Mormon Miracle

Lorenzo Wesley Roundy (1819-1876)

son of Shadrach ROUNDY (1789-1872) and Betsey QUIMBY (1795-1880)

Uncle of Charles PARKER (1853-1935).
Relationship to Lark's children 3 great grand Uncle.

pictured Lorenzo Wesley Roundy


H. Gail Pollock Family History Research.

In September of 1870, Brigham Young and a company of 40 men which included Lorenzo Wesley Roundy, John D. Lee, Jacob Hamblin and Brigham Young, Jr. Major John Wesley Powell the explorer of the Colorado River was also a member of this party for at least part of the trek. September 7-9 1870, while the exploring company was traveling from Peter Shirt's (aka Peter Shurtz) abandoned fort/ranch on the Paria River towards Kanab. John D. Lee records: "at 8 the co. was again on the role. Bro. Stewart & myself on the lead with the buggy by permission of Prest. Young. Ascended the Mountain where the evening before a miraculous accident occurred with Bishop L. W. Roundy. While descending, one of his horses got one of their hoof fast between 2 rocks which threw the animal down & the other one over that one & the carriage pressing was in the air. Fortunately, [it was?] caught by two men who was behind. [They?] held on to it until the springs were all wrenched out of place, throwing the driver, Bishop Roundy, 40 feet down the precipice. In a moment all was right up with care, nothing hurt. Major Powell, who witnessed the scene, rode up to me & said that he saw a miracle....Said that if he had been in the States, he would have expected to have seen a man's neck broke, a pair of horses killed & a carriage stove to atoms at least. But with you Mormons, in a moment all is up again & nobody hurt. Within 12 miles of Kanab the company halted." Peter Shirt's cabin/fort/ ranch on the Paria River is about 40 miles east of Kanab, Kane County, Utah. Shirt's was asked/forced to abandon his remote and unauthorized outpost by the church during a prior time of Indian troubles.

(Taken from a section headed by "From John D. Lee's diaries #3,#4 and #5". )

Kanarraville Marksman - Napoleon Bonaparte Roundy

Napoleon Bonaparte Roundy (1851-1928)

son of Lorenzo Wesley Roundy (1819-1876) and Susannah Wallace (1820-1892).
First cousin of Charles PARKER (1853-1935).
Relationship to Lark's children 1 cousin 4 times removed.
1860 Henry Rifle Steel 24-1/4" MSRP $1,419.00 [must be 2010 price]

Case hardened - A grade Walnut

H. Gail Pollock Family History Research.

From a weekly Cedar City, UT, newspaper. Original source not known. "Kanarraville: March 1880: We are in Silver Reef, a year after the great fire that destroyed half of the town. We are at a racetrack. Silver Reef had come roaring back and was now the "fun capitol of the region" and the "flesh pots" of Washington County. People from all over southern Utah have come to be entertained by the rooster and dog fights, horse races and shooting matches. The grandstand was filled to capacity. The highlight was to be a shooting match featuring the legendary Col. Enos A. Wall, a polished gentleman from the army and the pride of the Silver Reef Rifle Club. Wall always dressed in his impressive sportsman outfit and using one of the new expensive Henry rifles, had dispatched everyone in Silver Reef and now was challenged by only one man - with the unlikely name of Napoleon Bonaparte Roundy. Roundy is Wall's complete opposite: rough-cut, ill dressed, and-gasp-a Mormon from Kanarraville whose gun is and odd-looking long rifle. Wall was the overwhelming favorite to win the match, which had a prize of $100. The local gamblers bet heavily on Wall and sat back to savor his victory. Wall graciously offered a two-point handicap against the ungainly youth. But Napoleon won by one point and the gamblers lost their shirts. Wall was humiliated. A rematch was scheduled the following week, with the prize elevated to $200. The match was shot at 200 yards with each shooter getting 20 shots. A huge crowd assembled. The first match that day was declared a tie, and the contestants decided to shoot it over once again. This time Napoleon again won, by a decisive 79 to71 total. The crowd was stunned as Roundy collected the $200 and returned to Kanarraville, the upset victory of the decade. Although he tried many times. Wall was never able to beat Roundy. If he couldn't beat him fairly, he tried to do it unfairly, once hiring someone to walk into Roundy's site just as he was ready to pull the trigger, unnerving the Mormon rifleman. Roundy, however, recomposed himself and once again the young unsophisticated Roundy defeated the expert marksman, in yet another victory that solidified his reputation...." Notes: 1) Perhaps a bit of hyperbole here, but the Roundy Family in America book mentions that Napoleon was a excellent marksman. 2) Enos A. Wall had his ups and down as a prospector and mining expert as a younger man. Wall was first to recognize the potential of deposits in Bingham Canyon. Later mining engineer Jackling and Wall formed the Utah Copper Company, which still later merged into Kennecott Copper. Today the Kennecot mine in Bingham Canyon is said to be the larges open pit mine in the world and the largest man made excavation. Wall spent the rest of his life a rich man living in a mansion on South Temple street in Salt Lake City.