In early June 1854, eight members of the Southern Utah Indian Mission left Harmony to visit Chief Toquer, leader of the Paiute band living on lower Ash Creek. Chief Toquer's people referred to themselves as Paiute, Toquit, or Toquart Indians, and they lived and cultivated a small piece of ground along Ash Creek in a small valley called Toquer, a Paiute word meaning black. Their homes were tents of leaves formed over a framework of cane and willows. After Chief Toquer received the missionaries in a friendly way, they promised to return, and in 1857 they did, as several families built homes near Toquer's village along Ash Creek. Early settlers regarded Chief Toquer as an enlightened Indian and a friend with clean habits who showed great love and concern for his people, encouraging them to learn and grow with the times by welcoming outsiders into their land.