Biographical Sketch of Ernest Murri. Tape #20

Transcription

1 Voices from the Past Biographical Sketch of Ernest Murri Interviewee: Ernest Murri August 16, 1972 Tape #20 Oral interview conducted by Harold Forbush Transcribed by: Bradley Broschinsky May 2006 Edited by: Jamie Whitehurst September 2008 Brigham Young University- Idaho

2 Harold Forbush: available facilities of the Upper Snake River Valley Historical Society on North Center Rexburg, Idaho the headquarters of the society and the museum on this occasion a certain tape which hereafter follows and which was recorded on reel to reel tape is now transferred onto C60 cassette this 13 th day of March HF: It s my privilege this afternoon of the 16 th of August 1972 to be here in the room of Mr. Ernest Murri. And Mr. Murri is living at the Good Samaritan Nursing Home at 840 Elva St. here in Idaho Falls, Idaho and it s about two o clock this warm August afternoon. And last Sunday the Family of this good man had a birthday party for him Ernest Murri: Yes, that was my son. HF: It was your son? EM: Yes. HF: Where was the birthday party held, Brother Murri? EM: That was down in HF: Toppas Park? HF: In Toppas Park. HF: I see. Now could you tell me your full name. What is your full name? EM: Ernest Murri. HF: And do you spell that Murri M-U-R-R- EM: I. HF: And when were you born Mr. Murri? EM: Well let s see HF: How old will you be this coming Friday? EM: I ll be up in 98. HF: You ll be 98 this coming Friday. So that would make you born in 1874, I think. 2

3 EM: Yes. HF: And I think you told me in Switzerland. EM: Yes that s right. HF: What part of Switzerland? EM: Right close to Bern. HF: Did your people come to America with you, bringing you as a young? EM: Yeah he come right, he sold them, let s see 4 days or 4 years that he sold out and come to America. HF: Your father? EM: Yeah, my family. And all my family come to America. HF: Now were you people converts to the church? EM: Yes sir. HF: To The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? EM: Yes sir. Yes sir. HF: Do you remember, according to family tradition, the name of the young man who brought the gospel to you to the family? EM: Well now it must have been Well I don t know. HF: You don t remember the missionary? EM: No, no. There was a lot of nice young missionaries come I know when I was just a little kid when they come there. HF: I see. You were just four years old when you came to America? EM: About five. HF: About five. EM: Four then the next year they got ready to go. HF: When you arrived in America by ship did you take a train? 3

4 EM: Yeah right through New York and then we took the train to Salt Lake. HF: To Salt Lake? HF: And where did you settle? EM: In Heber City. HF: In Heber City? Towards Midway or rather it s not in Heber City. HF: I see. Did you have relatives in America? Did your folks have relatives in America? EM: [Inaudible] Yes, they had a lot of them. HF: When they first came? HF: You had relatives? EM: Yes. HF: I see. And what did your father and mother do in Heber City? EM: Well he was a carpenter. HF: And he built homes? EM: Well he helped, worked for the home builders. I don t know I was just a little kid, but HF: You say you used to herd cows in Heber City? EM: Yes, out in Midway. HF: Was that your job for the family? EM: Well in the fall or spring I herded, I would herd cows, bring them in at night give them old bits of [inaudible] my neighbor s dogs. Then I would bring them in and get paid for it. 4

5 HF: About how many would you have in the community herd? EM: Oh, about 20. I had a hundred and twenty. HF: You d take them out in the hills? EM: Oh, heck yes I d take them way north, up above our old house to the range up there. HF: I see. EM: The house we had. HF: And how old were you then? Just still a young boy? EM: About eight or nine years old. HF: Were you? Now EM: Then I herd sheep or cows when I was six, yeah I was six years old to twelve, fourteen. I herded the sheep, I always getting sheep cause I herded the sheep afterwards. HF: I see. Now these sheep belonged to the neighbors? EM: Down in Salt Lake City. HF: I see. Now all this took place around Heber City? EM: Around Midway. HF: Around Midway? We go back around [inaudible] Midway it had a little store and a little grocery you might say. HF: Now Brother Murri when did your people decided to come into Idaho, to move to Idaho? EM: Father? HF: Uh-huh. EM: Let s see HF: About how old a boy were you when you came to Idaho? EM: Fifteen. 5

