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BLOSSOMING!

EORGE WHARTX)N JAMES

t HE"SEE A^^EHICA FlRST'^SEfiliS^

SSEIHKESHIB'SHnHllMniiliHIHilK

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"Reading ma\eth a full man, conference a
readye man, and writing an exacte man"
— Bacon

UTAH

THE LAND OF
BLOSSOMING VALLEYS

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Zion Canyon
Reproduced from a painting by Orion Putnam, through the
courtesy of the artist {See page i86)

THE "SEE AMERICA FIRST" SERIES
UTAH
THE LAND OF BLOSSOMING VALLEYS

The Story of its Desert Wastes, of its Huge and Fantastic Rock
Formations, and of its Fertile Gardens in the Sheltered Valleys ;
a Survey of its Rapidly Developing Industries; an Account of the
Origin, Development, and Beliefs of the Mormon Chuich ; and
Chapters on the Flora and Fauna, and on the Scenic Wonders
that are a Heritage of all Americans.
BY
GEORGE WHARTON JAMES
author of
" New Mexico, The Land of the Delight Makers,"
" California, Romantic and Beautiful," " Arizona,
The Wonderland," etc.
With a map and Hfty-six plates
of which eight are in color

THE PAG E COM PA N Y
BOSTON * MDCCCCXXIl

Copyright, 1922, by
Edith E. Farnsworth
All rights reserved

Made in U. S. A.

First Impression, April, 1922

THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.

TO THE BRAVE PIONEERS
Women as •well as Men
WHO DID THEIR PART IN THE BUILDING OF
THE UTAH OF TODAY, I CORDIALLY
DEDICATE THESE PACES
With High Esteem for Their Rugged Virtues and
Profound Respect for Their Sturdy Qualities

BY WAY OF FOREWORD
This is the fourth volume in the " See America First "
series that it has been my pleasure and privilege to pre
pare. I trust it will be fovmd a worthy successor to
California, Romantic and Beautifxi; Arizona, the Won
derland; and New Mexico, the Land of the Delight-
makers. From the historic and scenic standpoints, Utah
has no apologies to offer to any of the sisterhood of
western states, ^^^lile her modem history begins later
than that of Xew Mexico and Arizona, it is equally, if
not even more dramatic and moves with a swift intensity
that is powerfully thrilling. The journey of Coronado
from Culiacan in 1540 to the discovery of the " Seven
Cities of Cibola" was not as dramatic as that of the
humbler march of the cast-out Mormons from dismantled
arid ruined Nauvoo, in Illinois, over the weary miles of
the plains and mountains to the founding of their " City
of Zion " in the then almost unknown West.
The world has seen many and wonderful migrations.
One of the most important of these, in American history,
was when the Pilgrims left England and settled in New
England. They had one chief object in leaving home,
position, work and friends behind. They came to a new
country in order that they might have " freedom to wor
ship God ! '¦ Yet these same people in a very few years,
and their descendants after them, showed the fraUty of
their human nature by persecuting those who differed
from them in matters of religion. It was this same
desire for religious freedom that sent forth the Mormons
to their new home.

VI

By Way of Foreword

How important to the nation at large the forced migra
tion of the Mormons will be considered in the future it
is not for me to forecast, but its importance to the State
of Utah is evident. Without it there would have been
no Utah as we know it today. Hence it will be apparent
that no account of Utah can be written with any preten
tion to comprehensiveness that does not fully take into
account Mormonism and all its chief factors, or at least
those that have influenced the making of the State in the
beginning and its shaping up to the present day.
Leading among these factors, necessarily, are Joseph
Smith, the founder of the Mormon system of religious
belief, Brigham Young, his energetic and statesmanlike
successor, and the peculiar tenets of the Mormon religion
that so won the hearts of its followers that they were
willing to be led, through untold hardships, to their land
of refuge in the far-away west.
It is a self-evident proposition that without Brigham
Young the Utah we know would not exist, and it is
equally certain that without Joseph Smith and his Book
of Mormon, his "revelations" and church organization,
there would have been no Brigham Young; nor would
there have been a church of a "peculiar people" ready
to be led by him into the unknown Land of Zion.
^hen, therefore, I avowed my intention of writing a
book on Utah and treating the subject in this fashion I
was not surprised that various " cautions," " sugges
tions " and " expressions of doubt " came to me, setting
forth that any truthful, unprejudiced and full statement
of Mormonism would be regarded by many as propa
ganda, and that, furthermore, I must fully discuss the
unpleasant subject of polygamy. It was made clear to
me that to not a few of our citizens, Utah, Mormonism
and polygamy were almost synonymous terms. One
quoted to me the following words from a recent writer
on Mormonism and asked whether I was able to guar-

By Way of Foreword

vu

antee that I could be neutral in presenting the subject in
its various phases :
" Mormonism is a system of large things. It is large
in claims, large in efforts, large in results, large in repu
tation and very large in importance if judged by the
opposition it has evoked. Like the man through whom it
had its origin it possesses an individuality that is intense
and vital; it repels and attracts with equal force. One
finds difficulty in maintaining a perfectly neutral position
in treatment of its claims and history."
There was no hesitancy in my reply. I could or would
endeavor to be perfectly neutral, but with a further pur
pose, which I wish my readers most distinctly to under
stand. After a reading of thousands of pages written
on Utah and Mormonism, I found so much of fierce con
troversy, either for or against the Mormon system and
its leaders, that I determined in this volume to avoid
argument, to let Mormonism speak for itself as much as
possible and let my readers form their own conclusions.
Hence in reading the following chapters dealing with
Mormonism, its prophet, its organization, its achieve
ments, etc., it must clearly be understood that I have
sought to present these subjects from the Mormon stand
point. Every honest reader should be willing to seek to
know the Mormons' own explanations of the origin of
their religion, the strange features of their belief and the
reasons for the great antagonisms that, more particularly
in the past, have swept over them. I have sought to be
impartially honest in my presentations. Occasionally,
however, I have not hesitated to express my opinion and,
while I am not a Mormon, while I do not accept for
myself the " Special Revelations " that came through the
Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, while I am not and
never have been a believer in, or advocate of polygamy,
while, personally, I think the Mormon religion is a
material one in some respects, while I do not like its atti-

Vlll

By Way of Foreword

tude toward women, making them subservient to men
both here and in the Kingdom of Heaven; and while
personally, I feel that Mormonism is but another sect
added to the many that already exist in the world,
instead of being the one sole, only, divinely appointed
church, these are my personal opinions and should have
nothing whatever to do with my presentation of what
Mormonism is to the Mormons. Should any of my
statements be regarded by some as defence of Mormon
ism let it clearly be understood that such is not my pur
pose. Let it stand upon its own merits. Let it prove
its own justification or otherwise. The one sole respon
sibility with which my conscience is charged is that I
give a truthful and reasonably complete presentation of
Mormonism from the Mormon standpoint without
prejudice or bias. And who is to be the final judge?
"Now, who shall arbitrate?
Ten men love what I hate,
Shun what I follow, slight what I receive;
Ten, who in ears and eyes
Match me ; we all surmise,
They this thing, and I that; whom shall my soul believe?"
It is my fate, as it is that of all men and women, to
live in this world of different beliefs, to have to meet
with people holding entirely contrary opinions to my own.
Is it not wise, therefore, and right, that I seek to live in
harmony and peace with them as far as is possible to me ;
and, while I cannot accept their beliefs, to be as kindly
disposed towards them and as scrupulously honest and
just in seeing the good in them as I can. This is my
attitude and endeavor.
It is not my purpose to enter into any analysis or dis
cussion of mooted and unsettled questions. Who can
determine the truth of a claim of inspiration? Were

By Way of Foreword ix

Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and their co-laborers
impostors ? Personally I am not concerned about answer
ing the question, any more than I am about determining
whether St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua,
John Wesley, William Penn, Mary Baker Eddy, Annie
Besant, Katherine Tingley, or Ellen G. White were or
are impostors. Christ gave, in His day, a pretty good
standard by which to judge the claims of men and
women: "By their fruits shall ye know them." I
judge St. Francis, Wesley, and the rest by their fruits,
and in looking at the Utah of today I find fruits of happi
ness, of state stability, of genuine and practical religion
and of real progress.
But regardless of Mormonism, Utah as a country is
well worthy the careful attention of all thoughtful
Americans. Geologically it is one of the most interest
ing states in the Union, — its Great Salt Lake, with its
prehistoric terraces; its relation to the vast prehistoric
inland sea; its wonderful fossil deposits of gigantic
dinosaurs ; its San Rafael Swell ; its Hurricane Fault ; its
glorious and spectacular towers of the Rio Virgen; its
Zion National Park; its Bryce Canyon; its South-East-
ern desert; its colossal Natural Bridges; its canyons,
tributary to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado; its
stupendous and majestic mountain chains, scored with
centuries of glaciation, seamed with rugged, picturesque,
and alluring canyons, and dotted here and there with
mountain lakes — eyes of clearest crystal ; together with
its unique mines — these amply, though the list is far
from complete, justify my assertion.
Climatically, also, it is remarkable. While a large
part of its area is fully 4,000 feet above sea-level, and
therefore partakes of an inland plateau character, its
mountains tower to over 12,000 feet into the clear blue,
where the coldest temperatures are found, and yet on the
south-eastern and south-western deserts the same kind of

By Way of Foreword

climate and temperature may be found as reign in the
Mohave and Colorado deserts of Southern California.
Then, too, as the sub-title suggests, it is a Land of
Blossoming Valleys. Brigham Young had the prophecies
as to the desert blossoming as the rose well before him
during the whole of his career, and one after another he
saw the Valleys of the Jordan, the Provo, the Weber,
the Ogden, the Bear, the Sevier and the Virgin occupied
by his indefatigable bands of pioneers, and there speedily
sprang into existence great fields of waving grain, wheat,
oats, barley, and rye, green areas of alfalfa, widely
flung acres of sugar beets, mile after mile of potatoes,
sorghum, corn, milo-maize, cabbages, squash, pumpkins,
melons and the like, while in every direction thousands
of healthy milk-cows and herds of beef-cattle, horses and
mules waded shoulder deep in richest pasture, and
immense flocks of sheep and goats cropped the verdure
and browse of the foothills. Then the orchards ! Who
that has seen the heavily-laden peach, apricot and espe
cially the cherry trees of Utah can ever forget them, —
fruit, rich and luscious, fit for the gods, in appearance,
flavor, and the satisfaction they give. Apples, pears,
quinces, and plums, together with raspberries, black
berries, and gooseberries also thrive abundantly through
out a large part of the state, while in the oases found in
the desert region of the south the fig, pomegranate, and
other sub-tropical fruits grow with a richness and pro
fusion not surpassed anywhere.
But it must not be thought that all the development of
the state has been done alone by the Mormons. While
it is freely conceded that it was Brigham Young's pur
pose to keep Gentiles — as all outside the pale of the
Mormon Church are called — out of the state, and while
mining was frowned upon for many years, — as experi
ence had shown that a successful mining-camp of any

 By Way of Foreword  xi
kind always attracted the dregs of humankind, — Gentiles
did drift into the state, and men, even Mormons, would
engage in mining. Then, too, a few who had " aposta
tized," or relinquished the faith, insisted upon remaining
in the land they had learned to love, and these soon took
their part in the general work of upbuilding and progress.
Then, when the great transcontinental railway system
was completed by the joining of the Union and Central
Pacific lines, which crossed northern Utah, that in itself
threw open the gates, and from that time on Gentiles
mixed freely with Mormons, settled and engaged in their
various businesses, trades and avocations as they have
ever done in the freest cotmtries in the world. And that
is the state of affairs in Salt Lake City today. No one
questions that it took some time to attain the final adjust
ments: but what of that? Are other cities free from
cliques, factions and interests or groups that seek to
dominate? And it may as well be confessed that, in
many of the smaller towns and villages of the state, the
amalgamation of Mormon and Gentile is not yet com
plete. The Mormons are in the majority, and, naturally,
might be expected to control. Yet it is a well-known
fact that a disproportionately large share of public offices
for some time have been and are held by non-members
of the church. There can be, therefore, no justice in the
oft-made assertion that official Mormondom uses its
power and influence to control local politics. And even
were it so, is it not exactly what the other side would do
were it in power? It is only when a deep spirit of civic
liberty is developed that our citizenship can rise above
"party politics" and a practical belief in the political
axiom that "to the victors belong the spoils." No
political party that has yet existed either in Utah or any
where in the United States can throw a stone at the
Mormons in this regard.

xii  By Way of Foreword 
Referring to these country towns and settlements:
it is astonishing to one who does not understand how
they came into existence, to find how marvelously differ
ent, how individualistic, they are. This came from the
deliberate planning of the great state-builder, Brigham
Young. As converts came pouring into Zion from all
over Europe, he largely segregated them into nationali
ties or types, with, of course, carefully chosen men of his
own training, where possible, for leaders, and sent the
Swedes into one valley, the Norwegians into another,
and the French, Swiss, English and Dutch — each of his
kind to his own place. No hard and fast rule, however,
obtained in this matter, consequently many immigrants
settled when, where and how they would according to
their own sweet will, yet the principle will be found
exemplified in many towns.
In the preparation of this work I have received a great
deal of kindly help from a variety of sources, Mormon
and non-Mormon. The library of the Church of Latter-
Day Saints was freely placed at my disposal, with its
hundreds of books antagonistic to Mormonism, as well
as those favoring it. The professors of the State Uni
versity and other educational institutions, the State
Officials, the District Forester of the U. S. Forest Ser
vice, the Manager of the Strawberry Project of the U. S.
Reclamation Service, were all generous and kind in their
assistance. Especially, however, do I wish to record my
thanks to Dr. Charles Griffen Plummer, about whom I
have written more fully in a chapter devoted to his work
among the boys and birds of Utah, and to Leroi C. Snow,
son of former president Lorenzo Snow, of the Mormon
Church, who added to his helpfulness in seeking to put
me in touch with all who could aid me in my work, a
sympathetic tenderness, when I was ill and suffering, that
could not have been surpassed by one of my own sons.
If in this volume I have helped remove any unfounded

By Way of Foreword

Xlll

prejudice, and at the same time have given a fairly com
prehensive view of the Utah of today, then indeed shall I
add gratitude to the pleasure that I have had in writing it.

/p>--^-^r^

Salt Lake City, July, 192 1.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
n.
¦III.
IV. V.
VI.
VII.
VIII. IX. X.
XI.
XIL
xm. XIV. XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIIL XIX. XX.
XXI.
XXII.

PAGE
By Way of Foreword , . . . v
General Glimpses of the Land . . i
The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah . . 31
Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mor
monism  47
Brigham Young, Religionist and States
man  82
Out of Great Tribulation ... 98
Building a State  107
(Polygamy in Utah  119
The Salt Lake Theater . . . -135^
Education in Utah  146'
The Geology of Utah . . . .155
The Opalescent Valley — Zion National
Park  169
Bryce Canyon, an Amphitheater of
Erosion  193
Modern Irrigation and the Mormons . 195
Mines and the Ore Deposits of Utah . 206
The National Forests of Utah . . 216
The Colossal Natural Bridges of Utah 235
Bird Life in Utah  246
A Western Physician-Naturalist . . 260
Utah^s Influence Upon Literature . 269
The Artists and Sculptors of Utah . 288
Salt Lake City  308
Railways in Utah  324
XV

xvi

Contents

CHAPTER

Appendices :

PAGE

I.

The Organization of the Mormon

Church 

328

II.

The Peculiar Doctrines of Mormonism

343

in.

The Mormon Missionary System

352

Bibliography 
359
Index  3^1
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
Zion Canyon (In full color) (See page i86) Frontispiece
MAP OF UTAH  i
Mount Timpanogos  4
Salt Beds, Great Salt Lake  7
Saltair Beach and Pavilion, Great Salt Lake . 9
Emigration Canyon  11
Black Rock, Great Salt Lake  15
Mormon Temple, St. George  26
Cliff Dwellings, La Sal National Forest . . 33
Joseph Smith, Jr., the Founder of Mormonism
(In full color)  47
John Taylor, Third President of the Mormon
Church  78
Brigham Young, Second President of the Mormon
Church  84
" The Salt Lake Trail " (In full color) . . .101
Old State House, Fillmore  109
Lorenzo Snow, Fifth President of the Mormon
Church  123
Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the
Mormon Church  131
The Old Salt Lake Theater, Salt Lake City . 145
State Agricultural College, Logan .... 147
East Side High School, Salt Lake City . . .151
University of Utah, Salt Lake City . . -153
Wasatch Mountains from Liberty Park, Salt
Lake City  156
A Glacial Lake in the Wasatch Range (In full
color)  158
xvii

xviii List of Illustrations

PAGE
Entrance to Zion Canyon  169
East Temple, Zion Canyon  i7S
The Mountain of the Sun, Zion Canyon . . i77
The Guardian, Looking Down Zion Canyon . . 183
The Great White Throne, Zion Canyon . .186
Carvings of the Ages, Bryce Canyon . - -193
Laying Irrigation Pipes, Powell National Forest 201
Sugar Beet Field  204
Camping in the Cache National Forest . . . 218
A Forest Ranger's Corral in a Utah National
Forest  221
Temple of Latter Day Saints, Logan . . . 224
Old Mill on City Creek, Near Salt Lake City . 226
Stand of Engelmann Spruce, Uinta National
Forest  229
Temples OF the Gods, Bryce Canyon . . . .231
Trophies from Fish Lake  235
Caroline, or Katchina, Natural Bridge . . . 239
The Augusta, or Shipapu, Colossal Natural
Bridge (In full color)  242
Pelicans on Hat Island, in Great Salt Lake . 255
Young Heron, Great Salt Lake .... 257
Sea-Gulls on Hat Island, in Great Salt Lake . 267
Old White House, First Residence of Brigham
Young, Salt Lake City  277
Monument Park, in Southeastern Utah (In full
color)  289
Cyrus E. Dallin, Sculptor  299
" Medicine Man " — By Cyrus E. Dallin . . 304
" Pool of Enchantment " — By Melvin Earl
Cummings  306
City and County Building, Salt Lake City . .310
The Temple Grounds, Salt Lake City (In full
color)  313
The Sea-Gull Monument, in the Temple Grounds,
Salt Lake City  317

 List of Ulustrations  xix PAGE
Eagle Gate, with the State Capitol in the Back
ground, Salt L.\ke City  319
Utah State Capitol Building, Salt Lake CriY . 321
Hotel Utah, Salt L.\ke City  ^2^
General View of Salt Lake City (In full color) . 327
Heber J. Grant, Seventh and Living President of
the Mormon Church  332
Joseph F. Smith, Sixth President of the Mormon
Church  348
Mormon Temple, JNIanti  353

UTAH, THE LAND
OF BLOSSOMING VALLEYS

CHAPTER I
general glimpses of the land
It will be well before we attempt a study of the history
of Utah to take a general survey of the state, and also
indulge in some specific verbal pictures which will give a
good idea of what is contained within its boundaries.
First, the general overlook, for the condensed facts of
which I am indebted to The Ore Deposits of Utah, pub
lished by the U. S. Geological Survey. The specific
descriptions are from various writers and will thus give
a taste of their literary quality, as well as reveal the
impressions the country made upon them.
From our general reading and travel we know that
Utah is a land of high mountains, deep valleys, far-
stretching high plateaus, fertile meadows, sandy, desolate
deserts, rich forests, bare, wind-swept areas of solid
rock, where tower monuments more striking and won
derful than all the other natural rock-carvings of the rest
of the United States combined, great salt lakes, exquisite
fresh water lake^, streams that flow through miles and
miles of farms and orchards, and other streams that flow
through miles of shut-in canyons, where no eye ever
gazes save those of a curious cowboy or a searching
Indian. Some of its canyons are the most beautiful the
1

2 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
eye of man ever gazed upon; some of its wind-swept
areas the most desolate. In the " Land of the Standing
Rocks " one is awed by the carving forces of the sand-
laden wind, and in the " Land of the Colossal Natural
Bridges " an equal sense of awe comes from the majesty
of the structures, and a realization of the forces that have
created them.
Looking over the state as a whole, one soon realizes
that Utah lies both in the Plateau and the Great
Basin provinces of the Cordilleran region. It therefore
possesses a great variety of geographic and climatic
features. Altitudes and temperatures vary considerably,
from semi-frigid to semi-tropical, and the rainfall is
equally varied. These conditions naturally have exerted
a marked influence in the development of the industries
of the state.
Draw a curved line of gentle westward concavity from
about the middle of the northern boundary to the south
western corner of Utah and you have the most important
physiographic frontier of the State. The country west
of this line is almost entirely within the Great Basin,
while the country on the other side is largely in the
Plateau province, so called by Major J. W. Powell,
though it is not all plateau by any means.
The Great Basin has no outlet to the sea, and is
topographically characterized by the alternation of rela
tively broad, coalescing desert valleys with relatively
narrow mountain ranges of general north-south trend.
Except the Raft River Mountains, which lie on the
northern border, and have an irregular east-west trend,
the other mountains of western Utah are typical in trend
and form. They rise like islands and peninsulas above a
desert floor, large parts of which appear almost as level
as a sea. The broadest open portion of this surface, the
Great Salt Lake Desert, is one of the most extensive arid
plains in the whole Great Basin, even as the Great Salt

Greneral Glimpses of the Land

Lake is by far the largest of the saline lakes in which the
rivers of that province generally terminate.
Despite the apparent flatness of the desert floor, its
elevation ranges from about 4,300 feet at the shore of
Salt Lake to nearly 6,000 feet at the head of F^calante
Desert. It rises gradually southward as a whole, and
the border of each desert valley slopes gently towards the
bordering mountains. There are but few trenches in the
broad valley floors as only few streams reach them,
though their borders are diversified by the erosive work
of the mountain streams, and in places by the abandoned
shore features of the prehistoric lake, called by the
scientists. Lake Bormeville, of which Great Salt Lake is
the shrunken remnant. Some of the isolated mountain
ridges rise 4,000 to 5,000 feet above the general surface
of the desert, and some of their highest peaks are more
than 12,000 feet above sea level. Their high and
narrow form necessarily makes their topography rude
and rugged.
The eastern section is far more diversified than the
western. Viewed in a broad way it may be regarded as
rolling upland, and classed as a plateau country, for,
although a large part of its surface is below the level of
the Escalante Desert, all of its western margin stands
above the desert floor of the Great Basin. Two great
mountain ranges, the Wasatch and Uinta, also disturb
the plateau classification. The former, which rise
directly from the eastern limit of the Great Basin, extend
from southern Idaho to the town of Nephi, near the
center of Utah. The Uintas nearly meet the Wasatch
about southeast of Salt Lake City and extend eastward
into Wyoming and Colorado, the two ranges running
almost at right angles to each other.
Unlike the desert floor of the Great Basin the Plateau
region is deeply seamed with rivers, the deepest being the
Green and Colorado Rivers at the southern boundary.

4 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Here great canyons are cut, the one below Kaiparowits
Plateau being about 4,000 feet deep below its rim. A
few mountains, like the Navaho, and the Henry, Abajo,
and La Sal groups, send their knob-like summits to the
sky and thus diversify the plateau level. • The Uinta is a
far more simple range than the Wasatch, having been
produced principally along an east and west uplift, so
that the typical cross-section is a flat-topped but rather
steep-sided arch. In its axial part, broad glaciated amphi
theatres and canyons alternate with flat or acute ridges
and summits, many of which are more than 13,000 feet
above sea level. It has a well defined western terminus
at Kamas Prairi^. On the other hand the Wasatch
consists of three sections of markedly diflferent character.
The Southern is a curving row of lofty peaks and ridges
which rise abruptly both from the valley floor on the
west, and the plateau surface on the east, and which are
separated from each other by canyons that head far east
ward. The highest mountain of this section is Timpa
nogos, which reaches 11,957 feet above sea-level, and
more than 7,000 feet above the town of Pleasant Grove,
which lies at its base. This southern section of the
Wasatch terminates at the canyon of the American Fork.
Hence to the Weber River is the Middle Wasatch, which
is distinctively different from the Southern, in that, like
most mountain ranges, it has a persistent main divide,
viz., the watershed that parts the tributaries of Weber
and Provo Rivers from the short streams that reach the
Great Basin more directly. The loftiest part of this
middle section — that lying south of Salt Lake City —
resembles the Southern Wasatch in that its highest peaks
lie west of the main divide and rise abruptly from the
valley, but these peaks do not form a prominent row and
are connected with the divide by nearly level spurs. The
highest summits are about 11,000 feet high. The east
side of this broad, massive, rugged portion of the range

MOUNT TIMPANOGOS.

General Glimpses of the Land

descends about 3,000 feet or more to the prairie zone that
separates it from the Uintas. North of Salt Lake City
the divide Ues further west, is considerably lower than
to the south, and is really nothing more than the western
edge of the deeply dissected Wyoming Basin.
The Northern Wasatch, which extends from Weber
River into southern Idaho, has two brandies, that are
separated by the broad Logan Valley. The western
branch, which is the Wasatch proper, is a narrow ridge
that is about 10,000 feet in maximum height, but becomes
lower and less continuous northward. The eastern
branch is commonly known as the Bear River Range.
It maintains more uniformly the level of about 10,000
feet, and merges rather gradually on the east with the
upland margin of the Wyoming Basin.
The drainage of Utah is most peculiar, especially in
the eastern section, of which the Grand and Green Rivers
forming the Colorado are the main streams. In reality
Green River might well be called an upper branch of the
Colorado. The tributaries of the Green drain the greater
part of both flanks of the Uintas. The largest of these
are the Fremont, San Juan and Virgin Rivers. The
longest stream that flows from the eastern section of
Utah to the Great Basin is Bear River, which rises in the
southwestern corner of the Wyoming Basin, flows
northward into Idaho, turns abruptly southward into
Utah, and finally empties into Great Salt Lake. Other
streams that flow from the Wasatch Mountains, or the
plateaus, to the Great Basin are the Ogden, Weber,
Provo, Spanish Fork, and Sevier. All these rivers,
except the Sevier, cut across the Wasatch Range, whose
east flank is drained by them, its run-off thus being
wholly tributary to the Great Basin. The Jordan is
another stream that flows from Utah Lake to Great
Salt Lake.

6 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
The extreme northwestern part of the state drains
through Raft River into Snake River.
The climatic conditions of Utah are found more in alti
tude than in latitude. There are no extremes of heat or
cold in the Great Basin region, though in the lower valleys
the summer heat is sometimes disagreeably high. A de-
liciously moderate summer temperature, however, can be
found in the mountains. Cold in winter is rarely extreme.
Precipitation also varies largely according to altitude, the
greatest rainfall seldom reaching 25 inches, while over
very large areas, east and west, from five to ten inches is
the average.
The soil of Utah, generally, is fertile, except where
alkali abounds. Timber is abundant on the mountains,
the valleys are well clothed in native grasses, while, of
course, on the desert areas, sagebrush, rabbit brush,
creosote brush, cactus and like plants that require little
water abound.
In the chapters on the general development of the state,
and that on irrigation, it has been shown that there is con
siderable agriculture. The Sevier and Sanpete Valleys
are exceedingly fertile. Cultivation without irrigation, or
" dry farming," as it is called, has been successfully car
ried on in the higher areas, though it has not been at
tempted on so large a scale as it ultimately will be. The
former president of the State University, Dr. John A.
Widtsoe,* has made an especial study of this question and
his books are regarded as advanced standards.
The question of transportation is especially discussed
in the chapter devoted to the railways, though it may be
here stated that in eastern Utah the topography usually is
not favorable to cheap railway construction, and that in
extreme western Utah there is no incitement for such
building. The mining industry has materially furthered
*Dr. Widtsoe retired from the presidency of the State University, July 1, 1921, to
assume his duties as one of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, to which position he
was called.

General Glimpses of the Land

railway construction, and the building of the transconti
nental lines has done much to further industry in certain
parts of Utah, that otherwise might have found much
later development.
While there has been considerable hydro-electric devel
opment, the main potential water-power is scarcely
touched. There are great possibilities, reaching well up
to a million horse-power, which, undoubtedly, will ulti
mately be utilized. Much of this is found in small
streams where individual power-plants for mining pur
poses may be installed.
With these general facts well in mind the reader is
now prepared to gain specific knowledge of individual
localities. Doubtless the Great Salt Lake is the first natural object
of interest the Utah sight-seer is anxious to gaze upon.
Let Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield Republican,
who came out with Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of
the United States, and wrote his experiences in Our New
West, describe it for us :
" This lake is, indeed, the phenomenon of the whole
interior basin. It lies across the valley fifteen miles from
the city, is very irregular in shape, but about fifty miles
wide by a hundred long, and Salter than any ocean; so
salt, indeed, that fish cannot live in it, that three quarts
will boil down to one quart of fine pure salt, and on whose
dense waters the bather can float like a cork, though the
sharp brine must be kept from his mouth and eyes under
penalty of severe smarting. High rocky islands stud its
area; under the free wind of the open country its waves
have an ocean roll, and will breed sea-sickness at short
notice, but its picturesque surroundings, the superb sun
sets within its waters, and the buoyant brine, all invite to
pleasure sailing upon its surface. What elements these,
and the plentiful sulphur springs of the neighboring hills,
and the charming scenery of the whole valley, and espe-

8 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
cially the fine location and premature development of the
city, to help in the making of Salt Lake the great interior
watering place of the Continent.
" When we came out of our bath in Salt Lake, a thin
crust of fine salt dried upon our bodies, and in rubbing
ourselves off with towels we had a most excellent substi
tute for a rough flesh brush. . . . The country
drained by the Great Salt Lake is about one hundred and
fifty miles east and west, and two hundred and fifty north
and south. Four or five large streams of fresh water
pour into it ; and the facts that it has no visible outlet, and
that its waters are one-fourth salt, mock science and make
imagination ridiculous. Other salt is found in the coun
try; there is a mountain of rock salt a few miles away;
and below, in Arizona, is a similar mountain, whose salt
is as pure as finest glass, and a beautiful specimen of
which Brigham Young showed to us."
Burton, in his City of the Saints, gives a vivid picture
of his approach to Salt Lake City, and of his first glimpse
of the valley from the heights of the Wasatch, and the
second as he emerged from Emigration Canyon. Both
are worthy a place here :
" Today we are to pass over the Wasatch, the last and
highest chain of the mountain mass between Fort
Bridger and the Great Salt Lake Valley. Following the
course of Bauchmin's Creek, we completed the total num
ber of fordings to thirteen in eight miles.
" The next two miles were along the bed of a water
course, a complete fiumara, through a bush full of tribulus,
which accompanied us to the end of the journey. Pres
ently the ground became rougher and steeper; we alighted,
and set our beasts manfully against 'Big Mountain,'
which lies about four miles from the station. The road
bordered upon the wide arroyo, a tumbled bed of block
and boulder, with water in places oozing and trickling
from beneath the heaps of rocks, — living fountains these,

SALTAIR BEACH AND PAVILION, GREAT SALT LAKE.

General Glimpses of the Land

most grateful to the parched traveler. The synclinal
slopes of the chasm were grandly wooded with hemlocks,
firs, balsam-pines, and other varieties of abies, some taper
ing up to the height of ninety feet, with an admirable regu
larity of form, color, and foliage. The varied hues of the
quaking asp were there ; the beech, the dwarf oak, and a
thicket of elders and wild roses ; while over all the warm
autumnal tints already mingled with the bright green of
summer. The ascent became more and more rugged ; this
steep pitch, at the end of a thousand miles of hard work
and semi-starvation, causes the death of many a wretched
animal, and we remarked that the bodies are not inodorous
among the mountains as on the prairies. In the most
fatiguing part we saw a hand-cart halted, while the own
ers, a man, a woman, and a boy, took breath. We
exchanged a few consolatory words with them and hur
ried on. The only animal seen on the line, except the
grasshopper, whose creaking wings gave forth an ominous
note, was the pretty little chirping squirrel. The trees,
however, in places bore the marks of huge talons, which
were easily distinguished as the sign of bears. The
grizzly does not climb except when young ; this was prob
ably the common brown variety. At half way the gorge
opened out, assuming more the appearance of a valley;
and in places, for a few rods, were dwarf stretches of
almost level ground. Toward the Pass-summit the rise is
sharpest ; here we again descended from the wagon, which
the four mules had work enough to draw, and the total
length of its eastern rise was five miles. Big Mountain
lies eighteen miles from the city. The top is a narrow
crest, suddenly forming an acute, based upon an obtuse,
angle. " From that eyrie, 8,000 feet above sea-level, the weary
pilgrim first sights his shrine, the object of his long wan
derings, hardships, and perils, the Happy Valley of the
Great Salt Lake, The western horizon, when visible, is

10 • Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
bounded by a broken wall of light blue mountain, the
Oquirrh, whose northern-most bluff buttresses the south
ern end of the lake, and whose eastern flank sinks in steps
and terraces into a river basin, yellow with the sunlit
golden corn, and somewhat pink with its carpeting of
heath-like moss. In the foreground a semi-circular sweep
of hill-top and an inverted arch of rocky wall shuts out all
but a few spans of the valley. These heights are rough
with a shaggy forest, in some places black-green, in others
of brownish-red, in others of the lightest ash-color, based
upon a ruddy soil ; while a few silvery veins of snow still
streak the bare gray rocky flanks of the loftiest peak.
" After two miles of comparatively level ground we
came to the foot of 'Little Mountain,' and descended
from the wagon to relieve the poor devils of mules. The
near slope was much shorter, but also it was steeper far
than 'Big Mountain.' The counter-slope was easier,
though by no means pleasant to contemplate with the
chance of an accident to the brake, which in all incon
venient places would part with the protecting shoe-sole.
" Beyond the eastern foot, which was ten miles distant
from our destination, we were miserably bumped and
jolted over the broken ground at the head of Big Canyon.
Down this pass, whose name is a translation of the Yuta
name Obitkokichi, a turbulent little mountain stream tum
bles over its boulder-bed, girt with the usual sunflower,
vines of wild hops, red and white willows, cotton-wood,
quaking asp, and various bushes near its cool watery mar
gin and upon the easier slopes of the ravine, with the shin
or dwarf oak (Quercus nana), mountain mahogany, bal
sam, and other firs, pines and cedars. The road was a
narrow shelf along the broader of the two spaces between
the stream and the rock, and frequent fordings were ren
dered necessary by the capricious wanderings of the tor
rent. I could not but think how horrid must have been its
appearance when the stout-hearted Mormon pioneers first

 General Glimpses of the Land  ii
ventured to thread the defile, breaking their way through
the dense bush, creeping and clinging' like flies to the sides
of the hills. Even now accidents often occur; here, as in
Echo Canyon, we saw in more than one place unmistak
able signs of upsets in the shape of broken spokes and
yoke-bows. "At one of the most ticklish turns Macarthy kindly
pointed out a little precipice where four of the mail passen
gers fell and broke their necks, a pure invention on his
part, I believe, which fortunately, at that moment, did not
reach Mrs. Dana' s ears. He also entertained us with
many a tale, of which the hero was the redoubtable
Hanks ; how he had slain a buffalo bull single-handed with
a bowie-knife; and how, on one occasion, when refused
hospitality by his Lamanite brethren he had sworn to
have the whole village to himself, and had redeemed his
vow by reappearing in cuerpo with gestures so maniacal
that the sulky Indians all fled, declaring him to be ' bad
medicine.' The stories had at least local coloring.
" In due time, emerging from the gates, and portals,
and deep serrations of the upper course, we descended
into a lower level ; here Big, now called Emigration Can
yon, gradually bulges out, and its steep slopes of grass
and fern, shrubbery and stunted brush, fall imperceptibly
into the plain. The valley presently lay full before our
sight. At this place the pilgrim emigrants, like the hajjis
of Mecca and Jerusalem, give vent to the emotions long
pent up within their bosoms by sobs and tears, laughter
and congratulations, psalms and hysterics. It is indeed no
wonder, that the children dance, that strong men cheer and
shout, and that nervous women, broken with fatigue and
hope deferred, scream and faint; that the ignorant should
fondly believe that the ' Spirit of God pervades the very
atmosphere,' and that Zion on the tops of the mountains
is nearer heaven than other parts of earth. In good sooth,
though uninfluenced by religious fervor, beyond the nat-

12 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

ural satisfaction of seeing a bran-new Holy City even I
could not, after nineteen days in a rnail-wagon, gaze upon
the scene without emotion.
" The sublime and the beautiful were in present con
trast. Switzeriand and Italy lay side by side. The mag
nificent scenery of the past mountains and ravines still
floated before the retina, as emerging from the gloomy
depths of the Golden Pass, — the mouth of Emigration
Canyon is more poetically so called, — we came suddenly
in view of the Holy Valley of the West.
" The hour was about 6 p. m. ; the atmosphere was
touched with the dreamy haze, as it generally is in the
vicinity of the lake ; a little bank of rose colored clouds,
edged with flames of purple and gold, floated in the upper
air, while the mellow radiance of an American autumn,
that bright interlude between the extremes of heat and
cold, diffused its mild soft lustre over the face of earth.
" The sun, whose slanting rays shone full in our eyes,
was setting in a flood of heavenly light behind the bold,
jagged outline of ' Antelope Island,' which, though dis
tant twenty miles to the northwest, hardly appeared to be
ten. At its feet, and then bounding the far horizon, lay,
like a band of burnished silver, the Great Salt Lake, that
still, still innocent Dead Sea. Southwestward also, and
equally deceptive as regards distance, rose the boundary
of the Valley plain, the Oquirrh Range sharply silhouetted
by a sweep of sunshine over its summits, against the
depths of an evening sky, in that direction so pure, so
clear, that vision one might fancy, could penetrate behind
the curtain into regions beyond the confines of man's ken.
In the brilliant reflected light, which softened off into a
glow of delicate pink, we could distinguish the lines of
Brigham's,* Coon's, and other canyons, which water has
traced through the wooded flanks of the Oquirrh, down to
*Thl» is an evident error on Burton'j part. The canyon is Bingham's, not Brig
ham 8, and « the scene of the wonderful copper mine so vividly described in a later
quotation m this chapter.

 General Glimpses of the Land  13
the shadows already purpling the misty benches at their
base. Three distinct and several shades, light azure, blue,
and brown blue, graduated the distances, which extended
at least thirty miles.
" The undulating valley plain between us and the
Oquirrh Range is 12 to 15 miles broad, and markedly con
cave, dipping in the centre like the section of a tunnel, and
swelling at both edges into bench lands, which mark the
ancient bed of the lake. In some parts the valley was
green; in others, like the sands of the Arabian desert,
with scatters of trees, where the Jordan of the West rolls
its opaline wave through pasture lands of dried grass
dotted with flocks and herds, and fields of ripening yellow
corn. Everything bears the impress of handiwork, from
the bleak benches behind to what was once a barren val
ley in front. Truly the Mormon prophecy had been ful
filled: already the howling wilderness, in which twelve
years ago a few miserable savages, the half-naked Digger
Indians, gathered their grass-seed, grasshoppers, and
black crickets to keep life and soul together, and awoke
with their war cries the echo of the mountains, and the
bear, the wolf, and the fox prowled over the site of a now
populous city — ' has blossomed like the rose.'
" This valley, this lovely panorama of green, and azure,
and gold, this land, fresh, as it were, from the hands of
God, is apparently girt on all sides by hills: the highest
peaks, raised 7,000 to 8,000 feet above the plain of their
bases, show by gulches veined with lines of snow that
even in this season winter frowns upon the last smile of
summer. " Advancing, we exchanged the rough cahues and the
frequent fords of the ravine for a broad smooth highway,
spanning the easternmost valley-bench, a terrace that
drops like a Titanic step from the midst of the surround
ing mountains to the level of the present valley-plain.
From a distance, — the mouth of Emigration Canyon is

14 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
about 4.30 miles from the city, — Zion, which is not on a
hill, but, on the contrary, lies almost in the lowest part of
the river plain, is completely hid from sight, as if no such
thing existed. Mr. Macarthy, on application, pointed out
the notabilia of the scene.
" Northward, curls of vapor ascending from the gleam
ing sheet, the Lake of Hot Springs, set in a bezel of em
erald green, and bordering by another lake bench upon
which the glooms of evening were rapidly gathering, hung
like a veil of gauze around the waist of the mountains.
Southward for twenty-five miles stretched the length of
the valley, with the little river winding its way like a sil
ver thread in a brocade of green and gold. The view in
this direction was closed by ' Mountain Point,' another
formation of terraced range, which forms the water-gate
of Jordan, and which conceals and separates the fresh
water that feeds the Salt Lake, — the Sea of Tiberias
from the Dead Sea.
" As we descend the Wasatch Mountains, we could look
back and enjoy the view of the eastern wall of the Happy
Valley. A little to the north of Emigration Canyon, and
about one mile nearer the settlement, is the Red Butte, a
deep ravine, whose quarried sides show mottlings of the
light ferruginous sandstone which was chosen for build
ing the Temple wall* A little beyond it lies the single
City of the Dead, decently removed three miles from the
habitations of the living, and farther to the north is City
Creek Canyon, which supplies the Saints with water for
drinking and for irrigation. Southeast of Emigration
Canyon are other ravines. Parley's, Mill Creek, Great
Cottonwood, and Little Cottonwood, deep lines winding
down the timbered flanks of the mountains, and thrown
into relief by the darker and more misty shading of the
farther flank- wall.
•None of the Red Butte sandstone was used in the construction of the Temple, that
edifice bemg of granite. However, sandstone from Red Butte was used in the con
struction of the lower part of the wall enclosing the Temple grounds, which consti
tute lemple Blocli.

 General Glimpses of the Land  15
" The * Twin Peaks,' the highest points of the ^Wasatch
Mountains, are the first to be powdered over with the
autumnal snow. When a black nimbus throws out these
piles, with their tilted up rock strata, jagged edges, black
flanks, rugged brows, and bald heads gilt by a gleam of
sunset, the whole stands boldy out with that phase of
sublimity of which the sense of immensity is the principal
element. Even in the clearest of weather they are rarely
free from a fleecy cloud, the condensation of cold and
humid air rolling up the heights and vanishing only to be
renewed. " The bench land then attracted our attention. The soil
is poor, sprinkled with thin grass, in places showing a
suspicious whiteness, with few flowers, and chiefly pro
ducing a salsolaceous plant like the English samphire. In
many places lay long rows of bare circlets, like deserted
tent-floors ; they proved to be ant-hills, on which light gin
ger-colored swarms were working hard to throw up the
sand and gravel that everywhere in this valley underlie the
surface. The eastern valley-bench, upon whose western
declivity the city lies, may be traced on a clear day along
the base of the mountains for a distance of twenty miles ;
its average breadth is about eight miles."
The observant visitor at Salt Lake City of today look
ing out from one of the elevated view-points over the val
ley to the west and south, will see smoke ascending from
the northern point of the Oquirrh Range, and with a glass
he can clearly discern in detail the smoke-stacks and build
ings of the various mills of the Utah Copper Company
and the great piles of waste or dumpage. Further to the
south his keen eye may fall upon what appears to be a
bare spot on the mountains. This is the wonderful Cop
per Mine, — in reality a mountain of copper — at Bing
ham, and recognized as one of the most marvelous mines
of the world. T. A. Richards, Editor of the Mining and

16 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Scientific Press, once wrote a description for his paper of
this mine, a portion of which is as follows :
" The mine of the Utah Copper Company is a moun
tain impregnated with copper — a veritable mountain of
ore. Such has been the dream of the prospector from
time immemorial. Mount Morgan, in Queensland, Aus
tralia, was a mountain of gold ore, in-so-far as its sum
mit was excavated bodily and sent to the mill. . . .
Mount Lyell and Mount Bischoff, in Tasmania, are the
sites of big mine-workings that follow ore-bodies rich in
copper and tin, respectively; Mount Davidson (in
Nevada), was enriched by the Comstock lode, and the
Rammelsberg by its famous deposit of silver ; but none of
these was a ' mountain of ore ' so truly as this great
quarry, the face of which is 1,500 feet in vertical height
and 3,600 feet wide at the base.
" To realize the bigness of the mine, it is best to ascend
half-way up the opposite hill-slope, on the east side of
Bingham Canyon ; there one faces the serried terraces that
mark the successive slices now being cut out of the mass
of copper-bearing rock. It is an impressive picture of
highly organized human industry. The crest has been
removed already, but, foreshortened by distance, the
mountain still looks like a pyramid, the levels of success
ive excavation suggesting the step-like cross-section of
one of the famous Egyptian tombs. The outer cover of
the hill is colored red, by oxidization; the mass itself is
gray. It is a huge theater, in which the actors are 1,800
men ; but so big is the stage that they are hardly discerni
ble at that distance. Ore-trains, like children's toys seen
from afar, run along the levels, and black steam-shovels
vomit puffs of smoke as they dig energetically into the
piles of broken rock made by the blasting. The smoke
from the engines and the little black figures here and
there give a touch of the infernal to the picture, but the
suggestion is contradicted by the blue sky that canopies

 General Glimpses of the Land  17
the scene. On top of the hill, like a redoubt, is a tank to
which water is brought by gravity from Middle Canyon,
four miles west, to be conducted to the different levels for
drinking, for the boilers, and for other purposes.
" At noon, from this point of vantage, I watched the
blasting. Before it begins, those in control of the opera
tion on the various terraces indicate the fact that all is
ready by blowing one long and three short calls from the
whistle of a steam-shovel. When all, in turn, have given
this notification, the main whistle, blown by compressed
air, sounds a general alarm, consisting of an irregular
number of long and short calls. This is the signal for the
men in the pit to spit their fuses. As soon as the men
on the level above see that the fuses in the pit are lighted,
they spit theirs, and so in succession up the series of levels
or terraces. Meanwhile the main whistle continues to
sound the warning at frequent intervals. As the blasting
is completed each steam-shovel gives two long whistles,
and when all have reported, the main whistle answers with
two long calls, thereby notifying all the men on the hill
that the blasting is finished.
" First a series of shots is heard in the pit, these repre
senting the blasting of big rocks — * block-holing.' Then
a less noisy explosion is followed by a rush of broken
rock down the face of one of the terraces. The most
effective holes make the least noise. The rumble of run
ning ground is heard above the successive explosions.
Some of the holes emit smoke like a cannon. Fume and
dust enliven the scene. Everything is on a big scale; as
much as 25,000 tons of ore have been broken in one blast,
of 10 or 12 holes. Soon the uproar shifts to the right
shoulder of the mountain and over it to the other side,
awakening fresh echoes in the background of hills.
" South and eastward the levels are extended for the
disposal of the waste that is stripped from above the ore,
for most of the oxidized cap has lost so much of its cop-

18 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
per by leaching as to be merely an overburden. At the
beginning of 1918, 121 acres had been stripped of cap
ping, and 138 acres additional had been panly stripped.
The dumps of waste represent a face of serrated ground
almost as big as the mine itself.
" It is a big mine in the open air. Winter does not
seriously hinder operations; hardly 24 hours is lost per
annum, although in the winter of 1917, for half a shift
during blizzards, it was impossible to move the ore-trains
until the tracks were cleared by the sno^vplough. Being
open to the sky, the men are visible all the time : this is not
without a salutary influence during labor troubles. There
is nothing secret about these al fresco operations, whidi
are always open to the public view.
"... The hill is honey-combed with 60 miles of
underground workings, which were made chiefly to
explore the ore body and to ascertain its dimensions.
. . Up to the end of 19 18 this mine had produced
80,000,000 tons of ore averaging 1.4^0 copper, enabling
the company to pay $92,015,782 in dividends, and to
accumulate nearly $50,000,000 in working capital, thus
showing a total profit of $142,000,000 in eleven years."
Echo Canyon has been famous ever since it was first
described, and I know of no better description than that
given by Burton, in his City of the Saints. He says:
" Beyond the stream we ascended Yellow-Creek Hill, a
steep chain which divides the versant of the Bear River
eastward from that of Weber River to the west. The
ascent might be avoided but the view from the summit is
a fine panorama. The horizon behind us is girt by a mob
of hills, Bridger's Range, silver veined upon a dark blue
ground; nearer, mountains and rocks, cones and hog
backs, are scattered about in admirable confusion, divided
by shaggy rollers and dark ravines each with its own little
water-course. In front the eye runs down the long bright
red line of Echo Canyon, and rests with astonishment

 General Glimpses of the Land  19
upon its novel and curious features, the sublimity of its
broken and jagged peaks, divided by dark abysses, and
based upon huge piles of disjointed and scattered rock.
On the right, about half a mile north of the road, and
near the head of the canyon, is a place that adds human
interest to the scene. Cache Cave is a dark, deep, natural
tunnel in the rock, which has sheltered many a hunter and
trader from wild weather and wilder men; the wall is
probably of marl and earthy limestone, whose whiteness
is set off by the ochrish brick red of the ravine below.
" Echo Canyon has a total length of twenty-five to
thirty miles, and runs in a southeasterly direction to the
Weber River. Near the head it is from half to three-
quarters of a mile wide, but its irregularity is such that
no average breadth can be assigned to it. The height of
the buttresses on the right or northern side varies from
300 to 500 feet; they are denuded and water-washed by
the storms that break upon them under the influence of
southerly gales; their strata here are almost horizontal;
they are inclined at an angle of 45" and the strike is
northeast and southwest. The opposite or southern flank,
being protected from the dashing and weathering of rain
and wind, is a mass of rounded soil-clad hills, or" sloping
slabs of rock, earth-veiled, and growing tussocks of grass.
Between them runs the clear, swift, bubbling stream, in a
pebbly bed now hugging one, then the other side of the
chasm : it has cut its way deeply below the surface ; the
banks or benches of stiff alluvium are not unfrequently
twenty feet high ; in places it is partially dammed by the
hand of Nature, and everywhere the watery margin is of
the brightest green, and overgrown with grass, nettles,
willow thickets, in which the hop is conspicuous, quaking
asp, and other taller trees. Echo Canyon has but one
fault: its sublimity will make all similar features look
tame. " We entered the canyon in somewhat a serious frame

20 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
of mind; our team was headed by a pair of exceedingly
restive mules; we had remonstrated against the experi
mental driving being done upon our vile bodies, but the
reply was that the animals must be harnessed at some time.
We could not, however, but remark the wonderful pic-
turesqueness of a scene, of a nature which in parts seemed
lately to have undergone some grand catastrophe. The
gigantic red wall on our right was divided into distinct
blocks or quarries by a multitude of minor lateral canyons,
which, after rains, add their tribute to the main artery,
and each block was subdivided by the crumbling of the
softer and the resistance of the harder material, a clay
conglomerate. The color varied in places from white and
green to yellow, but for the most part it was a dull ochrish
red, that brightened up almost to a straw tint where the
sunbeams fell slantingly upon it from the strip of blue
above. All served to set off the curious architecture of
the small masses. A whole Petra was there, a system of
projecting prisms, pyramids, and pagoda towers, a variety
of form that enabled you to see whatever your peculiar
vanity might be, — columns, porticoes, fagades, and ped
estals. Twin lines of bluffs, a succession of buttresses
all fretted and honeycombed, a double row of steeples
slipped from perpendicularity, frowned at each other
across the gorge. And the wondrous variety was yet
more varied by the kaleidoscopic transformation caused
by change of position; at every different point the same
object bore a different aspect."
Perhaps the most interesting of these peculiarly eroded
rocks are thus described in the U. S. Geological Survey's
Guidebook to the Overland Route:
" About two miles west of Echo a group of curious
monument-like rocks, some of which are more than one
hundred feet high may be seen to the right (north) of the
track, well up the slope. These are known as The
Witches and are remnants formed by the erosion of a

General Glimpses of the Land  21
coarse conglomerate. Although any rock that has a
fancied resemblance to some familiar shape is likely to
attract greater attention than many a more significant
feature of the landscape, these bizarre monuments are well
worthy of more than a passing glance. The name, ' The
Witches,' is suggested by the form of the cap-rock of one
of the monuments, which is shaped something like the
fabled witch's hat. The caps are formed from a light-
colored band of conglomerate that is cemented into a
harder mass than the underlying pink conglomerate. This
hard cap-rock protects the underlying beds from the rain
until the supporting column, by slow crumbling, becomes
too slender to hold it. When the cap falls off the monu
ment soon becomes pointed at the top and is finally
reduced to the level of the surrounding country."
Below Echo Canyon is Weber Canyon, the connection
between the two being known as " The Narrows." Says
the Overland Guide:
" Three miles west of Henefer the coarse red pudding-
stone of the Wasatch beds extends down to the river level,
and the broad basin-like valley suddenly narrows to a
gorge barely wide enough for the river to pass through.
The road-bed has been cut in the side of this gorge, and in
the cuts may be seen great boulders of quartzite, some of
them four feet in diameter, with smaller boulders, pebbles,
and sand filling the space between them. These materials
are cemented into the resistant mass by red oxide of iron,
which gives a brilliant color to the whole mass."
On emerging from " The Narrows " the observant will
see that the train passes through a long cut in the shale in
a series of strata which are all turned up to a vertical
position. The shale is divided by strata of limestone, and,
as the softer shale disintegrates more rapidly under the
influences of wind and rain than the limestone strata, the
latter are often left standing alone as detached vertical
walls. The most remarkable of these limestone walls are

22 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
known as the " Devil's Slide." Dr. F. V. Hayden, the
head of the Hayden Geological Survey, which was one of
the several independent surveys finally merged into the
present U. S. Geological Survey, in a fascinating book of
description and photographs, entitled Sun Pictures of
Rocky Mountain Scenery thus describes the Slide :
"The beds of limestone are from 15 to 20 feet in
thickness, and rise to the height of 1,000 feet or more
upon the almost perpendicular side of the mountain.
They appear to have been thrust out of the mountain
side, and hence many people have regarded them as dikes
or outbursts of igneous material. The beds of limestone
are about 200 feet apart, and the immediate space, which
was composed of softer material, has been worn out by
atmospheric agencies, and smoothed down and grassed
over and covered with flowers and small shrubs."
Now let a novelist, Zane Grey, give us a picture of the
desert region of southeastern Utah. This is from his
Heritage of the Desert:
" He saw a red world, his eyes seemed to be bathed in
blood. Red, scaly ground, bare of vegetation, sloped
down, down, far down to a vast irregular rent in the
earth, which zigzagged through the plain beneath. To the
right it bent its crooked way under the brow of a black-
timbered plateau; to the left it straightened its angles to
find a V-shaped vent in the wall, now uplifted to a moun
tain range. Beyond this earth-riven line lay something
vast and illimitable, a far-reaching vision of white wastes,
of purple plains, of low mesas lost in distance. It was the
shimmering dust-veiled desert."
And lest one should think this description the pure
imagination of a romancer, let me put side by side with it
the description of a scientist, one of those first pioneers of
exact knowledge to penetrate into the wild and desert fast
nesses of Utah and bring therefrom definite information
as to what they were composed of. This is a description of

 General Glimpses of the Land  23
one of the picturesque portions of Utah, even yet seldom
seen by Utahns, and to be found in few places in the
world. It is taken from Captain Dutton's Geology of the
High Plateaus of Utah:
" If we stand upon the eastern verge of the Wasatch
Plateau and look eastward, we shall behold one of those
strange spectacles which are seen only in the Plateau
Province, and which have a peculiar kind of impressive-
ness, and even of sublimity. From an altitude of more
than ii,ooo feet the eye can sweep a semicircle with a
radius of more than 70 miles. It is not the wonder in
spired by great mountains, for only two or three peaks of
the Henry Mountains are well in view; and these, with
their noble Alpine forms, seem as strangely out of place
as Westminster Abbey would be among the ruins of
Thebes. Nor is it the broad expanse of cheerful plains
stretching their mottled surfaces beyond the visible hori
zon. It is a picture of desolation and decay; of a land
dead and rotten, with dissolution apparent all over its face.
It consists of a series of terraces, all inclining upwards
towards the east, cut by a labyrinth of deep narrow gorges,
and sprinkled with numberless buttes of strange form and
sculpture. We stand upon the Lower Tertiary, and right
beneath our feet is a precipice leaping down across the
edges of the level strata upon a terrace 1,200 feet below.
The cliff on which we stand stretches far northward into
the hazy distance, gradually swinging eastward, and then
southward far beyond the reach of vision and below the
horizon. It describes, as we well know, a rude semi
circle around a center more than 40 miles to the eastward.
At the foot of this cliff a terrace about six miles wide of
Upper Cretaceous beds, inclining upwards towards the
east very slightly, and at that distance it is cut off by a sec
ond cliff, plunging down 1,800 feet upon Middle Creta
ceous beds. This second cliff describes a smaller semi
circle like the first and concentric with it. From its foot

24 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the strata again rise gently towards the east through a
distance of ten miles, and are cut off by a third series of
cliffs as before. There are five of these concentric lines
of cliffs. In the center there is an elliptical area about
forty miles long and twelve to twenty broad, its major
axis lying north and south, and as completely girt about
by rocky walls as the valley of Rasselas. It has received
the name of the San Rafael Swell."
In the chapter on the Geology of Utah there is given a
fairly complete description, in popular terms, of this mar
velous " Swell," which so materially has affected the
scenery of Utah, and which has helped change the ideas
of geologists over the world.
Let me give still another picture, or rather, suggest a
changing panorama, which every rider in an automobile,
who goes from Salt Lake City by the Arrowhead Trail
into southern California, may enjoy.
Soon after leaving Cedar City, one comes to the south
ern rim of the Great Basin. Here one is at an elevation
of some 4,000 feet. The climate is cool ; the nights cold,
though in the sunshine of the middle of the day the tem
perature reaches to 85° or 90° F. The trees, the flowers,
the fields, the wild country, mountain slopes, etc., all
speak of a temperate climate. Then, suddenly, we begin
to descend. Passing through a canyon of black basaltic
rock, in half an hour the scene has changed materially.
We leave the pines, the cedars, the pinyons behind, and
instead of cool breezes hot winds strike us from either
side. The vegetation changes, the flowers are different.
Cactus of varied kinds come into sight, and other desert
verdure presents itself. We have left the Great Basin
and have descended to the Basin of the Colorado River.
In many respects the country we are now in reminds us of
the Mohave Desert, near Barstow. F. S. Dellenbaugh
who came up from Kanab, — while we are supposed to be
traveling down — gives an interesting account of this part

 General Glimpses of the Land  25
of the country in Scribne/s, January, 1904. He says:
" Close on our left lay the long blue line of the Pine
Valley Mountains lifting their snow-streaked summits far
above the wonderful labyrinth of many-colored cliffs and
buttes and lava-beds threaded by our road, which, now
rocky and dry, now sandy and dry, but ever dry, led con
tinually up the deep basin of the river Virgin. Except
where water can be spread over the ground, the surface
all through this country is so devoid of moisture that noth
ing but plants requiring a minimum is said to exist. Vege
tation, therefore, is scattering, aggressive, threatening. At
the same time one is surprised by its abundance, as well as
by the richness of color and the profusion of exquisite
blossoms in spring, the varieties of cactus especially being
laden with flowers whose tender petals and soft beauty are
a marvel in contrast to the parent stem as well as the cha
otic aridity of the environment. It seems as if a lion and
a lamb were verily slumbering at our feet. And not only
the cacti, but the ' live oak ' with its thorn-set leaf, the
rabbit-brush, the sage, the greasewood, and all the others
have their blossoms, while in between, scattered thickly
over the unfriendly earth, are multitudes of smaller flow
ering plants strange to all but the botanical traveler, and
some of them, I fancy, still strange to him, yet as fascinat
ing as the pampered products of a hot-house. But where
water can be fed to the soil it instantly becomes prolific.
" The Mormons being past-masters in irrigation, the
rugged land contains a number of districts that, by con
trast with the surroundings, rival the Garden of Eden.
Here grapes, peaches, almonds, figs, pomegranates,
melons, etc., of choicest flavor are yielded in abundance.
Every few miles the eye is surprised and gratified by the
green fields and foliage of one of these bright oases.
Nothing could be more refreshing than a sudden encoun
ter with a broad green stretch of this kind after miles
across arid wastes where one begins to imagine meadows.

