BIOGRAPHIES - LORIN FARR PART 11

In May of 1843 Fremont with a company of thirty nine men left Kansas City on his second exploring expedition and was met in Pueblo, Colorado by the famous scout and buffalo hunter, Kit Carson. From Pueblo Fremont's party made a half circle into Utah from the north. They entered the present confines of Utah via the Bear River following its course until it spread out into the sloughs of north of the Great Salt Lake. They veered to the southeast to the base of the Wasatch Mountains following this range southward to Weber County entering this region on September 5 th via Utah Hot springs. They followed an old trapper's trail until they arrived at the Weber River which was probably at the fur trader's camp site which would become Ogden City. Fremont recorded:

"At this place the trail we had been following turned to the left, apparently with a view of entering a gorge in the mountains, from which issued the principal fork of a large and comparatively well-timbered stream, called Weber's Fork. We accordingly turned off toward the lake, and encamped on this river, which was 100 to 150 feet wide with high banks, and very clear pure water, without the slightest indication of salt." The next morning the explorers climbed to the top of an elevated hill from whence they felt the thrill of seeing the grandeur of Utah's 'Dead Sea.' Fremont continued: "Immediately at our feet we beheld the object of our anxious search - the water of the Inland Sea, stretching in still and solitary grandeur far beyond the limit of our vision . . . Several large islands raised their high rocky heads out of the waves; but whether or not they were timbered, was still left to our imagination . . . during the day the clouds had been gathering black over the mountains to the westward, and, while we were looking, a storm burst down with sudden fury upon the lake, and entirely hid the islands from our view."

John C. Fremont, Kit Carson and the remainder of the explorers pushed off in a small craft to further examine the Great Salt Lake. They went to one island finding it bare of vegetation or life and due to the insecurity of their frail linen boat turned back towards the mainland. Fremont recorded his observations during the week they had explored Weber County. Copies of his report were secured by the Mormon leaders to help them settle Utah. Other explorers including Lansford Hastings, Bryant-Russell party and Harlan Young party would explore the region and discover new routes and information helpful to the Mormon pioneers.

Miles Goodyear was the first white man to build a permanent home in Weber County as well as in Utah. He was born in 1817 in Hamden, Conn. When Miles was but two years old his father died and in less than a year and a half his mother died leaving him and his five siblings as orphans. It was the custom in those days to 'bind out' such children for a period of years to any family who would assume responsibility for their care and upkeep. The children had to work hard at whatever job they were assigned. When Miles was ten years old he was bound to a farmer, Squire Peck, for six years. Miles, like other bound children, was looked down on by others and suffered much physically and mentally from the abuse often heaped upon him. In his servitude Miles had a strong desire for freedom and was possessed of an adventurous spirit. He no doubt had heard tales of the western trappers and explorers Bridger, Ashley, Smith, the Sublette Brothers, Fitzpatrick and others through newspaper accounts. His imagination was fired and he looked towards his release at age 16. In 1833 on his sixteenth birthday he left Squire Peck and got a job brick-making in New Haven with hopes of earning enough money to head west. He later visited his sister in Smithtown and waited out the winter to make a spring start for the Rockies. He had to stop every so often to earn money to go on with his travels. It took him a full year to reach Detroit. He secured more work and then traveled on arriving near Fort Leavenworth on April 28, 1837. This was one of the outfitting posts for the Rocky Mountain Trappers and the prairie schooners of the Santa Fe Trade.

Good luck smiled on Miles Goodyear as he came into contact with a group of missionaries headed for Oregon. The small party consisted of Dr. Marcus M. Whitaman, Henry H. Spalding and William Gray. Mr. Gray in his history of Oregon described the nineteen year old traveler as having an old torn straw hat, ragged fustian coat, scarcely half a shirt, badly worn buckskin pants, a rifle with no ammunition. The party agreed to outfit him better if he would work for them while they traveled together. Miles remained with this party until they reached Fort Hall on the Snake River. Now that he had received good meals, new shirt and shoes, a horn full of powder and a horse, he was ready to experience the dreams of his youth. The group ran into a fur company party of 70 trappers who helped protect them through several hundred miles of Indian territory. The lead trapper was Major Moses 'Black' Harris. Each evening after the meal Miles thrilled at the hair raising anecdotes of dangerous experiences, narrow escapes and the discovery of beautiful virgin country.

