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Panguitch Utah History— Black History of Southern Utah Part 2: “The Mockingbird” & the Marshal



PANGUITCH – The story you are about to read is the culmination of 18+ months of continuous research and documentation. It is the most challenging history that I have compiled thus far for a number of reasons. The first of which is that after all this time, I still don’t quite know how the story ends.

The “Elite Theater,” where Ben Jarrett is thought to have been able to book a performance after multiple theaters turned down his requests. Courtesy Steven Lee.

By sheer chance alone, I first learned about a series of events in February 1908 that occurred along the icy stretch of rough road leading north from the “Metropolis of Garfield County” to her sister city of Richfield (this road is known today as Highway 89). I was scanning over old newspapers one night, searching for some tidbit of information about some other “historical-rabbit-hole” story that I was chasing at the time. Suddenly, a series of sentences leaped out at me from a small column on the 8th page of a February 10th, 1908 issue of the Salt Lake Herald. The column was titled “Panguitch News Notes,” and it read, in part, “… A negro calling himself Cannonball has been lounging around Panguitch for some time trying to have a performance but could not get a place to play in. He finally succeeded in getting the skating rink, and the Marshal had to be present to keep The Boys from harming him….”

Before we return to Ben Jarrett’s story, certain historical facts must be laid bare to readers, the reality of which may be difficult for some individuals to stomach.

The continuous perpetuation of racial violence against Black Americans is one of those realities. Another harsh reality is the well-documented history of passive-silence from the White majority over the centuries, who, far too often, chose to avert their eyes from the inhumane cruelty before them rather than to raise a voice against it.

Between 1882 and 1968, The Tuskegee Institute has documented at least 4,743 cases of lynching deaths in the United States. At least 15 people are known to have been lynched on Utah soil by Utah citizens between 1858 and 1925. Of these victims, one was a white Catholic, two were Asian immigrants, and the remaining twelve were all Black American men.

A review of the firsthand accounts from witnesses of these violent acts reveals a general procedure that is seemingly common among lynch mobs:

  • A victim is captured and immobilized with rope or by other means.
  • The bound victim is then tortured and humiliated by the mob while en route to a previously designated location outside of town.
  • Once assembled outside town, the lynch mob would murder their victim, most often by hanging, before taking a group picture to commemorate the revolting deed.

Such was the case, step-by-step, in the lynching murders of both Joe Fisher (a devout Black Mormon who refused to drink liquor with an insistent Irishman) at Eureka, Utah in 1886 and Robert Marshall (a Black miner) at Price, Utah in 1925.

When the ears first hear the details of crimes as foul as these, it is natural for the mind to paint a devilish portrait in our imaginations of fiends so vile, evil, and ugly that in many cases, they defy all description. However, as Panguitch City Marshal James T. Daly Jr. (JTD Jr.) was about to find out, the truth is sometimes far more chilling, even than our worst nightmares.

James T. Daly Jr. Courtesy Steven Lee.

When Ben Jarrett showed up in Panguitch intending to perform for the entertainment of the local citizens’ the new City Marshal, JTD Jr., had been on the job for about one month. He had only been home in Panguitch for only slightly longer than that, having spent most of the prior two years away from his wife and child at the Stone School of Optometry in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When he was not in a class, the schooling expenses required that Jim spend his remaining waking hours working away at multiple low-wage jobs to pay for it. By 1907, the City of Minneapolis (the future home of George Floyd) had already become a notable gathering place for Black American families who, because of pervading racial bias, were also forced into lines of work that, while often difficult and dangerous, only paid very little. It seems highly likely that JTD Jr. may have spent much of 1906 and 1907 working side-by-side, perhaps even becoming well acquainted with other Black Americans in Minneapolis.

Daly family histories say that Jim returned home in late 1907 with a new diploma in his hand and an empty wallet in his pocket. His dream was to establish a specialty storefront in his hometown. Upon returning, Jim wasted no time securing a new job to begin saving the money he needed to fund his ambitions. Although it most likely was not his first choice, when the City Marshal position came open, he sprang on it at once.

