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INCIDENTS IN LIFE OF ' LATE AMOS R. WRIGHTCaitie_toJLItahin-1850-W en t- to- Salmon-River-Country in 1855; Rode Pony Express Two ^ Years; Member Territorial Legislature*The data regarding tho ItTb of the late Amos R-. Wright was furnished us by his son, Silas. Many more■in toresting-incidcnt-5”inrconnection: Tidtng-sbout t wn-nfller hTHl' smonnt-U-mighthave been written, but tho fatlowing-mre tho principal events as recalled by his son:Amos Russell Wright, whose death occurred at his homo in Bennington on-Wcdncsdnyr PebrlMttrr was the son of Jonathan C. anti Rcljecca Wheeler Wright, lie wits born atExeter, Scott county, Illinois, op Jan. 11, 1840. Iiis parents were members of the Mormon church and Amos was baptized by his fnther, _when_cight ypara Jitage* Ilia parents crossed tho 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 llrighnm City in 1854. ^Ttf^favrTSStb^dthough but a few months pnst 15 yenrs of ageT~Mr7The mules. Being a good hand with the lariat he roped one and mounted it, the other one following. Aftered-and put. the otlfBP-ettd of the Tar-int on the other mule, and continued hia journey. He rode these mules alternately, bareback, for ncnrly 250 mirW’without stopping to feed himself or the animals. After this dis-tnncc was qovered, he traveled by night and hid during the day. He traveled this way until ho reached-Wrightr In company—with IxjwIh Hn(' Virglnia-Cltyi'M5TTt?r=Wh«^^-met W. C* Davis, now residing in Montpelier.Shurtliff, now president ot Weber staiceT ThoSi C. Ricks, now deceased and others, was called to explore nnd settle the Sulmon river country. Tho company went by wny of Bear River City, through Mnlad Valley and crossed the Snako rlver-at n pointIn the Salmon rlvervniiey a fort established and Btockadca built. Early in tho sprlng/if 1850 crops ^cre .plantelt;l-at-whatris-nowknuWn asEtT Lemhi. By this tlmo Mr. Wright was able to talk the Shoshone Indian language quite fluently, This served as a great help to him and his companions during their stay in thut'sec-tion, and later on in his life.During this ‘ mission an incident occurred which showed the bravery of Mr. Wright. It was tho custom to place all of the stock^In a corral at night. One morning just a* the stock was turned out, a band of about 25 Indians rushed from the river bottom, near by, and drove all of tho animils off to a bluff, about two and a half‘miles distant, leaving only one aid mare. He was asked to go and meet with the Indians and tryTo In luce them to return the stock. As was-customary with him, the onlySalt 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 iiuye time-to-stoii- untiL Lgdta-safe— distance from that watering placed On April 28, 1801, he was married to Cntherlno Roberta. During the summer of 1802 ho and his brother David, now deceased, freighted provisions to Fort Boise, as it was then called, and during the following year it) 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 totHIsTtde ondaho Fills ftrrffltnr ~sct~aa mediator ~betwccmr-band-of—joint he considered was, is it my iuty,” not considering the danger in wnnectibn with the undertaking. Accordingly, h6 mounted the only inimal left, and bravely rode up to die band’TTfibstile redsKihsr~ATfertalking 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 and of whites, which lusted during Jte life of the mission. ,Owing to the hostile attitude of .he Nez Perce Indjnns, from the iorth, and other causes, the missionrom Kentucky. Shortly afterwards he mules were stolen and taken vest. Mr. Wright was offered a’blg eward if he would recover the ani-nals 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 ooae 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,* re-lied in the aftirmative. He wasgiv-m a lay-off and proceeding to the laca, secreted hireaalf in a bunch of tullas awaiting the tluw of wataringUtcsfrom Southern Utah and a band-of Shoshones, from the Green River and Wind River ng. There—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 betwedn tho two band of Indtuns, which at this time meant so much to the settlers of this valley.From the tlmo 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 Joseph W. Moore in 1872 and served In that capacity until October, 1880r when, owing Ui Moore's- removal from Bennington, he acted as bishopUntil August, 188-1, he was set apart as bishop of the ward by President John Taylor. He served as bishop of Bennington ward until Jan. 22,. J911. He was twice elected a member of the territorial legislature in the early 80’s. He was offered the position as Indian agent at Ross Fork,but refused To acceptlt on ac-count of his rellgous'ddfie*.In July, 1883, in company with Moses Thatcher, Lorenzo Snow and several others, he went on a mission among the Blackfcet and Flathead Indians In Montana. They traveled up the Snake river to Henry’s lake, crossed over into the Yellowstone Park^through it, down the Yellowstone river to the Rosebud, visited with the Indiaifs at the Roeebud agency, and then proceded throughvas abandoned during the summer f 1857. After returning from the Salmon river country, Mr. Wright •ar.ried the (U. S. mail from J3alt jrke west 500 miles, by way of Ruby /alley, Nevada, for a period of two mars. During thfs time an Incident Krcurred which showpd his physical mdurance. The mail ‘'contractors radBroughU-valuabtc pairofcmnler ThatThe object of thelrviait was one. __ 1. of peace and good will They returned home in September bythe 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 tke Indiawayof Lander, having traveled 1200 miles.Mr. Wright was a man of robust constitution and although he experienced many hardships during hia’ early life, he al ways enjoyed the baatJ of health uptd January, 1912, wheel-he ww stVicken with parmlysie. which, affected his right side. Howe ear. he-soon recovered from the stroke aad during the past two years he waa almost as hale and Hearty aa ever.Ba was also a man of strong eqevtedma* and never hesitated to ascpn vit-wa upon any qu—tica at interest. 7* »*•*;,*Fie was the father of S4 12 sOna and 12 whom survive 48 graad ohildraa w41T| ehildrw,
Newspaper Details
Montpelier Examiner
Montpelier, Idaho, US
Fri, Mar 12, 1915
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Utah, USA 22 Oct 2024
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