of the tent. Brother Macdonald said to his companion, "What do you think about this case?" Metz said, "Poor woman! She is going to be left alone very soon." On hearing these words, I rose from my bed and called Brother Macdonald to come in and Metz followed. "I will live yet to perform the work that has been promised me I should; I will see this man buried and live many years." Brother Macdonald clasped my hand and said he felt also that I was going to live.
As soon as I was well enough I got up and went to see Apostle Teasdale and he told me to go to Brother George Seavey who was Bishop of the ward. I went to him. I asked him what he wanted me to do.
"Can you make adobes?" he asked.
I immediately went and laid out an adobe yard and began making adobes. Although my health wasn't the best I continued making adobes into the rest of the year, making the adobes for the first school house. This was the beginning of my work and service in Colonia Juárez [Mexico].
On refreshing my memory I desire to refer to an incident that happened in the fall of 1885. Our dancing parties that were being held throughout the St. Joseph Stake [Arizona] were opened to all the public and in consequence of this there were coming into our dances the worst kind of characters, some of them being drunk and having their own way to a great extent. At a Stake priesthood meeting held in Safford [Arizona] this question of allowing everyone into our dances was discussed and a decision was made that they would bar all of those who were not members of the church. After this meeting the Stake presidency, President [Christopher] Layton, Martineau and Johnson, called Brother Arvel Allen
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and myself into a private counsel and asked us if we would take charge of the dances that were being given at Safford.
There were no school houses either at the Layton Ward or Thatcher [Arizona], and all of the people in these two wards came to the parties at Safford and Brother Allen and I asked for specific instructions. President Layton came to see us.
After a consultation between Brother Allen and myself, we decided that there might be serious trouble and we sent to those parties prepared for any emergency.
The first party given after these instructions was a very large one, filling the hall and after we began dancing two men came in and sate down close to the door. We knew them to be murderers and outlaws; one by the name of Frank Morris who had just been released from the penitentiary for killing a man; the another a man by the name of Alkalide Dick who boasted of three notches on his gun for three men he had killed.
We were dancing the Scotch Reel at the time the incident I am going to relate happened and Brother Allen said I had better go down by those fellows and he would look after the dance. I went down close to where they were and listened to what they had to say. While everybody was dancing and enjoying themselves, Alkalide Dick said to his companion: "Now is the time to shoot out the lights."
As he started to rise I brought them to a halt by poking a six shooter in their faces and told them the first lights to go out would be theirs and for them to beat it. They went out of the door and I followed close against them, my pistol in my hand. When they had crossed the street they let out a yell and began shooting but I returned the fire and
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they beat it, so we had no more trouble with those bandits and outlaws.
Another incident in Colonia Juárez [Mexico]: After I had been making adobes and serving as counselor in the Mutual Improvement Association in Colonia Juárez, in the month of November I was married to Mattie D. Romney, daughter of Miles Park Romney [and Caroline Lambourne Romney] and together with my mother [Phebe] we passed an enjoyable winter. In the spring of 1888 the Mexicans began stealing the horses and cattle from the Colonists and Apostle Teasdale who was president of the Mexican Mission, together with his counselors, asked me after a priesthood meeting at which these matters were discussed, to look after the horses and cattle on the range and protect them from the thieves and I accepted the request. The stealing soon ceased.
Later on, I took the church sheep herd on shares. These sheep had been brought from Arizona to save them from being confiscated and while I was looking after these sheep and cattle and interests in general of the people, we were having a round-up on the Tinaja Wash, north of Colonia Juárez. Five Americans came into where we had our round up and said they had been trailing some thieves that might be Indians, from the San Pedro ranch over to this point. We immediately turned the cattle loose that we had rounded up and took the trail and as we were riding down the wash I picked up a torn piece of a shirt and smelled of it.
"It is Apache Indians," I said.
As we rode a little further on the trail I picked up some rawhide horseshoes that Indians had made and I told them there was no question about it being Apache Indians.
We followed them nearly to the San Diego ranch where the Indians had crossed the river at the Bocillo, just below the ranch, and gone into
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the mountains east and south of San Diego. I came back and reported to the colonies that they were Apache Indians and that the ranchers should be called in, especially those in the mountains, for protection. I remember when I told that I could tell they were Apaches by the smell that Brother Romney especially laughed at me.
At this time I was getting ready to go to Chihuahua [Mexico] with several loads of wool we had sheared from the sheep that I had in charge. Before going I again told Apostle Teasdale and the brethren that the people in the mountains should be called in. They formed a posse under the direction of Brother Helaman Pratt. We were informed that the Indians had just passed by a little ranch that was occupied by Charles Whipple at some springs southwest of the colonies. We followed their trail and found they had gone into the mountains, then returned to the colony and reported there was nothing further to be done.
I went to Chihuahua with the wool with a number of wagons and on my return trip I met Brother Henry Martineau going to Gallego after merchandise and told me of the killing of the Thompson family. On my return home I proposed that we form a posse of men and try to run down the Indians but I could get no support.
A few weeks later, three Americans came into Juárez; one by the name of Quigley with his two companions and as I had known him in Ogden City [Utah] when he was a boy I talked to him.
"You are going into very dangerous country where there are a lot of Apache Indians." I warned him.
He and his companions said, "Do you see these guns, six-shoots and ammunition? What do you think we have them for?"
I said, "You might have them with the intention of using them but you might not get the chance."
About eight or ten days later he and his two companions came straggling
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into Juárez one by one and reported they had been attacked by Indians in Apache Valley at the head of the Hole country and that the Indians had taken everything they owned except the guns that they were carrying. They related this incident:
As they went into Apache Valley they saw an Indian standing watching them then he immediately disappeared. For their safety they climbed up onto the mountain to the north and there on the rim of the mountain they made their camp and guarded it all night. One stood guard in the early morning while the other two ate breakfast, and after eating, instead of continuing their guard, they stood around the fire discussing what they were going to do when all oat once three Indians sprang up from behind their own barricade and fire on the. They ran, no two of them staying together, leaving everything in the hands of the Indians except the guns they were carrying. It took them about three days to get to Juárez.
