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diff --git a/old/50322.txt b/old/50322.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 310e3ba..0000000 --- a/old/50322.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,969 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Orville Southerland Cox, Pioneer of 1847, by -Adelia B. Cox Sidwell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Orville Southerland Cox, Pioneer of 1847 - -Author: Adelia B. Cox Sidwell - -Release Date: October 27, 2015 [EBook #50322] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORVILLE SOUTHERLAND COX *** - - - - -Produced by Margaret Willden, Mormon Texts Project Intern -(http://mormontextsproject.org) - - - - - - - -Biographical Sketch of Orville Southerland Cox, Pioneer of 1847 - - -The Pioneer Spirit - - The Pioneer Spirit that mastered things - And Broke the virgin sod, - That conquered savages and kings, - And only bowed to God. - The Strength of mind and strength of soul-- - The will to do or die, - That sets its heart upon a goal, - And made it far or high-- - - --Clarence Hawkes - - -Orville Southerland Cox - -Biographical sketch of Orville Southerland Cox, Pioneer of 1847, partly -from a sketch written by Adelia B. Cox Sidwell for the "Daughters of -the Pioneers", Manti, Utah, 1913. - -Orville S. Cox, was born in Plymouth, N.Y. November 25, 1814. He was -one of a family of 12 children, ten of whom reached maturity. His -father died when he was about fifteen years old. And he was then "bound -out"; apprenticed to learn the trade of a blacksmith under a deacon -Jones, who was considered an excellent man as he was a pillar of the -church. The agreement was that he was to work obediently until twenty -one and that Jones as to give him board and clothes, three months -of school each winter, and teach him the trade of blacksmithing. -No schooling was given or allowed, and one pair of jeans pants was -all the clothing he received during the first three years of his -apprenticeship, and his food was rather limited too. The women folks -ran a dairy, but the boy was never allowed a drink of milk, of which -he was very fond because the Mrs. said "it made too big a hole in the -cheese." He was indeed a poor little bondsman, receiving plenty of -abusive treatment. As to teaching him the trade, he was kept blowing -the bellows and using the tongs and heavy sledge. But the deacon -sometimes went to distant places and then the boy secretly used the -tools and practiced doing the things his keen eyes had watched his -master do. During some of these hours of freedom, he made himself a -pair of skates from pieces of broken nails he gathered carefully and -saved. - -Also, he straightened a discarded gun barrel and made a hammer, -trigger, sights, etc, to it, so that he had an effective weapon. -These things he had to keep hidden from the eyes of his master and -associates, but secretly he had great joy in his possessions and once -in a while found a little time to use them. - -Occasionally the monotony at the bellows and with the tongs and -sledge--was broken in other ways;--for example--at one time oxen were -brought to the shop to be shod that had extremely hard hoofs, called -"glassy hoofs". Whenever Deacon undertook to drive a nail in, it bent. -Cox straightened nails over and over, as nails were precious articles -in those days and must not be discarded because they were bent. After a -while, the boy said "let me". And he shod the oxen without a bending a -single nail; And thereafter Cox shod the oxen, one and all that came to -the shop. - -One other pleasant duty was his: that of burning charcoal, as coal was -then undiscovered. He learned much of the trade of the woodman while -attending to the pits in the depth of the might New York Forests, as -well as having an opportunity to use his skates and gun a little. - -He acquired the cognoman of "Deek" among his associates, and when he -had worked for something over three years, he came to the conclusion -that was all he ever would acquire, along with harsh treatment; so -during one of the Deacon's visits to a distant parish, he gathered -together his few belongings and a lunch, between two days, shouldered -his home made gun and "hit the trail for the tall timber", that being -the route on which he was least apt to be discovered. He made his way -toward the Susquehannah river. First he reached the Tioga River, which -was a branch of the Susquehannah. He began reconnoitering for a means -of crossing or floating down the river and soon discovered a log canoe, -"dug-out" as it was called, frozen in the mud. He decided to confiscate -it as "contraband of war" and pried it up, launched it, and was soon -floating and paddling in it down toward