Freighting and Courting in the Teton Basin By: Wilford Wardle

Wilford and Mellisa wedding photos

I found this short history in some stuff I had.  It is written in my grandfather's hand, and he must have been older when he wrote it, but it is undated.  I have tried to transcribe as written with a few corrections.  Some words I could not decipher, but perhaps someone more familiar with the geography or vernacular may have better luck.  I have underlined the words with which I had difficulty.

James Wilford Wardle Sr.

I was born Nov 2, 1891 at South Jordan, Utah to William Haston and Annie S. Sorenson.  In 1892 they moved West Jordan, Utah where I started to school.  [I] attended 1-2-3 grades.  I moved back to South Jordan 1899 went to 4-5-6 grades.  I moved to Victor, Idaho Nov 1.  I was 14 years old the next day.  While we lived at West Jordan I went with my father to Bingham and hauled  hay and ___ there and the same at South Jordan and worked on the farm and with the sheep in the hills South of Salt  Lake and Weber River at Ashley, Utah.

After coming to Idaho I worked on the range at Victor.  [I hauled] Freight to St. Anthony, Rexburg and Jackson, Wyo.  In 1908 I went to South Jordan with pack outfit to get 1900 herd of sheep which Elmor Curtis, Father and me took to victory coming up about where the 19 [15] comes now to Malad, then to Lava Hot Springs then through the hill to Victor.  We had the sheep and too big range to take [care] of so there lots of work to do.  Still freight all the time.  In 1911 father got the mail to Jackson, Wyo.  We had about 40 head of horses working on the road all the time.  Besides the sheep and horses, I helped to freight to Jackson Dam.  I hauled all the gate lifts over.

I was hauling there and also the mail when I started to go with Mother.  I was at dance at Driggs and my sister Mary asked me if I wanted to meet a girl.  I think it was love at first sight.  We had went together.  June 1913 I was on the mail and freight.  I would come in off the road, hire the teams or take saddle horse, go 20 miles to dance, back to Victor, get there in time to get the horses ready for the haul.  One night I was at Jackson Dam which was 75 miles to Victor.  Mother called said they was a card from Melissa to come down [to] a dance.  I didn’t have my load off.  I found foreman at 9 o’clock.  Told him I wanted to get unloaded.  He got some men and got load off.  I went to the cook house.  The cook said he would get me some things to take at 4:30 in the morning.  I had the horses all ready started out 5:50, was at Victor at 6:30 [in the evening] with six horses and two wagons making 75 miles which was a two day drive.  Got on a horse [and] went to Meliss’a place.  Her and Ray was waiting for me.  [I] went to Chase to the dance.  I go back Victor at 7  [in the morning.]  Father and the boys had the team all ready for the mail for me to take.  The next day I went to Jackson with freight.   [I] went from there to Kemmerer.  [I] was on that trip about 26 days.  There was one other man with me.  We had three wagons and ten horses each.  It snowed on us all the [way] from Kemmerer to Danles.  At Danles there was about 2 ½ feet of snow.  We was about 10 days making 90 miles.  The pass had about four feet of snow.  We had to bring the wagons down the back, one at a time.  We had grain for our horses but no hay.  When we got [to] Jackson that the best lot of horses I ever seen.  They never done a thing.  After we get to Victor for two weeks Loady want us to make another trip to Kemmerer but it was too late in the fall.