During the Fall and Winter of 1863-4, Edward became deter-mined to find a way to help his little congregation. Water was so scarce that the people of Santa Clara could not subsist on what could be grown there. Since he was the Bishop in charge of all the area northwest of St. George, he felt that if there was any way to relocate a portion of the Santa Clara saints in more fertile valleys, all would benefit. He began exploring and found a "pretty little valley of meadow land, containing 200 to 250 acres." It was just over the Nevada border about 75 miles northwest of Santa Clara. He named it Clover Valley.

EB: I also assisted to establish a settlement in Clover Valley and moved part of my family there.

In the spring of 1864 Edward went to Toquerville and got Sarah. He packed her belongings and children and moved her to the new settlement. One report suggested that almost half of the population of Santa Clara moved to Clover Valley and Panaca, a nearby town. Several of the early settlers of Santa Clara including Dudley Leavitt, Brown Crow, Hamilton Crow, Samuel Knight, William Hamblin and others moved all or a part of their families there.

The houses were built side by side in two opposing rows. At one end they built a school house, and at the other end, a large corral. Such a configuration acted as a protective fort from the Indians in that region, which though friendly at first soon became antagonistic. At night the livestock was put into the corral.

The Indians soon found that the abundance of livestock in the valley was tempting and began to help themselves. Edward reported to the authorities in St. George that during the winter and spring of 1864, seventy-five head of cattle had been stolen. A policy was put into place that a guard was to watch over the cattle at all hours, day and night. But the cattle were still taken. Bleak's Journal reports:

"On one occasion, on a stormy night, Bradford Huntsman was on guard when a flash of lightning revealed an Indian crouching in a corner of the corral with an arrow fitted to his bow prepared to shoot. Huntsman fired instinctively, and with daylight the settlers found the Indian dead with a bullet through his heart. [The next morning the children all gathered around to see the dead Indian.] Fearing revenge from the Indians, Huntsman left the valley and moved back to Utah."

"Subsequently, a posse of Pahranagat Valley miners came to Clover Valley in connection with the murder of one of their number in Meadow Valley by the Indian Okus. In his confession Okus had implicated Bushhead, a Clover Valley Indian. The miners killed three other Indians incidental to the capture of Bushhead, then hanged him. Bunker and the other settlers, however, refused to join the miners in a proposed raid on an Indian encampment in the mountains to the southeast of Pahranagat Valley."

On August 27th, 1864, President Erastus Snow of the St. George Stake sent a letter to three men involved in Indian affairs as reported in Bleak's Journal:

"At 8 o'clock last night I received Bishop Bunker's letter from Panaca bearing date of 24th. I deeply regret the necessity for killing your Indian prisoners. I fear it will render conciliation more difficult. I recommended to Brother Bunker the policy of taking no prisoners, but of killing thieves when taken in the act. I hope, however, that God will over rule if for the best."

"Your letters are silent in relation to the progress made in building your stockade. If there is indeed a combined movement of a large number of warriors to attack Panaca, as these letters represent, I would advise that your women and children be at once sent to Pinto Creek, or elsewhere, beyond danger, under sufficient escort."

Meanwhile back in Santa Clara, Emily had delivered a baby boy named Benjamin Bunker.

11th Child: Benjamin Bunker
Born: April 19th, 1864, Santa Clara
Mother: Emily Abbott [8th Child]

Regarding family life in Santa Clara, the children continued to grow, play, work, and learn like children anywhere. Hannah Adelia wrote of life in Santa Clara during 1864 in Bunker Family History:

"When I was eleven years old, Mother boiled over 600 gallons of molasses. While she was doing that, I had to take charge of my baby brother, Silas, taking him to her only for his meals. While tending him, I carded and spun cotton and crocheted tidies out of yarn, also knitted stocking. We would play "Button, Button", "Paint the Plow", "Blind Man's Bluff", "Steel Sticks", etc. We would serve molasses candy and popcorn we raised ourselves."

One of the Swiss saints in Santa Clara, John Staheli, had a great love for music, but there were no musical instruments with which to perform. One day another man in town, John Eaton, received word that he was to inherit "a portion of an estate in the old country." The communication also requested that he accept in lieu of the money a group of second-hand band instruments. He agreed, and when they arrived presented the instruments to the town. John Staheli was overjoyed and immediately commenced to give music lessons and organize a band. It was a spiritual and cultural blessing for the community.

As 1864 came to a close, Edward's youngest wife Mary was now 18 and probably still living with Edward and Emily when she announced that she was expecting her first child. When her time came, Mary went to St. George where she probably stay-ed with her brother, Hector, and his family. On January 5th, 1865 Mary delivered a boy named Martin Allen Bunker.

12th Child: Martin Allen Bunker
Born: January 5th, 1865, St. George
Mother: Mary McQuarrie [1st Child]

St. George was becoming a sizable community and a favorite place for Brigham Young to spend the winter. He had a home built there and would visit the various communities on his way to and from St. George. Edward would often attend meetings in St. George for either civic or church purposes and encounter Brother Brigham.

In anticipation of the fall arrival of Brigham Young in 1865, the various communities organized military units. Edward was elected to be a Captain in the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of the Iron Military District. In September just as President Young and his party were to arrive a military muster assembled the troops for a parade and inspection. This may well have been an annual function.

At Clover Valley the men were also organized into a military unit. Dudley Leavitt and Samuel Knight were captains of tens, with a total of eleven rifles, one pistol and 540 rounds of ammunition.

At years end, as usual, the various communities reported on their progress at conference in St. George. The harvest of 1865 was reported to be one of the most abundant Santa Clara had experienced. Things were generally improving. At Clover Valley the organization of the log houses was arranged so they made a well-ordered fort. The meeting house was particularly impressive; well built with squared logs on a 30 by 20 plot. The Indians had settled into a peaceful mood and the crops were doing well in spite of an infestation of grasshoppers. Twenty-five lots had been surveyed and the 20 families in Clover Valley were doing well. The visiting authorities were very impressed with progress there when compared to similar outposts.

But with every success, new challenges arose. Edward had been the overseer of the establishment of a fine growing community of saints at Clover Valley. It was so successful that in the High Council meeting in St. George that fall it was decided to organize a Panaca Ward, to include Panaca, Clover Valley, Shoal Creek, Eagle Valley and other settlements in the vicinity. John Nebeker was appointed as Bishop, so Edward was required to relinquish his interests in the area.

EB: Afterward exchanged places with Job Hall and moved them [Sarah] all to Santa Clara [from Clover Valley].

Edward returned his family members to Santa Clara within his jurisdictional area. Soon after Sarah left Clover Valley, Indian problems increased dramatically. The settlement was abandoned in the summer of 1866 and most of the people moved to Panaca, the nearest town.