw two white men who had been killed. One man said, " I wonder how that happened? " Another man answered " The Piutes must have killed them." Several Piutes were rounded up and taken to court over at Cedar City.
The Piutes said they were innocent, but the white men were angry because other white men had been killed, so they killed these Piutes without any proof that they had killed the men.
Later, it was learned that it was the Navajos who had been the guilty ones. A short time after this the Piutes found a chance to get even with the white men. They saw two men and a woman in the hills getting wood. They killed them. Some men joined a posse to follow the red men and kill them.
Jim Andrews was the captain of the posse; Elijah Everette, Charles Pinney, and Mr. Pollock were members also. They followed the trail of the Indians over in this direction from Cedar City. The Indians scattered so it was hard to follow their trail. The posse continued on until they found an Indian camp near Henrieville. They were the first white men to come to this territory, as far is known. The location of the Indian camp was in what is now known as Indian Hollow.
When the posse came to this place they divided; some went one way, some went another to try to find the Indian trail.
The men who went south came to a gorge. Here Everette was shot by an Indian. When they saw their friend shot, the white men were frightened and thought there must be several Indians. They left their horses and hid in the brush. Later, when they returned, their horses were gone.
They found the trail where the Indians had led the horses. The Indians had camped in Pahreah Creek. By this time it was night.
The white men saw the Indians fire but decided to wait until morning. Somehow the Indians found out the white men were near, so they climbed out on a ledge, but could not take the horses with them for the ledge was too steep.
In the moonlight Jim Andrews saw an Indian on the cliff and shot at him. They found some blood later, so they knew the Indian had been wounded but not seriously enough to prevent him going on. Now the men learned there had only been two Indians and not several as they had thought. The rest had scattered and gone different directions.
During this fight an arrow went through Pinney's hat, and even took out some of his hair, but did not hurt him more than that. Another arrow went into Pollock's head but only enough to make a small wound.
Everett was buried in what is now called Everett Hollow. The C.C.C.'s made a monument for him.
Clifton was the first town in this part of the country. It was located south west of here. After the people began farming there, the irrigation water dried up; so some of the people moved here and began the town of Henrieville; some went and started the town of Cannonville.
Thompsons, Littlefields, and Gouldings were the first settlers. The first homes were dugouts. They dug back in the bank of the hill, put braces to hold the earth back and support the roof. In the dugout homes there was a kitchen and bedroom. The roofs were made of brush and dirt. The front of the homes were of logs. Beds were made by placing four posts in a corner and putting slats across. The mattresses were made of ticks filled with straw.
Trees were plentiful so the families were soon able to build log houses. At the time nails were square and were handmade. The logs were held together with wooden pegs where holes had been made.
Water ran in the creek near the towns site. People hauled what they needed in barrels on a sled.
In the beginning the schools used slates and slate pencils which were similar to our crayons. They looked very attractive in their red, white and blue wrappings.
Pioneer people did not always have all the food they wanted to eat. They raised buckwheat and made meal and mush. During the summer they had plenty of vegetables which they raised. There was no way of preserving vegetables then, so they had none in the winter.
They raised some wheat which they threshed by placing logs across a hole, putting the grain on the logs, and driving horses or oxen across; thus separating the wheat from the straw. The wheat would fall through the cracks between the logs and onto a cover in the hole. The wheat was ground, and some of it made into flour in a mill near Panguitch.
When Henrieville began the creek was small and narrow. It had many fish in it. The boys often caught fish in their hands. One day the boys were by the creek. One boy said Lets catch these fish and roast them," So, after catching some, they cleaned them, put them to soak, and then went to Red Rock. They built a fire, got the rock hot, laid the fish on the rock, and covered them with hot ashes. Then they danced around waiting for the fish to cook. Finally they decided they were done, so they ate them. They tasted mighty good to those hungry boys, even though there was no salt or bread.
Deer was plentiful then and there was no law against killing them, so the people had all the meat they needed. They tanned the hide of the deer; they soaked it in water, then buried it in the dirt. This softened the leather and made the hair loose. Next it was worked and oiled, then made into pants for boys and men.
Parawan was the nearest place to buy things at first; the things the pioneers could not make or raise were freighted to Henrieville from Parawan.
The first white men who came here to live belonged to the Kannarrah Co-op. They brought cattle here to graze because the grass grew thick and high. The people soon decided they needed a church and school, so the building which is now used for a school was begun.
The men dug a hole like a cellar. They used two-man saws to saw timber. One man stood down in the hole and another stood above and pulled the saw back and forth. The floor was rough, hewn logs.
The first celebration was held here on the 24th of July. In the afternoon there was a children's dance. Most of the boys were barefoot; often they got huge slivers in their feet, but because their feet were callused, the slivers caused little trouble. The boys just pulled them out and went on dancing.
Most of the girls wore moccasins which the Indians had taught the white people to make from rawhide (cowhide or buckskin). The moccasins were sewn with sinews of deer. The Indian who helped teach moccasin making was called Moccasin Bill. When hides were not obtainable, the people made the upper parts of the moccasins from old denim etc.,.
Sometimes people moved to Arizona and back here, the Smith family were among these. One time when they were coming from Arizona, the baby of the family got so cross they decided to camp for the night.
Three of the Smith girls-Sabrina, age 5; Maggie, age 7 and Emma, age 9; saw many beautiful flowers so they went gathering some. They kept seeing more and more beautiful ones farther on until they got a long way from camp. The rest of the family were not worried for they thought the children were just playing near by.
When it came night and the girls did not come home, the father sent the older boys to look for them. The girls walked and walked until after dark, thinking they would soon come to the camp wagon. When they could walk no farther they sat down under a tree to rest. The two younger children were frightened and began to cry. The older girl tried to comfort them and tell them they would soon be where the rest of the family was; but she was afraid too. They fell asleep for awhile, then got up and went on. They seemed to just go in a circle for they never got far from the tree where they had rested.
The boys and their father finally found them at four o'clock in the morning. Everyone was afraid they had been carried off by the Indians. They were thankful the girls were safe. The girls were happy too, although they were tired and hungry.
The father had the horses hobbled out to eat grass, and in his anxiety to find the children he had rode the horses all night with the hobbles on. Later the father found tracks where the Indians had crossed the girls path several times but they had not happened to see the white children.
When the Smith family first came to Henrieville, the father got the ranch which is known as the Smith Ranch. He traded a horse to the Indians for the ranch.
In the Summer the family lived up at the ranch. They milked cows and made butter and cheese; which they traded for the things they needed.
One day Grandmother Smith saw some Indians coming and wondered what they wanted. She and her small children were alone at the ranch. In order to protect them, she rolled a big boulder by the door. This time the Indians were friendly and only wanted something to eat. So after they ate, they rode away. Another time some Indians came when Grandfather Smith was gone. Grandmother was mixing bread. The Indians kept bothering her; one stuck his finger in the dough. Grandmother picked up a butcher knife and whacked his fingers with the back side of the knife, then they all left.
During the time the Smiths lived on the ranch the Indians would pass by there in the Spring and the Fall; going to or coming from their Winter or Summer camp grounds. They often camped by the Smith house. Sometimes the Indians babies would cry all night.
Grandfather was away much of the time and Grandmother was often afraid. There was one Indian especially who delighted in scaring Grandmother. He came once when Grandfather was at home. Grandmother told Grandfather that this Indian bothered her. Grandfather said to the Indian, "If you ever try to scare my squaw again, Ill beat you to death". The Indian sat down and cried, making a queer sound like the Indians make in their war chants, then he went away and never bothered Grandmother again.