William D. Kuhre — Survival of the Ephraim Massacre

On October 17, 1865, near Ephraim, Utah, a tragedy struck the family of Martin P. Kuhre and his wife, Hansine J. Kuhre. The family was busy harvesting potatoes when a band of Ute Indians, acting under the direction of Chief Blackhawk, launched a sudden and violent attack. During the chaos of the raid, Martin P. Kuhre was killed while he was carrying his two-year-old son, William D. Kuhre. Amidst the carnage, young William was spared; he was the only member of his immediate family present to survive the ambush. The survival of the child against such overwhelming odds was attributed by family and local historians to what they termed a 'kind providence,' marking a notable account of survival during the period of intense Indian warfare in the Sanpete Valley.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Saga of the Sanpitch Volume 9 (1977), pp. 21):

In a field, three blocks west of town, Martin P. Kuhre, 28, his wife, Hansine J., their two-year-old son, William a friend, Elizabeth Peterson, 17, and Soren A. Sorenson, were harvesting potatoes when Chief Blackhawk led his renegade Utes onto the farm. While they were conversing, three Indians fired at Mr. Kuhre and killed him within thirty feet of the two men. Mr. Kuhre was carrying his little boy when he fell. ... A brief service was held, and the person of greatest importance who was present, was the now grown old, William Dobbie Kuhre, the tiny boy whose life was spared by a kind providence on October 17, 1865.