Robert Lemuel Campbell - 1858-1936 #7

I got a letter from my sister who was living in Dixie or Southern Utah at Grafton, telling me how she was being treated by Ambrose Stansworth, who she had married and felt I ought to go see for myself. I showed the letter to the wife and she told her Father, and he seemed only too glad that I was going, as if he wanted to get rid of me. That night I made arrangements to go to Spanish Fork on the midnight helper. When I arrived there I walked to Payson and took the train to Milford. It surely seemed strange to me leaving, the snow and getting into the valley and seeing the peach trees in full bloom.

When I got to Milford, that was as far as the train could go, so I had to walk to Minersville. From there I got a ride to Cedar City, I knew the road as I had been over it before. I knew what I must do and how far it was from one place to the other, so I had no trouble getting along, when I had to walk. Of course, I got a ride some of the way. I got to Grafton and found that they were out on a ranch so I had quite a walk as it was up in the hills but I made it all right and was glad when I got there.

The next morning, Amby (Ambrose) went away to see about some cattle and he was gone three days. My sister told me all about their trouble and how he would leave her out there alone and how he would not come back for four or five days at a time, he staying at his Father's place.

When he came back she told him she was going to leave. He said all right, but he forbid her taking any horse from the ranch to ride. I suppose he thought if she had to walk she would not be so willing to go, as the nearest settlement was Toquerville and we would have to wade the river.

As he rode away to round up some cattle she bade him goodbye, but he never answered her. She took some of her clothes and made a bundle of them and we left the ranch and struck out for Toquerville. That was on the first of May and we called it a May Day Walk. She surely did fine until we reached the river, then she wondered how to get across the river. The only way was to ford it, so I told her I would go across with the clothes and then she [could] see how deep the river was and if she thought she could not make it I would cross again and get her. I got over all right, but she would not come alone, so I had to go back and then she did not feel like going. The only way was to carry her across, so I told her to get on my back and I would carry her across. Then she was afraid I might fall with her, so I got her to take off her shoes and stockings so they would not get wet. I carried her over with the understanding that if I fell down for her not to cling too tight to me as we might strangle ourselves, but we had no bother only in drying my clothes that I had worn in the water.

When we got to Toquerville, the people were have a May Day doings and we were made welcome. We both got work. I went to work for John Batty and she went to work at Silver Reef, which was a mining camp. The man she worked for supplied the mine with timbers for the mine.

During that time, my wife and her Father disagreed about me. He tried to make out that I had left her and kept it up, so she decided to leave. When she left Tucker, she paid her way to Milford. Then she told the agent what she was doing and where she wanted to go and asked his advice as to what to do. He told her what to do and made arrangements for her to say there until some one came along from that part as there was freight in the depot for them and he expected them most any day.

The next morning he told her there was a man from Cedar City and he would see that she got there safe. She concluded that would be the best thing for her to do. This man made a business of freighting for the different stores at Cedar City and he was well acquainted with many people that traveled to Milford. By the time he got loaded up he could only make Minersville by night, so they camped there that night. That was her first experience in camping out. They wanted her to cook supper and she did not know where to begin. She told them that so everything had to wait until the horses were tended to, and when that was done they got out the Dutch Oven, built a good fire around it and while that was getting hot they mixed the dough and peeled the potatoes, fried meat and eggs. When everything was ready they ate on the ground, but they give her the spring seat. She said she was hungry but everything was strange to her and she did not know what to think of it, but when she started to eat, it surely tasted good. When all were through they made her a bed on top of the boxes and the horses were tied to the wagon and the hay for them under the wagon. The men made their bed by the fire.

She said she could not sleep because the horses made such a noise eating the hay and when they were through they kept moving the cover and she thought they would tear it and might bite her. She was glad when the boys began moving about and looking after the animals. She got out and did what she could to help get the breakfast and they cooked enough for breakfast and lunch, as they would get home that night.

They got there about 10 o'clock at night and she was so tired she could hardly keep awake. When they got home he called his wife out and made them acquainted with one another and his wife surely treated her good. After supper was all over they all went to bed. The lady had her stay there three days to rest up. She tanked them for their kindness to her and he found a man that was going south, but he had only the running gears as he was going to get lumber, but he made it as comfortable as he could for her. Going over the rocks and rough road was hard, though, at the best, but he was a jolly sort of a fellow and he made it pleasant for her. When they got to Bellview they stopped for the night. She stayed at the Camphouse and he made it comfortable for her.

In the morning he got to the road that she had to go on over the hills. He told her she had better go with him and perhaps they would meet a team coming from the reef that was going up the river. When they got to the grapevine springs they met a team that was going to take the cut off road which was nearer to the river, but there was lots of sand to go through and it was getting quite warm at that time of the day.

She went with the man who was going to Shouenburg. This man told her he believed I was at Toquerville and he was going through Toquerville where I was living. When they got to the top of Johnson twist they met the mail man. The man inquired about Robert Campbell as he knew nearly everyone on his route. He told him that I was at Toquerville at John Batty's place. She then went with the mailman.

