Transcript for Juanita Brooks' Correspondence, 1936-1959
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Sept 3 1940
Salt Lake City - Utah
Mr. William Brooks
St. George, Utah Dear Brother: I hope this yellow paper does not bother you but I haven’t any other in the house just now.
I received your letter sometime ago also the blank quit claim deed and your check (payment for my share of the Brooks estate). Thanks kindly. You know we are building and as yet haven’t taken time to see a notary public to get it properly notarized but will do so in the near future.
We are all well and hope this finds you the same. Hope you had a pleasant time at the Branch Reunion. Was sorry we were unable to attend.
We will be glad when you can come and see our new addition. I half expected you or some of your clerks might be up to the Post Office Clerks State Convention There were several “Rig Shots” here who had a lot of “hot stuff” for us about Post Office work and some politics. Mother and I attended the banquet at the new house which was all very swell.
Sunday I and the children with Sammie went and saw the show “Brigham Young.” I sure make a Latter Day Saints appreciate more fully his membership in the church.
There is a young man Mr. Morris who just recently returned from Brazil where he has been on a mission. Of course he knew Grant and speaks very highly of him.
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Mr. Morris had taken the Civil Service Examination for Post Office clerks before leaving for his mission and went right into the Service as soon as he returned.
It has been very dry here all summer. No rain practically speaking for almost four months. Yesterday we had a quiet shower for about 10 minutes which cooled things off.
The children are preparing for school. This year will be Sammies first year. He can hardly wait. Sammie just now said to tell you he wants you to come and see us.
Winnifred just read from the paper that a part of Uncle Sam Air Squadron will be at the airport to-day for public [illegible].
Here is the copy of a letter I wrote Dad when I was in France. Juanita said she would like to have it for her story of Dad. T’was clipped from the local paper under the captain “Didn’t have the chance to Fire a Shot”
France Nov. 24, 1918
Mr. George Brooks
St. George, Utah
Dear Dad. Today is the day set apart by the War Department for the soldiers in France to write Dad’s Christmas letter. Tis night and I’ve been on duty to-day and haven’t had time to write before so am writing now.
On June 30th we left Camp Lewis for Camp Mills Long Island. In some previous letter I’ve spoken of my transcontinental trip so will omit that part now. After being fitted and with overseas equipment we set sail on Sunday July 14.
Our convoy consisted of 13 large transports each
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carrying about 3000 men. For about 48 hours out from America we were accompaned with several submarines have seen to gether with various aircraft. After several days from land these returned to America and we took a rather zigzag course to Liverpool England.
All went well save that quite a number of us were very sea sick for the first few days out. We sailed for 12 days and on the 24 of July were met by another small convoy of torpedo destroyers of submarine chasers.
Tis needless to even attempt to express the joy at setting foot on real soil even tho it was foreign.
After we were chased down the gang plank and lined up we marched thru the city to the railroad station. We were not in Liverpool long but soon pulled out for South hampton which is in the extreme southern end of Great Britain. Our rail course led thru the notorious city of Derby where we stopped [illegible] and had a cup of coffee which was furnished by the Red Cross women.
We arrived at Southhampton at midnight, unloaded and marched about three miles to a rest camp where we stayed until 7 o clock that evening. In the evening we left Portsmouth harbor arriving at Havre, France early in the morning.
To tell you just how I felt when I landed in France posing as an American soldier, would take too much time. However, I’ll say I felt a certain sensation of responsibility and perhaps a little fear. Well Dad, we stayed here about 36 hours and had a fairly good rest. At that time section of the country was being shelled but as luck would have it we never saw or heard any. In the evening of the second day we left there on the small French train for the central part of France, in the vicinity of Clermont Ferrand, just 30 days from the day we left Camp Lewis.
For about three months our battery was billeted in the little town of Cournow, about 10 kilometers from Clermont. He stopped here for the purpose of receiving our trucks, tractors, motorcycles caterpillars and large 6 inch guns and other material to take up on the front
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to destroys Huns with.
Not only did we get supplied with equipment but most of us were sent to Clermont for the purpose of studying motors such as we were to use. Still others were sent to camouflage schools and gas schools.
After receiving our heavy equipment we prepared to leave for the front. I wish you could see the large guns we have to gather with other machinery. The guns are French made and weigh about 13 tons, but you bet we got the little Holt caterpillar which takes it away place.