6 HF: You were 15? HF: Let s see if you were say born in 74 EM: I was six years old when I started herding cows. HF: That would be about 80. EM: Up to 14. HF: To 14? And we started right at 15. HF: So that would be eight years more onto 80 that would 88. They must have come up here 88 or 89. Does that seem about right? HF: Can you remember why your father and your family moved to Idaho? EM: Well they didn t have something anywhere else and he wanted to go where they had some land. HF: He wanted to farm? EM: Yeah, but he didn t have one he took a plot, he took a farm that was all brush, oak brush. But we herd cows there that s what he got it for, that place. HF: Where did you move to where was your destination? EM: When he come? HF: Uh-huh. EM: Right HF: When you left Utah what was your destination? Where did you intend to move to? EM: Up to the Teton Basin or Teton HF: Teton City? 6

7 EM: Yeah Wilford. HF: Wilford? HF: Up to Wilford? HF: Now Wilford s on the north side of the Teton River isn t it? EM: Teton HF: Wilford is on the you have to cross over EM: Well there s the other river south or no east of it and there you see you have Teton right in here and we lived right in here. Just like that. And here is that river that North Fork right here and Teton River right between it. HF: I see. Well now Brother Murri tell me what things were like in coming up from Utah to Wilford? How did your folks come and how did you come? EM: Well we traveled wagons, three teams two teams and a yoke of oxen. HF: The yoke of oxen. EM: Yeah that they all, that traveled through with the horses. HF: Who handled the teams? EM: My father and my brother, two brothers, and I and my younger brother, he didn t do it he was four years younger than me. HF: And you drove the cows? EM: Yes I walked and drove the cows. HF: How many cattle did you have? EM: I had 13 cows. HF: Thirteen cows? EM: Yeah, two bulls and a yoke of oxen, two oxen. 7

8 HF: With those cows? EM: Yes and horses, had two horse teams and the yoke of ox teams. HF: But you had 13 cows that you drove? EM: Yes and I walked all the way to Idaho. HF: From Heber? EM: I walked clean up yeah, up to Wilford. HF: From Heber City to Wilford? EM: Yes 365 miles. HF: Well lets see now, can you tell me the trail or the route that you followed? EM: Well HF: From Heber you went to what area? EM: Well we had to go north, we traveled mostly north. HF: Traveling north. EM: Yeah and then after we got up to Teton or Ashton or, oh I can t get HF: Wilford? EM: Well before that. HF: Idaho Falls? We had to get to Idaho Falls and they didn t have a bridge across them rivers and we had to go all the way around them places to get around, to get it, we couldn t cross. HF: Well now you must have crossed the Taylor Bridge here in Idaho Falls didn t ya? EM: What that big one? HF: Uh-huh the big one. EM: There wasn t any. 8

9 HF: The Taylor Bridge at Idaho Falls? EM: No, there was no bridge there. They had a boat, trying to think what do they call it? HF: A ferry? HF: They had a ferry. EM: But they wouldn t take us across the river was too high. He said, I won t take ya. HF: You came up in the spring of the year? EM: Yes sir. HF: What was the country like when you got up here? What can you remember about it? EM: Well that s a nice country to work in, to farm. HF: A lot of grass? EM: Oh yeah. HF: In the spring of the year? EM: Yes, oh heavens, it was like that when we got there. The grass was that high. HF: Now do you remember the families, some families that you got acquainted with right quickly? EM: Well there was the Black family HF: Mr. Black? EM: Black yeah. HF: Uh-huh. EM: Black and Culbert and HF: Birch? EM: Yeah Birch yes. HF: Was there a Birch? 9

10 EM: Yes he was the [inaudible]. HF: Do you remember the man who was married to the Indian, Beaver Dick? EM: Beaver Dick. Yeah I know old Beaver Dick. HF: Did you really? EM: Huh? HF: You really knew him? EM: Yes I had dinner there. HF: You had dinner at his cabin? EM: Yes. HF: Is that right? EM: Yes sir. HF: And what, do you remember his wife s name? EM: Oh yes, I know her name and they had three kids. HF: Three children. Sue I guess was her name I guess. HF: Do you remember any of the names of the children? EM: One was, oh what the hell is his, the boy was, he was, the girl was the oldest she was Emma. HF: Emma? EM: And the boy was HF: Bill? Bill? EM: Oh something like that, and then there was a little girl she was only about six, seven years old here name was HF: Rose? 10

