In January, 1874, Hamblin left Kanab alone, on a mission that was
intended to pacify thousands of savage Indians. Possibly since St.
Patrick invaded Erin, no bolder episode had been known in history. He was
overtaken by his son with a note from Levi Stewart, advising return, but
steadfastly kept on, declaring, "I have been appointed to a mission by
the highest authority of God on earth. My life is of small moment
compared with the lives of the Saints and the interests of the kingdom of
God. I determined to trust in the Lord and go on." At Moen Copie Wash he
was joined by J.E. Smith and brother, not Mormons, but men filled with a
spirit of adventure, for they were well informed concerning the
prospective Navajo uprising. At a point a day's ride to the eastward of
Tuba's home on Moen Copie Wash, the three arrived at a Navajo village,
from which messengers were sent out summoning a council.
The next noon, about February 1, the council started, in a lodge twenty
feet long by twelve feet wide, constructed of logs, leaning to the center
and covered with dirt. There was only one entrance. Hamblin and the
Smiths were at the farther end. Between them and the door were 24
Navajos. In the second day's council came the critical time. Hamblin knew
no Navajo and there had to be resort to a Paiute interpreter, a captive,
terrified by fear that he too might be sacrificed if his interpretation
proved unpleasant. His digest of a fierce Navajo discussion of an hour
was that the Indians had concluded all Hamblin had said concerning the
killing of the three men was a lie, that he was suspected of being a
party to the killing, and, with the exception of three of the older
Indians, all present had voted for Hamblin's death. They had
distinguished the Smiths as "Americans," but they were to witness the
torture of Hamblin and then be sent back to the Colorado on foot. The
Navajos referred especially to Hamblin's counsel that the tribe cross
the river and trade with the Mormons. Thus they had lost three good young
men, who lay on the northern land for the wolves to eat. The fourth was
produced to show his wounds and tell how he had traveled for thirteen
days, cold and hungry and without a blanket. There was suggestion that
Hamblin's death might be upon a bed of coals that smoked in the middle of
the lodge.
[Illustration: EARLY MISSIONARIES AMONG THE INDIANS
1--Andrew S. Gibbons 2--Frederick Hamblin
3--James Pearce 4--Samuel N. Adair]
[Illustration: MOEN COPIE-FIRST HEADQUARTERS OF MISSIONARIES TO THE MOQUI
INDIANS]
The Smiths tightened their grasps upon their revolvers. In a letter
written by one of them was stated:
"Had we shown a symptom of fear, we were lost; but we sat perfectly
quiet, and kept a wary eye on the foe. It was a thrilling scene. The
erect, proud, athletic form of the young chief as he stood pointing his
finger at the kneeling figure before him; the circle of crouching forms;
their dusky and painted faces animated by every passion that hatred and
ferocity could inspire, and their glittering eyes fixed with one
malignant impulse upon us; the whole partially illuminated by the
fitful gleam of the firelight (for by this time it was dark), formed a
picture not easy to be forgotten.
"Hamblin behaved with admirable coolness. Not a muscle in his face
quivered, not a feature changed as he communicated to us, in his usual
tone of voice, what we then fully believed to be the death warrant of us
all. When the interpreter ceased, he, in the same easy tone and collected
manner, commenced his reply. He reminded the Indians of his long
acquaintance with their tribe, of the many negotiations he had conducted
between his people and theirs, and his many dealings with them in years
gone by, and challenged them to prove that he had ever deceived them,
ever had spoken with a forked tongue. He drew a map of the country on the
ground, and showed them the improbability of his having been a
participant in the affray."
In the end, the three were released after a discussion in the stifling
lodge that had lasted for eleven hours, "with every nerve strained to its
utmost tension and momentarily expecting a conflict which must be to the
death."
The Indians had demanded 350 head of cattle as recompense, a settlement
that Hamblin refused to make, but which he stated he would put before the
Church authorities. Twenty-five days later, according to agreement, he
met a delegation of Indians at Moabi. Later he took Chief Hastele, a
well-disposed Navajo, and a party of Indians to the spot where the young
men had been killed, and there demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the
Indians, the falsity of the accusation that Mormons had been responsible.
In April, 1874, understanding that the missionaries south of the river
were in grave danger, a party of 35 men from Kanab and Long Valley, led
by John R. Young, was dispatched southward. At Moen Copie was found a
gathering of about forty. It appeared the reinforcement was just in time,
as a Navajo attack on the post had been planned. Hamblin persisted in
braving all danger and set out with Ammon M. Tenney and a few others for
Fort Defiance, but found it unnecessary to go beyond Oraibi.
The Utah affair, after agency investigation, was brought up again at Fort
Defiance, August 21, with Hamblin and Tenney present, and settled in a
way that left Hamblin full of thanksgiving.
In 1875, Hamblin located a road from St. George to the Colorado River, by
way of Grand Wash.