We were woken with whispers and someone shaking us, "Get up! Hurry-be quiet."
It was dark outside, there were no lamps lit.
There was a feeling of fear in the air.

Mom and dad bundled us up. There were five of us, two sisters and three brothers. I was three.
We were hurried out the back door of our little cabin, and into the trees.
We were constantly warned to be quiet, crying children hushed by their mothers.

I saw others stumbling along with us, different families usually just women with children escaping.
We struggled along as light started the day. Behind us were faint sounds of sirens and panic.

Finally we reached an old road, others were in front also following the road, I could see a boy in pajamas he was being urged along he also seemed confused, and barely awake.

The old truck appeared on the narrow road, people were pushing it.
Mom said that if the truck was started someone would catch us.
Dad bundled us in the old truck, 'Uncle Buzz' has come to take us to safety.
Mom hung onto dad, he told her to be safe. He had to get into the mountains to wait until it was safe.

The old truck was pushed until it seemed far enough away to be safe to start.
We were confused and lost as our home disappeared behind us.

We lived in an polygamist town on the boarder of Utah and Arizona.
This little town had survived for many years without persecution from the states, because of state lines being in the middle of the town, If one state pursued the people they could simply move to other side of state line.

"Polygamy was "illegal" and from early years many men had spent time in jail because of their belief.
I had never known any other way of life.

My father was in the army, drafted just after marrying mom. They had just one child then.
He came back looking much older and haunted.
Since then our family had grown to five children. But so far dad had only one wife.

I was told later dad disappeared into the mountains above "Hill dale", the name of the boarder town. He would come down to cut fire wood and assist older people, those that were not taken by the law.

The States worked together to trap the people, arriving just before dawn to catch men at home.
The ones caught were loaded onto buses women and children were on one and men on another.
Families were broken and farmed out to people willing to take care of them temporally.

Our own family avoiding jail still needed to hide so were split up and put into willing relatives homes.

During our childhood the stories were just a part of what we listened to since babies.

Many stories were of men being accused of daughters being wives.

One favorite was a story of the big bad authorities going into homes, looking under beds and even into chamber pots. So silly! Who could hide in a stinky pot?

It took awhile until families wandered back to our home "Short Creek" Arizona.
The Raid was a scar on the State authorities because of the way people were treated. The people involved in this raid received assistance from many so becoming heroes and Martyrs for their belief.