The Taylor family recalls when Malinda Adams mistakenly reported that Indians were attacking settlers in Davis County

Copied from Early Farr West Residents: Their Biographies and Their Homes, Compiled by Brian L. Taylor, 2008. From a sketch of Mary Melvina Taylor Rawson, pg 298.

One day [in circa 1852], while the men folk were working in Farmington, a neighbor lady came rushing to their place with her small children and said the Indians were on the war path and headed their way. The women raced to load the children in their wagon and headed for Farmington as fast as they could. Soon the hideously painted Indians came into sight, heading straight toward them. Just in time, Joseph and the other men came into sight over the hill. Joseph Taylor had learned to talk the Indian language and was able to calm them down when they were angry. Holding a peace meeting with the painted Indians, the whites were able to defuse the situation.

[Although it’s claimed in this version that Joseph Taylor calmed the situation by holding a peace meeting, the Adams family stories convey the conclusion differently. The Indian men were playing a prank while traveling through the area, did not actually intend to attack, and ended with laughing at the fright displayed by Malinda Adams and others.]

A collection of documents, excerpts, and photographs relevant to the so-called Weber Ute people of Northern Utah. Not a complete history — research aid only.