Tags

, , ,

Battle of Paiute Pass

On July 15, 1884, a U. S. Calvary scout named Joseph S. Wormington and a cowboy names James “Rowdy” Higgins were killed in a battle with Indians at nearby Paiute Pass. These men were part of a posse of cattlemen and Sixth Calvary – F – troop soldiers from Fort Lewis, Colorado who were chasing a band of renegade Ute and Paiute Indians led by Mancos Jim. The Indians had stolen 150 head of horses from the round-up grounds in Verdure, Utah. After a 75 mile chase the Utes and Paiutes led the posse and soldiers into an ambush.

Two months after the battle, prospectors Cass Hite and Joe Duckett found and buried the remains. The Utes and Paiutes were watching the U. S. Government absorb their homelands. They fought back in the only way they knew how. The soldier gave his life in the service of his country. The cowboy did the tough job he was paid to do and a little more. All of them played out their heroic roles in this epoch struggle to settle the old west.

This historic marker and grave site is located at N 37.68484 W 110.22013 just outside Fry Canyon, Utah.