Draper Utah Joshua Terry History

"Joshua Terry was born in Albion, Home District, Upper Canada,
which is now Ontario, August 11, 1825. While yet in his youth he
moved to Missouri with his parents and was baptized a member of
the Church of Latter Day Saints June 20, 1840 by William Allred,
confirmed by William Allred and Jack Ways. He was ordained a
deacon by Elisha Everetts, a teacher in Nauvoo Ill. and an elder in
the endowment house in Salt Lake City, June 20, 1865; a seventy
by Elder Erastus Snow of the council of Twelve; a High Priest and
set apart to preside over the Shoshone Mission by Pres. John
Taylor, 9th May 1881, and very soon left on his mission to the
Indians at the Shoshone Agency in Wyoming. He was set apart as
Patriarch by Elder John Henry Smith a member of the Council of
Twelve, May 5, 1901.

He passed through the Missouri persecutions with his father's
family and was driven from his home when the Saints were expelled
from Missouri and settled in Nauvoo Ill.

He assisted in the erection of the Nauvoo Temple and attended
many meetings where he heard the voice of the Prophet Joseph
Smith many times. It was in this city in a little grove that he saw and
heard the Prophet roll the responsibility of the church upon the
shoulders of the Twelve Apostles.

While at this meeting he witnessed a very miraculous healing. A
great crowd had gathered in the grove while listening to the words
of the Prophet, a plank seat that was overtaxed with the weight of
men gave way, falling on one of the men's legs, smashing it to
pieces. The Prophet placed the broken bones in place and laid his
hands upon it and asked God our Eternal Father to bless and heal
the leg and make it well and strong. The leg looked like a vessel
that had been broken in many pieces and then glued together, the
man arose and walked to his home and, in later years, he walked
across the plains to Utah.

In 1841, Mr. Terry joined the Nauvoo Legion, serving under Lieut.
General Joseph Smith. He also spent part of his time rafting freight
down the Mississippi river. In 1846 he moved with the main body of
the church from Nauvoo into Iowa. Soon after he pooled his interest
with Levi Savage, an old man. In the spring of 1847 they left Winter
Quarters in the George B. Wallace company, arriving in the Salt
Lake Valley in September 28, 1847.

He settled first in Salt Lake City where as a pioneer he assisted in
the building of the old fort. He drove the first team around what is
now known as Beck's Hot Springs in Davis Co. He was one of the
first of the Pioneers to drive up through Box Elder Co. and on into
the Bear River Country. In October of the same year (1847) he
walked over to Church Island in Great Salt Lake on dry ground, the
low level of the lake and the exposure of a high wind making it
possible.

Mr. Terry and Mr. Savage worked at odd jobs in the harvest fields
and canyons. Soon after their arrival they made a camp on Little
Willow Creek now known as Draper, Salt Lake County [and are
considered to be the first “white” men to enter the area].

Savage then married a widow whom he met on the journey and this
was the first marriage in Utah. After the marriage Terry's troubles
began, for this woman was a termagant and he had to get out or
starve. He was given a pack of wheat as his share of the pooled
harvest earnings and with this and his gun he started for new
pastures.

It chanced that James Pollock, an overland freighter was camping
in the valley, having been cut off of the church for apostasy, he was
now on his way to California. Terry hired out to this man agreeing to
give his services, his peck of wheat and his gun for transportation
and board to California.

They traveled as far as Fort Hall on the Snake river when a report of
Indian troubles on the Humboldt reached them and Pollock decided
to abandon the trip. He got in with the Government agent, Captain
John Grant, at Fort Hall leaving Terry to herd horses and do
drudgery around the camp while he spent his time at the Fort.

Terry resided here for two months which made him a pioneer of
Idaho. At last he became discouraged and decided to try
something else. Through the influence of Pollock, Capt.Grant
refused to employ him even for his board and hence he must be a
slave to Pollock or strike out afoot without a gun or sufficient
clothing to try to find some other fort or an Indian camp. One kind
heart at Fort Hall, a Doctor Rogers, gave him three dry biscuits and
a half a pound of jerked beef. The Doctor advised him to try to
reach Fort Bridger, two hundred miles away.

The first part of the way he lived chiefly on sago and thistle roots.
His moccasins soon became badly worn, a heavy snow storm
came up and his feet were raw and bleeding so he could not travel
very fast. One day he had traveled all day through nearly a foot of
snow without anything to eat and without seeing a living thing. The
wind was bleak and cold, night was coming on and he was about to
give up in despair feeling that he would perish before morning. He
knelt in prayer. When he arose he noticed a large black rock in the
shape of a coffin. He went over to it and on examining it found a
hole on one side. He crept into this hole out of the storm and wind.