11 EM: Rosie. HF: Rosie. HF: That s the one. EM: Huh? HF: And they had there home right near the Teton didn t they? EM: The house was up above the Teton a little ways up in what they called Beaver Dick HF: His flat or bottom? Beaver Dick Bottom? EM: Yeah, Beaver Dick had the bottom in the Teton river. Below it the river of it started down from the marsh from here down and then it comes down here and then they made it turn over here instead of going this way. That Teton come along this way and now it curved here and then half of it would come down this other way and split. Teton River split before they got to the river. HF: Oh I see. EM: And then once [inaudible] the Teton City [inaudible] on our side. HF: Now were there any bridges on the Teton River at that time? EM: No. HF: How did you get back and forth? EM: Well we would drive a wagon across. HF: You had to ford the river? EM: Yes. HF: To get over to Teton? EM: Yes. I drove the wagon sometimes and the water would run into the wagon box. HF: Now was there much ground that was cropped by that time, in ground, planted? 11

12 EM: No, not like that it was all new. HF: Mm-hmm. EM: Teton had a little bit but not much. HF: There wasn t anything over at St. Anthony was there? EM: No. St. Anthony wasn t there yet. So that s HF: St. Anthony just wasn t there, huh? EM: No it was an old move and dad s move was the only one that s the one got to see the stars from Teton, from St. Anthony. HF: Mm-hmm. Was there a lot of brush and willows and trees along the lower part of the Teton River? EM: Well there was a lot of willers [willows]. HF: Not too many trees? EM: Not very many trees no, there were trees here and there but there was plenty of old pines and then they d go up to Teton Canyon, Teton River would come down through then the brush, pardon me, trees. HF: Uh-huh. EM: The way they had pine trees and they had cottonwoods and like that down lower. HF: I see. EM: [inaudible] cottonwood trees big ones. HF: Did you know the Pincock family? EM: Yes. HF: George? EM: Yes. HF: John? EM: Yes. Jim. 12

13 HF: And James Pincock? EM: Yes. HF: And there were some Garners too, weren t there? EM: Yes, Kelly Garner and I don t know how many, a whole lot of them. HF: A lot of Garners. EM: And then I couldn t bind it, we had a binder, bought a binder, and then I, we would cut and bind our grain for people. HF: Did you? With a binder? HF: Did you also shock the grain? EM: Well we didn t shock because they had shocked. HF: But you went around binding grain, custom work? HF: There in Wilford? EM: Yeah, we d cut it. HF: Your father bought the binder? EM: My brother did. HF: Your brother? HF: Older brother? EM: Yeah, Rudolph. HF: Rudolph? EM: There was Rudolph and then Adolph. HF: Rudolph and Adolph. 13

14 EM: Yeah they bought that. And they d used it every year and then they got tired of it and they wanted something else and I took a hold of it and I was just a kid but I was one of the best they had there to do the cuttin. HF: Where did you settle? Did you take up a homestead 160 acres? EM: No, I only had 80. HF: An 80. EM: Yeah but my brother bought 160 and he gave my father 80. HF: Eighty. EM: Yeah and then he took 80. HF: Was that a homestead entry or one which had already settled, filed on? EM: No, he did father and them sold or turned it to, oh what in the heck, he was down in Cache Valley, or down towards Salt Lake he got [inaudible] his name again and my brother got [inaudible] pad of paper HF: Well the thing is though your father took up an entry that had already been filed on and they gave him the deed or the certificate EM: Well they never Rudolph gave father half HF: Eighty acres. EM: Eighty acres. He says I can t take it all and well they couldn t take everything. He said that they got all they want and he said give it to father. And then he farmed out of there a while and then a feller come in from another [inaudible] he said that was a damn dirty trick. He told father to sell 40 acres of his land he gave him a lot of money and he got him 8,000 dollars and [inaudible] last day along either. Though when he got the 40 acres we didn t have nothing or I didn t have nothing, I went to work, I went off to work all summer. HF: For wages? EM: Yeah I go out wherever I can HF: What kind of work did you do Mr. Murri? EM: Everything. 14