26 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
farms, and shady brooks to be mere phantasmagoria —
when, lo! a magic turn of the road reveals a sweep of
emerald with ditches of dashing water, plume-like poplars
of Lombardy, fan-spreading cottonwoods, vineyards,
roses, peach and apple orchards, fig-trees, long lines of
acanthus, and all the surroundings of comfortable coun
try life. Again a turn, and the mellow beauty vanishes —
not a drop of water then anywhere in sight."
This change from charming, refreshing, delicious oasis
to immediate desert is one of the wonders of this unique
land. But my reader must not assume that the word
" desert " implies nothing of delight. In my book, The
Wonders of the Colorado Desert, I endeavored to express
some of the lure one feels towards such desolate areas.
And here in Southern Utah, when night comes, there is
the same ineffable sky of turquoise, the same wonderfully
luminous stars; the same glowing sunsets, and the same
exquisite satisfaction in sleeping out-of-doors. St. George
is an anomaly to the rest of Utah. It is in as different a
country in appearance and climate from Ogden, say, as
one can well conceive. Yet both are part of this remark
able state ; and both are richly fertile. At St. George one
sees a land of fertility and of plenteousness, a land verily
flowing with milk and honey. See the thousands of con
tented kine grazing on the luscious grasses of the mead
ows, or feeding at the great stacks of alfalfa or other hay,
and these give their rich milk by the millions of gallons
annually. And on every hand are flowers galore, of a
thousand varieties, rich in nectar, from which the bees
extract the most delicious honey that ever tickled the
palate of man.
Ride along with me, and mile after mile, you shall see
fields of waving grain, in varying degrees of ripeness;
hundreds, thousands, of acres of beets, of corn, of alfalfa,
while everywhere are houses, large and small, old and
new, simple and pretentious, surrounded by the family

MORMON TEMPLE, ST. GEORGE,

Greneral Glimpses of the Land

orchards, where trees laden %^-ith apples, pears, cherries,
plums, peaches, apricots, walnuts, eta, speak of the de
light of the numerous small boys and girls, apparendy at
home, and of laden cupboards where cans of fruit, jars,
presei-ses, marmalades, and like will soon repose. The
box-elder, the cottonwood, the Lombardy poplar, the
maple, the elm, and the acada, aboimd, giving interesting
sky lines whidi change rapidly as our auto speeds along.
And this is not a scene confined to one locahty in L'tah :
it may be found in every direction where water can be
placed upon the soil. Scores, hundreds of valleys dot the
whole state : some large, some small, surrounded by moun
tains, or of lower hills, where purely pastoral landscapes
charm the eye, the silver\- streams and irrigating ditches
adding their flashing surfaces or blue stretches to the
pleasing effect
Here is a description by Stansbury, one of the earliest
of L"tah"s e^lorers, of the Green River Valley :
" Since lea\Tng the basin and entering the ^-alley of
Green River, a remarkable change in the face of the
countrj- is apparent. Instead of the disturbed and up
heaved rocks whidi characterize that region, flat tables or
terraces of horizontal strata of green and blue sand and
day, and sandy conglomerate, or agglutinated sand, now
form the prindpal feature of the country, standing alone,
like island buttes, amid the barren plains, or forming
escarpments which altematdy impinge upon the banks of
the winding streams. These tables, which extend from
the rim of the basin to the South Pass, and thence to
Brown's Hole, on Green River, are apparently the result
of a deposit in still water. The layers are of various thick
nesses from one foot to that of a knife blade, and the
hiDs are fast wearing away tmder the influence of the
wind and rain.
"The whole country looks as if it had, at one time,
been the bottom of a vast lake, which, bursting its barrier

28 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
at Brown's Hole, had been suddenly drained of a portion
of its waters, leaving well defined marks of the extent
of the recession upon the sides of these isolated buttes.
As the channels became worn by the passage of the water
through the outlet into Green River, another sudden de
pression followed, and the same operation was repeated at
still a lower level. There are three well defined levels,
and the same appearances of horizontal water lines occur
here as were noticed upon the hillsides of the islands in
the Great Salt Lake ; save! that in the latter case they are
more numerous and closer together, and the subsidence
of the waters appears to have been more gradual. The
surface of the ground was strewn with fragments of
obsidian, black, shiny pebbles, flints, and white, yellow,
and smoky quartz."
Southeastern Utah is, even to this day, largely a terra
incognita. A few cowboys, prospectors, sheepherders, and
an occasional "butter into the wild," as myself, are all
that ever visit it. Think of the fact that the most won
derful natural bridges in the known world were not dis
covered until 1903, (see spedal chapter), and that in this
day, 192 1, it is not an unreasonable thing to say that not
a hundred people a year have seen them since that time.
Only a year ago, Dr. Charles G. Plummer of Salt Lake
City went on a photographing expedition to Bryce Can
yon. Here he came in touch with a Mormon bishop,
named Johnson, who informed him of the existence of a
natural bridge, some twenty-five miles away, that scarcely
anyone save himself knew of. Arrangements were made
and Dr. Plummer went and saw the bridge.
Let me give one more quotation from one who visited
and studied this little known portion of Utah, as far back
as 1859. I quote from the Report of the Exploring Expe
dition from Santa Fe, N. M., to the Junction of the Grand
and Green Rivers of the Great Colorado of the West, in
1859, under the Command of Capt. J. N. Macomb. The

 General Glimpses of the Land  29
expedition had entered Utah north of the San Juan
River, a little south of the Sierra La Sal, in what is now
San Juan County.
" August 2^. Leaving servants and packs in camp, we
to-day descended the canyon of Labyrinth Creek, to its
junction with Grand River. Until within a mile of the
junction, the diaracter of the canyon remains the same; a
narrow gorge, with vertical sides, from 150 to 300 feet
in height, its bottom thickly grown with bushes and
obstructed with fallen rocks and timber, passable but with
infinite difficulty. At the place mentioned above, how
ever, our progress was arrested by a perpendicular fall,
some 200 feet in height, dark, and ragged, impassable to
everything but the winged bird. At the bottom, the whole
breadth of this canyon is occupied by the turbid waters of
the Grand River, here a sluggish stream, at least with no
current visible to us who were more than 2,000 feet above
it. In this great artery, a thousand lateral tributaries
terminate, flowing through channels precisely like that of
Labyrinth Creek; underground passages by which inter
mittent floods from the distant highlands are conducted
through this country, producing upon it no other effect
than constantly to deepen thdr own beds. Toward the
south the canyon of Green River was easily traced. Per
haps four miles below our position it is joined by another
great chasm coming in from the northeast, said by the
Indians to be that of Grand River. From the point where
we were it was inaccessible, but we had every reason to
credit their report in reference to it."
From these interesting descriptions of varied portions
of the state it will well be seen that Utah is no dull monot
onous plain, without romantic and picturesque features. I
might have quoted alike English, French and American
travelers, explorers and scientists. Their descriptions
show us parts of the state passed through yearly by hun
dreds of thousands of people, on the public highways or

30 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
railways ; also parts of the state even yet almost unknown,
and that can be reached only by wagon, on horseback, or
with pack-train. And yet not one-tenth, one-twentieth,
one-hundredth of the state, or of its distinctive features
of attraction and fascination have been mentioned. Prac
tically, no account has been taken of the dties of the State,
and some of them are of a character that deserve and
almost demand detailed description. Suffice to say that,
if the world-travelers and students I have here quoted,
have found so much to arrest and occupy their devoted
attention, no ordinary traveler, if he be but observant,
can fail to find in Utah enough of variety, of romance,
of allurement, of fascination, of picturesqueness to
satisfy him.
Furthermore, as it seems to be in the hearts of many
men and some women to desire to discover what others
have not seen, to explore unknown regions, in fact, I have
purposely enlarged upon unknown Utah, deliberately
selected so many quotations about it, that these persons
of exploring tendencies may know that southeastern
Utah is a country that will satisfy their proclivities to the
utmost. On the other hand, those who wish to find
homes, amid agricultural and horticultural scenes, can be
gratified, while those who long for well-peopled cities,
advantageously located for business, health, recreation,
and the rearing of their families, can find variety enough
to satisfy the most exacting in this interior land of the
Great Salt Lake.

CHAPTER II
THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF UTAH
Like Arizona and New Mexico, not only does Utah
have living Indians within its boundaries, but the first
explorers found evidences of earUer peoples, the ruins of
whose dwellings used to cause much conjecture. Modem
archaeologists, however, feel certain that they have solved
the major problems of the existence of these andent
inhabitants. The first explorer to discover ruins, in what is now
recognized as the southwestern portion of the United
States, was Captain J. H. Simpson, who fully described
the ruins of the Chaco Canyon and Mesa in New Mexico.
Later, the ruins of the Mancos Canyon, in Colorado, were
discovered, and from that time on, up even to the present
date, discoveries have been made in Utah, Arizona and
New Mexico.
The question often has been asked: How far north
have these ruins of Qiff- Cave- and Pueblo-dwellers been
discovered? We can answer this question now with a
reasonable degree of assurance. Dr. Byron Cummings,
formerly of the University of Utah, but now Dean of
the University of Arizona, states in the Bulletin later
referred to:
" In the summer of 1906, the writer made an examina
tion of the ruins in Nine Mile Canyon, along the northern
border of Carbon County, in the eastern part of Utah,
and obtained no trace of ruins farther north in that region
except one small house on the Green River about four
31

32 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
miles north of where Nine Mile, (Minnie Maud), creek
joins the Green River. Mr. George Bishop of Smithville,
in the western part of the state near the Nevada border,
writes that there is a group of ruins a few miles from
his place, that seems to be a well defined pueblo ; and Mr.
Don McGuire, of Ogden, has obtained good specimens of
pottery from a ruin near Brigham City. The Smithville
ruins are on nearly the same parallel as those of Carbon
County, but Brigham City lies far to the north,"
With the exception above noted it may generally be
stated that nothing has been discovered north of the
Mancos and Animas regions in Colorado, or above 38
degrees of latitude in Utah. Indeed, I am not familiar
with ruins having been discovered in Utah, (except as
above), outside of the five southern counties ^ — Wash
ington, Iron, Garfield, Kane and San Juan. The oldest
discovered and best-known are in San Juan County, in
McElmo and other creek-canyons tributary to the San
Juan river. There is little doubt in my own mind that
these ancient inhabitants were perfectly familiar with that
marvellous region, discovered by the white man as recently
as 1904, where the colossal Natural Bridges of Utah are
located. Macomb in his Explorations thus describes some of the
ruins discovered by his party in 1859 ¦
" The country lying between the Mancos (in Colorado)
and Dolores is generally dry and sterile, yet is every
where covered with fragments of broken pottery, showing
its former occupation by a considerable number of inhabi
tants ; it is now utterly deserted."
Later on he reports another mass of ruins seen from
an unidentified hill. Clearly, however, he was looking
into Utah :
" The hill from which we obtained this view is crowned
with an extensive series of very ancient ruins. The prin
cipal one is a pueblo, nearly 100 feet square, once sub-

 The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah S3
stantially built, of dressed stone, now a shapeless heap, in
which the plan of the original structure can, however, be
traced. Like most of the ruined pueblos of New Mexico,
it consisted of a series of small rooms clustered together,
like cells in a beehive. Near the principal edifice are
mounds of stone, representing subordinate buildings.
Among these are numerous large depressions marking the
places of cisterns or estufas. Quantities of broken pot
tery, similar to that so commonly seen in like circum
stances, but bearing the marks of great age, strew the
ground about these ruins.
" A mile or two up the river are several other stone-
houses built high up in the cliffs, 150 feet above the
stream ; they are usually placed on ledges covered by pro
jecting rocks, which act as roofs. These houses are not
large, and were probably only occupied by the guardians
of the fields once in cultivation below. All of these, as
well as the more extensive ruins before mentioned, are
admirably located for defense, and would easily be held
by a handful of determined men against any number of
assailants armed only with the weapons of savage warfare.
"... Surouaro is the name of a ruined town
which must once have contained a population of several
thousands. The name is said to be of Indian (Utah)
origin, and to signify desolation, and certainly no better
name could have been selected. The surrounding coun
try is hopelessly sterile; and, whatever it once may have
been, Surouaro is now desolate enough. Here are two
canyons, cut in the sandstone by two former streams.
These unite nearly a mile below camp. All the interval of
mesa between them is covered with ruins. The houses
are, many of them, large, and all built of stone, hammer-
dressed on the exposed faces. Fragments of pottery are
exceedingly common, though, like the building, showing
great age. There is every evidence that a large popula
tion resided here for many years, perhaps centuries, and

34 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

that they deserted it several hundred years ago ; that they
were Pueblo Indians, and hence peaceful, industrious, and
agricultural. How they managed to exist here, and how
their town was depopulated, are questions that suggest
themselves at once, but certainly the former is the more
puzzling. They may have been exterminated by the
Navahos and Utahs, warlike and aggressive tribes, who
now occupy the adjacent region; but where a population
of many thousands once existed, now as many hundreds
could not be sustained, either by agriculture or the chase.
The surrounding country contains very little animal life,
and almost none of it is now cultivable. It is 7,000 feet
in altitude, intensely cold in winter, and very dry through
out the year. The want of water alone would forbid the
residence of any considerable number of persons at
Surouaro if everything else were furnished them. The
arroyos, through which streams seem to have once
flowed, are now dry, and it was only with great difficulty
that sufficient water was obtained for the supply of our
train. The remains of metates (corn-mills) are abundant
about the ruins, and com was doubtless the staple artide
of their existence, but none could now be raised here.
The ruins of several large reservoirs, built of masonry,
may be seen at Surouaro, and there are traces of acequias,
which led to these, through which water was brought
perhaps from a great distance. At first sight the diffi
culties in the way of obtaining a supply of water for any
considerable population at this point would seem insur
mountable, and the readiest solution of the problem would
be to infer a change of climate, by which this region was
made uninhabitable. Such a conclusion is not necessary,
however, for the skill and industry of the ancient inhabi
tants of the arid table lands of New Mexico and Arizona
achieved wonders in the way of procuring a supply of
water. Sometimes this was done by carefully collecting,
in cisterns of masonry, every drop of a trickling spring;

 The Ancient Lihabitants of Utah 35
sometimes, by canals, through which water was brought
from long distances."
Still later Captain Macomb reports :
" Some two miles below the head of Labyrinth Canyon
we came upon the ruins of a large number of houses of
stone, evidently built by the Pueblo Indians, as they are
similar to those on the Dolores, and the pottery scattered
about is identical with that before found in so many
places. It is very old but of excellent quality, made of
red clay coated with white, and handsomely figured.
Here the houses are built in the sides of the cliffs.
"A mile or two below we saw others crowding the
inaccessible summits — inaccessible except by ladders — of
picturesque detached buttes of red sandstone, which rise
to the height of one hundred and fifty feet above the
bottom of the canyon. Similar buildings were found
lower down, and broken pottery was picked up upon the
summits of the cliffs overhanging Grand River ; evidence
that these dreadful canyons were once the homes of
families belonging to that great people formerly spread
over all this region now so utterly sterile, solitary, and
desolate." Since the day of Macomb there has been considerable
scientific exploration carried on in southeastern Utah.
Some of this work has been done under the auspices of
the University of Utah, and some by the Smithsonian
Institution, under the diredion of the Bureau of Ameri
can Ethnology.
In 1908, an expedition, under the personal direction of
Professor Byron Cummings of the University of Utah,
and Alfred Vincent Kidder, of the School of American
Archaeology, set forth from Monticello, with two stu
dents as aids, and a cattleman as guide, for the purpose
of exploring the western tributary of Montezuma Creek,
in the southeastern portion of San Juan County, and also
finding a ruin whidi they could excavate. They were

36 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
later joined by two students from Harvard who mater
ially aided in the work of excavation. From a report by
Professor Kidder the following facts are gleaned :
Montezuma Canyon is a deep and rather narrow
valley, which heads in the eastern slopes of the Sierra
Abajo or Blue Mountains, and flows in a southerly direc
tion some forty-five miles before emptying into the San
Juan River. Its eastern tributaries drain the long mesa
which separates it from the McElmo- Yellow Jacket
system of canyons, while on the west its upper tributaries
all head against the eastern and southern slopes of the
Abajos. These upper western tributaries were the ones
explored. They are smaller replicas of the Montezuma
itself, being, in most places, narrow, gorge-like canyons,
with barren, sandy bottoms and abrupt cliff-like sides.
There are three prindpal canyons, the most northward
being Long Canyon, followed by Devil and Alkali
Canyons. The latter canyon, for some 15 or 20 miles,
runs almost parallel to Montezuma, before it eventually
enters it, thus forming a narrow mesa, called Alkali Ridge,
between Alkali and Montezuma. The country in the
region is so spUt up and broken, and presents such a
tangle of steep gulUes, cliffs, and precipitous ravines,
that many weeks would be necessary for its complete
exploration. Three well-defined groups of andent dwellings were
found, viz., (i) Cliff-dwellings, (2) Canyon-head dwell
ings, and (3) Pueblos.
Cliff-dwellings of every conceivable sort and situation
were found, all, however, of small size. The simplest
type is a small natural cave made into a single room by the
addition of a wall, closing in the front. The largest did
not contain more than eight or ten rooms, while the
majority were merely single- or double-room stmdures,
their roofs and back walls usually being supplied by the
cave cliff in which they were built.

 The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah 37
All these buildings show much ingenuity in construc
tion and reveal the adaptability and resourcefulness of
their builders. Yet the masonry is exceedingly crude,
the stones evidently being picked up at random, laid with
out any attempt at coursing in adobe, and afterwards
plastered on both sides with adobe roughly laid on by the
hand or a rude wooden implement. Wooden beams are
sometimes incorporated into the masonry.
In one house in Devil Canyon, a fine spedmen of
andent " reinforced concrete " was found. This was a
wall begun after the manner of a picket fence, by placing
upright, and about a foot apart, a number of slim cedar
poles. These were then wattled together with twigs and
osiers, making a fairly close and basket-like surface,
which was then coated inside and out with adobe until
the whole had the thickness of three inches.
The doors of the cliff -dwellings averaged the following
dimensions: height 22^ inches, width 15 inches, thick
ness of wall II inches, height from floor of room 20
inches. They are usually fitted with a slab of sandstone
for a sill, while the lintels are made either of a similar slab
or of several small wooden rods sunk in the masonry of
the jambs. A single rod about an inch below the middle
of the lintel answered as a rest for the stone-slab which
served as a door.
Owing to the absence of Kivas, or sacred ceremonial
rooms, from these ruins. Professors Cummings and Kid
der were in doubt as to whether they were continuously
inhabited. They say :
" Whether they were lookout places, granaries, or shel
ters from which to watch the cornfields, are questions
which it is better to leave open until more complete data
as to their exact topographical situation and their rela
tions one to another and to the larger pueblo groups can
be colleded."
The pueblos were nearly all found on the tops of the

38 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
cedar-covered mesas between the canyons. Ovet twenty
groups were mapped in a small section of Alkali Ridge
alone. All are badly ruined, so that they appear merely
as low mounds thickly strewn with building stones and
heavily over-grown with sagebmsh and greasewood.
They are usually situated on the crest of a ridge some dis
tance back from the rims of the canyons, thus occupying
the highest ground in the immediate vicinity. In each of
these groups one or more Kivas were found, near which
were always located the burial places of the dead. Many
of these had been dug into by relic-seekers and pot-hunt
ers, and rendered utterly useless for purposes of scientific
exploration, hence the party was highly delighted to find
on Alkali Ridge a large group of ruins, with two burial
mounds, one of which was intart, and the other only
slightly disturbed. Excavations were carried on for five
weeks, under considerable difficulties and limitations, but
seventeen rooms and three Kivas were successfully laid
bare. About 400 museum specimens were procured,
among them being thirty pieces of unbroken pottery. The
appearances indicated that the buildings originally were
but two stories high and spread over considerable ground,
entirely different from the terraced pueblos, the cliff-
dwellings placed in inaccessible places, the pueblos of the
McElmo canyon, where the houses had a tall backwall
without ground-floor doorways, and such compact pueblos
as those found in the Chaco Canyon, all of which were
capable of ready and comparatively easy defense. These
scattered dwellings, however, have no strategic advantage
in their location, and they are so loosely strung together
that no combined resistance to a sudden attack could have
been made.
The masonry, too, was poor, the building rocks being
rough and shapeless, and laid without any semblance of
coursing. Most of the rooms were fairly uniform in size,
averaging about ten feet by five feet. The easternmost

 The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah 39
chamber, which evidently had been used for a granary,
was twenty-three feet long. Evidently a great fire had
once raged here, oxidizing a large quantity of com on the
cob; vitrifying, and in some places turning almost into a
sort of iridescent slag, parts of the adobe walls and ceil
ing. In some places cedar posts were incorporated as
parts of the lower walls, though only charred remains and
the marks of the bark in the adobe were left to tell of their
former presence. The finds in the living rooms were
meager, suggesting, at least, the possibility of the inhabi
tants having removed elsewhere.
In this pueblo there were forty and possibly more
Kivas or sacred ceremonial diambers, all found under
ground, with clear evidences that they had been roofed.
These Kivas doubtless were added one by one as more
clans were added to the pueblo and more houses, needed,
by the marriage of the maidens. For each clan needed its
own Kiva for the performance of its own ceremonies,
and a study of the Pueblo Indians of to-day, such as the
Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, etc., demonstrate the supreme import
ance to the Indian mind of these strange, weird and primi
tive performances.
The two burial places examined yielded considerable
material, though one had been much disturbed by irre
sponsible excavators. In the other, twenty-eight burials
were uncovered, with accompanying pottery, ornaments
and other objerts. The majority of the bodies found were
laid on their sides, the knees drawn up towards the chest,
the elbows flexed on their sides, the hands placed in front
of, or beside, the face. Pottery was found with about
one skeleton in five, though one body had ten pieces. The
only ornaments found were beads, made of olivella shells
and pieces of hollow bone, all clearly used as necklaces.
From the main ruins were obtained pottery, pipes, cere
monial objerts of stone and pottery; bone awls, skin-
scrapers, and needles; beads of shell, bone, stone, and

40 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

pottery; stone-axes, polishing-stones, sandal-stones, and
various kinds of chipped implements such as knives, spear
heads and projectile points. Owing to the exposed con
dition of the ruins no objerts of basketry, textiles or
wood were found, and there was no trace of metal.
Another type of ruins is found in the Yellow Jacket
and Hovenweap region, which is not far from the one
already described. Here, round towers, that might almost
be called castles, are found. Towers are widely distributed
in the southwest, but those of the Hovenweap district, in
southeastern Utah, are in an excellent state of preserva
tion and their masonry somewhat superior to that found
elsewhere. While the ends of few roof and floor beams
are occasionally found, there are no roofs actually in place
but the assumption that some of these buildings were two
and three stories high is supported by reasonable evi
dence. The towers vary, in that some are round, others
rertangular, a few semicircular, some stand alone, and
others have annexed rectangular rooms. In some cases,
circular or semicircular towers are found within concen
tric walls, united by radiating partitions forming rooms,
and in still other cases, a circular room or tower is en
closed in a rectangular room. There are also towers
united to pueblos.
The stones of which these towers are built exhibit
both the excellencies and deferts of aboriginal masonry.
Almost without exception they are of rudely dressed stone,
the pits or markings having been made with stone ham
mers. They were laid in horizontal courses, but it is
evident that tieing or bonding was not deemed essential
or important, and the work is by no means even. The
stones were laid in adobe mortar, and the spaces between
the courses chinked with spalls, or small pieces of stone.
Most of these, however, with much of the mortar, have
been washed out by rains, and great numbers of them are
found at the foot of the walls. Here and there the walls

 The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah 41
are pierced with small openings, irregularly arranged,
doubtlessly made by the omission of stones. As a rule
these holes are lined with adobe plaster and rounded.
Their directions are at all angles to the faces of the walls.
Larger openings, as rectangular doorways and windows,
also occur, with well-made stone lintels and thresholds.
T-shaped doorways, or those in which the lower part is
narrower than the upper, are found in the walls of upper
stories. The foundations were not cut or excavated to a
uniform level, but flat stones were introduced by the
aboriginal builders anyhow and everyhow, wherever
required to make the first course reasonably level. The
angles of square and semicircular towers are plumb, their
surfaces perpendicular, slanting slightly inward from base
to top, and often showing a slight bulge, or curve, which
adds to their pirturesqueness. Sometimes both square
and rectangular towers have their corners rounded.
Where rooms are attached to the towers they were gen
erally planned for at the original building, but there are
many evidences that rooms were often added later. The
west wing of the building known as Hovenweap Castle
consists of a semicircular tower, attached to which are
four large rooms, arranged in a series, all with massive
walls, two or more stories high.
In Square Tower Canyon a tall tower was found,
mounted on an angular boulder, the upper surface of
which slopes at a sharp angle. In spite of this a number
of rectangular buildings were united to the tower, though
the walls have now slid down the Incline and fallen.
In Hackberry Canyon — a spur of Bridge Canyon —
is found one of the concentric type. It is known as
Horseshoe House, and It Is supposed to be the form of
many ruined masses found In the Yellow Jacket region.
Sometimes the enclosed drcular area is so large that it
can scarcely be regarded as a simple tower. The larger
space suggests the possibility of its having been the plaza

42 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

of a circular pueblo with concentric walls, sometimes
numerous and connected with radiating partitions. It is
interesting to note that the ruin mentioned by Padres
Escalante and Domlnguez, in 1776, belongs to this type.
The drcular type of room, enclosed in rectangular
walls, is the pure type of pueblo architerture chararter-
istlc of the Mesa Verde region in southwestern Colorado,
according to Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, the eminent archaeol
ogist and ethnologist of the Smithsonian Institution.
He says :
" The word tower is used with a good deal of latitude
by writers and is sometimes applied to the buildings con
sidered in this group. Some of the towers in groups pre
viously considered, judged from their size, might better
be called castles or houses of defence; others have been
regarded as observatories and as habitations. The unit
form of the pure type of pueblo, also regarded as a tower,
is a combined Kiva and habitation, morphologically
speaking. The best example of a building of this char
acter is Unit Type House, an instrurtive ruin situated in
the Square Tower Canyon Group. Here there is one
Kiva embedded in a mass of rertangular rooms, impart
ing to the ruin a general rertangular outline slightly modi
fied by the presence of an annexed square room at one
corner. Unit Type House is structurally the simplest
form or nucleus of a pure pueblo type, and when several
similar units are consolidated into a compact body of
rooms the result Is a considerable pueblo."
According to Dr. Fewkes, the most complicated archi
tectural form reached in the highest development of pue
blo architerture is found where towers are united to
pueblos of the pure type. This is best found in its simplest
form in the Hovenweap House. A more complex and
better preserved example is found in the Castle, close by.
There are several good examples found in the Yellow
Jacket region.

 The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah 43
The pure pueblo type consists of archltedural units,
each unit being a circular sunken chamber, which served
as the sanctuary, or Kiva, embedded In rectangular rooms.
This type exists singly or in multiple forms. Isolated or
united to others of its kind.
Dr. Fewkes has reached the conclusion that the tower is
a prehistoric type, and that the few towers found by the
first explorers In the inhabited regions were but survivals.
He also thinks it possible that the modem circular Kiva
may be a survivor in form of the ancient tower.
The most general, comprehensive, and popular survey
that has yet been made of the prehistoric ruins of Utah,
is found in Dr. Byron Cummings' bulletin entitled : The
Ancient Inhabitants of the San Juan Valley, and to this,
and the Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
the Interested reader who desires further to Inform him
self is respectfully referred.
It should be noted, however, that discoveries of cliff-
and cave-dwellings, ruined pueblos, etc., are still being
reported in Utah.
Professor Levi Edgar Young, of the State University,
has been tireless In his explorations and researches. He
and his students, for a number of years, have gone out Into
the field, either for the purpose of exploration and dis
covery, or to excavate and study ruins already known.
In 1917, an expedition was sent out, under the joint aus
pices of the Smithsonian Institution and the University
of Utah, under the directorship of Neil M. Judd, a native
of the State, and trained to his archaeological work by
Doctor Cummings and Professor Young. He chose a
well-known region, near Paragoonah, Iron County, Utah,
where, as far back as 1872, when the Wheeler survey was
being made. Dr. H. C. Yarrow reported that he had
counted more than 400 mounds. As the years passed,
extensive farming was carried on In the region, and doubt
less, many mounds were destroyed, until in 1893, the

44 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
number was given as not more than lOO. By I9I5» ^^^^
number had again been reduced by one half, when Mr.
Judd first began his investigations, and, says he, " the
number was still further reduced during the next twelve
months, leaving a bare half-dozen large elevations in the
fields already under cultivation and several smaller mounds
in the sage-covered area adjoining."
While the work accomplished was of much profit to the
scientific archaeologist, it must be confessed that there
was nothing discovered of a spectacular nature, or any
thing to appeal keenly to popular interest. The inaccessi
ble element of the dangerous-looking cliff-dwellings was
lacking, and it is not easy for the dull imagination of
mediocrity to visualize anything very exciting as having
taken place in so unplrturesque a spot. Yet Mr. Judd
gives a pirture of a way the walls were made that will be
new to most. If not all, of my readers.
" Much has been said regarding the manner in which
these adobe dwellings were construrted. The builders
required merely an abundant water-supply and the clayey
soil of the region. A shallow hole near the site of the
proposed house sufficed as a mixing box, into which water
was poured as it was needed ; the hole grew in extent and
depth as its sides were cut down to furnish additional
clay. This was undoubtedly mixed by the bare feet of
the workers, a method still employed by modern Pueblo
Indians and their Mexican neighbors.
" Balls of this mud, worked to a stiff paste, were then
thrown on to a prepared area, tracing the outline of the
room. Other masses were added, and the four walls
gradually assumed their desired height. Of necessity
these were built up In layers, for the cohesive properties
of plastic clay are very low, and supporting forms were
unknown among the primitive peoples of America. Each
layer averaged about fifteen inches in thickness and the
desert sun soon dried it sufficiently to permit of the addi-

 The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah 45
tion of a superimposed course. The fart that these layers
vary in thickness from a few inches to more than a foot
may be traced usually to an effort on the part of the build
ers to maintain uniform levels. An unintentional irregu
larity In one layer would be corrected In placing the next
above it. Mud plaster was ordinarily employed in smooth
ing the inner faces of these walls, but it Is sometimes
apparent that the freshly laid adobe was merely damp
ened with water and surfaced over, obliterating all traces
of joints."*
A large number of bone, stone and other primitive
implements were found during the process of excavation,
together with seeds of various kinds, and fragments of
basketry. These are all carefully preserved in the Uni
versity of Utah Museum.
Since this work Mr. Judd has continued his archaeolo
gical researches In Utah, and as recently as June, 1920,
reported some most Interesting and important finds.
In closing this necessarily brief and inadequate chapter
it may be as well to suggest to the reader a few broad and
general conclusions, commonly accepted by archaeologists
as the result of their study of these prehistoric ruins up
to the present time. These are :
I. They were made by a semi-pastoral people in a
very primitive stage of culture, who were easily moved
by drought, famine or troublesome enemies.
2. They built detached houses, unless for purposes of
common defense they united their homes In one or more
communal dwellings. This applied just as much to the
cliff-dwelhngs as to the separate and communal houses
on the level.
3. Even the most inaccessible of the cliff-dwellings
were not necessarily places of defense or refuge. The
sites happened best to meet the Immediate needs of the
•Archaeological Investigations at Paragoonah, Utah. By Neil M. Judd, Published
by Smithsonian Institution, 1919.

46 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
aborigines. Hence their occupancy of them. That, at
times, they were occupied as places of defense is also
equally certain.
4. But it does not follow that, because they were
occasionally so used, they are to be regarded as the final
place of refuge and defense of a desperately beset people,
whose foes completely annihilated them.
5. On the other hand, tradition and archaeological
evidences demonstrate that many of the cliff-dwellers and
builders of the pueblos in the open, or on the level, were
the ancestors of the present-day Pueblo Indians of
Arizona and New Mexico.
6. These people were all agriculturists of a very
rude and primitive chararter, unacquainted with any form
of plough or other Implement, save a simple corn-planting
stick, and a rude hoe, though they understood Irrigation,
and have left many traces of ditches or reservoirs.

Joseph Smith, Jr.
The Founder of Mormonism

CHAPTER m
JOSSPU SMITH ASID THE OSU3JS OP MORMOlSISil
Wben Jose^ l^mdi was about fourteen years of age
fais fadi^'s taaSiy nxfved from Pabnyia, N. Y^ to Man-
dtestex, N, Y. About ibis time there was evinced a great
deal of sectarian revival adxvitjr to make converts and
add to the Qmrdi ** sodi as sbotdd be saved." Jose^ a
lad of semative nature, was natorally inflnaiced bjr ibe
emotionaKaa arom^ him. His modier and fbree Iffotbers
and a aster had just joined the Presbyterian Churcb, but
JoMfh, dioag^ so yooog:, was nnuh potmbed about ffae
different sects of fbe ptofe^ed diildren of G>od. Why
these dtvidoos? Surdy God cannot be the andun- of
this oonfo^mi, he reasoned. If God has a Cbnrdi in
the Faith it will not be ^it i^ into Actions. In his
own words:
" While I was \aboaag xmdes Ihe extrone diffimlties
caused by the contests of these paxties oi rdigionists, I
was one day reading the Episde of James, first dieter
and fifdi verse, which reads: ' If ai^ of you kdc wisdom,
let him a^ of God, that ^edi to all men liberally, and
i^braidefh not; and it shall be givoi turn.' Never £d any
parage of Sexifttue come widi more power to the heart
of man dian dus cGd at this time to mine. It seemed to
enter widi great force into every f eding of my heart. I
re&ected oa it again and again, knowing diat if any per
son iKei6e)&. vmdom from God, I did; for how to act I did
not know, and unl^s I could get more wisdom than I then
had, I would never know; for the teachers of region of
47

48 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the different sects understood the same passages of Scrip
ture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settUng
the question by an appeal to the Bible."
The more he thought over these words the more they
affected him, until, finally, he dedded to act upon them.
Not far from his home was a beautiful grove, the foliage
of which was dense enough to give him the sedusion he
desired for private devotion. Here, on the morning of a
dear spring day, he retired for definite prayer and com
munion with God, if such things were possible.
Let me now quote from the article of B. H. Roberts in
the Americana Maga::;iiic on the " History of tlie Mor
mon Church."
"And now something strange happened. The youth
had just begun timidly to express the desire of his heart
in words, when he was sdzed upon by an in\isible power
that overcame him ; his tongue was bound so that he could
not speak. Darkness gathered about him and it seemed
for a time that he was doomed to sudden destruction. He
exerted all his powers to call upon God for deli^•erance
from this enemy — not from a merdy ' imaginary ruin,'
as he assures us, 'but from the power of some actual
bdng from the unseen world,* who possessed such strength
as tlie youth had never before encountered. Despair
seized upon him and he felt that he must abandon himself
to destruction. At this moment of dreadful alarm he saw
a pillar of light exactly over his head which shone out
above the brightness of the sun, and began gradually
descending towards him until he was envdoped within it.
As soon as the light appeared, the youth found himself
freed from the power of the enemy that had held him
bound. As the light rested upon him, he beheld within
it two personages, exactly resembling each other in form
and features, standing above him in the air, one of these,
calling Joseph by name, and pointing to the other, said ;
• This is my Bdoved Son, hear Him.' "

Joseph, gmith aaid the Qrigm of "Marmcmitm 49
It gives en^Ke of tbe mteSkxtaak teaadty of Jos^h
Smith that in the nndst of all these bewildering occur
rences he held deaify in his mind the purpose for wfaidi
he had come to the seduckd spot, die object he bad in
view in seddng the Lord. As soon, therefore, as be could
get sufficient sdf-posses»on to ^eak, he asked the Per
sonages in whose re^lendent presence he stood, whidi of
iIk sects was ti^it, and whidi he should jcun. He was
answered that he must j(Hn none of diem, for they were
all wrtMig. And die Personage who addressed him said
that all thdr creeds were an abomination in His si^it;
that those professors were all cormpt; that they drew iKar
to Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from
Him; that they tang^ for doctrines die commandm^rts
of men; they had a form of godliness, but denied the
power thereof. JosejA was again forbidden to j<nn anj^
of these sects and at the same time received a promise
that die fullness of the go^l would at some future date
be made known unto him.
When he came oitirdy to himself he found that he was
lying on his bade, looking up to heaven. With the pass
ing of the viaoa he was left without strength; but soon
recovering from his weakness he returned home.
Now Id the candid reader carefulty think over these
statonents. Here was a boy not yd fifteen years of age,
conf essedty not extra learned, not remarkable in any way
to his relatives or ndg^bors, yd sedng, feeling, there
was something deddedly wrong about the multiplication
of sects in tiie Oiurdi professedly divine and organized
through divine audiotity. How many hoys oi Mteen
years, no matter how well-educated, have b^un to think
on such matters? And is it not remaikable diat, in diis
year of our Lord 1921, and for many years past, tiiere
has been a growing conwction in die minds of men of all
diurdies, denonunations, and creeds that it is a scandal
and a disgrace to ChristendcMn, tiiat the professed follow-

50 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

ers of Christ cannot harmonize, get together, unite, and
as one force, fight the armies of evil? The boy Joseph
Smith was but a hundred years ahead of his time. Had
he seen this vision In 1920, instead of 1820, the Methodist
minister to whom he told it, instead of rebuking him and
treating his communication with contempt, might have
hailed him with delight, sent a telegram to the heads of
the Interchurch Movement that an Inspired leader had
been found, and have prided himself upon his perspi
cacity and the good fortune that had brought the youth
into his hands.
But, In 1820, he was far ahead of his time, and conse
quently received the contumely, scorn, and bitter hatred
visited upon those who dare to speak before the people
are prepared. The so-called " churches of the living
God " seemed far more interested in proselyting and add
ing converts to their particular serts and in promulgating
their differences than they were in trying to dwell in unity
with each other.
Let my readers most clearly understand at this point,
that it is upon the assumed truth of this vision and subse
quent revelations alleged to have been made to Joseph
Smith, that the Mormon Church, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints, definitely, positively, -un
flinchingly takes It stand. Its leaders do not beg the issue,
dodge it, or question it. They accept it as positively as
the Roman Catholics accept the dortrines promulgated
from the papal chair, the theosophists the commands of
the masters, the Christian Scientists Mary Baker Eddy's
text-book Science and Health, the Methodists the teach
ings of John Wesley, the Presbyterians the teachings of
Calvin, or the Lutherans the teachings of the reformed
monk of Luxemborg.
Let us hastily review the succeeding labors and experi
ences of Smith, as recorded and accepted by Mormons.
For three years he received no further vision. During

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 51
this time he hved as other young men hved, doubtless
ndther better nor worse than his neighbors, though later
on, he accuses himsdf of a "' levit\- not consistent with
that chararter which ought to be maintained by one who
was called of God as I had been." Pra5ing to God for
forgiveness, one night, another vision appeared to him.
This time it was the angd !Moroni, who announced " that
God had a work for me to do ; and that my name should
be had for good and e^Tl among all nations, kindreds and
tongues, or that it should be both good and e^"il spoken
of among all people." He also revealed that " there was
a book written upon gold plates, gi^"ing an account of the
former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from
whidi they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the
everlasting gospd was contained in it "' and that with the
book would be found two stones in silver bows — the
Urim and Thummim — which would enable him to trans
late the book.
Again and yet again Moroni appeared to him with the
same revelation, and on a fourth occasion he commanded
Joseph to tdl everything he had heard to his father. He
did so, and then further obeying the commands of IMoroni,
he went to the hiU where the sacred book was said to be.
It was near to Manchester, Ontario county, Xew York,
and is known as the hill Cumorah. Here, in a stone box,
the plates, etc., were found, but he was not allowed to
remove them. Instead, each year for four j-ears, he was
required to ^-Isit the place, after whidi he was to take
away the plates. Accordingly, on September 22, 1827,
he went for that purpose, and secured them. The news
led to strenuous efforts on the part of enemies to get them
away from him, and to frustrate these efforts he dedded
to move into Pennsylvania. A friend, ilartin Harris,
advanced him $50.00 for this purpose, and it was this
same Harris that afterwards wrote part of the translation
of the book, at Joseph's dictation. But when about one

52 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
hundred and sixteen pages had been written, Harris' desire
to show the manuscript overcame Joseph's relurtance, and
after many pledges, Harris was allowed to take the manu
script away. Violating his pledges, those to whom he
wrongfully showed the writings stole them from him.
To frustrate the evil designs of these thieves Joseph
received a revelation In which the Lord rebuked him and
forbade him attempting to retranslate that which had been
written, but instrurted him to translate from the " Smaller
Plates of Nephi," which contained a fuller history for the
period covered by the first translation, which had been
made from Mormon's abridgment of the " Larger Plates
of Nephi."
At the same time a new scribe, In the person of Oliver
Cowdery, was sent to Joseph. Persecutions also began to
be showered upon Joseph and his discovery of the plates
denounced as a fraud.
" Revelations " now came speedily one after another.
One restored the Aaronic Priesthood, " which holds the
keys of the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of
repentance, and of Baptism by Immersion for the remis
sion of sins;" then came the Priesthood of Melchizedek;
other revelations guided Joseph in his relations with his
family and followers, the organization of the Church, the
publication of the Book of Mormon (which took place in
1830), and the public ministry of the newly organized
church. At this time the spirit of persecution began to
rage against the Mormons m9re furiously than hitherto
it had done. The meetings were well attended, but when
a public baptism by immersion was announced, the mob
assembled, and that same night the prophet was arrested.
After trial, in spite of all that vindictive hatred could pro
duce against him, the accused was discharged. Yet the
same night he was again arrested, again tried in another
place, and again acquitted. From this time on, to the day
of the prophet's murder In Carthage jail, June 2.^, 1844,

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 53
the persecutions never ceased. In spite of these malicious
attacks, however, Joseph proceeded with his work. The
sick were healed, not in one but in many cases; mis
sionaries were sent to the Indians; preachings, conver
sions, and baptisms took place continually, and branches
of the Church sprang up on every hand. One of these
was at KIrtland, Ohio, and in 183 1 Joseph removed
thither, at which place new revelations were received per
taining to special individuals, the Shakers, spiritualism,
and the enlarging work of the church. In June, the com
mand came that Smith and certain elders should remove
into Missouri, preaching on the way, two by two. Here,
it was promised if they were faithful, the land of their
Inheritance, even the place for the city of the New Jeru
salem, the holy city of Zion, should be revealed to them.
On the second day of August, the first log was laid for a
house, as a foundation for Zion, in Kaw township, twelve
miles west of Independence. A site for a temple was
chosen and dedicated. Joseph now returned to KIrtland,
and In September, moved to Hiram, to the home of John
Johnson and began a revision of the English text of the
Bible, at the same time receiving most Important " com
mandments and revelations." In the meantime the Mis
souri brethren had purchased a printing press and estab
lished a complete newspaper and book-making plant at
Independence, where a monthly paper. The Evening and
Morning Star was to be published. While at Hiram, a
mob of fanatics tarred and feathered the prophet and
Sydney RIgdon, yet the following morning, Joseph, —
though scarified and defaced, — preached to the congre
gation as usual, for he had received a revelation that, for
a time, he must personally proclaim the enlarged gospel
he had received.
In April, 1832, he made his second trip to Zion (Mis
souri), but even on the journey he was followed by a mob
that sought his injury or destruction, and he had to be

54 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
protected by the captain of the boat on which the party
traveled. The publication of The Evening and Morning Star,
while It rejoiced the hearts of the Mormons, caused in
creased hostility towards them, for the editors of other
papers, publishing the prospertus of the new paper, did it
for the purpose of ridiculing it, or calumniating its editor
and generally abusing the Mormons.
Looked at in the light of later and earthly wisdom the
move into Missouri was an ill-advised one. Many among
the Mormons were a progressive, artive, alert people,
with strong religious convictions, and avowed opponents
of whiskey and slavery. These things In themselves were
enough to provoke the artive hostility of the less intelli
gent of the Missouri people, and especially of those whose
hearts were wedded to slavery.
It was not long, therefore, before persecution burst
forth with renewed fury. In July of 1833 the mob spirit
was aroused to the height of murderous wrath by the
fanatldsm of bigoted zealots, and fanned by the spread
ing of injurious statements about the Mormons in the
newspapers and by pamphlets. The outcome was a " Mani
festo " issued by the people hostile to the Mormons,
charging them with being fools and knaves for believing
In their leaders and their alleged divine revelations ; with
poverty; with being of the dregs of society, lazy, idle and
vicious ; with tampering with their slaves and seeking to
sow dissensions and raise seditions among them; with
inviting free negroes and mulattos from other states to
become Mormons and settle In Jackson County with them ;
with blaspheming God and casting contempt on His holy
religion by pretending to receive revelations direct from
heaven; by pretending to speak in unknown tongues by
dirert inspiration ; and by diverse pretenses derogatory to
God and religion, and the utter subversion of human rea-

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 55
son. This remarkable document, signed by many promi
nent citizens, then concludes :
" They (the Mormons) declare openly that their God
hath given them this county of land and that sooner or
later they must and will have possession of our land for
an inheritance; and. In fine, they have conducted them
selves on many other occasions, in such a manner, that we
believe It a duty we owe to ourselves, our wives, and
children, to the cause of public morals, to remove them
from among us,* as we are not prepared to give up our
pleasant places and goodly possessions to them, or to
receive Into the bosoms of our families, as fit companions
for our wives and daughters, the degraded and corrupt
free negroes and mulattos that are now invited to settle
among us.
" Under such a state of things, even our beautiful
county would cease to be a desirable residence, and our
situation Intolerable. We, therefore, agree, that after
timely warning, and receiving an adequate compensation
for what little property they cannot take with them, they
refuse to leave us in peace, as they found us — we agree
to use such means as may be sufficient to remove them,
and to that end we each pledge to each other our bodily
powers, our lives, fortunes and sacred honors."
Needless to say the Mormons denied the charges about
slaves, and that they had invited free negroes to join
them, though they acknowledged their poverty and their
revival of what they claimed was the New Testament
religion. They asserted what, of course, all knew was the
fact, that they had settled upon no lands their own money
had not purchased, and indignantly disclaimed that they
had ever had any intention to do otherwise.
But mobs are not made to listen to reason. Prejudice,
hatred and violence are the forces that make mobs possi
ble. This Missouri mob, on the 20th of July, 1833,
•The italics are mine — George Wliarton James.