A little later after this happened there was an Indian raid on [Colonia] Pacheco where they had driven off some of the stock and Apostle Teasdale and his counselors asked me to go to [Colonia] Pacheco and organize a posse and go out and see what I could do. On arriving at Pacheco with a letter for Bishop Smith, as he had asked previously for instructions as to what to do, we formed a posse consisting of Bishop Smith, John T. Whetten, Sam Jarvis, George Naegle, and Robert Beecroft and left Pacheo going to the west to the country described by Quigley and his party. We found where they had made their camp and one of their burros and the trail of the Indians they had seen were going down over the canyon into the Hole country. We camped there and during the night it began storming and when we got on top of the mountain there was five or six inches of snow and it was impossible to follow the trail any farther so we stared back for Pacheco. The snow was falling and the fog was
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so heavy that we could not see any land marks and did not know which way we were going as we had no compass.
I remember Sam Jarvis saying, "I can lead you to Pacheco blindfolded." We told him to take the trail and we would follow. After traveling for about an hour we had made a complete circle and come back upon our own trail. There we decided to camp till the next morning when we returned to Pacheco then I went to Juárez.
I had taken a severe cold and when I got home I had to go to bed and remain there for a couple of weeks and while not yet able to get out and ride, David Hawkins came to me one morning and said he had sighted a bunch of Mexicans on the Tinaje Wash that morning driving a bunch of horses and among them some of the colony horses. I immediately asked him to go and call Brigham Stowell and David Stevens and to get me a horse from Brother Taylor.
They saddled the horse for me and we took a couple of blankets apiece and started out hunting these Mexicans. The trail led us into the Tapasites where we found their camp and some of the horses but no men. We stayed there that night and guarded the camp and as the trail of part of the horses went up the canyon, next morning we went up the canyon to see what we could find and on returning we saw the Mexicans, seven of them in their camp saddling horses and as we rode toward them they began to run.
One of them shouted, "There comes Brown. He will kill the whole bunch of us."
We captured three of them, four of them getting away. We brought them down to Colonia Juárez. The man who had this band of thieves in charge was Tiofelo Hermosilo. On arriving at Colonia Juárez we decided to guard them there that night, taking them to Casas Grandes the next morning but on our way to Juárez we met a Mexican who rode to Casas
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Grandes and told them of our having captured these men. We put a guard over these Mexicans in a little lumber butcher shop that belonged to Brother Harper on the corner of his lot where his house now stands. During the night, I having gone home to bed, not being well, James Skousen, one of the guards, came and said several men had been there armed, demanding the prisoners and he could hear men coming over the dugway. I told him to return and tell the boys to get ready and protect the prisoners and not let them go.
I got dressed and went down to where the prisoners were as soon as I could, carrying my rifle in my hand. As I neared the men in the middle of the street a man by the name of Colonel Omobono Reyes was shouting that if Brown, the one who was responsible for this, would only present himself they would hang him and take the prisoners. He had about thirty men with him and take the town. When I had listened to his boast as I could, he not recognizing me because of the dark, I threw my rifle down on him and told him who I was and said if he did not shut up I would shoot the top of this head off, and silence reigned.
Then two men came from Casas Grandes and Brother Eyring being the Comisario of Juárez, said they had an order for the prisoners from the presidente at Casas Grandes who was then Manuel Hernandez. We turned the prisoners over to them and the next morning we went to Casas Grandes and found they had accused us of capturing them while in their camp eating breakfast and that the horses of hours we had found among theirs had only been drinking with their horses and they had not stolen them. We all had to go to jail, Brothers Stowell, Stevens, Hawkins, and myself. We remained there until Brother Helaman Pratt and Miles Romney went to Ciudad Juárez and got an order for our release, we having been there eighteen days. We then had to begin a fight for our recognition. I went to Ciudad Juárez and accused the Judge of using his office to
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protect thieves and the Judge lost his office and we began to get some protection from courts and officers of the law.
In the meantime there had been a new election and a new Presidente of Casas Granded was elected and there was a notice put up that any one desiring to hunt any straying animals on lands belonging to the colonies would need to come and get permission and advised the Presidente that anyone of his people found riding the range without permission would be severely dealt with.
But a short time later I was going from Casas Grandes by Ojo de Molino northwest of Casas Grandes on the Tinaja and just after passing over the Divide about at the springs, I saw four men coming driving a bunch of horses. From the distance I recognized that some of the horses were those belonging to the colonies. These men recognized me and as they were all armed they separated leaving the horses to surround me. I got off my horse and threw my gun down on them and motioned them to beat it and hollered to them that if they came any nearer there would be serious trouble. They took fright and went as fast as their horses could go to the north and I went on up to the bunch of horses and cut out those belonging to the colonies and drove them home. The next day I went down to Casas Grandes and had these men summoned before the Presidente and there again I advised them that if a like condition occurred I would leave their bones bleaching on the prairie for the coyotes. They took me at my work and we were not bothered for a good many years.
Another incident: (of the Tomoche raid of which I desire to give a short history.)
The Tomoche Indians, mixed with some Mexicans, lived in a little town in western Chihuahua [Mexico], by the name of Tomoche. There had some two or three years before been a girl who claimed to have visitations and spiritual instructions. The messenger visiting her, she claimed, had told her
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that the Catholic priests were not suppose to sell the sacrament nor charge people for sermons pertaining to the Church, and that they had no connection with the Church of the Master. That they were all wrong.
And these people in the surrounding towns and countries of the mountains, believing what they had heard of her, visited her at her home in a little mountain village by the name of Cabora in northeastern Sinaloa; among them, the president of Tomoche, Cruz Chavez with several of the people of Tomoche. They returned home very much impressed with the things they had heard and seen at Cabora in regard to the manifestations claimed to have been given to Santa Teresa.