the junction of the Tioga and -the Susquehannah. - -Shortly he felt his tired feet being submerged in cold water. Stooping -to investigate, he found that the log was leaky and rapidly filling -with water. He also found an old woolen firkin, a small barrel, that he -at once began making use of, bailing the water, alternately paddeling, -steering and bailing. He continued down the stream, keeping near the -shore as possible, in case the old dug-out should get the best of him. -The second day he heard "Hello, there, will you take a passenger?" from -a man on shore. "Yes, if you'll help bail, steer, and row." "Barkis is -willin", came the reply, so there were two in the log canoe. - -Then they made better time. Nearing the confluence of the rivers, they -saw a boat preparing to leave the dock for a trip up the Susquehannah, -a primitive stern wheel packet of those early days (1831). He and his -passenger applied themselves to their paddling, bailing and steering, -signalling the boat to wait; just as she started he drew near enough to -leap from the dug-out to her deck. - -A free boy! For now he was sure pursuit would not overtake him. His -passenger called "What shall I do with this canoe?" "Keep her or let -her float" shouted Cox. (If the owner of that dug-out will send in his -bill for damages, O.S. Cox's children will cheerfully settle.) As for -food on this trip with the canoe, game was plentiful and he was a good -shot. While on this boat, he must have worked his passage, for he had -no money. - -On board that boat with a Cargo of Southern Produce, he, for the first -time in his life, saw an orange. He remained on this little river -packet some distance up the river, then lended and found lucrative -employment at lumbering and logging, and sometimes at the blacksmith's -forge. Soon he had the good luck to find his two brothers, Walter and -Augustus, rafting logs down the river. He was an expert at this himself. - -Now he learned that his mother, and her younger children, Amos, -Harriet, Mary and Jonathan had gone to Ohio under the care of his -older brother, William U., via the great world famous Erie Canal; (at -that time the largest canal in the world.) So by slow degrees and -hard work he began to work his way toward Ohio. Usually he worked for -lumber companies. His two brothers did likewise. They literally walked -wall the way through the forests, the whole length of the state of -New York. Finally they were united as a family in Nelson, Portage Co. -Ohio, the former home of his future wife, Elvira, although she was -at that time an emigrant in Missouri. The eight Cox boys continued -their westward course; some of them reached California during the gold -stampede. Charles B. Cox was elected Senator from Santa Rosa Company -for a number of terms. William U. had put his property in a concern -called the Phalanx and was defrauded by the officers of every cent and -left in debt $3000.00, an enormous sum for those days. Orville's mother -Lucinda, and her family went to Missouri. Walter had receive the gospel -in Ohio previously. Orville heard terrible stories of the outlawry of -those "awful Mormons"; but he became personally acquainted with some -(Among them a Sylvester Hulet). He decided they were sinned against. -He lived in Jackson County for a time, and ever after Jackson County -Missouri was the goal of his ambition; He believed to his dying day -that he should one day return to that favored spot. - -Orville met and loved Elvira in Far West, but was not baptized. He said -he didn't propose to turn Mormon to procure a wife. When the Saints -were driven from Missouri, he located near Lima, Illinois, with a group -of Mormons and helped build the Morley settlement. - -Nearing his 24th birthday, he was a thorough frontiersman, forester, -lumberman, a splendid blacksmith, a natural born engineer; in short a -genius and an all around good fellow. He was six feet in his socks and -heavy proportionately. - -While here he won the heart of the orphan girl, Elvira P. Mills, who -was living with her uncle, Sylvester Hulet. But she hesitated about -marrying a gentile. October 3, 1839, however, she yielded, and they -were married in Father Elisha Whiting's home, at the Morley Settlement -by Elder Lyman Wight. - -The two newly weds, on October 6, 1839, drove into Nauvoo twenty miles -away, and Orville S. Cox was baptized by the Prophet Joseph Smith. He -went a gentile and returned a full-fledged Mormon, so short a time -it takes a woman to make a convert. He was a faithful L.D.S., full of -love and zeal. He was a member of the famous brass band of the Nauvoo -Legion. When the Prophet and his brother were killed, none mourned more -sincerely than he. He assisted those more helpless or destitute