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INCIDENTS IN LIFE OF * LATE AMOS R. WRIGHTCailie_toJLItah-in-1850;--Went-to- Salmon-River-Country in 1855; Rode Pony Express Two ^ Years; Member Territorial Legislature*The mules. Being a Rood hand with the lariat ho roped one and mounted it, the other one followinR. After ■in torestinjrincidcnt-5”in—conncction: Tiding-about t wn-nfllcy h4Hl' smonnt-~The data regarding tho iiTb of the late Amos R-. Wright was furnished us by his son, Si Ins. Many morehave been written, but tho followinR are tho principal events as recalled by his son:Amos Russell Wright, whose death occurred at his homo in Bennington on-Wcdncsdayr PebrlMttrr \vla son of Jonathan C. unci Rebecca Wheeler Wright. Ho was born at Exeter, Scott county, Illinois, on Jan, 11, 1840. His parents were members of the Mormon church and Amos was baptized by his fnther, _wben_cight ypats of-Uge. Ilia parents crossed the plains in 1850, arriving in Salt Lako In October of that year. Although but a lad of 10 years, Amos walked the entire distance. Ho moved with parents to Brigham City in 1854, T^fay?^ST^lthoughJ)utj^mv months pnst 1C yenrs of age7~MrT-Wrightr In company—with Ix!wis{»*n(1 Virglnla-Cf^rWBntspa*^*^^ met W. C* Davis, now residing in Montpelier.ShurtlifT, now president of Weber staiceT Thos. C. Ricks, now deceased, and others, was called to explore nnd settle the Sulmon river country. Tho company went by way of Bear River City, through Malad Valley and croaacd the Snako rlver-at n point This aide of Idaho-Fu!Is7 in the Salmon rlvervalley « fort was established and Blockades built. Early in the spring/if 1856 cropa were planted at-whatrla-nowknuwri aaEC Lemhi. By this tlmo Mr. Wright was able to talk the Shoshone Indlnn language quite fluently, This served aa a great help to him and his companions during their stay in thut-see-tlon, and later on in his life.During this • mission an incident occurred which showed the braveryof Mr. Wright. It was tho custom to place all of the stock^In a corral at night. One morning just as the stock was turned out, a band of about 25 Indians rushed from the river bottom, near by, and drove all of the animils off to a bluff, about two and a half‘miles distant, leaving only ortc old mare. He was asked to go and rneet-witlTthc Indians and try to in luce them to return the stock. Asof the lar-~ int on the other mule, and continued his journey. He rode these mules alternately, bareback, for ncnrly 250 mirWwithout stopping to feed him-sdlf or the animals. After this dis-ancc was «(overclt;i,~he traveled by night and hid during the day. He traveled this way until ho reached Salt Lake and delivered the mules to their owner. When asked why he did not travel the same during the fore part of the trip ho said, I didn't Jliiye tlme_tQ_stop_.untjL Lgdta.aafe_ distnnco from that watering placo.TrOn April 28, 1801, he was married to Cnthorino Roberts. During the Hummer of 1802 ho and his brother David, now deceased, freighted provisions to Fort Boise, as it was then called, and during the following year In the rhinos at HelenaIn August, 1804 he came to Liberty In this valley and remained there until May, 1805, when he removed to Bennington.In 1807 he! went to Lakctown to ot-Utcs from Southern Utah and a band of Shoshones, from the Green River and Wind River sections _In—Wvom^—waa customary with him, the only point he considered was, “Is it my luty,” not considering the danger in wnnectibn with the undertaking. \ccbrdingly, h£T mounted the only inimal left, and bravely rode up to die bamTdTHbstile redskins. Aftertalking with them for a short time le succeeded in getting them to return the a.nimals/ and the Indians mtered into a treaty with the little mnd of whites, which lasted during ;he life of the mission. *Owing to the hostile attitude of .he Nez Perce Indjnris, from the iorth, and other causes, the missionvas abandoned during the summer f 1857. After returning from the Salmon river'country, Mr. Wright •ar.ried the (U. S. ma|I from JSalt ^ake’west 500 miles, by way of Ruby /alley, Nevada, for a period of two mars. During thfs time an incident occurred which ahowpd his physical mdurance. The mail ‘'contractors Pad Tjrdught-a-vaiuablc pair nLmUls: 'rom Kentucky. Shortly afterwards he mules were stolen and taken vest. Mr. Wright was offered a’blg eward if he would recover the ani-nala and return them to their oWn-srs. Just a year from the date they vere stolen, he located them at a anch in the Sierra' Nevada moun-ains. It was the habit of thoee who tad stolen the mules to turn them ooee in-the evening to water at a pring about a half mile from the anch. He notified his employer and lporr-bcingasked if he could devise icme way of recovering them, relied in the affirmative. He wasgiv-m a lay-off and proceeding to the iacs, secreted hireeelf in a bunch of Mile* awaiting the tlnw of wateringing. Thore-he -met—Ira- Nebeker, who became his life-long friend and associate. The occasion for .this friendship was brought about by the bravery and determination of Nebe-kor to affect a settlement of the dif- -fercnccs between tho two band of Indtuns, which at this time meant m much to the settlers of this valley.From the time of his settlement In this valley-, until his death, Mr. Wright was busy,, both in political and rcligous affairs. He was appointed first consellor to Bishop Joa-cph W. Moore In 1872 and served In that capacity until October, 1880r when, owing trf Moore's- removal from Bennington, he acted as bishopuntil August, 188-1, he was set apart as bishop of the ward by President John Tayior. He served m bishop of Bennington ward until Jan. 22,. 101 i. He was twice elected a member of the territorial legislature in the early 80’s. Hu was offered the position as Indian agent at RossFork,- but refused to accept! t on account of hfs religous'ddtie*.In July, 1883, In company with Moses Thatcher, Lorenzo Snow and several others, he went on a mission among the Blackfect and Flathead Indians In Montana. They traveled up the Snake river to Henry’s lake, crossed over Into the Yellowstone Parkt-througb It, down the Yellow-stone river to the Rosebud, visited with the Indians at the Rosebud agency, and then proceded through the Big Horn basin and over the mountains into the Wind river country, During this trip they met with most of the chiefs of the Crows, Flathead, Blackfeet, Sioux and Shoshone Indians. As an interpreter, Mr. Wright explained to the Indians -that the object of their visi t was one of peace and good will. They returned home in September by way of Lander, having traveled 1200 miles.Mr. Wright was a man of robustconstitution and although he experienced many hardships during his’ early life, he always enjoyed the best of health uptd January, 1912. whsn-he was stricken with paralysis affected his right side. He soon recovered from the i during the past two ysara h most as hale and Hearty aa ■ was also a man of strong lt;and never hesitated vit-wa upon any question, at interest. , 7He was the father of 14 12 sOns and 12 whom survive4« grand ohOdnBM* IT ehfldmt,
Newspaper Details
Montpelier Examiner
Montpelier, Idaho, US
Fri, Mar 12, 1915
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Utah, USA 17 Oct 2024
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