COWBOY ELDERS

Lone Ranger and his horse. "Hi-Yo, Silver. Away!"

     We may have been truckless, but we were not without horsepower!  After following orders to deliver our worthless vehicle to the Ford dealer in Albuquerque we were now “Hitchhiking Elders.” Sometimes by the end of the day, we felt like “The Walking Dead” Elders. That might not sound so bad. After all, there are Mormon Elders and Sisters serving missions all over the world who walk and ride bikes to accomplish their tasks. But in the desolate back-country of the Navajo Reservation, where camps were spread several miles apart, and connected only by rut-filled dirt roads, it wasn’t very practical.

      When would we be getting a new set of wheels, you ask? “Hóla, doo shił bééhózin da!” This Navajo saying was like shrugging your shoulders or saying “I don’t know!” It will come when it comes, was always the answer.

The vast Navajo Reservation.

      Not to be deterred in our quest to visit and teach the people we were up early, standing by the side of the road with our thumbs out. I told Elder Stanley he was with a pro hitchhiker. After all I had thumbed rides to California and back to Utah on several occasions before my mission. But the reservation had one big difference. Traffic, or rather the lack there of. Without it there were no rides to be had. If we showed enough patience while walking along with our thumbs out, eventually someone would pull alongside, roll down their window and ask, “Háágóó shą’?” (Where are you going?) There were no addresses on the reservation so we would just tell the driver the surname of the family we planned to visit and pointed in the general direction.  Then we’d gratefully climb into their truck bed, often joining other family members or barking dogs, and we’d be on our way.

      Usually we made it a mile or two before the driver turned off in another direction at which point we’d hop out, thank the family (Ahéheeʼ nitsaago), wish them well, and start walking again, often whistling or humming a tune like “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel, Push Along, Do Your Duty with a Heart Full of Song!” Singing was out of the question. Neither one of us could carry a tune! I was thankful to be with Elder Stanley. His fun-loving ways kept us laughing as we plugged along the dusty roads, hoping for another ride.

Elder Rogers thumbing a ride in the Navajo Reservation outback. 1965.

 

      About a week into our hitchhiking days Don Smouse, the Borrego Pass trader, approached us with a splendid idea. He had just taken two horses in trade and they were corralled just behind our place next to the trading post. Smiles crept across our faces. We thought we knew where this might be leading. Sure enough, he offered us the use of his two horses and would let us use his riding gear. “The Navajos who traded me them horses said they was broke. Just how broke I couldn’t guarantee, but you’re welcome to them,” he said with a grin. Elder Stanley and I had both spent a little time on horses so we were more than excited to give it a try.

      Bright and early the next morning there stood Brother Smouse with the horses all saddled and ready to go. “Judging by size, Elder Rogers, you take the small gray. And Elder Stanley, the large black is yours,” he instructed while handing us the reins. “Be careful with them saddles! They’ve been in the family for a long time,” were his last words before heading back to the trading post.

Don Smouse. 1965.

      To test out our horses we decided to impress the elementary students by  strutting past the Borrego Pass day school at recess, all decked out in our cowboy hats. We soon learned that Elder Stanley’s horse had only one gear, a slow walk. And my little gray had just one speed and that was as fast as it could go. With a slight nudge my horse was off like a shot charging down the dirt road. As I neared the elementary school, the kids could hear my horse approaching at full gallop and ran to the fence to get a good look. They were surprised to see Elder Rogers racing his horse like he was in the Kentucky Derby. I waved to the kids as I sped by pretending all was well. Still wildly galloping I swung the little gray in a wide circle through a nearby field and came racing back past the gaggle of wide-eyed kids crowded along the fence, and soon darted around Elder Stanley who was still plodding along almost where I’d left him.

      As I flew past the trading post my nice brown Stetson hat blew off and landed on the ground next to the gas pumps. Without warning my horse suddenly slammed on the brakes, and the horse and I both came to an abrupt halt at the corral’s gate.  Quickly tying up my horse, I ran back to retrieve my hat, but it wasn’t there. What! Where could it have gone? Looking about I spotted an old timer in a rocking chair on the porch of the trading post. I called to him, “Did you see my cowboy hat laying here on the ground?”  He replied, “Yup.” “Do you know where it went?” “Yup.” “Well, could you please tell me?” “Yup. See that beat up truck driving away?” “Yes.” “While you were tying up the horse, that big boy in the truck picked up you hat, tried it on for size, and is now driving off with it.” “Do you know that hastiin?” “Nope. Never seen the feller before.” When I looked back down the road, there was Elder Stanley sitting tall in the saddle, shrouded in a cloud of dust kicked up by the hat thief’s rusted out pile of junk.
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Rust bucket