in the -migration from Nauvoo. His stacks of grain were burned at the Morley -settlement by the robbers, and they fled to the City of Nauvoo, he with -his wife and two children--the oldest child had died when an infant -as a result of its mother having chills and fever, and from exposure -resulting from mobbers' violence. - -He attended the meeting where Sidney Rigdon asked the Saints to -appoint him as guardian, and where Brigham Young claimed that the -Twelve Apostles were the ordained leaders; and many times thereafter -he testified that he saw Brigham Young changed to appear like -Joseph and heard his voice take on the Prophet's tone. And after -that manifestation he never doubted for a moment that the rightful -leadership of the Church was vested in the twelve, with Brigham Young -at their head. He remained in Nauvoo till almost the last departed. He -assisted Browning in transforming the old rusty steamer shafts into -cannons that were so effectually used by Daniel H. Wells at the Battle -of Nauvoo. - -Leaving Nauvoo with the last of the Mormon exiles, he crossed Iowa -and settled at Pisgah, where he served as counselor to Lorenzo Snow, -President at Mt. Pisgah. In his devoted attachment to Lorenzo Snow, -he was an enthusiast; also to Father Morley and he would follow their -leadership anywhere. Orville and Elvira had their two children, Almer -and Adelia. - -An incident that illustrated the pioneer life of 1845-6 is told in the -story of the "Last Match." In the winter of 1845-6 Orville S. Cox and -two Whiting boys, cousins of Elvira, went from Pisgah with ox teams and -wagons down into Missouri with a load of chairs to sell. Whitings had a -shop in which they manufactured chairs. Being successful in disposing -of their chairs, and securing loads of bacon and corn, they were almost -home when an Iowa blizzard, or hurricane, or cyclone, or all in one, -struck them. Clouds and Egyptian darkness settled suddenly around them. -They had not modern "tornado cellars" to flee into and no manner of -shelter of any kind. The cold was intense; the wind came from every -direction; they were all skilled backwoodsmen and knew they were very -close to their homes; but they also knew that they were hopelessly lost -in that swirling wind and those black clouds of snow. They and their -oxen were freezing, and their only hope of life was in making a fire -and camping where they were. Everything was wet and under the snow, -and an arctic wind in the fierceness of unclaimed violence was raging -around them. At first, they unyoked the oxen that they might find some -sort of shelter for themselves. Then with frost-bitten fingers they -sought in the darkness and storm for dry fuel. The best they found was -damp and poor enough--and now for a match. Only three in the crowd, and -no such matches as we have in these days either. Inside a large wooden -bucket in which they fed grain, they carefully laid their kindling. -Then turning another bucket over it to keep out of the falling snow, -and hugging close over to keep the wind off, they lifted the top -bucket a little and one of the Whiting boys struck a precious match. -It flickered, blazed a moment against the kindling and was puffed out -by a draft of wind. Another match was taken, and it died almost before -it flared. Only one match remained to save three men from certain -death. Their fingers were so numb they could not feel, and every minute -increased their numbness. "Let Orville Try; he is steadier than we", -they said. So Orville, keenly sensing his responsibility, took the tiny -splinter of wood and struck the spark; it caught, it blazed and the -fire lived and grew. - -Now they were in the woods and the fuel was plentiful and soon a -roaring blaze was swirling upward. The cattle came near, and although -their noses and feet were frozen, their feet grew new hoofs and -their noses healed of frosted cracks. When the storm broke and light -appeared, they found themselves only a few rocks from their home fences. - -For a good reason, Orville was not in the Battalion draft. The Whiting -boys, Sylvester Hulet, and Amos Cox were. But Orville was very busy -manufacturing wagons. It was told of him that he found a linch pin and -said, "I'll just make a wagon to fit that pin". He prepared as good -and serviceable an outfit as his limited means would allow for the -long dreary journey to the mountains. Two home made wagons, without -brakes--brakes were not needed on the eastern end of the journey--two -yoke of oxen, three yoke of cows, a box of chickens on the back of a -wagon, a wife and two children, with bedding and food, was the outfit -that started across the plains the last of June 1847, singing the song -"In the spring we'll take our journey. All