S6 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
destroyed the printing plant at Independence and pulled
down the building which housed it, then proceeded to tar
and feather Bishop Partridge, Charies Allen and others,
while men, women, and children, driven from their homes
by awful threats, scattered through the thickets, corn
fields, woods and groves like hunted partridges.
The Mormons claim that during all these illegal pro
ceedings the Lieutenant Governor of the state, Lilburn W.
Boggs, stood by, calmly looking on, and saying to the
victims : " You now know what our Jackson boys can do,
and you must leave the county."
Three days later the mob met again, and, realizing the
determined character of Its leaders and the sad fact that
they could look for no protertlon from the duly consti
tuted officers of the law, the Mormon leaders entered into
an agreement to leave the county within a certain time.
They then appealed to the Governor of the state, Daniel
Dunklin, and In due time received a letter from him con
taining the usual platitudes about ours being a country of
laws and justice. He then continues :
" Not being willing to persuade myself that any portion
of the citizens of the state of Missouri are so lost to a
sense of these truths as to require the exercise of force.
In order to ensure a respect for them, after advising with
the Attorney-General and exercising my best judgment, I
would advise you to make a trial of the efficacy of the
laws. The judge of your drcult is a conservator of the
peace; if an affidavit is made before him by any of you,
that your lives are threatened, and you believe them In
danger, it would be his duty to have the offenders appre
hended, and bind them to keep the peace."
Following this advice from the highest executive
authority In the state, engaging counsel to prosecute their
suits, simply served further to enrage the mob, — and I
use the word advisedly, though it included many of the
leading citizens, even Christian ministers by profession.

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 57
of the county — so that on the 31st of Ortober, armed
men unroofed and partially demolished the dwelling-
houses at a Mormon settlement on the Big Blue, whipped
the men and drove out the women and children. The fol
lowing days saw outrages at the prairie settlement, about
twelve miles from Independence, and in the latter city
itself. Every attempt at self-defense on the part of the
Mormons served to enrage the mob the more, and dire
threats were made as to what would happen the following
Monday. Arming themselves, some of the Mormons
sought to protect their homes, wives and children. In a
bloody battle that followed two of the mob and one Mor
mon were killed. This started open conflict so that the
militia was called out, and both sides now being in a des
perate state of mind It was hard to find wise counsel any
where. To preserve the peace, however, Lieutenant-
Governor Boggs advised disarmament. According to the
Mormons this was but a subterfuge to, take away their
weapons and thus leave them unprotected. Anyhow It
worked out that way, and the militia now became the
active Instruments of mob violence, destroying houses and
other property, and driving out men, women and children,
so that they artually fled for their lives. Some crossed
the Missouri River, others fled to Clay, Van Buren and
Lafayette counties, but wherever they went, it was
made clear they were not wanted. Petitions were again
sent to the Governor asking for protection, and — in
accordance with a suggestion received from the Attorney-
General of the state — also asking that they might be
allowed "to organize into companies of Jackson guards
and be furnished with arms by the state, to assist in main
taining their rights against the unhallowed mob of Jack
son County."
At about this time, the prophet, who had been on an
extended mission to Canada, returned and forwarded the
following letter to the suffering saints in Missouri. I

Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

give it In full, in order that my readers may see the style
of his communications, and also that they may see the
workings of his mind upon so complex and difficult a
situation : " KIrtland Mills, Ohio,
" December lo, 1833.
" Edward Partridge, W. W. Phdps, John Whitmer,
A. S. Gilbert, John Corrlll, Isaac Morley, and all the
Saints whom it may concern :
"Beloved Brethren: — This morning's mail brought
letters from Bishop Partridge, Elders Corrlll and Phelps,
all mailed at Liberty, November 19th, which gave us the
melancholy Intelligence of your flight from the land of
your inheritance, having been driven before the face of
your enemies In that place.
" From previous letters we learned that a number of
our brethren had been slain, but we could not learn from
the letters referred to above, that there had been more
than one killed, and that one Brother Barber; and that
Brother Dibble was wounded in the bowels. We were
thankful to learn that no more had been slain, and our
daily prayers are that the Lord will not suffer His Saints,
who have gone up to His land to keep His command
ments, to stain His holy mountain with their blood.
" I cannot learn from any communication by the Spirit
to me, that Zion has forfeited her claim to a celestial
crown, notwithstanding the Lord has caused her to be
thus afflirted, except it may be some individuals who have
walked In disobedience, and forsaken the new covenant,
all such will be made manifest by their works in due time.
I have always expected that Zion would suffer some afflic
tion, from what I could learn from the commandments
which have been given. But I would remind you of a
certain clause in one which says, that after much tribula
tion Cometh the blessing. By this, and also others, and
also one received of late, I know that Zion, in the due

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 59
time of the Lord, will be redeemed; but how many will be
the days of her purification, tribulation, and affliction, the
Lord has kept hid from my eyes ; and when I inquire con
cerning this subject, the voice of the Lord is: Be still,
and know that I am God, all those who suffer for my
name shall reign with me, and he that layeth down his
life for my sake shall find It again.
" Now, there are two things of which I am ignorant,
and the Lord will not show them unto me, perhaps for a
wise purpose in Himself, I mean in some resperts, and
they are these : Why God has suffered so great a calam
ity to come upon Zion, and what the great moving cause
of this great afflirtlon is; and again, by what means he
will return her back to her inheritance, with songs of ever
lasting joy upon her head. These two things, brethren,
are In part kept back that they are not plainly shown
unto me ; but there are some things that are plainly mani
fest which have Incurred the displeasure of the Almighty.
When I contemplate upon all things that have been mani
fested, I am aware that I ought not to murmur, and do
not murmur, only In this, that those who are innocent are
compelled to suffer for the iniquities of the guilty; and I
cannot account for this, only on this wise, that the say
ing of the Savior has not been strictly observed : 'If thy
right eye offend thee, pluck It out, and cast it from thee ;
or if thy right arm offend thee, cut It off, and cast it from'
thee.' Now the fact is, if any of the members of ouri
body are disordered the rest of our body will be affected
with it, and then all are brought into bondage together;
and yet, notwithstanding all this, it is with difficulty that
I can restrain my feelings when I know that you, my
brethren with, whom I have had so many happy hours,
sitting, as it were, in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ; and
also, having the witness which I feel, and ever have felt,
of the purity of your motives, are cast out, and are as
strangers and pilgrims on the earth, exposed to hunger.

60 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
cold, nakedness, peril, sword, I say when I contemplate
this, it is with difficulty that I can keep from complaining
and murmuring against this dispensation ; but I am sensi
ble that this is not right, and may God grant that notwith
standing your great afflirtions and sufferings there may
not anything separate us from the love of Christ.
" Brethren, when we learn your sufferings, it awakens
every sympathy of our hearts; it weighs us down; we
cannot refrain from tears, yet, we are not able to realize,
only in part, your sufferings ; and I often hear the breth
ren saying, they wish they were with you, that they might
bear a part of your sufferings and I myself should have
been with you and had not God prevented it in the order
of His providence, that the yoke of affliction might be less
grievous upon you, God having forewarned me, concern
ing these things, for your sake ; and also, Elder Cowdery
could not lighten your afflictions by tarrying longer with
you, for his presence would have so much the more
enraged your enemies; therefore God hath dealt merci
fully with us. O brethren, let us be thankful that it is
as well with us as it is, and we are yet alive and perad-
venture, God hath laid up in store great good for us in
this generation, and may grant that we may yet glorify
His name.
" I feel thankful that there have no more denied the
faith ; I pray God in the name of Jesus that you all may
be kept in the faith unto the end; let your sufferings be
what they may, it is better in the eyes of God that you
should die, than that you should give up the land of Zion,
the inheritances which you have purchased with your
moneys ; for every man that giveth not up his inheritance,
though he should die, yet, when the Lord shall come, he
shall stand upon it, and with Job, in his flesh he shall see
God, therefore, this is my counsel that you retain your
lands, even unto the uttermost, and employ every lawful
means to seek redress of your enemies ; and pray to God,

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 61
day and night, to return you in peace and in safety to the
lands of your inheritance; and when the judge fail you,
appeal unto the executive; and when the executive fail
you, appeal unto the president, and when the president
fail you, and all laws fail you, and the humanity of the
people fail you, and all things else fail you but God alone,
and you continue to weary Him with your importunings,
as the poor woman did the unjust judge. He will not fail
to execute judgment upon your enemies and to avenge
His own elert that cry unto Him day and night.
" Behold, He will not fail you 1 He will come with
ten thousand of His Saints, and all His adversaries shall
be destroyed with the breath of His lips. All those who
keep their inheritances, notwithstanding they should be
beaten and driven, shall be likened unto the wise virgins
who took oil In their lamps. But all those who are unbe
lieving and fearful, will be likened unto the foolish
virgins, who took no oil in their lamps : and when they
shall return and say unto the Saints, give us of your
lands, behold, there will be no room found for them. As
respects giving deeds, I would advise you to give deeds as
far as the brethren had legal and just claims to them, and
then let every man- answer to God for the disposal
of them.
" I would suggest some ideas to Elder Phelps, not
knowing that they will be of any real benefit, but suggest
them for consideration. I would be glad if he were
here, were It possible for him to come, but dare not
advise, not knowing what shall befall us, as we are under
very heavy and serious threatenings, from a great many
people in this place.
" But, perhaps, the people in Liberty may feel willing,
God having power to soften the hearts of all men, to
have a press established there ; and if not, in some other
place ; any place where it can be the most convenient, and
it is possible to get to it ; God will be willing to have it in

62 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
any place where it can be established In safety. We
must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Again,
I desire that Elder Phelps should collect all the informa
tion, and give us a true history of the beginning and rise
of Zion, and her calamities.
" Now hear the prayer of your unworthy brother in
the new and everlasting covenant: O my God! Thou
who hast called and chosen a few through Thy weak
instrument, by commandment, and sent them to Missouri,
a place which Thou didst call Zion, and commanded Thy
servants to consecrate it unto Thyself for a place of
refuge and safety for the gathering of Thy Saints, to
build up a holy city unto Thyself ; and as Thou hast said
that no other place should be appointed like unto this,
therefore, I ask Thee in the name of Jesus Christ to
return Thy people unto their houses and their inherit
ances, to enjoy the fruit of their labors; that all the
waste places may be built up ; that all the enemies of Thy
people, who will not repent and turn unto Thee, may be
destroyed from off the face of the land; and let a house
be built and established unto Thy name, and let all the
losses that Thy people have sustained, be rewarded unto
them, even more than four fold, that the borders of Zion
may be enlarged forever; and let her be established no
more to be thrown down; and let all Thy Saints, when
they are scattered as sheep, and are persecuted, flee unto
Zion, and be established In the midst of her ; and let her
be organized according to Thy law and let this prayer
ever be recorded before Thy face. Give Thy Holy Spirit
unto my brethren, unto whom I write ; send Thine angels
to guard them, and deliver them from all evil ; and when
they turn their faces toward Zion, and bpw down before
Thee and pray, may their sins never corfie up before Thy
face, neither have place in the book of Thy remem
brance, and may they depart from all their iniquities.
Provide food for them as Thou doest for the ravens;

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 63
provide clothing to cover their nakedness, and houses that
they may dwell therein; give unto them friends in
abundance and let their names be recorded in the Lamb's
book of life, eternally before Thy face. Amen.
" Finally, brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all until His coming in His kingdom.
Joseph Smith, Jr."
The Governor's communications having seemed to be
so fair and Impartial, some of the Mormons finally
agreed to go to Independence, In spite of the threats of
the mob, under protection of a guard provided by the
Governor's order. But on their arrival they found all
hope of criminal prosecution under orderly processes of
law at an end. Instead, the Attorney-General was sent
by the Governor to " investigate," but the mob reassem
bled and clearly showed by Its Implacable spirit that
neither the dvil law nor even the influence of the execu
tive could change their purpose. This was the farcical
ending of all attempts by the officers of Missouri to bring
the offenders against the Mormons to justice.
Accordingly a petition, (a second one), was sent to the
President of the United States, and a request made to
Governor Dunklin that he join In the appeal of the Mor
mons. The Governor responded that he would examine
the petition and support It if he deemed it advisable, and
wound up his letter with the following remarkable para
graph :
" Permit me to suggest to you, that as you now have
greatly the advantage of your adversaries in public esti
mation, there is a great propriety in retaining that advan
tage, which you can easily do by keeping your adversaries
in the wrong. The laws, both civil and military, seem
deficient In affording your sodety proper protection;
nevertheless, public sentiment is a powerful corrertor of

64 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
error, and you should make it your policy to continue to
deserve it."
The movements of the mobs in Missouri seemed to
affert the people in far-away KIrtland. The walls of the
new temple that were being built had to be watched at
night to prevent their being destroyed. Yet this did not
prevent the prophet from setting out on a missionary
journey through western New York, whidh was no
sooner accomplished than he started. May 5, 1834, with
what was called " Zion's Camp" for the relief of the
persecuted saints in Missouri. They marched through
Ohio, Indiana, IHInoIs and finally reached the region of
distress about the 19th of June, having had many inter
esting experiences on the journey. The party by this
time had enlarged to over two hundred men, with twenty-
five baggage wagons. That night five armed men rode
into camp and told the Mormons they would "see hell
before morning," that sixty men were coming from Rich
mond, Ray County, and seventy more from Clay County,
to join the Jackson County mob, who had sworn their
destrurtion. That night, however, a fearful rain- and
hail-storm swept the country, and while it did little
damage to the Mormons, it scattered the mob in
confusion. Negotiations were again begun between the citizens of
Missouri and the Mormons, as it was clear that the
pledges of the Governor to replace the Mormons upon
their lands, and to return their weapons to them, would
not be fulfilled, and the hostility of the mob had not
abated. Matters were considerably hurried by the break
ing out of cholera among the members of Zion's Camp.
The prophet at first sought to stop the death ravages by
laying on of hands and prayer, as he had many times
done In the past with eminent success, but he found that
the power was taken from him, and he publicly announced

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 65
that the plague was a direct visitation upon the people
for their sins. For four days the disease raged, sixty-
eight being afflicted, of whom fourteen died.
A few days later, recognizing the indisposition of the
Governor to help resecure their lands, and the continued
hostility of the people, and to prevent bloodshed, Joseph
authorized the disbanding of Zion's Camp, and about
the same time a general appeal was sent out by the
Church for peace, justice and protection. In spite of all
opposition, all persecution, and every indication to the
contrary, the prophet still was assured that God intended
the chosen spot in Jackson County, Missouri, to be Zion,
the gathering place of the saints. In 1835 he Informed
the twelve apostles that " It was the will of God that they
should take their families to Missouri next season."
During these trying times, which might well have dis
tracted the_ attention of any man, the prophet continued
in his work of caring for the Church, translating certain
Egyptian records that had come to him, lecturing for the
elders, rebuking, counseling, and also studying Hebrew
and Greek.
In March, 1836, the temple at KIrtland, Ohio, was
dedicated, and the thousand saints present were doubtless
surprised to find the prophet himself, and the two elders,
RIgdon and Cowdery, acting as ushers In seating them.
Besides those seated there was a vast crowd outside who
could not be admitted for lack of room, so an overflow
meeting was held In the school-house.
The services began by the reading of the 96th and 24th
psalms, after which there were hymns and prayer in the
usual manner. It will be a great surprise to many
Methodists, and other Protestants, that one of their
favorite hymns was written by a Mormon, W. W. Phelps,
and was first sung at the dedication of this temple.
These are the words:

66 Utah, the Land of Blossoming VaUeys

" O happy souls, who pray
Where God appoints to hear !
O happy saints, who pay
Their constant service there !
We'll praise Him still
And happy we
Who love the way
To Zion's hill.
" No burning heat by day.
Nor blast of evening air.
Shall take our health away.
If God be with us there.
He is our sun.
And He our shade
To guard our head
By night or noon.
'*God Is the only Lord,
Our shield and our defense;
With gifts His hands are stored,
We draw our blessings thence.
He will bestow
On Jacob's race
Peculiar grace,
And glory, too."
Another of the popular hymns of the Mormons (which
I have many times heard sung with great unction),
written by the same author, was also sung on this
occasion :
"Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation ;
No longer as strangers on earth need we roam ;
Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation,
And shortly the hour of redemption will come ;

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 67
When all that was promised the Saints will be given.
And none will molest them from morn until even ;
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden;
And Jesus will say to all Israel, Come home.
"We'll love one another, and never dissemble,
But cease to do evil, and ever be one ;
And while the ungodly are fearing and tremble,
We'll watch for the day when the Savior will come ;
When all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And none will molest them from morn until even ;
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden ;
And Jesus will say to all Israel, Come home.
"In faith we'll rely on the arm of Jehovah
To guide through these last days of trouble and gloom;
And, after the scourges and harvest are over,
We'll rise with the just when the Savior doth come.
Then all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And they will be crowned as the angels of heaven,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Christ and His people will ever be one."
The dedicatory prayer, offered on that occasion. Is
claimed to have been given by revelation to the prophet
Joseph. Whatever its origin, It Is a noble and majestic
composition, full of wisdom and in the true spirit of sup
plication, faith and love.
In the meantime many of the vidims of the persecu
tions in Missouri had moved Into Caldwell, Daviess, and
Carroll Counties, their chief settlement being at Far
West in Caldwell, their hope being that, having moved
into the untracked wilds, they would there at least be
allowed to establish their homes and live in accordance
with their own ideas. Those who had moved into Clay
County were now requested to leave — this, however,

68 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

was done in a kind and considerate manner — and the
mob of Daviess County was demanding the same of the
Mormons who had settled there.
Events now began to move with greater rapidity. The
hostility to the Mormons was increasing In Ohio, and not
only that, but the prophet was meeting with fearful
troubles of several serious kinds among his own people.
The year 1837 was one of reckless speculation through
out the country, and some of the Mormons in KIrtland,
unfortunately, were not strong enough in spiritual things
to resist the temptation to make money swiftly. As the
fruits of this spirit of selfishness, evil surmlslngs, fault
finding, disunion, dissension, and apostasy followed in
quick succession, and a bank, largely organized by the
saints, failed, owing to the speculations of one of its
officers. Even some of the elect, the twelve apostles,
were Infected by the craving for easy money, and the
whole Church began to suffer as from a blight. In this
crisis Joseph did what nothing but inspiration or great
statesmanship could have suggested. He sent a mission
to England, and at the same time began to take positive
steps to purge the Church of those who had backslidden,
or apostatized, and Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and
David Whitmer, the three first witnesses to assert the
divine origin of the Book of Mormon, were all severed
from the Church.
In the meantime, in spite of all hostility, the work
progressed at Far West, Missouri, and It was much
hastened in January, 1838, by the prophet's presence, he
having been compelled to flee, with Sidney RIgdon, from
KIrtland. On the following 4th of July, Sidney Rigdon
was the orator of the day at the Independence Day Cele
bration at Far West, and his speech has ever since been
condemned as being too bitter against the mobs, and
wrong In spirit, as It contained threats as to what the
Mormons would do did the mobs again assail them.

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 69
They were soon put to the test. The Mormons in
Missouri now numbered about 12,000, and about 500
more, who had fled from Kirtland, soon joined them.
The spirit of the mob is well described by Bancroft in his
volume on Utah :
"Right or wrong, law or no law, and whether in
accord with the letter or the spirit or constitution or gov
ernment of the United States or not, the people of Mis
souri had determined that they would go to any length
before they would allow the saints to obtain political
ascendancy in that quarter."
The trouble really began at Gallatin, Daviess County,
on the 6th of August, 1838. A state election was in
progress and twelve Mormons appeared at the polls to
vote. Peniston, a candidate for the legislature, made a
violent harangue against them to the crowd assembled,
and while the Mormons were firm in their resolve to cast
their ballots, a tumult ensued in which some of the Mor
mons and mob were Injured. This tumult led to serious
consequences, for Joseph and others went to call upon a
certain justice of the peace to inquire as to threats he had
made, and on being asked by Joseph to write out a pledge
to do the Mormons justice if they were brought before
him, he, later, swore out a warrant for the arrest of
Joseph and one of his companions. This arrest was
made and consequently angered the Mormons, and at the
same time urged on the mob spirit. Then, to add fuel
to the fire. Governor Boggs, of Missouri, ordered out the
militia. Again and again the mob threatened the Mor
mons of DeWitt, and the militia ostensibly prevented an
uprising. But another event occurred at this time to
increase the anger of the mob. The persecutions in Ohio
had led the saints to flee from KIrtland, and they came
to Missouri, to their appointed Zion. There were 105
families, comprising 529 souls, (256 males, 273 females).
They had their teams and progressed in orderly fashion,

70 Utah, the Land of Blossoming VaUeys

with various adventures more or less exdting until they
arrived at their appointed destination. The arrival of
so large a body of Mormons doubtless helped inflame
the Missourlans, and new mobs were raised. Mormon
houses fired upon, and even the people shot at when they
left their homes to secure food. Finally professed
mediators came from the mob, promising that no harm
should be done to the Mormons, and their property should
be paid for, if they would leave. Seeing that justice
could not be had either from the civil authorities or the
militia, the Mormons dedded to move, and in the face of
incredible hardships set forth for Caldwell. Several died
on the way.
But nothing contented the mobs of Missouri but com
plete routing of the Mormons. Driven to desperation, a
band of them resisted the mob at Buncombe, where
several on both sides were killed. This, of course, was
magnified by the mob into " a massacre by the Mor
mons " and the Governor was again appealed to, and
finally, on October 27, 1838, he issued the order which
has sent his name down to posterity as that of a cruel
executive. In this order to General Clark, he daims to
have been credibly Informed that the Mormons are " in
an attitude of open and avowed defiance of the laws, and
(that they have) made open war upon the people of the
state." He then continues :
" Your orders are, therefore, to hasten your operations
and endeavor to reach Richmond, In Ray County, with
all possible speed. The Mormons must be treated as
enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the
state, if necessary, for the public good. Their outrages
are beyond all description."
With such an attitude officially expressed against them
one can well understand how the mob now treated the
Mormons. Self-defense, of course, was treason to the
state, to be ruthlessly crushed, hence, when about twenty-

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 71
eight of their number gathered together for self-protec
tion at Haun's Mill, a mob of 240 came down upon them,
and without warning, fired upon them, killing or mortally
wounding eighteen, and then proceeded to rob the houses,
wagons and tents of bedding and clothing, drove off
horses and wagons, and, it is charged, even stripped the
bodies of the slain.
Now a mob marched on Far West, where the Mormon
militia was on guard, and through the treachery of the
commanding colonel, the prophet, together with several
of his leading men, was taken into custody. They were
threatened with death, the orders were actually given to
Brigadier-General Doniphan to take them Into the public
square at Far West and shoot them. To this wicked
order from Samuel D. Lucas, Major-General Command
ing, Doniphan returned the following reply :
" It is a cold-blooded murder. I will not obey your
order. My brigade shall march for Liberty tomorrow
morning, at 8 o'clock; and if you execute these men, I
will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal, so
help me God."
Flagrantly insubordinate as was this conduct of Gen
eral Doniphan's, he was never called to account for it,
and the Mormons have ever remembered his brave and
heroic defense of their prophet, when it was almost as
much as his own life was worth to dare to take
such a stand.
There now sprang up a rivalry among certain of the
militia generals for possession of Joseph and the other
distinguished prisoners, and undoubtedly It was owing to
this fact that they were ultimately released, although they
were tried before a hostile judge, held for further trial
and confined in Liberty jail. The Missouri legislature
meeting about this time, the case of the Mormons
naturally excited much attention and took up much of
Its time. The letters or petitions written to the legls-

72 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

lature by the prophet are open, manly, upright pleas for
nothing but fairness and justice. In the meantime the
Mormons in the different counties In Missouri began to
prepare for leaving the state. In accordance with the gov
ernor's order. The year 1839 was a sad one for them.
Where should they go? Their chief shepherd in jail,
and kept there, contrary to law, month after month, they
knew not what to do. In April, the prisoners were
removed to Gallatin, Daviess County. The following day
their "trial" began. They were held over, but a few
days later secured a change of venue to Boone County.
The guard that was charged with the duty of taking the
prisoners got drunk, and thus gave them an opportunity
to escape, which they did.
At almost the same time the mob was destroying the
property abandoned by the saints at Far West, the latter
having decided to remove to Quincy, Illinois, where on
Monday, April 22, the prophet himself arrived. Imme
diately he set to work to find a home for his persecuted
flock, yet, in spite of this absorbing work, he found time
to dictate history, hold conferences with officials and indi
viduals, help select hymns for the Mormon hymn-book,
administer to the sick and do the thousand and one things
a true pastor is ever ready to do for his people. Com
merce was chosen as a site, though it was supposed to be
an unhealthful location. This was soon Included in a
larger location which was named Nauvoo. While the
saints were at work establishing their homes here the
prophet, together with Sidney Rigdon, Ellas Higbee and
Orrin P. Rockwell, were sent as a delegation to Washing
ton to seek redress for the wrongs perpetrated upon the
Mormons in Missouri. It may be ag well to state here
that, in spite of much expressed sympathy, the Federal
government from President Martin Van Buren down,
refused to art, placing the whole responsibility upon the
State of Missouri. It can well be understood that timid

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 73
poUtidans, seeking votes and influence, would not care
to antagonize a whole state. Hence Joseph, though
sadly disappointed, soon returned, to devote his attention
to the building up of Nauvoo. Remembering all the
experiences of the past, he drew up a charter, which all
who have examined it pronotmce a master-piece. It was
passed through the state legislature without any great
influence, yet in after years the astutest lawyers of the
country professed to beheve that no sudi charter could
have been gained save by undue, or remarkably powerful,
influence. By it the dty was given unusual control over
its own affairs. Rapidly the dty grew. The pohtidans
were anxious to condhate so large a body of people, and
each poHtical party sought to win the support of the
Mormons. In the meantime the twelve apostles in England were
having a wonderfully successful time, and cheered the
hearts of the saints by their reports of large numbers of
conversions and baptisms.
Then, Jtme 4, 1841, Joseph was arrested on a demand
from Missouri, but a writ of habeas corpus was obtained
in Quincy, and Judge Stephen A. Douglas, (afterwards
the noted disputant with Lincoln), happening to come
into Quincy, appointed a hearing on the following Tues
day, in Monmouth, Warren County. At the hearing,
Joseph was Uberated, much to the dehght of the saints.
Soon after this, (September ist), Joseph preached a
sermon that, in the hght of present day thought, can be
regarded as nothing less than remarkable. Said he :
" I preached to a large congregation — desiring to per
suade the saints to trust in God when sick, and not in an
arm of flesh, and live by faith and not by medidne, or
poison; and when they were sick, and had called for the
Elders to pray for them, and they were not healed, to
use herbs and mild food."
A legion of nulitia was organized at Nauvoo, of which

74 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Joseph was elected Lieutenant-General. This was a
move towards self-protection, in view of the inability
shown by the authorities in Missouri to control the mobs.
The next few months were full of excitement, at times,
for the prophet, for in them the wickedness and duplicity
of Dr. John C. Bennett, one of the fiercest of those who
have assailed the prophet and Mormonism, was revealed,
and, of course, it was necessary to disfellowship him,
though he had held the confidence of the Mormons from
the prophet down. Then two attempts were made to
extradite Joseph to Missouri, one on a charge that he was
accessory to an attempted murder of Governor Boggs,
the other by the resuscitation of an old charge of " mur
der, treason, burglary, theft, etc.," by the action of the
traitor and exposed scoundrel, Bennett. To be arrested,
released on habeas corpus, and again arrested and
released, with all the attendant excitement, showed how
determined the enemies of Joseph were to get him in
their power.
It was during these troublous times that Joseph
prophesied, (August 6, 1842), that the saints would con
tinue to suffer much afflirtlon and would be driven from
their homes. Many would apostatize, others would be
put to death by persecutors or lose their lives in conse
quence of exposure or disease, and some would live to
go and assist in making settlements, and build cities, and
see the saints become a mighty people in the midst of the
Rocky Mountains.
On the 23rd of June the prophet was again arrested
by a sheriff of Jackson County, Missouri, aided by a
sheriff belonging to Illinois. Fortunately passers-by
heard the prophet's call for help, and a writ of habeas
corpus was sued out, and after the usual legal squabble,
complicated by writs for the arrest of the two sheriffs,
Joseph was taken to Nauvoo and there released. The
outcome of this was that the two sheriffs made appHca-

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 75
tion for a posse, to retake the prophet, but Governor Ford
of Illinois refused the request, and also wrote to the Gov
ernor of Missouri stating why he had done so.
Agitation now began in Carthage and other places in
Illinois, to drive out the Mormons, as had been done in
Missouri. Many reasons for this can be given, but they
have all been referred to. Jealousy may have had a
place, and fear of the power of the growing city of
Nauvoo, for it must not be forgotten that " In four years
It rose from a warehouse or two and a few half-tumbled-
down shacks on the banks of the river to the dignity of
being the first city in Illinois In population and commer
cial enterprise, and also gave promise of developing into
a manufacturing center of great importance."
With a vision of the saints engaged in every kind of
constructive work, quickened, doubtless, by the presence
of accomplished artisans from England, Scotland, the
north of Ireland, as well as from eastern manufacturing
centers, the prophet saw the river damned to give power
for every kind of factory, and buildings arising on every
hand, and had he lived, and the persecutions ceased, there
Is no telling what might have developed.
But Fate ordered otherwise. The almost illimitable
powers granted by the legislature in the Nauvoo charter
were to produce greater evils than they were designed to
prevent. Much of the city legislation based upon this
charter was ill-advised and extravagant. It really made
the city an independent republic within the republic, and
with almost as much power, constitutionally, as the state
itself possessed. It can well be imagined with what dis
favor and ill-will other and competing cities looked upon
Nauvoo. Furthermore, the trickery of politicians, seek
ing their own advancement, led to false steps being taken
which had disastrous results. In' addition, the Church, as
never before, it seemed, was cursed with dissensions and
apostasy. It cannot be regarded, too, as anything but

76 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
unfortunate, that the Mormons held the balance of politi
cal power in Illinois. Each party sought their aid, but
as Governor Ford later remarked, "they were willing
and anxious for the Mormon votes at elections, but they
were unwilling to risk their popularity with the people,
by taking part in their favor, even when law, and justice,
and the constitution were all on their side."
Perhaps the most jealous of all the dties of the grow
ing power of Nauvoo was Carthage. This Is clearly
shown in a " Preamble and Resolutions " passed at an
anti-Mormon meeting held there September 6, 1843. In
this paper the Mormons are spoken of as being either
equally reckless and unprincipled as the prophet himself,
" or else made his pliant tools by the most absurd cre
dulity that has astonished the world since its foundation."
Hence, when certain leaders of the Church apostatized
and started the publication of a paper. The Expositor, in
Nauvoo, which was unlimited In its abuse of the prophet
and his followers, and the City Council destroyed the
paper and its printing-plant, on the ground that it was a
public nuisance, this high-handed and very unwise pro
ceeding was used by the Carthage people as another proof
of the lawlessness of the prophet and his followers. The
owners of The Expositor swore out warrants for the
arrest of Joseph and the City Council. He applied to
the Municipal Court for a writ of habeas corpus, which
was granted, and he was released. This fired the mob
spirit not only in Carthage but In Warsaw, and when it
was known that mobs were coming to Nauvoo to seize
the prophet, he, as Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo
Legion, and Mayor, placed the city under martial law.
The excitement became so intense that Brigham Young
and all the apostles were called from their eastern mis
sions. Governor Ford also came to Carthage to see for
himself the state of affairs. Joseph invited him to come
to Carthage and make a thorough investigation, but for

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 77
— the time being Ford seemed to have come under the
influence of Joseph's enemies. When it was known the
mob was coming, the prophet declared that if he and his
brother Hyrum were taken they would be massacred, and
his friends were so urgent for his safety that he and
several others started with the intention of fleeing to the
Rocky Mountains. But the prophet's wife sent a mes
senger to him urging him to come back, and this plea was
enlarged by others who declared that Governor Ford had
pledged him protertion. To these pleas Joseph replied:
" If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to
myself," and he immediately returned. As soon as he
was in Nauvoo, however, he learned that Governor Ford
had rescinded his promise of a guard to protert him and
at the same time demanded his immediate presence in
Carthage for trial. On June 25, 1844, Joseph and his
brother, and all the others charged with riot in the
destrurtion of The Expositor, gave themselves up to Con
stable Bettlsworth. Again they were pledged protertion
by the Governor. Soon after they were in the constable's
hands Joseph and Hyrum were served with another writ,
charging them with treason. At the trial on the riot
charge the defendants were bound over, but as they left
the court Joseph and Hyrum were re-arrested on a false
mittimus. The Governor was appealed to, but refused to
interfere, and therefore, they were taken to jail. A num
ber of their friends were allowed to go with them. The
night was spent together. The following day the prophet
had an interview with the Governor in die jail, in which
the former urged that if the Governor went to Nauvoo
he be taken along, as he was sure his life was in jeopardy
if he was compelled to remain in Carthage.
This proved to be only too true. Two days later the
Grovernor went, with some troops, to Nauvoo, for what
real purpose no one has ever found out. He left the
Carthage Grays (composed of the prophet's sworn

78 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

enemies) ostensibly to protert him. About five in the
evening a quiet mob of some hundred men came to the
jail, fired their guns to intimidate the guards, gained
entrance and fired upon the prisoners. Hyrum was shot
twice and fell dead; bullets poured into the room, Joseph
responded with shots from his revolver, and then, as he
sprang into the window, two bullets entered his body
from behind, and one entered his breast from outside.
He fell outward, into the hands of his enemies, exclaim
ing, " O Lord, my God ! " Elder John Taylor, who was
in the room, was wounded, but soon recovered, later to
become President of the Church, and Elder Willard
Richards, also present, escaped as by a miracle.
Thus ended the remarkable life of one of the most
remarkable men of American history.
In reading over the prophet's letters and his diary one
cannot but feel that here was a manly man, a very human
man, in spite of the fact that he powerfully felt the divine
commission upon him, one who must have impressed
those about him with his love, his sympathy, his wisdom
and understanding. On one occasion when the twelve
apostles remonstrated with him for being harsh with
them in one of his letters, and in believing evil of them
upon insufficient and unreliable testimony, he replied:
" I have sometimes spoken too harshly from the
impulse of the moment, and inasmuch as I have wounded
your feelings, brethren, I ask your forgiveness, for I love
you and will hold you up with all my heart, in all right
eousness before the Lord, and before all men. . . .
And I will now covenant with you before God, that I
will not listen to or credit any derogatory report against
any of you, nor condemn you upon any testimony
beneath the heavens, short of that testimony which is
infallible, until I can see you face to face, and know of a
surety; and I do place unremitted confidence in your
word, for I believe you to be men of truth. And I ask

JOHN TAYLOR, THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE MORMON CHURCH.

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormomsm 79
the same of you when I tell you anything, that you place
equal confidence in my word, for I will not tell you I
know anything that I do not know."
One remarkable fact is evident in all of the prophet's
dealings with the members of the Church during his life
time. He certainly held them to high standards, and
when they were guilty of conduct unbecoming their pro
fessions a council was called and they were unhesitat
ingly cut off from fellowship. A score, a hundred, of
such cases could be cited, where men of influence, of
strong personality, of money, were cast out because of
their sins and their impenitence. This was called " deliv
ering them over to the buffetings of Satan." In some
cases it resulted in repentance, and in others, in violent
hostility to the prophet and his followers. Many of the
fierce attacks made upon the church were the endeavors
to " get even " of those who had been thus disciplined.
There can be no question but it was this that ultimately
led to Joseph's death.
Yet, he being dead yet speaketh. The work he began
has never ceased. The helm of the church was soon
firmly grasped by a master-hand, that of Brigham Young,
and by him it was piloted, through equally stormy scenes,
into the final haven of rest now enjoyed in Utah.
Who can explain Joseph Smith? What are "revela
tions from God" ? What is their test? Is it not beyond
all reason that a lad, born of poor parents, devoid of any
save the commonest education, too poor to buy books,
should have accomplished what he did In less than forty
years, unless there were some great reason for it?
Let any one, even a literary genius, after forty years of
life, try to write a companion volume to the Book of
Mormon, and then almost daily for a number of years
give out " revelations " by the score that internally har
monize one with another, at the same time formulate a
^system of doctrine for a new church, Introduce many new

80 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
principles, resuscitate extinct priesthoods, and formulate
a system of church government which has no superior
on earth.
Would he succeed in making the system coherent?
Could he influence scores of intelligent, wise, thoughtful,
educated, rehglously trained men, like John Taylor, Dr.
Richards, and scores of others, besides attracting thou
sands to the fold of his church, as did Joseph Smith?
Even if one were assured that the prophet was an im
postor, that does not lessen the marvel. The mystery,
the riddle, the problem, is even greater than before. Even
if he be explained on the ground that he was a mystic
gifted with superior psychic powers, the riddle still
remains, the problem is still unsolved.
I offer no explanation.
That given by the Mormon Church is the full accepta
tion of Joseph's own claim for himself. Upon this
acceptation the Church of the Latter-Day Saints is built.
Without It the State of Utah, as It Is today, with its won
derful history, its conflicts between saints and gentiles,
its final peaceful blending into one reasonably coherent
population, alike proud of the state and its history and
achievements, could not have come into being.
Whatever one's personal opinion of Joseph Smith and
his revelations may be, there Is no concealing the wonder
ment that seizes one at the fact that this so-called ignorant
youth, this self-educated man, martyred at thirty-nine
years of age, had been able to formulate a " bible " of
his own ; had Issued his Word of Wisdom; had received
hundreds of " revelations" that even his severest critics
and bitterest enemies cannot deny have a remarkable
coherence ; had attracted a number of well-educated, level
headed, keenly intelligent business men as well as minis
ters of the gospel, who yielded to his autocratic rule with
a submissiveness little short of marvelous ; and had gath
ered from all parts of the earth proselytes, who, whatever

Joseph Smith and the Origin of Mormonism 81
other qualities they failed to possess, were so devoted to
their prophet and leader as to be willing to follow him to
the ends of the earth, through incredible hardships, and
even joyously to martyrdom. To deny to such a man a
wonderful power over the human heart and Intellert is
absurd. Only fanatical prejudice can ignore it. However
he may be accounted for by the reasoning mind, Joseph
Smith, the Mormon Prophet, was one of the wonders of
his time. That he is not an enigma to his followers (as
he certainly is to his critics) is only another proof of his
wonderfulness.

CHAPTER IV
BRIGHAM YOUNG, RELIGIONIST AND STATESMAN
Joseph Smith was dead — murdered in Carthage jail.
His flock was terrorized, — as sheep harried by wolves on
every hand. .Whither should they turn? Whence flee,
they, who, hitherto, had relied upon their prophet for
guidance? Had God forever deserted them? Were all
their high hopes to come to naught? Were they to be
destroyed, root and branch, as their enemies threatened,
unless they would leave the country for good and all ? To
whom should they turn for help, consolation, direction?
Who was now the leader of the church? What pro
vision — if any — had Joseph made for his successor?
His enemies were assured that at his death, the Church as
an organization, would go to pieces, and this, doubtless,
accounted for their determination to slay him.
But expectations of enemies and fears of timid believers
alike were all wasted mental efforts. It may well be ques
tioned whether any one of the Mormon leaders of the
time, even the prophet himself, realized the strength,
power, and undeniable mastership of one of their number,
honored even though he had already become by the
marked confidence of his leader. Unconsdously they
were developing one of the most remarkable statesmen of
his century.
It may well and naturally here be asked: What is it
makes the statesman ? What is it stamps a man as great ?
If the seizing of the helm of a young church, still in
the process of being founded amongst a population the
82

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman 83
most hostile, and at the same time threatened with apos
tasy and false leadership from within, and piloting it with
firm, strong and yet kindly hands to safety and strength ;
if the keeping together of a dispossessed and persecuted
people, robbed of their homes and possessions, hunted as
though they were wild beasts, and so encouraging them that
they never lost faith In God or their newly- founded church
and Its leaders; If the ability to cheer these people while
they waited, for weary months, in winter quarters, for the
signal to start on one of the most fearful overland trips,
and then leading the way for them and confidently await
ing their coming; If the gathering together of inchoate
masses of humanity from half the countries of Europe, as
well as of the eastern and middle-west states ; the condurt-
ing and guiding them out Into the heart of an unknown
and trackless desert, inhabited only by the Indians, and
at the time, belonging to a neighboring though hostile
country; the training of them In the arts of agriculture,
under the new conditions of irrigation; the encouraging
of them to the establishment of beet-sugar factories, cot
ton, woolen and flouring mills, the planting out of alfalfa
fields, of orchards of every kind of deciduous fruits; the
leaving his impress upon the educational Institutions of
the state, so that a dozen or more of them bear his name ;
the equal dominating of the legal machinery of his state;
the putting his shaping hand upon the ecclesiastical archi
terture of his dty and causing to be erected two of the
notable structures of the United States; the encouraging
of the drama and music among his people so that they
built their own theatres and conducted their own perform
ances, trained their own youths and maidens in song until
their choirs became world-famed, and the organ of their
chief tabernacle was recognized — though home-con
structed — as one of the most massive and effective organs
in the world — I say, if the doing of these things consti
tute statesmanship and show greatness, power, genius in

84 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
a man, then Brigham Young, regardless of all that has
been, or may be said against him, Is unquestionably one
of the great statesmen of American history.
I doubt whether any other man of equal prominence
has had so much virulent hostility poured upon his head.
Brigham Young has been denounced as impostor, tyrant,
false-prophet, promulgator of the hated system of polyg
amy, responsible for the Mountain Meadow Massacre and
the death of many " apostates " and open enemies of the
Mormon faith, bold defier of the United States Govern
ment and its duly authorized officials, falsifier of his
accounts, relentless in crushing, even to the death, all
opposition to his will, an untrue friend, a consummate
hypocrite, and a master in all the arts of conscious vil
lainy. That he was a perfect man not even his best
friends will contend, but the more one studies his life,
weighs his acts, and balances his professions and deeds,
the more is he convinced of his sincerity, from his stand
point. In his leadership of the Mormon Church. Indeed,
his whole life may be taken as an exemplification of the
following declaration made by him at a conference, held
in Boston, Mass., in 1843:
" If this work — (that of the Mormon Church) — does
not live, I do not want to live; for It is my life, my joy,
my all; and if it sinks, God knows I do not want to
swim." When men who write books to denounce him are yet
compelled to write of Brigham Young in the following
strain, it is not unreasonable to suppose he was a man of
unusual power. In 1913, Frank J. Cannon and George L.
Knapp, with Revell as publisher, issued their Brigham
Young and His Mormon Empire. In their introduction
they say :
" In the middle decades of the nineteenth century,
there arose in America a man destined to a career more
strange and incredible than most romancers have dared to

BRIGHAM YOUNG, SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE
MORMON CHURCH.

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman 85
Imagine for their heroes. That man was Brigham Young.
" Bom on a soil saturated with New England Puritan
ism, he became a follower and then a leader of the Moham
medanism of the west. Born in a community which
held that Heaven had withdrawn from man, and which
admitted no revelation less than eighteen centuries old, he
was accepted by half a million people as the mouth-piece
and representative of God. Bom of a race In which
monogamy had been the accustomed form of marriage
since before the dawn of history, he is famous today as
having been husband of a score of wives, sire of a half-
hundred offspring.
" Brigham Young was not one of those children of for
tune who move with the current of the age, and draw
greatness from the greatness of their country. Good for
tune did not pass him by altogether, but neither did she
embarrass him with favors. Brigham never came in con
tact with the real life of the nation, save to defy it, and
flout it, and do his best to change it. He set up an Asiatic
despotism on American soil. He maintained a Moham
medan marriage system in a Puritanical land. He built a
theocracy in an age which already had witnessed the birth
of Renan and Ingersoll. He took a broken and dispirited
people, led them across a thousand miles of desert, and
with them founded his kingdom in the fertile valley by an
inland sea.
" The man who could achieve these things, even with
some aid from fortune, was a man of no common calibre.
Without a day of military training, he became a very
efficient general-in-chief to his "people. Without an hour's
reading of law, he made himself judge and law-giver —
and In the main a just one — for a whole community.
Where his own knowledge was deficient, he had skill to
use the ability of others ; and to this day the finances, the
government, the merchandising, the architecture, the social

86 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
life, and even the agriculture of the Mormon community,
bear the stamp put upon them by Brigham Young.
" He matched his wits against the might of the United
States government and did not come off second best. He
yielded in outward seeming to federal power ; but in real
ity he was Emperor of his little realm to the hour of his
death, and his subjects never doubted his supremacy. He
drove federal appointees in disgrace from his kingdom,
and took their positions for himself and his favorites. No
matter how overwhelming the power with which he was
dealing, Brigham Young never was a suppliant. He
stormed, bullied, lied, intrigued, finessed, cajoled; he
never pleaded for mercy nor owned himself In need of
mercy. He met chastisement with fresh provocation.
Knowing polygamy to be the most offensive of his sins in
the eyes of the nation, he lived openly with a score of
wives, sent his most honored polygamous apostle to Con
gress as a territorial delegate, and permitted his subord
inate priests to debate with Christian clergymen on the
divinity of plural marriage.
" He has became a central figure of weird and distorted
legends. He has been made the idol of a worshipping
people. But never has he taken his place in calm, impar
tial history."
Few men have had more pages written about them and
not a few of them have been In the highest degree, slan
derous and abusive. I shall neither malign nor defend
him. I wish simply to present his work as I see it, accept
ing his own professions at their face value and as carried
out in his life.
It should never be forgotten that Brigham Young never
claimed to be the originator of Mormonism, and so far as
I can learn, only once did he claim Divine inspiration as a
prophet. His " revelation " was given at the time of the
exodus from Illinois, and is well worth quoting in full:
"The Word and Will of the Lord, given through

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman 87
President Brigham Young, at the Winter Quarters of the
Camp of Israel, Omaha Nation, West Bank of Missouri
River near Council Bluffs, January 14th, 1847.
" I. The word and will of the Lord concerning the
Camp of Israel in their joumeyings to the West.
" 2. Let all the people of the Churdi of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, and those who journey with them,
be organized Into companies, with a covenant and promise
to keep all the commandments and statutes of the Lord
our God.
"3. Let the companies be organized witli captains of
hundreds, captains of fifties, and captains of tens, with a
president and his two counselors at their head, under the
direction of the Twelve Apostles.
" 4. And this shall be our covenant, that we will walk
in all the ordinances of the Lord.
" 5. Let each company provide themselves with all
the teams, wagons, provisions, clothing, and other neces
saries for the journey that they can.
" 6. When the companies are organized, let them go
to with their might, to prepare for those who are to tarry.
" 7. Let eadi company widi tlieir captains and presi
dents decide how many can go next spring; then choose
out a suffident number of able-bodied and expert men, to
take teams, seeds, and farming utensils, to go as pioneers
to prepare for putting In spring crops.
"8. Let eadi company bear an equal proportion,
according to the dividend of their property, in taking the
poor, the widows, the fatherless, and the families of tliose
who have gone Into the army, that the cries of the widow
and the fatherless come not up into the ears of the Lord
against this people.
*' 9. Let each company prepare houses, and fields for
raising grain, for those who are to remain behind this sea
son, and this is the will of the Lord concerning his people.
" 10. Let every man use all his influence and property

§8 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

to remove this people to the place where the Lord shall
locate a Stake of Zion.
" II. And if ye do this with a pure heart, in all faith
fulness, ye shall be blessed; you shall be blessed in your
flocks, and in your herds, and in your fields, and in your
houses, and in your families.
" 12. Let my servants Ezra T. Benson and Erastus
Snow organize a company.
" 13. And let my servants Orson Pratt and Wilford
Woodruff organize a company.
" 14. Also, let my servants Amasa Lyman and George
A. Smith organize a company.
" 15. And appoint presidents, and captains of hun
dreds, and of fifties, and of tens.
" 16. And let my servants that have been appointed
go and teach this my will to the saints, that they may be
ready to go to a land of peace.
" 17. Go thy way and do as I have told you, and fear
not thine enemies ; for they shall not have power to stop
my work.
" 18. Zion shall be redeemed in mine own due time.
" 19. And if any man shall seek to build up himself,
and seeketh not my counsel, he shall have no power, and
his folly shall be made manifest.
" 20. Seek ye and keep ye all your pledges one with
another, and covet not that which is thy brother's.
"21. Keep yourselves from evil to take the name of
the Lord in vain, for I am the Lord your God, even the
God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac,
and of Jacob.
" 22. I am He who led the children of Israel out of the
land of Egypt, and my arm is stretched out in the last
days to save my people Israel.
" 23. Cease to contend one with another, cease to
speak evil one of another.

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman 89
" 24. Cease drunkenness, and let your words tend to
edifying one another.
" 25. If thou borrowest bf thy neighbor, thou shalt
return that which thou hast borrowed; and if thou canst
not repay, then go straightway and tell thy neighbor, lest
he condemn thee.
" 26. If thou shalt find that which thy neighbor has
lost, thou shall make diligent search till thou shalt deliver
it to him again.
" z'j. Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou
hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward ; for it is the free
gift of the Lord thy God and thou art his steward.
" 28. If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing,
with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and
thanksgiving. " 29. If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God
with supplication that your souls may be joyful.
" 30. Fear not thine enemies, for they are in mine
hands, and I will do my pleasure with them.
"31. My people must be tried in all things, that they
may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them,
even the glory of Zion, and he that will not bear chastise
ment is not worthy of my kingdom.
" 32. Let him that is Ignorant learn wisdom by humb
ling himself and calling upon the Lord his God, that his
eyes may be opened that he may see, and his ears opened
that he may hear.
"33. For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to
enlighten the humble and contrite, and to the condemna
tion of the ungodly.
" 34. Thy brethren have rejected you and your testi
mony, even the nation that has driven you out ;
" 35. And now cometh the day of their calamity, even
the days of sorrow, like a woman that Is taken in travail ;
and their sorrows shall be great, unless they speedily
repent; yea, very speedily.

