In Western New Mexico
Luna, in New Mexico, twelve miles east of Alpine, Arizona, was on the sheep range of the Luna brothers, who did not welcome the advent of the first Mormon families, those of the Swapp brothers and Lorenzo Watson, February 28, 1883. Two prospectors had to be bought out, to clear a squatter's title. In the summer came "Parson" Geo. C. Williams, also a pioneer of Pleasanton. The first name adopted was Grant, in honor of Apostle Heber J. Grant, this later changed to Heber, as there was an older New Mexican settlement named Grant's. But even this conflicted with Heber, Arizona (named after Heber C. Kimball), and so the original name endures, made official in 1895. The first house was a log fort. A notable present resident is Frederick Hamblin, brother of Jacob and of the same frontier type. There is local pride over how he fought, single-handed, with a broken and unloaded rifle, the largest grizzly bear ever known in the surrounding Mogollon Mountains. This was in November, 1888. The bear fought standing and was taller than Hamblin, a giant of a man, two inches over six feet in height. The rifle barrel was thrust down the bear's throat after the stock had been torn away, and upon the steel still are shown the marks of the brute's teeth. The same teeth were knocked out by the flailing blows of the desperate pioneer, who finally escaped when Bruin tired of the fight. Then Hamblin discovered himself badly hurt, one hand, especially, chewed by the bear. The animal later was killed by a neighbor and was identified by broken teeth and wounds.
New Mexican Locations
As before noted in this work, the Mormon Church sought little in New Mexico in the pioneering days, for little opportunity existed for settlement in the agricultural valleys. In western New Mexico, however, the country was more open and there was opportunity for missionary effort. Missionaries were in the Navajo and Zuni country in very early days and at the time of the great Mormon immigration of 1876 already there had been Indian conversions.
In that year, by direct assignment from President Brigham Young, then at Kanab, Lorenzo Hatch, later joined by John Maughn, settled in the Zuni country, at Fish Springs and San Lorenzo. Thereafter, on arrival of other missionaries, were locations at Savoia and Savoietta. It should be explained that these names, pronounced as they stand, are rough-hewn renditions of the Spanish words cebolla, "onion," and cebolleta, "little onion." Nathan C. Tenney and sons were among the colonists of 1878.
In 1880 were Indian troubles that caused abandonment of the locations, but a new start was made in 1882, when a number of families came from the deserted Brigham City and Sunset. A new village was started, about 25 miles east of the Arizona line, at first known as Navajo, but later as Ramah. The public square was on the ruins of an ancient Indian pueblo. Ira Hatch came in the fall. A large degree of missionary success appears to have been achieved among the Zuni, with 165 baptisms by Ammon M. Tenney, but at times there was friction with Mexican residents. The land on which the town stood later had to be bought from a cattle company, which had secured title from the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company.
[Illustration: FOUNDERS OF NORTHERN ARIZONA TOWNS 1—Henry W. Miller 2—Wm. C. Allen 3—George Lake 4—Wm. J. Flake 5—Charles Shumway 6—Geo. H. Crosby, Sr. 7—J.V. Bushman]
[Illustration: A FEW MORE PIONEERS 1—Almeda McClellan 6—Benj. F. Johnson 2—Mrs. A.S. Gibbons 7—Martha Curtis 3—Mary Richards 8—Josephine Curtis 4—Joseph Foutz 9—Wm. N. Fife 5—Virginia Curtis 10—J.D. Fife]
Bluewater, near the Santa Fe railroad, about thirty miles northeast of Ramah, is a Church outpost, established in 1894 by Ernst A. Trietjen and Friehoff G. Nielson from Ramah. For a while, from 1905, it was the home of C.R. Hakes, former president of the Maricopa Stake. Bluewater now is a prosperous agricultural settlement, with assured stored water supply and an excellent market available for its products.
Most southerly of the early New Mexican Church settlements was Pleasanton, on the San Francisco River, in Williams Valley, and sixty miles northwest of Silver City. The first settler was Geo. C. Williams, who came in 1879. At no time was there much population. Jacob Hamblin here spent the few last years of his life, dying August 31, 1886. His family was the last to quit the locality, departing in 1889.