to cross the grassy plains." -He travelled in the hundred of Charles C. Rich, known as the Artillery -Company. Cox was captain of one of the tens. Oh! the seemingly endless -level prairie! The monotony was terribly wearing. When Independence -Rock was sighted, and again when Chimney Rock was sighted, it was -wonderful relief. Great land marks they were, in that unsettled -country. Now they were sure they were approaching the Rocky Mountains, -especially the children longed for that goal. - -One evening at camping time, 4:00 P.M., a herd of buffalo were sighted -about two miles away. The people were very hungry for a piece of fresh -beef, so Father and one companion shouldered their guns, snatched -their percussion caps and powder horns, and started to "try a hunter's -luck." About sunset they got their steak, a generous load of the best -cuts from the Buffalo, and started for camp. On and on they went. What -they thought was a two mile stretch lengthened and lengthened, and -their loads of meat grew heavier and heavier. They began to think they -were lost; but the camp fires and stars told them they were going in -the right direction. Finally they decided to fire their guns. This -they did, and it filled the camp with alarm, least the hunters were in -danger. Two or three men rushed away in the darkness to give aid, and -they fired their guns to locate the hunters. Several shots brought them -together. "Help us with this grub pile", they said. Help was given. -They reached the camp at 11:00 o'clock. It must have been six miles or -perhaps ten to the herd of buffalo. They were now in the clear air of -the up-lands and could see much farther than they had been able to see -in the Mississippi valley. - -The next morning all in the camp had a feast of fresh meat. - -After leaving the Platte River, while travelling along the sweet Water -River, the company met General Kearney and his company of Battalion -scouts with their illustrious prisoner, the great path-finder Freemont. - -(When California was freed from Mexican rule, Freemont and his little -band, who had helped to free it, were greatly rejoiced; and in their -enthusiasm his followers proclaimed Freemont governor. General Kearney -arrived and expected to be governor by right of his generalship. He was -very angry and had Freemont arrested and sent to Washington.) - -With Freemont's guards were Sylvester Hulet, Elvira's Uncle, and Amos -Cox. They had traveled many weary months in an unknown, lonely country; -and C.C. Riche's company were also travel weary. To thus meet relatives -so unexpectedly was a joy unspeakable to both parties. - -Now the battalion men heard from their families left in Iowa, for the -first time in more than a year. And tears of joy and sorrow were freely -mingled. A daughter of Amos had died. Sylvester's wife had gone to -New York where the Whitmer's and her father and brothers lived; so he -decided to return to the Rocky Mountains with the pioneers, and Kearney -gave him his discharge. Amos Cox continued with the prisoner to Fort -Leavenworth, where he received his honorable discharge, and then went -to his weary waiting family in Iowa. - -The pioneering company continued on westward. At Green River, near -Bridger's Station, they met pioneers who had reached Great Salt Lake -Valley and made a start toward a new home; and were now returning to -the camps in Iowa, with more definite knowledge and instructions to -impart to those who were to come to the mountains next year. They told -Rich's company many things regarding the way that lay before them, and -it was a great relief to know that they were nearing their destination. - -From now on the mountains were on every side; frowning cliffs looked -ready to fall on and crush the poor foot-sore travelers; for people -raised on the plains are apt to have a shuddering of such sights. C.C. -Riche's artillery company rolled into the valley of the great Salt -Lake. They were only two or three days behind Jedediah M. Grant's -company of one hundred wagons. - -Being expert in handling lumber, Cox was immediately sent into the -canyon for logs. Houses must now be built. Among other timbers, he -brought down a magnificent specimen of a pine for a "Liberty Pole", -which he assisted in raising on Pioneer Square. It was the first pole -to carry the stars and stripes in the city. One had been raised on -Ensign Peak before. They wintered in Salt Lake Valley. There another -son, Orville M., was born November 29, 1847. - -Very early in the spring of 1848 father moved from the Adobe Fort with -his wife and three children, and began farming in Sessionsville, Now -Bountiful; He was the first bishop of the ward. There they had the -famous experience with the crickets. He devised