When the priest of Guerrero came down to visit them in Tomoche and was holding services in the church, the people, instead of going to these services, went to the house of the Presidente Cruz Chavez. He had erected an altar in his parlor where they were having the services. This infuriated very much the priest of Guerrero and had went to the house of Cruz Chavez and started to tear down the altar and destroy the images that had been erected there. Cruz Chavez in return, entered and drove the priest out of his house and told him to leave his house and the town also. The priest immediately went to Guerrero and informed his brother that was Jefe Politico of the fact that he had been driven out of this town and abused. The Jefe sent an escort of seventy-five men to Tomoche with instructions to arrest all of the men and bring them to Guerrero. Cruz Chavez and his men anticipated this happening, and had made preparations for their reception and sent our a messenger to meet the escort and tell them not to come into Tomoche because there would be blood shed
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The men, instead of heeding Chavez's announcement, started on into the town. Chavez and his men met them with a battle cry of liberty and in defense of their lives and homes they killed about thirty of the men coming down to capture them. The balance of the men returned to Guerrero and reported the conditions. The government then sent three hundred soldiers to Tomoche to subdue the Tomoches. In a like manner, Cruz Chavez and his men, scattering in bunches of five men hid in the bushes around the villages and as the men advanced they shot down their officers first then played havoc with the soldiers, killing over one hundred at the first battle. Cruz Chavez and his men only numbered thirty-seven. Then the government sent five hundred soldiers and the same thing occurred. They killed the officers first then the soldiers that happened to linger. The conditions seemed to be terrible. Then the [Mexican] Federal government told fifteen hundred soldiers to go in and capture them, dead or alive. The General in command formed an attacking party, sending five hundred soldiers around to the west to come down the canyon, thus have the town completely surrounded. The men from the west that were coming down the canyon were the first to come near the village. The Tomoches shot down their officers and disarmed the soldiers and drove them into the church. When the General on top of the mountain demanded that they surrender he was shot and killed instantly by a Tomoche. The battle had raged for some hours when the Federal army fired some shots into the church from a canon, supposing that the Tomoches had taken refuge in the church. The roof of the church was of lumber and immediately began to burn and the soldiers locked in that church were cremated.
The Tomoches escaped to the mountains through the entrance left in the west where there soldiers had come down. The army followed
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them into the mountains and the death rate to the soldiers was terrible. It was estimated that before these Tomoche left the country that they had caused two thousand soldiers to lose their lives during their campaign of two years. The remainder of these Tomoche Indians then went to the United States and were there for a couple of years, then decided to return to their homes and families. They came by appointment to the border at Palomas [Arizona] and in the early morning assaulted the customs house and guards, wounding some of the guards, capturing the customs house and giving the customs administrator a receipt for the money and other things they had taken and came on their way south, having taken six horses and saddles from the customs guards. They went close to Colonia Diaz and stole out of a pasture four horses belonging to W.D. Johnson. Bishop [William Derby] Johnson immediately sent a runner to Juárez advising us what had happened. At Juárez we had previously organized a home guard or militia with Brother Miles Romney as Major in command and myself [Orson] as Captain of the cavalry.
On receiving this information we began to make preparations. Runners came in from Ramos advising of the fact that these Tomoches had passed by Ramos coming towards Juárez and they had taken four mules from a wagon belonging to the San Pedro Ranch, which was loaded with provisions. They had carried all the provisions they could on the mules.
I got Brother Amos Cox and started to go up north of the colony when we met Brother Carl Nielson who said he wanted to go with us. We went up the east side of the river to the north of the colony. At the first crossing we met Brother Seavey who said there were three suspicious looking characters up at the Seavey farm about four miles
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north of the colony and that in talking to Luanne Baker who spoke Spanish fluently, they had asked many questions in regard to the store in the colony and as to whether the people in the colonies were well armed.
I dispatched Neilson up the river to get the brethren together and try and capture these three men. I sent Seavey down to advice Brother Romney of the situation and for him to send me some men; and that I was satisfied these Tomoches were on the Tinaja. To determine their exact location I went with Cox and as we were scouting along the south rim of the Tinaja Wash three men raised u behind the rocks, threw their rifles down on us and demanded that we surrender. Cox and I jerked our guns down on them in return and demanded that they surrender, and there we were for some moments. The man in charge of their party and the man who had his gun on Cox lowered their guns but there was an Indian who never lowered his gun at all and asked the question if we were going to surrender.
When I accused them of being bandits and thieves the man in charge spoke up.
"No, we are not. We have another mission."
When I asked him what his mission was he said they were going back to their homes and families. I said I knew that they were Tomoches and had stolen horses from Colonia Diaz and they did not deny it. I warned them not to steal anything from these colonies for if they did I would follow them even into the sea. Finally I asked them where their companions were and they said close by. Just then I saw one of their men going out from their camp for water with a bucket, being about five hundred yards from where we were, down over the hill. This Indian who had never lowered his gun said to the man in charge, "Why not send our other companion down to the camp to tell the others
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to come up here?"
And at that the man turned around to go. I told him to stop or I would put a bullet through him even though they put two through me, as I was in command there.
The man in charge said, "You let us go to our camp and we will let you go to yours,"
We agreed but the Indian never lowered his gun until I suggested that if he did not he would be shot and anyway he would have to because they were going to their camp, so he did.
As we turned toward the colony the chief said, "There are three of our men gone down there and we recommend that nothing happens to them." As Brother Cox and I rode we came to where we had met Brother Seavey that morning and saw him coming again. He advised that three men had come down the river and talked with Sister Baker. Brother Nielson had met and followed them. When they had seen they were being watched they went onto the mesa east of the colony with Nielsen in pursuit. I then sent Cox down to tell Brother Romney to send me some men as I felt these men were going to come into the colony. But instead he had already sent some men to the hills. On my way to this point I met Brother David Johnson coming with some horses and he said he had seen Nielson following three men riding fast towards the north, and fearful for his safety I thought the only thing to do was to follow him but looking down towards the colonies I saw some men coming and waited for them.. They were Carlton, Judd, Taylor, Stowell, and Dory Cox. We followed along up the ridge to the north and saw Nielson riding back and forth in front of these three men who were four hundred yards to the north of him who were asking him to come over where they were. And still farther to the north we saw a bunch of twenty-five Tomoches coming up out of the Tinaja Wash onto the mesa. These men wanted to
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have a parley and it was agreed that one of them who was the second in command of the Tomoches should come out of the bunch and meet me and a have a parley. He let down his gun and I mine and we walked within fifty yards of each other.