The particulars of how and when Ben Jarrett and Marshal Daly first met continues to elude me, but I suspect that shortly after Ben Jarrett first emerged from the winter storm, a frenzy of curiosity and unfounded suspicion from local citizens likely alerted the Marshal of his presence.
The encouraging sight of four different large, well-maintained theaters along the Panguitch thoroughfare provided a tempting venue for bringing in traveling shows regularly, and a promising market of local patrons was typically enough financial incentive to keep the shows coming.

Under a sky of prying eyes, Ben Jarrett made his way to each theater and was promptly turned away, one by one, from them all. Despite the world-class talent he possessed, Ben was probably well accustomed to this kind of rejection and prejudice. The fact is those racist elements were so commonplace in Ben’s world that simple survival required that he develop strength and resilience that seems almost superhuman to me.

For several days, Ben continued his appeals to local theater owners, even offering to pay a rental fee that was significantly higher than the established price. Though not mentioned by name, it was probably the “Elite Theater” that eventually relented, and his performance was booked for that very night.

Newspaper reports tell us that some of the local citizens became so outraged by Ben’s triumph in booking a performance that by the time Ben “Cannonball” Jarrett took to the stage that night, a mob of angry white men had already formed outside of the theater. Earlier that day, the whispering of plans and proposed meeting points began creeping through the community. As was the standard procedure in the lynching murders of Joe Fisher, Robert Marshall, and many others, the mob’s ring leaders probably informed City Marshal Daly early on about their plans. Common to lynching murders of the time, the mob expected Marshal Daly to do his part, either by helping to facilitate the capture and transfer of the victim or at the very least, by looking the other way while the mob had its fun.

Although the news reports that followed do not tell us what the Marshal’s motivations were at that critical moment, one thing is sure; the Marshal had plans of his own, and they did NOT include complicity in the murder of an innocent man. While Ben performed, Marshal Daly struggled to keep the mob at bay, resorting to moral argument and physical force to do so. But as the show ended and the patrons exited the theater, swelling the mob’s ranks even larger, the Marshal soon realized that he alone did not possess the power to protect Ben.

Picture, if you can, the exasperated young City Marshal opening up the theater doors to address the mob outside. The Panguitch news reports are vague in detail, identifying the mob only as “The Boys.” However, a firsthand account witness to the lynching murder of Robert Marshall in Price, Utah just 17 years later provides a glimpse into what Marshal Daly would have seen staring back at him.

“But there is that word ‘mob.’ Again, it is asked just what do you understand by a ‘mob?’ Usually one associates this word with a crowd of strangers—disorderly, violent undesirables, bent on committing acts from which the ‘decent’ folks of the community withdraw and which are disparaged by all ‘reputable’ citizens. But had one glanced over the assembly whose members took the negro from the arresting officers as they arrived with him at the county jail yesterday, you would have seen your neighbors, your friends, the tradespeople with whom you are wont to barter day by day, public employees, folks prominent in church and social circles, and your real conception of a ‘mob’ might have undergone a radical turnover…”

Closing the door firmly behind him, JTD Jr. once again attempted to assert his office’s legal authority as City Marshal to disperse the mob. But his words fell on deaf ears as “The Boys” had no intention of “backing the blue” that night, and they made it clear that they intended to “drag him [Ben] out of town,” with or without the Marshals consent.

Perhaps it was his plan all along, or maybe he was just lucky, but as the mob began to move toward the building, JTD Jr. made one last-ditch effort to save Ben’s life. Although his exact words are not known, news reports suggest that the Marshal somehow convinced the mob that if they insisted on taking the man, it would be better to procure him from the jailhouse and avoid damaging the community’s treasured showhouse.

When the mob re-formed around the jailhouse later that evening to retrieve their prize, they were shocked to find that Ben Jarrett, “the Human Mockingbird,” had flown the coop and was nowhere to be found. I can picture JTD Jr. unlocking the jail door and then innocently scratching his head in confusion along with the rest of them. The newspapers at least seem to have seen through the act, dryly concluding that the Marshal had successfully prevented the mob’s plans.