15 HF: Putting up hay? EM: Yes, make hay derricks, mailer [inaudible]) and oh hell I don t know what else. I can t think of anything anyway [inaudible]. HF: Well now, when your family arrived, when your family arrived, this was your mother and father and two brothers EM: Oh no, there was, they come in first before we went they had a feller, that was up there. He came from Midway. He was [inaudible] something. And then he took three children, he says he s got enough right to take three children along with him back over to Wilford. Took them away from Richland he take three. And then next come [inaudible] mission there and when they quit there was a lot to take one or two or three children HF: I see. Well EM: Didn t cost him money. That s where father had five children over there without paying anything. HF: Five children? HF: Okay but when you moved to Wilford how many children were taken to Wilford with ya? EM: Well they only had two. HF: Two brothers and yourself? HF: And you mother and father? EM: Yeah two brothers was all there was Rudolph and Adolph. HF: And yourself? EM: And father. HF: And mother? EM: And mother and then Rosie; she s the girl [inaudible] just tried anyhow. HF: I see. All right now did you have to build a home when you got to Wilford? 15

16 EM: Yeah, you bet we did. HF: Or was there a home on the place? EM: No sir, we had to buy, inaudibleone of the boys was up there first he and the boys he made a log house there. HF: Oh he had gone the year before? HF: Which boy was that? EM: That was Adolph. HF: Adolph had gone the year before? EM: Uh-huh. HF: So he had a what, a two room home, a two room log cabin? EM: Well, no it was just a cabin we lived in. HF: A cabin. EM: That s right and all the newcomers come in there. HF: Dirt roof? EM: And you have to make them do a little HF: Describe it? EM: It was a funny house, an old house. HF: Can you describe it? EM: What? HF: The house, the log house? EM: Well it was log and then you d plaster it HF: Dirt roof? EM: Dirt roof and then you d put slabs up on the roof and then throw the dirt on it. 16

17 HF: How bout the floor? EM: The floor had there s a sawmill up there in Teton and they go there and put it on the floor. HF: On the floor? HF: Do you remember who operated that sawmill? EM: Oh, Sidaway. HF: Sidaway? HF: How bout Swindeman? EM: No, Swindeman HF: Had Swindeman s gotten up there then? EM: Oh hell yeah they bought up all the land they could get. HF: Swindeman? EM: Yeah there was about oh hell there was eight, nine, ten eight or nine boys. HF: But, but, now you mentioned EM: There was only one man and they come there and the old man and the wife. HF: You mentioned Mr. Murri that Sidaway had a sawmill, he also had a flourmill EM: Well Sidaway he the sawmill; he had the flourmill right on the hill. HF: On the hill, uh-huh. EM: Yeah and he put a dam in the Teton, one half of the Teton come down that way and then he ended up building some kind of a HF: Mill race? 17

18 EM: Mill race through that from the Teton down to the top of that hill, that hill right downhill, you know, they put it right on the edge, right there and then they ground the flour with water HF: Water power. EM: Yeah with the sawmill. HF: They had the sawmill there to? HF: I see and you got your lumber from that sawmill? We went out in the woods at first [inaudible] and I was big enough we went out to the north about 20 miles north and cut some HF: Up around Ashton way? EM: Well north I know where Ashton is right from St. Anthony right straight north. HF: I see and got some, what kind of pine. EM: Yeah there s pine there HF: Pine trees. EM: Lots of pine there. HF: I see. Lodge pole? EM: Yeah well there s logs there, I cut one. I and my brother we in the winter there I told him, I said well I m, I m a going to tackle some of that big timber take it down and then we are going to use the whole thing treat them anyway well we just as well use them. We had logs for all winter, hauled them to Sidaways. HF: To be EM: To the sawmill. HF: To be sawed into boards? EM: We paid him so much. HF: Did you use your ox team for that purpose? 18