90 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
" 36. For they killed the prophets, and them that were
sent unto them, and they have shed innocent blood, which
crieth from the ground against them.
" 2)7- Therefore marvel not at these things, for ye are
not pure, ye cannot yet bear my glory ; but ye shall behold
it if ye are faithful in keeping all my words that I have
given you from the days of Adam to Abraham; from
Abraham to Moses ; from Moses to Jesus and his apostles ;
and from Jesus and his apostles to Joseph Smith, whom I
did call upon by mine angels my ministering servants ; and
by mine own voice out of the heavens to bring forth
my work,
" 38. Which foundation he did lay, and was faithful
and I took him to myself.
" 39. Many have marveled because of his death, but
it was needful that he should seal his testimony with his
blood, that he might be honored, and the wicked might be
condemned. "40. Have I not delivered you from your enemies,
only In that I have left a witness of my name?
"41. Now, therefore, hearken, O ye people of my
church; and ye elders listen together, you have received
my kingdom.
" 42. Be diligent in keeping all my commandments,
lest judgment come upon you, and your faith fail you, and
your enemies triumph over you. So no more at present.
Amen, and Amen."
Though Brigham did not publish more " revelations,"
he fully believed that Joseph Smith was divinely inspired,
that the Book of Mormon was a new revelation of God's
truth to his people, and that God as distinctly spoke to His
children In this latter-day through Joseph Smith as in the
past He had done through Moses, Elijah and the other
prophets. As one studies his life, viewed from every angle, there
is not a single act that can be construed in any other way

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman 91
than In the light of these beliefs. Having accepted Joseph
Smith as the prophet of the living God he became his
devout follower. In all the persecutions, through ill as
well as good report, when homes and families were im
periled, when life Itself was at stake, he never faltered,
never wavered, never moved with an uncertain step. In
loyalty and devotion, in steadfast adherence and willing
obedience to his leader, history finds no superior in the
devotion Brigham Young showed to Joseph Smith.
He was born at Whitingham, Windham County, Ver
mont, June I, 1801. His parents were poor, and he was
the ninth child in a family of eleven, hence his young days
saw nothing but hard work and poverty. Yet there was
good blood in his veins, and he developed a stout body and
a healthy mind, growing up to know the gospel of hard
work. He became carpenter, painter, glazier. When he
was three years old his parents moved into New York
State and there, after several " movings," he finally came
in contact with the Book of Mormon and the teachings of
Joseph Smith. When he was twenty-one he had married,
and his wife bore him two children. She followed him
into Mormonism, but died in 1832. As Brigham studied
the Book of Mormon and the teachings of the new prophet
he became convinced of Joseph Smith's sincerity, power,
and divine commission, and on April 14, 1832, with his
devoted friend and follower, Heber C. Kimball, was bap
tized into the Mormon Church by Eleazer Miller, at Men-
don, New York. From this moment the fate of Mormon
ism was changed, though the Mormons would all contend
that It was all arranged according to God's will.
Ere long Brigham went to Kirtland, Ohio, to meet the
prophet. Arrived there, the new convert must have been
wonderfully moved, for he "spake in tongues," which
Joseph interpreted to be of the pure Adamic language.
At that moment Joseph found his most steriing, loyal,
accomplished and worthy follower. Joseph was to receive

92 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the "revelations," Brigham to carry them out, for he
was essentially a worker. As the writers before quoted
have said:
" It was Brigham Young who brought care and method
to the grandiose projects of the church leaders. It was
Brigham who knew how to move by practical ways to
a desired result. Smith had revelations that a temple
should be built. Brigham went to work to build one. It
is thus that the history of Mormonism came to be the
biography of Brigham Young. Less brilliant and far less
learned than many of the devotees of the new faith, he
excelled them all In his capacity for ordered, prartical
work. [Without Smith Mormonism could not have been
founded. But without Brigham Young the work of all
his predecessors and colleagues would have been scattered
and brought to naught."
Thus write the scoffers. But the Mormons calmly
contend that Brigham was as much an inspiration of God
in his way as Joseph was In his.
As days went by Brigham proved his loyalty, devo
tion and trustworthiness. He was sent on a mission to
Canada. Nothing since the time Christ sent out His
Twelve was more remarkable than the way the prophet
sent out his followers. What was the power that enabled
Smith so to control these hard-headed men, and send them
out, without purse or scrip, on an arduous, thankless, and
apparently hopeless task? But Brigham and his co-work
ers went, and succeeded. Then- home-coming was a
triumph, and among men of power Brigham had demon
strated he was worthy a high place.
Next came the test of bravery and courage in the face
of mob persecution. The faithful in Missouri were being
mobbed. Who would go up to their help? "Zion's
Camp " was organized, and while it accomplished nothing
of what It went to do, it " tried men's souls," it was the
furnace that tested the worth of men's professions. Brig-

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman 93
ham was one of the leaders in this movement and won the
added approval of the prophet and his follbwers.
Out of the men thus tried Joseph now selected the
twelve apostles, and Brigham was third in the order
chosen. He and they were again sent on missions, and
the new faith spread with remarkable rapidity.
Soon came the imprisonment of Joseph. This lasted
for over six months, and as the president of the twelve
apostles, the government of the church fell upon Brig-
ham's shoulders. On Joseph's release there was no fault
found with the temporary head's administration, and new
responsibilities and work were thrust upon him, though he
was content to work as a skilled laborer, whenever oppor
tunity arose, at the completion of the temple at Kirtland.
In 1840, he was sent with others on a mission to Eng
land, and there proved his powers as an organizer. He
was tireless in industry, established a publishing house for
the wider dissemination of Mormon principles and teach
ings, and was one of a committee to select and publish a
hymnbook, started the Millenial Star, a Mormon weekly
paper, and was one of its editors. In addition, his essen
tially prartical mind saw that some means must be adopted
to enable the poorer of their converts to get to Zion, for
one of the chief preachings of Mormonism at that time
was that the saints must " gather together." This led to
the organization of the Perpetual Emigration Fund of the
Church, which later grew into a tremendous power for
the upbuilding of the church.
Brigham's report of this great missionary trip shows
the chararter of his mind. Here is a part of it :
" We landed as strangers in a strange land, and penni
less, but through the mercy of God we have gained many
friends, established churches in almost every noted dty
and town in Great Britain, baptized within 7,000 and
8,000 souls, printed 5,000 Books of Mormon, 3,000
hymn books, 2,500 volumes of the Millennial Star and

94 Utah, the Land of Blossoming VaUeys
50,000 tracts, emigrated to Zion 1,000 souls, establishing
a permanent shipping agency, which will be a great bless
ing to the saints, and have left sown in the hearts of many
thousands the seeds of eternal truth which shall bring
forth fruit to the honour and glory of God ; and yet we
have lacked nothing to eat, drink or wear; in all these
things I acknowledge the hand of God."
On the 20th of April, 1841, he and five of his com
panions and a company of one hundred and thirty con
verts set sail for New York. They arrived at the rapidly
growing Mormon center of Nauvoo on the first day of
July. Soon after their arrival Joseph Smith received a
revelation which, after commending Brigham for his
faithfulness, Informed him that he no more would be
required to leave his family or go forth on missionary
labors. During the short interregnum of peace enjoyed by the
Mormons in Nauvoo Brigham labored faithfully with the
prophet for the upbuilding of the dty and the church. An
exceedingly liberal charter was granted by the legislature,
the foundation of the new temple laid, the University
started, and the " Nauvoo Legion of the City of Nauvoo "
organized. But the gathering together of the Mormon
converts from all over the country, and from Europe, was
construed by the politicians and those who were jealous
of Mormon power, into a desire of the prophet and his
followers to rule in politics. The anti-Mormon party was
formed, and as has been shown in the chapter on Joseph
Smith, this was the beginning of the end of Mormon
domlnancy. In all the trouble that ensued Brigham never once fal
tered, never once failed his leader. Joseph learned more
and more to rely upon his friend and, with a seeming pre
monition of his own end, asserted that his people would
yet suffer much affliction, would ultimately be driven out
and compelled to seek a home in or beyond the Rocky

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman 95
Mountains. Before this he had revealed a vision he had
had, as follows :
"I saw Elder Brigham Young standing in a strange
land, in the far south and west, in a desert place, upon a
rock in the midst of about a dozen men of color, who
appeared hostile. He was preaching to them in their own
tongue, and the angel of God standing above his head,
with a drawn sword in his hand, proterting him, but he
did not see it."
When the culminating disaster fell upon the saints in
the murder of their prophet and his brother, the innate
power of leadership possessed by Brigham Young at once
asserted itself. At the time, he was away on a mission, in
New Hampshire, but speedily returned on learning the
sad news. Before his arrival he doubtless had formulated
the ideas which led to his being placed in the position of
power. For, ere he arrived, Sidney Rigdon had hurriedly
returned from Pennsylvania with the avowed object of
being appointed the " guardian " of the church. Sidney
was one of Joseph's counselors, and, therefore, one of the
First Presidency of the church. Hence, he assumed that,
naturally, Joseph's mantle would fall on him. Instead of
waiting for the arrival of the twelve apostles to dedde
the matter, Rigdon sought to urge his claims upon the
people. Brigham, however, had decided upon his course.
He was convinced that, by the law of the church, its gov
ernment had now fallen into the hands of the twelve
apostles. Through the apostasy of his seniors in the
quorum he became the first instead of the third of the
apostles, and was made the presiding officer of the twelve
who should decide in the contest that followed. The
action was short and sharp. Bancroft thus writes of it in
his History of Utah, p. 200 :
" The truth is, Sidney was no match for Brigham. It
was a battle of the lion and the lamb ; only Brigham did
not know before that he was a lion, while Sidney received

96 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the truth with reluctance that he was indeed a lamb. Some
thing more than oratory was necessary to win in this in
stance; and of that something with great joy in his heart
Brigham found himself in possession. It was the com
bination of qualities which we find present primarily in
all great men, in all leaders of men, intellectual force,
mental superiority, united with personal magnetism and
physique enough to give weight to will and opinion ; for
Brigham Young was assuredly a great man, if by great
ness we mean one who is superior to others in strength
and skill, moral, intellertual, or physical. The secret of
this man's power, a power that within a few years made
itself felt throughout the world, was this : he was a sin
cere man, or if an impostor, he was one who first imposed
upon himself. He was not a hypocrite; knave, in the
ordinary sense of the term he was not ; though he has been
a thousand times called both. If he was a bad man, he
was still a great man, and the evil that he did was done
with an honest purpose. He possessed great administra
tive ability; he was far-seeing, with a keen insight into
human nature, and a thorough knowledge of the good and
evil qualities of men, of their virtues and frallities. His
superiority was native to him, and he was daily and hourly
growing more powerful, developing a strength which sur
prised himself, and gaining constantly more and more con
fidence In himself, gaining constantly more and more the
respert, fear, and obedience of those about him, until he
was able to consign Sidney to the buffetings of Satan for
a thousand years, while Brigham remained president and
supreme ruler of the church."
The conflict was speedily over. Brigham called upon
Rigdon to state his claims before a council of the priest
hood, and later, before a public meeting of all the saints.
After the latter had eloquently presented his case for an
hour and a half Brigham arose, and, in a few sentences,
completely demolished Rigdon's claims. From that time

Brigham Young, Religionist and Statesman ^1
on until the day of his death, no one questioned Brig
ham Young's leadership or denied his power.
Then came the exodus ! And what a time that was to
try men's souls. To keep the people together after they
were driven across the Mississippi; to hearten them for
their arduous pilgrimage; to gather the needful horses,
oxen, wagons, supplies, clothing, provisions; to care for
the destitute and sick, the unproterted, young, and incom
petent aged. The first night out, spent on Sugar Creek,
Iowa, " nine wives became mothers. Nine children were
born In tents and wagons In that wintry camp. How these
tender babes, these sick and delicate women were cared for
under such conditions. Is left to the imagination of the
sensitive reader," says Whitney.
In due time the march began, Brigham ever in the lead,
seeking out the best road, determining the best place for
the night camp, ever watchful, ever exhorting, ever pro
tecting even the beasts of the caravan from carelessness
or ignorance.
The story is well known of the wearisome journey and
their final arrival on the shores of the Great Salt Lake.

CHAPTER V
OUT Of GREAT TRIBULATION
In the chapter on the prophet, Joseph Smith, it will be
seen that Mormonism was not cradled in security and
rocked in sweet repose. From the time he declared his
vision until his dastardly murder at the early age of thirty-
eight years, the prophet's life was one long succession of
irritating, fierce, bitter persecutions, in which his follow
ers pretty generally shared.
There was no change in the spirit at his death, and
though his enemies could no longer justify their hostility
to the Church by claiming their hatred to the imposture
of his leadership, they did not cease their persecutions.
For several days after the murder excitement reigried
supreme. The people of Nauvoo were afraid the mob
would come and exterminate them, and the people of Car
thage and Warsaw were afraid the Mormons would begin
a war of retaliation. But these persecuted people were
too stunned to do any other than weep over the grave of
their prophet. Their leaders counseled wisely — they
pleaded for, they demanded peace.
To the struggle of Sidney Rigdon to gain control of
the church, the painful disturbances which followed. It is
not necessary to make reference now, save that It only
added to the great burden the Church was carrying. As
soon, however, as matters of presidency were settled the
sa,ints set to work with renewed energy to complete their
temple, and build up their city. Though the leaders had
counseled peace there were some ardent and passionate
98

 Out of Trreat Tribulation  99
spirits among them, naturally, who could not submit to
injustice or abuse because they were Mormons and they
helped keep alive the flames of a steady, though partially
" banked " persecution. Among the most pernicious of
those actively urging on the mob spirit against the Mor
mons were those who had once been members of the
church, but who, for some reason, had been cast out.
From January to October, 1845, the Mormons lived in
constant turmoil. Troubles were never ceasing. Then a
" fire and sword " party started to burn the ripened crops
of the Mormons and their homes. For a week the sheriff
was helpless and nearly two hundred buildings and much
grain were destroyed. Many aged, young and sickly per
sons were rendered homeless, and startled, terrified, by the
actions of the mob, exposed to night conditions, became
sick, and died. The Mormons claim that while they were
fleeing and dying, the mob, embracing doctors, lawyers,
statesmen, professed Christians of various denominations,
with the military from the colonels down, were busily
engaged in filching or plundering, taking furniture, cattle
and grain from their deserted homes and farms. Each
probably justified his conduct in his own way, as all human
beings usually do. Then the old Missouri cry was taken
up with renewed energy and vigor : " Drive out the Mor
mons." It should not be overlooked that early in the year
the legislature revoked the charter of the City of Nauvoo
and also that of the Legion. On the 22nd of September a
meeting of the citizens of Quincy, Illinois, took place. Its
purpose was a revival of the old methods of Missouri — a
demand for the entire removal of the Mormons from
Illinois. A committee was appointed and met with one
from the Mormons. The latter finally agreed to leave
under conditions that, as one reads them now, can only be
considered as most fair and equitable. On the first and
second of Ortober a meeting was held at Carthage (where
the murder of the prophet had occurred). Nine of the

100 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Immediately neighboring counties were represented. The
usual tirades against the Mormons were repeated, and the
judge of the circuit court was requested not to hold court
that fall, as it was certain disturbances would arise.
Certainly, the Mormons were determined to seek jus
tice for the injuries done to them and their prophet and
this was their enemies' method of seeking to prevent that
justice from being done.
But the Mormons also desired to leave. They knew the
temper of mobs by this time and longed to get to where
they could worship and live in their own way unmolested,
and they began to prepare for a speedy exodus in the early
spring. On the sixth of June, 1845, Mormon-baiting
began again, and it was soon evident that nothing but a
complete exodus would satisfy the people. All Nauvoo,
therefore, becarne active with preparations for departure.
But how dispose of the possessions they could not take
with them? Houses, lots, barns and farms, were not
immediately convertible into money, or even exchangeable
for horses and wagons, at a moment's notice. Was there
any recognition of this fact on the part of the people of
Illinois? Did they care? Were they thinking of prop
erty soon to be cheaply gained, or of the needs of the flee
ing Mormons? There was little active Christianity in the
answer given at the time. A few men were left behind
to make the best bargains possible for their abandoned
possessions, and the rest, almost at the point of the sword,
gathered together, early in February, 1846, on the east
ern bank of the Mississippi.
On the 4th, the first teams began to cross over in flat
boats, and for days these boats shuttled back and forth,
together with every kind of available craft conveying
horses, wagons, mules, cattle, passengers and their per
sonal possessions. It was winter time. The cold was
Intense. Snow began to fall, and soon the river was
frozen over, so that after about the 17th the remainder of

" The Salt Lake Trail "
From a painting by I. Gardner Scott. Reproduced through the
courtesy of the Union Pacific Railroad

 Out of Great Tribulation  101
' ' ' "
the people crossed on the ice. Camp was established at
Sugar Creek, a few miles from Nauvoo, but almost within
sight of the dty. |When all the people were assembled,
near the end of March, after receiving public and private
instrudlons from Brigham Young as to their march, the
journey to Council Bluffs, 400 miles away began.
Were they gloomy, bitter, full of hatred at their ene
mies, utterly cast down, hopeless as to the future? The
men and women of Iowa watched them as they passed and
wondered that a people who were practically outcasts from
their dvIUzation, and traveling whence they knew not,
could be so happy and carefree. They watched them camp
at night and engage in songs and prayers of praise and
thanksgiving, and then make merry with dance and song.
As they journeyed their ranks were swelled with fresh
bands, until their wagons numbered 3,000, and they had
30,000 head of cattle, a great number of mules and horses,
and immense flocks of sheep. In due time the Missouri
was reached, and Winter Quarters established. In Nebraska,
on the west side of the river, a little above the modern
Omaha, on the site of the present town of Florence. In
early autumn 12,000 Mormons were assembled here, or
rapidly approaching.
In the meantime the defiant few, who had remained
behind, determined not to abandon their homes and farms
without a strong effort to sell them, together with those
who were purposely left to make what bargains they
could with the people of Illinois for the Mormon property,
were having exciting, thrilling and dangerous experiences.
Their presence was denounced as a breaking of the agree
ment, and mob violence again rose against them. Then
it was that Major Warren was sent by the Governor to
protert this small remnant of the Mormons, and he en
deavored to do his duty faithfully and honestly. In a
letter sent by him to the Quincy Whig, he asserted the

102 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
good faith of the Mormons, and condemned the ruthless
spirit of the mob. Among other things he stated :
" A man of near sixty years of age, living about seven
miles from this place, was taken from his house a few
nights since, stripped of his clothing, and his back cut to
pieces with a whip, for no other reason than that he was a
Mormon, and too old to make successful resistance. Con
duct of this kind would disgrace a horde of savages."
Yet in spite of this assurance of their own militia offi
cer, and led by a professed Christian minister, the mob
continued its violence until, on the seventeenth day of
September, the remnant of the Mormons crossed the
Mississippi, and on the same day the Gentiles took posses
sion of Nauvoo.
Let us look, however, at the Mormon band. There
were 640 of them. Nearly all were prostrated by chills
and fever. There, at the river bank, among the rushes
and reeds, poorly protected, without the shelter of a roof
or anything to keep off the force of the wind and rain,
women were lying in the throes of childbirth, and, later
on, the wails of newborn infants were heard. They had
not good food enough to satisfy the cravings of the sick,
nor clothing enough to cover their nakedness. And this
is but a small part of what they had to endure for months,
until wagons from Winter Quarters were sent to bring
them in.
It was too late to begin the long, weary and dangerous
journey across the plains, so the winter was spent here,
on the Missouri, getting ready. At last the pioneer volun
teer band, led by Brigham Young, as lieutenant-general,
with eight members of the Mormon Chief Council, on
April 14, 1847, started for the west. The company con
sisted of 143 persons, including three women, in seventy-
three wagons drawn by horses and mules, and loaded with
grain and farming implements, and with provisions which
were deemed sufficient to last them for a return joumey.

 Out of Great Tribulation  103
Of the arrival of this pioneer company on the shores of
the Great Salt Lake I have already written.
On the 4th of July, 1847, 1,553 more Mormons, under
the command of Parley P. Pratt, left Winter Quarters for
the west, which in due time met Brigham Young return
ing to report. There was great rejoicing at the meeting,
and greater still when Brigham reached Winter Quarters
and told of the wonderful country God had given them.
Immigration now proceeded more rapidly, until all those
gathered at the Missouri had either gone forward to
Deseret — as the Mormons called their new land — or
had abjured the faith and departed elsewhere.
But It must not be thought that this ended the stream of
new-comers to the land of their Zion. Missionaries were
working throughout Europe, and converts by the thou
sands were desirous of reaching Zion. Expeditions were
organized and party after party crossed the plains and were
duly absorbed In Utah. The poorer emigrants were aided
by a revolving fund provided by the Church, which was
to be returned as soon as the one aided could afford to
repay. But in 1856, there was such an increased number
of the poorer class who desired to reach Utah, that a
cheaper method of transferring them across the plains
than by wagons must be devised. Then it was that Brig
ham had the " inspiration " of the hand-cart brigade. It
would afford fascinating reading could one give in full
detail the story of this episode in the history of Mormon
ism. Suffice to say that the first "batch," numbering
about 1,300 left Liverpool in 1846, and reached Iowa
City in safety. Here the hand-carts were built. There
was some unnecessary delay in this work, and it was not
over-well done, yet the first companies, starting early In
the season, got through without mishap.
The second company, commanded by James G. Willie,
was not in motion westward until the middle of July, and
the third, under Captain Edward Martin, until the end of

104 Utali, the Land of Blossoming Vatteyfl
that month. These late starts were disastrous, for the
Willie Company, which numbered about 500, after four
weeks' travd reaching the Missouri River, were there
warned by an elder, named Savage, who had already made
the trip to the Salt Lake, that it would not be possible to
cross the mountains with a mixed company of aged peo
ple, women and little children, so late in the season, with
out much suffering, sickness and death. But the counsels
of Savage were overruled and the company set forth from
Florence on August 18. The chief drawback of the
earlier part of the journey was the breaking down of the
hand-carts, the axles and boxes both being of wood. They
reached Laramie, about the ist of September, and were
disappointed in that provisions were not there for them
as had been prornlsed. After careful consideration it was
discovered that, at the present rate of travel and consump
tion of flour, the latter would be exhausted while the trav
elers were still three hundred and fifty miles from their
destination. Instead of remaining until further provi
sions were obtained they rashly dedded to go on, having
reduced the ration of flour from one pound to three-
fourths of a pound per day. At Independence Rock they
received a letter informing them that provisions would
meet them at South Pass, but as their flour would be gone
before they reached that point, they were compelled again
to reduce their allowance. This, perhaps, could have been
borne, but now the weather began to grow colder smd
colder, and the streams they had to ford were so icy, that
many were severely chilled. Hardships increased, sick
ness became rife, many of the older people lost heart and
succumbed, until soon, it was seldom that a camp ground
was left without one or more burials. Worn down by
hunger, hardship, fatigue, scarcity of clothing and bed
ding, even strong men succumbed, and to weakness and
debility was added the scourge of dysentery. Thus the
party traveled on In misery and sorrow day after day, and

 Out of Great Tribulation  105
the minds and bodies of many became so dulled that they
faced the death of thdr nearest and dearest without a
seeming pang.
But it was when the snow storm broke upon them, and
they were surrounded by snow a foot and more deep that
they were compelled to halt and make a permanent camp
until help could be secured. The dysentery increased in vir
ulence and several died from exhaustion. In the meantime
Captain Willie and two companions had gone ahead, in
spite of the storm, to hurry up the experted provisions.
They were gone three days — days that to the poor, sick,
cold and starving emigrants, were weeks in seeming dura
tion, crowded with pain and sorrow. Then, on the eve
ning of the third day, rehef came to them. Several cov
ered wagons were seen and shouts of delight and joy rent
lie air. Before long, and as speedily as it could be
arranged, a full distribution, not only of food, but of
dothing and bedding took place, and there was general
rejoidng. But they were still far from their "desired
haven." They resumed thdr joumey, at first going but a
very few miles. It grew colder and colder; many got
thdr feet, fingers and ears badly frozen, and the sever
ities of the weather so increased the number of deaths
that several were buried each day. Another snow storm
swept over and about them, and at last, one day, it was
found that there were thirteen who had died, of all ages
and both sexes, and thdr poor, frail bodies were frozen
stiff. While these were being buried two others died, so
fifteen were laid in thdr graves on that one day.
Finally Fort Bridger was reached, where wagons and
horses were provided, so that all rode into Salt Lake City.
But it was a sadly diminished company that arrived.
When they left Iowa City they numbered five hundred.
A few deserted while passing through Iowa. When they
reached Florence the number was four hundred, of whom
sixty-six died on the joumey.

106 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Martin's Ccanpany, whidi followed, arri\-ed on Novem
ber 30. 1S56. They had numbered near six hundred on
the start, and had lost one fourth by death.
There has been much bickering as to who was to Mame
for the hand-cart e:q)editions. WTioever it was, it cannot
be questioned that the members who sur^•ived reached
Utah " through great tribtdations," and if thdr faith was
still unimpaired then, indeed, could they triumph in their
dehverance.

CHAPTER VI
BUILDING A STATE
It was tlirough great tribulations that the saints came
to thdr diosen home in the far-away ^^'^est. Persecutions
followed them until d%iUzation was left bdiind. The
wild aborigines they met with were kindness personified
compared with the people they were fleeing from. Brig
ham Young, as we have seen, led the first party of pio
neers, who, on foot, on horseback, in wagons pulled b}-
horses, mules ;md oxen, daily saw themsdves a little
nearer their unknown goal. At that time the region now
knowni as Utah was a part of the domain of Mexico, and
there is no doubt but that Brigham desired to get entirely
out of the boundaries of the United States. Fate, how
ever, willed otherwise, for. as is well kiiowTi, one of the
fruits of tlie Mexican War. — at this time tlireatening
the peace of the two countries, — was the transfer to the
United States of tliat vast western territop*- which in
cluded Utah. New Mexia>, Arizona, and California.
\Mvither were they going — this advance band? Did
ihey know? Did anyone know? It is \-ery doubtful.
Somewhere in the region of the Padfic. bej'ond the prai
ries, deserts and mountains, far, far out of the readi of
thdr persecutors — this was their desire and, possibly,
the extent of thdr knowledge. Wliat sublime faith dther
in dieir leaders or in tlie ever-watdiful guidance of God !
There had been no exodus like this for a thousand years.
We have seen the first band of pioneers arrive in the
Salt I-ak*e \^alley, July :!4, 1847, ^"^ ^^^"^ heard Brigham
107

108 Utah, the Land of Blossoming VaUeys
Young's dedaration : " This is the place ! " Work began
immediatdy. Every Mormon was a worker. Some went
into the canyons to cut doA\Ti trees, others prepared for
building by making adobes, and activity was rife every
where. By the end of August twenty-nine log houses
were buiU, either with roofs or ready for the usual sub
stitute of poles and dirt.
Then more of the people came and, though crops were
good, January, 1848, saw food growing so scarce that it
had to be rationed out. Beef was poor, as the oxen had
not yet recovered from the hard driving they had endured
In crossing the plains. Yet every Sunday saw these peo
ple assembled in some suitable place for worship. Cloth
ing was scarce. Furniture was home-made, and many
substitutes for coffee and tea were used. The houses were
built so as to serve as fortresses against the Indians. Lots
were apportioned, but none allowed for speculation. The
outside farming land was surveyed into five, ten, forty
and eighty acre tracts, and given to those who could and
would use them.
The second winter a thousand more well-filled wagons
arrived and the people had to be provided for. The
weather was exceedingly cold; nearly all suffered, for
food was scarce, many having to subsist on roots, thistles
and even rawhides. The Church authorities distributed a
little milk, meat and a small amount of breadstuff to pre
vent starvation, but the famine continued until harvest
time, which, fortunately, in 1849, was a most bountiful
one. Indeed, for six years thereafter none wanted for
bread In Salt Lake Valley.
During all this time, while a City and County Govern
ment had been organized, the Church practically con
trolled everything, its officers distributing provisions,
apportioning lots and acreage, ordering work done and
methods to be followed. In all this the leading spirit was
Brigham Young. He was here, there and everywhere,

 Building a State  109
working, exhorting, planning, guiding, directing, stimu
lating and encouraging. The Bowery — a temporary
building of poles and boughs — was erected for services
and all the gatherings of the people. The streets of the
city had already been laid out. Orchards and gardens
were planted in every direction and thriving fields of
grain gladdened the eye.
Then came the gold-seekers on their way to California.
Many were abundantly supplied with money and they were
willing to pay well for whatever the saints had to sell.
Others were weary and dispirited, their cattle worn out,
wagons broken and themselves empty In pocket and suf
fering from the unexperted hardships and dangers of the
trip. These were willing to sell tools, household furn
iture and spare clothing at low prices, or eager to exchange
them for provisions and pack-animals.
Carrying companies were organized to ply between the
Missouri River and California. Thus ready means of
communication were afforded the Mormons in providing
for the conveyance of the gold-seekers and their goods.
More immigrants came and more and more small bands
were sent out to establish colonies in suitable locations.
Thus Centerville, Bountiful, Ogden, Lynne, Provo, Battle
Creek, Lehi, Fillmore, Payson and the rest were started
and the valleys occupied.
In time there were conflicts between the settlers and the
Indians and then came an Indian War, in which, of
course, the Indians were defeated and shown the folly of
fighting against the white man, even though it were in
defense of their own rights.
Early in 1849 the Territory of Deseret was organized,
with Salt Lake City as its capital, and arrangements made
for the election of the officers. In due time at the elec
tion, all the offices were filled, with Brigham Young as
Governor. A delegate, Almon W. Babbitt, was sent to
Congress, to present a memorial that Deseret be admitted

110 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
as a state, accorded all the rights and privileges hitherto
given to other sovereign states, and Its constitution
ratified. The first consideration given by Congress was both cool
and adverse. Babbitt was refused a seat, and the State of
Deseret refused recognition. But the fight for the exten
sion, and the suppression, of slavery was going on in Con
gress, so on the 9th of September, 1850, Deseret was
admitted to the Union as the Territory of Utah, shorn
somewhat extensively of some of the proportions it had
assumed, and It was expressly provided that, when it was
admitted as a state, the question of slavery should be
determined by Its citizens.
Now began that connection, as a legal part of the United
States, which soon became an irritation both to the Terri
tory and the Federal Government. Polygamy had already
been established, and when the first batch of federal offi
cials, appointed by the President, appeared on the scene,
one of them. Associate Justice Brocchus, asking permis
sion tp address a conference of the Mormon Church, took
occasion to upbraid the leaders for their belief in polyg
amy, exhorted the women to protest against it, and gen
erally irritated everyone within the hearing of his voice.
Brigham Young, as President of the Church and Gov
ernor of the territory, rebuked Brocchus in no measured
terms and thus began the quarrel, which, fostered by
selfish and irresponsible men, lasted for years, and ulti-
mated in the sending of a federal army to punish the
alleged insubordination of the people of Utah. This army
was so harassed that it was defeated ere it reached its
destination. There can be no question that for several years the per
sonal and ecclesiastical Influence of Brigham Young gave
him almost absolute power as Governor. That he used
this dictatorial power, in the main, wisely and unselfishly,
is generally conceded, though, naturally, many of his indi-

 Building a State  ill
vidual artions were severely criticised by those who were
affected by them as they thought adversely.
In January, 1854, Utah again sought admission as a
state, again to be refused. This, and a variety of mat
ters in which they claimed the Federal Government dis
criminated against them, made the Mormons more angry
than before, and doubtless widened the breach that caused
the so-called "Utah War."
This war is a subjert which, for proper discussion,
would require several chapters, hence can receive but the
most inadequate and meager reference. The Mormons,
still smarting from the wrongs inflicted upon them In
Illinois and Missouri, had organized a militia, which
included every able-bodied man in the state. Conflirts of
authority between the federal offidals and the Mormon
leaders led to complaints being forwarded with monoto
nous regularity to Washington, so that it soon became a
general belief throughout the country that the Mormons
steadfastly refused obedience to Gentile (that is, federal)
law and were continually in a state of rebellion to federal
authority. Anyhow, this was the ostensible reason for
the Republican party urging upon President Buchanan
that he oust Brigham Young as the Governor of Utah,
and send a military force, disguised under the name of
posse comitatus, to sustain the authority of his successor.
This, on the face of it, seemed to the Mormons to savor
of the same kind of injustice they had suffered in Illinois,
and it aroused in them a strong and determined spirit of
resistance. Brigham Young vowed he was Governor and
would remain Governor. When the Mormons learned
that a large force, well provisioned and armed, was mov
ing towards Utah, they naturally inferred it was to be
used against them. And, when it is recalled they were
just passing through the throes of a famine year, so that
there were many Mormons who had not had a full meal
for a year or more, and further, that they were compelled

112 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
to feed great multitudes of almost starving emigrants who
had just come in with hand-carts, it can scarcely be
expected that they would look forward to a military force
overrunning them and consuming their food supplies with
any degree of equanimity. In addition to this politicians
succeeded in having a mail contrart, which had been given
to one of the Mormons, annulled, and this added fuel to
the fire. Bancroft thus sums up the causes of this war :
" Thus, in part through the stubbornness of the Mor
mons, but in part also through the malice of a dissolute
and iniquitous judge, the spite of a disappointed mail con
tractor, the wire-pulling of birds of prey at ^Washington,
and possibly in accordance with the policy of the Presi
dent, who, until the Confederate flag had been unfurled at
Fort Sumter, retained in the valley of Great Salj: Lake
nearly all the available forces in the Union army and a
store of munitions of war sufficient to furnish an arsenal,
was brought about the Utah War."
As soon as the approach of this remarkable force was
known Brigham Young boldly threw down the gauntlet,
or, if one regards the actions of President Buchanan as of
that effect, then Brigham accepted the gage. He met a
special representative of the government. Captain Van
Vliet, with the positive assurance that, while he and his
people loved the constitution and laws of the United
States, they were determined to suffer no longer at the
hands of corrupt men sent out to administer those laws,
but who, constantly, violated the constitution, and that, if
any army approached, it would be met and fought, and.
If It ultimately succeeded in reaching the Valley, it would
find the country a charred and barren waste. The day
after Van Vliet departed for Washington, Brigham
Young declared martial law, forbade all armed forces to
march Into the territory under any pretence whatever,
and also called upon the militia to report for service.
The instrurtlons of the commanding officer of the

 Building a State  113
militia forcibly bring before the reader the spirit of the
times, and also remind him of the warfare of the Boers
against the British. Here are a few lines from a dispatch
captured by the enemy :
" On ascertaining the locality or route of the troops,
proceed at once to annoy them in every possible way. Use
every exertion to stampede their animals and set fire to
their trains. Burn the whole country before them and on
their flanks. Keep them from sleeping by night surprises ;
blockade the road by felling trees or destroying the river
fords where you can. Watch for opportunities to set fire
to the grass on their windward, so as, if possible, to
envelop their trains. Leave no grass before them that
can be burned. Keep your men concealed as much as pos
sible, and guard against surprise."
Absurd, preposterous, impossible, that a few in Utah
should dare to oppose the dignity of the military force of
the United States! Of course it was! Yet, somehow,
those few succeeded in utterly confounding — even if
they did not utterly defeat in battle, — that same well-
equipped, wellrofficered army. Its supply trains were
burned, after being pillaged, the horses and cattle stam
peded, the natural forage all destroyed, the soldiers kept
awake and on edge by constant surprise attacks. Snow
began to fall heavily, yet the trees that might have kept
them warm had been destroyed. When they reached
Fort Bridger, after a march of incredible hardship, they
found the place burned to the ground and not a blade of
grass left for miles. It was a time, that whole winter, of
privation and suffering, for little relief was able to
reach them.
When the country at large learned of the Mormon war
and details began to multiply, they fiercely assailed the
President for his artions. Fortunately wiser counsels now
began to prevail on both sides, and It Is believed, largely
through the kindly and sane ministrations of Colonel

114 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys 
Thomas L. Kane, hostilities ceased, the President signed
an amnesty proclamation, a conference of peace was held,
the new Governor was accepted, and the soldiers marched
without obstrurtlon Into Salt Lake City.
Yet, as they entered, what an objert lesson was theirs.
The artillery, trucks and baggage wagons rumbled over
the stones and the sharp click of the horses' hoofs was
heard. Nearby the creek murmured and splashed in its
wonted manner. But there was no other sound. Zion was
deserted. The Mormons had long before left the city,
taking with them all their movable effects merely leaving
a score of men behind, with instructions to apply the torch
if the army came in hostile array against the city.
This desertion and Moscow-like precaution, however,
were now unnecessary, and, in due time, the people
returned to their homes.
Buchanan's impolitic and altogether reprehensible dem
onstration of force was possibly the moving impulse to
that horrible carnival of murder and plunder known as the
Mountain Meadow Massacre. The facts of this awful
affair are generally well known. In 1857 a party of one
hundred and thirty-six Arkansas and Missouri emigrants
were passing through Utah on their way to California.
They had trouble all the way from Salt Lake City as they
passed southward to Cedar City. Crimination and recrim
ination was heard daily between themselves and the Mor
mons. Threatened with an unlawful military force — as
they regarded it — by the President of the United States,
the Mormons were not disposed to look with equanimity
upon the passing of people who taunted them, sneered
at their religion and, so it Is claimed, openly boasted that
they had had a hand In the killing of one of the leading
Mormon preachers. Anyhow, thirty miles below Cedar
City, the travelers were set upon by Indians, and, as it was
afterwards claimed, Mormons in the garb of Indians, and

 Building a State  115
the whole party, except the children, were ruthlessly
murdered. Who committed the awful crime ? The enemies of the
Mormons and their leaders have always charged that
Brigham Young was responsible for it. After a thorough
and careful Investigation of the matter I cannot find any
evidence to this effert. While it does seem strange that no
serious effort was made to arrest the supposed culprits
until after outsiders began to cry for justice, there was
no disposition shown either to obstruct justice or to pre
vent the bringing of the guilty wretches to the bar and
allowing them to suffer the fullest penalty. Unfortu
nately, all but one of the chief perpetrators had fled the
country, and their whereabouts to this day has never
been dearly revealed. The one partldpant who was
caught — John D. Lee — was tried, found guilty, and
finally, on March 23, 1877, shot on the very spot where,
twenty years before, the horrible deed had been per
petrated. But, before Lee was brought to justice, during that
delay of twenty years a host of trenchant and virulent pens
were charging that Brigham Young was the real author of
the massacre, and that it was a deed on a par with the dis
loyalty, etc., of the Mormon Church. These charges had
their effect in inflaming the popular mind against the Mor
mons, and their persistence in the practice of polygamy
but added further fuel to the flames.
During these years, however, the territory was grow
ing In numbers and Industries In 1862 there was a popu
lation of 65,000. The death-rate was an exceedingly
small one. There was little pauperism or crime, and pros
perity seemed to smile upon every community. The value
of the real and personal property was reported in i860 at
$5,596,118, of improved farm lands at $1,333,355. o*
farming implements $242,889, of livestock, $1,516,707,
and of manufactures, $900,153. It Is well understood

116 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
that these figures do not represent more than, say, fifty
per cent, of the artual value.
How wonderfully the country had changed in less than
a decade and a half. Irrigation had made the desert val
leys " blossom as the rose ; " thriving settlements were to
be found north, south, east and west; cattle, horses and
sheep thrived on a thousand farms; sorghum and other
factories were at work; beet-sugar experimentation and
various manufartures were in progress, and the beehive
emblem of the territory was well illustrated in the life of
the people. While, however. In Salt Lake City, social
life was made agreeable by concerts, the theater, occa
sional balls and the like, there was much less of these
socializing influences in the more rural communities — ¦
naturally to their detriment.
In 1 86 1 a great sHce was cut from Utah and made into
the State of Nevada, the eastern limit of the new state
being extended in 1866 to the thirty-seventh meridian.
In 1862 another effort was made, without avail, to enter
the Union as a state. Instead, Congress passed an ad,
introduced by Justine S. Morrill, of Vermont, for the pur
pose of punishing and preventing polygamy. This act
was regarded by the Mormons as unconstitutional and
they disregarded its prohibitions until, as recorded In the
chapter on polygamy, the United States Supreme Court
passed upon the subject and declared polygamy in the
boundaries of the United States illegal. Until this deci
sion was rendered, however, the subject was one of con
tinual irritation and discussion. This Irritation was
materially increased by the Injudicious antagonism of the
Governor and the federal judges, and things came to such
a pass that In May, 1862, Colonel P. E. Connor was or
dered to Utah with about seven hundred men. In Octo
ber the men reached Camp Floyd, or, as it Is now
termed. Fort Crittenden. They marched through Salt
Lake City with fixed bayonets, loaded rifles, and shotted

 Building a State  117
cannon, but they were treated with what might be termed
a contemptuous respect. These volunteers remained for
some time, but each side exercised a wise restraint and
their services were not required. New governors and offi
cials came who were liberal, tolerant and conservative, and
when Lincoln was Inaugurated for the second time, all
Utah joined to make the occasion one of great rejoicing,
and when the news of his death reached Utah there was
no state In the Union where there was more deep and gen
uine sorrow manifested than here.
Soon Colonel (now General) Connor was promoted to
a new station and orders were received to disband the
volunteers, but some of them were detained until replaced
by regular troops. The reason for this was, doubtless,
the fact that there was still considerable dissatisfaction
against the Mormons, and this was shown by the murder
of two Gentiles, Newton Brassfield and King Robinson.
Innocent or guilty, the leaders of the Church were accused
of at least conniving, if not actually ordering these assas
sinations. These and other crimes so alarmed the Gen
tiles, that, had the Overland railroad not been begun and
completed about this time, there is little question but that
the Mormons would have been left in entire possession of
the country. But the railroad seemed materially to change
things. There was an influx of fresh blood, and while
there was still antagonism between the two factions, espe
cially in Salt Lake City, there were several important
defertions from the Church and a spirit of greater tol
erance began to appear.
In the commercial world, however. Gentiles and Mor
mons strove for control. The Z. C. M. I. (Zion's
Cooperative Mercantile Institution) was organized, un
doubtedly with the purpose of seeking to control the Mor
mon trade, and for a time it seemed as if ruin would fall
upon the Gentile merchants. The latter, with the assist
ance of those Mormons who sought the reform of their

118 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Church, but who had been cast out, estabUshed a news
paper—the Salt Lake Tribune — which openly waged
war on Brigham Young and all his exdusive policies.
And it may as well be stated here that this paper con
tinued this policy as the organ of those who were " against
the Mormons " until within the last decade or so, when
there has been a more conciliatory spirit shown on both
sides and each has been willing to work with instead of
against, the other for the upbuilding of the city and state.
When Grant became President there is little doubt but
that he would have suppressed polygamy even at the cost
of a new war, had he not been shown that the Mormons
were better able to solve their problems alone. For sev
eral years there were dashes about the control of the
militia, which finally was disbanded, and the perennial
fight on polygamy, which was not settled until the decision
of the United States Supreme Court, and the issuance of
the Woodruff Manifesto (see chapter on polygamy).
On the 29th of August, 1877, Brigham Young passed
away, and with him, the ruling dominant spirit of Mor
monism. His will from the time he took the helm had
been more powerful than law In the hearts of his follow
ers. His life-work was done. Loved, revered, obeyed by
his people almost without exception, feared by all, yet
respected by many of his enemies, his acts were now left
for the judgment of time to pass upon. The state for
which he laid the foundations, and upon which he built,
is now a great commonwealth, one of the powers of the
world of the West.

CHAPTER VII
POLYGAMY IN UTAH
Up to the year 1852 whatever antagonism had been
aroused against the Mormons it cannot be said that
polygamy had anything to do with it. Indeed the Book
of Mormon, published in 1830, was as ordiodox and con
ventional in its utterances on the marital relation and the
punishments of God to man that should be visited upon
their violators as were the sacred books and creeds of any
of the Christian churches. For Instance, one reads in the
Book of Jacob, Chapt 2., Verses 22 to 28:
" And were it not that I must speak unto you concern
ing a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice exceedingly
because of you. But the word of God burthens me
because of your grosser crimes.
" For behold, thus saith the Lord, this people begin to
wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures; for
they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms,
because of the things which were written concerning
David and Solomon his son. Behold, David and Solomon
truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was
abominable before me, saith the Lord. Wherefore, thus
saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land
of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might
raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fmit of the
loins of Joseph. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, will not
suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
" Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to
the Avord of the Lord: For there shall not any man
119

120 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he
shall have none :
"For I, the Lord God, ddlght in the chastity of
women." How then, came this ancient, this oriental, this Old
Testament, this Mahommedan doctrine of polygamy to
be promulgated — added to the other weighty doctrines
the Mormon Church had placed upon its shoulders?
History is perfectly clear about It.
The prophet Joseph Smith had been dead eight years.
The exodus from Nauvoo had taken place. The saints
had established their new home in Salt Lake City. There
had been, and were, rumors secretly passed about among
the leaders that Joseph had believed, and some said, had
lived, the doctrine of polygamy, yet few were prepared
for the open promulgation of the doctrine, until on the
29th day of August, 1852, Brigham Young announced in
the Tabernacle that a " Revelation on Plural Marriage "
had been made to the prophet, Joseph Smith, at Nauvoo,
and there written by him, July 12, 1843. The revelation
was then read by Thomas Bullock, one of the elders of the
Church. It was a document that would occupy some eight
or nine pages of this work, and as it does not all specif
ically deal with the subjert, need not be reproduced
in toto.
The distinrtive features of the revelation were as
follows :
I. That all covenants not entered into and sealed by
the priesthood (of Mormonism, of course) for Eternity
as well as for time ended at death. Therefore a marriage
to be forever must be one for time and eternity and be
sealed by the priesthood. But If so performed and sealed
it shall exist from everlasting to everlasting.
2. When Abraham was commanded and Sarah gave
Hagar to him to wife, she violated no law for she, and
Abraham also, acted under the command of God. Neither

 Polygamy in Utah  121
did Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David nor Solomon sin In receiv
ing many wives and concubines.
3. Section 132 reads, in part, as follows':
" Verily I say unto you, if a man receiveth a wife in the
new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another
man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anoint
ing, she hath committed adultery, and shall be destroyed.
If she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and she
be with another man, she has committed adultery ; and if
her husband be with another woman, and he was under a
vow, he hath broken his vow, and hath committed adult
ery, and if she hath not committed adultery, but is irmo-
cent, and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it,
and I reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall
you have power, by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to
take her, and give her unto him that hath not committed
adultery, but hath been faithful, for he shall be made ruler
over many ; for I have conferred upon you the keys and
power of the Priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and
make known unto you all things in due time."
4. Verse 59 of the same section affirms that if a man
is called of God to the Priesthood and he is endowed with
the keys of the power pertaining thereto " if he do any
thing in my name, and according to my law, and by my
word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him."
5. Verses 61 to 63 follow :
"And again, as pertaining to the law of the Priest
hood : If any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse
another, and the first give her consent; and if he espouse
the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no
other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adult
ery ; for they are given unto him ; for he cannot commit
adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one
else; and if he have ten virgins given unto him by this
law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him,
and they are given unto him, therefore is he justified.

122 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is
espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed
adultery, and shall be destroyed ; for they are given unto
him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my
commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given
by my Father before the foundation of the world and
for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may
bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my
Father continued, that He may be glorified."
Naturally this alleged revelation will be received by the
reader according to his preconceived ideas.
When Joseph Smith received this "revelation" it is
not for me to say, any more than whence came all the
other revelations. But It is of the utmost importance that
we realize the effert it had upon his people. Brigham
Young and all the leaders of the church accepted and lived
it and urged it upon the attention and obedience of the
flock. To say that it made a sensation would be to put it
mildly, not only in the Tabernacle at the time, but imme
diately throughout Utah and the United States. In Eng
land it threatened to break up, for the time being, the
successful missions which had long been carried on. And
it may as well be said that from that moment polygamy,
as a religious dortrlne, openly confessed and openly
lived, was doomed In this " land of the free."
Undoubtedly, it was to this peculiar doctrine and insti
tution, thus openly proclaimed and lived in Utah, that we
owe much of the literature — some of It of a high class —
written by cultured foreigners like Remy and Bienckley
of France and Robert Burton of England, condemning
the system but without vindictive vituperation such as was
common to most political and religious enemies of the
new faith.
So long as Brigham Young lived he stood by the revela
tion of the Prophet Joseph, though none knew so well a,s

LORENZO SNOW, FIFTH PRESIDENT OF THE MORMON CHURCH.

 Polygamy in Utah  123
he the fierce hostility that faithfulness aroused. Yet,
perhaps, he felt with the "Great Emancipator" — Abra
ham Lincoln, — who, after he had stricken the shackles
from the negro slaves, was asked to repeat the blow and
destroy polygamy in Utah, replied " Let It alone." Pos
sibly Brigham Young was willing to allow time to adjust
the matter. If it were found to be as dire an injury to
the republic as its enemies feared and claimed there was
little doubt but that the country at large would suppress
it. But this Is a mere supposition on my part. Brigham
Young firmly adhered to the principle so long as he lived ;
never failed, when the need or occasion arose, to present
his many wives to "the stranger within his. gates," and,
later, suffered arrest for his fidelity to the faith he pro
fessed. In dealing with this subject It must be remembered
that Christianity, outside of Mormonism, Is essentially
monogamous, and that all professedly Christian nations
have, outwardly at least, vigorously defended monogamy
as the only marital system that is natural or countenanced
by God. This attitude was so thoroughly taken for
granted that the contrary arguments of the polygamists
aroused the fiercest antagonism. And it must also be
remembered that the Mormon promulgation of the doc
trine came at a time when the whole country was angered
with the Mormons, and this seemed like a deliberate
throwing of new and dangerous oil upon the flames.
Yet, now that It is no longer taught and prartlced by
the Mormons, it seems fair to allow high-minded and
responsible Mormons themselves to be the expounders of
their own reasons for accepting and entering into the
polygamous relation.
For instance, Lorenzo Snow was one of the first of the
elders sent as a missionary to England. He was wonder
fully successful there. On his return, or soon there
after, the prophet Joseph had a talk with him upon the

124 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
question of marriage — and plural marriage at that.
According to Eliza R. Snow, his sister, a woman of great
ability, of poetic gifts and dignified Christian character,
her brother had been so occupied with his missionary
labors that " virtually he had ignored the first command
ment to ' multiply and replenish the earth.' " He was
now thirty-one years of age. Joseph showed him his
duty, and, at a family reunion on the 7th, 8th and 9th of
May, 1884, when he had attained his seventieth birthday,
and his wives and children, sisters and brothers, sons-in-
law and daughters-in-law with their little ones, were
assembled, he referred to this conversation with the
prophet and Its effect, as follows :
" About forty years ago I was an unmarried man, and
to this day would have remained so, had I not received an
understanding of the law of celestial marriage. Its objert
and necessity in securing eternal glory and exaltation.
My heart and soul, all my energies and ambitions were
enlisted in the service of God, and I thought I could not
better please or serve Him than by employing my entire
time, unburdened by family cares, in the great field of mis
sionary labor. Joseph, the Prophet, in a private interview
at Nauvoo, on the banks of the Mississippi, gave me a
full explanation of the principles of celestial marriage,
and pointed out to me clearly my duty and privileges in
reference to that law. This numerous, intelligent and hon
orable family assemblage is the result of my conformity
to the knowledge, advice and counsel received in that im
portant interview.
" Peculiar feelings and reflections are naturally aroused
in contemplating the past and the singular circumstances
in the providence of God, which have brought about this
wonderful change In my present condition and prosperts.
Forty years ago, a lone bachelor of some thirty years,
under the influence of erroneous views in the subject and
necessity of marriage, its eternal blessings and crowning

 Polygamy in Utah  125
glory ; no loving wife to say, * Dear husband ; ' no child
to lisp the endearing words, 'My papa,' and now sur
rounded by and in the midst of wives, a host of children
and grandchildren. What a grand and glorious transition.
My heart is filled to overflowing with warmest feelings
of gratitude to my heavenly Father for these marvelous
blessings. And let me say, my dear children, that your
father's obedience to this sacred law of celestial marriage,
at that day, was attended with embarrassments and dan
gers of no ordinary magnitude. We were surrounded
by our enemies, and in our midst were many half-hearted,
ignorant saints, and some of the most wicked apostates,
seeking to betray us into the hands of our bitter foes.
When I look upon this extensive family, intelligent and
gifted sons and daughters, half a score or more of the
former having been called, sent forth and performed many
years of arduous missionary labor among far off nations,
and upon distant islands; and also behold many of my
daughters honored wives and mothers in Israel, sur
rounded by healthy and happy children, and feel that all
this is through the mercy and kindness of God, and the
work of the Great Jehovah, what shall I say? Language
is powerless to express the deep feelings of my heart for
this holy and sacred opportunity on this, the celebration of
my seventieth birthday, of standing here and beholding
this glorious and heavenly inspiring spectacle.
" But It was not Lorenzo, it was not his wisdom, that
wrought this marvelous change, but the Lord our God.
You, my children, should keep in Hvely remembrance that
you are the fruits of my obedience to the law of plural
marriage, that it is your duty to honor and magnify this
law as you may have opportunity. I tmst your mothers
will employ no influence on the minds of their children
to cause feelings to grow up in their hearts against these
principles. " Allow me here to express my gratification In the con-

126 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Vallejrs
sideration that most of you, my dear family, observe the
Wird of Wisdom, and no one is in the habit of using
wine or strong drink, nor guilty of the filthy practice of
using tobacco, and that you are accredited with the repu
tation of living moral, upright and honorable lives ; and I
tmst it may always be truthfully said that you sustain
this reputation. Remember, children, to honor and obey
your parents, that you may be entitled to the promise
' That your days may be long in the land.' Treat your
father's wives kindly and respertfuUy. God has called
them to be assodated with him through time and eternity
to assist in his duties and responsibilities and share his
glory and dominion."
This is but one of scores of such testimonies that may
be found In the " Lives," or " Autobiographies " of lead
ing saints, and no one can truthfully say he has examined
the question from the Mormon standpoint unless he has
honestly considered these testimonies.
Let one other writer, not a Mormon by any means, and
whose book has several times been quoted in these
pages, — Fitz Hugh Ludlow, — give his experience with
Mrs. Heber C. Kimball and the two polygamous wives of
her son :
" I found myself in a sunny low-ceiled sitting room,
where a fine-looking matron, somewhere in her well pre
served fifties, sat talking to a pair of very tidy and pre
possessing young women, both under twenty-five, and
each holding a healthy baby. . . .
" The sight of them, after six hundred miles of stage-
coaching, exhilarated me. ' Those are very pretty
babies ! ' said I, addressing the matron in all sincerity
of heart. Yes, I think so,' she replied ; ' but you must allow for
a grandmother's partiality.'
" I replied that no such allowance was necessary to me

 Polygamy in Utah  127
and continued, ' These young ladies are your daugh
ters, then?'
" ' They are my daughters-in-law, sir,' returned the
fine-looking matron.
" ' So you have both your sons and their wives with
you ? Indeed, you are to be envied, with such a delightful
home about you in other respects.'
" 'These babies, sir,' answered the matron gravely, ' are
the children of my son, now abroad on the Lord's busi
ness — my son, Mr. Kimball, after whom this place is
called. These young ladies are his wives, and I am the
first wife of one you have often ere this heard of in the
States, — Heber C. Kimball, second president, and next to
our prophet Brigham Young in the government of Utah.'
" Why should I blush ? Nobody else did. The babies
crowed as they were tossed ceiling-ward in the maternal
fashion, not even paying the Gentile intruder the compli
ment of getting scared by him. The young mothers had
heard the whole conversation; yet Eve before the fall
could not have been more innocent of shame. Mrs.
Heber Kimball showed no sign of knowing that I could
be surprised by anything she told me. Yet I, a cosmopol
itan, a man of the world, liberal to other people's habits
and opinions to a degree which had often subjerted me to
censure among strictarians in the eastern states, blushed
to my very temples. . . .
"If the three observed my confusion, they had suffi
dent tart not to show it. I think that Mrs. Heber Kim
ball the first must undoubtedly have understood my posi
tion, and that the plain, straight-forward statement which
she made was for the purpose of landing me at one throw
in the midst of polygamous ideas. . . . Without the
least braggadodo or offensive protrusion of our mutual
and radical differences, she nevertheless set me at once
upon the true basis, and let me know that polygamy was
the law of the land where I now trod, and she and her

128 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
own as firm in the faith as I in monogamy, without any
thing more to be ashamed of in her creed than the Vicar
of Wakefield or Horace Greeley in theirs."
Few religionists have written so honestly and candidly
about polygamy as has Bishop Tuttle of the Episcopal
Church, who spent seventeen years In Utah. He says:
" I pause to remark that if some strength accrues to
Mormonism from its adjustment to the nature of man,
some unsuspected strength Is also won to It by its appeal
to the nature of women. The self-sacrifice in women, the
appeal is made to that. One knows not much of human
life if he is ignorant that one of the dominating char-
arteristics of women is the power of self-sacrifice. If self-
sacrifice in women is continually in evidence in mothers,
in wives of worthless husbands. In sisters In religious com
munities, and In women giving up all in devotion to love
or duty or religion, who wonders that the appeal to it, as
in the matter of polygamy, strange as it seems, must be
accounted an element of strength In Mormonism. As a
matter of fart, there were no more strenuous and deter
mined upholders of polygamy than most of the Mormon
women who were personally sufferers by it. To their
nature it was a calamity and hateful. To their spirit it
was religious duty and a call to self-sacrifice. Therefore
they were loyal to It, determined to live in it, and if need
be, to die for it. Spirit, roused and active, evermore pre
dominates over nature."
Later on Bishop Tuttle writes :
" Polygamy is not a corner-stone of Mormonism, or
even one of its necessary doctrines. That it is a doctrine
of the Church and a divine ordinance Is, I dare say, still
taught by men and women among the 'saints,' but the
practice, save in sporadic and sly cases, is given up in def
erence to the government and In obedience to the laws, and
I may add, in compliance with the demands of the nature
of the young women, and the will of the young men.