      Not to be deterred by our mismatched, stubborn horses we made a plan. I would run ahead until my horse began to tire, then dismount and wait for Elder Stanley on “Old Slowpoke” to catch up. Our first visit was to be the Largo Camp, about a mile jaunt up hill through the pinyon pines, so off we went: running, walking, waiting; running, walking, waiting. Again running ahead I finally reached the Largo Camp. My horse still had plenty of pep with no plans of slowing down, so I kept running her around the Hogan until she finally got the idea that this was a good place to stop. The Largos’ youngsters thought this was great entertainment. Their surprised little faces appeared as they looked out the window on the side of the Hogan. And then they dashed to the window on the other side. They didn’t want to miss a thing. The circus had come to town!

      As my horse finally came to a stop Sister Largo, our Relief Society President, stepped outside, politely covering her mouth in the Navajo tradition, and still laughing at the wild entry. She finally looked up at me and asked, “Where is your companion?” “Oh, you mean, Elder Stanley? He should be along shortly!” I replied. Upon his eventual arrival, Sister Largo and her kids gave Elder Stanley a warm greeting.   

Cowboy Elders. Elder Stanley, and Elder Rogers (without his brown Stetson) at the Largos' camp.1965.

      We hadn’t planned a long visit. We just wanted to test out our new rides. But just before mounting up to leave, Elder Stanley said he had a brilliant idea. He had spent a lot of time on his grandmother’s ranch, and had become somewhat educated in the fine art of horsemanship. Looking at me he announced, “We need to trade bridles! Your horse needs my horse’s hackamore bit. That might help you keep her running under control.” He then immediately began removing the bridle from my horse. “Shouldn’t I put the reins around her neck to hold her?” I started to ask.  “No need. They just stand there,” he replied. I watched in horror as the bridle slipped off and my horse bolted away, running through the trees to who knows where. And to make matters worse, she still had Don Smouse’s prize saddle strapped to her back. Thoughtfully rubbing my chin I turned to Elder Stanley. “So they just stand there, huh?”

      After several hours of scouting the pine-covered canyons with no success, we reluctantly gave up the search and began the long ride down the mountain back to the trading post. With two Elders astride, the stubborn plodder was now slower than ever.  “What are we going to tell Brother Smouse when we get back?” I asked. “What do you mean WE, cowboy?” Elder Stanley quipped. “It was your horse that ran away!”

Don Smouse's corral behind the Elders' quarters at the Borrego Pass Trading Post.

      It was late afternoon when we finally arrived. I watched Elder Stanley’s retreating back as he made a quick get away to the corral to take care of his horse, leaving me to face the music. This was going to be tough! I put on my most humble face and went in search of Brother Don Smouse. When I found him he was just finishing his evening chores. I stood in silence, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “Well, spit it out Elder! I have things to finish before dark,” barked Brother Smouse.  I started to explain what had happened to his horse and saddle. It was worse than telling my Dad I had just rolled his shiny new VW.

      After taking several deep breaths, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. I could tell he was about to explode. Fighting back the urge to express his deep displeasure, Don finally choked out, “ I’ll spread the word and maybe – just maybe - in a day or two someone might bring in the horse.”

        

Bye, bye money!

      Two days went by. No horse, no saddle. A sign appeared on the trading post door, “LOST. A small gray horse with saddle. $25 Reward.” Well, glory be! Would you believe, the horse and saddle showed up that afternoon. Elder Stanley and I dug deep into our meager reserves to come up with the reward money. Now in our minds the big question became, “Would Don ‘The Trader’ ever trust us with his horses again?”

       

MIRACLES

      Do you believe in miracles? Well, I sure do! There is no doubt in my mind, seeing how Elder Stanley and I were the focal point of one such occurrence. The scriptures are full of miraculous events, but sometimes the small personal miracles that happen to us seem too sacred and are seldom shared. Well, I’ll get to what happened to us in a minute, but first things first.   

Borrego Pass Chapel, NM. 1965.