19 EM: No, oh the ox team was only one year and then we packed them up and shipped them for meat. HF: I see. Did you know any Beards? EM: Yeah Al Beard. HF: And Al Beard EM: He come and happened to pull in there, oh, probably the winter after we was up there. HF: Now he oxen too, didn t he? EM: Yeah, he was from, from down around Salt Lake down there somewhere or east of Salt Lake. HF: Uh-huh. EM: He was an old logger man and he d come up there and he done saw he has an, oh, about eight boys. HF: Mm-hmm. EM: Old wild characters. HF: Well Mr. Murri did you marry while you were still living in Wilford? EM: Yes. HF: Who did you marry? EM: Oh let s see, and I was, she was oh I forget now who. I can t remember who she was, a girl from one of those campers there. HF: She was a local girl? EM: Uh yeah. HF: She was a girl from Wilford? EM: Yes she was from Wilford. No I lied, she was from up towards Teton Basin and I was up as far as Teton Basin before I got married to her. HF: Who was your oldest child? 19

20 EM: Rudolph. HF: Was that one of your children? EM: Not mine no. HF: No I m talking about your family now. EM: Oh my family? HF: Who was your oldest boy or girl? EM: Well I got married and I didn t have any girls [inaudible]. HF: And can you name the children, your children? EM: Uh, hell yes. Let s see, hell I can t even think of them anymore there s so many of them and I, doing other things that [inaudible]. HF: Dean was a boy, one of your boys. EM: Huh? HF: Dean. EM: Yes. HF: Dean and Riley. EM: Well they re all of my children. HF: Mm-hmm. EM: Let s see there s Rudolph, Rudolph, Christian, and then there s girl, Macarina she was next of the children, then there was Adolph again, and then Fred and I and Charlie. HF: The interview will be completed on side two. HF: Side two an interview with Ernest Murri is completed on this side. EM: Ten boys, then I had. I had ten boys. HF: You had ten boys? 20

21 HF: And how many girls? EM: Three. HF: Ten boys and three girls. EM: Yeah, two of them died, the girls died. HF: Boy that was a big family. EM: Yeah, you darn right it was good family. It was HF: A good family EM: Yeah you gotta get all the boys up there, they re all over I don t know where. HF: Well now after you were married you went to Teton Basin? HF: What prompted you to move to EM: Huh? HF: What prompted you to move to Teton Basin? EM: Well I had a place there that s real pretty, we didn t make much money on that home there but I had [inaudible] straw in there [inaudible] damn I can t think of it. HF: A [inaudible]. EM: I can t talk anymore I ve been alone so long, three years now I ve been right here, hardly able to go out and talk with anybody. HF: Mm-hmm. EM: I can t tell you they remember anything anymore like I used to. HF: Yes. Well I guess the highlight of your life was that big trip from Utah up to HF: That was a big experience in your life wasn t it? EM: You bet it was. 21

22 HF: To walk all that distance. EM: All that distance 365 miles. It was about 20 miles a day. HF: Is that what you d average, about 20 miles a day? HF: Did you have hard time finding water for the animals? EM: Oh no there were creeks all along the way we went. HF: And at that time of year I guess there was quite a lot of good grass, wasn t there? EM: Oh yeah. After we started out first we took a ton of hay with us and we got as far as, oh, as far as Salt Lake a little ways, quite a few places, and then they had a lot feed there and we a lot of hay too. After we got there we used up the hay and [inaudible] and the cows, five of our cows had calves on the way and two mares had colts. We hauled them on the wagon that had the hay on. HF: Well then you had plenty of good milk and butter. EM: Oh yeah. So much we had to give the milk away [inaudible] drink it, oh we couldn t. So we didn t have anybody around us, why we d have to pour it out. HF: Did you take a few pigs and chickens with you? EM: No. HF: No pigs or chickens? EM: No there wasn t no chickens. No. HF: Would your parent s, those who drove and took care of the wagons did they keep up with you or did you keep up with them? EM: I kept up with them. HF: So that when you would camp at night, why you would all be together as a family? EM: We d be right there, yeah. And when we got there by night stand two wagons out [inaudible] between, you know, heavy bull rope then tie our cows up there, we d put halters on them and strap on that rope and then we d tie them up, we d tie the cows up. HF: You d tie them up at night then. 22