the broad paddles, as -well as the oft mentioned methods, to try to exterminate them; and then -came the Gulls. He raised a crop in '48 and '49 there; also he dug the -first well in Bountiful, and struck water so suddenly as to be drowned -by it before he could be hauled up. In the fall of '49 he was called to -go with "Father" Morley's company to colonize the valley of Sanpitch. - -He arrived at the future site of Manti November 19, 1849. The journey -from Salt Lake City to the Sanpete Valley occupied one month, breaking -new roads, fixing fords, and building dug-ways. The forty families -worked industriously, sometimes only movin' forward two or three miles. -One six mile stretch in Salt Creek Canyon occupied them a whole week. -The only settlement between Salt Lake and Manti was Provo, consisting -of a little fort of green cottonwood logs. - -After getting through Salt Creek Canyon in two weeks, they worked to -their upmost strength for it began snowing on them there; and it was -far from being a desirable winter's home. That winter was one of the -hardest with the heaviest snow fall for many succeeding years. Arriving -at their destination, camp was made by the Morley's company on the -south side of Temple Hill which was a sheltered spot. Now they must do -their upmost in canyons, raising log cabins, sowing lumber on the saw -pit, which was the most primitive of saw mills. - -Orville was an expert at hewing and squaring the logs with his ax, and -making everything as comfortable as possible in their home. All winter -long they had to help the cattle find feed by shovelling snow in the -meadows, as the snow lay four feet deep. It was May before the snow was -gone so that the men could begin to clear the ground and begin their -farming. Then there came irrigating ditches to dig and the usual labor -of clearing, plowing, and planting. - -Between their individual duties, they found time to build log school, -and a bowery, and then a meeting house. They felt that it was quite -commodious. Here in the long evenings of the winter of 1850-51 Cox -taught a singing and dancing school. Sarah Potty was the first school -of Ma'am. In the winter of 1850-51, school was taught by Jesse W. Fox. -In 1850 he was elected Alderman. - -O.S. Cox married Mary Allen about 1854; he served many years as the -first counselor to Bishop Lowry; and he was captain of the Militia. He -was very energetic in the performance of his duties, especially through -the protracted period of the Walker war. He married Eliza Losee about -1857-59. He served under Major Higgins, and old Battalion veteran. - -To be sure, nobody appreciated more than he did a liberty pole, and all -that it typified, so he was commissioned to find one at the earliest -convenient moment for Manti; this he did in 1850. Ten years he labored -faithfully for the upbuilding of Manti, and then like Boon and -Crockett, "he wanted more elbow room" and moved to Fairview, Sanpete -County. He also moved part of his family to Gunnison (Hog Wallow, it -was called then) and raised two crops there. In February 1864, he moved -part of his family to Glenwood, built a cabin there and raised a crop. -He sold out and moved elsewhere to engineer ditches. He engineered over -forty ditches in Utah and Nevada, as near as his children can remember -in 1910, as well as doing all other kinds of pioneer work. - -In 1865 he was advised by Lorenzo Snow to move to the Muddy, a branch -of the Rio Virgin, a stream running through Moappa Valley, to assist in -surveying and making irrigation ditches there. The soil was very rich, -but there was so much quick sand that it made it almost impossible to -build a dam that hold or to irrigate without washing away the soil. -So he went south into southeastern Nevada. He thought that was the -route the saints would travel going back to Jackson County, so he was -that much nearer the final home. He labored here for six years, and -engineered a number of dams that would hold against the floods and -treachery of quicksand. They had only poor home made plows and a few -other tools to work with, and no cement or modern building material. He -also built cabins and cleared and tilled the land there. In clearing -the land, the "Mesquite" brush root was the hardest digging they -encountered. St. Thomas, St. Joseph and Overton, the 3 towns in the -valley were partly of his building. The first trip, he took with him -his third wife, Eliza, and her one child, a little two year old girl; -and Walter, a 14 year old son of the first wife, Elvira. The following -year, after crops were in and the spring work done, he returned to -Fairview after another section of his family--Mary, the second wife, -and her five children. From that time on O.S. Cox's life