In 1880-1881, Billy the Kid helped murder three men, went to jail, broke out by killing two jailers, and was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett. In his lifetime he had murdered several Native Americans but said those murders didn't matter because the Indians "weren't people." In 1880-1881, 450 miles away, Henry and Elizabeth Harriman loved their four children and welcomed a fifth, broke out homestead land, built up their cabin, fed Native Americans and wept with them at the death of their beloved two-year-old Lizzie.
Billy the Kid had notoriety. The Harrimans had goodness.
Billy the Kid had notoriety. The Harrimans had goodness.
They married, had children, faced death and loss, traveled hundreds of miles, estabilished six homes and stayed grounded through their bedrock faith in God and each other.
Get acquainted with them in the new history of Henry Harrison and Sarah Elizabeth Hobbs Harriman. It's a companion to Fort Montezuma 1879-1884: Crucible of Devotion. (Those who bought a hard copy of the Fort Montezuma book recieved both histories this past weekend, or will receive them soon in the mail. Everyone else can find both of them on Family Search.)
(For those who are looking at Fort Montezuma for the first time: R.F. McDonald, the author, was very particular that I leave his formatting alone. There are a lot of captions in red or green, or with inconsistent lettering—which we left alone. His book is excellent.)
On Family Search.org, Fort Montezuma 1879-1884: Crucible of Devotion can be found in the “Memories” section on the “Person” page of each Fort Montezuma pioneer. Also, I added the new history to Henry and Elizabeth’s "Memories" sections-- see link below. If you find mistakes or clarifications in either history, please contact me and I will correct them in the online version.
Here's part of their history. For "the rest of the story" and to learn more about the photos in this post--
go to Family Search.org:
go to Family Search.org:
"[In Huntington] Life was not as difficult as it had been on the San Juan,
but crops were poor in the alkaline soil. Homestead land was becoming available
in southern Idaho, so Henry and Elizabeth decided to move there in 1894 or 1895.
"The Harrimans loaded furniture, a cupboard, a stove,
bedding, straw ticks for beds, an old organ, farm implements, a sewing machine,
and grain for feed and seed. They hitched four head of horses to two big
covered wagons and trailed a short wagon behind each. William and Frank
rode horseback and drove about 50 head of cattle. They slept in the wagons at
night.
"In Spanish Fork Canyon, they narrowly
escaped disaster. The wagon drivers hadn’t heard the train whistle because of
the noise of the wagons, but Alice, riding with her father, heard the
whistle. They stopped just short of the
railroad tracks as a train roared around the bend.
"Their cattle were poisoned by eating locoweed in Malad Valley, and they had to kill a cow that went crazy and chased people who were walking or on horseback. They lost 12 head of cattle.
"Their cattle were poisoned by eating locoweed in Malad Valley, and they had to kill a cow that went crazy and chased people who were walking or on horseback. They lost 12 head of cattle.
"Harrimans moved to an unimproved farm three
and one-half miles south of Idaho Falls, cleared sagebrush, built a house and
improved the place. Cornelia said, 'We had a little pony that Zuma and I rode
to herd the cows. We had quite a herd of milk cows. Mother made butter to sell
for a little pin money to buy things with. Mother hitched our pony to a
one-horse buggy, which she drove to town every day when she took the nurses [and
obstetrics and midwifery] class taught by Dr. Ellis Shipp from Salt Lake City.' One day, a train scared the pony and Elizabeth had all she could do to keep the
horse from crashing the buggy. "
https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/57181318?c=my-memories
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