 Polygamy in Utah  129
" Polygamy in Utah was lifted to the plane of religious
duty, consequently it did not work the awful corruption
in sodety one would have expected. That women's lives
were clouded and their hearts imblttered by it is true, but
not seldom the glory of the sacrifice hallowed the agony
of suffering. It is God's will ; it is the Church's law ; it is
my duty; were the injunctions women repeated to them
selves, while they bore their sorrow and were silent."
It is needless to recount the various attacks made on
polygamy by the churches of the country and in Congress.
Yet never let It be forgotten that there was no state or
federal law prohibiting polygamy in Utah, until 1862,
hence the polygamous Mormons were breaking no such
law up to that time. Neither, according to their interpre
tation of the Bible, were they breaking any divine law.
When federal laws were passed against it many promi
nent men went to the penitentiary for their faith and
prartice. Of course It goes without saying that polygamy
was the chief deterrent in Congress to Utah being
admitted as a state, and yet the Mormons definitely
refused to give up the prartice. Their own contention
is — and it is mainly borne out by the farts — that the
United States Supreme Court had not yet passed upon
the constitutionality of the act prohibiting pojygamy, and
that until it had, — as with them it was a matter of
religious principle, — they had a perfect right to continue
in its prartice. But, when the highest court in the land
decreed that the law was constitutional and must be
enforced, Wilford Woodruff, then the president of the
Mormon Church, issued the following manifesto, which
was later accepted by the Church :
" OFFICIAL DECLARATION"
" To Whom it May Concern :
" Press dispatches having been sent for political pur
poses, from Salt Lake City, which have been widely

130 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
published, to the effect that the Utah Commission, in
their recent report to the Secretary of the Interior, allege
that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that
forty or more such marriages have been contracted in
Utah since last June or during the past year ; also that in
public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught,
encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of
polygamy ;
" I, therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn
manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not
teaching polygamy, or plural marriage, nor permitting any
person to enter into its prartice, and I deny that either
forty or any other number of plural marriages have dur
ing that period been solemnized in our temples or in any
other place in the Territory.
" One case has been reported, in which the parties
alleged that the marriage was performed in the Endow
ment House, in Salt Lake City, in the spring of 1889, but
I have not been able to learn who performed the cere
mony ; whatever was done in this matter was without my
knowledge. In consequence of this alleged occurrence the
Endowment House was, by my instructions, taken down
without delay.
" Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress for
bidding plural marriages, which laws have been pro
nounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby
declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use
my Influence with the members of the Church over which
I preside to have them do likewise.
" There is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in
those of my associates, during the time specified, which
can be reasonably construed to inculcate or encourage
polygamy, and when any elder of the Church has used
language which appeared to convey any such teaching, he
has been promptly reproved. And I now publicly declare

WILFORD WOODRUFF, FOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE
MORMOX CHURCH.

 Polygamy in Utah  i^
lliat my adx'ice to the La(ter-(la\' Saints is to refrain from
eniitracting any inarriai;;e forbidden hy tlie law of the land.
" WiLFORo Woohruff,
" Presiileiit of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints."
At the meeting when this was accepted by the Church,
among other tliins^s. Presidetit Woodruff said:
" I want to say to all Israel that the step which I have
taken in issuinj; this manifesto has not been done without
earnest prayer before the Lord, 1 am about to go into the
spirit world, like other men of my age. I expect to meet
the face of my Heavenly leather — the Ivather of my
spirit; 1 expect to meet the face of Joseph Smith, of
Hrigham Yoiiiii;-. of Ji^hn Taylor, anil of the Apostles,
and for me to have taken a stand in anythini;- which is not
plcasini;- in the sight of God, or before the heavens,! would
rather have t;one out and been shot. My life is no better
than other men's. 1 am not igniorant of the feelings that
ha\e been cngemleretl through the conrse 1 have pursued.
lUit 1 have ilone my duty, and the nation of whidi we
(ovm a part innsl be responsible for that whidi has been
ilone in relatiiMi io this principle."
l?ishop Tuttle places the cold facts about polygamy in
terse form, as follows :
" From 1830 lo 185J the Mormon Church did not pro-
nnilgate it as a divine precept; from 185-' to 18OJ it
etijoined its practice as a divine right and duty, In dehance
of Christian custom, but not in disobcdii-iicr io slaliitc hni\-
from iSOJ to 1800 it enjoined and continued the practice
ill defiance of statute law; and from 1800 onwanls, while
doubtless still believing polygamy to be a divine precept,
it has forbidden the faithful to practice it because the
practice would be in violation of the law of the land."
The Mormon attitude to the law is thus dearly
expressed in The Articles of Faith, hy Dr. James K.

132 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Talmage, one of the Twelve Apostles, in dealing with the
subject of " Secular Authority ",:
"An illustration of such suspension of Divine law
is found in the action of t'he Church regarding the
matter of plural or polygamous marriage. The practice
referred to was estalished as a result of direct revelation,
and many of those who followed the same felt that they
were divinely commanded so to do. For ten years after
polygamy had been introduced into Utah as a church
observance no law was enacted in opposition to the prac
tice. Beginning with 1862, however, federal statutes
were framed declaring the practice unlawful and provid
ing penalties therefor. The Church claimed that these
enactments were unconstitutional, and therefore void,
inasmuch as they violated the provision in the national
constitution which denies the government power to make
laws respecting any establishment of religion, or prohibit
ing the free exercise thereof. Many appeals were taken
to the national court of final resort, and at last a decision
was rendered sustaining the anti-polygamy laws as consti
tutional and therefore binding. The Church, through its
chief officer, thereupon discontinued the practice of plural
marriages, and announced its action to the world; sol
emnly placing the responsibility for the change upon the
nation by whose laws the renunciation had been forced.
This action has been approved and confirmed by the offi
cial vote of the Church In conference assembled."
There is one other phase of this subject that should not
be overlooked. When the church announced definitely its
abandonment of polygamy because the law demanded it,
the question naturally arose among polygamlst husbands :
What is to be done about our plural wives ? The oppon-
nents of polygamy cried with one voice : Abandon them !
But the Mormon men, to their honor and credit let it be
said, positively refused to do this. Their attitude plainly
and simply stated was this: We married these women

Polygamy in Utah

under the teachings of our Church which we implicitly
received as the word of God ; when we did so we violated
no law of either state or nation; now the nation says we
must abandon them. This we cannot and will not do.
We have pledged ourselves to enter into no more, such
relationships, but no power on earth shall make us consent
to abandon the women that we made our legal wives and
who are the mothers of our children. Time will remedy
the matter. We and they will pass away, and thus, polyg
amy will receive its death.
It may be well, here, to recall that, according to high
statistical authorities in the Mormon Church, never did
more than three per cent, of male Mormons enter into
polygamous relationships.
In reading the very varied attacks made upon polygamy
one claim is insistently made, to which some attention
must be given. It is taken for granted that polygamy
essentially is based on the sensual nature of man, being
merely a form of legitimatizing enlarged licentiousness.
To this charge let George Q. Cannon reply, in a speech
made before the House of Representatives, when, after
serving In the 43rd, 44th, 45th, and 46th Congresses, a
strong endeavor was made to deprive him of his seat. In
referring to polygamy he said, among other things :
" In regard to licentiousness, concerning which so much
has been said, I wish to say a few words. Do gentlemen
understand that If the people of my Territory, those who
are accused of violating law In having more wives than
one — I say do gentlemen, in considering this question,
not understand that if licentiousness and lechery were the
objects to be accomplished, that the people could reach
this in a much cheaper and much more popular manner
than by marrying women and sustaining and making
legitimate their children? Why, It needs no argument
upon this point. The mere suggestion brings conviction
to the mind of any person who reasons that the methods

134 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
In vogue elsewhere and which provoke no wrath would be
much more likely to have been adopted to accomplish
such a purpose if that had been the object."
There is one other phase of the subject that must be
referred to before leaving the subject. For the purposes
of sensationalism novelists, backed up by religious fanat
ics, persist in charging that not only is polygamy still
secretly practiced in Utah, and other Mormon commun
ities, but that it is deliberately planned for by the Mormon
authorities and that polygamous marriages are still per
formed In their secret temples. In the introduction to a
novel, Ezra the Mormon, that has had a large sale in Eng
land, the author openly charges :
" Many people believe that the old doctrine of polygamy
has been stamped out, and for the benefit of such I would
have it known that my story gives the exact words of
today's secret polygamous marriage ceremonies, and the
blasphemous initiation rites, with the exception of certain
parts which were not fit to place before our English public."
 The same kind of a charge is often made in America.
I have traveled largely In Utah for nearly forty years ; I
have been entertained in scores of Mormon families; I
personally know hundreds of Mormons and also of Gen
tiles in Salt Lake City and the state generally ; I personally
know many of the apostles, many of the quorum of the
seventies, the bishops and others of the Church; I have
personally spoken with three presidents of the Mormon
Church upon the subjert, and, again let me affirm, I have
no sympathy with polygamy in any manner or form, but
my eyes are as alert as those of most men and better
trained to observe than those of many, and I protest
against the untruthfulness of these charges of present-day
polygamy. The leaders of the Church have solemnly
avowed their abandonment of the practice, and so far as
I know there is not the slightest sdntllla of evidence to
the contrary 77

CHAPTER VIII
THE SALT LAKE THEATER
One of the noted buildings in America is the old Salt
Lake Theater, built in 1 86 1-2 by Brigham Young. Unlike
the founders and teachers of other religions Joseph Smith
not only beheved in the drama and its allied arts, but
warmly fostered them in the brightest days of his life In
Nauvoo. Heartily backing up the prophet in his idea of
giving to the Mormon people simple, and what they
deemed, harmless recreation, Brigham Yotmg, and others
of the apostles, took artive part in the amateur plays that
were presented. Dancing was also actively indulged in,
together with choral singing and the produrtion of the
great oratorios. It was natural, therefore, that orchestras
and a brass band should be fostered to aid in popularizing
these forms of entertainment.
After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, and the exodus
was determined upon, in no one thing did Brigham Young
justify his assumptions of leadership more than in the
way he almost compelled his saddened and heart-broken
people to turn their thoughts from the awful and disas
trous past, with its woes and sorrows, to the duties of the
present and the marvelous possibilities of the future. Let
these things be remembered, — the sufferings they had
gone through, the murder of some of their loved ones, the
destruction of their property, the abandonment of their
homes, the hatred visited upon them, the forced leaving of
the homes of their choice and affection, the sickness of
their aged and young, and the consdousness, perhaps deep
135

136 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
in their inmost hearts, yet, nevertheless, insistent in its
demand for recognition, that even their leaders did not
know exactly whither they were going, and the further
fad that their clothing and food supplies were very
scanty, and it can be seen that they had little to make
merry upon. Yet Brigham was as wise In practical lead
ership in small things of the moment, as in the larger
things pertaining to his people, and therefore he had seen
to it that there came to the " Camp of Israel," Captain
William Pitt's brass band. Accordingly, when on that ist
of March, 1846, they camped on Sugar Creek, — after
their first day's march of five miles of that never-to-be-
forgotten exodus across the trackless plains, deserts, can
yons and mountains to the, as yet, unknown Utah, —
they pitched their tents upon the hard frozen ground, from
which the snow had been scraped, built large fires, had
their supper, engaged in worship and prayer, and then
Brigham and the other leaders called upon the "brethren "
and " sisters," to engage in the dance. The band played
the merriest airs, and all that could, from the youngest to
the oldest, engaged in the fun-making, and several lowans,
who were attrarted to the camp out of curiosity, went
away saying they could scarce believe their own eyes at
seeing a people, fleeing from dvlllzation after enduring
persecution unexampled in American history, thus pass
ing away their time.
But Brigham knew the philosophy of "whistling to
keep up one's courage," the true wisdom of joining in the
universal symphony no matter how sad or depressed one
might feel, and this practice of dancing and merry-making
was kept up on all of the weary journeys across the plains.
On their arrival at Salt Lake City, while imperative
demands were made upon the time and energy of the
people, the dance, music and the drama immediately
engaged Brigham's serious attention. The singers of the
Nauvoo and other eastern choirs became the Tabernacle

 The Salt Lake Theater  137
choir; and in 1850 the first play was given in the " Bow
ery " — an edifice made half of lumber, half of boughs, —
located on the Temple Block.
Two years later the Social Hall was opened and here
for ten years the Mormon pioneers engaged in music,
dancing and the drama. Hiram B, Clawson, who had
joined the Mormons and had played in the theater of
Nauvoo, was practically In charge In Salt Lake, and gave
great delight through the plays which he produced.
During this time Brigham Young saw that a more per
manent temple for the drama was needed, so in 1861 the
foundations were laid for a new theater and the walls
erected by October. On Christmas day the roof was on
and on Thursday, March 6, and Saturday, March 8, 1862,
the dedication occurred, the two nights bdng required on
account of the large request for invitations and demand
for seats. The archltert was WllHam H. Folsom.
Mr. B. Leavitt, the famous theatrical promoter in his
Fifty Years of Theatrical Management thus speaks of the
Salt Lake Theater :
" At the time of its erection, it was not surpassed in
magnitude, completeness and equipment by any other ex
isting house. Its stage, 130 feet deep, remains the most
capacious of any in this country."
The dedication exercises consisted of addresses by
Brigham Young on " The Capadty of the Human Body
and Mind for Development," Heber C. Kimball, and John
Taylor. In his address Brigham Young declared : " If I
had my way, I would never have a tragedy played on these
boards. There is enough of tragedy in every-day life,
and we ought to have amusement when we come here."
He admired dancing but deprecated waltzing. He orig
inally Insisted that all entertainments should be conducted
under the terms of strictest morality. In the earlier days
of the drama In Salt Lake City he personally attended
;nearly all the rehearsals. He had his private carriage con-

138 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

vey the actresses to and from the hall on every occasion,
so as to avoid the society that might embarrass them after
the performance.
The rehearsals of both plays and dances invariably were
opened with prayer, and smoking and drinking were abso
lutely prohibited. He always insisted that the play-house
ought to be as sacred as the Temple or the Tabernacle.
While he was a real autocrat, he would not always insist
upon the rigid enforcement of his rules, but improper
conduct on the part of the performers always resulted in
their instant dismissal and disgrace.
He was a splendid fireman about the theater, and took
every possible precaution against fire. Once, when George
Francis Train was delivering a lecture in the theater, two
or three of the coal-oil footlights began to smoke and flare.
He stepped quietly out of the stage box, strolled over to
the lamps, and, with his broad-brimmed hat, wafted out
the lights and returned to his box without any remark.
Under such auspices as these the drama was bound to
flourish. An amateur organization of players was formed,
and with many vicissitudes. In one form or another, con
tinued Its existence for over fifty years. Professionals of
recognized ability were engaged to train the players, the
first being Thomas A. L)Tie, who, as far back as 1842,
had thrown In his lot with the Mormons In Nauvoo. In
1863 he rejoined his former friends and assodates, but he
was not long content to remain merely as the coach for
others. From the old bills we find him performing in
such dramas as " Damon and Pythias," " Richelieu,"
"Othello," "Richard HI," "WlUIam Tell," "A New
Way to Pay Old Debts," and the always favorite
" Pizzaro." Horace G. Whitney, in his interesting The Drama in
Utah, says of this epoch :
" It is doubtful whether in all the annals of the drama,
a more unique condition could be found than that which

 The Salt Lake Theater  139
existed in the Mormon playhouse, when T. A. Lyne
arrived in Salt Lake. It was eight years before the advent
of the railroad, and the theater had been built entirely of
timbers from the mountains, native stone, and adobes.
Yet all the appointments of the house (except the seats,
which were wooden benches), were as complete as those
in the large eastern cities. Artists, like Ottinger and
Morris, provided scenery for all the plays. A large ward
robe for andent and modern dramas was kept on hand in
charge of Robert Neslen, C. Cllve, Mrs. Maiben and Mrs.
Bowring ; a small army of supers could be clothed In fash
ion historically corrert at any time. John Squires, wig
maker and barber, saw that every character in the dress
plays was provided with suitable head-gear before he or
she stepped on the stage ; a captain of supers was respon
sible for the appearance of his men whether they were
Indians, courtiers, slaves, or the army of Richard III.
Harry Horsley, the veteran street car conductor of today,
won his first spurs as super captain, and later became
locally famous as the waiter who bore the baby Maude
Adams across the stage upon a platter ; the fine old green
room, then the place where the actors met to receive their
parts from the stately stage manager and occasional player,
John T. Calne, (now the dressing room of visiting stars)
contained a huge mirror, where each character surveyed
himself or herself just prior to venturing before the audi
ence, and where fellow players passed judgment upon the
costumes, and makeups; Charlie Millard, most ingenious
of property men, could turn out anything from a throne
to a mouse trap, and manufactured all the fire works,
lightning and thunders that any demon required, while
William Derr, In charge of the lighting, though limited
to coal oil lamps, produced some Illuminations of which
the house had no reason to be ashamed. As for music,
there was an orchestra of twenty, and when choral effects
were desired, as in Macbeth, the whole strength of the tab-

140 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
ernacle choir could be called on. In fact, Mr. Lyne, fresh
from a chain of eastern theaters, was wont to say that
nowhere outside of the houses of the great populous
cities, and in but few of them, was there such complete
ness of stage appointments, scenery and accessories as
were found In Brigham Young's theater, in the heart of
the Rockies in 1862."
Alfred Lambourne, the poet-artist, succeeded Ottinger
as scene painter of the house. In his poetic work, A Play
house, speaking of conditions at the Salt Lake Theater in
these early days, Lambourne says :
" In my mind's eye, I do not see the Playhouse, as it
now is, overlooked by buildings higher than itself, but as
the structure was when its bulk entirely dominated all
that was around it. How calmly imposing it used to ap
pear, how grandly massive it showed in the twilight, or
when the moonlight was falling on Its white walls ! I, for
one, could not go from home to the Playhouse, without
passing through and inhaling the odor of the Artemisia
and the sunflower. The odor is mixed up In my mind
with the first seeing of many a great play. But how can
I bring back to your understanding those times? How
suggest the Indefinable something that then existed — out
amid the semi-solitude, the Isolation ? How am I to recall
the hvunorous earnestness, the fineness or roughness of
fibre, the pathetic side, the laughing determination of
religious pioneer life as associated with the theater? Yet
such are all mixed up again, with my memories of the
Playhouse. " Swing a circle around the Playhouse — I mean as it
was in those early days : swing a circle of hundreds, of
thousands of miles, and how unique it was! Men who
assisted In the building of that theater acted upon its
stage. That was the strong time of the legitimate drama.
Even the people In the isolated West became connoisseurs.
In this particular Playhouse people would go to perform-

The Salt Lake Theater 141

ances, not to see a new play, but to see some new artor
or actress in the old parts. Each star, man or woman, as
they stepped upon the boards, was tested by the arting of
those who had gone before. ' Damon and Pythias,'
* Pizzaro,' ' VIrglnlus,' ' The Duke's Motto,' ' The Man
with the Iron Mask,' and the like plays, not to mention
those of the Bard of Avon, were those in which new
comers were held to the lines. How many times, in that
Playhouse, did I not see Shakespeare's masterpiece? How
many actors did I not see play 'Hamlet?' Pauncefort,
Lyne, Adams, Kean, McCullough, Davenport, Miss
Evans, Chaplin, Barrett, Booth — that Is not half !
" The greater number of artors and actresses who be
longed to the regular stock company of the Playhouse,
and who supported the stars, had crossed the plains and
mountains in ox or mule trains, and one, I believe, in a
hand-cart company. And who were their critics? Men
and women who had done the same. There was a peculiar
sympathy between those who acted upon the stage, and
those who comprised their audience. Many a man who
watched the play at night, had done the roughest of pio
neer work during the day. Perhaps he had 'grubbed
sage ' for an order for a theater ticket ; perhaps he had
toiled in the fields, irrigated an orchard, or dug on a water
ditch. Perhaps he helped in building a saw-mill, or at
blazing a trail up to the mountain pines. It may be that
he had brought down a load of logs and stood thereafter,
for many hours in rain or shine, in the wood yard op
posite the Playhouse, until he sold that load of fire-wood,
and the pay that he received for it might have partly been
used for his theater admission fee. There was, indeed,
a strange bond existing between the stage and the audito
rium. All were friends ; they would meet in daily labor,
they would dance together, they might bear ' their testi
mony ' in the same meeting house, or listen to the same
sermon on the coming Sunday. Every artor was a

142 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
' Brother,' every artress was a ' Sister.' Their salaries
were partly paid in that which had been received by the
Church as religious tithes. The man who guffawed at the
comedian might talk with him on the morrow, whilst he
chiseled granite on the Temple Square. Another who
watched the tragedian might visit him during the coming
week in the capadty of a ' Teacher.' Those who sympa
thized with the hero and heroine of the play, might soon
meet them in social intercourse of a ' Surprise Party,' and
they might tell how they ' Crossed the Plains,' in the same
' company.' All were one big family, Thespians and
audiences, performers and watchers. And more than this,
each and every artor was liable to be ' Called on a Mis
sion ' to Europe or to 'the States.' Again, each and every
actor was liable to become a Church official, and each and
every one of the artresses to become a worker in the
' Relief Society.' On the morrow, perhaps, all would look
with the same emotions on the great, watchful moun
tains, and take a like interest in the planting of trees and
vines, or it may be, the setting out of a flower garden.
All were alike Interested In bringing about that miracle —
when the desert should blossom as the rose.
" Do you think I put It too strongly, my friend ? Not
in the least. Certain of these facts justify me in the claim
that this Playhouse and that theatrical organization were
unmatched by any other in the world."
In his Recollections of a Player, James H. Stoddart,
the comedian, tells of his coming to the old theater to play
" Saints and Sinners," with an amateur organization. He
confirms the extravagant praise in one regard :
" We had only two rehearsals, and It would have aston
ished many old professionals to have seen the careful at
tention, earnestness, and ability displayed by my Mormon
associates." Mr. Leavitt speaks in similar eulogistic strain :
" My first visit to Salt Lake was In 1869, on my way

 The Salt Lake Theater  143
to California, and my acquaintance with the Salt Lake
Theater, its people and its assodatlon has always been of
the most pleasant chararter. I found its management
ever liberal and scrupulous to the last degree, fulfilling
every obligation of their contract without question or
demur, never seeking by any form of evasion or advan
tage to deprive me or any of my attractions of a penny
due them.
" They invariably lent every assistance possible to make
the business large and profitable, and In all things were
eminently fair and just. I often reflert upon the integrity
of the Mormons as I found them, and deplore the fact that
In men of no other faith have I ever found It to so full and
satisfactory a degree.
" I find peculiar pleasure In referring specifically to one
old member of the Salt Lake Theater Company, bom
November, 1848, at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains,
near Salt Lake City, in a log hut in which buffalo hides
were the doors and windows. She grew up as a girl in
Salt Lake City, and made her debut on the stage of the
Salt Lake Theater on August 25, 1865, as Grace Otis, in
' The People's Lawyer,' since which time she has been
identified and revered by all stage folk. This was Mrs.
Asenath Kiskadden, now Mrs. Annie Adams. She has
her replica In her daughter Maude Adams, the idol of the
EngUsh-speaking stage.
" After playing at the Salt Lake Theater for nine years,
Mrs. Adams went to Virginia City under the manage
ment of Uncle John Piper, and at the close of her engage
ment there, she joined the Hooley Company, in 'The Two
Orphans.' Later, she appeared at the Baldwin Theater,
San Frandsco, under Thomas Maguire, supporting Barry
Sullivan, along with James O'Neil, Louis James, James
A. Heme, David Belasco, Louise Hawthorne, Annie Flr-
;nin and W. R. Crane.
•" Afterward, at the same house, she supported Lewis

144 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

Morrison and Rose Wood, in ' A Celebrated Case,' and
her daughter Maude was engaged for the child Adrienne.
Thence, mother and daughter went to Portland, Oregon,
and for several years supported many of the stars who
went to the Coast. She came East in 1881, and sup
ported Charlotte Thompson, and for a number of years
remained in the East under the management of Charles
Frohman. " She now lives at Salt Lake, appearing occasionally
with a stock company playing there. She makes her home
with her mother, who is eighty- four years of age, and says
that she hopes to continue her work even unto the second
childhood period, ' for I am fond, very fond of the pro
fession and Its dear people, of whom, in contemplation of
forty-five years of association, I can truly say I have not
one unpleasant thought, not one bitter memory.' "
In 1863 Mr. and Mrs. Selden Irwin appeared and
delighted their audiences with comedy and romance, and
the following year, the scholarly George Pauncefort,
with his co-star, Mrs. Florence Bell, created a sensation
with " The Romance of a Poor Young Man." Paunce
fort and Lyne soon joined hands and together exercised
a tremendous influence, not only on their audiences, but
upon the young players who were growing up around
them. And so the roll might be called. Julia Dean Hayne in
George B. Waldron's company — once the sweetheart of
Joe Jefferson — came and stayed ten months. Then came
C. W. Couldock and his daughter Eliza, with such plays
as "The Willow Copse," from -which " Hazd Kirke "
was afterwards produced. In 1868 Charlotte Crampton,
the noted star, who played male parts, came, followed by
E. L. Davenport (father of the noted Fanny), who
danced a famous sailor's hornpipe with Sara Alexander.
Then Parepa Rosa appeared and gave three concerts,
John McCullough, with twenty-three performances,

THE OLD SALT LAKE THEATER, SALT LAKE CITY.

 The Salt Lake Theater  145
James A. Heme, McKee Rankin, J. K. Emmett, Milton
Nobles, and Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Bates with their baby,
afterwards famous as Blanche Bates.
Year after year saw the roster of famous names grow,
until the change in public taste arrived which prefers cheap
vaudeville, and this almost emptied the galleries and at
the same time rendered large risks Inadvisable.
What, then, will become of the famous old theater?
Once proudly dominating that portion of the city where
it was built, It is now far overtopped by modern slcy-
scrapers. It no longer looks what It used to be. One
knows It is old as he stands and sees it for the first time.
Forbes-Robertson, on the occasion of his last visit to Salt
Lake, pleaded with the people to cherish and preserve such
a rare treasure-house of memories — almost the last thea
ter of its kind in America. Scores of other artists have
echoed his desires in words of their own. What will the
future do with it ? Quien Sabef

CHAPTER IX
EDUCATION IN UTAH
It has been well said that the intelUgence and progress-
iveness of a community or state may be determined by its
interest in the education of its youth. If this be a truism,
then Utah can claim to be in the front rank of the intelli
gent and progressive. Few states have formulated so
thorough and advanced an educational program, which the
officials are conscientiously seeking to carry out.
And yet it used to be the fashion to revile Utah as not
interested in education. Brigham Young was again and
again charged with deliberately seeking to keep his peo
ple in ignorance. Indeed, this was one of the stock arg
uments of those who attacked Mormonism In its earlier
years. This in spite of the fact that before the exodus
from Nauvoo a great university was planned, and nothing
but the fierce persecution of the Church and the driving-
out of the Mormons prevented Its erection, and the fur
ther fact that the very first winter the Latter-day Saints
spent in Salt Lake Valley saw the opening of a school.
In 1850 the legislature incorporated the University of
Deseret, which has since developed into the magnificent
modern institution, the University of Utah. The Mor
mons, like the Catholics, Methodists, and all other re
ligious bodies, believe In their own Church schools, but
they also believe in and sustain the public schools as a
matter of general good policy and helpfulness to the state.
Hence they have their Latter-day Saints University at
Salt Lake City, the Brigham Young University at Provo,
146

STATE AGRICULrUR-\L COLLEGE. LC'GAX.

__  Education in Utah  147
the Brigham Young College at Logan, the Snow Academy
at Ephraim, the Academy of St. George, and others.
these are all of secondary or college grade, there being no
attempt on the part of the Church to provide dementary
education, and thus duplicate the work of the public
schools. Yet, as Is the avowed Intention of all churches,
the rdigious leaders did not wish to ignore what they
regard as the most Important portion of a child's educa
tion, viz., the religious. Hence a method of co-operation
has sprung up between the high schools and the Church,
which meets the needs of the Mormon leaders. A semi
nary Is erected by the Church as near to the high school as
possible and provided with college-trained teachers. When
not enagaged in their studies in the high school, doubtless
at set periods, the pupils go to the seminary, where they
are given regular courses in the Bible, the Book of Mor
mon, Church history and doctrine, etc. There are nine
teen of these seminaries now in existence, with an enroll
ment of over 3,000 students.
But It is not so much of Church schools and education
that this chapter is to treat. In 1919, the legislature of
Utah so amended and enlarged its educational laws that
they were entirely rewritten. To make this legislation
effertlve an " Educational Drive " was held in practically
every community in the state. A speakers' organization
was efferted, composed of over 100 men and women, con
spicuous for their abilities and public services. These
went out in teams to every district In the state, where local
committees met them, banquets were given, great dem
onstrations in the form of parades and artistic pageants,
etc., opened the local campaign. Press, pulpit and poster
alike aided in the campaign, and a most effective pamphlet,
entitled " Better Public School Education in Utah," was
taken by the school children to every home In the state.
This brochure contains, beside much excellent argument
and eloquent pleas for fuller education, facts stated in

148 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
poster form, easily read and eye-compelling. Here is one :

UTAH'S SL.OGAN
Better School-s for
Our Boys and Our Giri_s
Better Pay for Teachers
Better Service from Teachers
If we are to accomplish anythincs
worth whi1_b the pubilic must
TAUK ABOUT IT
Write about it
ficsht for it
Until, they <3et it

Another page shows strikingly Utah's lead in girls and
boys, being 29 to each 100 of the population as compared
with 25 in Idaho, 24, 23, 22, in Arizona, Colorado and
Washington, and 19 in California. Still another shows
that while Utah produces $155,000,000 annually in Its
manufactures, $86,000,000 In mining, $22,000,000 for
hay, $11,000,000 In sugar beets, and $8,000,000 in wheat,
it spends only $5,400,000 In education, concluding with
the forceful line in black letters : WE MUST INVEST
MORE IN EDUCATION.
In addition the new laws provide for part-time educa
tion of boys and girls who, through economic necessity,
are compelled to go to work before their school age is
past. Every child is compelled to register once a year, so
that tabs can be kept on him. He must be either at school
or at work until he is eighteen years old. Every child,
too, is urged to participate In some out-of-school organiz
ation, such as boy scouts, camp-fire girls. Mutual Im
provement Assodations, Sunday Schools, glee clubs,
town bands, orchestras, choirs, and thrift clubs. The

 Education in Utah  149
youth who avail themselves of the part-time education
gladly wdcome the chance to pursue the studies that indus
trial conditions and present day living cut them off from
taking in the regular whole-time schools. They are boys
and girls of a practical turn of mind. They know well the
subjects that will help them in thdr defidendes and what
wUl aid them in the occupations they have entered as
wage-earners. They throng the dasses in the common
branches; they get the basal prindples of dtizenship and
health ; they have courses in machine shop, dectrical prac
tice, auto repair, typewriting, sewing, cooking, dress
making and nursing.
Another feature is health education, many phases of
which are admirable, such as the inculcation of ideas of
deanliness, sanitation, corrert heating and fighting, etc,
but there is danger here of medical despotism that never
benefits and always injures.
Those features of the law, however, that deal with
Civics, Americanization and Vocational Training are
above critidsm.
The new course In dvics requires partidpation by each
child in the activities of the school, home and community.
Every child must partidpate in the government of the
sdiooL He must help formulate the laws he is experted
to obey and be given responsibiUty for good condurt in
the school, on the grounds, and in the community-.
He must feel that he is a part of everything and everj-
thing is a part of him.
He must partidpate in the dvic affairs and organiza
tions of his community and be hdd to some worthy dvic
achievement, such as beautifying his home, assisting in
a dean-up campaign, or helping to put over some dvic
improvement in his town.
He must possess a dvic consdence and reach a high
standard of dx-ic attainments before promotion from his
grade or graduation from high school.

150 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
The schools must provide the universal intelligence
required for good citizenship.
In the campaign for Americanization Utah was urged
by the fart that of Its population 90,000 are foreign-born,
and of these 30,000 are unable to speak English. Many
of these work In the mines and the smelters. The educa
tors realize that foreign labor is essential to Utah's indus
tries. None of the major industries could continue if
foreign labor were removed.
The intelligence and patriotism of the foreigner is the
measure of the industrial efficiency of the state. Men
are valuable to society in proportion as they are willing
to work in harmony with other men. It is the business
of the state to make possible this harmony. A common
language and common Ideals of government are the basis
of cooperation and citizenship.
The aims of the Americanization Law of Utah are :
I. To teach the American language.
2. To give the foreigner a basic idea of democracy.
3. To promote confidence and hope as a ground for
cooperation. 4. To counteract un-American propaganda.
No state can be greater than its people. America was
a great land when Columbus discovered It. Americans
make It a great nation. It Is therefore not only good
business, but a sacred obligation of the state to take care
of all of its people.
The same prartical aims direct Vocational Education.
A majority of the people of Utah are engaged in voca
tional activities. It therefore becomes the duty of the
schools to aid this vast body of workers. To this end
prartical courses are offered In all the high schools and
colleges in Homemaking, Agriculture, Business Training,
all the trades and industries and mining. The aim of the
teacher is to show the dignity of labor, to prove that in
telligence Is the basis of efficiency, that joy comes from

EAST SIDE HIGH SCHOOL, SALT LAKE CITY.

 Education in Utah  151
work well done, that life is labor, and to live Is to serve.
Another splendid feature is the use of natural objects,
out-of-doors, where possible, rather than books. Thou
sands of things can better be taught the child by personal
contad than by reading. Garden plots are provided,
nature studies of every kind encouraged and the children
urged to all good initiative on their own behalf, instead
of being fettered to a few pages In a book, which they
must learn parrot-like whether their understanding is
engaged or not.
Indeed a strong point Is made from the lowest grade
even to the University that no man or woman Is educated
who is merely a theorist, and has no practical, applicable
knowledge of a subject. The deeply read student who
" knows a lot but can't do nothin'," Is as much abhorred as
the unread, narrow, limited slave to his tools, who " works
a lot but don't know nothin'." Both must receive a larger,
wider outlook and a more prartical vision.
To interest the pupil the same things are not taught
year after year. New subjects are Introduced every year
for four years, and then brought up again. And every
subject is vitalized and related to actual life as far as pos
sible. From the fifth grade through the eighth. In every
school, attention is intensified In making things, or in
studying growing things, or live things, or in studying
social and civic life. Thus vitalizing and rotating each
subjert, every child is Interested and is ready to " fit In "
to active life when the school period ends.
Thus Utah Is determined to achieve competent citizen
ship for its children. It Is a high ideal, one worthy a great
state, and as it is now working out, will soon put Utah,
educationally, first In the states of the Union.
Another thing I wish personally strongly to commend.
No public school teacher who uses tobacco In any way is
allowed to hold his position if the fact is known, and the
whole force of the decent element in the state, both Mor-

152 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
mon and Gentile, is now devoted to a campaign against the
use of the narcotic weed. Here Is a part of the printed
campaign against tobacco :
" Tobacco is a nerve depressant, and thus strikes a tell
ing blow at the user's ambition, without which no one can
hope to succeed.
" Boys and young men who use tobacco are almost in
variably behind In their school work.
" Tobacco strikes directly at the heart, lungs, and cir
culation, resulting In under-nutrltion and Impaired physi
cal development.
" The tobacco habit is invariably acquired without the
knowledge or consent of parents, and thus leads directly to
the practice of deception.
" The habit takes boys away from their homes and out
Into undesirable places where the pollution of morals
often follow.
" Nearly all of the boys and young men who are sent
to juvenile courts and detention homes are users of
tobacco. " Successful business men who are now using tobacco
almost invariably acquired the habit after reaching matu
rity, and are now succeeding in spite of the habit and not
because of it.
" No young man going through life with reduced effi
ciency can hope to succeed along with those who are per
fectly normal.
" And, let it be recalled, successes and failures in life are
commonly determined upon very narrow margins. A
man who can make a mouse trap or an ocean liner even
slightly better than his competitors will succeed while
others fail.
" The use of tobacco, therefore, is a handicap to suc
cess in life. It impairs every activity of the human organ
ism and results frequently in mental and moral degeneracy.
" What is the duty of the schools in this particular?

 Education in Utah  153
" The State Board of Education has decided that free
dom from the use of narcotics shall be a requirement for
graduation from high school.
" Where do you stand on the question f "
Note well that requirement for graduation.
Thus, In swift outline, I have given an idea of Utah's
educational program. Did space permit It would be a
pleasure to reproduce photographs of many of the fine
public school buildings of Salt Lake City and elsewhere
in the state.
The University of Utah deserves especial mention. It
is located upon a commanding site In Salt Lake City, over
looking the city, the great lake and the valley, with the
towering ranges of surrounding mountains. No state uni
versity in the country has a more glorious outlook, and
well do the majestic and stately buildings deserve so dom
inating a location. The buildings are all modern and
equipped with all the latest devices for the furtherance of
their special purposes that experience and ingenuity have
been able to devise. Professionally it is making Its own
way, in forceful western fashion. Its last president was
a western man. Dr. John A. Widtsoe, and an expert on
dry farming, as well as proven executive of power.* His
faculty contains many young western men. In the prime
of life, dominated by the western spirit, controlled by no
conventionalities in education, but eager for the newest,
the best, the most natural. Most of them are out-of-door
men, making their own investigations and compelling
their students to read the variedly fascinating pages of
the book of nature, rather than confine themselves to
printed words. It is a joy to meet them either In the lec
ture-room or in the forests, among the wild flowers, in the
canyons among the ruins of the civilization of the past, or
studying the stratigraphy or paleontology of the strata of
•As stated earlier. Dr. Widtsoe resigned the presidency just as this book went to
press. His successor was not yet appointed.

154 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the earth's crust. Every department of human education
is handled, and in accordance with the most approved
modern methods, while new methods are being tried and
personal Initiative encouraged. The result Is an institu
tion that is not only an honor to Utah, but to the whole
West, a school that is growing in influence and power and
that is having a large part In shaping the future destinies
of the state.
It should not be forgotten that besides the public schools
and the University, and the various Mormon academies
and colleges, there are church schools throughout the state
condurted by Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Pres
byterians and Congregationallsts. All these are doing the
educational work required of them.
Thus is Utah caring for the Instrurtlon of Its young.
Whatever may have been the condition of education in the
earlier years, and the wrong impressions the outside
world gained about it, there can be no question of Utah's
progressiveness today, for United States Commissioner
of Education Claxton declares that there is less illiteracy
in Utah now, than in any other state in the Union.

CHAPTER X
THE GEOLOGY OF UTAH
I much doubt whether, all things being considered,
there is another state in the Union that, geologically, can
be compared in interest with Utah. Not even California,
with its great mountaia ranges, its Yosemite, King's River
Canyon, Lake Tahoe region, Colorado Desert, Coast line
and Channel Islands; not even Arizona with its Grand
Canyon, MogoUon Buttes, Sunset Crater, Painted Desert,
White Mountains and Coconino Plateau can surpass it —
though, of course, its interests are of a different char
arter, its geological history strongly individualistic.
A score of travelled, literary or geological masters, in
cluding Bonneville, Fremont, Stansbury, Beckwith, Blake,
Engelmann, Whitney, Hayden, Bradley, Poole, Clarence
King, Hague, Emmons, Howell, Gilbert, Peale, Russell,
Powell, Dutton, and others have written more or less
about the geological features of the Great Basin. This
singularly appropriate name was first given to It by Fre
mont. Yet how few there are who realize the vastness
of this great Inland system of drainage that has no equal
on the American continent and few superiors in the
world. Extending from the Wasatch and Uinta ranges
on the east, reaching across northern Nevada and striking
north-west into northern Oregon, sweeping around and
south through Modoc county, California, taking In the
eastern slopes of the Warner Spur of the Sierra Nevadas,
and then clear down the whole Hne of the Sierras into the
peninsula of Lower California and up again, by a winding
155

156 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys _
line which includes the Colorado Desert of southern Cali
fornia and a part of southern Nevada to the southern part
of Utah. Think of a watershed reaching from iii° to
about 121° and rising to the 44° parallel and down as far
as the 32°. Its general form is rudely triangular, with
the most acute angle southward. The extreme length in a
direction somewhat west of north and east of south is
about 880 miles, the extreme breadth from east to west,
in latitude 40° 30', is 572 miles, and the total area is
approximately 210,000 square miles.
Within this area, of course, is included much that does
not come within the scope of this chapter, but even though
limited to the confines of the one State of Utah, there are
special geological features enough to occupy any one mind
for a long and laborious lifetime.
In the chapter on the Literature of Utah I have briefly
sketched several scientific monographs, to which the
reader Interested in geology is referred. These mono
graphs give proof of Utah's geological supremacy of inter
est. Indeed, the moment one stands in any commanding
position overlooking Salt Lake City and the valley of the
lake, his curiosity is profoundly aroused.
First of all Is the lake and its striking terraces. These
are but a part of the Great Basin, a geological wonderland
in itself. In the third volume of the Report of the
Wheeler Surveys, G. K. Gilbert discusses the unusual and
remarkable features of the Great Basin Ranges found in
Utah and elsewhere, and the Colorado Plateau system,
together with the peculiar geology found In the liorder
land between the ranges and the plateaus. He gives us
new ideas as to the depth of the detritus washed down
from the adjacent mountains to form the desert, the
greatest depression of which is now occupied by the
Great Salt Lake.
Many years later, Gilbert issued another monograph,
entitled Lake Bonneville, dealing more particularly with

WASATCH MOUNTAINS FROM LIBERTY PARK, SALT LAKE CITY.

The Geology of Utah 157
the prehistoric lake. Its history and the causes of its dis
appearance. Now let the visitor look across the valley to the Oquirrh
range, and the scars made by the copper mines in Bing
ham Canyon. For knowledge pertaining to these, with a
full account of the geological conditions involved, let him
read The Ore Deposits of Utah, which also gives a won
derful cursory survey of all the known ore bodies of
the state.
When the United States geologists first began to
explore this western country they were profoundly
impressed by the remarkable scenery of the Uinta range.
One of them wrote :
" The scenery of this elevated region is singularly wild
and picturesque, both In form and coloring. In the higher
portions of the range where the forest growth is
extremely scanty the effect Is that of desolate grandeur;
but in the lower basin-like valleys, which support a heavy
growth of coniferous trees, the view of one of these
mountain lakes, with Its deep green water and fringe of
meadow land, set In the somber frame of pine forests, the
whole inclosed by high walls of reddish pufple rock whose
bedding (stratification) gives almost the appearance of a
pile of Cyclopean masonry, forms a pirture of rare
beauty."* These same geologists remarked upon the many evi
dences of glaciation found in this range, and In 1876,
Major J. W. Powell, Director of the United States Geo
logical Survey, published his interesting monograph on
the Uinta Mountains. It was while making the studies
for this report that he determined that an exhaustive
examination should at some time be made by an expert
into the history of the glaciers which had so materially
shaped this interesting range. Accordingly Wallace W.
Atwood was appointed to the work, and 1909 his Inter-
•Geol. Explor., 40th Par., Vol. 2, p. 194.

158 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys 
esting and instrurtive monograph, Glaciation of the Utnta
and Wasatch Mountains, was published. The following
quotations are all from this work :
" The oldest formation exposed in the region studied is
the pre-Cambrian Quartzite. This formation constitutes
the main body of the range and is exposed throughout
the central plateau portion."
Above this formation are found in greater or lesser
thickness of strata Cambrian shales, Ordovlcian quartz
ite, Mississippi quartzltes and the Pennsylvanlan series.
The following " Permo-Carboniferous " beds appear as
narrow, discontinuous belts In the foothills of the range.
Then come the Triassic, the 600 to 800 feet thickness^ of
the Jurassic limestones, followed by Cretaceous, ¦ consist
ing of over 10,000 feet of conglomerates, sandstones and
shales. " Near the close of Cretaceous time a powerful oro
graphic movement disturbed the formation in the region.
The great Uinta anticline began to rise. As the elevation
increased the forces of degradation became more power
ful, and In the long period of erosion that ensued these
forces greatly reduced the level of the range. Thousands
of feet of rock strata were removed and deposited over
the lower countries to the north and south. On the flanks
of the mountains broad areas of Inclined strata were trun
cated and probably the entire range was brought to the
peneplain stage."
Upon the truncated strata rest the Tertiary formations,
consisting of sandstones, shales and conglomerates of
loose texture, and in places with the materials not
cemented. All these formations have contributed in varying
amounts to the glacial drift of the region. The pre-
Cambrian is the chief contributor to the drift.
" All the great canyons of the Uintas head near the
crest of the range and descend approximately to the north

A Glacial Lake in the .Wasatch Range
From a painting by H. L. A. Culnier. In the author's
private collection

.-'4

 The Geology of Utah  159
or to the south. Since the axis of the range Is nearer the
north than the south margin, the canyons on the north
slope are shorter than those on the south slope. All of the
larger canyons have the characteristic U-shaped form due
to glaciation. Their upper portions have been well cleaned
out by the ice, but their middle and lower portions con
tain heavy morainic deposits."
It is interesting to study the differences in the streams
which flow respectively north and south of the range.
" Evidences of at least two epochs of glaciation appear
in the region of these two epochs ; the earlier was presum
ably the longer, for the ice of that epoch was thicker and
extended farther down the canyons than the Ice of the
later epoch. The lower hmlts to which the ice descended
on the north slope in the earlier and later epochs are
approximately 8,000 and 8,400 feet respectively. On
the south slope the lower limits during the earlier and
later epochs are approximately 7,000, and 8,000 feet
respectively." The report then goes on to discuss in detail the phe
nomena, presented in the various canyons of the north
slope, as Swifts, east fork of Swifts, south fork of Weber
River, Smith and Morehouse, the Weber Canyon system,
Bear River system, Hayden Fork, Stillwater Fork, Blacks
Fork, Smith Fork, Henrys Fork, west and middle forks
of Beaver Creek, Burnt Fork, west and east forks of
Sheep Creek and Beaver Creek system, and on the south
slope including Ashley Fork, Dry Creek, White Rocks,
Uinta, above which rises Mt. Emmons, 13,428 feet, Lake
Fork, Rock Creek, Duchesne, Soapstone, Provo, Boulder
Creek and Shingle Creek.
Certain neve fields were located, and interesting revela
tions noted of landslides.
In the Wasatch range, within an hour or two's ride of
Salt Lake City most interesting evidences of glaciation
can also be studied in Little and Big Cottonwood Can-

160 Utah, the Land of Blossoming VaUeys^
yons, and as these canyons are twelve and fifteen mile
long, respectively, they afford the student many proofs o
glacial action.
In such ranges as the Uintas and the Wasatch another
lesson is taught with great clearness. It is that mountain
ranges are not all formed by the strains set up by the
shrinking of the earth's crust or envelope by the secular
cooling and shrinking of its interior. The plicated struc
tures of the mountains of Europe and the Eastern United
States were such as to lead naturally to such a conclusion,
as were also the indications of the Sierra Nevada and
other Pacific Coast ranges, but when the geologists went
Into Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico they
found an entirely different process had been at work.
This Is luminously discussed by Captain Dutton in his
monograph on Mount Taylor and the Zuni Plateau, else
where referred to. In this he shows that while the moun
tains of these interior regions disclose whatever they have
to tell of physical geology with marvelous clearness and
emphasis, there Is no teaching more clear or more
emphatic than the absence of pllcating forces from among
the agencies which have built its magnificent ranges and
lifted up its great plateaus. The country at large shows no
trace of a widespread, universal, horizontal compression
such as is found In the regions of uplifted plicated moun
tain structures. On the contrary, there is an absence of
all such stress, and proof that these mountains have been
raised by vertical forces acting beneath them. What
these forces are is, as yet, unknown.
Another interesting geological feature which was first
called to the attention of world geologists in Utah is
found in the peculiar formation known as the San Rafael
Swell. This is located in Emery County and has formed
the ground work for scores of studies of somewhat sim
ilar conditions found elsewhere. Captain Dutton thus
gives a general description of it :

 The Geology of Utah iCl
"If we ascend the (Wasatch) plateau and ride east
ward a very few miles, there suddenly breaks upon the
view a vast and Impressive panorama. From an altitude
of more than ii,ooo feet the eye can sweep a semicircle
with a radius of more than seventy miles and reach far
out into the heart of the Plateau country. We stand upon
strata of Lower Tertiary age, and beneath our feet is a
precipice leaping down across the level edges of the beds
upon a terrace 1,200 feet below. The cliff on which we
stand stretches far northward Into the hazy distance,
gradually swinging eastward and then southward through
a course of more than a hundred miles, and vanishing
below the horizon. It describes, as we well know, a rude
semicircle, around a center about forty miles east of our
standpoint. At the foot of this cliff is a terrace of greatly
varying width, rarely less than five miles, consisting of
upper Cretaceous beds nearly but not quite horizontal.
They incline upwards towards the east at angles rarely so
great as 3°, and are soon cut off by a second cliff plunging
down 1,800 feet upon middle Cretaceous beds. This sec
ond cliff describes a semicircle like the first, but smaller
and concentric with it. From Its foot the strata still rise
gently towards the east through a distance of about ten
miles, and are cut off as before by a third series of cliffs
concentric with the first and second. For the fourth and
fifth time this process is repeated. In the center of these
girdling walls is an elliptical area about forty miles long
and twelve to twenty miles broad, completely surrounded
by mural escarpments more than a thousand feet high.
This central spot is called the San Rafael Swell, and it Is
full of interest and suggestion to the geologist."
Captain Dutton then goes on to show that the chief
lesson here taught is the stupendous fart that :
"A body of strata more than 10,000 feet thick and
more than 500 square miles in area have been swept off
from the surface of the swell; that nearly 9,000 feet have

162 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys_^
been removed from a much larger annual space around it ,
7,000 feet from a still larger and remoter space ; and so on
with expanding annuli, from which successively decreas
ing amounts have been denuded."*
One of the least known and yet geologically wonderful
portions of Utah, are the Henry Mountains, located in a
rude and imperfert triangle, with the Colorado River as
the base, the Fremont (or the Dirty Devil) River to the
northeast and the Escalante to the southwest. They
were named by Major J. W. Powell, Director of the
United States Geological Survey, after Professor Joseph
Henry, the world-famed physicist and secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution. At the time of their discovery
and naming by Powell they were in the center of the
largest unexplored district within the United States, — a
district which by its peculiar ruggedness and inaccessi
bility had turned aside all previous travelers. It is still
little known save to the explorer and geologist. It is a
region of wild fascination, of marvelous geological for
mation and peculiar revelation. Page after page of the
stone book of Creation is here opened wide for the stu
dent to read, and this, at present, seems to be its chief use
to man — this, and to afford to sight-seers an opportun
ity to gaze upon panoramas of unequalled splendor of
color, individuality of form, and strange Inutility in view
of man's physical requirements.
For the same general causes that have rendered the
region so difficult of access and passage have made it a
desert, with httle present economic value. The physical
conditions of elevation and aridity which have caused it to
be so deeply carved In canyons, have prevented the streams
with which it is scantly watered from being bordered by
tracts of land which can be irrigated; and agriculture
without irrigation being in that climate an impossibility,
there Is nothing to attrart the farmer. There are prac-
•Second Annual Report U. S. Geological Survey, pp. S4-57.