On Sunday 24th of [illegible] together with its “fighting iron” and other material left Clermont for the Verdum sector on the western front.
From the railroad we pulled our outfit about 10 kilometers up into what is known as Brocourt Woods, about 15 kilometers from Verdum and about the same distance from the great battle ground Argonne Woods. We are still here; but on the eleventh we had everything ready to dash for the front and take up a battery position some where in the sector probably towards Verdum or Metz. I don’t know whether whether this was good luck, good management ro whether the presence of the 348th F.A. scared hell out of the Germans or not, but any way we did not get into the real action. In short I will say that within 48 hours Battery C would probably have been throwing 155 mm. shells at the basche enemy. However we did not move onto the but stayed here for further orders.
Well, folks at home perhaps you can thank your lucky stars things went the way they did. As I said I am still here in the French forest of Brocourt which is of beech nut trees largely.
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Well Pa did you ever hear of a solider going up on a front line for a pleasure trip. Well, this was the case for the regiment vested the Argonne woods and saw the brown Prunes’ dugout. To view the rim which has been wrongly by the demon of war causes one to almost weep. Last Sunday quite a number of us boys visited the city of Verdun. Altho it is the third strongest fortified city in Europe it has not been able to withstand the terrific German bombardment. I will not reiterate modern French history as no doubt you are already familiar with paper reports of how this city has been under constant fire for four years. Almost all the walls of the city were tumbled down with but few if any of the civilian population there.
Well; tis Sunday and the latest report is that we are to leave here Tuesday, I don’t know where we’ll go from here but some think America, while others say Germany, where we will watch on the Rhine.
As for me I’d like to see Germany as this will probably be my last trip to Europe and I want to see all I can. Moroni Cottam, George Leary and I sleep in the same shack. This is a sketch of it. I always was fond of drawing pretty pictures.
Well Pa, ‘tis bed so I’ll stop for now and crawl in now Moroni has the bed warm.
Tell Bess G. to hurry and write. I got a letter from Ed also one from Tom. Tom is in Belgium and has probably seen real fighting. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and happy New Year I am with love and somewhere in Europe.
Battery C 348 FA.
American Expeditionary Forces
Sam
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HENRY E. HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND ART GALLERY
SAN MARINO, CALIFORNIA
LESLIE EDGAR BLISS February 18, 1944
librarian
Mrs. Juanita Brooks
St. George, Utah.
Dear Mrs. Brooks:
The Huntington Library does indeed have the transcript of the testimony at the John D. Lee trials, both of them. We also have several letters and other documents which refer to the same matter. Research workers have been granted access to this transcript before. You must understand that the original transcript was made in a peculiar shorthand, of which we have a translation in typewriting by one of two people who understood the shorthand script.
We will be very glad to allow you access to them if you can come to this Library, or we will make microfilm or photostats of the transcript. This, however, is quite expensive, and it would actually be almost as cheap for you to come over here and it would probably be much more satisfactory. The estimate for the microfilm is $50, but our photographer says that since the typewriting is in a blue ink he does not recommend it for filming. A negative photostat would cost you $265, Of course, neither of these estimates take in any of the other material which might also be of interest to you were you here.
I think it would probably be possible to grant you permission to quote directly from the document if you wish to do so, since, as I say, others have worked on the material before this. However it might be better to find out exactly how you wish to use the testimony before giving final permission, which would have to be written permission in any event.
There are other reasons why I hope it will be possible for you to come to this Library. Last year we acquired a copy of your little volume on your grandfather, Dudley Leavitt, and I must say that you made very good use of the material in hand in the biography. You made out such a good case for your subject that I very much wish I could have had the opportunity of knowing and talking with him. Incidentally, back in New York State the Leavitt and the Bliss families are so closely related by intermarriage that in Herkimer County they always hold a combined annual reunion, that is they did until just prior to this last war.
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Juanita Brooks Page 2 February 18, 1944
It may interest you to know that the Huntington has just obtained from the Rockefeller Foundation a grant of $50,000 to assist this Library in promoting regional studies of the Southwest. The Southwest is taken to mean, for the purpose of these studies, the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and the southern half of California.
