Burrowit

Brigham Young officially called Samuel Alonzo Whitney Sr. To carry the mail from Cache Valley to Box Elder County. Sam was a good choice. He was friendly with the Indians, spoke their language well, and they recognized him from afar because one arm was missing. Therefore, he was able to travel the mail route alone without trouble. The Indians called Sam “Burrowit”, meaning “one arm gone”. They would occasionally ride along with him on the mail route and visit. Even during settler and/ or Indian uprisings, he was able to get the mail through.

“Whitney took the following route: He would leave Logan, call at Providence, Hyrum, and Paradise and then go west over an Indian trail into Hunsaker Valley, now known as Mantua, and on to Brigham City. He would rest a day and return the same route. On an Alternate route, he would call at Providence, Millville, Hyrum, Wellsville, and Mendon and go to Brigham City by way of the summit (near Petersboro). This provided Cache Valley and Box Elder County a semi- weekly mail service. Sam is credited with carrying the very first mail from Logan to Brigham City.”

Source:

1.History of Logan by Ray Somers, 1993

2.Whitney Family Records