23 HF: So they wouldn t stray off. EM: So they wouldn t get in the damn poison weed. They had poison weed down there, oh right around Pocatello down in that country. HF: What kind of weed would that be Mr. Murri? EM: That s uh, oh it grows up HF: Larkspur? [Inaudible] it s poison, grass-like. HF: You didn t lose any animals on your way? EM: No, nope we didn t lose any. Never had any sick, never had any mad or anything [inaudible]. HF: Well now, Mr. Murri upon your arrival at Wilford where would your folks go to do their shopping, [to] get supplies? EM: Old Tommy Birch had a little shanty store. HF: Mr. Birch did? EM: Yeah Tom Birch. HF: Tom Birch? EM: Uh-huh. HF: Did he have was there a post office there also? EM: Yeah he had the post office. HF: He had the post office. EM: Yeah he got it there. Didn t have any till we got there than we made it more company. HF: Well now, did they also have a church there that you could attend? EM: Yes sir. 23

24 HF: Who was the bishop? Do you remember? EM: Oh what is his I can t. HF: Smith? EM: No, Davis; by the name of Davis. HF: A fellow by the name of Davis. EM: Yeah, Smith was there too and Culberts was there, they were the old [inaudible] counselor and oh there was quite a few that changed off. HF: Now the church I guess would be a log building? EM: Huh? HF: The church was a log building? HF: Was it near EM: Log building? HF: Log. EM: No not there anymore they got nice houses over there now. HF: They have a nice church over there now. EM: You bet. Yeah. Over Teton there they got oh they had one big, they always had big chapels. HF: Do you remember when the railroad came into St. Anthony? EM: Yes. HF: Do ya? EM: I was at 13, 13 th of April. No, 13 th of HF: Did they have quite a celebration the time it came into St. Anthony? When the railroad came in? EM: Oh yes it was in St. Anthony, that s where it first St. Anthony. 24

25 HF: Did you help them in any way in building the railroad? EM: Hell I hauled ties there for a week. HF: You hauled ties? HF: Where? In the St. Anthony area? HF: Did ya? EM: And then from there then up to Marysville where they went up through there. Then we had all the ties that we cut, we had just cutting up ties there was three or four teams that hauled timber and then we made ties. And then after we laid them up we had to lay them covered or they painted them [inaudible] for their tie. HF: Well now you worked then for the railroad a little bit installing ties? EM: Yes. HF: Now would this be between St. Anthony and Marysville. EM: What? Well they first you went up to as far as Marysville just not quite and then seller would come and decide they want tie or something a feeding through this other direction. HF: Over towards the EM: The park. HF: Over toward the park? HF: Up to West Yellowstone? HF: Up that way. 25

26 EM: And then they d, ah hell, oh they had [inaudible] ah hell, every damn farm in the country they had working and building those ties for the train. I mean it was all up there till they got up in them Tetons Canyon and then up around. Oh gosh it was a mess. HF: Did you participate and work in any of the canal projects bring water through canals? EM: You bet I did. HF: Can you tell me about some of that? EM: Hell yes. HF: What canals did you help work on? EM: St. Anthony Canal and the Wilford Canal, Teton canal. HF: What kind of work did you do Mr. Murri? EM: I worked all day long with a scrapper. HF: With scrapper? HF: A team and EM: A team and a scrapper. I was only 15 years old 16. HF: What would there be two horses? EM: Yes. HF: On a scrapper? EM: Yes. HF: And you would be you would hold on to hang on to the handle. EM: The [inaudible] and the handle both. HF: And then you would EM: Ride around and haul pretty big bags for places. We had to make bags and then some people made [inaudible]. HF: How much did you get a day at the time? 26

27 EM: Oh hell. HF: Do you recall? EM: We didn t get nothing up there in Wilford. When we lived through there we had to work for get our share of the water. HF: For your share of the water? HF: But when you were working say on the Teton Dam or Teton Canal? EM: We didn t work much over there [inaudible] but very much. We hauled quite a lot of salt in more than anything. HF: Do you recall at all what type of wages were earned at that time? EM: Huh? HF: The going wage for team and a man? EM: It would be about two dollars a day. HF: For a team and man? EM: Yeah that s what you d get [inaudible]. We didn t have the hay. HF: What did it cost you for a ton of hay at that time? EM: About three dollars. HF: About three? HF: And for a sack of wheat what would you get for a sack of wheat? EM: Oh about, let s see, I don t know. Seventy-five or a dollar I believe for a sack. HF: Now you mentioned that when your dad got there he bought a binder and did custom binding. Would that be so much an acre for binding grain? 27