He said they wanted to come through the colony and go on south and I advised him they would not be permitted to; they would have to go out around the colony. He said if we would not allow them to come by permission they might come any way. I advised him that we had plenty of men well armed and we would clean them out if they did, and I marked the way they should go. He went over to the main body and had a parley and we moved on up and followed along where I had left Brother Stowell and two of the men and had taken Brother Stowell and E.L. Taylor down the canyon and on the ridge there were six men horseback coming to attack us and as I looked down over the ridge I saw ten men coming afoot. They had almost surrounded us and for a moment it appeared the only thing to do was run.
We started to run down the ridge when the thought came to me that they could roll rocks down and kill us and I hollered for my companions to come back, they being ahead of me. We all stopped and I had them walk back and forth as if we had a lot of men. Our enemies stopped went the way we motioned them to go. We followed them the rest of that day and by night had their camp located. It was west of the colony on the top of the mountain to the west of the Macdonald Spring. I had previously sent word to Casas Grandes of the presence of the Tomoches by a Mexican who was working for me and when we got to the colony the commanding officers in Casas Grandes had sent twenty-five soldiers, twenty-five citizen volunteers and ten gendarmes and we had a counsel. They said they were anxious to capture these fellows dead or alive and I marked out a plan by which we could surround them. They said to
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wait until the morning and then we had another council and they asked me to take the trail and find out which way they were going and when I found out to advise them and they would immediately come and destroy the whole bunch. So at daylight I left with E.L. Taylor, Jerome Judd, Peter C. Wood, Carl Nielson, Amos Cox, and Brigham Stowell. We went to the top of the mountain about at Macdonald Spring and found that their trail led us to the south. We followed it until we came to a canyon leading down into the stairs country. Instead of following their trail across the canyon and up the high ground we went right up the canyon but when we neared the pass we saw a horse with a saddle on and a man immediately stepped out and shot his fun as a signal.
I said to Brother Taylor, "You know the trail, Take it." As we ran by them they opened up fire on us and when we got down the ridge to a point of defense I told the brothers to stop and we would return the fire. We did so and about twenty minutes kept it up but saw they had the advantage of the ground and decided we had to get away because bullets would soon be coming where we were. We went down the ridge and sure enough the bullets began falling around us. One hit a rock which Brother Wood was behind and lead sprinkled into his thin hair. I had already sent Brother Nielson to advise the people of Juárez and the soldiers that we had found the Tomoches and to come on. We took a position about five hundred yards from the Tomoches and remained there for two or three hours waiting for the Federal soldiers to come and take part and capture the Tomoches but instead of that they seemed to be afraid. The only ones coming were the gendarmes and the brethren decided I should go out and talk with the men while they held a fortified position near the Alameda ranch as the Indians had come through the Tomoche pass and through the low ground.
I could tell these gendarmes were nervous and wanted to return to Juárez. When I got to Juárez Nielson recognized me and said, "Here is
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the Captain." He came to meet me with Brother Carlton. They were the guides for the gendarmes. We held a parley and the lieutenant in command of the gendarmes said he had instructions to tell us to come on into town. So we rode into Juárez and reported to Major Romney and he immediately took us up to where Brother Teasdale was.
Everyone in the colony were anxious because Brother Nielson had reported that the Tomoches had us surrounded and probably had killed us all by this time. Brother Teasdale looked upon us and blessed us that wherein we had protected our home town the Lord would bless us and be with us and we would have power, but the enemies would not have power of destroy us.
We later had a parley with the Mexican officials, and instead of being anxious to follow Tomoches, they were the most fearful lot of men I ever saw, to be under arms. They said those Indians had a charmed life and bullets would not harm the; that one Tomoche could whip a hundred other men. As soon as dark come they all disappeared towards Casas Grandes. Some of the brethren were alarmed, fearing the Tomoches would attack the colony during the night. I replied that with six men we had whipped them the day before and that there was no fear of their attacking for they too were afraid for their lives.
The next morning a small body of men went with us out to the Alameda ranch and up into Tomoche pass where we found that they had killed three beef and only taken a small part of the meat with them, having left in a hurry after the fight. We followed their trail and found they had gone to the west of San Diego and later saw they had gone to a little Mexican village known as Rusio south of San Diego and continued their way south into the mountains.
I knew that I would always us know the Indian who had never lowered his gun. I had arrested a couple of men in Colonia Juárez for drinking and
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carousing and had handcuffed them and left them under guard with a man by the name of Pablo Soso at the store while I went home to get my horse and dinner preparatory to taking them to Casas Grandes. When I returned I saw the two men sitting under a tree with a man under another tree with my pistol in his hand and I looked at him and knew him to be this Tomoche Indian who was one of the party who held Amos Cox and I up on the mountain. As I shook hands with him I recognized him and he recognized me but said he had never seen me before. He was no other than Juan Soso, the man who had to be killed in Juárez later when they arrested him for stealing. He was a man of exceptional nerve and courage and became a bandit and was very bitter in his feelings towards the Mormons before he died.
A short time later John Soso came to the colony I employed him and one day while he was on the top of the mountain finishing up a piece of road I had given him to do, going up the mountains to the saw mill, he in confidence told me this: He said we were the only outfit that had opposed them as strongly as we had; that he wondered why they could not kill us. They had fired about three hundred shots at us and had not hurt any of us. He said that in the fight at Tomoche Pass we had killed two of their men and wounded three others. This makes it evident that we were protected by the power of the Lord or we undoubtedly would have been destroyed by these men who had caused the deaths of so many.
A few months after, they passed through the country. Apostle Teasdale and his counselors, Alexander Macdonald and Henry Eyring, after having understood the reasons of the uprising of these Tomoches they directed a communication to [Mexican] President [Porfirio] Diaz citing forth the reasons of this uprising and asked that these men might be given another chance and
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that they might be forgiven for their past deeds. This was taken into consideration by the President and his cabinet and these Tomoches were given a reprieve, that they might be forgiven for their past deeds. Thence Pres. Teasdale was called on a mission to Europe, to assist Pres. Daniel H. Wells, and afterwards to succeed him in the presidency of the European Mission.
My first trip to Sonora: As I have previously stated, on my trip to the mountains after the Apache Indians I had become sick and had had an examination by two doctors who said I had Bright's disease and my health was very poor. President Joseph C. Bentley had gone to El Paso and Mexico City and on his return in a conversation with Max Weber the manager of Ketelsen and Degetau's Banking and Mercantile Institution, arranged to get me to purchase cattle. Brother Guy Taylor and myself started to Sonora and on our way, over the Ojitos, Chihuahua we met an old French doctor who looked at me and said:
"Young man, you are in a very bad condition but you are going to the country where you can get a medicine that will cure you if you will take it as a medicine and not a beverage."