We already have much Utah material here, both books and manuscripts, but we are extremely interested in obtaining more original letters or diaries or even out of the way pamphlet material on your state. I note that in the introduction to the biography of your grandfather you say that you have been collecting early Mormon diaries for some time. Would it be possible for you either to donate the originals or copies of them to this Library, or do you by any chance know of any good leads in your stats which we might follow up to obtain other material useful for research?
Please understand that while we are, of course, interested in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, that is merely one detail in the otherwise splendid history of Utah, and we are even more interested in the trials and tribulations of the settlers in Utah's Dixie or in any other part of the state.
We here are building for the future and are trying to preserve for the future students as well as those of the present all historical material of the west but particularly
of the five states I mentioned above.
I am enclosing herewith a photostat or microfilm requisition blank on which you will note our prices and our rules regarding the use of such material. I am also enclosing an application for reader's privileges here, which I really hope you will be able to make use of, rather than the other.
Hoping to have the pleasure of meeting you at this Library, I am,
Very sincerely,
Julius E. Bliss
LEB:ph
Encl. 2
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St. George, Utah
July 27, 1959
Dear Brother Ashby:
Thank you so much for the copy of your book and also for your fine, informative latter and the Cropper material. I have copied excerpts from his hand-written journal, dated American Fork, April 15, 1926 which tell the same story in more detail and inclued an item on the shooting of an Indian:
“A lot of Kanosh Indians came to their camp to beg and trade. One man insisted on examining an Indians' bow and arrows but the Indian refused and jabbed the arrow into the man's breast. The man whipped out a revolver and shot the Indian dead."
Now about Brother William Stevens and his money: I shall have to go back and give you the reason why I am so very much interested in it. Please know that I am not trying to PROVE anything. I'm only trying to find out.
In September 1955, after the publication of my book The Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1950, I was invited back to Harrison, Arkansas, to attend the family reunion of the Fancher Family and the ceremony of unveiling the monument erected there to the members of the emigrant train who were killed at the Mountain Meadows. I was given a haIf-hour in which to speak on their program. I may send you a copy of that speech.
On the program also was a man of about 75 years of age, a Judge Fancher of Florida who told the family history and the life of Captain Charles Fancher who led the ill-fated train. According to him, Captain Fancher came west first in 1855 over the Old Spanish Trail Route, stopping at the Mormon settlements enroute. In California he selected and purchased a large trace of land made preliminary arrangements for its purchase.
Or by the same route
He returned to Arkansas/and set about getting his family and friends and neighbors to sell their holdings and go with him to colonize. They held their organization meeting on the ground where the monument was erected in 1955. Judge Fancher told of their outfits, of the herds of cattle and horses and of $4000.00 in gold coin which they carried in a strong box, intending to use it as the down payment on the ranch. He did not know what had become of the money, unless the Mormons got it.
That same fall I had a letter from Frank Beckwith of Delta saying that he had now an instrument which could locate buried metal. According to him. it was common knowledge that the slain emigrants carried with them $4000.00 in gold coin in a strong box. He argued that as soon as trouble began at the Meadows, the Captain would likely hide or bury this money within the enclosure and perhaps build the fires on top of the place so that he could return later and recover it. If I would go with him and help search the area, he would be willing to give me half of whatever we found.
I answered that since the flood of 1861 had washed out such a deep gully through the place where the emigrants had camped, anything that had been
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buried there would likely be found, If it was ever found, somewhere in a pile of brush and debris along the Virgin River after a flood. Since the freight road of those early days—indeed of my own childhood—followed the stream and crossed in 13 times between the Beaver Dam and the settlement of Bunkerville, there might be a remote possibility that a freighter might have run across such a box when he went to pull out driftwood for his fire.
I thought no more of it until a few months ago, when I was going through the diaries of Amos Milton Musser, for many years a traveling Bishop under President Young. I came across this entry written across 2 1/2 pages in a large hand of his little pocket notebooks:
"City Mon. Jan 17, /76 Returned this pm from Holden whence I hv been to receive & bring home $4000$ gold coin the liberal donations as offering for Temple building purposes made by Father Wm Stevens now in 76 yr of age For a long time he has been anxious to make this disposition of this means & felt much relieved after placing it in my possession to convey it to this city."