28 HF: Do you know how much that would be? EM: I believe [inaudible] they chose how many acres they had, you know, and we told them what we could get. We had to take grain for when they [inaudible] you get grains paid for. HF: Then you d take the grain over and have it made into flour? HF: How much would a pair of shoes cost at that time? EM: Well not very much, a dollar and a half to two dollars. HF: You could get you a pair of good overalls for what a dollar, a dollar and a half? EM: Oh hell for 75 cents. HF: A good pair for 75 cents? EM: Yes. HF: Yeah isn t that tremendous? EM: Yeah that s some of these things that we bought was awful cheap and some other stuff was a little higher. But I figure not many 75 cents for a pair of overalls. HF: When you moved into Teton Basin did you rent a farm up there and farm with your boys. EM: I rented a place up there. HF: You rented? EM: Uh-huh. HF: Was that near Driggs? HF: And did you farms with your boys? EM: Well they didn t, they all went to work whatever they d get a job. HF: But you tried to you had a farm there and you grew crops on this ranch? 28

29 HF: Have you had pretty good health during your lifetime? EM: Well pretty well yes. The things that I ve done I was busy all the time I never had a chance to play ball or anything else I had to go. HF: You were kept busy all the time working? EM: Yes, you betcha! I lived this was I worked 30 years. HF: You worked 30 years? EM: Yeah, I worked from four o clock in the morning to four or five or six, seven or eight, nine, ten at night. HF: And your health all the during those years was? EM: For all that time I d been as happy as I am now. HF: Know how to be. HF: Well now you mentioned that you had an accident. Was this when you broke your leg? EM: Well yeah. HF: How did that happen? EM: Huh? HF: How did that happen? EM: Oh I was working in HF: On the farm? I was breaking some hard dirt and I had the [inaudible] or the woods and, hell my it s a spittin you know? HF: Uh-huh. EM: First thing I know I heard it pop and that s why I broke that blue stripe in this knuckle here, oh this here that s dead here. 29

30 HF: Is that right? But this blood line from there comes up here in my knee. Good gosh that s a HF: Well you haven t had occasion to call upon many doctors and nurses and things? EM: Yeah but the many doctors this year to cut my leg off and I told them to go to hell. HF: Now where did you get doctor help at that time? EM: I don t know there s whole bunch of them. I d go after hit one [inaudible] go to the place of another, drive over in Teton and then them damn doctors there oh they d never damn town you ever heard. Dollar a day for a doctor and they wasn t worth a dang dollar some of em. HF: Yes I guess EM: And then paying a hell of a HF: Price? EM: Price, yes. HF: Mr. Murri what was the first kind of car that you owned? EM: Me? HF: Uh-huh. EM: I guess a little thing HF: A Model T? EM: I believe it was a Model T. It wore out. HF: It wore out? HF: You think you owned the first car you owned was a little Model T. EM: Yeah and next one HF: Was that when you were still living in 30

31 EM: In St. Anthony. HF: In St. Anthony? HF: Well now EM: I drove on the 12 th or 13 th at the time and they went he had his fellers come in from below you know it s cars [inaudible], damn truck and cars and every damn thing [inaudible]. HF: I imagine you can remember some pretty bad old roads, can t you? EM: Oh yeah. HF: That you had to go over? EM: Yes, yes I did. HF: Well I EM: I had some of the timber too. HF: I have you enjoyed working in the timber? EM: Huh? HF: Have you enjoyed working in the forest? In the timber? EM: Well this set up of my old self. HF: Getting out wood and then you had when you worked with for the railroad you got out ties. Well we had the ties before they worked on the train, you know. We had a year, about a year, ahead of them cutting ties. HF: Oh I see. Before they laid the tracks? HF: Mm-hmm. EM: You had to have the ties in before they could go with the train. 31

32 HF: Have you enjoyed your family quite a lot the last few years? EM: Yes I have. HF: You ve enjoyed having them come and see you? EM: You bet I have. HF: Well that s wonderful. EM: And they ve come too. HF: They ve been really faithful to you? EM: They live about 10 hours [inaudible]. HF: Well that s wonderful. Well that s really wonderful. I appreciate the opportunity today of coming down and visiting with you Mr. Murri. EM: Thank you. 32