This was Mescal de Cabeza. Just previous to my leaving home I called upon Apostle Teasdale and while talking with him I told him of my anticipatory trip and my bad condition of health. He immediately stood upon his feet and laid his hands upon my head and gave me a blessing in which he said I would find on this trip to Sonora the medicine that would restore my health; and also that I would encounter people who would oppose the principles of the Gospel.
"I hereby set you apart and give you a mission to preach the truth of the Gospel in this foreign tongue, and I make you the promise that there shall not be any one who shall rise up against theses sacred principles that shall have power either to confound you in your language or their own for yo will have the gift of tongues. You will be able to confuse and bring to naught those who oppose you."
And sure enough on this trip when I was staying at the little town
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of Guachinaro, Sonora, Mexico, there was living at the house I was staying at a Catholic priest. I remained there some eight days awaiting returns from a messenger that had been sent to the pueblos south and west to find about some cattle. I had had a number of conversations with this priest and one Sunday morning he had made an appointment with some of his people of the little town and while we were at breakfast in the large sala of the house the people began to come in and they filled the parlor. The priest with a Bible in his hand and his other books stood up and began to speak, referring to me and my religion. The notes that he had taken had been taken during his conversations with me. He ridiculed and asked me a number of questions in the presence of these people.
One of the most potent questions was: "The idea of this man professing to be a follower of the Master when the church that he is a member of was only organized some sixty years ago while our church has come down during the ages from the Master Apostle Peter."
I asked him some questions and said if he would confine himself to the Bible I would be glad to discuss this matter with him and before I knew it I was standing on my feet and preaching the simple principles of the Gospel of the Master in the language of those people and the power of testimony and the spirit of the Gospel came to me with such power that the Father of the village, Sr. Leonardo Doriella arose. He said, "Stop! This man is teaching us the pure principles of the Gospel of the Master. We as Catholics are sinning against all of our traditions in listening to a new religion, even if it is the truth."
He went on to say, "My good friend, what you have said is true but I Am sorry that we cannot accept it because we are Catholics."
The Catholic priest was confused and confounded and from that time on, during the remainder of my stay he made himself absent from my presence;
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thus bringing to pass the promises that were given me through the prophet Apostle Teasdale; also I found the medicine that restored my health and became strong and healthy again, thus proving the efficacy of the promises of the servants of the Lord under the inspiration of the spirit of the Lord.
In 1892 Apostle Teasdale and his wife came to visit us in Colonia Morelos, Sonora, Mexico. There was a terrible drought throughout the land and the rivers had ceased running, and to the north and east the San Bernardino River and the Big Bavispe River had no water running in them. The people had planted wheat and barley and it never had had any water on it and it looked very discouraging and the people were desirous of cutting their grain for feed when Brother Teasdale and his wife came and we explained the conditions to him and in the morning I advised Brother Charles W. Lillywhite who was superintendent of the Sunday School, to arrange the children in to rows in front of the door of a building we had made to hold our services in. I advised them to begin singing the favorite hymn of Brother Teasdale, "In Our Lovely Deseret." We all went in and took our seats except Brother Teasdale and as he stood up there before the Sunday School had opened, he spoke as I have never heard mortal man speak.
"I, the Lord your God, declareth unto you that your crips will mature and you will have plenty for your own use and to spare for your neighbors. This is the beginning of the times of the changing of the seasons and you will have the early and late rains if you will be a land of plenty unto you. But if you cease your obedience to my laws and statutes this will not be a land of Zion unto you. Thus sayeth the Lord, your God. Amen."
The crops did mature, and as the Lord had promised we had plenty for ourselves and sold a great many tons of flour and barley to the neighboring
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mining camps of El Tigre and others at a good price. But we did not get a drop of rain on those crops and some of the brethren despaired.
"Bishop [Brown]," they said to me, "we think we had better cut our grain for feed, as there is no water and not a chance in a hundred that we will get any grain."
I replied, "The Lord has promised it unconditionally and He never fails when He makes a promise."
Later the people became disunited because the devil sent a man among us who sowed the seeds of discontent. This man had been a Latter-day Saint [Mormon] and had apostatized. His name was George Noble. Peace ceased to reign in that colony. On a trip to Salt Lake City to Conference while I was conversing with Brother Helaman Pratt in a railroad station of El Paso [Texas], this man, Noble, heard me talking. He was lying in the baggage room on a stretcher with his leg broken. He asked that I go in and see him and Brother Pratt and I went in and he confessed his guilt and said that he had taken what means he could from the people and was leaving for his home in Utah when the horse he was driving had kicked him and broken his leg. He asked me my forgiveness for what he had done. Brother Pratt and I administered to him and he went with us on the same train to Salt Lake City. Brother Pratt and I administered two or three times to him on the trip and saw he had something to eat. But he only lived four or five days after arriving in Salt Lake City and being in the hospital.
A prophecy and fulfillment by Apostle John Taylor: In the year 1898 Apostle John W. Taylor, A.W. Ivins, Brother Helaman Pratt and myself went to Colonia Oaxaca, Sonora, Mexico to try and settle some land difficulties between the brethren living there. After holding two or three meetings we saw it was impossible to bring those people together and Apostle
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Taylor made this statement in a priesthood meeting: He had had a pair of bull pups that he was very fond of. He bought a piece of venison and gave each pup a piece. They both took hold of their meat and looked at each other and began growling. They dropped their meat, jumped at each others throats and began chewing each other and a strange dog came along and got their meat.
"You people remind me of these bull pups. We came here to feed you on venison but you prefer bull dog. Now I say unto you that unless you repent of your sins and become united this land will become desolate and unfit for Latter-day Saints to live in, and this very house that we are holding this service in will be used as a ranch house and a place for strangers to camp. I say this through the authority of the holy priesthood I hold, and in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
And verily these people did not repent and these very conditions prophesized by Brother Taylor came to pass.