    Activities and missionary work were booming in Borrego Pass. Attendance was up at church services, and everyone was enjoying the new amenities in our meeting hall (courtesy of the Blue Water saints). Thanks to the help of the Crownpoint Sisters, our ladies’ Relief Society organization was on the move. While the ladies were meeting together, their little ones would find an out-of-the-way place, usually under the Sacrament table, to chat, hang out, and share a bottle of pop (in Navajo tó dilchxoshí).

Borrego Pass Relief Society Ladies with their kids, and two Sister Missionaries. 1965.

Children of Relief Society Sisters snacking under the Sacrament table. Borrego Pass, NM. 1965.

      Our Primary program was so large we could hardly fit the children into our truck. It took several trips to round them all up.

Borrego Pass Primary Children. 1965.

       Elder Stanley and I organized several service projects for the youngsters. We picked up junk that had gathered along the sides of the dirt roads, and we raised money for the LDS Primary Children’s Hospital by picking pine nuts, selling them to the trader, and sending the money to the hospital in Salt Lake City. Someone in Utah was impressed enough by the kids' efforts to publish their story in the Church News. 

         LDS Primary Children's Hospital article highlighting donations made by Borrego Pass Primary children who picked pine nuts to earn money for kids in need. 1965.

      Along with all the success we were having, there was one giant problem. Our pickup truck had been deemed unsafe to drive—unsafe for us, and unsafe for those we transported. The life expectancy of a mission truck would depend on several factors, the worst being horses and other animals roaming the reservation at night. They could bring an abrupt end to any vehicle, but hopefully not its passengers.

 Severely damaged mission van that ran into a herd of roaming reservation horses at night.

        Other culprits were steep canyon roads covered with snow and ice. These could definitely speed up the depreciation process.

Snow and icy conditions contributed to this rolled mission truck. 1965.

      And finally, years of driving rutted washboard roads day after day seemed to shake the life right out of our stripped down models. Such was the case with our Borrego Pass Ford pickup. It had reached the end of the line after years of service. 

Reservation missionary truck that has reached the end of the line.

 

      We had received instructions to drive the truck to Albuquerque and leave it at the Ford dealership. A replacement would be arriving in the near future. Meanwhile we wondered how in the world we could do our work without a vehicle?

Historic Route 66 going east toward Albuquerque, NM.

     The day finally came for our long trek to Albuquerque. Before leaving we checked the Greyhound bus schedule and reserved our return tickets. The bus from Albuquerque would make an unscheduled stop on a lonely stretch of Route 66 at approximately 12 o’clock midnight. We made arrangements with the Crownpoint Elders to pick us up. This was a big deal! If the connection wasn’t made we would be stuck in the cold, standing in the middle of nowhere for the rest of the night.

Route 66 through the heart of Albuquerque, NM.

     Details taken care of we were on our way, bumping through the reservation plateaus, and rattling down the highway to Route 66. About an hour into the trip Elder Stanley subtly hinted that he would soon be coming into a lot of money. “Yeah, sure. He’s reeling me in again!” I thought to myself. He said that his grandmother had passed away and the family lawyer had contacted him about the will. Wow! Well now, that was great news. I immediately began thinking about the tasty smorgasbord Elder Cameron and I had discovered some time earlier in Albuquerque. Maybe Elder Stanley and I could stop there and celebrate his good fortune.

Greyhound Bus Depot. Albuequrque, NM.

      Upon reaching the big city, our first stop was to locate the Greyhound Bus Depot and pick up our tickets. Next on the agenda was stuffing ourselves with great food, after which we headed for the Ford dealership situated alongside several other nice looking car lots. The man who accepted what was left of our truck could only shake his head and mumble, “You’re lucky this truck made it here!”

Ford Dealership.

      Well, now we were alone and on foot. What should we do before our 9 p.m. bus ride back home? Elder Stanley wanted to check out all the dealerships nearby. He was interested in the latest sporty models. Who knew what his grandmother’s lawyers would come up with! After much searching his eye finally landed on just what he was looking for. Well, well, well, what have we here? A long, sleek XKE Jaguar! This sports car was a yellow and black two-seater with a removable top. "The perfect car for my re-entry onto the college scene," he said jokingly. “Yeah, yeah! I’ll believe it when I see it,” I hassled him. After all, he did have an active imagination that was always conjuring up his next move.

Yellow Jaguar XKE on showroom floor.

