Copied from an autobiographical sketch of Heber Robert McBride.

HEBER ROBERT MCBRIDE

I went to school through the winter and had to walk 2 miles every morning and evening, some of the time the roads were very bad, for the winter of 61 and 62 were very wet. It rained nearly all winter and in the spring of 62 the Ogden River became so high that it washed the mill away and the place where it stood, and a good many acres more. This same spring was the year of the Morris War and all those living north of the Ogden river could not get over to see the excitement, for all the bridges were washed away. The river was so full of timber and drift that they couldn’t even run a ferry boat, so I had to be content to stay at home like many others.

The mill was a total loss so father sold out his farm and bought a ranch in Ogden Valley and moved up there. We had to haul all our goods over the mountains for the road was washed out in the Canyon. I had to drive 4 yoke of oxen because it took that many to haul all of what one team would do on a good road. It was only 15 miles but it took 2 days to make the round trip, I would haul wood back every trip as part of the family was going to stay in Ogden until the next spring.

My stepfather married two more wives and things did not move along quite so smooth as they did before. As soon as were moved, father and his two boys began to build another mill. Winter came on very early in Ogden Valley as it is a high cold place. I got tired of the winter with no close neighbors and the snow 5 feet deep. I had to stay home as it was useless to try to get out even with snowshoes. The snow did not get off the ground until May of this year, 1863.

The Indians were very troublesome this year, running off our horses and cattle. They took all of our loose horses that were running on the range, but the settlers saw them driving up Middle Creek Canyon and soon we were all after them. We had to be on guard all the time.