One more wonderful experience in which Apostle Teasdale again manifested the spirit of prophecy: The people of Colonia Juárez had become very much disunited and because of a gross misunderstanding in regard to an action of President Alexander Macdonald the majority of the brethren got up a petition and sent it to Salt Lake City to have Brother Macdonald released from his office. I was one of the signers of this petition and manifested more zeal than wisdom and more audacity than humility and I remember at conference when the brethren were being sustained in their offices that I alone voted against Brother Macdonald. After one of the conferences Brother Teasdale instructed the Bishop to investigate my case and try and make me see the folly of my presumptuous attitude.
So one day in accordance with these instructions I was called before Bishop Seavey and his counselors, but to no avail. My blindness and
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stubbornness was such that they gave me no light in the matter. Brother Teasdale had advised them that if they could not reconcile me to my wrongs to send me to hi, so immediately on being dismissed from the bishopric they directed me to Apostle Teasdale's home. I knocked at the door of Brother Teasdale's office. He got up and opened the door and told me to come in.
He said to me, "My boy, did the brethren have the right effect upon you?" I with a spirit of bravado said, "Should on man forgive another when he does not repent?"
Brother Teasdale looked at me and it appeared that his eyes were consuming my very soul for all of the bravado in me left and I bowed my head and tears filled my eyes.
When I could get courage I said to him, "Brother Teasdale, I know my duty now."
He asked what my duty was.
I replied, "It doesn't matter what other people do, it is my duty to forgive them. And if I do not the Lord will not forgive me."
Brother Teasdale said, "As with Peter of old, flesh and blood has not revealed this to thee but our Father which is in Heaven. I have been praying that you might have an understanding and see the light." As I rose up he came forward and placed his hands on me and blessed me and that spirit of forgiveness has always remained with me even until this day.
Another incident in which Brother Teasdale figured in my life: I was very anxious and prayed to the Lord for a blessing to come to me as I was desirous to enter into the law of plural marriage and the door seemed to have been closed and I could not get any answer to my prayers. While I was in the company of Apostle Teasdale in Colonia Diaz he said, "My boy, I want you to come and take a walk with me."
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As we walked around the block of Bishop Johnson's lot he had his arm in mine. But he stopped all at once and faced me and put his hands on my shoulders. It was a beautiful moonlit night and there with the power of the priesthood he blessed me and made me a promise. He said I should have the privilege of entering into the sacred, holy law and to be humble and listen to the whisperings of the Holy spirit and those blessings would be given to me.
I had found very much opposition with my wife, Mattie. She had repeatedly said that if I ever married another wife she would either commit suicide or would never live with me another day. I was converted to the law and tried to explain and convert her but all to no avail. She was obdurate in her desires and sentiments. But one day in the afternoon while I was in Colonia Diaz on business the promptings of the spirit of the Lord came to me and told me to go out into the brush and pray. I got on my horse and rode out into the mesquite brush north of the colony and there kneeled down and in a few words poured out my heart's desire. I asked the Lord that if it was His will that I enter into this high and holy law that he should convert by His spirit my wife because I loved her and wanted her to enjoy the same blessings that I would enjoy in this matter. That if it wasn't His will that it would be made known to me by the lack of her conversion.
On my return to Juárez my wife met me with the baby in her arms and with a sentiment that had been unknown in our home for many months. As we knelt down to prayers that evening she said to me, "Just after a minute I have something to tell you."
She said, "Night before last I had a vision in which I found myself standing in the doorway and just inside of the door was a pulpit and on this pulpit was the largest book that I ever saw and standing beside it was a man dressed in a temple robe, his arms nearly to the elbow
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and his feet above the ankles were bare, and part of is bosom; he had a white beard. He pointed his finger at me and told me not to oppose my husband in doing what is right or my name would not be written in that book. I knew that it was the Book of Life."
Mattie said, "Now I am not only willing but anxious, and do not allow an opportunity to pass without entering into this principle."
Some months later she wrote a letter to a young lady that I had spoken to her about and told her that she would be glad to accept her into her home and our family; a wonderful change brought about by the power and spirit of the Lord, and in succeeding years she never opposed me in that high and holy principle; another evidence that the futile efforts of man without the spirit of the Lord are in vain, but when he has the power and spirit of the Lord everything is success.
While living in Juárez I had gone into business with E.L. Taylor in the purchasing and disposing of cattle and while we were in this business six years we got along very good. I should like to pay Brother Taylor a compliment, in that we never had a cross word or any disagreement in our whole career of six years of business. I found him upright and honorable in his business dealings and I learned to love him very much. While on one of his trips to Deming, New Mexico, I had been called to El Paso, Texas by a telegram from the banking house of Ketelsen and Degetau. I had expected to return home in two or three days. On reaching El Paso he wired to me and said, "Come here immediately. There is trouble."
When I got there I found he had information that there had been some raids on the cattle belonging to Colonia Diaz by robbers and thieves,
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and as he was on his way to Salt Lake City to Conference, he asked me to stay and tend to it. Instead of returning home I began a vigorous attack upon these outlaws and with the aid of the officers of the law, both Federal and county, we arranged and brought things to order and put fourteen men in jail inside of thirty days; then organized what we called the International Stock Growers Protective Association. They made me the executive officer, and Mr. Ted Houghton and I followed stolen cattle form the colonies into northern New Mexico and eastern Kansas.
Before going east I had received permission from the governor of the state [of Chihuahua], Miguel Ahumada, to act vigorously on the frontier of the state of Chihuahua. On getting this evidence we prosecuted a number of people who had been stealing and some we had placed in jail, among them five Americans at Ciudad Juárez.
Just then Brother Teasdale came out to Deming, New Mexico and that was the last trip he made from the colonies as he went on to Salt Lake City and never returned. Again, as I went into his room and shook hands with him, he shook hands with me and asked what I was doing. I told him. He said, "That is right." And he placed his hands on my head and gave me a blessing and set me apart especially to protect the interests of the brethren in Mexico. He made me a promise in which he said that all those who rose up against me, their arms and material they used would be turned and made useless and through the power of the Lord my life would be spared and protected against any of those class of men, and verily it was so.