Now as you may guess, this interested me a great deal. The gold coin,
for example, when in most of our villages there was so little money of any kind that trade was carried on largely in barter. People exchanged cattle or horses for brick, lumber and labor, and so could build find homes. Then why for a Iong time had Brother Stevens held this gold coin? Why should he feel so much relieved to get it out of his hands?
The fact that the amount was exactly the same (though you and the family who believe it at all say that it was $5000.00) was also interesting to me.
Now assuming that it COULD have been the money of the emigrants, it would still have been in the strong box. So I tried to learn from the descendants if there is any legend as to how it was transported: in a leather sack? in an ordinary cloth sack? in a simple wooden box, or in a strong box with iron hinges and lock, made especially for it? No one (the one lady who told the story) did not know. She knew only that her Grandfather had written a letter to President Young, that he did not come for the money himself, but sent a man who picked it up and took it in to Salt Lake City.
Assuming for the sake of argument that it MIGHT have been the same mone, how would Brother Stevens come by it? I doubt that he found it, or he would not have kept it so long or so secretly. Had he stopped at Br. Stevens' place going and coming on his first trip to California, so become acquainted with him and impressed with his integrity? Could he, after the killing of the Indian above, and knowing something of the feeling among the Mormons at that time, have felt that he would rather trust his money and perhaps some other items into the hands of this man for safe keeping until he could return for them? Under such conditions, the fact that we was in the State Penitentiary following his first trial, and that Brother Stevens himself knew that ho would not live much longer, would lead him to write, telling Brother Brigham that he had this money.
I have photostats of the item above. The words crossed out are words which the writer crossed out, and the underlining is his.
Don't you think also that this is an interesting coincidence?
Juanita Brooks
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St. George, Utah
July 27, 1959
Dear Brother Ashby:
Thank you so much for the copy of your book and also for your fine, informative letter and the Cropper material. I have copied excerpts from his hand-written journal, dated American Fork, April 15, 1926 which tell the same story in more detail and include an item on the shooting of an Indian:
"A lot of Kanosh Indians came to their camp to beg and trade. One man insisted on examining an Indians' bow and arrows but the Indian refused and jabbed the arrow into the man's breast. The man whipped out a revolver and shot the Indian dead."
Now about Brother William Stevens and his money: I shall have to go back and give you the reason why I am so very much interested in it. Please know that I am not trying to PROVE anything. I!m only trying to find out.
In September 1955, after the publication of my book, The Mountain Meadows Massacre, in 1950, I was invited back to Harrison, Arkansas, to attend the family reunion of the Fancher Family and the ceremony of unveiling the monument erected there to the members of the emigrant train who were killed at the Mountain Meadows. I was given a haIf-hour in which to speak on their program. I may send you a copy of that speech.
On the program also was a man of about 75 years of age, a Judge Fancher of Florida who told the family history and the life of Captain Charles Fancher who led the ill-fated train. According to him, Captain Fancher came west first in 1855 over the Old Spanish Trail Route, stopping at the Mormon settlements enroute. In California he selected and purchased a large tract of land made preliminary arrangements for its purchase.
Or by the same route
He returned to Arkansas/and set about getting his family and friends and neighbors to sell their holdings and go with him to colonize. They held their organization meeting on the ground where the monument was erected in 1955. Judge Fancher told of their outfits, of the herds of cattle and horses and of $4000.00 in gold coin which they carried in a strong box, intending to use it as the down payment on the ranch. He did not know what had become of the money, unless the Mormons got it.
That same fall I had a letter from Frank Beckwith of Delta saying that he had now an instrument which could locate buried metal. According to him, it was common knowledge that the slain emigrants carried with them $4000.00 in gold coin in a strong box. He argued that as soon as trouble began at the Meadows, the Captain would likely hide or bury this money within the enclosure and perhaps build the fires on top of the place so that he could return later and recover it. If I would go with him and help search the area, he would be willing to give me half of whatever we found.
I answered that since the flood of l86l had washed out such a deep gully through the place where the emigrants had camped, anything that had been
[-PAGE 13-]
buried there would likely be found, if it was ever found, somewhere in a pile of brush and debris along the Virgin River after a flood. Since the freight road of those early days—indeed of my own childhood—followed the stream and crossed it 13 times between the Beaver Dam and the settlement of Bunkerville, there might be a remote possibility that a freighter might have run across such a box when he went to pull out driftwood for his fire.
