I love Pioneer Day primarily because of my family history. I am proud of my heritage. This is a story about my maternal Great-g-g-g (of so) grandmother Matilda King back in a time when Cove Fort was a functioning fort for pioneers and settlers in that part of Utah. Here is her amazing story...
One day the men had left the women and children alone and gone to the canyon for wood. The Indians had not bothered the people for some time, so the gates were left unbolted. Sure enough, after the men had departed, several war-painted and fierce-looking Indians stalked through the gate. The frightened women quickly picked up their children and hurried to Matilda's room, only to have the Indians follow. They banged loudly on the door and as usual demanded food. Not daring to refuse, the women gathered the Indians at the table and quickly set before them what food they had available. As the Indians quickly downed the food, one of them who appeared to be the leader, motioned to Matilda and grunted, "You sing now." At first Matilda hesitated. With the fright she felt, she was sure she could never control her voice. But with a second, gruffer request, the other sisters, fearing for their own and their children's safety pleaded with her, "Please, Sister King, sing for them." Not knowing what else to do she started to sing the first song that came to her mind, hardly realizing that it was "Oh, Stop and Tell Me, Red Man, Who You Are," a Latter-day Saint hymn by W. W. Phelps. The words of the song describe the fallen condition of the Indians who once was pleasant Ephraim, and their promised gospel blessings. After the first verse she stopped, but the Indians, who had stopped eating to listen, seemed intense and interested and demanded more. The women were looking at her in open astonishment. When she had sung the entire hymn, the Indians, to the utter amazement and relief of the women, quietly arose and filed silently out of the room and then the fort. "Why, Sister King," the women exclaimed, as they gathered around her. "We didn't know you knew the Indian language." Matilda couldn't understand what they meant and quickly told them she didn't know their language. Unaware of what she had done. Matilda had sung the entire song in the Indian language and it seemed that the Indians had understood every word. She had possessed the gift of tongues that day, and it appeared that the words of the song went straight to the hearts of the Indians.
Here are the words to the song:
"Oh, Stop and Tell Me, Red Man, Who You Are"
Oh, stop and tell me, Red Man, Who are you, why you roam,
And how you get your living; Have you no God, no home?
With stature straight and portly, And decked in native pride,
With feathers, paints and brooches, He willingly replied.
I once was pleasant Ephraim, When Jacob for me prayed;
But oh, how blessings vanish, When man from God has strayed!
Before your nation knew us, Some thousand moons ago,
Our fathers fell in darkness And wandered to and fro.
And long, they've lived by hunting, Instead of work and arts,
And so our race has dwindled To idle Indian hearts.
Yet hope within us lingers, As if the Spirit spoke,
He'll come for your redemption, And break your gentile yoke.
And all your captive brothers, From every clime shall come,
And quit their savage customs, To live with God at home.
Then joy will fill your bosoms, And blessings crown our days,
To live in pure religion, And sing our maker's praise.
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