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Author's Preface ALTHOUGH I WAS FAMILIAR WITH LEE'S FERRY AS A PLACE NAME IN WESTERN history, I never visited it until May 7, 1947. On that occasion I had spent a week listening to river legend roll glibly out ofthe mouth of Norman Nevills. The recitation began at Mexican Hat, Utah, and ended on the beach at Two Mile at the lower ferry crossing-a distance of 192 miles. Here the boats were removed from the river, placed on trailers, and more "history" was dispensed during the ride back to the Hat. In his individually distinctive style Norm provided many names but few dates, and even the customers perceived that he seldom allowed historical fact to interfere with a good story. As a professional boatman for Nevills, I found the long rides back to Mexican Hat to be splendid opportunities to discuss in more depth the sites he had sketched for the passengers. I soon learned that no authoritative study in this field had been made after Powell, and even Norm's versions varied from trip to trip. This was especially true of the Lee's Ferry area. During the years that followed, it seemed that I constantly was landing or starting a trip at Lee's Ferry. I talked to Jeremiah Johnson twice in the late 1940S but did not know of the role he played in ferry history and consequently learned little from him. In the next decade, Otis R. "Dock" Marston confided to me that he considered the pre-1909 discovery of Rainbow Bridge and the true record of Lee's Ferry to be the major offshoots of Colorado River history. I began making inquiry of local citizens and found that general knowledge was on the same level as that dispensed by Nevills. I consulted libraries and archives but found little relief. Nothing had been compiled; the story probably existed but was widely diffused. The Huntington Library published the diaries ofJohn D. Lee in 1955 and I obtained one of the first sets. I poured through these books, especially Volume 2, and received a basic understanding of Lee and the Mormon pioneer movement. This motivated me to study the Mountain Meadows Massacre, which had been published five years earlier. Thus it really wasJuanita Brooks who inspired me to consult original source material and unearth the story that had been neglected for so long. One source led to another; old journals, newspapers, and letters were read and many references ultimately led to the Church ofJesus Christ xii Author's Preface Xlll of Latter-day Saints. I tracked the children and grandchildren ofJohn D. Lee, Warren M.Johnson,James Emett, and everyone else who had lived or worked at Lee's Ferry. All contributed to my knowledge and made it possible for me to accumulate the lore of nearly forgotten people and events. It would not be possible to repeat this research today because most of the informants have died and not all source material remains available. It became apparent quite early that Lee's Ferry came into existence because the mouth of the Pahreah was the easiest place for pioneer wagons to cross that barrier of barriers-the Colorado River and its canyons. Therefore, the history of the ferry begins with the pioneers' period and the colonists' umbilical tie to Mother Utah. Succeeding phases involved the great herds and flocks of livestock that crossed there; the promoters and miners; the river gagers, engineers, and dam builders; dude operators, river tourists, and fishermen; and the people who lived there. As I delved into ferry history, I perceived that a number of historical questions remained unsolved, and any comprehensive study demanded answers. Other issues important to ferry development had not been recognized or defined. A few problems, such as the so-called "Lee cabin" and the supposed incorporation of the Nellie Powell into its building, had been discussed by several interested people but were not explained satisfactorily. Hearsay and misinterpretation allowed errors of fact to be repeated as actual truth byjust about everybody, including government representatives. Clarification clearly was needed. Neglected phases of ferry history pertained to the roles ofJacob Hamblin and John D. Lee, their deteriorating friendship, Utah's political troubles and their effect on the ferry, the selection of Warren M. Johnson as ferryman, the Roundy drowning, ferry ownership by Emma B. Lee, her sale to the church, evolution of ranch development, the significance of the John R. Nielson mining boat, George M. Wright's strike...

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