I thought no more of it until a few months ago, when I was going through the diaries of Amos Milton Musser, for many years a traveling Bishop under President Young. I came across this entry written across 2 1/2 pages in a large hand of his little pocket notebook:
"City Mon. Jan 17, /76 Returned this pm from Holden whence I hv been to receive & bring home $4000$ gold coin the liberal donations as offering for Temple building purposes made by Father Wm
Stevens now in 76 yr of age For a long time he has been anxious to make this disposition of this means & felt much relieved after placing it in my possession to convey it to this city."
Now as you may guess, this interested me a great deal. The gold coin, for example, when in most of our villages there was so little money of any kind that trade was carried on largely in barter. People exchanged cattle or horses for brick, lumber and labor, and so could build fine homes. Then why for a long time had Brother Stevens held this gold coin? Why should he feel so much relieved to get it out of his hands?
The fact that the amount was exactly the same (though you and the family who believe it at all say that it was $5000.00) was also interesting to me.
Now assuming that it COULD have been the money of the emigrants, it would still have been in the strong box. So I tried to learn from the descendants if there is any legend as to how it was transported: in a leather sack? in an ordinary cloth sack, in a simple wooden box, or in a strong box with iron hinges and lock, made especially for it? No one (the one lady who told the story) did not know. She knew only that her Grandfather had written a letter to President Young, that he did not come for the money himself, but sent a man who picked it up and took it in to Salt Lake City.
Assuming for the sake of argument that it MIGHT have been the same money, how would Brother Stevens come by it? I doubt that he found it, or he would not have kept it so long or so secretly. Had he stopped at Br. Stevens' place going and coming on his first trip to California, so become acquainted with him and impressed with his integrity? Could he, after the killing of the Indian above, and knowing something of the feeling among the Mormons at that time, have felt that he would rather trust his money and perhaps some other items into the hands of this man for safe keeping until he could return for them? Under such conditions, the fact that Lee in the State Penitentiary following his first trial, and that Brother Stevens himself knew that he would not live much longer, would lead him to write, telling Brother Brigham that he had this money.
I have photostats of the item above. The words crossed out are words which the writer crossed out, and the underlining is his.
Don't you think also that this is an interesting coincidence?
Juanita Brooks
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St. George, Utah
July 27, 1959
Dear Brother Ashby:
Thank you so much for the copy of you book and also for your fine, informative letter and the Cropper material. Some time ago I had a hand-written journal of Brother Cropper, from which I copied excerpts regarding the death of Proctor Robinson and the emigrants. It included also the following item:
"A lot of Kanosh Indians came to their camp to beg and trade. One man insisted on examining an Indian's bow and arrows but the Indian refused and jabbed the arrow into the man's breast. The man whipped out a revolver and shot the Indian dead."
About Brother Stevens: I had always understood that he was a man of wealth, but recently I found from an original diary a notation that he made a contribution of $4000 in gold coin. So much of the wealth of the early days consisted of cattle, horses, and other items of barter that I wondered about this. A contribution of $$4000 in money might mean greenbacks, bills, checks, and silver, but gold coin is something else again. That would have been a fortune at that time.
I did write a book on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, but it is out of print and not available now at any price. I also edited a two- volume set of the diaries of John D. Lee, but it is also out of print*
This little volume on my grandfather I did for the family some time ago, and I have done many magazine articles in one place and another.
Perhaps I should give you the full item referred to above and let you help me figure it out: It came from the daily mem. book of Amon Milton Musser, who was at that time traveling Bishop for the church. I have the whole book microfilmed and the pages containing this item photostated:
“ City Mon. Jan 17 /76
Returned this pm from Holden whence I hv been to — receive & bring home 4000$ gold coin the liberal donations as offering for Temple building purposes made by Father Wm Stevens now in 76 year age For a long time he has been anxious to make this disposition of this means & felt much relieved after placing it in my possession to convey it to this city."
The words crossed out are his, as is also the underlining. I have wondered why for a long time he had wanted to give it in, and why he should feel so much relieved to have it out of his hands* It takes on new significance to me because the family records and history of the emigrants says that they were carrying $4000 in gold coin to make the payment on the property they were buying. This coin was supposed to have been carried in a strong box especially made to hold it... Well, it is interesting, isn't it?
Sincere good wishes, Juanita Brooks