ALTA ARTENA BALL
Childhood Memories
This life story is located in my grandmother
Leta Boice Boutwell’s Book of Remembrance
(Spelling and punctuation corrections have been
made – no changes were made to the sentence
structure or voice – other corrections will be shown
in parenthesis –
Linda Fretwell Duchaine – March 2007)
In the spring of 1893 we moved to Mountain View, Colorado
where my parents had homesteaded a tract of land.
We were unable to go deep enough to get water for
culinary purposes, so we were forced to use ditch water
which was very undesirable for drinking water.
This caused a siege of diphtheria in our family. On the 27th of Oct. 1895, all the family went to Sunday School
and church when my sister Elsie became very ill, she asked me to go outside with her, and she began vomiting
and said her throat was hurting terribly, and when we arrived home she grew worse by the minute and hour.
Early Wednesday morning, Oct. 30, 1895, her spirit departed from her precious mortal body, we were all
broken hearted at her sudden departure, she died of the dreaded disease of diphtheria, and on the following
Sunday, I was stricken just as suddenly as she was, and was at death’s door when by the power of the
Priesthood and what medical aid was available my life was spared.
All the members of the family were stricken excepting father, and my younger brother Fred in a much milder
form than my sister and I had suffered. We all had recovered and were so thankful to enjoy our good health
once again.
A Childhood Adventure
In the winter of 1895, my father was one of the jury men on a murder case in Conejos, Colo. and was not
permitted to leave the court house until all the testimony and evidence had been heard, which took several
days and nights of father being away from home, it fell my lot to all the chores night and morning.
After I had finished the chores one morning to go to the house, I heard a great disturbance in the barnyard
where the chickens and pigs were penned up, a quick glance proved to me a coyote was doing all the
disturbance trying to bite the animals and chickens. I, with our faithful dog Curly, turned on the enemy, I took
the ax for my defense, as I knew they would have a terrible battle, the (dog) got Mr. Coyote by the throat
throwing him to the ground, and I ran to them and began pounding the coyote on the head so (as to) soon put
an end to his career. Mother and I decided to skin him as we were real short of cash in those early days. This
was quite a task for us as we found the skin and body in very bad condition with so many boil-like sores, the
skin only netted us 25-cents; mother was boiling some meat next day for dinner, my little brother Fred asked
mother to “please pass the coyote” - thinking she had cooked the coyote. We knew later the coyote was
affected with rabies as three of the pigs it had bitten had died of rabies.
I also escaped being bitten by several mad dogs, and being killed by our nice 2-year old mare, she had been
bitten by a mad dog. I put her in the barn, (not knowing she had rabies) when I tried to put the halter on she
struck at me with her front feet, I was standing in the manger dodging the blows by falling down when she
started to strike me. Her feet struck the front pole of the manger completely missing my body.
One time, I went with my father for a load of hay and in crossing the ditch, we had a tip-over with part of the
load falling on me. I was almost drowned. It was through my father’s speedy actions in digging me out of the
water and from under the over-turned hay, that my life was spared. I have been healed many times through
the administrations of the elders holding the Holy Priesthood.
During my early life, my father was forced to move a number of times to seek employment for a livelihood to
sustain his family. He rented a ranch on the Conejos River from my Uncle James McCarrol where we lived for
about 4 years. It was at this home our little sister Lilly passed away. My sister Elsie and I were very sad at her
passing, she had such beautiful blue eyes which were never closed after death, and we couldn’t realize she
had passed away, we thought she was watching us as we were accustomed to caring for her in her little bed,
she died in Aug. 1888.
In the year 1890, a pair of beautiful twins, a boy and a girl, arrived to bless our home. They were given the
names of James Elihu and Estella Mae. They arrived to bless our home on the 22 Aug. 1890. Elsie and I were
so thankful at their arrival as we felt our Heavenly Father was so good and dink to us after he had taken our
blue-eyed sister away from us, and this somewhat elevated our sorrow for her. We each had a baby to help
mother care for.