Although it was cold and black as pitch inside, it furnished a shelter
for the night. He had not been in there long when he heard
something approaching which proved to be an animal of some
kind. It had also come to the coffin shaped rock for shelter. They
remained together in the rock all night, the warmth of the animal's
body warmed him and kept him quite comfortable. The next
morning just before daylight the animal crawled out and went on his
way and as it grew light Terry crawled out too, feeling none the
worse for sleeping with his new bedfellow. This Terry regarded as a
miracle caused by the influence and power of the Holy Spirit over
the animal in answer to his prayer.

He was soon on his way without breakfast as he had nothing to eat.
The only human being he met in his travels were roving Indians.
During the day he became so faint and weak, having had nothing to
eat for three or four days, he was about to give up in despair but he
knelt down and asked the Lord to show him some way to get food
or relief from his misery by death. When he arose he saw a smoke
in the distance so he decided whether it be a friend or foe he was
going to it for he had to have food. When he arrived at the place he
found an Indian tepee. It was situated a little east of what is now
known as Soda Springs and was occupied by an old Indian and her
son.

They had been left behind by the tribe because she was too old to
travel; her son stayed with her. Terry made signs for food and sleep
but the son was not willing to do anything for him. The old woman
seeing how weak and starved he was talked to her son and
softened his heart.

The young Indian came to him making signs for Terry to lay his
head on his, the Indian's, knees and when he did so the Indian spit
in his ear. This made Terry angry and he felt like kicking the fellow
out of the tepee but calmed himself for the sake of something to
eat. The Indian then laid his head over and motioned for Terry to
spit in his ear, which Terry did giving him a good earful. This
seemed to please the old woman and her son very much although
Terry did not understand what it all meant but was to learn from
grave experience in the near future.

The old woman went out and stirred up a red ant bed, scooping the
ants up in a vessel and roasted them over red-hot coals then made
a broth out of them. She gave some of the broth to Terry to drink
then motioned for him to lie down and sleep before she would give
him anything else to eat.

When he awoke he found that the young Indian had been hunting
and had killed an antelope. The old squaw prepared a broth by
boiling the paunch with its entire contents in the kettle, without salt
or seasoning of any kind.

When in after years Terry spoke of this incident he claimed this was
the best supper of his life for he was given a liberal portion of the
broth and that night slept well in the tepee. The next morning after
another portion of the broth he went on his way; the young warrior
went with him for a distance, showing him a short cut through the
mountains in the distance then left Terry saying that he could go no
farther as he was afraid of the pale face.

It was while in the company of this old woman that he first began to
learn the Shoshone language; the young Indian asked him nearly a
hundred times if he (Terry) had no friends but Terry could not
understand. Later when he had learned the language he knew what
the question meant.

The rest of the way to Fort Bridger he met but one Indian who gave
him some buffalo meat for a little ammunition that Terry had
carefully saved. The Indian took special pains to instruct him how to
prepare the meat and how much it would be safe to eat at one time
as it proved to be a very strong laxative to one not used to eating it
and so famished as he was. At last he reached Fort Bridger, having
walked two hundred miles without seeing a soul except a few
Indians.

Mr. Terry said as soon as he reached Fort Bridger the sun seemed
brighter and good old Jim Bridger asked him if he knew how to use
an ax. Terry said yes. Then Bridger asked him if he could build a
log house, and again Terry told him yes - then Bridger employed
him.

Terry soon became Bridger's most trusted employee and foreman.
Jim Bridger like many other mountaineers would at times indulge a
little too much in strong drink and so some gambling. On one such
occasion Bridger had over $2,000.00 and was losing. Fifteen
hundred dollars of this was in a buckskin purse which Terry
watched his chance and slipped away and kept safely a day or two
until Bridger was well over his spree and then returned it. From this
time on Terry and Bridger were fast friends.

Jim Bridger was a man of honor, and though rough and ready, he
had a warm heart. When he was a friend, he was a friend indeed,
and when he was an enemy either Indian or white man might well
look out. He was quick as lightening and a dead shot on the spur of
the moment.

Terry had an almost uncanny sense of direction. Bridger at one
time concluded to test him; so he took Terry a long distance into a
heavily timbered part of the Uintah mountains and after winding
around in different directions; he asked to point toward camp. Terry
did so immediately, Bridger was surprised but he said, "I'll lose you
yet." so he tried again and again but Terry could always give the
proper direction promptly. Bridger said Terry was the only man
whom he had ever failed to lose in the heavily timbered country.
With such a friend Terry found life at Fort Bridger to be pleasant,
interesting, and free.

Bridger explained that some day Terry's parents with their family
would be coming that way and when they did come they would likely
be in need of help, and that he would see that they got it if Terry
would only stay with him. Terry remained with Bridger two years
-thus becoming a pioneer of Wyoming. Finally Terry's father and
family came along and were much in need of help. Then Bridger
made good. He told Terry to go out and bring in two yoke of the
best oxen he had and fit the family out for the rest of the trip. This
was done, without any deduction from Terry's wages.

As all the more reliable mountaineers had taken Indian wives
Bridger insisted that Terry should take one too. He did not know
which one to choose but a little later met with an experience which
settled that for him.