A bunch of outlaws, six in number, went down to Ciudad Juárez headed by a man by the name of Cox and arranged to get out one of the prisoners by the name of Henry Coleman Headspeth. One of these men was riding a horse and the others were carrying arms. They were going to pull the
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prisoner out over the wall and let him get away on the horse. This prisoner had received a sentence of ten years for cattle stealing. They threw the rope over the wall. Coleman tied it around him and it was tied around the horse on the outside. The horse started to pull and Coleman was half way up the wall but the horse fell down backwards and let the prisoner drop. This gave the alarm and the soldiers and police had a running fight with these bandits until they crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico.
In the meantime I had come down home to look after some stolen horses and mules taken from our Alameda ranch. With an Indian I followed the trail of these thieves, they having a large stallion, seven mares with five mule colts and two horse colts, off into the San Joaquin canyon. Just about four o'clock in the afternoon the wind was blowing very severely and we saw the horses and directly we saw a smoke emitting form a little side canyon and the Indian and myself crawled along and we looked up and there we saw a small cave and these men were cooking a calf they had stolen for their supper. We held them up, disarmed them and guarded them during the night and brought them to Casas Grandes the next day and they were sentenced to six years in the penitentiary. A little later these men who came down to Ciudad Juárez to liberate the prisoner drove a band of Brother Gruell's sheep across the border into Mexico and declared war on the Mormons. Brother Gruell sent a messenger to me to see what could be done. I rode on horseback to Colonia Diaz and there was a spring wagon and horse that had to be taken to Palomas. I drove it and when I arrived there a Jew who had just returned from Deming saw me. He said, "You had better not go to Deming or those fellows will kill you just as sure as your name is Brown. They have the whole country in their power."
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They had declared war on the Mormons, and me especially and were going around the streets as if they were the officers of the law. I confess I did not know just what to do but just then a boy carrying the mail drove up and my mind was made up to go with him. So I disguised myself as well as I could and got on the mail coach.
We rode into Deming. I felt that my duty was the first thing to perform and felt that I would get the protection of my Heavenly Father in doing my duty. I went to a hotel and secured a room then went down to a store of a man by the name of Bullock, who was my friend and he was surprised to see me. He told me they would sure get me if I remained. He said it was a public affair that if I ever returned to Deming they would kill me. I asked him to go see the sheriff whose name was Pink Peters and who had assisted me previously in running down and putting in jail some of these outlaws. Peters came up to my room. He said, "Brown, there is no use; they will kill you as sure as the world if you remain here. I will arrange for you to go out in the night on the freight train to El Paso. Do not come downstairs at all. I don't want to be seen in your company because they will kill both of us. See, I have even taken off my gun."
I told him all right. That I would decide what to do. He said he would send a messenger to see whether I decided to go out on the freight train. After he left I kneeled down in the room and prayed. I said, "I am here on Thy service and for the protection of the interests of Thy people. If it is Thy will I should run away and hide put fear in my heart. If it is Thy will that I should stay here and meet these enemies, make me to have the courage of a lion that I may not fear to meet them. Help me in this labor that I have come out to perform."
As I stood upon my feet I felt that with the courage that came to me
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I could whip a whole regiment of that class of outlaws and people. I walked down into the street and noticed on the corner a man who had bought from others, stolen animals belonging to me. While I was talking to him the man who headed the gang of bad men, John Cox, came out a saloon door and started to walk across the street. This man I was talking to, Jack Gibbons, said, "There is John Cox now. He will kill you on sight."
I said to Gibbons, "You wait here and watch. Something is going to happen now."
I had on an old corduroy vest and I cocked my pistol and put it inside my vest and started for this man. When we got to the middle of the street I had no other thought than that this man would fight. When he turned around I advanced towards him and when within about eight feet of him I stopped. I said, "Is your name John Cox?"
He said it was. I said, "Well, my name is Orson Brown, Mormon Brown; and as you said you were going to bury him if he ever came around here I thought I'd like to be present at the funeral. Get your gun, you coyote! We'll see who is going to be buried first!"
He threw up his hands and started to walk backwards and I told him he did not need to run as I could run as fast as he could. I took him to a nearby store and took off his gun and told him to never wear it again. I said I had come here to make a cleaning of his kind.
In the store I met three or four of my friends who had just happened to come in and were trying to decide what they were going to do about these outlaws. There bandits began to quiet down and after remaining there about three weeks to finish up business affairs in relation to Gruell's
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sheep, I returned home; another evidence of the promises of the servants of the Lord being fulfilled when we are humble and obedient and subject ourselves to the will of the Lord.
On my return home I found there had been a new organization in the stake with Brother Anthony W. Ivins as Stake President and Henry Eyring and Helaman Pratt as his counselors. I was called into counsel by these brethren and asked if I would accept the calling of a High Counselor in the Juárez Stake and was set apart and ordained. My association with these brethren, both in the council and in visiting the stake and wards was always a joy and satisfaction as well as an inspiration to me. I had the privilege of becoming very intimate with these brethren and found them to be of the highest type of manhood and sincere and devoted Latter-day Saints.
Two years previous to this, when I was in El Paso, Texas I was met in my room in the hotel by a man by the name of Captain John Hert and his associate who was afterwards editor of the El Paso Times, by the name of [may have been J.O. Chase]. They came with a proposition to make me. They said that they had an idea and desired to invade the west coast of Mexico and take the two states of Sonora and Sinaloa and form a new republic. They explained the richness and desirability of these two states as both a mining and agricultural and horticultural center and said their object in seeing me was to find out what the attitude of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was towards this kind of an invasion and asked if the church would not be interested and put up part of the finances to finance this expedition; that in return they would allow the Mormons to go in and live their religion together with the principle of polygamy and turn over the civil government to them while they would have in hand the military forces. They felt sure that within a short
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space of time they could get recognition from the U.S. and other foreign governments. After they laid before me their plans and expectations I spoke.
"In the first place the church to which I belong is not interested in any such program and in the second place I am a Mexican citizen and if you made any invasion into Mexico, with all my power and force I would resist you or any such invasion."
They went away from my room considerably crestfallen, and their project, not receiving encouragement, fell down.