 The Geology of Utah  163
tically no valuable minerals In the mountains, hence there
Is no inducement to the miner. While there Is timber
upon the slopes and coal near at hand, neither are near
enough to transportation facilities to render them valu
able. Only for grazing have they any money value, hence
few save cowboys and sheep-herders know anything of
the region.
Professor G. K. Gilbert thus describes these mountains :
" The Henry Mountains are not a range, and have no
trend; they are simply a group of five Individual moun
tains, separated by low passes and arranged without dis
cernible system. The highest rise about 5,000 feet above
the plateau at their base and 1 1,000 feet above the level of
the ocean. Projecting so far above the surface of the
desert, they act as local condensers of moisture, and
receive a comparatively generous supply of rain. Springs
abound upon their flanks, and their upper slopes are
clothed with a luxuriant herbage and with groves of tim
ber. The smaller mountains and the foot-hills of the
larger are less generously watered and but scantly clothed
with vegetation. Their extent is small. From Ellen
Peak to Mount Ellsworth, the two summits which are
the most widely separated, the distance is but twenty-
eight miles, and a circle, of eighteen miles radius will
include the group.
" Mount Ellen ^ which is the most northerly of the
group, has an extreme altitude of 11,250 feet, and sur
passes all Its companions In horizontal extent, as well as
altitude. Its crest-line Is continuous for two miles, with
an elevation varying little from 11,000 feet. From it
there radiate spurs In all directions, descending to a series
of foot-hills as conspicuous in their topography as they
are interesting In their strurture. In some places the base
of the mountain Is guarded by a continuous, steep ridge,
through which a passage must be sought by the approach-

164 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys^
ing traveler, but within which, movement is comparatively
unimpeded. " Mount Pennell is a single peak rising to an altitude
of 11,150 feet. On one side its slopes form those ot
Mount Ellen in Penndlen Pass (7,550 feet), and on the
other those of Mount HlUIers in the Dinah Creek Pass
(7,300 feet). Its profiles are simple, and it lacks the
salient spurs that characterize Mount Ellen. From the
west it is difficult of approach, being guarded by a barrier
ridge continuous with that of Mount Ellen.
" Mount Hilllers is more rugged in its character, and
although compart in Its general form, is carved in deep
gorges and massive spurs. Its rugosity is contrasted by
the smoothness of Its pedestal, which to the south and
west and north is a sloping plain merging with the sur
rounding plateau.
"Mount Ellsworth (8,000) feet and Mount Holmes
(7,750 feet) stand close together, but at a little distance
from the others. The pass which separates them from
Mount Hilllers has an altitude of 5,250 feet. They are
single peaks, peculiarly rugged in their forms, and unwa-
tered by springs. They stand almost upon the brink of
the Colorado, which here flows through a canyon 1,500
feet in depth."
These mountains are formed In a manner almost pecul
iar to this region. There, eruptive or lava rocks, instead
of reaching the surface and outflowing In broad streams,
intruded themselves between the strata in great lens-
shaped masses half a mile or more In diameter and several
hundred feet thick. The beds of rock above them were
" domed up," and are now seen curving over them. To
these intrusive masses Gilbert gave the name " laccolltes."
The Sierras Carrlso, Abajo, La Sal, La Plata, and El Late
all were formed in this manner.
Not far away is the Dinosaur National Monument,
where the fossils of great prehistoric animals have been

The Geology of Utah  165
taken, hence the setting apart of the region as a National
Monument. On the way to Zion National Park the visitor sees the
great walls of the Vermillion Cliffs. These may be fol
lowed from Steamboat Mountain, near Zion Canyon,
northward to Rockville and Shunesburg, where it is cut
by a canyon of the east fork of the Virgin River, and
thence, southeast to Pipe Springs. At this point it is
interserted by the same fault which deflected the Gray
Cliff at Long Valley, and is itself carried northward a
distance of three or four miles, when it resumes its east
erly course, past the town of Kanab and Johnson's settle
ment, to Paria Creek, four miles above the town of
Paria. Here it turns abruptly southward, and follows for
forty miles the most easterly fault of the Kalbab Plateau.
In the southern part of this course it is the East Wall of
House Rock Valley, and it terminates that valley by turn
ing sharply to the east. At Jacob's Pool it swings to the
northeast and soon reaches the mouth of the Paria, where
it crosses the Colorado river.
Dutton says of it :
" Thus far the distance is more than 120 miles, in
which the sinuosities of the front are not reckoned.
Throughout this entire sweep it presents to the south
ward a majestic wall richly sculptured and blazing with
gorgeous colors. . . .
" To this great wall, terminating the Triassic terrace
and stretching from the Hurricane Ledge to the Paria,
Powell has given the name of the Vermillion Cliffs.
Their great altitude, the remarkable length of their pro
portions are sustained throughout the entire Interval, their
ornate sculpture and rich coloring might justify very
exalted language of description. But to the southward,
just where the desert surface dips downward beneath the
horizon, are those supreme walls of the Grand Canyon,
which we must hereafter behold and vainly strive to

166 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
describe ; and however worthy of admiration the Vermil
lion Cliffs may be, we must be fmgal of adjectives, lest
in the chapters to be written we find their force and mean
ing exhausted. They, will be weak and vapid enough at
best. Yet there are portions of the Vermillion Cliffs
which in some respects lay hold of the sensibilities with a
force not much less overwhelming than the majesty of
the Grand Canyon ; not in the same way, not by virtue of
the same elements of power and Impresslveness, but in a
way of their own and by attributes of their own. In mass
and grandeur and in the extent of their display there is no
comparison; it would be like comparing a private gallery
containing a few priceless treasures with the wealth of art
in the Vatican or Louvre. All of the really superlative
portions of the Vermillion Cliffs could be comfortably
displayed in any one of half a dozen amphitheaters open
ing Into the Kaibab division of the Grand Canyon. These
portions occur In the beautiful valley of the Virgen, and
they, as well as the features which chararterize the entire
front of the Vermilhon Cliffs, merit some attempt at
description. " Each of the greater sedimentary groups of the ter
races, from the Eocene to the Permian, inclusive, has its
own style of sculpture and architerture; and it is at first
surprising and always pleasing to observe how strongly
the several styles contrast with each other. The elephan
tine structures of the Nile, the Gredan temples, the pago
das of China, the cathedrals of Western Europe, do not
offer stronger contrasts than those we successively encoun
ter as we descend the great stairway which leads down
from the High Plateaus. As we pass from one terrace to
another the scene is wholly changed ; not only in the bolder
and grander masses which dominate the landscape, but in
every detail or accessory ; in the tone of the color-masses,
in the vegetation, and in the spirit and subjertive influ
ences of the scenery. Of these many and strong antithe-

 The Geology of Utah  167
ses, there Is none stronger than that between the repose of
the Jura and the animation of the Trias.
" The profile of the Vermillion Cliffs is very complex,
though conforming to a definite type and made up of sim
ple elements. Though it varies much In different local
ities it never loses Its typical character. It consists of a
series of vertical ledges rising tier above tier, story above
story, with intervening slopes covered with talus through
which the beds projert their fretted edges. The stratifica
tion is always revealed with perfect distinctness and is
even emphasized by the peculiar weathering. The beds
are very numerous and mostly of small or moderate thick
ness, and the partings of the sandstones include layers of
gypsum or gypsiferous sand and shale. The weathering
attacks these gypseous layers with great effert, dissolving
them to a considerable depth in the wall-face, producing
a deeply engraved line between the including sandstones.
This line is always In deep shadow and throws into strong
relief the bright edges of the strata in the rock-face, sep
arating them from each other with uncommon distinct
ness. Where the profiles are thrown well into view the
vertical lines, which bound the faces of the ledges, are
quite perpendicular and straight, while the lines of the
intervening slopes are feebly concave, being, in fact,
descending branches of hyperbolas. They are graceful In
form and indeed genuine lines of beauty. The angles
where the straight and curved lines meet, at the bases and
summits of the ledges, are very keen and well cut. The
composite effect thus given by the multiple cliffs and
sloping water-tables rising story above story, by the acute
definition of the profiles and horizontal moldings, and by
the refined though inobtrusive details, is highly architec
tural and ornate, and contrasts In the extreme with the
rough, craggy, beetling, aspert of the cliffs of other
regions. This effect is much enhanced by the manner in
which the wall advances in promontories or recedes In

168 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

alcoves, and by the wings and gables with sharp cor
ners and Mansard roofs jutting out from every lateral
face where there is the least danger of blankness or
monotony."* Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park are both in this
same wonderful geological region and the reader is
referred to the spedal chapters upon these glorious scenic
wonders. Reference already has been made to that well-known
natural wonder, the Devil's Slide, seen on the main
line of the Union Pacific in Weber Canyon. This is
formed of two limestone reefs tilted up Into a vertical
position. The soft shale, between and outside the reefs
has been eroded away, leaving them standing about forty
feet above the general slope of the canyon side.
Though this chapter has expanded Into far more than
its allotted length, it has by no means exhausted the sub
ject. If it has aroused the interest of the keen and intelli
gent student and given him a zest to pursue the subject
further its object is already more than attained.
'Second Annual Report U. S. Geoloeical Survey, pp. 83, 84, 85.

CHAPTER XI
THE OPALESCENT VALLEY — ZION NATIONAL PARK
Few citizens of the United States, east or west, realize
how much they owe to that pioneer in scientific explora
tion, Major J. W. Powell, for the knowledge they pos
sess of the wonders, glories, enchantments, that he found
in the unknown regions of the west and made known to
the world. Not the least of his discoveries was the mar
velous canyon of the " Mukuntuweap," as the Indians
called what is now " Zion National Park." Undoubtedly
this opalescent valley was first seen and cursorily explored
by the Mormons, possibly in the early fifties, though no
one settled within Its borders until the latter portion of
the decade. A little later the Indians resented the assump
tions of the new comers, and arose and drove them out,
when it was again left to its native solitude for several
years. There have been three explanations offered as to the
conferring of the name upon it of " Little Zion Canyon."
One is that it came from Brigham Young. Salt Lake City
was the new Zion to which the Mormons had been
brought across the deserts, plains and mountains, in 1847.
Ten years later, however, owing, to state it mildly, to
misunderstandings between Brigham Young, as the Gov
ernor of Utah, and the federal government. President
Buchanan sent an army to oust Brigham and install his
successor. Brigham, however, with great force of argu
ment, contended that this action of the President was in
itself illegal and that, therefore, as the duly appointed
169

170 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Governor, it was his duty to protect his people from the
aggressions of unauthorized authority. The way ne
treated the troops Is wdl known. Yet Brigham was a
firm believer in preparedness, and. In order to be ready,
should the soldiers gain access to Salt Lake City, he deter
mined to find hiding places where the Mormons could flee
and remain in perfert security so long as the troops
remained. It was at this time, it is said, that he was shown Mukun
tuweap. He was so impressed with its seclusion, and its
easily-defended inaccessibility, that he termed it the
"LIttie Zion," to which he and his people would flee,
should they find it necessary.
Another story is that he gave it the name because of
the glorious towers, temples, tabernacles, domes, pin
nacles, and minarets found there, and still a third story
alleges that it was the settlers themselves who gave it
the name.
Captain Dutton evidently thought it was Brigham
Young who named it, for in his vivid language he
declares :
" In its proportions it is about equal to Yosemite, but
in the nobility and beauty of its sculptures there Is no com
parison. It is Hyperion to a satyr. No wonder the fierce
Mormon zealot who named It was reminded of the Great
Zion on which his fervid thoughts were bent, of houses
not built with hands, eternal in the heavens."
And as we enter the canyon and become familiar with
its sculptured walls we can well agree with another writer
that it was :
" A happy chance that left the naming of the various
sculptures In the canyon to the zealots of the Mormon
Church, for none but the tremendous Imagery of the Old
Testament could do justice to these stupendous creations
of nature. Thus we have the east and west Temples of
the Virgin, the Altar of Sacrifice, the Great White

The Opalescent Valley— Zion National Park 171
Throne, the Guardian Angds, the Gates of Zion, the Pass
and Court of the Patriarchs; It is all sonorously inspiring
and in keeping with the primeval grandeur of this land of
majestic loveliness."
Undoubtedly the first account of Zion Canyon ever
given to the world was that of Major Powell, in his
Explorations of the Colorado River. On September 12,
1870, in company with Jacob Hamblln, the Mormon mis
sionary, he visited it. He wrote :
" Our course, for the last two days, through Pa-ru-nu-
weap Canyon, was directly to the west. Another stream
comes down from the north and unites just here at
Schunesberg with the main branch of the Rio Virgen.
We determine to spend a day in the exploration of this
stream. The Indians call the canyon, through which it
runs, Mukoontuweap, or Straight Canyon. Entering this,
we have to wade up stream; often the water fills the
entire channel, and although we travel many miles, we
find no flood-plain, talus, or broken piles of rock at the
foot of the cliff. The walls have smooth, plain faces, and
are everywhere very regular and vertical for a thousand
feet or more, where they seem to break back In shelving
slopes to higher altitudes ; and everywhere, as we go along,
we find springs bursting out at the foot of the walls, and
passing these, the river above becomes steadily smaller;
the great body of water which runs below, bursts out
from beneath this great bed of red sandstone ; as we go up
the canyon, it comes to be but a creek and then a brook.
On the western wall of the canyon stand some buttes,
towers, and high pinnacled rocks. Going up the canyon
we gain glimpses of them, here and there. Last summer,
after our trip through the Canyon of the Colorado, on
our way from the mouth of the Virgin to Salt Lake City,
these were seen as conspicuous landmarks, from a dis
tance, away to the southwest, of sixty or seventy miles.

172 Utah, the Land of Blossoming VaUeys __
These tower rocks are known as the Temples of the
Virgin." Powell invariably wrote with great restraint, and when
it is recalled that his senses had been dazzled by his long
and intimate intercourse with the stupendous majesty of
the Grand Canyon, we can understand why his descrip
tion of Mukuntuweap seems somewhat tame and. com
monplace. But that he was profoundly impressed, is
revealed again and again in his writings, and when he sent
the eminent poet-geologist, Clarence E. Dutton, to study
and report on the geology of the Grand Canyon region,
he at the same time, introduced him in this smaller, but
equally dazzlingly gorgeous canyon. The result is that
we have, in Dutton's description, one of the most vivid
accounts yet written. And It must be remembered that
these words were penned by one whose knowledge of
other majestic canyon and plateau scenery, perhaps, was
not surpassed by that of any other writer in the world.
Let us read, then, with care and rigid attention what
Captain Dutton writes :
" The controlling object was a great butte which sprang
into view immediately before us, and which the salient of
the wall had hitherto masked. Upon a pedestal two miles
long and i,ooo feet high, rightly decorated with horiz
ontal moldings, rose four towers highly suggestive of
cathedral architecture. Their altitude above the plain was
estimated at about i,8oo feet. They were separated by
vertical clefts made by the enlargement of the joints, and
many smaller clefts extending from the summits to the
pedestal carved the turrets into tapering buttresses, which
gave a graceful aspiring effert with a remarkable definite-
ness to the form. We named It Smithsonian Butte and
it was decided that a sketch should be made of It; but in
a few moments the plan was abandoned or forgotten.
For, over a notch or saddle formed by a low isthmus
which connected the butte with the principal mesa, there

The Opalescent Valley — Zion National Park 173
sailed slowly and majestically into view, as we rode along,
a wonderful object. Deeply moved, we paused a moment
to contemplate It, and then, abandoning the trail, we rode
rapidly towards the notch, beyond which It soon sank out
of sight. In an hour's time we reached the crest of the
isthmus, and In an Instant there flashed before us a scene
never to be forgotten. In coming time, it will, I believe,
take rank with a very small number of spectacles each of
which will. In Its own way, be regarded as the most exquis
ite of its kind which the world discloses. The scene
before us was the Temples and Towers of the Virgin.
" At our feet the surface drops down by cliff and talus
1,200 feet upon a broad and rugged plain cut by narrow
canyons. The slopes, the winding ledges, the bosses of
projerting rock, the naked, scanty soil, display colors
which are truly amazing. Chocolate, maroon, purple, lav
ender, magenta, with broad bands of toned white, are laid
in horizontal belts, strongly contrasting with each other,
and the ever-varying slope of the surface cuts across them
capriciously, so that the sharply defined belts wind about
like the contours of a map. From right to left across the
further foreground of the pirture stretches the inner can
yon of the Virgin, about 700 feet In depth, and here of
considerable width. Its bottom is for the most part
unseen, but In one place is disclosed by a turn in its course,
showing the vivid green of vegetation. Across the can
yon, and rather more than a mile and a half beyond it,
stands the central and commanding object of the pirture,
the Western Temple, rising 4,000' feet above the river.
Its glorious summit was the object we had seen an hour
before, and now the matchless beauty and majesty of its
vast mass is all before us. Yet it is only the central object
of a mighty throng of structures wrought up to the same
exalted style, and filling up the entire panorama. Right
opposite us are the two principal forks of the Virgin, the
Parunuweap coming from the right or east, and the

174 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Mukuntuweap, or Zion Valley, descending towards us
from the north. The Parunuweap Is seen emerging on
the extreme right through a stupendous gateway and
chasm in the Triassic terrace, nearly 3,000 feet in
depth. The further wall of this canyon, at the opening
of the gateway, quickly swings northward at a right
angle and becomes the eastern wall of Zion Valley. As it
sweeps down the Parunuweap It breaks into great pedi
ments covered all over with the richest carvings. The
effert is much like that which the architect of the Milan
Cathedral appears to have designed, though here it is
vividly suggested rather than fully realized — as an artist
painting in the ' broad style ' suggests many things with
out artually drawing them. The sumptuous, bewilder
ing, mazy effert is all there, but when we attempt to ana
lyze It in detail It eludes us. The flank of the wall reced
ing up the Mukuntuweap is for a mile or two similarly
decorated, but it soon breaks into new forms much more
impressive and wonderful. A row of towers half a mile
high is quarried out of the palisade and stands well
advanced from Its face. There is an eloquence to their
forms which stirs the imagination with a singular power,
and kindles in the mind of the dullest observer a glowing
response. Just behind them, rising a thousand feet
higher, is the Eastern Temple, crowned with a cylindrical
dome of white sandstone ; but since It is, in many respects,
a repetition of the Western Temple, we may turn our
attention to the latter. Directly in front of us a complex
group of white towers, springing from a central pile,
mounts upwards to the clouds. Out of their midst, and
high over all, rises a dome-like mass, which dominates the
entire landscape. It Is almost pure white, with brilliant
streaks of carmine descending its vertical walls. At the
summit it is truncated, and a flat tablet is laid upon the
top, showing its edges of deep red. It is impossible to
liken this object to any familiar shape, for it resembles

The Opalescent Valley — ^Zion National Park 175
none. Yet its shape is far from being indefinite; on the
contrary, it has a definiteness and individuality which
extort an exclamation of surprise when first beheld.
" There is no name provided for such an objert, nor is
it worth while to invent one. Call it a dome ; not because
it has the ordinary shape of such a structure, but because
it performs the functions of a dome.
" The towers which surround it are of inferior mass
and altitude, but each of them is a study of fine form and
architectural effect. They are white above, and change to
a strong, rich red below. Dome and towers are planted
upon a substructure no less admirable. Its plan is Indef
inite, but its profiles are perfectly systematic. A curtain
wall, 1,400 feet high, descends vertically from the eaves
of the temples and is succeeded by a steep slope of ever-
widening base courses leading down to the esplanade
below. The curtain wall is decorated with a lavish display
of vertical moldings, and the ridges, eaves, and inltered
angles are fretted with serrated cusps. This ornamenta
tion is suggestive rather than precise, but it is none the
less effective. It is repetitive, not symmetrical. But
though exact symmetry is wanting. Nature has here
brought home to us the tmth that symmetry is only one
of an infinite range of devices by which beauty can be
materialized. " ' And finer forms are in the quarry
Than ever Angelo evoked.' "
Let a more modern writer, Robert Sterling Yard, now
take up the theme and describe the East Temple :
" The East Temple, which rises directly opposite and
two miles back from the rim, is a fitting companion. It
is a thousand feet higher. Its central structure is a steep
truncated cone capped like the West Temple. Its wings
are separated half-way down, one an elongated pyramid
and the other a true cone, both of magnificent size and

176 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

bulk but truly proportioned to the central mass. Phrase
does not convey the suggestion or architectural, calcula
tion in both of the^e stupendous monuments. .... - -
" A more definite conception of Nature's gigantic pro
cesses follows upon reaUzatlon that these lofty structures
once joined across the canyon, stratum for stratum, color
for color. The rock that joined them, disintegrated by
the frosts and rains, has passed down the muddy current
of the Virgin, down the surging tide of the Colorado,
through'the G-rand Canyon, and' into the Pacific. Some
part of these sands doubtless helped to build the peninsula
of Lower California."
Now a few words from Dutton upon this Eastern
Temple :
" Reverting to the twin temple across Zion Valley, its
upper mass is a repetition of the one which crowns the
western pile. It has the same elliptical contour, and a sim
ilar red tablet above. In its effect upon the imagination
it is much the same. But from the point from which we
first viewed them — and it is by far the best one accessi
ble — it was too distant to be seen to the fullest advan
tage, and the Western Temple by its greater proximity
overpowered its neighbor."
The present day visitor to Zion Canyon, however, must
note that his position is practically the reverse of that occu
pied by Captain Dutton when he wrote these memorable
descriptions. The new road takes one close to the East
ern Temple, and the Western one, therefore, though the
more majestic and awe-inspiring. Is seen far away to the
right, and is dwarfed somewhat by its distance. Dutton
continues :
" Nothing can exceed the wondrous beauty of Zion
Valley, which separates the two temples and their respec
tive groups of towers. Nor are these the only sublime
strurtures which look down into its depths, for similar

THE MOUNTAIN OF THE SUN, ZION CANYON.

The Opalescent Valley — ^ffion National Park 177
ones are seen on either hand along its receding vista until
a turn In the course carries the valley out of sight."
Yard thus describes the ravine :
" Passing the gates the traveler stands In a trench of
nearly perpendicular sides more than half a mile deep,
half a mile wide at the bottom, a mile wide from crest to
crest. The proportions and measurements suggest
Yosemite, but there is little else in common. These walls
blaze with color. On the west the Streaked Wall, carved
from the White Cliff, is stained with the drip from the
red and drab and chocolate shales and limestones not yet
wholly washed from Its top. It is a vivid thing, wonder
fully eroded. Opposite is the Brown Wall, rich In hue,
supporting three stupendous structures of gorgeous color,
two of which are known as the Mountain of the Sun and
the Watchman. Together they are the Sentinels. Pass
ing these across a plaza apparently broadened for their
better presentation, rise on the west the Three Patriarchs,
Yosemlte-like In form, height, and bulk, but not in per
sonality or color. The brilliance of this wonder-spot
passes description."
As Yard has suggested, in some respects, Zion Canyon
is like Yosemite, in size and the abruptness of its cliffs.
Its walls are not as high as those of Yosemite, though to
the general eye they appear to be so, but instead of the
dull gray of the Yosemlte's granite here are mauves, pur
ples, olive-greens, deep chocolate reds, and creamy whites.
It is a genuine opal or rainbow land, resplendent in color,
with walls of dazzling splendor, crowned with peaks and
domes, minarets and towers, carved into starthng, gro
tesque, beautiful, enchanting shapes by the never-tiring
forces of Nature.
While the approach to Zion is strikingly grand, it is
altogether unlike that of Yosemite, where the Canyon of
the Merced gives one a full foretaste of what is ahead.
Here, the approach is more open, though there are sug-

178 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
gestlons and foretastes enough to satisfy the most exact
ing. To the left, as one rides up the dugway recently
constructed on the hill-side by the National Park Service,
he sees two white towers, dazzingly brilliant in the sun
shine, but these are dwarfed in comparison with the Great
Temple of the Virgin, which for hours and hours of swift
est travel has lifted its opalescent shoulders alluringly
against the eastern sky. As we approach we are in the
midst of incredible cliffs, buttes, pinnacles, all radiant in
glowing color, all strikingly sculptured, yet altogether
insignificant in the presence of that masterpiece across the
river, — the Great Temple. Writes F. S. Dellenbaugh :
" Under the noonday sun it glows with an iridescence
that intensifies Its magnitude. The delicacy of the merg
ing tints of red and white and yellowy cream, with tones of
soft Vermillion spread here and there athwart the white
like alpenglow transfixed, is discouraging enough to the
brush of the painter. The foreground is gravelly desert
sprinkled with the exquisite gray-green of the sage-brush,
inhabited, apparently, only by lizards, one large, active
specimen resenting our intrusion by a series of angry
hisses.* Away below, sage-covered slopes extend to the
distant green of Virgin City, overshadowed by the tower
ing magnificence of the Great Temple, standing unique,
sublime, adamantine. One hardly knows just what to
think of it. Never before has such a naked mountain of
rock entered into our minds! Without a shred of dis
guise its transcendent form rises preeminent. There is
almost nothing to compare to it — Niagara has the beauty
of energy; the Grand Canyon, of immensity; the Yellow
stone, of singularity ; the Yosemite, of altitude ; the ocean,
of power; this Great Temple, of eternity. —
" ' The Titan- fronted, blowy steeps
That cradled Time.'
•Here, apparently. Dr. Dellenbaugh refers to the Gila monster, which, personally I
never have seen north of the Grand Canyon. 1 am told, however, that occasionally
it is found in southern Utah. It should be noted, also, that his " Great Temple " is
undoubtedly the "Western Temple" of Capt. Dutton.

The Opalescent Valley — Zion National Park 179
" One feels here in sympathy with Childe Roland halt
ing before the Dark Tower, yet is uncertain whether, like
him, to blow a blast of defiance or, like Moslem at Mecca,
to fall in prayerful homage.
" Indeed, we are at last face to face with the Unobtain
able ; no foot of man has ever touched the summit of this
silent shrine, 7,500 feet above the level of the sea, 4,000
above the valley before us. Storm, night, the stars, the
sun and moon, the elements, alone hold communion with
that pristine crest. Under its shadow we may almost
touch the latch-string of Eternity ; almost see ourselves in
the dull mirror of Time. There comes a feeling that It
ought to speak, to roar, to belch forth fire and brimstone,
to give some sign of the throes of world-birth it has wit
nessed since these rocks were dyed In the antediluvian
seas. But only the silence of the outer spheres encircles it ;
in all that wondrous expanse of magnificent precipices we
hear no sound save our own voices and the whisper of the
wind that comes and goes, breathing with the round of
centuries. " In the morning we discover that the great biitte, like
a chameleon, has changed color. The rare opalescence
has vanished; instead, the rock mountain palpitates with a
heavenly blue, as if metamorphosed to sapphire in a night.
But the sun, mounting, darts shafts of light across the
summit, the outlying pinnacles are set aflame; gradually
the whole array of colors burns out again with all the
intensity of yesterday. To the left the white and red rock
domes of Colob Plateau stand luminous also, the color
everywhere increasing in brilliancy as the sun falls, till the
entire landscape appears kaleidoscopic, yet never harsh nor
crude. To eyes prejudiced by the soft blues and grays of
a familiar eastem United States or European district, this
immense prodigality of color Is startling, perhaps painful ;
it seems to the inflexible mind unwarranted, Immodest, as

180 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
if Nature had stripped and posed nude, unblushing before
humanity." That Is a poetic description made by an artist with a
mind alert to native beauty and a soul awake to high and
noble sentiment.
The traveler to Zion should also note well Captain
Dutton's description of the two forks of the Virgin River.
The one to the left — facing the canyon — is the Mukun
tuweap, or the north fork, — Zion City itself — while the
one to the right is the Parunuweap, or the south fork.
The former drains the larger area and though most of
the travelers who visited Zion Canyon in the past few
summers have seen only a quiet mountain stream
meandering along, the few Inhabitants of the region laiow
that occasionally It becomes a raging torrent, booming
and slashing at the sides of the canyon with cutting force,
and carrying away all the loose sand and rock-debris that
have accumulated as talus at the foot of the cliffs since the
last flood. Undoubtedly these floods have been the prin
cipal carving agencies in the making of these great can
yons, for Parunuweap is a wonderful canyon as well as
is Mukuntuweap, though nothing like so varied in its
architectural forms.
The western gate-post of Zion is magnificent as one
enters the canyon, and, says Dellenbaugh:
" The Great Temple is the forerunner of numerous
other temples, some of them reaching up close to the alti
tude of its own mighty head. With the Great Temple on
the one hand, looming 4,000 feet, and on the other one of
more than 2,000 feet, the spectator is instantly enveloped
In the maze of cliffs and color, a double line of majestic
sculptures, — domes, pyramids, pinnacles, temples, sweep
ing away to the north, dazzling with vermllllon, orange,
pink, and white, — all scintillating in the burning sun
light with an intensity not comprehensible to those who
have never had the good fortune to breathe this lambent

The Opalescent Valley — ^Zion National Park I8i
air amidst the overwhelming profusion of color. And
the splendor of all this exquisite Nature-painting is
enhanced by the soft green of the cultivated fields and
foUage of Sprlngdale, the last settlement (in the mouth
of the canyon). The white summits of carved stone
shine and shimmer like snow mantles against the sky,
whose enchanting blue, flecked here and there by a drift
ing cloud, repeats on high the azure of the shadows, and
gives the finishing touch to the panorama — to the opales
cence of the valley. Yet with all the wonderful play of
color there is nothing garish or bizarre about this Opales
cent Valley ; sky and cliff and bottomland are blended har
moniously into one pirture.
" The Great Temple as it is approached from the west,
at first appears ominous, forbidding, and we might expert
the valley which it guards to offer a similar impression;
but now the Temple from this point seems quite indif
ferent, in its attitude, while the Opalescent Valley itself
opens wide and smiling, sedurtlve as the realm of some
sleeping beauty."
When Dellenbaugh went up the canyon In 1903, there
were houses and cultivated fields in what is now the
National Park. The people of Sprlngdale had cut a rude
wagon-road on the hills which made the further ascent
from their village possible. The park officials have now
constructed a good automobile road, though it is not one
to be careless upon. The fields have been allowed to
revert to their natural condition, and the present-day vis
itor occasionally is surprised to find himself standing
under a well-laden apple tree, growing, apparently, as wild
as the sage-brush and cartus.
Dellenbaugh's descriptions are fascinating, though it
must be recalled. In reading them, that, since his day, all
the principal features of the canyon have received specific
names ; he says :
" Two miles above the village we passed several houses.

182 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the final ones In this direction; henceforth we had the
entire valley to ourselves ; henceforth these mighty towers
and temples reared their stupendous fronts for us alone ;
for us the river sent up its angry growl as if resenting
our intrusion within this realm fit only for the Titan gods.
Nearer came the domes and precipices, perpendicular for
twice a thousand feet ; closer came the great boulders and
bluffs by the river, till we were creeping along a roadway
hewn out of the low hills by the Sprlngdale people, who
utilize some of the lands above. Without this no wagon
could go farther. For a couple of miles the bottom is for
bidding, the river roaring at our feet, the precipices leap
ing to the sky. Ahead are vistas of even greater pyramids
with foreground of beating waters. These seem. Indeed,
to be balanced In the zenith. They are extraordinary, and
though they have not the base-bulk of the Great Temple,
they astound us by their beetling, towering character as
much as did that giant butte. Words fail to express the
sensations inspired by these excessive heights of naked
rock. The river constantly forms an appropriate fore
ground, and at length as we near the upper end of this
particular division one of the most complete pictures of
the whole valley unfolds before us. In the foreground
are the chaotic masses of red rock through which the
river tears its way; green cottonwoods and bushes then
inject their note, leading on to a huge vermllllon pyramid
whose precipices cleave the sky in the May-day sun like a
battle-axe, behind and above It rising the still, white rocks
of the yet greater pyramids."
There are really four distlnrt divisions of Zion Canyon,
the remembrance of which may be helpful to the tourist
desirous of carrying away as perfect and complete impres
sions as is possible. These canyon phases are :
I. The approach, from whence the closer views of
the rear of the Great Temple, and the Guardian Angels
are obtained.

•NOANV.) NOIZ NAVOU DNIMOO'l 'NVKlHVnLI MUX

The Opalescent Valley — Zion National Park 188
2. The entrance into the canyon, or the ravine.
3. The amphitheater, which extends to the turn where
the cable, or " wire," Is located.
4. The narrowing canyon leading into the closed
chasm. The approach, of which masters of description hav^e
already fully apprized us, Is thus graphically presented in
our day by Robert Sterling Yard, in his Book of the
National Parks:
" From here on, swinging easterly up-stream, sensa
tion hastens to Its climax. Here the Hurricane Cliff sends
aloft an impressive butte painted in slanting colors and
capped with basalt. Farther on a rugged promontory
striped with vivid tints pushes out from the southern wall
nearly to the river's brink. The cliffs on both sides of
the river are carved from the stratum which geologists
call the Belted Shales. Greenish-grays, brownish-yellows,
many shades of bright red, are prominent; It Is hard to
name a color or shade which is not represented in its
horizontal bands. ' The eye tires and the mind flags In
their presence,' writes Professor Willis T. Lee. ' To try
to reahze in an hour's time the beauty and variety of
detail here presented is as useless as to try to grasp the
thoughts expressed in whole rows of volumes by walking
through a library.'
" Far up the canyon which North Creek pushes through
this banded cliff, two towering cones of glistening white
are well named Guardian Angels — of the stream which
roars between their feet. Eagle Crag, which Moran
painted, looms into view. On the south appears the
majestic massing of needle-pointed towers which Powell
named the Pinnacles of the Virgin. The spectacular con
fuses with its brilliant variations.
" Reaching Sprlngdale, at the base of the Vermillion
Cliff, the traveler looks up-stream to the valley mouth
through which the river emerges from the cliffs, and a

184 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
spertacle without parallel meets his eye. Left of the gor
geous entrance rises the unbelievable West Temple of the
Virgin, and, merging with It from behind, loom the lofty
Towers of the Virgin. Opposite these, and back from the
canyon's eastern brink, rises the loftier and even more
majestic East Temple of the Virgin. Between them he
sees a perspective of red and white walls, domes, and pin
nacles which thrills him with expectation.
" And so, fully prepared In mind and in spirit, awed
and exultant, he enters Zion.'"
Let Dellenbaugh now describe the amphitheater as he
saw it:
" Coming out of the head of the great ravine Into the
amphitheater as upon the floor of another story, the mag
nificent series of pyramids on the left disclose their full
majesty; the little river no longer frets amidst boulders,
but glides with a concentrated intensity. To the west
opens a deep alcove, aiding to form this huge amphithea
ter. There are thick groves of cottonwoods in the wide,
level bottoms; on the slopes of talus, cadi bloom gor
geously; there also are manzanita with its rich red stem
and waxen leaf, sage-brush, and many other plants, cedars
and pinyons. The blue sky above again touches the right
chord in the symphony. Up and down, east and west,
extends the labrynthlan array of giant rock- forms so mag
nificently sculptured, so ravishingly tinted. Again we are
Impressed with the marvelous beauty of outline, as well
as the infinite complication of these Titanic buttes. It is
doubtful if in this respert the valley has anywhere its
equal. Not even the best part of the Grand Canyon offers
a more varied spertacle. There is an isolation of each
temple here that is rare, yet all are welded together in a
superb ensemble.
" A little farther on a particularly separated, enormous
composition of naked rock — naked like all the others,
except for a scattering of pine trees on the extreme sum-

The Opalescent Valley — Zion National Park 185
mits or along some precarious ledge — shot up on the
left in the semblance of some Cyclopean organ, its flutings
brought out by the waning sun — the Temple of Aeolus."
In the amphitheater. In a shady alcove of the east wall
near a spring, which gives a wonderful flow of cold, pure
water, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Wylie, of Yellowstone Park
fame, established In 1917, their hotel camp. To those who
know Wylie's camps nothing further need be said, and
others may safely and satisfactorily take them on trust,
for many thousands. In the years they were in the Yellow
stone, learned of the "Wylie Way," and have ever since
been enthusiastic boosters for its directing spirits. While
only a camp, the cottages are cosy and comfortable, the
dining room attractive, and Mrs. Wylie's genuine and
motherly interest, combined with the excellent home-cook
ing that she supervises, at once gives to everyone that
restful home-feeling that is so desirable when one is
traveling.* Sunrises and sunsets alike here attract the observant
visitor. Dellenbaugh was enraptured :
" Never could the valley appear more resplendent than
on that beautiful day as the sun streamed out of the west,
sweeping the flanks of the precipices with a ruddy bril
liance that intensified the gorgeous hues tenfold, while the
shadow portions grew more somber, fading at a dis
tance into a rich cerulean bloom, broken by the dark
green of cottonwood groves. Surely it was a setting for
a fairy tale!"
And after a long night's rest, calming alike to mind and
body, while rain poured down gently over the rocks, he
was equally thrilled with the effects of the dawn :
" When dawn crept shyly in, the opalescence was veiled
by low-drifting clouds. The vast surfaces of bare rock
•It should also be observed that Mr. Wylie has made it possible for travelers to
Zion Canyon to return by way of the Grand Canyon of Arizona. He has established
a carop on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, opposite El Tovar Hotel, and the
trip across the Canyon to the Santa Fe railway can be made with safety.

186 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
had been soaked through the night, and now we saw shin
ing cascades, quivering and feathery, dropping down from
that upper world. These rain-cascades may be seen
throughout the wondrous diff-land of the Southwest, but
those of Mukuntuweap, and some I saw in the canyons of
the Colorado, are the highest and most graceful that I
remember." El Gobernador, so called by Yard In his book, and more
generally known as " The Great White Throne," is about
a mile above Wylie's camp and on the right hand side.
It Is a colossal truncated cone, 3,000 feet high, the lower
2,000 feet of which is a brilliant red, and the upper
thousand a dazzling white in the clear sunlight. This is
the one objert chosen by W. H. Bull, the world-famed
California artist, as the gem — his chief delight, — in
Zion Canyon. His masterly portrayal of It has given
great delight to many thousands.
Almost directly opposite, but standing out somewhat
from the main wall on the left, as a buttress, is a lesser
monolith, though gigantic and impressive, known as the
Angel's Landing. This is the subject chosen by Orion
Putnam, of Los Angeles, — whose artistic photography
has made him world-famous, and whose brush is now
sure to win him later laurels, — as most representative of
Zion National Park.
This varied choice of subjerts by different artists Is
wonderfully illuminative, in that it shows how many-
sided is this canyon in its appeal to artistic natures. There
is variety enough to demand the homage of the most
diverse tastes, hence the universality of Zion's appeal.
A mile or so farther up the canyon and Raspberry Bend
is reached. Here is located the cable, or "wire," which
every visitor is interested in seeing.
Dellenbaugh thus gives its history:
"The frequent mention of this wire in conversation
made us curious to know about it. A wire was a strange

The Opalescent Valley— Zion National Park 187
thing to receive so much attention. Inquiry revealed that
it was about seven miles further up the valley (canyon),
the result of the cogitations of a Sprlngdale genius and
quite an engineering feat in its way. A trail had been
built at the point mentioned up the cliff to the Colob Pla
teau, for the purpose of enabling the Sprlngdale people
to drive cattle for the summer to the heights where there
Is good grazing. Immediately to the right of this trail is
a well nigh vertical cHff, about 3,000 feet up from Its
base. On the top of this cliff, on the very brink, young
Flanagan constructed a windlass. Down below he built
two others a distance apart, around the three he suc
ceeded in passing a series of wires forming a continuous
cable. By revolving one of the drums the wire travels up
and down, and objects attached to the descending portion
come down into the canyon, while objerts attached to the
other portion are made to ascend to the rim. By this
means supplies are sent up to men staying on the plateau,
and various objects are passed both ways. On one occa
sion a wagon was taken up in parts ; on another a dog was
treated to the aerial flight, tied In a basket. It was a week
before the dog recovered fully, and since that time the
vicinity of the wire Is a place he never visits."
There is a trail just to the left of the cable, once used by
the Indians in their sure-footed, clear-eyed, strong-lunged,
perfect heart-actioned days. It is related that one of the
last Indians to attempt It slipped and was dashed to pieces
on the rocks below. If so, he was a partially cilivized
(please note the spelling and pronunciation) Indian, and
was filled with " Valley-tan " or some other equally
demoralizing brand, or he was an old-timer, wearied with
the hideous Inconsistencies of white men, and in a hurry
to get to his fathers. This is the trail referred to by Del
lenbaugh. In time it will doubtless be made accessible to
the ambitious tourist, but at present, unless he is daring,
and an expert rider, it is better to take It on foot. Of

188 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
course I am well aware that many modern tourists will
take a glance at the cliff, and will turn away with disgust,
assured that It is not possible to build a trail in such a pre
cipitous place.
Making the curve, away from the cable, one finds the
Great Organ. It requires little imagination to see the
fluted pipes and immense consol, and when the winds blow
down the canyon real music is produced as they hurry
through the cracks, crevices and holes that Nature has
provided. Now let Dellenbaugh take us up to the Narrows :
" The valley so rapidly narrows above the wire that It
Is properly a canyon. The walls shoot up sheer, after a
talus of about lOO feet, and are from 2,000 to 2,500 feet
In height, with occasional towers of the white sandstone
still higher, seen through breaks In the red-wall bends.
The color Is deep red at bottom, with black streaks, merg
ing into grayish white or whitish gray at the top. Every
few hundred yards we forded the swift little river, the
current sometimes making the horses feel rather wobbly
under one as they slid across the stony bottom. Around
one bend we saw, through a break in the cliff, into an
alcove formed by the bend above, where a splendid fall
five or six feet wide fell at least 800 feet, swaying In the
wind. Ever narrower grew the canyon as we advanced,
the vertical cliffs constantly approaching, till one felt like
the prisoner of Tolfi, ' In that rock-encircled dungeon
which stood alone, and whose portals never opened twice
upon a living captive.' The bottom was comparatively
level, and at the wire about 800 feet wide. This width
fell to about forty feet at the point we finally reached,
where farther advance was next to Impossible at the stage
of water prevailing. Finally, by plunging once more across
the stream, now more concentrated, and back again to the
east bank, I succeeded In dragging my horses along talus
and through underbrush till I looked straight into the jaws

The Opalescent Valley— Zion National Park 189
of the narrowing chasm through which the river enters
the valley."
Dr. G. K. Gilbert, who early made a geological study of
Mukuntuweap, thus describes this part of Zion, and gives
the scientific explanation of the canyon's existence :
" At the water's edge the walls are perpendicular, but in
the deeper parts they open out toward the top. As we
entered and found our outlook of sky contracted — as we
had never before seen if between canyon cliffs — I meas
ured the aperture above, and found it thirty-five degrees.
We had thought this a minimum, but soon discovered our
error. Nearer and nearer the walls approached and our
strip of blue narrowed down to twenty degrees, then ten,
and at last was even Intercepted by the overhanging rocks.
There was, perhaps, no point from which, neither for
ward nor backward, could we discover a patch of sky,
but many times our upward view was completely cut off
by the interlocking of the walls, which remaining nearly
parallel to each other, warped In and out as they
ascended." Then he tells us how Nature made Zion and the other
similar canyons of the region:
" As a monument of denudation, this chasm is an exam
ple of downward erosion by sand-bearing water. The
principle on which the cutting depends is almost Identical
with that of the marble saw, but the sand grains. Instead
of being embedded In rigid iron, are carried by a flexible
stream of water. By gravity they have been held against
the bottom of the cut, so that they should make it vertical,
but the current has carried them. In places, against one
side or the other, and so far modified the Influence of
gravity that the cut undulates somewhat In its vertical sec
tion, as well as In Its horizontal."
Yard then eloquently concludes :
" This, then. Is how Nature began, on the original sur
face of the plateau, perhaps with the output of a spring

190 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
shower, to dig this whole mighty spectacle for our enjoy
ment today. We may go further. We may imagine the
beginning of the titanic process that dug the millions of
millions of chasms, big and little, contributing to the
mighty Colorado, that dug the Grand Canyon itself, that
reduced to the glorified thing it now is the enormous pla
teau of our great southwest, which would have been many
thousands of feet higher than the highest pinnacle of
Zion had not erosion more than counterarted the uplifting
of the plateau."
There is a little confusion in the minds of some people
as to the spelling of the name, " Virgin " or " Virgen "
River. There need be no difficulty. The name originally
was bestowed by the Spaniards. It was the Rio Virgen —
the Spanish form. When one writes thus It should be
spelled as the Spaniards spell, with an " e." But if one
Anglicizes it and makes of it the Virgin River, it is cor
rert to spell it with an "i."
Zion Canyon makes such an impression upon its vis
itors that they are not content merely with describing the
wonders within Its confines. The fart is, the whole coun
try surrounding It is vividly wonderful in so many phases
that even with its glories just " in one's eye " he is pro
foundly impressed as he observes it in leaving Zion.
Many sdentlfic and artistic visitors have written their
Impressions, but I know of none that equal those of
Dellenbaugh and Dutton, both of which are here
given as a fitting end to this chapter. Here is what Del
lenbaugh says :
" All too soon we passed beyond its giant gates, swing
ing around the southern foot of the Great Temple, and
arrived at Rockville, where, for the last time we forded
the river. With the help of an extra team, our wagon
was towed up the long ' dugway ' surmounting the thou
sand feet of precipice that bind the valley Immediately on
the south, and on top of which our path lay off into

The Opalescent Valley — ^Zion National Park 191
Arizona, across broad plains. Mounting, ever mounting,
the valley, the fields, diminish below; cliffs that seemed
great melt away; others keep us company in their stead;
while still others tower to touch the sky, with everywhere
and always the Great Temple the chief note in the scale.
At last we were on the top, amidst a bewllderingly mag
nificent scene. The whole marvelous landscape circled
around us now in one immense sweep, weird and wild to
the last degree, with apparently no human life but ours
within the vast radius of our vision. Mountain, canyon,
cliff, pinnacle, valley, and temple stood forth, naked as in
those first hours when lifted out of the enveloping seas ;
(but sculptured since then into the glorious variety of
form now presented) a wonderful, an appalling wilder
ness, of which Zion, the Opalescent Valley, Is the heart
and culmination. For hours, as we traveled, this all per
vading panorama, so varied and stupendous in outline and
color, threw its enchantment around us. Then nearer
high cliffs veiled the Great Temple, its sky-swept crown
of Vermillion vanished, and with It all the kaleidoscopic
region of Zion."
Dutton thus describes this outward view from the
mouth of Zion :
" From these highly wrought groups in the center of
the picture the eye escapes to the westward along a mass
of cliffs and buttes covered with the same profusion of
decoration as the walls of the temples and of the Paru
nuweap. Their color Is brilliant red. Much imagination
is imparted to this part of the scene by the wandering
courses of the mural fronts which have littie continuity
and not definite trend. The Triassic terrace out of which
they have been carved is cut into by broad amphitheaters
and slashed in all dirertions by wide canyon valleys. The
resulting escarpments stretch their courses in every direc
tion, here fronting toward us, there averted ; now receding

192 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
behind a nearer mass, and again emerging from an
unseen alcove. Far to the westward, twenty miles away,
is seen the last palisade lifting its imposirig front behind
a mass of towers and domes to an altitude of probably
near 3,000 feet and with a grandeur which the distance
cannot dispel. Beyond it the scenery changes almost
instantly, for It passes at once into the Great Basin, which,
to this region, is as another world."

CHAPTER XII
BRYCE CANYON, AN AMPHITHEATER OF EROSION
A few miles from Pangultch, at the head of a wide and
deep canyon, is found this remarkable amphitheater of
erosion as yet known only by the undescriptive cognomen
of Bryce Canyon. Like the Grand Canyon one reaches
it unexpertedly so that Its magnificent and brilliantly col
ored panorama is revealed as a great surprise. Acres and
acres of ground here seem to be formed of a soft mate
rial, highly colored but mainly red, into which the rains
and storms of past centuries have cut down and down,
until there are left standing, literally, hundreds, possibly
thousands, of columns, twisted towers, weird turrets,
scores, hundreds of feet deep. Talk about fantasy and
bewilderment — they are here personified. One could
easily disbelieve his own eyes. As one has described it :
" Here are over three square miles of highly colored
and quaintly carved obelisks, pilasters, pillars, towers,
kiosks, and other features In great variety, with colors of
the rarest combination and delicacies because of the vary
ing reflection, absorption and transmission of the light by
native brown, ochre, pink and gray masses In a varying
illumination of bronze, orange, yellow, white, rose and
red, spread across the chameleon-like abyss, lending
unusual life to the geological forms."
It is entirely caused by simple erosive forces. The
rock stratum of which these forms are composed is of
very soft material. Resting upon It, however, in the ages
long gone by was a harder stratum which capped this
193

194 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
softer one. There were places, however, in this cap,
whlcl^, in time, succumbed to rain, frost, snow, and split,
thus enabling water to penetrate and begin its work of
washing down and away the stratum beneath. Some of
these pillars are fifty, sixty and even eighty feet in height,
yet trails have been cut down from the rim to the bottom
of the canyon, so that one may descend and view these
unique strurtures from below. It is an experience never
to be forgotten, for everything is so near that its dimen
sions are magnified arid one feels he really is wandering
in some tunneled land of rare enchantment.