During 1836-1839 Miles Goodyear became a success in his own right trapping and hunting. He had accumulated a considerable amount of property in horses, furs, goods and built a reputation of dependability. He met nearly every famous trapper, explorer and mountaineer in the Rocky Mountain Region. On a number of trips he visited Weber and went as far south as the Sevier River where Payson, Utah now stands. He traded many times with the Indians and ended up marrying a Ute Indian, Pomona. She was a daughter of Chief Pe-teet-neet. Pomona traveled with Goodyear wherever he went, pitched his tent and cooked his meals. Because of his marriage to an Indian he enhanced his prosperity and was provided greater safety in his travels among the Indians. Sometimes he lived among the native tribes for months before he disposed of all his goods. Then he would return to Fort Hall for more supplies. In a letter to his brother, Andrew, he talks briefly of his adventures and work and then waxed poetic with this poem:

My home's amid the mountains wild,

The land I fancied as a child,

To climb the cliff or tread the vale,

Where care nor trouble ne'er prevail,

To hunt the roe, the stag, the deer,

Or breathe the mountain air so clear,

Or chase the buffalo o'er the plain,

For here I am and here remain.

While Goodyear was traveling from place to place he frequently passed the shores of the Great Salt Lake. On the Weber River where it emerges from the canyon to pass on to the lake Miles Goodyear found a very pleasant valley that seemed to meet all his requirements of a home. There he settled building cabins and a fort. This was located where Ogden City now stands.

From an economic point of view this was an excellent choice as there were deer, elk, mountain sheep, trout, grouse, water fowl and other game in abundance. Hundreds of Indians wintered in the valley with whom he could trade. Fort Hall was not far away so he could easily obtain additional supplies as needed. Goodyear named his establishment, 'Fort Buenaventura,' which means good venture. From various accounts it seemed that he built his fort in 1845. After a trip to Yellowstone he found that two or three groups of emigrants had cut a trail not six miles from his door using the Hastings Cutoff. It was not his plan to live where others would disturb his peace. After a successful trip to California Goodyear and his men came back to Utah up to the Bear River where Evanston, Wyoming is now and camped. While there Miles saw a stranger, a white man guiding his horse down the banks of the river. He carried a rifle, guided his horse with his knees like an Indian, his hair long like a mountaineer, wearing buckskin pants and moccasins.

As the stranger approached he waved his hand in greeting. Miles invited him to the fire noticing a pair of new Colt six-shooters and a Green River knife. He approached without verbal greeting, his eyes taking in everything he could of the camp with quick, darting eyes.

'Where ' from, an' where y' going? Miles asked - the usual mountain greeting. "Well,' began the stranger deliberately, ' my name's Porter Rockwell, and I'm scoutin' for a train o' wagons. We're camped just up yonder by the sulphur spring. Saw your smoke and thought I'd mosey down this way and see if they was any Injuns about."

"Emigrants?" queried Miles. "More emigrants comin over this trail? Hell's bells, stranger, best thing you can do is to turn tail and hit back for Bridger. You're way off your route."

Just then three more men rode up. One, who was tall and thin, seemed to be spokesman. They introduced themselves as George Albert Smith, Erastus Snow and Norton Jacobs. Smith, a cousin to Joseph Smith, would later serve as a counselor to Brigham Young. Snow was a cousin of Lorin Farr and would make fame as an orator and apostle. They didn't have the rough appearance of the scout and seemed to be men of some property. They were wearing the same sort of flat felt hat. After telling the men about his trapping and back-ground Miles told the men of his home in the valley and his garden, cattle, goats and horses. The men told Miles they were Mormons driven from Illinois and were planning to settle locally. After seeing that his home could be surrounded by this people, Miles quickly thought of the profit he could make by selling them his land on the Weber and then seeking other more isolated parts for his life. He commented, 'If you're lookin' for a place to settle and farm there ain't a better place in the whole country than right where I'm located. The soil's rich, there's plenty of water and timber and grass, and the winters are always mild....Yes sir. Weber River is just the place for you.

Smith, Snow and Jacobs returned to their camp while Porter spent the night with Miles listening to his tales of the experiences he'd had. Porter was particularly interested in the trails in the area. Miles gave the rugged Mormon scout the names of all the mountains, streams, and landmarks in that whole section that he had learned over the years. In the morning Porter and Miles started towards the Weber. Turning right and going down the Weber Canyon the men found the going very difficult and finally Porter told Goodyear that it was no use going any further as Brigham would never lead his party down this trail. After reporting back to the main camp Brigham Young gave the order to go over the left hand road - the one taken by the Donner Party in 1846. Thus it was that Salt Lake City, instead of Ogden, became Utah's capital.