Paiute chief Toquer befriended settlers

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TOQUERVILLE — Paiute Indian chief Toquer is believed buried in the lava bluffs near the town named after the man who welcomed and offered unexpected friendship to the early Mormon settlers.

It was Paiute custom to bury their dead in the crevices of the rocks, putting the body into a fissure and covering it with rocks to protect it from animals and weather.

Thus the Native Americans in the area, particularly the Paiute Tribe Trust, represented by Gaylord Robb, do not want the Washington County Water Conservancy District to remove basalt rock off the large slope near the Anderson Junction in the town of Toquerville.

The 80-plus acre parcel of land was purchased by the district at an auction with plans to use the lava rock from the steep slope in reservoir construction, but Robb says the hill is the resting place of Toquer, an Indian chief known for his classy and friendly behavior.

The WCWCD did not know about the Native American significance when the property was purchased earlier this year, district assistant general manager Barbara Hjelle said.

Hjelle believes Toquer’s grave is actually on the other side of the ridge.

Toquer was buried with his horse, saddle and trinkets, which have long since been scavenged, according to the late Toquerville historian Wesley P. Larsen.

A few days ago we had a visit from the Toquer Indian Captain... They met us with the warmest of Indian friendship. Chief Toquer asked that the Saints settle there and teach his Toquits to work like the white man.

–Letter from John D. Lee to Willard Richards

In any event, they agree that Toquer (originally spelled "Toker" according to Larsen) is a revered Indian chief of a tribe who consistently helped white settlers. In 1776 when Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante traveled through, the Paiutes shared their corn and melons with the starving party. Then when settlers showed up in 1852 on the land the Toquite tribe had lived upon for hundreds of years, Toquer offered a warm welcome.

In a letter to Willard Richards published in the Deseret News on Nov. 4, 1852 , John D. Lee said, "A few days ago we had a visit from the Toquer Indian Captain with about 30 of his warriors, who wished to hold a council with us upon the subject of forming a settlement in their country. They met us with the warmest of Indian friendship. Chief Toquer asked that the Saints settle there and teach his Toquits (or Toquerates) to work like the white man."

Responding to Toquer, the missionaries promised to return and teach the Indians to farm like the white man.

In 1853, then LDS Church President Brigham Young sent a group of skilled saints to settle in southern Utah, among them a group from Iron County to Black Ridge along a stream now called Ash Creek. In June 1854, Rufus C. Allen left Harmony with eight members of the Southern Indian Mission to visit Toquer. They went to learn the native language and to convert some of the tribe members to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1857, several families, with Harmony Branch President Joshua T. Willis, built log cabins near the Toquer Indian village along Ash Creek.

The families found the Paiute/Toquit Indians living there on a small piece of cultivated ground.

Chief Toquer lived in a tent fashioned of leaves intertwined into a framework of cane and willows.

Cherie Bugler Naegle, in her history "Oasis in the Desert," uncovered accounts that describe Toquer as “a small broad old man about 50 years of age. Broad bald forehead, rather flat, flat nose and darker in color than most other Indians.

"He received them warmly with an embrace between he and Captain Allen. He then very courteously led us to our suite or apartments in the great mansion of our common parent, in the sandy bottoms about 30 yards north of their three wickiups — warning us to keep our horses off his grape vines, some five or six bunches of which intertwined their tendrils with the tall bunch grass.

After turning out our horses to but a scanty picking of the rocks, we untied our wallets and drew forth some raw bacon, bread and cheese and now being surrounded by some 15 Indians looking as hungry as we felt we were after our long day’s ride," Naegle said.

The new settlers considered him an enlightened Indian, neat and with clean habits. They named their settlement after him and the word "toquer," which means black, probably after Toquer's skin color, which was an unusually dark shade.

Toquerville became part of the LDS Church's Cotton Mission.

The Southern Paiutes' country extended across southern Utah from the eastern part of San Juan Country westward, including much of southern Nevada. They were never as strongly unified in bands as the Utes and other Utah tribes and were regarded as a peaceful people.

The local Indians were called “Piedes.” Toquer’s band was called “Toquerats.” Toquer led a band called “Parrusits,” one of a dozen or more clans belonging to the Paiute Tribe.

Life was hard for the Paiutes in this hot country, Naegle recounted. With no tools except sticks, they were forced to move from place to place when accumulated roots interfered with their crops. Their diet consisted mainly of lizards, snakes, rodents, grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, ants, fish, birds and wild game. They hunted with bows and arrows and also used a wooden boomerang type device, which they would throw at small animals. They ground seeds, using a stone (nano) and matate (grinding stone), to add to their diet.

A humorous story of Toquer was related at the Toquerville centennial celebration in 1958. According to the local residents, chief Toquer rode into town on a horse and stuck out his hand to shake hands with Bishop Thomas Willis. The horse spooked and the chief fell off. The chief got up and mounted his horse. The bishop said, “I’m sorry.” The chief said, “Bishop, too damn much handshake.”

Sharon Haddock is a professional freelance writer with 30 years experience, 17 of those at The Deseret News. Her personal blog is at sharonhaddock.blogspot.com. Email: haddoc@desnews.com