th from the pioneer camp and settled in what is
now Davis county. Further north, at the junction of the Weber and Ogden
rivers, there lived, before the pioneers came, a trapper and trader by the
name of Goodyear. He claimed a large area of land, nearly all of what is
now Weber county, saying that the Mexican government had granted it to him.
This claim he sold in 1847 to Captain James Brown of the Mormon Battalion
for the sum of $3,000. In the spring of 1848, Captain Brown with his sons
moved to the new location and began putting in crops. They were told that
frost would kill the corn before it could ripen, but they worked on, and in
the fall reaped a large harvest. Soon other families moved in, to whom
Captain Brown gave land. Thus Ogden city and Weber county had their
beginning.

Early in the spring of 1849, the first settlers moved south from Salt Lake
City. They consisted of thirty families led by John S. Higbee, one of the
pioneers. They settled on Provo river, built a fort for protection, and
then began plowing and planting. There were quite a number of Indians in
that part. Their head chief was Sowiette, and under him was Chief Walker.
The first was a kind Indian who wished to live in peace with the whites;
but not so with Walker who delighted in stealing and fighting.

For some months everything went well with the Provo settlers, but in the
fall the Indians began stealing, and once in awhile an arrow came
uncomfortably near some settler when away from the fort. At length a party
of men who were out searching for stolen cattle, had a fight with a band of
Indians in which five of the savages were killed.

The settlers in the fort were now continually annoyed, until in February,
1850, a company of militia was sent from Salt Lake City to their aid. A
fierce battle ensued, in which a number were killed on both sides, and the
Indians were scattered to the mountains.

It was President Young's policy not to harm the Indians if possible, saying
that it was cheaper to feed them than to fight them. But even this kind
policy did not altogether prevent trouble with these wild people. In 1853,
the Indians, led by Chief Walker, made war on the southern settlements,
with the result that about twenty whites and a great many Indians were
killed.

At the close of the war with Mexico all this western country became a part
of the United States. At a convention held in Salt Lake City, March 4,
1849, the people asked Congress for