It was in the summer of 1870 that Hamblin met Major J.W. Powell, who had
descended the Colorado the previous year. Powell's ideas coincided very
well with those of Hamblin. He wanted to visit the Indians and prevent
repetition of such a calamity as that in which three of his men had been
killed near Mount Trumbull, southwest of Kanab. So, in September, 1870,
there was a gathering at Mount Trumbull, with about fifteen Indians. What
followed is presented in Powell's own language:
"This evening, the Shivwits, for whom we have sent, come in, and after
supper we hold a long council. A blazing fire is built, and around this
we sit--the Indians living here, the Shivwits, Jacob Hamblin and myself.
This man, Hamblin, speaks their language well and has a great influence
over all the Indians in the region round about. He is a silent, reserved
man, and when he speaks it is in a slow, quiet way that inspires great
awe. His talk is so low that they must listen attentively to hear, and
they sit around him in deathlike silence. When he finishes a measured
sentence the chief repeats it and they all give a solemn grunt. But,
first, I fill my pipe, light it, and take a few whiffs, then pass it to
Hamblin; he smokes and gives it to the man next, and so it goes around.
When it has passed the chief, he takes out his own pipe, fills and lights
it, and passes it around after mine. I can smoke my own pipe in turn, but
when the Indian pipe comes around, I am nonplussed. It has a large stem,
which has at some time been broken, and now there is a buckskin rag wound
around it and tied with sinew, so that the end of the stem is a huge
mouthful, exceedingly repulsive. To gain time, I refill it, then engage
in very earnest conversation, and, all unawares, I pass it to my neighbor
unlighted. I tell the Indians that I wish to spend some months in their
country during the coming year and that I would like them to treat me as
a friend. I do not wish to trade; do not want their lands. Heretofore I
have found it very difficult to make the natives understand my object,
but the gravity of the Mormon missionary helps me much.
"Then their chief replies: Your talk is good and we believe what you
say. We believe in Jacob, and look upon you as a father. When you are
hungry, you may have our game. You may gather our sweet fruits. We will
give you food when you come to our land. We will show you the springs and
you may drink; the water is good. We will be friends and when you come we
will be glad. We will tell the Indians who live on the other side of the
great river that we have seen Kapurats (one-armed--the Indian name for
Powell) and that he is the Indian's friend. We will tell them he is
Jacob's friend."
The Indians told that the three men had been killed in the belief they
were miners. They had come upon an Indian village, almost starved and
exhausted with fatigue, had been supplied with food and put on their way
to the settlements. On receipt of news that certain Indians had been
killed by whites, the men were followed, ambushed and slain with many
arrows. Powell observes that that night he slept in peace, "although
these murderers of my men were sleeping not 500 yards away." Hamblin
improved the time in trying to make the Indians understand the idea of
an overruling Providence and to appreciate that God was not pleased with
the shedding of blood. He admitted, "These teachings did not appear to
have much influence at the time, but afterwards they yielded much good
fruit."
Wm. R. Hawkins, cook for this first Powell expedition, died a few years
ago in Mesa, Arizona. Willis W. Bass, a noted Grand Canyon guide, lately
published an interesting booklet carrying some side lights on the Powell
explorations. In it is declared, on Hawkins' authority, that the three
men who climbed the cliffs, to meet death above, left the party after a
quarrel with Powell, the dispute starting in the latter's demand for
payment for a watch that had been ruined while in possession of one of
the trio. Powell is charged with having ordered the man to leave his
party if he would not agree to pay for the watch.