In the year 1892, my father homesteaded a tract of land at Mountain View, Colo. He built a three-room lumber
house, and we moved in the early spring of 1893. The wind blew terribly hard and filled the air with clouds of
dust most every day, My father sold his home and ranch at Mountain View to Bro. Nathan P. Culer and bought
80 acres of brush land three miles south of La Jara, Colo. and built a log house in which we moved to Nov 14,
1897. We were happy to make this move as we could have good artesian water which was 98-percent pure, so
different to the ditch water we had to use at Mt. View, Colo. Father bought this land from the State of Colo. He
had quite a task getting it cleared for farming as he had to dig the brush with a grubbing hoe. My 8-year old
brother and sister and I had to pile the brush, and we had fun having big bonfires at night. Our crops were
good on this new land, we had to walk 4 miles to attend school which was quite a task. The second year, we
were fortunate to have a horse and buggy.
During the entire spring (that) we were living at Mountain View, we had no rain to settle the dust; we had water
for irrigation but had to haul water for culinary purposes during the summertime, but when winter came, my
father had to go five miles to the Conejos River and get our drinking water in 40-gallon barrels which was
dipped up from the river, with buckets and poured into the barrels and covered with a gunny sack and a barrel
hoop to keep the water from slopping out. We had to use the water for drinking, cooking, and washing clothes,
and for the two horses, cow, pig and chickens to drink. The crops were good, very good, the first year as they
were planted late. My father had to make 2 (to) 3 trips a week to the river all winter long. If it snowed, we would
melt the snow for our cooking and drinking use.
We were blessed with good health for several years, and we were very thankful, especially to have a home we
could call our own. The Bishop of Manassa Ward came out and organized a Sunday School and selected my
father Elihu K. Ball as Branch President and Superintendent of the Sunday School, we held S.S. in the
Mountain View School house, which was about 1 ½ miles from our house, we would walk most of the time.
On Dec 10th, 1893, we were overjoyed on the arrival of a dear little baby boy, whom was given the name of
Fredrick Andrew. When little Fred was about 8-months old he was stricken with spinal Meningitis, he was
administered to by my father and a friend holding the Holy Priesthood and was healed by the power of the
Lord through his servants, and we were all so thankful to have him well again.
Childhood Memories
This life story is located in my grandmother
Leta Boice Boutwell’s Book of Remembrance
(Spelling and punctuation corrections have been
made – no changes were made to the sentence
structure or voice – other corrections will be shown
in parenthesis –
Linda Fretwell Duchaine – March 2007)
In the spring of 1893 we moved to Mountain View, Colorado
where my parents had homesteaded a tract of land.
We were unable to go deep enough to get water for
culinary purposes, so we were forced to use ditch water
which was very undesirable for drinking water.
This caused a siege of diphtheria in our family. On the 27th of Oct. 1895, all the family went to Sunday School
and church when my sister Elsie became very ill, she asked me to go outside with her, and she began vomiting
and said her throat was hurting terribly, and when we arrived home she grew worse by the minute and hour.
Early Wednesday morning, Oct. 30, 1895, her spirit departed from her precious mortal body, we were all
broken hearted at her sudden departure, she died of the dreaded disease of diphtheria, and on the following
Sunday, I was stricken just as suddenly as she was, and was at death’s door when by the power of the
Priesthood and what medical aid was available my life was spared.
All the members of the family were stricken excepting father, and my younger brother Fred in a much milder
form than my sister and I had suffered. We all had recovered and were so thankful to enjoy our good health
once again.
A Childhood Adventure
In the winter of 1895, my father was one of the jury men on a murder case in Conejos, Colo. and was not
permitted to leave the court house until all the testimony and evidence had been heard, which took several
days and nights of father being away from home, it fell my lot to all the chores night and morning.
After I had finished the chores one morning to go to the house, I heard a great disturbance in the barnyard
where the chickens and pigs were penned up, a quick glance proved to me a coyote was doing all the
disturbance trying to bite the animals and chickens. I, with our faithful dog Curly, turned on the enemy, I took
the ax for my defense, as I knew they would have a terrible battle, the (dog) got Mr. Coyote by the throat
throwing him to the ground, and I ran to them and began pounding the coyote on the head so (as to) soon put
an end to his career. Mother and I decided to skin him as we were real short of cash in those early days. This
was quite a task for us as we found the skin and body in very bad condition with so many boil-like sores, the
skin only netted us 25-cents; mother was boiling some meat next day for dinner, my little brother Fred asked
mother to “please pass the coyote” - thinking she had cooked the coyote. We knew later the coyote was
affected with rabies as three of the pigs it had bitten had died of rabies.
