Document text
Simpson, pro. F..T.F.
AUG 1',1936
CLAIN= SliIMHALL.
CLATBORN BMILIHALL was born in Idahotia I866,and with his mother, came to
Fruitana, New maxima, in The spring of 1876,in a large covered wagon, drawn by
four horses, alai naving aboard a thousand pounds of flour and enough provisions
to LAst they for several months. Though a lad of only ten years, nreNrimball
remembers this journey distinctly, as he is., to -day a well preserved man ,being
very fit both mentally and physioally,and of mash a kindly disposition he lives
in a world of friends. He sap they traveled from the small town of Oxford,
Idaho, down the Utah Valley to Sauna, up the Salina Canyon to whet is noe price
city, and ther,J turned south and east,orossed Green River, came to 46000000,11001,
Utahorossed Grand Elver and travelled to nonteeello, Utah, then to San Juan river
whieh they forded and found themselvAl in the tiny settlement of Fruitland, P.m.,
They had seen no white people on the way except in settlements, but the
time
radians were friendly to then,fortunatelys "t this/there was no touw of Farmington,
theusand
NO town at eurango,Colorado, *hien is to -day our nearest town of five or six/inhabitants,
And Fruitland consisted of a long low ell shaped building ,made of adobe and of
poles which stood up -right in a treneh, whieh formed the walla of many a pioneer
house, and one or two log -houses, one of whish is still standinagrbeloneed to
pr. Alter Stevens. Nero they found an abundanoe SIL of tall grass.
The grass and the timber extended to the rivers egde on bath sides, in great
contrast to the (=ditto= to -day, for to -a y there is no grass or timber near
the river, no ,nor ever a sign that there ever i.e any at the rivers edge, the
result of years of over -grazing ehiok the U.S.Government is now trying sohard to
over come, and to Wyig 00i0x/ nJetore to this district its origional verdure.
kr. Nriehall remembers many ponds and "riffles" in the neighborhood,nons of
which remain to-d,y.
In the spring of'7980 a mumber of nJwfamliel00,¢ arrived
in Fruitland, they built an irrigating ditch; they soon had a thriving settlement
Therewas not an arroya to be seen. Now there are hundreds.
and raised good crops.
Simpson, Nrs.E.T.F.
700
Olaybora Brimhall. (4)
iator he wentovith his mother, to the southern part oiU st-to, and at twenty
years of age 'he merried gvangaline and returned to Fruitlend to
live permeriautly. #e was always e lover of Fruitland. The years spent
here in thet early day brought him in °constant eontaot with tha Navajo Indians
MOW of *ham become his frieutio. Betweee him elle the well known Nevejo Indian,
"00§0ona" there was a reel bead auti the tio was waver bvoken. 110 eays,"Costie was
emert." aa.----"ut wes omelet. no listened to you,ead you °mild reason with himetphough
Oostiaaa was short ead stout, be was outstanding and always commanded your admiretion,
and. whether hie 41ood wag' ugly or vindly,hd menaged to handle the situetion adroitly.
ona ocoaolea r.Brimh4lls skillibl h:4ndiing of 4 dent:late situation
prevented troublo in Fruitland. This uecurred one °old wiater night, when 008tilalaa
4124 W44 4 priIeledge eh.Araoter,had disoovorea au open barrel A.th wine in it. The
witio was froaeataseept the -wevy eonteroto whiah Uostiuna helped hinself,freelyeand,
shortly, the affeets of it otowed on Coatiena„ freely,. WAlle he vs still able
to navocao,he lendered into 4 claw, whioh tIL.4 in progress in Fruitland. His unsteady
step w4or very ovidett,so sore ci the Lien tautly requested elm to leave the hall,as
many of the women were cettiug so nervous that they began leaving *mostly through the
windows,. Cd sot t's. ho refusedand when the request wooi repeated,he any his ever
ready knife frum hi o belttaae told them if they lot Mn alone,he would do the same,
but if not he would kill them. At this they thought it best to call a halt, while
a couple of men slipped in the door behind him to get near enough to hold down his
arms whilo the otlee mon diseemed him. But Olaybora erimhallethen a deputy sheriff,
stepped up in fowl of Costiana,motiono to the on to go baoklead persuedeu eostiaua to
leave Atiotly, saying to Oostiaaa that hm,Briehill"wasa Washington man". Upon being
0011,714003 that rinhll Teally las a "Washingten men" and had authority,he was willing
to yeild to it. Costiana was one of the wiry few Indians who eeemed to be
able to creep the lasa of the authority of the law and then submit willingly.
