On December 17, 1879, four
pioneers, George Morrell, George Sevy, George Hobbs and Lemuel Redd (they ran
out of men named George apparently), set out as a scouting party. They were hoping to find, not just an easier
route for the over 200 waiting, but the pioneers that had stayed on from a
previous expedition group from Salt Lake.
Rations for six days were taken, however, they were gone by December 22nd;
the men were lost, hungry, weary and very cold.
Should they go back, should they go forward? Forward it was and on the morning of December
25th, Salvation Knoll was crested; the beautiful blue of the Abajo
Mountains only ten miles estimated. Four
days later, the men finally reached the encampment at Fort Montezuma which
wasn’t really a fort-like fort, just a few cabins and wagons. |
| Salvation Knoll |
Much of the information
about this adventure came from the journals of George Hobbs. On Route 163, there is a memorial plaque on a
red rock which his descendants dedicated to him. Originally, George had carved his name upon a
rock once the four men had reached the San Juan River area. However, this rock was eventually removed by the
BLM; that rebel, George Hobbs, had vandalized BLM land even before its
institution! There is a geocache nearby,
before the fenced off area, for those interested in this hobby.
In Saga of San Juan
(DUP of San Juan County, 1957), and later on, Hole in the Rock (David
Miller, 1959); a section of Hobbs’ journal is quoted, establishing San Juan
County’s first eating contest (my contribution of historical fiction). “Food
enough cooked for three families and set for us. After eating 5 biscuits and the meat all
being consumed, I thought I would quit, as it might injure me. …couldn’t resist the temptation of taking
another biscuit. In all I believe I ate
22 biscuits.” While he mentions that the
other men also ate more, Hobbs kind of infers that he was the big winner. “I thought this would be a happy death…”
Gerald Lund’s version of
the story had the men eating “Johnny Cakes: which is made from cornmeal;
biscuits are made from white or wheat flour.
Guess what? It is not unlikely that
both may have been served, since the Mormon pioneers did bring the recipes for
both from wherever they originally hailed from.
Now as the amount eaten, I tend to wonder if George Hobbs was either
being exaggeratory, delusional or doing his own version of historical fiction. His
journal of the Hole in the Rock Expedition was written sometime after settling
at Bluff Fort.
Think about it, he’s
starving, yet his stomach had probably shrunk due to lack of food and water;
how did he consume all that food in one sitting? Whether biscuits or Johnny cakes, they would
have been slightly dry; maple syrup was not available, so butter and/or honey
might have helped get them down.
Nowadays, eating contests are serious, money making business; oh, but
there are still the small hometown contests at the local fairs and celebrations. Which brings me to a GREAT suggestion for Pioneer Day Weekend…two eating contests, one
for biscuits, the other for Johnny cakes.
Contestants would have some type of liquid available for drinking;
honey, syrup, butter for slathering on, so the food slides down the gullet
easier and quicker. The person who can
eat the most in say, one hour (typical length of a starving pioneer’s meal)
wins! Someone pass this article onto the
Chamber of Commerce people, in charge of Pioneer Day activities, right away!
Guess I better warn my
boss now, I do intend on being off that day from work. I am not missing this event (which I truly
hope will take place) for anything; and of course would do a bang up job of an
article for the San Juan Record. It’s
only January, let the planning begin; and here are two pioneer recipes that
should be used in preparing the biscuits and Johnny cakes.
Buttermilk Biscuits
(Favorite Utah Pioneer
Recipes by Marla Rawlings)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder½ tsp. salt
2/3 cup lard or shortening
Up to ¾ cup buttermilk (available for baking since the 18th Century)
Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine
flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in
shortening until crumbly. Stir in just
enough buttermilk to moisten. Turn
biscuits out onto floured surface and roll to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with “recipe” cutter (round instrument of
some type) and bake at 425F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Note: more than likely,
the biscuits were laid inside a cast iron skillet or pan, then baked over a
fire.
Johnny Cakes
(A Melting Pot of
Pioneer Recipes by Winnifred C. Jardine of DUP)
Ingredients:
3 cups cornmeal
1 cup flour2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. molasses
3 cups buttermilk
2 well-beaten eggs
Preparation:
Sift together dry
ingredients. Slowly stir in molasses and
buttermilk, mix well. Add beaten eggs
and beat hard for two minutes. Pour into
shallow, well-greased pans and bake at 400F for 30 minutes. (A favorite dish of Prophet Joseph Smith)Note: Johnny Cakes originate with the Native Americans; introduced to the white man as the founding of North American (1500s-1600s) began. They would have resembled a tortilla, or a cornmeal flat bread.
Mary Cokenour