When she got there I was at work so she went to the house and inquired about me. Sister Batty told her I wasn't there and then she noticed the girl's face, so she asked her if she wanted to see me. She said yes, but did not say that she was my wife and Mrs. Batty knew that she must be a stranger and coming from up the river did not know who it could be. She told her that I was working over the river in the grapes and she asked the way to go. She told her that she would send one of her boys on a horse to get me, then invited the girl into the house to wait. Mrs. Batty then asked her if she would have some dinner, but she refused on account of the flies for they were terribly thick.

When the boy came over where I was he told me I was wanted at home. I tried to get him to tell me what I was wanted for as I took my dinner with me when I went to work in the morning, but he would not say anything, so I thought it best to go and see for myself. I rode my horse to the house. Sister Batty came to the door and I asked what was wanted. Then she told me there was a person from up the river wanted to see me. I thought it was my Brother Will, who was living up at Rockville. I turned the horse loose in the yard and went into the house. The room being dark, I could not see very good. She took hold of my hand and asked me how I was getting along. It was sure a surprise to see her.

I told them that she was my wife, as they all stood to catch everything that was said, we were told to go into the parlor out of the flies and they would bring us some dinner in there. I was surely glad to get some place where we could talk. She told me all the news. If she had waited another week we would have passed one another on the road, as I had arranged to go back North, but as she was there I made other arrangements.

I wrote a letter to Mr. Allen who had a house there that he only used in the winter time. He was the man my sister was working for. He let us have the house for the summer months, rent free if I would look after it and keep the fence from being destroyed, which I agreed to do.

We went to Kaysville for our recommends for there was no telling how [long] we would be down there. That summer Roan Spillisburg's Aunt came from England and Roan had a farm South of town called the Buming farm. The old folks went there to live, but it was a little way out of town and the old lady did not like to be alone, so Roan came and asked if I would move out there with the old people and run the farm on shares with them. I told them it would be all right if they were willing. I had worked around during the summer and got myself a little span of mules and a fairly good light wagon. I got some collars with them and not very good harness, just something to go about with. The wife and I went out there to see what could be done.

They had no children and were glad to have us come out there. Everything was arranged for us to live in the front part of the house and they to live in the back and there was two spare rooms upstairs, so we moved right away as we would have to find another place anyway for various things.

We had plenty of work to do as that part of the farm had a fence made out of cobble rock and there were lots of pieces knocked out of it. There was hay to haul from Roan's place that he let us have, to be paid for when we could. We got more than we needed for our use, but we thought we could put teams up for the night or sell it to the folks going to the reef or returning to their homes as things bought there were very high and those that sold food stuff over there had to take care how their vegetables, butter, eggs, meat or anything to sell had to be clean and look nice or they would not buy.

Things went fine and the folks and we got along fine. They were willing to do most anything for us and we were the same with them. When the first part of November came, the wife was not feeling very well, so the old gentleman went over to the John Batty's Father's house to see about his wife coming over to the place which she did. She did what she could for her, but it was not until the third, in the afternoon that the baby was born. My sister came from the lumber camp and stayed with us and between all of us we did the job up fine. The old lady could not do any more if it had been her own, so we got through the winter and by the last of February we were putting our garden in. (Editor's Note: This child was named Alfred Henry he was born 3 Nov 1885 in Toquerville, Utah). When that was done other things were put in. Wheat, barley, oats, corn, molasses cane seed, tomato seed, okra and all sorts of garden truck so as to sell at the reef. While that was growing we had five acres of grapevines to trim and stake and during the summer the hay had to be cut five times. It kept us busy besides trimming our peach trees. As fast as there was anything to sell, the old gent would slip over to the reef with it as we were only ten miles from there.

We would get things ready and pack at nights in the little light wagon and about four o'clock in the morning we would pull out, so as to get over the sand before it got too hot. The mules would not walk very fast going from home, but they tried to make up for lost time when they were headed for home. They were the best we had and we had to make them do, but they did not seem to get tired. You could take them on a trip and when they got home and you turned them loose so they could have a roll, when they got through they would give themselves a shake and then a drink and a feed of oats and they were ready for the road again.

As the work increased, Mr. Williams had to get a team of his own to help out. He undertook to go North with things so my wife made three trips a week to the reef which made it very hard on her with her child. I could not leave the place and Mrs. Williams did what she could and tried to help take care of the boy. There was only one thing that I did not like. He wanted to work on Sunday and I would not do it unless it was right necessary, but for all that he did try and work it on me several times.

The second year it was about the same as the first. There was one little thing that seemed strange at the time. We had about ten acres of molasses down on the river and we walked down there stripping the leaves off the cane so as to have it ready to cut. The old Gent went through the cane to count the rows and when he got nearly through he came across a badger and it scared him so bad he came running back to us, his face as white as if he were sick and his wife asked him what was the matter. When he could speak he told her the devil was lying down in one of the cane rows. The three of us went to see what it was, for he would not go with us and when we found it we could see what it was as it went shuffling off, but the old Gent would not count any more rows by himself.