The radians were oonstaatly breaking the leas of the mtite zan,aud one
day the sheriff *aught
HimpsonAre.7.
3 700
Olayborn Brimhall(3)
Oostiana in a small Gatti(' theft or about to make one. The sheriff "had the drop"
an himond told him what to do or he would shoot him, and immitiama it&rtt,ameng
other things he was mane to areal on thk; ground. Oostiana did iteas usual
recognising the authority of the law. However,he had another not-soagood.trait,he
umig."Ipt even",and not so long after that, hegot-the-drop" anthe 'hurl:found
in great glee,he made the sheriff areal on the ground.How6ever,he and the sheriff
were good friends to the very last,tor at Oostiana's death the sume sheriff,himself,
took a coffin down to the reservation elm in which Ooetiana was Laid,and is today
taking his lastolong sleep.
"Oostiana" spoke four languagssAnghislOpanish pavaje
ur Brimhall well rembers the time that a company of soldiers
and Apache.
woes stationed at druitlamd in
The tvuble all started *hen in building a house for a man named
Welch one of the laborers got into an argument with an Indian and the Indians arm was
broken and it the trouble whish oecurred after )there waitemeihUbOhan shot. Very shortly
after this a small Indian boy of some twelve of fourteen years 'eft his hogan and
went to Fruitland. He *without saying anything to his family, remained there for
two or three days, and the word was passed around among the Indiana that the boy
had been killed by the whites in retalliation for the death of the man who ku4d been shot.
But the 1,0y roturutd to his hogan,unhurt, later.
The residents of Truitlumd were surrounded by over a thotband Indians in a day
or so and the Troops were ealled out to protect them. They Pumped there for something
like a month,
l'hen it was thought best to call out the troops, a message was
sent to the telegraph Pities in Darango *Colored', fifty milet away, which was to
be wired to Fort Dsfian4s ;these men, 3i1a5 Hinaker and. Bupe MauPth were driving
d of elmkievii6telemaimeoi, arafgaf ruPs" "o Dil6 groups
a tea m of homes an o ravel tigence.
growing larger all the time, till it was estimated there were more that a thousand In
After they left, tadiani Us
Indians surrounding the settlements this was alarming, to say the least* and at a meet
of some of the men it was thought to sent a man an horse-14ot &Gross country by
a shorter route vould a bettor plantand qui-akar. Butotho to send? It was
Simpson, Mrs. B.T.F.
Clayborn Brimhall. (4)
The the was one o'clock in the morning, and but few men were inclined to
leave at that houroi the night on suah an orrand,aud to face a band Indians who
were all worked up and ready to fight at any moment. But tnay deoidea to ask
Clayborn Brimhall to do it, a.d offerod aim ,,60.00 if he reacned Durango in five hours.
Clayborn accepted the offer. Fe drank a cup of coffee whiel his brother -ill -law
saddled his horse and was off. He made the trip within the prescribed time, bringing
back "his time iron the telegraph operator, and the troops were arrived at Fruitland
before any outbreak occurred.
The Indian who shot the it -named Naloh was called "The Fat man", was it
f. trial and sentenced to the pennitea for twenty years, and sent to Santa Fe to
serve out the term. But he Broke out and escaped from the pen
They put Blood -hounds on his traok. They found him in a tree where he had fortifiea
hinaelf with stones,and he beat tne hounds donw with stones and escaped and was
never re-captured,and is living to -day not far from Shiprook.Sut he is not now
known by the name of' Fat
mr. zrimnall is a public spirited man and one who stands very high
in his comunity. Fe is liberal and progressiveand is such a man as benefits a
community by his enterprise And pluck.
Source of in,fornatim
personal interviews with Mr. Clayborn Brimhall