In the month of November, 1900 I made a trip to Kansas City on business and while there I went down to Independence and was on the temple block on the Sabbath day, strolling around when I felt the spirit of prayer and I kneeled down under a large oak tree just west of the church building belonging to the Josephites and there poured out my soul to the Lord. While in the attitude of prayer a very strong impression came to me that I was going to be called on a mission and I rose up and pondered and thought and wondered what that mission was going to be. I returned home to Juárez and told this to my wives, for in the meantime the Lord had opened up the way and I had married another wife. We had before this time arranged plans for doing some more building. I said, "We will suspend that for the present for I know that I am going to be called on a mission, just what or where it will be I do not know."
In the early part of 1901 as we came out of a high counsel meeting, President Ivins put his arm into mine and walked over to my gate with me.
When we got there he said, "Orson, every time I think of Colonia Morelos I think of you and I cannot think of it only with you in my mind. I know that it will break you all up financially for you told
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me of your plans for building but I feel that there is where the Lord wants you to labor."
I said, "If there is where the Lord wants me to labor there is where I will go; I am no better than you or any other servant of the Lord that I should not make any sacrifice." And we both shed tears together and he went over to his home.
I did not sleep much during the night, thinking of the matter and early at daylight I was up and over knocking at President Ivins' door; he, having awakened early, let me in.
I said, "Brother Ivins, I have come to tell you that regardless of what sacrifices, financially, it may cause to me, I have come to say to you that I want to go and be where the Lord wants me and where his servants see fit to call me."
And we both shed tears of joy again together. He said, " Your name has already gone up north. Prepare yourself and make ready to move." So I began to get ready to move to Colonia Morelos, Sonora, Mexico. Again my wife Mattie was impressed. She said to me, "Orson, I think you ought to take another wife." I asked who it should be. "I heard you speak very complimentary of Bessie Macdonald. I believe she would be glad to join our family."
So before going to Sonora I spoke to her about the matter and also to her father. My wife, Mattie took Bessie by the hand and gave her to me, and sealing being performed by Bessie's father, Alexander Finlay Macdonald. Another blessing came to me for in her I found one of the most noble souls I have ever known; a wonderful counselor, splendid mother and a worker in the church. She brought peace and harmony into my home.
A few days later in connection with Brother Ivins and Helaman Pratt I
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went to Colonia Diaz and from there to Colonia Morelos and was presented to the people and ordained Bishop. One of my counselors was the most faithful man I have ever known, Patriarch Alexander Jameson. The other was elder L. S. [Lorenzo Snow] Huish. I began to move my families over to the Colonia Morelos. But previous to this time Brother Ivins had sent me to Colonia Oaxaca to try to arrange a settlement with Colonel [Emilio] Kosterlitzky and Parson G. H. Williams. A runner had come over from Oaxaca stating that Parson Williams had made the announcement that the Colonel was coming with his men and they were going to confiscate all of the interests of the people because they had not made their payments on the land. President Ivins and Pratt were not able to go. On arriving at Oaxaca the next day the Colonel with about twenty men including the Presidente and judge of Bavispe, Sonora came down to Morelos and the brethren were all called together to the little school house and the Colonel arose. He said, "You people have not paid your payments on these lands and we are going to confiscate all of your personal property, together with your improvements and unless these payments are made within ten days time you can walk out of here."
And Parson Williams, in a very rabid and excited manner, abused the people and told them that because they had failed it had made him fail in payments. I then asked the Colonel what his legal status was and who had given him such executive power to confiscate this property without having given them opportunity to appear in their own defense. He said, "The judge has the document and is going to execute judgment." The people were very much excited but I said to the Colonel, "Let the judge read the document and let us see what it contains." I told the judge, "Please read that document that you have."
The judge arose and read the document and when he got through I found that it was an embargo on the property of Parson Williams only, and
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that he was responsible to the Colonel for the deed on the land. Then with considerable emphasis t counteract the audacity of their plans I spoke. I said to the Colonel, "Apply the confiscation where it belongs but in the name of justice I defy you or Williams or this court who have brought here your plans, to place their hands on any part of this people's property."
Then I turned to the people and said, "Brethren, rest on your arms; I am here to help you defend your interests against these imposters who have come to take from you that which is yours." With cursing, Colonel Emilio Kosterlitzky arose and said to his men, "Vamanos! Vamanos!"
And I followed him to the door and he and Parson Williams went towards the Parson's home and I turned to the brethren and told them to be calm. I said, "The devils are whipped at their own game. I am going down and prod the lions in their own den."
Some of the brethren were fearful for my safety but I said there was no danger for they were whipped and so I walked down where Parson Williams and the Colonel were with their men who were cursing because their plans had failed. As I walked into the house the Parson turned and ran out of the back door. The Colonel said, "You have raised H---." I said, "Yes, that is the way it is. You had H--- in your necks and a desire to raise H--- and I have raised that H--- and put it on your own heads. Don't you dare to touch any of this property or molest these people. They came here under a private contract and it is up to him to make good with them. You have no right to expel them from their lands or homes."
Later, in connection with Brothers Ivins and Helaman Pratt and Bishop
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Scott, I went to Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico, where President Ivins received titles to the Oaxaca lands, showing that right will prevail when you have the spirit of the Lord with you.
Previous to the settling of Colonia Morelos I had made two trips into Sonora with Brothers Ivins, Pratt, and party hunting for a place to colonize some of the brethren who were coming from the north and on the last one of these trips I was very much inspired with the wisdom and sincerity and greatness of Brothers Ivins and Pratt and on a third trip that I was making with them, when we arrived at Ojitos we drove up and there were a lot of men around. I noticed one man ride up to another and he was cursing. I could not hear just what he said but as he rode off the other man, Charles MacDowell, came up to me. He said, "Mr. Brown, do you see that fellow going off? I think you know who he is; he just said to me that if you had you just dues your head would be shot off." He also told me this fellow had said I was going to get mine and for me to look out. I walked into the store and Brother Ivins followed closely as a guard. In the store a man by the name of Barker said to look out because people were after me. I had previously received a letter from an American from Montezuma, Sonora and one from a Mexican in Basaraca, Sonora, stating that an outlaw and cattle thief by the name of Henry Ward was going to kill and was supported by Colonel [Emilio] Kosterlitzky. This man Barker who was running the store said, "Henry Ward is due here on the 17th; this is the 14th, and I as a friend am telling you to be careful because he is a bad man and killer and knows he will get protection from the Colonel."