      We checked our watches. We still had three hours before our late night bus ride back home. As luck would have it, we were right across the street from a new shopping mall with a city bus stop nearby. We made our way to the bus stop and checked the schedule. Good news! The last bus would leave at 8:30 p.m., which would get us to the Greyhound bus station with plenty of time to spare.

      What could we do at the mall for the next few hours? Unbelievable luck! “The Bible” was playing at the mall theater. We could watch a nice religious movie, then step over to the bus stop and catch the city bus to the Greyhound station. The movie was good, and we left the theater with our testimonies still intact.

Advertisement for the movie, "Bible."

      By now, it was dark outside and getting cold.  It would feel good to catch a warm city bus and be on our way. We made ourselves comfortable on the bus stop’s hard benches and waited. 8:30 finally came and the city bus had not shown up. It’s just running late, we told each other. 8:45 came and went but still no bus. If the bus came right then, we would still have a hard time making our Greyhound connection at 9:15.

     I checked the posted schedule one more time. Sure enough, it said 8:30p.m. But this time I noticed a small black asterisk. Finding the asterisk at the bottom of the posted schedule, I read, “Except on Saturday and Sunday.” Holy crap! We were in deep doo-doo.  Today WAS Saturday! No bus was going to arrive. The Crownpoint Elders would drive from the reservation to Route 66 at midnight and we wouldn’t be there. All this after making them swear on their missionary Bibles not to stand us up. What a mess! We’d really blown it this time.

      Panic and despair set in. Even if we could make it to a payphone, there was no way to contact the Crownpoint Elders. To make matters worse, a cold wind had picked up and rain began pounding the sides of the bus stop. Totally discouraged we threw ourselves down on the hard benches. Why, why, why?!!! We were so upset that the idea of praying for help never entered our minds.

      Just as we had given up hope of ever making it to the Greyhound station, we heard a car horn right outside. The front of the bus stop was blocking our view, but we knew the honking wasn’t meant for us. However, the horn kept honking and honking until it became annoying. I reluctantly got up off the bench to see why there was such a commotion. Tightening the belt on my overcoat, I covered my eyes and made my way through the pelting rain to the car parked at the curb.  The passenger side window rolled down and a middle aged lady asked, “Are you Mormon missionaries?” “Yes, we are,” I answered. "Good. Where do you need to go?” she inquired. “To the Greyhound station, if it’s not too late!” I replied. Then I yelled at Elder Stanley who was still laying on the bench inside the bus stop, “Come on! Hurry up! We have a ride and can still make it!” Without hesitation we both jumped in the back seat, and the lady gunned her car in the direction of the bus station. As we drove she explained that she had been driving down the freeway, about a half mile from the mall,  when she was suddenly impressed that there were two missionaries at the mall bus stop who needed a ride.

1960s era Greyhound bus.

      Looking at our watches we knew this was going to be close. As we screeched into the station, the last passengers had already been seated and the bus door had closed. We leaped out of the back seat, shouting a quick, "Thank you!" to our benefactor. The bus was slowly pulling out of the depot. We ran alongside, pounding on the door. The bus came to a stop, the door opened, and the  driver said smiling, “I didn’t think you were going to make it!” We climbed abroad and moved down the aisle. Finding two empty seats, we gave a sigh of relief and settled in for the long ride back to the reservation. After several hours we neared our destination, and pulled on the bell chord to alert the driver that this was our stop. “Are you sure this is the right place? There isn’t much here,” the bus driver asked. “Yup. This is it!” we replied just as a green Ford pickup truck with an aluminum camper shell pulled along side.

Southwest Indian Mission truck with camper shell. 1965. 

      Less than an hour later we were back home in Borrego Pass. After thanking the Crown Point Elders for picking us up we stumbled sleepily into our warm apartment.

A delicious peanut butter and honey sandwich always hits the spot!

    While munching on a delicious midnight snack of peanut butter and honey sandwiches we reflected over the ordeal in Albuquerque.  We had experienced a miracle, pure and simple! The good lady who gave us a ride was so in tune that the Spirit could prompt her regarding the urgent needs of two stranded missionaries. She was a true Miracle Worker, an angel in our time of need!

Guardian Angel

      Years later I was explaining this event to my mother. I expressed how miraculous it was that the Lord was so aware of two stranded missionaries who had been too upset by their predicament to be in any mood to pray or ask for help. “Well, YOU may not have been praying,” my mother gently interrupted, “but your Dad and I have been praying on your behalf every night since you left home.”