CHAPTER XIII
MODERN IRRIGATION AND THE MORMONS
In my Reclaiming the Arid West,* I sought to give to
Major John Wesley Powell, — the organizing genius of
the United States Bureau of Ethnology, of the United
States Geological Survey, and, in all of its earlier stages,
of the United States Reclamation Service, — the honor
due him as the Father of Federal Irrigation Methods on
a large scale.
But I did not there seek to trace out those influences
that had interested him in the subjert, and given him the
vision. That many influences worked to produce the
result there can be no doubt. Powell was a man of
gigantic intellect, a great reader, a close observer, and
habituated to meeting men of science, travel, refinement
and culture. From his general reading, no doubt, he had
gained knowledge of the wonders of irrigation in the arid
lands of the Orient. Then, when, in his geological studies
he dedded to explore the canyons of the Colorado River,
he was brought into immediate contact with the arid lands
of Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
It was in 1869-1870-1-2, that he made his two memorable
trips down the Colorado and its tributaries. On one of
those trips he left the Colorado at Kanab Wash and came
out through the settlements of southern and central
Utah to Salt Lake City, there to return East.
The importance of this trip through the Mormon settle-
'Reclaiming the Arid West: the work of the IT. S. Reclamation Service, with many
illustrations. Dodd, Mead & Co. 195

196 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
ments, where he saw Irrigation methods in artive opera
tion upon thousands of acres, cannot be over estimated.
Perhaps no one can ever know for certain, but is it not
highly probable that it was on this trip he gained that
wonderful vision that ultimately led to the organization of
the United States Reclamation Service, and the improve
ment of the fives of hundreds of thousands of American
citizens by making their location upon irrigated public
lands a reality. Anyhow the fact is plain that from that
date he began his studies of the Arid Region, and to
formulate plans for their reclamation. These studies ulti-
mated in the publication, in 1878, of his Report on the
Lands of the Arid Region. As I wrote in Reclaim,ing
the Arid West, page 2 :
" No one can read this today, over forty years after it
was published, without being profoundly impressed by
the far-seeing wisdom and sagadty of its author. In it
he shows two great advantages of irrigation, viz. :
I. That crops thus cultivated are not subjert to the vicis
situdes of rainfall, and 2. The water for irrigation gen
erally comes down from the mountains and plateaus
freighted or charged with fertilizing materials gathered
from the decaying vegetable matter and soil of the higher
regions." Viewing all these facts in the order thus presented it
seems to me self evident that Powell largely owed this
inspiration upon irrigation to the untutored Mormons,
those daring and brave men who had fled the East and
Europe and had settled in the hitherto unknown valleys of
Utah, for it was In 1847, July 24, that Brigham Young
and the pioneer band of Mormons entered Salt Lake Val
ley. In spite of the fact that, the day before, when he
looked down from the Wasatch ramparts on the east, he
had gazed upon an arid waste, barren and uninviting, a
desert of sage-brush and sunflowers, without a tree to
cheer excepting only the few gnarled cottonwoods that

Modern Irrigation and the Mormons 197
marked the trickling course of the mountain streams, he
had exclaimed with all the assurance of a Prophet : " This
is the Place." Had he seen It In a dream? Had it been a
definite revelation from God? Was it the snap decision
of the moment, afterwards confirmed by Nature, and
arduous labor ? Let the answers be what they may, there
is no denying the fart of history, viz., that that momen
tous decision revealed the highest wisdom — the intuitive
perception of what no one could possibly have known by
any earthly knowledge of experience or comparison.
Assured that he was divinely guided Brigham Young
sent ahead a small detachment of his followers with
instructions to plow and plant Immediately. The year was
far advanced, near the end of July — and there must be
no delay if any crop was to be garnered before winter,
yet, though the most promising site was selected, the sun
baked soil was too hard to yield to the persuasive influence
of the plow. To many this would have been an omen of
disaster; Nature refusing to yield a foot of this virgin
soil to the invader. But to these stalwart Mormons it had
the very opposite effert. Obstacles, difficulties, rebuffs
were but given to try their mettle, to determine the qual
ity of their manhood, and, before the day was over, the
beginning of a dam had been made across the little stream,
and the following day saw the area selected flooded and
softening under the benign Influences of water and sun.
This work accomplished, the field was plowed and pota
toes, corn, and other e'dlbles planted, after which the
ground was given another Irrigation, and later, still
another, as the conditions indicated the need, and thus,
in Utah, modern irrigation began.
Whence gained Brigham Young and his followers their
knowledge of this essential method for making the desert
blossom as a rose ? Was he a deep student of history, a
great traveler, and familiar with irrigation methods of
India, China, Persia, Egypt and Asia Minor? His was

198 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
that type of mind that, given an idea, he could grasp its
Import Instantly, he could see posslbihtles and probabil
ities eventuate in his mind's eye, and this power com
bined with what might be termed the colossal audacity of
a tremendous and gripping faith in God the Almighty,
gave to Brigham Young a power of command and leader
ship In this matter of irrigation that few, even among
the most studious of Mormons have fully recognized.
For, as soon as the first establishment near the Great
Salt Lake was made, he sent out various bands, in various
directions, to spy out the land. These men were com
manded to treat the Indians with kindness, for did not the
Book of Mormon reveal that they constitute a distinct
branch of the House of Israel ? They were required also
to find all arable areas, and discover everything that a
speedy survey could reveal of all streams, springs and
other sources of water supply.
As these bands reported. Mormon immigrants were
pouring Into Salt Lake City, and, making the swift deci
sions of a born leader of men, Brigham Young allotted
certain lands and streams to certain companies, and, almost
before they had rested and recuperated from their arduous
labor in crossing the plains, sent them forth to possess
and cultivate them and establish their homes thereupon.
See the sublime faith of these people in their leader.
Impostor, his enemies may choose to regard him, but he
was able to Infuse his followers with unquenchable enthu
siasm, — for only such a spirit could have led these people
gathered from the cities and towns of the East and
Europe, as well as from the villages, to go forth into the
Deserts, and there plow and harrow the ground, sow the
seed, and then use the untried and unknown methods of
Irrigation, to make their crops grow. In this way Jordan
River Valley, Ogden, Provo, all the region of the Utah
Lake Drainage System, Spanish Fork River Valley, the
Weber Valley, the Basin of the Virgin River, the Valley

Modern Irrigation and the Mormons 199
of Sevier River, and the Logan River country, were
settled. Towns, cities and villages rapidly sprang up, as
the farms were developed, and as cattle, horses, mules
and sheep roamed the hills and canyons. It goes without
saying there were hard times In those early days, yet it is
notable that the pioneers seldom. If ever, lost their faith
or their courage, and the persistence of their labor ulti
mately gained for them the victory of great success.
The year 1848 was one of deep trial and faith-testing
of those immigrants who settled In the Salt Lake Valley.
The harvest of 1847 was scant, and great hopes were cen
tered upon the crops for 1848. Eagerly the farmers —
aye, and their wives and older children — watched the
sprouting grain, and prayed for its protection until fully
matured. For a time all seemed well, God's favor was smil
ing upon them, the fields were growing richly towards an
abundant harvest, when, suddenly, the air to tbe east and
north was darkened as by a coming storm, and down from
the mountain heights there descended a flood — not of
rain or hail — but of Rocky Mountain crickets. As they
came down the canyons and fertile slopes they devoured
everything before them. Not a leaf on a tree, a blade of
grass, a weed, a green thing of any kind escaped. Con
sternation filled every heart. Had God deserted them?
Were the plagues of Egypt to be let loose upon them?
Could nothing be done? While some, doubtiess, knelt and
prayed, those who deemed themselves more practical gath
ered together in bands — men, women and children —
and with sticks, sacks, old garments, met the hvlng flood
in the hope of arresting Its progress. Stark, certain
famine stared them in the face, and they worked with the
desperation of despair. But on came the flood! No
sooner was one cloud-full met and slain than another
emptied itself upon them, and the storm seemed endless.
When, suddenly — ah! is the age of miracles past?
Does God especially intervene now-a-days In the affairs of

200 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
men? The answer is found in men's own conceptions.
I simply record the facts. When the hearts of the pio
neers were breaking with despair, when their bodies were
too exhausted to struggle further, a new cloud arose in the
West, which soon resolved Itself into a flock of sea-gulls
from the lake, which fell upon the crickets and swallowed
them as fast as they fell. Millions upon millions were
thus destroyed.
But I can imagine the gloom of the pessimists who still
saw the eastern clouds dark and lowering. What would
become of them when the gulls had eaten their fill ? Then,
surely, their fields would be devastated. The supposition
seemed reasonable! But no! God, Nature, Providence
does not always do now what seems reasonable to some
men, though He may to others. As fast as the gulls
gorged themselves, they spent a few moments in dis
gorging, and then set to with greater appetites than before,
until, at last, even that apparently invincible, because
innumerable army, was totally destroyed.
That the Mormons were not unmindful of the part
played by the sea-gulls in their salvation from famine is
evidenced by the Sea-GuU Monument in the Temple
grounds, in Salt Lake City. This was ordered by the
church authorities of Mahonri M. Young, a grandson of
Brigham Young. It is a fine piece of work, giving bas-
reliefs of the story, and with the most graceful flying gull
surmounting the column. Artists the world over regard
this as the work of a genius and such, certainly, Mr.
Young should be regarded.
It was unveiled October i, 1913, before a large gath
ering of people among whom were found many of the pio
neers who saw the scourge of crickets and witnessed the
gulls as they destroyed them, who were delighted thus to
have the, to them, miraculous deliverance commemorated.
When the Utah pioneers first began their reclamation
of the desert valleys by plowing and irrigating, their

LAYING IRRIGATION PIPES, POWELL NATIONAL FOREST.

Modern Irrigation and the Mormons 201

methods, naturally, were simple and primitive. All work
had to be done personally and speedily. There were few
laborers, and time was an important factor. In the con
struction of their dams and canals, therefore, they were
perforce driven to co-operative methods. In no other
way could they have overcome the obstacles before them.
Then, too, it Is evident that when there were few to
make demands for the water of a stream all could be sup
plied. But as the population increased, and demands mul
tiplied, methods necessarily changed. The results are,
therefore, that the history of the development of the irri
gation systems of Utah are of great importance, in reveal
ing the influences that have molded them and made them
what they are. In order to set these facts forward for
the benefit of the irrigation world, the government pub
lished a comprehensive work, entitled : Report of Irriga
tion Investigations in Utah, under the direction of Elwood
Mead. It is a book of 330 pages and many illustrations
and clearly outlines how the Utah systems of irrigation
grew out of the necessities of the various cases.
Several of these interesting features could well be
studied with profit by people In other arid states :
" Chief among these is Its system of defining the extent
of water rights. Most of the rights to Utah's streams
were initiated without public supervision and hence were
not defined as to extent, and when they came up for
definition the question naturally arose as to what should
determine the extent of rights. The general principle
announced In the law of 1880 was that all parties should
have the right to use water as they had done in the past.
In addition, the law provided that these rights should be
measured as follows :
" ' A right to the use of water may be measured by
f rartional parts of the whole source of supply, or by frac
tional parts with a limitation as to periods of time when
used, or intended to be used; or it may be measured by

202 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
cubic Inches, with a limitation spedfying the depth, width,
and dedinatlon of the water at point of measurement, and
if necessary, with further limitations as to periods of time
when used, or intended to be used.'
" The other arid states have followed the general prin-
dple announced by this law, but not the section of the law
quoted above. The practice in those states is to define a
right as a volume alone, giving the holder of the right
the privilege of using that volume of water at any or all
times. Under such a practice, holders of early rights who
have used water for only a short period each year may
later enlarge their use to the great injury of later comers
but who found plenty of unused water when they came.
Under the Utah law the earlier rights of such holders are
limited as to time as well as quantity, and later comers are
safe from an enlarged use under the older right. The law
of 1903 changed the old system In this respect : It pro
vides for the defining of all rights in terms of cubic feet
per second rather than in frartional parts of the whole
supply, but retains the provision for limiting them as to
time. The granting of rights to continuous flow has been
the source of more injustice and controversy in the arid
states than any other one cause, and Utah has avoided all
this by her provision for limiting rights as to time."
In the early days the Irrigation ditches were small, and
the work done in the simplest and easiest way to produce
Immediate results. It was not until 1865 that the Legis
lature passed an act for the incorporation of irrigation
companies. It was expected that development would be
more thorough and permanent after that time, but the
law failed to empower the companies or districts to issue
bonds and this failure practically reduced the law to use-
lessness, and in 1897 it was repealed. Hence the old
method Is still largely in operation.
"The typical form of canal company in Utah is the
co-operative stock company. The capital stock of SUdi a

Modem Irrigation and the Mormons 203
company is issued in payment for work or for money, and
is usually owned by the owners of the lands to be irri
gated by the canal, although outsiders sometimes subscribe
for stock. In the Virgin River distrirt the Mormon
Church subscribed for stock for the purpose of helping
the people of that valley to complete an extensive canal.
The stockholders elert a board of dirertors and ofl&-
cers, who have immediate control of the canal and
who transart the business of the company. All ex
penses of management and operation of the canal are
met by annual assessments on the stock. These assess
ments, hke the original price of the stock, are largely
paid in work. The water furnished by the canal
is divided among the stockholders in proportion to
the stock held by each, and no water is furnished
to others than stockholders, but stock may be sold or
rented, and the water dehvered to the new party. It is
thus possible for stock to be owned by those not owning
land tmder the canal, and for the stock to accmnulate in a
few hands, but so far neither of these tendendes has mani
fested itself.
" A modification of this plan is known as the incorpo
ration of a stream. Under this plan all parties who have
acquired rights to a stream deed their rights to the com
pany which is to control the stream. In retum for this
they receive stock in the company, usually In proportion
to the area of land which each was irrigating with water
from the stream. Members of such a company express
their interest In the company as so many ' acres of water
right.' The companies are managed like the other
co-operative companies."
There is another phase of this subjert that should be pre
sented. In California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and
all the semi-arid states where water has had to be relied
upon for irrigation there have been countiess quarrels of
a serious nature, culminating in hundreds of murders.

204 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
over the right to springs, tanks, and flowing water. I
could name offhand a large number of novels whose main
theme has been the fight between rival claimants for
water for stock or irrigation. Yet it is a known fact
that in Utah, from 1848 to as late as 1900 — say, a
period of fifty years — there were practically few quar
rels over irrigation water, and few of them of a serious
nature. The reason for that is thus dearly stated by
Professor Mead:
" The influence of the Mormon Church in shaping and
promoting agricultural development has given to the irri
gation system of Utah many interesting and unique fea
tures. In the early years of settlement there was no legal
provision for acquiring legal tides either to land or water,
and without the supervision of the church authorities, art
ing as arbiters and advisers, there would have been no
rule except that of force. With few exceptions, contro
versies were settied as they arose, without friction, so that
irrigated Utah was for many years a land of homes
almost free from incumbrance and of industrial institu
tions well suited to the arid West."
Since about 1900, however, the growing value of water
for power purposes, the greater demand of dties and
towns for domestic suppUes, the lack of unity in reUgious
faith, owing to the constant influx and settlement of non-
Mormons, have rendered it imperative that some law, or
laws, be estabUshed, giving legal titie to water and ensur
ing protection to such titie in times of scardty. These
laws were provided in 1903 and Utah has long enjoyed
the peace and security that come to her dtizens as
the result.
There are still many thousands of desert acres that can
be successfully and profitably cultivated if suffident water
can be found for irrigation. In most cases, however, this
would imply the estabUshment of irrigation systems of
tremendous cost that would be far beyond the power of

 Modern Irrigation and the Mormons 205
private enterprise. Hence the United States Reclamation
Service is slowly, but surely, grappling with these larger
problems. Already there Is one Reclamation Service
project in Utah. It is located in Utah and Wasatch coun
ties, and is called the Strawberry Valley Project, because
its reservoir Is located in the valley of that name. The
irrigable area is about 4,600 feet above sea-level, and the
temperature ranges from 10° to 95° Fahr., hence it can
readily be seen that the scale of vegetable products Is very
limited, comprising In fact mainly alfalfa, hay, cereals,
sugar-beets and the hardier fruits and vegetables.
Water is stored in the reservoir, then discharged
through a three and three-quarter mile long tunnel, driven
through the Wasatch range into Diamond Fork, a tribu
tary of Spanish Fork. Electric power is developed and
the project furnishes full or partial water to 70,000 acres
in Utah county.
Thus the good work of irrigation goes on. What the
future has in store for Utah in this regard, it is yet too
early to prophesy, but it is perfectly safe to say that as
thousands of acres In the past have been reclaimed from
the desert and made to blossom as the rose, so will the
future see as many more equally reclaimed, when all the
water of the state is impounded and used for this benef
icent purpose.

CHAPTER XIV
MINES AND THE ORE DEPOSITS OF UTAH
One might wonder what Brigham Young would have
said could he have seen, in his day, the book entitled,
The Ore Deposits of Utah. It consists of 672 quarto
pages, with many illustrations, maps and diagrams, and
was issued by the United States Geological Survey in
1920. In it all the existing mining distrirts of the state
are described with careful accuracy and reasonable full
ness, and a general survey is given of the ore deposits of
those regions where no actual mining is now going on.
Whether such a book would have changed the great Mor
mon leader's outlook and feelings towards mines and
mining it is impossible to tell. His abhorrence of mines
and mining-camps was sociological rather than economic.
He was not opposed to mining as an industry, but at that
peculiar time he was assured that mining-camps in Utah
were undesirable, and was particularly anxious that the
Industrial efforts of the people should be devoted to the
tilling of the soil.
He knew the attrartion mines had for the exploiters of
the vices of men, — the whiskey-seller, the gambler, the
women of loose morals — and he determined with an
intensity of desire to save his followers from their evil
selves, by refusing to allow any mining within the boun
daries of the country over which he had control. As
Orson F. Whitney, doubtless echoing the spirit of Brig
ham Young's utterances, exclaimed : " Who would wish
to see Deseret, peaceful Deseret, the home of a people who
206

Mines and the Ore Deposits of Utah 207
had fled for religious freedom and quiet to these moun
tain solitudes, converted Into a rollicking, roaring mining-
camp ? Not the Latter-day Saints ! "
But prohibit he never so emphatically, and fulminate
he never so strongly against mines and mining. Fate Itself
was against him. The natural desires of men to seek out
the hidden wealth of the earth was. In itself, a secret, but
nevertheless potent protest against his dictum, and when
General E. P. Conner gave liberty to his soldiers to pros
pect for minerals in Utah, and himself became an active
promoter of mines and mining. It was inevitable that
Brigham's prohibitions should be ignored. Then, too,
this condition was tremendously afferted, adversely to
Brigham's attitude, by the coming of the gold-seekers of
'48 and '49, allured by the wonderful discoveries in Cali
fornia. Many of these stopped in Utah and added fuel to
the mineral-hunting fever. Hence, even during the life
time of Brigham, many mines were opened and many hun
dreds of thousands of dollars taken from the bowels of
the earth.
Most romantic is the history of some of the earliest
Utah mines. Whole chapters might easily be written
upon the Emma, the Flagstaff, the Carbonate, the TIntIc
and other early day producers, and the attention of the
world has been called to the recent marvelous develop
ments of the Utah Copper Company's mine In Bingham
Canyon. It is interesting to note that the first mining
location in the state was made September 17, 1863, in this
canyon, — called the West Jordan Claim — though it was
gold and silver rather than copper that the locators sought.
Of the " Emma " the less said the better, for, after over
two millions had been taken from it, it was sold to Eng
lish capitalists for five millions and thereupon became the
cause of much swindling and scandal. But the Ontario,
near Park City, which has had no scandal, In ten years
had an output of more than $17,000,000, of which the

208 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

stockholders received about $6,250,000 In dividends. The
ore of this mine averaged $106 per ton in silver, and the
cost of mining was about $34 per ton. This cost was
largely increased by the tremendous flow of water in the
mine, amounting to 2,000 gallons a minute. To control
this, at a depth of 2,000 feet, was no slight task and
gigantic Cornish pattern pumping engines were installed
for the purpose.
If one were disposed to relate only the romantic fea
tures of mining he might tell of the Eureka HIU and
Gemini mines In the Tintic district. The former had been
worked for some time, but largely near the surface, and
v/hile the results had been profitable, they were ordinary
and commonplace. Then came along Professor Clayton
who had studied similar conditions elsewhere and he
urged the proprietors to " go down deep," and also to
locate and develop a mine on the opposite side of the gulch.
The owners did so, and expended over $150,000 In devel
oping the ground, and thereafter took out into the mil
lions. Mr. C. H. Blanchard, the friend who aided Dallin,
the sculptor, in his early days, came to Tintic in 1873.
Speaking of one of the mines he says:
" The Centennial-Eureka claims were located in 1876,
and the original owners went broke before they struck ore.
They finally succeeded In developing pay ore, which
resulted In the payment of over two million In dividends.
Then they sold what they supposed was a skimmed mine
to Bert Holden, at $70 a share, for 30,000 shares, equal
ling $2,100,000. This formed the basis of the United
States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company's wealth.
It was considered the greatest mine in the country, as it
contained immense bodies of ore, which ran high in value.
After buying it, they shipped daily an average of about
500 tons for many years, and the mine Is still producing.
One car of ore shipped was valued, to my knowledge, at
$200,000.

Mines and the Ore Deposits of Utah 209
" The Centennial-Eureka owners in their early day
struggles offered 7,000 shares of the capital stock of
30,000 to anybody who would pay the expense of perfect
ing titles to the claims held. J. A. Bamberger accepted
the offer, which gave him about one-fourth of the total
stock issued, from which he received about $500,000 In
dividends paid by the original company. He also received
nearly $500,000 of the purchase price paid for the mine
by the United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Com
pany through Bert Holden. In addition, he received a
commission for negotiating the sale. Hence he came out
with ovfer a million dollars In return for the small amount
spent In acquiring government title to the claims."
An equally Interesting and romantic story Is told by
Mr. Blanchard of the Eagle and Blue Bell mine, which
already showed the need for competent and experienced
management In mining as in everything else. This mine
was located and sold to Cincinnati people for $60,000,
half cash, balance In six months. A manager was sent
out from CIndnnatI and, although the shaft was only
thirty feet down he decided a mill should be built at once,
for the redurtion of the ore. This done he discovered
that he had " bit off more than he could chew." His mine
did not produce enough ore to keep the mill going. While
there was a little ore at the bottom of the shaft it was soon
exhausted, and the eastern manager soon grew tired, sold
the mill, abandoned the mine and retumed to his home
feeling that he had been swindled. In reality he had been
misled only by his own ignorant over-confidence. As the
mine was not yet patented, and the eastern purchasers
failed to keep up the necessary assessment work, in due
time their claim lapsed, and others relocated it, several
times over. The last relocators were John McChrystal and
Owen Donahue, under the name It now bears. The tunnel
was run about 1,200 feet Into the hill, but nothing found.
This so discouraged Donahue that he sold out to McChry-

210 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleyg
stal for a " mere song," congratulating himself upon get
ting even that much out of the affair. McChrystal now
went to the old shaft and sank it deeper, thus uncovering
some rich ore. He now pushed the tunnel further into
the hill until It was under the shaft, and here he found
larger and richer bodies than those of the shaft Itself.
He worked the mine profitably until the big slump in
silver came, in 1893, and then closed the mine down,
remarking : " I'm not going to sacrifice my ore at these
prices. I can afford to wait until prices come back to
normal." He died, however, before that time came.
After some years of rest and then of desultory working
the mine was sold to a Boston, Mass., company. They
took out a large quantity of ore, then borrowed money to
the tune of $300,000, searching for more. The bankers
who had loaned the money refused to make further
advances, and a new company assumed the obligations
and took possession. The new superintendent seemed to
be wasting a vast amount of the money of the new own
ers, for he followed a thin iron-stained seam for over
800 feet until paying ore was struck. Then it was found
in immense quantities. The old debt was paid off, as
well as the new one, and a new electric hoist, one of the
best in the district, ererted, and over $700,000 has been
paid In dividends. The company has a good surplus in
the treasury, and enough ore in sight to keep up the work
of extraction for years.
Similar stories can be told of a score of Utah mines, so
that while some men have lost, others have made large
fortunes in them.
No modern romance can surpass the story of the
development of the Utah Copper Company's enterprise In
Bingham Canyon. To tell the whole story, even in brief,
would exhaust far more than half the pages of this book.
Early in 1887 Colonel Enos A. Wall, of Indiana, who
was essentially a miner and dealer in mines, rather than a

Mines and the Ore Deposits of Utah 211
promoter, located three copper claims in Bingham Canyon.
While he was able to do the assessment work he was
financially unable to undertake development on a large
scale. In 1896 an excitement in copper was caused by
the shipment of rich ore from the Highland Boy, a
nearby mine, and this found Colonel Wall with owner
ship in 200 acres of ore-bearing land, in which he had
expended $20,000 for exploratory work, as represented
by about 3,250 feet of tunnels, drifts, and cross-cuts. At
this time Captain Joseph R. DeLamar came upon the
scene, and having an acquaintance with Colonel Wall, he
began negotiations for an interest in the mine. Wall
gave him a six-months' option and three-quarters of the
property for $375,000. A test was made on seventy-six
tons of ore, but, in the meantime, the price of copper
declined, and the test revealing only a very small percent
age of copper, assay 2%, and a concentrate containing 28
to 33%, the recovery being 60 to 62%, he allowed the
option to lapse.
Three years later he took the matter up again, and
finally secured a quarter Interest for $50,000.
Now appears on the scene one D. C. Jackling, a young
man of poor parentage, but who had worked his way
through the Missouri School of Mines, graduating in
1892. He was a member of DeLamar's mining staff,
and thus became acquainted with the Bingham property.
He was a man of vision, of Imagination, and of intense
energy and concentration. In 1899 he and an assodate
made a report on the mine, which shows his complete
grasp of the situation. While all the assays made
revealed no larger average yield than 2% copper, the
immense amount of ore intrigued him, and set his active
mind to figuring upon some way to utilize It to the fullest
advantage. He estimated that the mine, as already
developed, had a body of over twelve million tons of ore
In sight, but that to properly equip the mine for success-

212 Utah, the Land of Blossoming VaPej^s
ful working, put in a concentrator, smdter, and refinery
and a railway to take the ore thither would cost over a
miUion dollars.
Nothing further, however, was done by DeLamar, and
soon Jackling left his employ, working successivdy in
Washington and Colorado. But, busy though he was,
building mills, operating smdters and the like, his vision
of the great posslbihties of the copper property at Bing
ham never left him. In due time he succeeded in enthus
ing his new employers with his own conceptions, and in
time, after considerable — ^what might be termed — finandal
dabbUng and jockeying, Colond Wall made an agree
ment by which he was to receive $385,000 for 55% of the
entire property and the new group of owners was to buy
DeLamar's quarter interest, leaving Wall with a 20%
holding in both shares and bonds. The option was for
six months, with the privilege of an extension for twdve
months more on payment of $5,000 in cash for eadi
monthly extension of time. They did use seven months
extra and for that they paid $35,000, so that Wall e%-entu-
ally recdved $420,000 in all. They bought Del Omar's
quarter for $125,000.
An expert, F. H. Minard, was at once sent to examine
carefully and report on the property. This report is
dated April 23, 1903, and on June 4, the Utah Copper
Company was organized, under the laws of Colorado, the
capital being $500,000, in shares of $1 each. After sev
eral changes in capitahzation to allow the purchase of
additional property, to build the great Magna Mill at
Garfidd, and other necessary enlargements and improve
ments, in January, 19 10, the capital stock was increased
to $25,000,000, of whidi up to the end of 1918, $16,244,-
900 in $10 shares had been issued. Out of the stock
issue, amounting to $8,282,240, made in 1910, the sum of
$3,100,000 was paid for the property of the Boston Con-
soUdated and $4,455,120 for 1,000,152 shares of Nevada

Mines and the Ore Deposits of Utah 213
Consolidated, the latter being a highly successful copper
enterprise at Ely, Nevada.
As soon as sufl&dent cash was provided for the satis-
fartory operation of the mine on a scale commensurate
with its size, Mr. Jadding and his associates set them
sdves to the discovery of cheaper and more eflSdent
methods of mining, milling, concentrating and refining
the ore. And it is a startUng tribute to their genius
that from the day when production begun, in 1907, to
the end of 191 7, the mine has yielded 67,220,700 tons
of ore, averaging 1.428% copper, produdng 3,118,385
tons of concentrate, averaging 19.81%, and containing
617,785 tons of copper, enabhng the company to pay
$75,770,882 in dividends and accumulate a working cap
ital of $48,293,528.
Of the bitter fight waged by Colonel Wall upon Mr.
Jadding and his associates because of differences in ideas
of management, one might write a book, but as the for
mer owned $150,000 In bonds and 90,000 shares of stock
in the 1904 organization and these undoubtedly were con
verted into new bonds and stock of the present organiza
tion, he certainly had no reason to complain of the results
accruing to him on account of the genius of management
displayed by the man he professed to disHke.
Let it here be said that no inteUigent visitor to Utah
wiU fail to visit Bingham to see this colossal and unique
mine, and Garfield, where 'the mlUs treat about 37,500 tons
of ore per day. It is hard to realize that a private cor
poration is moving more material each day with its steam
shovels, than the greatest amount ever handled at the
Panama Canal. Yet so vast is the ore deposit that, even
though not another ounce of mineral-bearing rock is dis
covered the mine still has enough " ore In sight " to keep
the mills working for another thirty-five years.
The bituminous coal production of Utah is large, reach
ing in the neighborhood of 4,000,000 tons annually. It is

214 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
of excellent quality, burns freely with a low percentage
of ash, and evolving 14,000 British thermal units per
ton. The Castle Valley or Book Cliff Coal Fields, in the
central part of the state, are the chief producers, though
coal is found In a number of fields. The Sunnyslde coal is
converted Into coke, at the rate of 1,000 tons a day, all of
which Is consumed by western smelters.
Placer mining for gold has been carried on for a num
ber of years in Utah, especially in the Colorado River and
its main tributaries. Grand, Green and San Juan Rivers.
Indeed in 1892 there was a stampede to the San Juan,
owing to the reports of an Indian trader, named Williams.
He said fabulously rich deposits had been found both in
the river placers and the sandstones adjacent, and though
it was midwinter, several hundred men rushed to the
region and " staked out " the river and Its tributaries for
many miles. After much fighting, quarreling and blood
shed, it was found that the gold was too fine to be worked
on a small scale, and no one had capital enough to attempt
the workings on a large scale, so the region was prac
tically abandoned. Desultory dredging and panning had
been done on the Colorado for many years, but the returns
do not seem to have justified long or extensive operations.
Some years ago I made a trip up Glen Canyon, from Lee's
Ferry, and three or four members of the party enthusi
astically panned various sand-bars for gold. I have a
small bottle of the precious metal gained at that time, but
nothing further was done.
This chapter necessarily is sketchy and merely strikes a
few high points. Merely to list Utah's paying mines
would require many pages. In 1917 her mines yielded
over $100,000,000, with copper as the principal metal.
Salt Lake City today is the greatest smeUIng center not
only of the United States, but of the worid. What the
future holds for the miner in Utah, no one can foretell,
but it is indisputable that mining Is yet in its infancy.

Mines and the Ore Deposits of Utah 215
And the government volume already referred to. Ore
Deposits of Utah, gives abundant evidence that there are
as many, and doubtless many times as many, opportun
ities for the gaining of vast fortunes in Utah mines as
there have been in the past. Those interested should not
fail to secure this useful and practical volume, as it con
tains a wealth of information not to be gained elsewhere.

CHAPTER XV
THE NATIONAL FORESTS OF UTAH
To the stranger within her gates the mountains of
Utah are a source of unceasing and enthusiastic interest.
From beautiful Bear Lake on the north to the majestic
domes and spires of Little Zion on the south, these lordly
ranges cast the spell of their attrartion upon the visitor.
And for those who respond to the call there is no disap
pointment. Do they seek health ? It is there in the invig
orating air and sunshine, away from the heat, the dust,
the smoke and nerve destroying noise and rush of the
cities. Or wealth? Already Utah's mountains have
yielded wealth untold in minerals, in products of the live
stock ranges, in the water which is the life-blood of her
irrigated agriculture. And yet development of the min
eral, timber, forage and water resources has but begun.
Is pleasure the objective? The joys of the open road
are on every side. Scenic beauty and grandeur delight the
eye and feast the soul. Camp life In the shelter of mighty
forests, the pleasures of the rod and gun, tempt the sports
man, the weary business man and their families as well.
The giant peaks, rugged canyons, weird geologic forma
tions, natural bridges, the ruins of the cliff-dwellings and
other reminders of the andent civilizations of the region
call with compelling voice the mountain climber, the sci
entist, the artist and the lover of the great outdoors.
Within the shadow of these rugged ranges dwell a half
million busy, prosperous, contented people. To these the
mountains ever within their view are more than an inspi-
216

 The National Forests of Utah 217
ration and delight. In them the Utahn sees the primary
sources of the wonderful productivity which has made
possible the progress and development of the state and
which is so closely, so vitally, related to the daily welfare
of the individual citizen.
Twenty years ago these great mountain areas were in
danger of rapid devastation. The timbered slopes, pro
dudng the wood produrts which, with the nearing
exhaustion of other sources of supply, will be so essential
to continued civic progress, were afforded no protection
against fire, reckless cutting, mismanagement or wasteful
exploitation. The vast areas of livestock range were
steadily being tumed into dustbeds through subjection to
over-intensive and uncontrolled grazing. In those days
the traveler in the valley might count the herds upon the
nearby mountain-sides by the clouds of dust which rose
above them. The future of Irrigation, the continuance of
pure and plentiful supplies of water for domestic use were
threatened through the destruction of the forest and veg
etative cover on the mountain watersheds. Without the
restraining influence of such cover, early and disastrous
spring floods, followed by extreme shortages of water
during the dry, summer months, were inevitable, with all
their bUghting effects upon agricultural development and
upon community life and growth.
It was the recognition of this situation which led to the
estabUshment of the National Forests, twelve of which are
in Utah. These forests now Indude the principal moun
tain ranges of the state; the Uinta range in the north
east, the Wasatch range running generally north and south
down through the central portion, nearly as far as Nephi
in Juab county; together with the more isolated Elk
Ridge, Abajo and LaSal ranges in the southeast, the Pine
Valley group in the southwest and the Bear River and
Raft River ranges in the northern portion extending up

218 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
into Idaho. They are approximately eight million acres
in extent.
These ten National Forests, with ten others in south
ern Idaho, three in Nevada, three in southwestern
Wyoming, and the Kaibab, just north of the Grand Can
yon in Arizona, comprise what is known as the Inter-
mountain Distrirt of the Forest Service, and are under
the jurisdiction of the District Forester at Ogden. Each
forest has its own local administration, under a Forest
Supervisor. Headquarters for the Utah forests are now
located as follows :
Ashley  Vernal, Utah.
Cache  Logan, Utah.
Dixie-Sevier  Cedar City, Utah.
Fillmore-Fishlake . . . Richfield, Utah.
LaSal  Moab, Utah.
Manti  Ephraim, Utah.
Minidoka  Burley, Idaho.
Powell-Sevier  Widtsoe, Utah.
Uinta  Provo, Utah.
Wasatch  Salt Lake City, Utah.
In the administration of these great natural resources
as National Forests the aim first has been to provide
adequate protection against devastation by fire, reckless
cutting of timber, and deterioration of the ranges and
watershed values through overgrazing, or other abuses.
This accomplished, all efforts are bent toward the devel
opment and fullest possible utilization of all the resources
which the forests afford, consistent with conservation
and perpetuation.
At the time the National Forests were established
means of travel and communication within and adjacent
to them were seriously deficient over the greater portion
of their area. It was thus necessary for the Forest Ser
vice to first open up the forests — to build roads, trails,

CAMPING IN THE CACHE NATIONAL FOREST.

 The National Forests of Utah 219
and telephone lines that a system of fire protection might
be worked out and applied, and the hitherto inaccessible
resources made susceptible to proper utilization. It was
necessary to select and improve administrative sites, to
constmct stations and fadlities for its field force, and to
increase the value and utility of the livestock ranges
through the development of stock watering places, the con
struction of drift and division fences, and many other
range improvements. Much has been accomplished toward
these ends — much more remains to be done, but the
work is steadily pushed onward as funds for the purpose
become available.
The fire menace was soon brought fairly well within
control. Comparatively speaking the natural fire hazard
of the Utah forests is not high. Climatic conditions, the
rarity of dry electrical storms, the more or less open,
broken stands of timber and the well watered slopes all
contribute to this situation. The serious forest fires
which in early years wrought destmction of immense
values In the heavily timbered Uinta and the northem
Wasatch mountains were largely the result of human
carelessness or the misguided but Intentional use of fire by
the early settler and the Indians for purposes of dearing
land, driving game Into the open, or In other pursuits
within or near the timbered areas. These factors have
been largely eliminated, although every year has witnessed
a number of serious fires in the forests of the state.
Now with the advent of thousands of recreation-seekers
annually, eternal vigilance, and thorough-going organiza
tion, together with intensive campaigns to impress the
traveling public with the great necessity for the utmost
care with fire in the woods is the price of adequate
protection. Reckless waste of timber in the forests of Utah is no
longer a problem. The limited cutting which is done is
now carried on in a way which gives the operator all that

220 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
he can reasonably ask In the way of a profitable operation,
and yet looks to the perpetuation of this great timber
resource which within the not far distant future will be
vitally essential to continued civic progress.
Utah Is not a heavily timbered state. Nevertheless,
the 95% of her timber which is found within the National
Forests constitutes a resource of immense value which
will be increasingly drawn upon in the upbuilding of her
industries and communities.
The native timber species of Utah are western yellow
pine, engelman spruce, lodgepole pine and douglas fir,
while the cordwood species are quaking aspen, juniper and
pinyon pine. Between seven and eight billion feet of mer
chantable saw-timber, railroad-ties and mining-prop mate
rial is available. In addition there are vast trarts of aspen
which will some day supply pulp mills throughout this
region. Utah's heaviest bodies of timber are found in the
Uinta range where there is estimated to be three billion
feet of mature timber; on the Aquarius Plateau of the
Powell Forest in the south with a stand of a billion and a
quarter board feet; and on the watershed of the Sevier
River with a quarter billion feet. The entire Wasatch
range offers large quantities of merchantable timber
and cordwood.
At present the few small mills in operation cut approxi
mately $30,000 worth of stumpage each year and supply
less than one-tenth of the local demand for lumber. This
is true simply because it has hitherto been possible to
supply the Utah market from the highly developed lumber
regions of the Pacific Coast more advantageously than
from the comparatively inaccessible and undeveloped
native forests.
With the steady development of transportation fadl
ities and the opening up of the local timbered regions
there are presented Increasingly excellent opportunties for

 The National Forests of Utah 221
a number of large local sawmills. The available timber
resources and local market conditions are becoming more
widely and favorably known, and the lumber industry
must soon devdop to a position of much greater import
ance among the industrial acti%'ities of Utah. Pulpwood
possibhties are already being investigated with growing
interest, and as there is a vast supply of aspen available
and suitable for the manufacture of paper pulp, the estab-
hshment of one or more large pulp nfills in northem Utah
can only be a question of time.
The grazing of hvestock now constitutes one of the most
important uses to which the National Forests in Utah
are put. Annually these great forest ranges supply sum
mer pasturage for nearly a quarter of a miUion cattie cmd
horses and over a million head of sheep, owned by over
nine thousand fanners, ranchers, and stockmen of the
state. The apportionment of the range privileges among
the different classes of stock, and their owners, on a fair
and impartial basis ; supervision of the use of the range ;
the care and proper handling of the stock and its distribu
tion over the forest areas constitute one of the greatest
problems of National Forest administration. Nowhere is
the demand for forest range so intensive as in Utah.
Nowhere is there greater need for so administering forest
ranges as to provide for the greatest possible numbers of
stodc and yet fully conserve the watershed values of the
mountain slopes. Far below in the valleys he the irri
gated lands, tiie basis of the key industry of Utah. The
farmer looks to snow-dad mountains for that ample and
regular supply of water without which his efforts avail
him nothing. And he must not look in vain. Nor must
any abuse be allowed whidi would impair In any degree
the purity or the flow of these crystal mountain springs
and streams which supply the domestic needs of the dties
and towns.
Fifteen years of aiq)lication of sound prindples of

O'T")

Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

range administration have dearly demonstrated the prac
ticability of harmonizing the needs of the livestock indus
try, die farm, and tiie munidpality. Hitherto, inacessible
range areas have been opened up through the development
of watering places, better distribution of the stock on the
range Is secured through better methods of salting, and
through the construction of die great range fences.
Improved methods of handUng the stock have been devised
and brought Into use. The dimination of poisonous or
inferior native feeds from the range progresses steadily.
Grazing periods have been shortened where necessary to
secure the best growth of the forage. Studies designed
to seardi out better methods never cease. The results are
better watershed and range conditions, more stock on the
ranges than ever before, greater production of meat and
the by-products of the livestock industry.
The stockmen themselves take a great interest in the
management of the forest ranges. Over a hundred com
munity livestodc associations ha^'e been organized within
the state and are actively cooperating with tlie forest
officers. These assodations exert a very healthy influence
toward better grades of stock, methods of marketing,
herding, salting, and general handling of the stock. Nat
urally the Forest Service does everything it can to encour
age the formation of sudi assodations and to support
them after organization.
The old range wars are a dosed chapter. The old and
wasteful methods are steadily discarded. In their place is
growing the spirit of cooperation and open-mindedness
toward new and improved methods and ideas. Utah's
livestock industry thrl\'es, without injury to the resource
on which It so largely depends.
During the past few years a thorough classification of
the lands within the National Forests has been completed,
and all land found chiefly valuable for agriculture has
been thrown open to entry and agricultural settlement.

 The National Forests of Utah 223
Prior to the classification many good agricultural trarts
were so opened and many profitable farms may now be
found within the forest boundaries. There remains btit
little land of true agricultural value which has not been
settled upon and improved.
Many other minor uses of die forest resources are in
effect tmder the government polic>' of fullest possible
utilization and development. Many spedal use permits
are issued on the forests ever}' year, some for which nom
inal charges are made and some entirely free, which
involve the construction of reservoirs, ditches, conduits,
private telq)hone lines, cabins, corrals, pasture fences,
the cutting of wild hay and a wide variety of other
desirable uses.
Water-power development is one of the most promis
ing future tises of the forest resources. The swift moun
tain streams offer suffident power to med every need of
the state's growing industrial activities and under recent
l^slation great strides in power development are to be
expected. An interesting sidelight on the administration of the Na
tional Forests of the state is afforded by the Great Basin
Forest Experiment Station on the Manti National Forest
Here the sdentlfic side of range management is brought
to its high^t development. The appUed results of studies
conducted at this station and dealing with stock handling
methods, range plant life, the efferts of erosion, over
grazing, unseasonal grazing and similar features have con
tributed tremendously to the advancement of range
administration in Utah and to the welfare of the Utah
stockgrower. Utah's National Forests are a self-sustaining business
enterprise. Although they were not established for profit
paying purposes primarily and are not administered with
immediate profit as a prime objedlve, the receipts from
the sale and use of their resources each year already

•2-24= Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
exceeds the cost of their protection and atlministratioii.
Eadi year twenty-five per cent, of the gross receipts is
retumed to the state for road and school purposes. This
annual return has grown from $9,000 in 1909 to nearly
$70,000 In 1919.
Another ten per cent, of the forest receipts has been
e.xpended by the Forest Service eadi year since 1912 for
road construction within the state. This ten per cent.
fund amounting to $13,500 in 19 12 now is more than
double that amount.
Special legislation by Congress in and subsequent to
1916 has given a tremendous new impetus to road build
ing activities in Utali as throughout the entire west. The
counties, the state and federal go\'ernmcnt arc cooperat
ing in the rapid e.xtfenslon of the state highway system on
an auto travel basis. As the result the great natural
resources of the region arc swiftly becoming more and
more accessible, more widely known and appreciated.
More rapid development must follow as a natural result.
Nothing ser\'es to emphasize this situation more than
the sudden rise to national prominence of the recreational
and scenic attractions of the Utah National Forests.
A few short years ago the wondrous charm of Bear
r.ake, forty miles northeast of Logan, was known only to
the people of the nearby country and the small number of
tourists who braved the rather difficult and trying jour
ney to its shores. Today a first-class auto highway from
r^ogan to Garden City, two miles from the lalce shore, is
maintained by the local authorities and the Forest Service.
An excellent auto road extends around the lake, whidi is
nineteen miles long and seven miles wiik-. Its shores are
lined with rapidly growing summer resorts, private cot
tages and camps, and thousands of visitors annually find it
the Ideal vacation center of northern Utah.
The approach to the lake from Logan is through the
wondrous Logan Canyon, a drive affording,' a continuous

t?:mfj-5-: of la7tk? ijav sajnts, ivx^a:

The National Forests of Utah 22S
feast of scenic beauty and grandeur. Nearly one hundred
summer homes have sprung up in the past few years along
this canyon road, and other delightful sites have been
prepared for lease at nominal rates by the Forest Service.
Logan River is abundantly stocked with trout each year,
but the stream is heavily fished by the local people and
the tourist, and considerable skill is required to catch a
good string. Excellent free camping grounds are found
along the river.
The Wasatch National Forest embraces the Wasatch
range from Provo Canyon on the south, to City Creek on
the north, Stansbury range south of Great Salt Lake and
the north and west side of the Uinta range, thus includ
ing part of the headwaters of Green River and the head
waters of Bear, Provo and Weber Rivers, together with
the small streams draining into Salt Lake Valley. The
maintenance of favorable stream-flow conditions on these
watersheds is vitally essential to the prosperity and health
of Salt Lake City and the most populous sertlon of Utah.
Located along the courses of the streams of this section
are power plants having a total water-wheel installation of
120,000 horse-power. Practically the entire amount of
electrical energy transmitted from these plants is con
sumed as power or light in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo,
and the Intervening small towns. The immediate water
sheds of the streams which furnish Salt Lake City's water
supply, are protected under a cooperative agreement
between the city and the Forest Service.
Mt. Timpanogos, the highest and most prominent peak
of the Wasatch range, lies just within the southern limit
of the Wasatch forest. The construction of good auto
roads to its base and trails to the summit are resulting In
the placing of Mt."^ Timpanogos and its tiny glacier at the
head of the attractions of this region and spreading the
fame of this grand peak from one end of the land to
the other.

226 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
The peak is somewhat isolated, rising abruptiy 7,500
feet above Utah Valley and separated from other parts
of the range by the deeply cut canyons of Provo and
American Fork Rivers.
The western face is a great fault scarp, bold and rocky,
but barren because of the intense heat generated under the
perpendicular rays of the summer's afternoon sun. The
eastern slope is somewhat more gentle although deeply
trenched by great canyons excavated by the combined
work of running water and ancient glacial ice. On this
side are found magnificent groves of quaking aspen, fir,
and spruce and it Is abundantly supplied with clear moun
tain streams which cascade down the ledges from the
perennial snow banks which lie protected in the shadow of
the great cliffs.
Because of the beauty and scientific interest of this east
ern side, the Forest Service, upon the solicitation of the
Timpanogos Nature Club of Provo and other interested
persons and institutions, has withdrawn from grazing
and other forest operations about 800 acres of land.
Within this area lies the miniature glacier and lake for
which the mountain is noted, as well as scores of mag
nificent waterfalls and a most wonderful flora and fauna
comprising species native to all latitudes north of 40°.
Here the geologist, the physiographer, the botanist, the
zoologist, and the entomologist as well as the mere lover
of the beautiful in nature may find a veritable paradise.
The main aspects of this portion of the mountain were
determined by the work of an ancient glacier, which, dur
ing what is known geologically as the " Ice Age " had its
birth near the mountain crest and advanced down the can
yon of the North Fork of the Provo River to a point only
about three miles above the junrtion of North Fork with
the main stream. This ice-mass formed three great
cirques or amphitheaters near the mountain top, swept the
debris from the sides and bottom of the main canyon,

 The National Forests of Utah 227
planed away the projecting spurs, and then, melting,
under the heat of the lower altitude, deposited its earthy
load to form the system of terminal and lateral moraines
which remain to tell the story of that age.
The present tiny glader — which is probably the only
remaining remnant In Utah of the great alpine glaciers of
the Ice Age — lies in the embrace of one of the great
cirques near the mountain top. Around its edge runs the
true " Bergschrund" of glaciers and at its foot lies a
diminutive glacial lake. This glacier is perhaps one mile
long, one-quarter mile wide, and has an estimated thick
ness of 150 or 200 feet. Its movement Is very slight,
though real, as is indicated by the recent bunching up of
a moraine across the lake, and the undulatory surface of
the central portion of the glacier itself.
Here it lies today, crossed annually by increasing hun
dreds of " hikers," telling, to one who has eyes to see, the
story of the ages gone.
There is little doubt that to everyone a climb to the
narrow crest of this monarch of mountains is an inspira
tion, revealing as It does through the clear air of this
western land a veritable sea of mountain and valley roll
ing off below in every direction, billow upon billow, until
finally lost in the blue haze of the far distance.
In making a trip to Mount Timpanogos, one should
endeavor to take In American Fork Canyon as well as
the Provo Canyon. A trip through these canyons will
add greatly to the enjoyment of the vacation.
American Fork River for the last four miles of its
journey has cut its channel through the Wasatch fault,
and this channel has not been smoothed by glaciation.
The contrast of this rugged gorge with the smooth roll
ing hills of the higher valley is one of the most striking
features of the Wasatch range.
The Uinta Mountains are the highest in the state; the
peaks range from 12,000 to 13,498 feet. Kings Peaks

228 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

with devations of 13,496 and 13,498 are the highest in
Utah. These mountains offer scenery of wonderful
beauty to those able to stand the hardships and who have
the time for a trip. From any of the high peaks gladal
lakes and rugged mountain crags can be seen as far as
the eye will reach. From the backbone of the range
streams flow north and south through high mountain
meadows and from lake to lake until lost in the heavy
timber of the lower slopes.
Fishing is to be had in all the streams and lakes, and
beautiful camping grounds are to be found wherever night
overtakes one.
A report by the Geological Survey thus describes the
region :
" The scenery of this devated region is singularly wild
and picturesque, both in form and coloring. In the
higher portions of the range where the forest growth is
extremely scanty the effert is that of desolate grandeur;
but in the lower basin-like valleys, which support a heavy
growth of coniferous trees, the view of one of these
mountain lakes, with its deep-green water and fringe of
meadow-land, set in the somber frame of pine forests,
the whole indosed by high walls of reddish purple rock
whose bedding gives almost the appearance of Cydopean
masonry, forms a picture of rare beauty."
To the camper with but a week to spare. Big Cotton
wood Canyon offers the best in the Wasatch range. There
is a good auto road through this rugged canyon, which
opens to a beautiful mountain valley at the head, sur
rounded by mountains extending above timber line. Spe
cial camp grounds have been improved by the Forest Ser
vice near the head of the canyon for the benefit of the
pubUc. Brighton, in Big Cottonwood Canyon and twenty-six
miles from Salt Lake City, is one of the choice summer
colonies of Utah. Hundreds of people spend thdr sum-

STAND OF ENGELMANN SPRUCE, UINTA NATIONAL FOREST.

 The National Forests of Utah 229
mers here among the lofty peaks and glacial lakes of the
Wasatch range. Near Brighton several blocks of excel
lent summer home sites are rapidly being leased by the
Forest Service to those who wish to erect their own per
manent summer camps.
Much of the region within and adjacent to the Uinta
Forest, with headquarters at Provo, Is now traversed by
good automobile roads. Strawberry Valley, wherein
nestles the great Strawberry Reservoir, an artificial lake
seven and one-half miles long and five miles wide, is
readily accessible to automobiles. This beautiful valley
was at one time extensively used by the Indians for camp-'
ing, and probably for burial grounds. Before their rude
wickiups stretched thousands of acres of level lowland, on
which their animals grazed. Fish were easily caught in
the many streams, and deer were plentiful on the nearby
mountain slopes. Small mounds are noticeable where
once their summer homes stood. The white man's hand
has changed the scene. The level lowlands are now cov
ered with immense bodies of water that eventually find
their way to Utah Valley^ to b? used for Irrigation and
reward the farmer for his day of toil. It is difficult to
find in the Uinta Mountains a place more beautiful, and
in a short time the lake will be fringed with summer
homes and resorts.
Along the west and north forks of Duchesne River,
Rock Creek and their tributaries, may be observed the
daily work o,f numerous colonies of beaver. Impounding
the waters of the streams. On the north portion of this
forest are numerous lakes, filled with trout, and exceed
ingly beautiful In their forest settings.
In the Rock Creek and North Fork of Duchesne coun
try, perpendicular cliffs of igneous rock rise thousands of
feet. These formations have weathered so slowly that
the surface presents Immense bodies of rock thrown in
every direction and impassable to any kind of domesti-

230 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys _
cated animals. Numerous lakes lie at the head of Rock
Creek, surrounded by immense forests of lodge-pole pine
and sprace timber. The waters of the lakes are as dear
as crystal, and mirror the outlines and pictures of the
country surrounding them with beautiful effect.
Immediately north of the lakes rise Mount Agassiz,
whidi Is 12433 f^t high; Bald Mountain 1 1,947 ^^et;
Rdd's Peak 11,970 feet; and Hayden Peak, 12^^19 fe^
Trails and roads will gradually extend into this country,
and many people will ddight in its wildness and natural
beauty. On the southern part of the forest, near Nephi, in
Juab County, is located the wdl-known Mount Nebo, tow
ering to a hdght of 11,690 feet, which was for j-ears
bdieved to be the highest mountain in L'tah. A consid
erable part of the summit of the mountain is abo\-e timber
hne, and immense snow banks of semi-gladal formation
daily gUsten in the summer sun. A few j-ears ago the
commerdal dub and leading citizens of Nephi procured
elk to graze upon Mount Nebo, and it is no uncommon
sight for those who dimb the mountain during July and
August to encounter one or more herds of elk. It is esti
mated that there are now about forty-five head in this
locahty. The Fishlake National Forest derives its name from Fish
Lake, which is located mthin its boundaries. This lake
has always been and is today one of the chief pleasure-
resorts of Utah. It is so named because of the great num
ber of native trout with whidi it abounds. These trout
are a distinct type and average about two pounds in
weight, the meat bdng red and verj- firm. In the spring
of the year these trout go up the small streams rurming
into the lake, for spawning, and provide a very pict
uresque sight, on account of thdr great number. In the
early days these fish furnished an important item of diet
for the Indians and early settlers.

 m

TEMPLES OF THE GODS, BRYCE CANYON.

