Wessman 14: Philip Pugsley, Part 4 of 5

In the spring of 1858 his folks [family] were with the community in their "move South," but Captain Pugsley was left with the detail to guard the city, he belonging to the police force. Sometimes there was only himself in the city. But he kept the tannery going notwithstanding, working by day and guarding by night. Nathaniel [V.] Jones and James [W.] Cummings at that time owned the Fifteenth Ward tannery, but being principal officers in the militia they were out with their respective commands; so they sent down their unfinished leather to Pugsley—700 large kips and calf skins, and 500 sides of harness and sole leather.

The exodus of the people South had suspended the planting of crops, but there was a great deal of self-sown grain in the fields near the city, which promised a fair harvest. Much of this was in danger of being destroyed by the camping of the companies on their way back to the northern settlements, but Captain Pugsley was appointed by Marshall Jesse C. Little to station himself on the State Road from Gordon’s to Salt Lake City, to prevent the companies from camping within that boundary; and this guard duty being effectually performed, the self-sown wheat was saved and good crops were cut at harvest.

On the return of the people to their homes Ira Ames concluded not to start his tannery again. It was just at this time that Cache Valley attracted so much attention, and the community having been disturbed by the exodus, multitudes poured into Cache Valley and founded the cities which  now constitute Cache County; and with these settlers of the north went Ira Ames, who sold out his tannery and bark to Philip Pugsley. Nobody had peeled bark that season and Pugsley had the only bark in the city; so he sold bark to re-start the other tanneries—Mr. Wm. Jennings' and also that of Golding & Raleigh—and thus was renewed the home manufactory of leather. He now left the police service, and attended solely to the manufacturing business, and from that time Philip Pugsley has been one of the foremost in nearly all of our home manufacturing enterprises.

In 1865 Pugsley was sent to the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii], by President Young, to investigate the propriety of starting a tannery there, to be worked by the native Mormons, but he found it not practicable or promising and so reported. He traveled over the Islands, visited Kalakaua [Kealakekua] Bay, saw the spot where Captain Cook was massacred and wrote his name on the stump of the cocoanut tree—covered with copper by a sailor—on which visitors write their names in honor of the great voyager who “sailed around the world three times” and then was massacred by the natives of the Sandwich Islands.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 5

The story of Philip Pugsley and his early efforts to build industry in Salt Lake City was used as an inspirational story in the Primary (children's) organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1918, the subject for the year was "Material Development Among the Latter-day Saints." The subject for the month of June was "Early Industries," and the story to be used in the third week of that month was that of Philip Pugsley, quoted out of Tullidge's History of Salt Lake City. The Children's Friend, Vol. 17, No. 4 (April 1918). Included with the lesson were some memory gems for each age group. The one for the First Grade was as follows:

Try, try, and try again;
The boys who keep on trying
Have made the world's best men.

The recommendations for "Suggestive Songs" for the month included "Shine On," "The Busy Bee," "Be in Time," "Dare to Do Right," and "In Our Lovely Deseret."


The photo of the monument commemorating Captain James Cook's death in Hawaii is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/disneykrayzie/2853071019/. This monument is later then the one that Philip Pugsley saw.