Orrin Porter Rockwell
	Popularly known as the "Destroying Angel," Orrin Porter Rockwell was both a prominent Mormon and a notorious gunslinger.  He was born in Belchertown, Massechusetts, and was an early convert to the Church.  As a boy he would listen to stories of the Prophet Joseph Smith and beg his mother to tell him of the prophet's message.  He picked berries and gathered wood to sell so he could make money to give Joseph to help him print the Book of Mormon.  He loved his friend Joseph and swore to protect him from the many enemies who wished to destroy the prophet and the Church.      "Port" was a tough kid and an even tougher man with a humble heart and spirit of faith and loyalty.  He had a level head, an iron will, a hot head, and an excellent aim.  Though he was meek, he would not stand for any persecution or nonsense.  Porter was a straight-shooter- both figuratively and literally, and he went down in history one of the fastest and sternest lawmen in the west.  In fact, he is said to have killed over 150 outlaws.  He served as Joseph Smith's personal bodyguardin the Church's Missouri days.  After the prophet was killed by a mob while he was on a different assignment, Rockwell rode west as Brigham Young's one-man security team and was ordained to the Church's Quorum of the Seventy.  He was appointed Deputy Marshal of the State of Deseret in 1849.      Porter started many businesses in the Salt Lake Valley and became rather wealthy.  He owned ranches in several parts of the valley, including one at the southern end of Tooele County's Skull Valley.  Perhaps this desert retreat was a welcome relief to this introspective noble.  He apparently had a great love for dogs and owned many.  Oddly, Rockwells wife built a cemetery for his dogs.  One of their babies died or was miscarried and was buried in the pet cemetery as well.      Joseph Smith blessed Porter early in his crusades that he would never perish at the hands of his enemies as long as he remained true and loyal to his faith- and as long as he didn't cut his hair, a symbol of said faith.  Rockwell was thereafter distinguished by his long hair flowing behind a balding crown.  Word of Rockwell's toughness and speed spread quickly throughout the continent.  Cowboys and outlaws alike would sing ballads about him around campfires.  The Indians feared him, saying that it was impossible to kill the man.  And while they had no problem killing any other white traveller, when Rockwell rode through they kept their distance.      His long hair and notorious reputation became a trademark, and outlaws rode hundreds of miles just to take a crack at killing him.  One day as he was riding across the desert to his Skull Valley ranch, a voice from behind called his name.  Porter turned around to look right up the barrel of a pistol.  The rider proudly declared, "Rockwell, I come all the way from California just to kill you." Richard Lloyd Dewey, a leading "Rockwell-ologist" recorded that the rider was carrying a cap-and-ball pistol, the kind that requires a cap to be secured to the gun in order to fire.  Sometimes when riding on rough terrain, the cap would slip off unbeknownst to the rider.  Porter stared up at the outlaw and, without a flinch, calmly stated, "Cain't shoot me without a cap on yer gun."  The outlaw was petrified.  He'd rode all the way from California, after all, and hadn't checked the cap.  he decided he'd better have one last quick look.  No sooner did he shift his eyes from his target to his pistol, then Porter drew his pistol and blew him clean off his horse.      Despite being persecuted, attacked, and shot, Orrin Porter Rockwell lived a healthy 65 years (quite a long life for that time period) and died of natural causes on 9 June, 1878, after taming the territory almost single-handedly.  His loyalty to the prophet and to the Church never died.  His whole life Porter had been a prime target for persecution and slander by enemies of the Church.  Many of the accusations against him, while providing no evidence, still remain unrefuted.  Rockwell did not defend himself against such things, nor did he seek revenge.  For he took courage in his faith that, if nobody else, God knew the truth.  And only God mattered.      Almost all who met him personally described Orrin Porter Rockwell as a humble, yet very noble man, who served his fellow man unceasingly.  A lover of God and a lover of truth, his legend lives on and he is remembered as a just lawman and a loyal friend.
						Links: Richard Lloyd Dewey's "Porter Rockwell: A Biography" "Porter Rockwell, Dusty Hero"- a song by Allen Hackworth Clint Thomsen and John Orgill's Skull Valley Page Utah State Historical Society's Utah History Site A Porter Rockwell Tribute Page Back to Clint Thomsen's Home Page