I also escaped being bitten by several mad dogs, and being killed by our nice 2-year old mare, she had been
bitten by a mad dog. I put her in the barn, (not knowing she had rabies) when I tried to put the halter on she
struck at me with her front feet, I was standing in the manger dodging the blows by falling down when she
started to strike me. Her feet struck the front pole of the manger completely missing my body.
One time, I went with my father for a load of hay and in crossing the ditch, we had a tip-over with part of the
load falling on me. I was almost drowned. It was through my father’s speedy actions in digging me out of the
water and from under the over-turned hay, that my life was spared. I have been healed many times through
the administrations of the elders holding the Holy Priesthood.
During my early life, my father was forced to move a number of times to seek employment for a livelihood to
sustain his family. He rented a ranch on the Conejos River from my Uncle James McCarrol where we lived for
about 4 years. It was at this home our little sister Lilly passed away. My sister Elsie and I were very sad at her
passing, she had such beautiful blue eyes which were never closed after death, and we couldn’t realize she
had passed away, we thought she was watching us as we were accustomed to caring for her in her little bed,
she died in Aug. 1888.
In the year 1890, a pair of beautiful twins, a boy and a girl, arrived to bless our home. They were given the
names of James Elihu and Estella Mae. They arrived to bless our home on the 22 Aug. 1890. Elsie and I were
so thankful at their arrival as we felt our Heavenly Father was so good and dink to us after he had taken our
blue-eyed sister away from us, and this somewhat elevated our sorrow for her. We each had a baby to help
mother care for.
In the year 1892, my father homesteaded a tract of land at Mountain View, Colo. He built a three-room lumber
house, and we moved in the early spring of 1893. The wind blew terribly hard and filled the air with clouds of
dust most every day, My father sold his home and ranch at Mountain View to Bro. Nathan P. Culer and bought
80 acres of brush land three miles south of La Jara, Colo. and built a log house in which we moved to Nov 14,
1897. We were happy to make this move as we could have good artesian water which was 98-percent pure, so
different to the ditch water we had to use at Mt. View, Colo. Father bought this land from the State of Colo. He
had quite a task getting it cleared for farming as he had to dig the brush with a grubbing hoe. My 8-year old
brother and sister and I had to pile the brush, and we had fun having big bonfires at night. Our crops were
good on this new land, we had to walk 4 miles to attend school which was quite a task. The second year, we
were fortunate to have a horse and buggy.
During the entire spring (that) we were living at Mountain View, we had no rain to settle the dust; we had water
for irrigation but had to haul water for culinary purposes during the summertime, but when winter came, my
father had to go five miles to the Conejos River and get our drinking water in 40-gallon barrels which was
dipped up from the river, with buckets and poured into the barrels and covered with a gunny sack and a barrel
hoop to keep the water from slopping out. We had to use the water for drinking, cooking, and washing clothes,
and for the two horses, cow, pig and chickens to drink. The crops were good, very good, the first year as they
were planted late. My father had to make 2 (to) 3 trips a week to the river all winter long. If it snowed, we would
melt the snow for our cooking and drinking use.
We were blessed with good health for several years, and we were very thankful, especially to have a home we
could call our own. The Bishop of Manassa Ward came out and organized a Sunday School and selected my
father Elihu K. Ball as Branch President and Superintendent of the Sunday School, we held S.S. in the
Mountain View School house, which was about 1 ½ miles from our house, we would walk most of the time.
On Dec 10th, 1893, we were overjoyed on the arrival of a dear little baby boy, whom was given the name of
Fredrick Andrew. When little Fred was about 8-months old he was stricken with spinal Meningitis, he was
administered to by my father and a friend holding the Holy Priesthood and was healed by the power of the
Lord through his servants, and we were all so thankful to have him well again.
Elihu K. Ball with his
wife Minta Kirtland
and daughters Alta
Alma (standing) and
Elsie.
wife Minta Kirtland
and daughters Alta
Alma (standing) and
Elsie.