When I have people come to visit or when a newcomer to Sanpete is with me for a while, I’ll take them to the side of the hill east of the Manti Temple. That’s where the replica “dug-out” is located.

When the first settlers arrived in Sanpete, that’s where they “holed up” and called home until they were able to build more permanent places to live. It’s a good place to talk about the settlement of Sanpete County.

Years ago, as a way to start the conversation about Sanpete’s settlement, I came up with a little quiz that I use as an exercise to start the discussion. I give my guests the quiz for fun and to get them thinking.

It’s a very short, little quiz. I’ll now ask you, dear reader, to take the quiz. Then we’ll review it a bit. Put on your thinking caps. Here it is:

1. Why is the NFL team in San Francisco called the “Forty Niners”?

• A: There are 49 players on a football team
• B: The first owner of the team was born in 1949
• C: The Gold Rush in Northern California was in 1849
• D: The team goal has been 49 conference and league trophies.

2. Speaking of numbers, in the first settlement group, how many men, women and children came to Manti?

• A: 224
• B: 124
• C: 422
• D: 49

3. In which month did the settlers arrive?

• A: July
• B: August
• C: September
• D: October
• E: November

4. The leader of the settlers designated by Brigham Young was?

• A: Parley P. Pratt
• B: Walter Cox
• C: Isaac Morley
• D: Peter Lund

5. Which Indian Chief asked Brigham Young to send white settlers to “Sanpeech”?

• A.Wakara (aka Walkara aka Walker)
• B. Crazy Horse
• C. Blackhawk
• D.Sitting Bull

6. Why did the Indians want whites to come to the area?

• A: So they could hear the gospel and be baptized
• B: So they could learn about farming
• C: So they could learn English
• D: So they could have a way to get guns for hunting

7. When the warm weather of spring, 1850 arrived, hundreds of rattlesnakes appeared in the dugouts and area. How many people were reported to have been bitten?

• A: One
• B: Two
• C: 49
• D: Zero

Was that too easy? Maybe it was easy for long time Sanpete residents. Maybe not so much for others.

The reason the settlement of Sanpete has been on my mind the past few days is because of the change in the weather. It has gotten much colder.

I often walk our dog late at night. Archer, the wonder Sheltie, and I have good talks late at night as we walk. We have even been learning some poetry together.

We’ve learned three or four poems including the “epic” “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” But all of that is another story. I digress.

The point is that the other night, it seemed extra cold. And the thought occurred to me that it was about this time of year that the settlers arrived in what is now Manti, the first Sanpete settlement. I thought to myself, and may have commented to Archer, “I’m glad we have a warm home to get back to when this walk is finished.”

There is a little debate about the exact date when the settlers arrived, but November 19th is generally accepted. The year was 1849. That’s why there is a local history book titled The Other Forty-Niners.

And that’s why we had question #1 in the quiz. The football team was named after the gold rush rushers in California in 1849.

There were 224 (50 families) pioneers who arrived with the first group of settlers. Isaac Morley is generally remembered as the leader. Charles Shumway and Seth Taft were involved in the leadership as well.

Chief Wakara (Walker), of the Ute tribe, apparently claimed that he had a dream which told him to welcome the white men. He asked the Mormon leader Brigham Young to send settlers to help teach his people farming.

Some have questioned the chief’s motivations. They think he was mostly interested in having access to cattle. And, of course, things didn’t stay peaceful for very long. The “Walker War” was a bad time in 1853-54.

After arriving in late November of 1849, the pioneers endured an awful winter. The Indians reported that it was the harshest winter in many, many years. Only about half of the cattle brought by those pioneers survived the winter.

As the weather warmed up in the spring of 1850, the settlers discovered that they had been sharing the side of the hill with hundreds of hibernating rattlesnakes. They were all over the place, including coming into their dugouts.

It’s recorded that through a day and night more than three hundred snakes were killed with clubs, torches and whatever other means could be used.

It was considered a miracle that not a single person was bitten. It’s no wonder that I dream about snakes sometimes.

I believe that we’ve answered all of the quiz questions. History is interesting. And no matter where you go, there’s history. Living here in Sanpete, we should probably be a little more aware of our local history. I know I have much more to learn.

I feel like as I’ve aged and as I’ve experienced more and more cold winters, I’ve gained more appreciation for Sanpete’s original settlers. I really can’t imagine the hardships and challenges they experienced.

Think about those “other 49ers” in the next few days. All those years ago, at this time of year, they were in wagons and trudging to Sanpete. Coming up Salt Creek Canyon (Nephi Canyon) was quite the ordeal all by itself. (Nephi wasn’t settled until 1852)

There was no motel or café at their journey’s end – just a hill to dig holes in and put wagons or some log walls in front of. Thinking about it makes me want to make a cup of hot chocolate, turn up the thermostat a degree or two, and watch an episode of Hawaii Five-O. – Merrill

P.S. If you want to see the replica dugout in Manti. Go to the nearby Temple View Motel and they’ll lend you the key to the gate and the dugout so you can get the full experience. Take someone with you, and give them the quiz.

Newsletter