is a volume of -tragedy and hardship. The life in the burning desert is always more or -less unpleasant, and pioneering is excessively hard. And he was past -fifty years old. - -During his absence, Eliza's little girl Lucinda, took her little pail -to the creek to get some water; the quicksand caused her to slip and -she was drowned. They took her out not very far from down the stream, -but could not resuscitate her. The poor mother, among strangers and -homesick, was unconsolable in her sorrow. Walter, seeing his little -pet companion stricken in all her robust beauty and health, was wild -with grief, and could not be comforted. After a time the neighbors -concluded that Walter would die if some change did not come to get -him to sleep and eat. They told Eliza of their fears for him, and so -the disconsolate mother tried to hide her own grief and comfort him. -It is said it was the saddest thing the woman there ever saw, to see -the brave mother and the boy trying to comfort each other in their -loneliness. Fifty years later, it was a nightmare to Walt. - -Almer, Laun and Walt all went to the Muddy in 1867, the year Mary was -moved. In 1868 Philmon, fifth son of Elvira, a very promising lad of -thirteen, died of appendicitis, at that time called inflammation of the -bowels. Then Mary lost a little daughter, Lucy for whom she grieved -many years. - -Financially the prospects were more promising than ever before. They -had planted a large orchard, and a vineyard that was just coming into -bearing. Then a new line was run between the states of Utah and Nevada, -which gave this section to Nevada, and Nevada demanded back taxes; -and they amounted to more than their farms and houses were worth. So -Brigham Young said, "Come home to Utah." They came. - -Elvira, with Orville a grown son, Walter 17, Tryphena, Amasa and -Euphrasia, returned to the old home in Fairview, leaving all of their -beautiful peach orchards and vineyards, fields of cotton, cane, wheat -and the comfortable houses in the most fertile of lands, which they had -subdued and made to "Blossom as the Rose" by seven long years of toil -and privation. They rendered absolute obedience to their great leader; -and so they hitched up their teams, took their most choice belongings, -and wended their way back to Utah, leaving their settlement and farms -to pay Nevada the back taxes it had demanded. - -One company which had thoroughly learned the trick of building a dam -in quick sand of the desert, stopped at an abandoned settlement in -Long Valley, Kane County. O.S. Cox and sons began the engineering of -irrigation canals and dams, and so on, as they had cleaned and repaired -the deserted cabins, so that they offered partial shelter from the -February storms. The people named this town Mt. Carmel. - -When the former settlers learned that they had builded dams that would -stand, they came back and said, "Get Out, this is ours," So the weary -pioneers moved again, this time only a few miles farther up the valley -into a pleasant narrow cove, and went to work to build more dams, more -ditches and more cabins. In one place the water had to be carried -across a gulley, and it gave more trouble than all the rest of the -canal. After a while Cox, without comment or consultation, went into -the timber and found a very large log and felled it, made of it a huge -trough, placed it across the gully and it reached far enough to secure -a solid bed above the quicksand. Thirty years later, this "Cox Trough" -was still doing successful service as a flume. - -In 1875, when Brigham strongly taught the principle of Cooperation, -this company of saints were organized by unanimous consent into the -united order of Enoch, and named their town Orderville. Their little -property, mostly cattle, horses and wagons, were owned jointly. Twelve -years father labored joyously and unselfishly in the "Order". The town -grew and thrived; the arts, schools and trades were remarkably well -represented by the young. Prosperity and a measure of plenty was there, -in spite of the fact that there were more infirm people in that ward -than any ward in the church. - -Then dissatisfaction and disunion came, and the "Order" broke up. -There was not a great deal of property to divide, although some people -came out with more property with others, according to the amount they -consecrated in. Mary and Eliza, father's second and third wives, each -received a team and wagon. Mary and her family located in Huntington, -Emery County, Eliza and her family in Tropic, Garfield County. Father -well along in years, and broken in health, could do little more than -advise his sons. Eliza was dying of cancer. In 1886 Orville S. Cox came -to Fairview to the best-provided for branch of