George William Decker is included on pp. 43,49,50, 54, 80, 104, 109, 122, 200-206 of Miller's book. Inscription on back of photo:
George was only 15 when the pioneers descented the dangerous Hole in the Rock: Ensign article says: On 26 January 1880, everything was ready. George W. Decker, then a boy of fifteen, told of the first wagons to pass through the notch: “Hy’s and Ben’s wagons came to the Chute in this order. Hy’s horses refused to face the Chute—too steep—and they had too clear a view of the river about two-thousand feet below. They tried another team with the same rearing and surging backward and still a third team. … Joe [Barton] brought his big wheel horses and they moved off unconcerned but very slow and sure, feeling their way with their large careful feet for they were totally blind [an epidemic of “Pink Eye” had blinded them as well as hundreds of other horses in southern Utah more than a year earlier]. … Joe’s horses, calm and sure, gave the other horses courage to go down. … The crowd at the top came to life with chatter, laughter, and a crazy explosion of hurrahs.”
From George Decker’s journal, we get this insight into Ben Perkins: “Among those who loved to dance was Benjamin Perkins. His snappy Welch jigs furnished no end of entertainment and enjoyment for the entire company.”
No comments:
Post a Comment