Butch Cassidy Read Free Page B

particular.
    A few weeks after completing their journey to Salt Lake City, the Parkers moved to a new settlement called American Fork, located approximately twenty-five miles to the south. Here, Robert Parker taught school for a time. Since there was a need for weavers, the church eventually encouraged him to move to the town of Beaver, some 175 miles south-southwest of Salt Lake City, where he went to work in a woolen mill, putting his weaving skills to good use. For a time, according to some researchers, young Maxi worked in the mill but, as in England, despised the tedium. As before, he ran away.
    Since winter was well under way in southern Utah and the Parkers had no time to construct a suitable cabin, they moved into a dugout. Life for the family that winter was miserable as the thatched, dirt roof leaked and rainwater and snowmelt poured into the pitiful dwelling. Many times, water collected on the floor and turned it into mud.
    Some time later, the Gillies family, having successfully completed the long journey to Salt Lake City, was also assigned to Beaver. The church determined that Robert Gillies’s skills as a carpenter and cabinetmaker were sorely needed in that region.
    When he grew older, young Maximillian was later appointed by the Mormon church to help guide additional wagon trains from St. Louis, Missouri, to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. He also worked for a time as a mailman. It has also been written that he served for a time in what has since come to be called the Black Hawk War, a series of skirmishes between Mormons and a loose confederation of Utes, Paiutes, and some Navajos led by Chief Black Hawk.
    Being residents of the same small town, it was inevitable that Maxi Parker would meet Annie Gillies. Though her real name was Annie, Maxi called her Ann. Ann was described as “a pretty, charming lass,” and she and young Maxi soon became friends and playmates.
    In 1865, when Robert and Ann Parker were sent by the church to help operate a new cotton mill constructed in Washington, Utah, Maxi stayed behind. According to his daughter Lula Parker Betenson, Maxi “had eyes only for Annie and wasn’t about to take chances on losing her.” The two were married on July 12, 1865. The first of thirteen children, Robert LeRoy Parker, destined to become the most famous member of the family, was born on April 13, 1866, according to Parker family documents.
    Robert and Ann Parker traveled the eighty miles from their home in Washington, Utah, to be present at the birth of their grandchild. Also present were the maternal grandparents, Robert and Jane Sinclair Gillies. The elder Parker held the baby Robert in his arms as the newborn was blessed and given his name.
    During his tenure as a mailman, Maxi often crossed Circle Valley, a broad, flat plain surrounded by mountains and through which ran the Sevier River. He was convinced the fertile land was quite suitable for growing crops and raising cattle. Importantly for Maxi, it looked like a fine place to raise a family.
    Maxi eventually purchased 160 acres in the valley from a man named James. The property was located some three miles south of Circleville, a small settlement near the confluence of Cottonwood Creek and the Sevier River, consisting of little more than a few Mormon residences and a schoolhouse. As soon as he was able, Parker moved his wife and six children into a two-room log cabin constructed near the base of a hill. The year was 1879, and young Robert was thirteen years old.
    One room of the cabin served as kitchen and living area, and the entire Parker family slept in the other, their beds being little more than pallets made from ticking stuffed with straw and corn husks. The floor was also covered with straw that, in turn, was topped with cloths and homemade rag carpets. Over time, a separate kitchen and two bedrooms were added.
    During the first year on the property, Maxi cleared the land, dug canals, and planted crops. His first agricultural