his family. One year he -remained an invalid, and on July 4, 1888 he laid his exhausted body -down to rest. The passing was quiet and peaceful. His two wives Elvira -and Mary and many of his descendants were with him at the last. - -The following are some of the thriving towns O.S. Cox assisted in -founding: Lima, Ill.; Pisgah, Iowa; Salt Lake City, Bountiful, Manti, -Gunnuson, Fairview, Glenwood of Utah; St. Thomas, St. Joseph, Overton -of Nevada; Mt. Carmel, Orderville and Tropic of Utah. - -If man ever earned his salvation, surely O.S. Cox did. Always found -in the van where the hardest work was to be done, and if he advanced -the cause one iota, no matter at what loss, or cost to himself, he -considered he had been eminently successful. Never was there a murmur -from him. - -To illustrate the ingenuity of O.S. Cox's ditch making, here is the -story of the Pig Plow as told by an old settler of Fairview, Pappas -Brady. - -"When the ditch was first laid out that was afterwards called "City -Ditch", every man and boy was called on to come and work on it every -day til it would carry water. This was in the spring, and it had to -be finished before the fields were ready to be plowed and planted. -The men turned out well with teams and plows, picks and crow bars and -shovels. There was a rocky point at the head of the ditch to be ut -through, and it was hard pan, about like cement. Couldn't be touched by -plow, no siree; now more than nothing. We was just prying the gravel -loose with picks and crowbars, and looked like it would take us weeks -to do six rods. Yes, six weeks. Cox looked at us working and sweating, -and never offered to lift a finger. No sir, never done a tap; just -looked and then without saying a word, he turned around and walked off. -Yes, sir, walked off! Well of all the mad bunch of men you ever saw -I guess he was about the maddest. Of course, we didn't swear; we was -Mormons and the Bishop was there, but we watched him go and one of the -men says, "Well, I didn't think Cox was that kind of a feller." His -going discouraged the rest of us, just took the heart out of us. But -of course we plugged away pretendin' to work the rest of the day, and -dragged back the next morning." - -"We weren't near all there when here came Cox. I don't just remember -whether it was four yoke of oxen or six or eight, for I was just a boy, -but it was a long string and they was every one of a good pulling ox. -And they was hitched on to a plow a plumb new kind, yes sir, a new kind -of plow. It was a great big pitch pine log, about fourteen feet long, -and may have been eighteen, with a limb stickin' down like as if my arm -and hand was the log and my thumb the limb; he had bored a hole through -the log, and put a crow bar down in front of the knob; and cross ways -along the log back of the limb he bored holes and put stout oak sticks -through spikes. They were the plow handles; and he had eight man got -ahold of them handles find hold the plow level and he loaded a bunch of -men along on that log, and then he spoke to his oxen." - -"Great Scott, ye oter seen the gravel fly, and ye oter heard us fellers -laugh and holler! Well, sir, he plowed up and down that ditch line four -or five times and that ditch was made, practically made. All that the -rest of us had to do was to shovel out the loose stuff; he done more in -half a day than all the rest of us could a done in six weeks." - -"Why didn't he tell his plans the first thing, so we wouldn't be so -discouraged, and hate him so? Why, cause he knew it wouldn't do a might -of good to talk. He wasn't the Bishop; and even if he had been, plans -like that would sure be hooted at by half the fellers. No, siree! His -way was the best when a bunch of men and a thing a workin' they see -believe; yes, sir, seein' is believin." - - The Pioneer Mother - - Upon a jolting wagon sent she rode - Across the trackless prairie to the west, - Or trudged behind the oxen with a goad, - A sleeping child clasped tightly to her breast, - Frail flesh rebelling, but spirit never-- - What tales the dark could tell of woman's tears!!-- - Her bravery incentive to endeavor; - Her laughter spurring strong men past their fears. - - O to her valor and her comeliness - A commonwealth today owes its white domes - Of State, its fields, its highways, and its homes-- - Its cities wrested from the wilderness. - Its bones in memory above the hand - That gentled, woman-wise, a savage land. - - --Ethol Romig Fuller - - - -Transcriber's Note - -The original pamphlet contains many images that were omitted in this -electronic version. Scans of the original work can be found at -https://archive.org/details/biographicalsket00sidw. 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