
ARIZONA BIOGRAPHIES
Pioneer Women Of Arizona
It has been suggested that the name "Pioneer Women of Arizona" under
which these stories were collected
and compiled be changed so that it might have a more universal appeal.
Accordingly, we take from the scriptures
the beautiful story of Ruth when she said to Naomi "Whither Thou Goest
I Will Go" which was also the
motto of the women who came with their husbands in compliance with the
call of the presiding authorities of the
church represented at that time by the Prophets Brigham Young and John
Taylor. It is in truth a saga of the pioneer
women of the Southwest.
Captain Kate Carter of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers suggested, after
she read my mother's story, that these others
should also be published since they contain a great deal of hitherto
unpublished church history, tracing the ancestry
of the women who accepted the Gospel in foreign lands and colonized in
many places, as Brigham Young called them
to do. They were able to do what was expected of them because of their
faith and loyalty to the constituted authority
of the Church, This should prove of great value to the rising
generation in our day of shifting values and mounting
uncertainties. Where there is a current lack of stabilizing
influence, we owe it to ourselves and our
youth to share with them the strength of their forbears, to give them
examples to follow, hopes to cling to.
The lives of the pioneer women of Arizona stand as an eternal monument
to greatness. Interwoven in
the stories of their lives they have left unsurpassed examples of
courage and self-denial.
These women were called from homes where the necessities of life were
just beginning to come more easily after
thirty years of pioneering in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake and in
nearby communities and as it became safer
from marauding Indian bands in the more remote localities, so they were
ensured to hardships. Had they
not been, they could not have endured the ones to which they were
subjected in this country.
Usually three months were required to make the journey here, this in
covered wagons drawn by horses or, in some
cases, oxen. Their wagons were their only hemes and
continued to be until forts were built into which
they could move. Then, the only difference was that the
wagon boxes were removed from the running gears
of the wagon and placed in a more accessible position on logs or rocks
to make them a little more safe from snakes,
centipedes, tarantulas, etc., and so that getting into one's house
didn't necessitate climbing over a high wagon
wheel.
Death came to some of these pioneers and loved ones had to be left in
wayside graves. One mother painted
with her own hands the rude pine coffin in which her darling boy of
three was buried.
These were times and scenes that revealed true character, and the wives
soon learned to smile through unshed tears
to give courage to the men to carry on. Dancing parties in
which the great outdoors served as a pavilion
and the only light the moon or blazing camp-fires, singing fests, and
story telling, kept alive the spirit of youth,
No reference was made to friends or family left behind and the only
means of communication with them was when other
pioneers came to join their ranks.
The nearest stores were weeks away and the prices almost
prohibitive. Salt was obtained from not far
distant salt beds. When an animal was killed every particle of fat was
saved and that which was not considered
fit to eat was made into soap by the aid of lye condensed from
cottonwood ashes. Candles were also
made from the tallow. Starch was made from grated corn or
potatoes; dyes were made from roots and barks.
These latter also furnished medicines and some of the women became
excellent nurses, claiming that for every ill
there was a remedy provided by nature. Nature was very kind
to these children of hers so far from doctors
and drug stores.
The wool from the sheep was used for mattresses and corded for quilts
which were carefully pieced from every scrap
of cloth. Yarn was spun and the stockings, scarfs, gloves and mittens
knitted from it. When wearing
apparel could be no longer worn, it was dyed, torn in narrow strips and
woven into carpets or braided into rugs
to cover the rough pine or dirt floors.
Meat was cured in the smoke of smoldering cob fires. Cheese and butter
of excellent quality were made by many housewives.
Corn was cut from the cob and dried. Peas, string beans and
squash were dried to give variety to winter
menus as well as to conserve the food supply. Hats were
braided from straw. Straw and corn
husks were used for beds for those who could not afford
wool. Pillows were made from the feathers of
chickens and from the wild geese and ducks that in the fall were
plentiful. The furniture was all hone-made.
The bed springs consisted of rope woven lengthwise and crosswise of the
strong, if not beautiful bedstead.
The squeaks and groans these slackened or tightened cords made at every
movement of the occupant would give the
impression of the remorse of haunted souls. Trundle beds
were concealed under the larger beds in the
daytime by valences whose whiteness or dinginess betrayed the degree of
cleanliness of the housewife.
In some homes where one room served for all purposes , the bedsteads
were canopied and curtained giving the occupant
comparative privacy.
The home and the apparel were adorned by the workmanship of the owners
with a certain rivalry as to who could make
the most of the little they had0 Beautiful laces were
crocheted and knitted to trim pillow cases, dresser
scarfs^ and the half dozen white petticoats which every girl and woman
must wear to be considered "well-dressed"
though these same articles were made of flour sacks or of a course
fabric known as "domestic", bleached
to a snowy whiteness by frequent washing and then spread on grass or
snow and exposed to the rays of the sun.
"Tidies" crocheted or knitted of cotton helped to make attractive the
calico covered overstuffed"
home-made chairs and couches. Some elegant bedspreads were
tufted with candle wick, and quilts of intricate
design and quilting gave an air of beauty to the heme.
The cultural part was not neglected in the life of the pioneer
women. What books there were, were cherished
and before they were loaned the backs were carefully protected by
covering them with cloth.
Home theatricals were a favorite source of entertainment, many of the
plays being written by local people.
Every talent was cultivated and used for the benefit and pleasure of
all.
Perhaps it was this need for human resourcefulness which made these
women strong not only in things requiring physical
strength but in things requiring spiritual greatness as well. They knew
the power of love, of devotion, of dependability,
of companionship and neighborliness, of endurance, and of a thankful
heart, and this they bequeathed to their children
and their children's children. Rich is the heritage of the
descendants of these brave and noble pioneer
women.