The National Forests of Utah 231

The State Fish and Game Department has now stocked
the lake with six additional \-arieties, among which are
the eastem brook trout, rainbow, sted-head and mack-
inaw. The sted-head and maddnaw are becoming ver>-
large, and many are caught wdghing from tweh-e to
twenn" pounds.
Fish Lake has many beautiful camping-places and a
cool climate. It is located forn-nve mUes from Salina
and fort\- miks from Richfidd, and can be reached by a
fair road with dther automobile or team.
The lake is about seven miles long and in places exceed
ingly deep. Its bed is at an altitude of over 9,000 feet
above sea level
Even in summer the thermometer at the lake wiU drop
to freezing nearly ever>- night, so that a hea%y coat or
wrap is comfortable both evening and morning. The
lake freezes over in November and the ice does not break
tip tmtil the following April or May.
To the north of Fish Lake is Seven Mile River, one of
the main streams forming the Dirty Devil or Fremont
River. Here is Mount Marvin, rising to an devation of
11,800 feet, one of the highest peaks in the state. On a
dear day one is able to see into seven counties of Ltah
from the top of this peak.
As a recreation area, the Sevier National Forest
offers scenery- probably tmsorpassed anywhere in western
America, together with excellent fishing and hunting.
Many of the most interesting features of the forest are
now open to auto travel
Bryce Canyon, ' America's Fairyland," located in the
Sevier, Is rising rapidly to world-wide fame. It Is a
scenic gem, presenting to the eye a marvdotisly beautiful
array of towers, spires, minarets, fortresses and cathe
drals, as described more fuHy in another ch^ter. All
the colors of the rainbow are noted in the wdrd rock for
mations. As stated recently bv an artist of international

232 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
reputation, " Bryce Canyon Is incomparable." This can
yon or, more properly, amphitheater, Is within ready
access of Salt Lake City. Leaving this point at lO :30 in
the morning via the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad,
the traveler reaches Marysvale at 7:15 that evening.
Here he remains overnight, and the next morning pro
ceeds by auto stage to Pangultch, a ride of three hours
and a half, and thence to Bryce Canyon twenty-five miles
through Sevier Valley and Redrock Canyon.
Pangultch Lake, a crystal clear body of water In the
heart of the west division of the forest, abounds with the
famous Pangultch Lake trout. On the shore of this lake
a popular summer resort is developing. The State of
Utah has a fish hatchery near Pangultch Lake with a
yearly produrtion of a million fry.
Another attraction of great Interest is the Mammoth
Cave. This cave has underground passages from fifty to
one hundred feet in width, with the ceiling or roof from
five to twenty feet above the floor. The length of the
underground passages totals at least a half mile.
The Blue Springs, Mammoth Springs, Tommy Creek
Springs, Assay Creek Springs, and the Duck Creek
Springs are becoming widely known. These springs have
craters from twenty to forty feet In depth and from fifty
to one hundred feet across, while far beneath the surface,
speckled beauties may be seen swimming in the pellu
cid waters.
The Dixie Forest, the farthest south of the Utah
National Forests, while somewhat more difficult of access
than some of the others, more than repays the traveler
who makes the journey. This section is reached via the
Salt Lake Route, leaving the railroad at Lund, from which
point auto stages make the trip to Cedar City, the forest
headquarters, and St. George the capital of Utah's "Dixie
land," so named because It produced the cotton used by
the Mormon pioneers, during the Civil War. St. George

 The National Forests of Utah 233
with its semi-tropical climate, is becoming a Mecca for
many people who cannot withstand the more rigorous
winters at the high altitudes. In its vicinity are produced
semi-tropical "fruits, such as pomegranates and figs,
together with almonds and walnuts. The town is beau
tifully situated.
The main feature of the Utah Division of the Dixie
Forest, is Pine Valley Mountain reaching an elevation of
over 10,000 feet. In order to take advantage of the many
fine views afforded by the various points along Pine Val
ley ridge, it is necessary to make a saddle horse and pack
trip and camp on the mountain. The numerous small
grassy valleys, surrounded by spruce and fir and traversed
by springs and streams of the purest water, afford beauti
ful camping places for those who enjoy nature unadorned
and unmolested by the hand of man. From the east brink
of the mountain the view Is one which for variableness
and beauty of coloring is unsurpassed by anything to be
seen in southern Utah, where colors of all kinds are scat
tered promiscuously. Mother Nature has seemingly
attempted to make up for the sparseness of the vegeta
tion of the hills by painting the landscape riotously with
all the bright hues of the rainbow. Certain It Is that in
no other section of the West can be found the vivid col
oring which is characteristic of these hills. Far to the
east a hundred miles or more may be seen the dark blue
lines of the Kaibab Plateau whose extreme southern
point overlooks the Grand Canyon of the Colorado where
It yawns widest and deepest. To the south and east and
a little nearer to the observer rises the volcanic dome of
Mount Trumbull. In the space between are scattered
haphazard hills, valleys, mountains and plains of every
shape and hue apparently without regard to design or sys
tem. From this point may be seen the spires and domes
and cliffs and crags of the Mukuntuweap or Zion Canyon
National Park (see spedal chapter) and its tributaries,

234

Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

one point of which stands out distinctiy in the form of
the steamboat of a generation ago. Here the reds, vermil-
lions, and scarlets seem to be spread more generously than
at any other point, making the diffs stand out startiingly
distinct against the blue of the sky. Nearer by, the course
of the Rio Virgen may plainly be distinguished, and at
intervals along its banks are bright green spots dotted
with white whidi we know to be villages. All of these
combined form a picture that will hold attention for hours
at a time, for the scope is so great that new points of
interest are ever being discovered.

TROPHIES FROM FISH LAKE.

CHAPTER XVI
THE COI.O.SSAL N.\TURAL BRIDGES OF UTAH
Southeastern Utah is largely a terra incognita not only
to travelers in general, but even to the great mass of
people of Utah itself. In nearly forty years of ramblings,
at intervals, either in Utah or the adjacent states, I can
truthfully say I have not met a hundred people who have
visited this unique region. It has been referred to cur
sorily in several chapters, and is named now as the loca
tion, in San Juan county, of the four most colossal natural
bridges known to man. That the region is practically
unknown is demonstrated by the fact that it was not
until 1904 that the outside world heard of these bridges,
though it is daimed they were first seen by white men
in 1883. It was not long after this date that I personally
rambled over a portion of this country and found it a
vast, strange and weird land. In his Rainbow Trail,
Zane Grey describes it with the pen of an artist. Its glo
ries and fascinations g"ot into his blood, penetrated to his
innemesses, and he tries, again and again, to put into
words, the sensations and emotions aroused by what he
saw and felt. And it is because he succeeds so well that
his readers arc growing until now they number many
millions. In spite of its inhospitality one is drawn to it with a
fascination it is hard to overcome. Though it was winter
time and I suffered severely from cold, how well I remem
ber, and with what rich enjoyment, a trip I made of two
or three hundred miles with a friend — a typical west-
SS5

236 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
eraer — in his heavy freight wagon. Day after day we
rode, sometimes never seeing a soul in the twenty-four
hours. And tiiat was not surprising, for Garfield and
San Juan counties, covering an area of 11,784 square
miles, or one-seventii the entire state, have a combined
population less that found In many a country town of
the middle west. How well Zane Grey describes a part of
what we saw :
"His gaze seemed impelled and held by things afar —
the great yellow-and-purple corrugated world of distance,
now on a level with his eyes. He was drawn by the
beauty and grandeur of that scene and transfixed by the
realization that he had dared to venture to find a way
through this \'ast, wild, and upflung fastness. He kept
looking afar, sweeping the three-quartered circle of
horizon till his judgment of distance was confounded and
his sense of proportion dwarfed one moment and magni
fied the next. Then he withdrew his fasdnated gaze to
adopt the Indian's method of studying unlimited spaces
in the desert — to look witli slow, contracted eyes from
near to far.
" His companions had begun to zigzag down a long
slope, bare of rock, with yellow gravel patches showing
between the scant strips of green, and here and there a
scmb-cedar. Half a mile down, the slope merged into
the green level. But close, keen gaze made out this level
to be a rolling plain, growing darker green, with blue lines
of ravines, and thin, undefined spaces that might be
mirage. Miles and miles it swept and rolled and heaved
to lose its waves in apparent darker level. A round, red
rock stood isolated, marking the end of the barren plain,
and farther on were other round rocks, all Isolated, all of
different shape. They resembled huge grazing cattle.
But as Shefford gazed, and his sight gained strength
from steadily holding it to separate features, these rocks
were strangely magnified. They grew and grew into

The Colossal Natural Bridges of Utah 237
mounds, castles, dcnnes, crags, — great, red, wind-car\'ed
buttes. One by one they drew his gaze to the wall of
upflung rock. He seemed to see a thousand domes of a
thousand shapes and colors, and among them a thousand
blue defts, eadi one a little mark in his sight, yet which he
knew was a canyon."
And so on. I wish I might quote it all. Copying it
recalls another trip when I went alone and rode horse
back over scores of these wonderful miles. But with my
western friend there was great enjoyment day by day.
We forded streams, toiled up and do\sTi rocky canyons,
and wearied through miles of heavy sand. Each night we
camped at stmdown, or thereabouts, and while he attended
to his hors^, I fit a fire, put on his coffeepot, and prepared
the evening meal Then, before I added the coffee to the
boihng water, I poured out a suffident quantity into my
capadous cup, into which I had placed a generous portion
of my old standby, Horhck's Malted Milk, and while his
coffee came to the boil, spread out our repast, which we
then enjoyed in the dancing hght of the replenished fire.
What nights those were ! How deep the sohtud^ ! How
vdvety black the sky and briUiandy large the stars ! How
startling, at times, the silence! And soothed and com
forted by my favorite camping beverage, which, unlike
coffee, never kept me awake, but aided me to a night of
restful sleep, I rolled in my blankets and soon sank into
deep oblivion.
Occasionally in the morning we would find a Navaho
or a Paiuti Indian had been camped near us, and his
wiUingness to " rustle " wood for the morning fire indi
cated that he had very clear and definite designs upon our
provisions. But I must not thus reminisce. We must to the bridges.
Let us not forget, however, that It is a country of pla
teaus and canyons, the main plateau bemg from 5,000 to
6,000 feet above the sea, formed of rich red sandstone.

238 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
into which the forces of nature have cut deep, making
mighty monuments, castles, domes, spires, buttes and tow
ers, the like of which cannot be found elsewhere save in
the Grand Canyon and on the walls of Zion Canyon and
of the Rio Virgen.
Over this plateau country, in 1903, my good friend
Horace J. Long, a mining engineer, who was prospecting
and placer-mining on the bars In the Canyon of the Colo
rado, used to ride every once in awhile, to HIte, Utah, for
mail. On one of these trips he fell In with a cattleman,
named Scorup, who asked him if he had ever seen the
" big arches " In White Canyon. Questioning brought
fuller descriptions, until Long's interest and curiosity were
aroused sufficiently to lead him to arrange to make the
trip. It took them three days to ride from Dandy Cross
ing on the Colorado, and as they approached White Can
yon, Scorup began to show signs of nervousness as if
apprehensive lest his memory should have led him to mag
nify the size and grandeur of what he had seen eight years
before. Now let Mr. Long tell the story :*
" The canyon varied from perhaps three hundred to
five hundred feet In width, and had many curves and
abrupt changes of dirertion. The walls rose to a perpen
dicular height of about four hundred feet, and in many
places far overhung their bases. The bottom was very
rough and uneven, and at that season a considerable
stream of water was flowing In a narrow channel, cut in
most places to a considerable depth below the average level.
" Pushing their horses as rapidly as possible up the
canyon, and eagerly making their way around the masses
of debris, which in many places had fallen from the cliffs
above, the travelers proceeded about a mile when they
rounded a short curve In the canyon wall and had, their
first view of one of Scorup's arches. Extravagant indeed
must have been their expectations to experience any dis-
*The Century Magazine, August, 1904.

CAROLINE, OR KATCHINA, NATURAL BRIDGE.

The Colossal Natural Bridges of Utah 239
appointment at sight of the colossal natural bridge before
them. Yet, from the scenic point of view, this bridge was
the least satis fartory of the three which they visited. Its
walls and buttresses are composed of pinkish sandstone,
streaked here and there with green and orange-colored
moss or lichens. But Its outlines are quite irregular ; the
projecting walls of the canyon Interrupt the view, and the
tremendous mass of stone above the arch tends to dwarf
the height and width of the span."
In the naming of the bridges neither the original dis
coverers, nor the government, it seems to me, has been for
tuitous. Scorup suggested that this first bridge be named
Caroline, or Carolyn, In honor of his wife, but the gov
ernment offidals have changed the name to "Katchina,"
which is the name of a Hopi divinity. Why not have
found the Indian names used by the natives, and learning
their significance, have retained them ?
The Katchina bridge has a span of one hundred fifty-
six feet from side to side, and ninety-eight feet in the
center, while the total height is two hundred five feet,
with a width on top of forty-nine feet.
" Sharp corners and broken lines here and there in the
arch and buttresses show the unfinished work of the art
isan. Nature has not yet given the final touches ; but wind
and storm and driving sand will continue to chisel and
polish until the lines are all graceful curves adding greater
beauty to the most massive of the bridges. Beneath its
broad arch, a spring of cold water Invites one to ' bide a
wee and dinna fret.' "*
The travelers then tolled another two miles over the
mgged and boulder-strewn bed of the main fork of the
canyon and there found a second bridge. Long called it
Augusta, in honor of his wife, while the offidals have des
ignated it Shipapu, which is the Hopi name for the hole
of emergence of the spirits from the underworld.
*The Great Natural Bridges of Vlak. Bulletin o{ the University of Utah, Nov., 1910.

240 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
" The span is one hundred fifty-seven feet high and two
hundred sixty-one feet long at the bottom. It is two hun
dred twenty-two feet from the creek-bed to the top of the
bridge, and the road-bed is twenty-eight feet wide. It is
the crowning glory of the three bridges. It combines
massiveness with gracefulness of proportions that give an
altogether pleasing and satisfying effect. . . . One
climbs to the cliff above and watches the play of sunshine
and shadow upon the warm coloring of the rich reds and
browns of the enduring sandstone that forms its arches
and buttresses and comprehends the gracefulness of its
outlines and proportions as a whole, and he seems unable
to tear himself away from the spell its might and beauty
throw around him."*
The third bridge is found some six miles from the
Katchina bridge, up in Armstrong Canyon, about three
miles above where it opens into White Canyon. Long
called it the Little Bridge, but it is officially designated
Owachomo. Why it should have been called " Httle " it
is hard to understand, for It has a span of one hundred
ninety-four feet and an elevation of one hundred eight
feet. Perhaps it was so named on account of the thin
ness of the bridge, for this Is a long arch, only ten feet
thick in the center and thus gives an impression of light
ness and grace that is most pleasing. It is flanked with
domes and turrets, nature-fashioned, and nestling in a
cave worn into the sunny side of the cliff near one end
are the deserted homes of a village of Cliff-Dwellers.
These three bridges comprise what is known as the
"Natural Bridges' National Monument," but the same
forces that created these have been at work in a near-by
region. About midway between the junction of the San
Juan River with the Colorado, and the Crossing of the
Padres, slightly to the east of the iiith parallel of longi
tude, another magnificent bridge was found in a canyon
'The Great Natural Bridges oj Utah, Bulletin of tho Univetsity of Utah, Nov,, 1910,

The Colossal Natural Bridges of Utah 241
tributary to the Colorado. This canyon is called by the
Navaho Indians Nonnezoshle Boko — the Canyon of the
Stone Rainbow. While it is a glorious arch of vast pro
portions It seems less of a bridge than those of White
Canyon because the top of the span is not level. It is
three hundred eight feet high and two hundred seventy-
four feet long, and reaches from the wall on one side of
the deep gorge, to a bench on the other. In places below
the arch, the cliffs that tower far above and form prac
tically perpendicular walls on either side, draw so close
together that there is barely room to pass through by
wading the small stream in the narrow channel. In the
springtime when the snows melt or heavy rains fall this
stream becomes a raging torrent which would endanger
the life of the traveler venturesome enough to attempt to
pass up the canyon. But even In summertime good water
is abundant, though grass is scarce, so that one must pro
vide himself with feed for his horses. That the region
is rough and so generally inhospitable that even the
Indians keep away from It will deter some people from
attempting to visit it, but this will serve as an incitement
to others. Zane Grey well describes the thrill as one
reaches the point where he is enabled to see beyond
the jutting wall that for a long time obstructs the trav
eler's view :
" A mile beyond all was bright with the colors of sun
set and spanning the canyon in the graceful shape and
beautiful hues of a rainbow was a magnificent stone
bridge. " This rainbow bridge was the one great natural phe
nomenon, the one grand spectacle, which Shefford had
ever seen that did not at first give vague disappointment,
a confounding of reality, a disenchantment of contrast
with what the mind had conceived.
" But this thing was glorious. It silenced him, yet did
not awe or stun. His body and brain, weary and dull

242 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
from the toil of travel, received a singular and revivifying
freshness. He had a strange, mystic perception of this
rosy-hued stupendous arch of stone, as If in a former life
it had been a goal he could not reach. This wonder of
nature, though all-satisfying, all-fulfilling to his artist
soul, could not be a resting-place for him, a destination
where something awaited him, a height he must scale to
find peace, the end of his strife. But it seemed all these.
He could not understand his perception or his emotion.
Still, here at last, apparently, was the rainbow of his boy
ish dreams and of his manhood — a rainbow magnified
even beyond those dreams, no longer transparent and
etherlal, but solidified, a thing of ages, sweeping up majes
tically from the red walls, its Iris-hued arch against the
blue sky."*
This bridge was made a national monument by procla
mation issued by President Taft, May 13, 1910, under the
title " Rainbow Bridge National Monument." A few
miles north of Navaho Mountain there are two other
bridges, of large size and relative importance, the " Owl,"
and the " Crag," but both are dwarfed into insignificance
by the White Canyon and Rainbow bridges. Yet there
Is another great bridge, thus described by Dr. Byron
Cummings :
" In November, 1909, under the guidance of Dr. John
Williams, of Moab, we visited a natural bridge on the
edge of Grand county that deserves to be classed with
those of San Juan county among the great natural won
ders of our continent. This is a graceful arch with a total
elevation of sixty-two feet, and a span of one hundred
twenty-two feet long and forty-nine feet high. It stands
beside the cliff on the western edge of Pritchett Valley;
and has been fashioned under somewhat different condi
tions from those prevailing during the construction of the
other Utah natural bridges. Here there has been no nar-
*The Rainbow Trail, by Zane Grey.

The Augusta, or Shipapu, Colossal Natural Bridge
From the original painting in the collection of Col. E. F. Holmes

The Colossal Natural Bridges of Utah 2 i:j
row zio/.ag canyon throiij;h which the waters surged in
former times, but quite a larj;e valley, scMiie three miles
long ami from one-fmirth to oiio-half a mile wide. On
the siiles of this irrej;iilar basin ri.se ni_i;j;ed cliffs that jut
into the valley here and there in .sharp points and rounded
domes. The upper surfaces of these clilTs stretdi back in
bare undulatinj;' fields of sandstone nmch ennled by wind
and water. Caves have been hollowetl out of tliese clilTs
and various and numerous natural reserviMrs are found
scattered on the surface of these bare roeks where soft
places have been fomul in the stone, or whirlinj:^ eddies in
former ages have ground out cisterns. Some of the.se are
mere shallow tanks, while others reach ilown twenty feet
and more throtij^h the solid saiulslone. Some are irregu
lar and winding in tlieir eour.se, while others look as
though they hail been sunk by siMiie Titanic drill when the
gods were playing with the earth's crust. A few drain
considerable areas of the elilT. ami in time of storm many
a rushing torrent lo.ses itself in their depths. In a few
in.stance.s such a reservoir has been formed directly behind
a cave that was being hollowed out of the side of the cliff.
.•\.s the walls of the cave grailiially extended backward far
ther and farther into the clitT, the reservoir was sunk
deeper and enlarged little by little until its bottom broke
through into the back of the cave. Then the waters
formerly gathered into the reservoir aiul held surged
through the cave and lost theni.selves In the valley below.
F.very dmvnpour of rain and e\ery driving wind carrieil
the work a little farther until the former roof of the ea\e
beeaine an arch. When the reservoir hold tho waters until
its depth about equalled that oi the cave, then the grace
fully curving ardi of the cave became a real bridge as in
the case of the tine arch alreaily mentioned w hieh we have
christened Pikyabo (Tee-kya-bo), the Ute name for
water tank."*
Tkt irriMf X*tm«l Pritlt** '•> Vl*k.

2 14 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
In the same monograph Dr. Cummings thus explains
the origin of Nonnezoshle and the White Canyon briilges :
" Ages ago the great samlstone beds oxerlying this
entire region must have been pushed upwards by the inter
nal forces of the earth until In the places of their greatest
elevation the various strata separated, mountains were
formed, and large cracks opened up that extended in zig
zag lines away through the slopes of this vast table-hmd.
This process of elevation was undoubteilly a gradual one ;
and, as the waters of the mountain sought a lower level,
they took their courses through these irregular crevices,
searching for the ocean whicli was then not far away.
Their mshing currents and surging etldies wore off the
sharp corners, sought out the soft places in the yielding
sandstone, dug out deep caverns and recesses in the cliffs,
and left behind them a series of graceful curves ami fan
tastic forms that amaze and delight the traveler at every
turn. As the formation was pushed upwanl from time to
time, these rushing currents and surging estuaries kept on
with their work of cutting, smoothing, ami filing until
they produced the deep box canyons so prewilent in this
section, which sometimes widen out into small valleys of
ridi alluvial deposit, and again narrow tlown to mere
slits between huge masses of cliffs.
"This elevation and opening of the formation often
left a narrow section of the cliff extending out into the
gorge for rods, around which the stream had to make its
way as it rushed onward in its course. The constant surg
ing of the waters against this barrier revealetl a soft place
in the sandstone, where it gradually ate out a half iloiiic-
shaped cave. In a few instances, as the water swirled
around the other side of this barrier, they reached the cor
respondingly soft place on the opposite side and ground
out a similar half dome there. When, in the course of
time, the backs of these two semi-circular caves came

The Colfl^al Natoral Bridges of Vish 2M

r, the waters fotmd a siiorter conrse thro-t^gii that
Oi«32mf, eaias^ed the ai'dra-ay aiad smocdied 'c5 and
TCSHsded into giacsfal am'ss tiie sides of its massive btit-
tresses, Thtis a t-ridge was farmed and Decame a miglity
-Spaa of esebssmg rods, is-k^se f atmdstians and
st^erMroctHT^ were laid by the ages."

CHAPTER X\TI
BIRD LIFE IN UTAH
It is natural to expect that with its wonderfully diver
sified topography Utah has an extensive, diversified, and
consequendy, exceedingly interesting bird Hfe. ^Mien it
is recalled that here are plateaus, ranging from sea-levd
to 4,000 feet and more in altitude ; mountains tiiat tower
to 12,000, 13,000 and higher; seamed with canyons,
gorges, ravines, down which laughing, babbling, brawl
ing brooks come tumbling, their banks lined with sedge,
grass, bulrush, bush and tree; desert, wild, traddess, hot
and tropical ; alpine forests where snow lingers on moun
tain slopes for twelve months in the year ; immen.se inland
lakes of salt water, as wdl as dear mountain lakes of
sparkling snow-water, where alpine and aquatic fowl love
to dwell and breed, and that throughout the whole state,
in valley and plain, on foothill and in canyon, on edge of
forest and desert, man has made his home, planted corn
fields and fruit-orchards — I say, when all these varied
features are recalled, it can well be seen that it is only
reasonable to expect a large and varied ornithology.
And the student is not disappointed. From my own cas
ual observations of nearly forty years, supplemented by
the careful studies of Dr. Charles G. Plummer, and
several other Utah bird lovers I have gathered the mate
rial here presented. It makes no pretense of being more
than a mere skimming of the surface of the subject, to
lure the deeper student to fuller knowledge.
If one were to arrive In Salt Lake City at ni^t, and
246

 Bird Life in Utah  2£
awaken about sunrise after a refreshing sleep, he would
doubtless be surprised at the variety of bird songs that
would greet his ears — even in the heart of the city. For
Salt Lake City is unique. Its streets are wide, and even
in the business heart, where there are few trees, there is
waste and flush water flowing down the gutters on either
side, and there are open spaces here and there where green
lawns, shrubs, and trees are found. In June mornings I
have heard the finnets in great numbers on buildings in
Main Street, and the cheery song of the robins, and a few
blocks away from the city's center, hundreds of meadow-
larks, each of which, like Browning's English thrush :
" Sings each song twice over.
Lest you should think he cannot recapture
That first, fine careless rapture."
A walk around the outskirts of the city will reveal ori
oles, flickers, red-winged blackbirds, sparrows of several
varieties, juncos, screech owls, short-eared owls, sparrow-
hawks, sharp shinned marsh-hawks, and western red-
tailed hawks. As I listened to a glorious song from the
bursting-throat of a happy linnet I recalled those beautful
lines from the Baltimore Sun:
" He sat on a little pulpit
That was made of the twig of a tree.
And he preached us the happiest sermon
That bubbled with sunshine and glee:
His text was the blue sky burning
In the glory of all Its sweet.
And his theme was the beauty of heaven
That lies at our very feet."
And what a sight It is in the warm hours of the day to
see the birds taking their baths in the cool clear flowing
water of the streets. Robins, sparrows, linnets, pine
siskins, chipping sparrows and all, in the most joyous and

^48 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
friendly of terms, for, whatever our students may tell us
of the quarrelsome nature of the English sparrow, I must
in honor confess that, here, I have never seen him mis
behave with other birds.
I have seen more swallows in one month in Utah than
I have seen in a year in California. How interesting it is
to watch eave swallows build their mud-covered basket-
nests, and then bring up their young. And the robins are
equally unafraid. They will nest where the mother bird
can be readily seen, while the male will perch nearby and
make the morning hours joyous with his rich, deep-toned,
mellow songs. Then the house-finch, various fly-catchers,
the kingbird, the house wren and the humming bird are
commonly seen, the latter darting to and fro in jeweled
splendor and glory, attrading the eye as it poises, its
rapidly moving wings humming in gentle monotone. I
have several friends who have made friends with the hum
ming bird, so that they have nested In the rosebushes
close by the windows, where all could sit and watch them,
and Dr. Plummer has made beautiful pictures of them
upon their nests, feeding their young, or protecting them
from the cold.
Of woodpeckers there are many varieties, including the
red-shafted flicker, the downy, the red-naped and the
Lewis, and the long-crested, the Woodhouse and the
Rocky Mountain jays are common visitors along the foot
hills. The western magpie, too. Is often found and It is
not unusual to find well-trained caged specimens that have
been taught to talk.
Nut-hatches, the pigmy, white-breasted and slender-
billed, — the little. brown creeper and chickadee add joy
to the scene, and it is not uncommon to find the house-
finches, yellow warblers and Audubon warblers all singing
in concert together after they have devoured their fill of
grubs, worms and insects. While there are not as many
mourning-doves as there used to be in early days there are

 Bird Life in Utah  249
still enough In the quieter groves and in the mouths of
the canyons to fill the ears with their quiet and gentle cry.
How vividly they bring to mind Joaquin Miller's exquisite
and passionately human verses :
" Come, listen, O love, to the voice of the dove.
Come, barken, and hear him say :
There are many tomorrows, my love, my love.
But only one today.
Now what is thy secret, serene gray dove,
Of singing so sweetly alway?
There are many tomorrows, my love, my love.
But only one today."
Oh could men and women but learn that wonderful les
son of Christ philosophy, to live today, taking no heed for
the material things of tomorrow, but filling the now with
glad, joyous and helpful service for mankind.
Along the River Jordan and in the hills one may see
the white-crowned sparrow, a little larger than the ordi
nary sparrow, and with Its tri-streaked crown of white
with black on each side, which it raises like a crest when
startled or surprised. Its white-barred wings also serve
to Identify it, though when one has once heard Its song he
Is certain to know It again. So rich and fine is this song
that the bird Is often called the northern nightingale.
When kindly treated he is very friendly and will nest
close by, where he helps the farmer by his industry in
gathering. weed-seeds and insects. In some parts of Utah
I am told he is quite common, and that during the winter
months, while he sings in spite of the windy blasts, he will
come to the open window for whatever crumbs or seeds
are spread for him.
Quite as frequent is the desert horned lark. At first
the uninformed casual observer might take him for a
sparrow, but more careful observation reveals the tiny

250 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
black horns of feather, the black spots on the crest and
breast and a streak of black on each side of his head, and
the brown and white and yellow on his breast, all of which
tell who he is. He is one of the most numerous of Utah's
winter birds and lives almost entirely on weed-seeds dur
ing the cold season. In the spring and summer he eats
quantities of Insects as well. Hence he is of great value
to the farmers. He swarms over the desert and down
into the valleys, on the meadows and along the roadways
and all over the fallow lands in company with several
kinds of sparrow-like birds.
At the mouth of Cottonwood and other canyons that lie
east of Salt Lake there are several glacial moraines
almost entirely devoid of verdure. In December and
January flocks of desert sparrows, chipping sparrows and
song sparrows literally amounting to five and even ten
thousand, may be seen, their rising and falling at times
making them appear almost like clouds. The morning
hours are simply Indescribable with the rich glory of
their song.
On and near the desert the desert-'sparrow, the desert
sage-thrasher, the owl, the vulture, the eagle and various
hawks are to be found. And the butcher bird now and
again must be here, for observers have seen mangled spar
rows impaled on sharp twigs, awaiting the return of the
killer for the remains of his feast. The sage-thrasher
nests in the low-grown, scrubby greasewood, but often
the fledgelings fail to come to maturity, some tragedy
depriving them of their parents, and thus preventing their
sweet and tender song giving joy to the wild and solitary
places. The desert-thrasher Is found in great numbers
along the lakeshores and on the islands, and far into the
deserts of eastern Nevada. Oftentimes, If one has spent
the night on one of the islands or near the western shore
of the Great Salt Lake, he will be awakened by a chorus

 Bird Life in Utah  251
of innumerable sage-thrashers, meadow-larks and blue
birds whose song is as glorious as It is surprising.
In the fall and winter large flocks of gregarious birds
may be seen flying all over the reclaimed and naturally
verdant country and foothills and amongst them may
often be found the gold-finch. Somewhat smaller than
the English sparrow and of a soiled yellow, with little
black on his head and a slightly forked tail, flying in wavy
undulations, he is not hard to recognize.
Of the gregarious birds one must not forget the flocks
of blackbirds which are found here all through the win
ter, together with the cheery and songful robin, and the
meadow-lark. There is scarcely a day in the year
when these interesting and delightful songsters may not
be heard.
Then, too, there are many coveys of quail — the moun
tain quail, the California crested, and even a few Imported
Bob- Whites, and who that has heard their morning song
of thankfulness — " God be praised, God be praised " —
has not joyed in their presence. In the fall and winter,
when natural food is scarce they come into the valleys and
those farmers who are wise to their own farms' and
orchards' benefit scatter feed for these weed-seed and
insert-pest devourers.
Short-eared and screech owls are common, while barn
owls are very rarely seen. Perhaps many of my readers
have never dreamed of the Interest one might have in
watching these birds catch their prey — the rats, mice and
other rodents that are so destmctlve to the farmer. Wear
ing light or straw-colored clothing, as near as possible,
when night-time comes, those who wish to see the noc
turnal hunters at work should go to the haystack and as
noiselessly as possible find shelter, at the same time cover
ing themselves with hay. Soon the faint " Whoo-ooh 1 "
of the owl is heard, and then a winged shadow passes.
This is mother owl, moving as silently as a moonbeam.

252 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Then follows her mate, and a third and a fourth, but the
most intently-Ustening ear never catches the faintest swish
of a wing.
Now watch and listen, even more carefully than before.
Soon there may be a slight rustle in the hay a few feet
away. It is a mouse going out for food, or to make a
neighborly call, but though neither he, nor you can see
even the shadow of an owl in the near-by tree, the mouse
is no sooner away from the hay than the owl pounces
down, strikes and grabs and the poor mouse is doomed.
To some this may seem an unwise thing to teach a child,
and a cruel thing for himself to observe. But I fully
agree with Dr. Plummer in his idea that so long as this is
Nature's plan It is as well for us to observe, study and
leam rather than critldze. This is, at least, one way of
ridding farms of rodent pests.
In the fir trees of the mountains there are still many
dusky and ruffed grouse to be found. Sometimes they
will remain quiet watching the strange visitor, and will
not fly unless some startling movement or hostile act
arouses them. And then with a whiz and a whir they
shoot through the air and seek safety in flight and hiding.
Still fairly numerous are the wonderful sage grouse
next in size and importance to the American wild turkey,
which is now almost extinct. This fine species abounds
on sage-brush plateaus in parts of Utah, and is probably
making its last stand here and in Idaho. If Utah legis
lators can be made to understand that the saving of this
noble spedes from extinction now depends prartically,
upon Utah, laws will promptly be passed forbidding all
grouse shooting for the next twenty years.
The chickadees are also to be found in the tree-clad
mountains and in the canyons to a great height. I have
seen scores of them at an altitude of 8,000, and even
9,000 feet, and Dr. Plummer states that he has found
them at 12,000 feet. And the cheery black-capped

 Bird Life in Utah  253
litde bustiers, as they run up and down the fir or pine
trees, regardless of whether they are upside down or not,
briskly inspecting every- crevice for insect ^gs or winter-
hidden larvae, giving the while thdr striking call, " Chick-
a-dee-dee-dee ! " always cheer and enhearten the moun
tain dimber.
While all parts of Utah, it will be seen, afford joy to
the bird lover it is the Great Salt Lake and the islands
therein that are particularly inviting In the oj^rtunlty
they give for exceptional study of bird wajs and manners.
Dr. Plummer has spent much time in his twenty-nine
years of Utah Hfe in these haunts of the peHcan, goose,
swan, heron and gull and from the wealth of lore he has
garnered I am permitted to cull the following.
Nearly in the center of the Great Sak Lake is an out
cropping of rodcs, some twenty-two acres in extent, which
the ndghboring inhabitants call Bird Island, but which,
on the maps. Is known as Hat Island, so called because of
its resemblance to the sombrero of a western cowboy.
Here on one occasion Dr. Plummer dwdt for dghteen
days, studying and photographing the birds, and the fol
lowing year he added dght more days of observations,
at the same time taking moving pictures of the birds in
thdr every-day activities. He used a large khaki umbrella
blind from which he made his photographs quiefly and
carefully placing it where he needed it and allowing the
birds to become familiar with it- He found that the peh-
r^nt; were the least suspidous, that the gulls were a Uttie
more so, while the herons, ever distrustful, kept entirely
away, thdr eyes riveted upon the opening through which
he dared to look upon them and their homes.
Country Life in America, in April, 1920, published an
ninminative illustrated artide from the pen of Dr. Plum
mer about his experiences on Hat Island. He says of
the pelican:
" The plumage of the pehcan is mosfly white. The

254 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
primaries and much of the secondaries of the wings are
black. During the breeding season the crown and back of
the head show very marked signs of a crest. These crest
featherings are slender and thinly barbed, having a yel
lowish tint. I have seen the adult males, when frightened
or disturbed, raise this crest to a height of two inches but
usually it lies quite close to the head and neck, down
which it extends in some individuals for a number of
inches. These filmy, lace-like appendages ripple some
times as though the old bird had had his crest up in curl
papers over night 1
" The crest color varies with individuals. In some
birds there Is a marked gray mixture with the yellowish
tinge. Many, but not all, of the three-quarters-grown
youngsters have a dedded patch of black on the top of
the head, which becomes a gray-black farther down the
back of the neck, and finally fades into a dull white.
"... In the courting and incubating season the
beak and the deeply and securely rooted pouch of soft,
unplumed skin pendent from the lower mandible, are as
orange-yellow as the feet and legs. In the winter these
parts become a pale, yellowish-green. The eyes are
always yellowish."
The rookery is generally reached by the pehcans in
large flocks late in March, or early In April. Prior to that
time in the earlier months of the year they are to be found
in the alkali swamps, the fresh- water rivers and lakes of
the Great Basin, where they do their preliminary wooing
and love making. It is not until mating Is accomplished
and the urge of nest-building comes that the rookery is
aimed for. The nest is a primitive affair, yet there is a
wonderful difference In pelican nests. Some are mere
holes scooped out of the beds of guano-covered earth and
gravel; others are beds of sticks, greasewood and shad-
scale twigs, adorned with cast-off sea-gull feathers. Gen
erally two eggs are laid, only once did Dr. Plummer find

__^  Bird Life in Utah  255
a nest containing three. When the chicks are hatched
there begins the great business of feeding them. Here is
Dr. Plummer's description:
" Those wary babies know about what hour father and
mother are expected to arrive with their fish, so they stand
expectant, at about 10:30 each morning greedily anxious
for their fish dinner. It behooves those babies to be on
the spot and ready, for occasionally one loses his every-
twenty-four-hours' meal by not being on tiptoe for the
first helping. . . .
" I was within hearing of the dinner gong for
every meal served by the pelicans during the twenty-six
days of my residence on the island, and yd each day the
strangeness of the act impressed me so greatly that I was
fascinated. The birdling always made the Initial advances
toward mother's beak. But if he were a tiny fellow
unable to stand, the mother kindly bent far forward when
he begged so coaxingly, and allowed him to apply his beak
to her mandibular angle — then the way was open to her
banquet chamber. The parent always regurgitated the
tiny quantities of partly digested fish into the upper end
of her gullet, and there the newly hatched one fed, seem
ingly In as much comfort as though he had been able to
occupy an upright place at table. His small head often
went almost out of sight into that lane-opening under the
careful guidance of the old bird. Adult birds never dis
gorge their food onto the ground for the chicks to pick
up. They are fitted with beaks so fashioned that they
are unable successfully to pick things off the ground."
Occasionally the chicks get Into trouble when they
reach far down Into the parents' "storage chamber;" as
the following amusing incident in Dr. Plummer's narra
tive reveals :
" One day during the height of the busy season, the
anxious, screaming cry of the gulls, ' Help, help, help ! '
sounded upon my ears. I craned my neck with the other

256 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
wild folk all around me to ascertain the cause of the out
cry. Off about one hundred feet from my blind and
entirely out of range of any camera I noticed quite a com
motion among the birds. I leveled my glass upon the spot
and made out a large number of greatly excited gulls flit
ting around a pelican and her chick.
" The scene was set upon a rock-floored area, rough
and much broken, and an adult pelican was serving din
ner to a chick that was nearly full grown. Wrestling
matches between parents and their chicks after the dinner
had been served were occurring every minute, so they
were no particular novelty to me. But this fellow was a
wonderful entertainer in his own way. He had gone
down ' cellar ' in the usual way, had grabbed hold of the
first thing that presented Itself, and started to swallow.
" Part way down his gullet the thing stopped short.
The old bird shook her head terrifically and bent her back
double trying to disengage herself. Strange to relate,
that chick was as anxious to break away as the parent was
to have him, but he was stuck, he couldn't budge !
" Locked In each other's grip those wildly flopping birds
wriggled and twisted and pulled and hauled each other
over the rocks, doing their best to ' git shet ' of each
other. The chick was powerless to tear away and the old
bird could not disgorge him. In one grand final effort to
free himself, for he was strangling, he let go of some
thing, and his head came out with a snap that caused him
to stagger. Pell-mell after the youngster's head, with
what seemed like an earnest effort to get out, came forth
a big carp ! Madame Pelican's only thought Was to save
that carp. So she set about It In her crude way, but with
great eagerness and enthusiasm. She stabbed at it with
the end of her beak, and side-swiped it both ways — but
the fish refused to be lifted again into that long, yellow-
red lane. Her gull audience gave a merry ' Ha, ha, ha ! '
at her efforts to secure the prize but not one of them

YOUNG HERON, GREAT SALT LAKE.

Bird Life in Utah 257
offered to filch a morsel of it. Baby pelican, apparently
overawed by the spertacle of a sedate bird cutting up such
capers, gazed vacantly about him while she gave her every
attention to trying to pick up what she had lost. She had
traveled many weary miles with that fellow snugly tucked
away In her basement cupboard and was loath to give
him up. Occasionally in her efforts to rescue her prey it
tumbled over toward a pair of gulls hovering near by. In a
spasm of fear lest they or some other bird might seize
upon It, she charged that family and all others within reach
of her beak. After the struggle had gone on for about
five minutes the fish chanced to fall across a low branch
of greasewood. She grasped the slimy thing and tossed
it into the air. Intending to start It head downward into
her gullet. But it dropped Into her open mandibles cross
wise. Again it was flung and again caught, but It landed
tail first ! This did not suit her so she heaved him again
as high as her strength permitted — and Mr. Carp fell
crosswise into his harbor again. She did her best to swal
low him double, but her capacity failed her. Once more
the torn and tattered carp went into the air — for by this
time that fish was beginning to look much battered — and
again it landed tail downward! Poor Mrs. Pelican, tail
first or head first, how glad she seemed to be when that
fish was safe at its last mooring! She looked about her,
seemingly in wonderment, then fled unceremoniously Into
the air from a standing start. She made for the open sea,
where I am sure she related the episode to all willing
listeners." The naturalist also tells us in this Interesting story of
the daily parade of the chicks to the water for their bath,
of the habit of the older birds to climb to the highest
ridges and there make their toilets and take observations
of their surroundings, of their fishing habits, and of the
indifference of the old birds to their young except at feed
ing time.

25g Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
But in this wonderful rookery of that Island there
are other birds besides the pelican. The sea gull has
long made it his habitat, and here he Is found In vast
quantities, together with the beautiful blue heron. A
hundred pages would not suffice to reproduce Dr. Plum
mer's interesting observations on these various birds;
how that the gull is a great scavenger and also a lawless
devourer of the baby chicks of the cormorant, while the
herons and pelicans are game-hunters and scorn any such
cannibalistic dietary. The gulls are from the Padfic,
where they have their winter home and they come to Salt
Lake for their summer experiences. How did they find
this location ? What wonderful instinct sent them so far
inland? The blue heron, the stately and dignified wader
in our western waters, who even separates from his mate,
and each goes his, her, own way, when they start out on
a fishing expedition, is found here in great numbers.
There are some observers who say that fully a quarter
of a million of the wild snow-geese may often be found
in and near the Great Salt Lake, and the most conserv
ative estimates place the numbers into the tens of thou
sands. They and all other spedes of goose (among
which are found the cackling, the Canada goose, and black
brant), are greedy grazers of the green grasses that
abound in these swamps. When the grass is green and
tender it is excellent food and they fatten on it, but in
winter there is a different tale to tell. Dr. Plummer was
tramping out in this region when he found a number of
dead wild snow-geese that evidently had not been shot.
He Inspected the crop and gullet of each one and found
them full of dead salt-grass. This was frost-bitten and
dry as hay and therefore undigestlble by these poor birds,
for they have no teeth to chew such substances.
But, the intelligent reader may ask : Do not the geese
go south In winter, where there is suitable food in abund
ance? As a rule they do, but conditions exist In the Salt

 Bird Life in Utah  259
Lake Valley and marsh country which deceive, mislead
them, even, as we have seen, to their death. Many of
the swamps here are fed by warm alkali waters from
the various hot springs so that they rarely freeze over.
Many open places remain all winter and In them ducks,
geese, coots and grebes find plenty of food for the cold
months. Sometimes soft snow falls to considerable
depth and fills such open areas of water with thick slush
and the wild folks' food Is covered up. All available
green growth Is away down under this blanket and It
remains there until the warming Influences of the sun
melt the cold cover. Led by their instincts to remain by
water, which, in the. cold months. Is their only salvation,
they stand around the slush filled water-holes or fly from
one point to another seeking food until they are so weak
ened by their efforts that they are unable to undertake a
long migratory flight.
Hence one of the needs for wild-game sanctuaries.
Here Intelligent game-wardens can observe these condi
tions and provide against them, and thus save the life of
the otherwise doomed birds. It Is gratifying to know
that upland wild life sanctuaries are rapidly multiplying In
Utah. Extensive areas are being designated as bird
sanctuaries, many private owners being in no way averse
to the movement for the protertion of wild life. The
Utah laws authorize the state fish and game department
to set aside areas of land for this purpose. Movements
also are on foot for creating large sanrtuaries for the
waterfowl at the mouths of rivers that empty Into the
Great Salt Lake.

CHAPTER XVIII
A WESTERN PHYSICIAN-NATURALIST
Among the chief joys of my richly joyful life I count
my personal associations with such great naturalists as
Joseph LeConte, John Burroughs, Ernest Thompson
Seton, John Muir, Charles Keeler, Olive Thorne Miller
and others of the " Gilbert White of Selbourne " type.
There are few enough of these men and women who
really attain, not so much eminence, as who deserve emi
nence, by the thoroughness and completeness of their
studies. Such a one it was my delight and profit to find
in Salt Lake City in Dr. Charles G. Plummer. As the
thrill of delight to the discoverer of a new orchid, the
artist of a new type of landscape, the musician of a new
theme, so came the joy and pleasure as I met Dr. Plum
mer, grasped his hand, and gazed into his eyes, for
Nature, God's great out-of-doors, the desert, the swamp,
the island, the lake, the mountains, the forest, the can
yon, the loving study of beasts and birds, fishes, reptiles,
men and God, have stamped their Impress upon his outer
man. He, surely, has taken on more of the image and
likeness of God in his fine face, noble brow, expressive
and tender eyes, mobile mouth, firm and resolute chin,
as also in the vibrant, yet gentle, fatherly voice, than have
most meh. He Is a wonderful compound of John Bur
roughs and John Muir. In the wideness and extent of
his researches, in his love of solitude and tmstfulness in
Nature's goodness and kindness wherever he may be —
on snow-clad mountain summits companioning the stars ;
260

 A Western Physician-Naturalist 261
in deep canyon abyss wrapped around in profound silence;
on trackless desert where the solitude is a physical pres
ence to be felt ; In dense forests where shadows live, move
and have their being ; in marshy recesses where none but
wildfowl live; on secluded island where pelicans, gulls
and herons mate, nest and breed — In these things he Is
akin to John Muir, that lover of High Sierran solitudes.
Yet In his quiet and tender devotion to the smaller things
of life — flowers, inserts, birds and trees — close at hand,
he is another John Burroughs. Whatever he does he does
thoroughly, hence he Is a pure scientist, beset on know
ing, if conscientious observations will give knowledge to
him, but saturated with the love that comes from a true
realization of God's creative fatherhood over all living
things — or what Howard Moore so truthfully designated
" The Universal Kinship."
An added virtue in Dr. Plummer's life is that he has
preserved his boyhood intact along with his strides Into
manhood's experiences and years, and he has allied himself
to the great Boy Scout Movement. He is the beloved
and revered mentor of the boys of Salt Lake City, and for
many miles beyond on their hikes, rambles, outings and
camp-fires. It was my good fortune to be privileged to
accompany Dr. Plummer — under the leadership of Scout
Executive Hammond — with about two hundred Boy
Scouts of Salt Lake City and vicinity, in automobiles, on
an eight hundred mile trip through southern Utah, taking
in all the principal cities and towns, visiting wonderful
Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and going down
almost to the Arizona line to the interesting Mormon city
of St. George. It was a wonderful and memorable trip,
but one of its principal charms was the opportunity it
gave of observing Dr. Plummer's relationship with the
boys. He was one with them in their every mood and
act. Not that he always approved of what they did. On
the contrary he " hauled them over the coals " with ear-

262 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
nestness and vigor, every once in a while, but It was done
in such a straightforward way that all seemed to profit
and no one be " huffed " by it. Every morning, after
assembly prayer, and salute to the flag had been given, a
run was ordered by the scout master, and Dr. Plummer
led off. At a dogtrot eight, ten, or a dozen blodcs were
taken, the scouts following in line. Needless to say, they
all came back hungry as wolves for breakfast. Daily the
doctor gave a lecture to the boys on the birds, geology,
the natural laws of conservation, etc., (two others of us
did the same), and he was ever ready to answer the thou
sand and one questions they brought to him. So beloved
is he that all the scouts call him " Daddy Plummer," and
on one memorable camping-trip in the Wasatch Moun
tains they crowned him " King of the Wasatch."
One can well imagine the Influence such a man — a
pure scientist, one of the leading physicians of Salt Lake
City, a naturalist of the first order, a careful student,
observer and lover of all Nature ¦ — has upon the boys.
He is the Muir type of naturalist, in that he believes
Nature knew her own mind in all her creations. Nothing
exists without divine purpose. We may not be able to
discern it, but that is our misfortune or our fault, as we
seek to know, or deliberately refuse to learn. Hence he
is constantly urging upon adults, as well as youth, a more
thorough and deep study of the esoteric meanings of
nature. While we were In Zion National Park a fine
illustration was given of his method of teaching the boys
this deeper knowledge of divine law — for It is almost
needless to say, he sees manifestations of the supreme
mind and love in all things. One of the boys found a
rattlesnake. Some wanted to kill it. Others, knowing
Dr. Plummer's ideas, prevented that and called the doc
tor's attention to it. Picking the snake up, he brought it
to me, knowing that I had made a special study of the
ratUer's anatomy, and for a half an hour or more I

 A Western Physician-Naturalist 263
answered the boys' questions about fangs, poison glands,
how the snake made his bite and ejerted the poison, etc.
Then Dr. Plummer gave a brief talk in which he clearly
and positively stated his behef that the Creator must have
had some reason or purpose for pladng the rattlesnake
upon the earth, and, therefore, while he freely confessed
he did not know that purpose, he saw no more reason to
kill a rattler when it was out in the wilds than he did to
kill any other creature. So, striding away to the foot of
the chffs half a mile away, he deposited the uninjured rep
tile, doubtless astonished at its remarkable and harmless
adventure. No sooner had Dr. Plummer retumed from this trip
than he prepared for another, in which he took a large
group of Boy Scouts through the Yellowstone Park.
Think of the priceless advantages such leadership gave to
the boys of the party. For he is no mere dilettante in
" camping out " and roughing it. It is his regular food.
In a book of his, just pubUshed,* I find several passages
which graphically describe his aims and methods. These
are well worth quoting Eere :
" The way took me straight into the rich, red-golden
sunset of an Indian summer day. Between me and the
snow-capped skyhne of the mountains lay miles of open
desert leading up to the foothills all bathed just then by a
gently-moving sea of deep violet-tinted atmosphere. In
places where the hog-backs rose high and ridge-like, the
golden brush swept them with a delicate touch from end
to end, leaving them softly illumined amid the darker sur-
roimding coloration.
" In the draws that were garbed on their northem
slopes with firs, balsams, quaking-aspens and other timber
the shadows were so deep that I could scarcely discern
their general contour. The deeper canyons and gorges
'Gun-Crabbing Johnny. By C. G. ^ununer, M. D., The Radiant life Press, Pasa
dena, CaUl.

264 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
gashing the morning face of this range were no longer
visible. I knew the snow lay in them and that up toward
their heads small areas of new ice coated the surfaces of
the streams here and there with fairy-like roofs prepara
tory for the coming winter.
" I had been In the hushed seclusion of these peaks and
ridges a week or so before and I knew just how every
thing looked with a clear white mantle draping each
feature so naturally. I had tramped over those rocky
slants during the winter season as well, and now, as I
faced that way and caught the freshening fragrance of
the desert borne to me by cool evening breezes, imwit-
tingly I increased my pace and pressed eagerly forward.
" Those desert regions had given me untold delight as
I rambled over them each month of the year. To me
they were not waste places for I had found something of
value in every nook and cranny I explored. It might have
been simply the chararter of the material composing the
soil, or the here-and-there patch of verdure of one spedes
or another that attracted me.
" Rarely did I have any specific locality in view when I
made such tramps, — that Is, no special place to which
I wished to go in a certain elapsed time — rather was I
bent upon an exploration of the hidden spots that are
often of such inestimable value to me and which give such
great pleasure when I come upon them suddenly.
" Seemingly an aimless wanderer slowly going from
one bunch of greasewood to another; to this growth of
sage-brush or that bit of rabbit-brush, or to a scraggly
bunch of shad-scale with its fish-scale leaves so promi
nently put forth, — always I found something to lure me
on with an impelling urge.
" Almost every stand of bunch grass or other growth
into which I peered, all eyes and ears, revealed or whis
pered to me some secret! In one lush bit of grass was
carefully concealed the domed home of a field mouse and

 A Western Physician-Naturalist 265
four tiny occupants were left to keep house while mother
and father scoured the sandy soil for food.
" Only a few days old were they, yet I am sure that
these little fellows realized that I was a friend — not on
killing bent ! — and they suffered me to handle them as I
would. Eyes that had not yet looked out upon this world
were tightly sealed beneath closed fids In obedience to
the Law of Nature. Tiny mouths — as yet used for
nothing but to suckle the mother's breast — showed that
the quickly growing germs of teeth would soon be In evi
dence and ready for maturing as soon as age gave them
the opportunity.
"Why did I not cmsh the life out of these helpless
creatures, so-called fanner's pests? I have but one
answer to such inquiries, and that is that they are God's
creatures, produrts of the same thought-effort as that
which imaged the bird, the flower, or the man — and they
have the same right to thoughtful consideration as any of
these others!
" True, at some future time they become the prey of
birds, mammals or reptiles, as It was designated they
should be, or else they live on to a ripe old age of useful
ness in their plane of existence. Such seems to be the
demand of Nature and I have no right to interfere with
its ftmctioning."
Elsewhere he writes :
" Bird tracks In the sand, animal foot-prints here and
there are tell-tale evidences of the coming and going of
God's creatures, each solving his own problems according
to his wisdom and unconsciously furnishing splendid
premises upon which to base his pursuit and possible cap
ture by enemies about which he cared little so long as he
was able to secure his food and visit with his kind as his
ancestors had done before him."
In this same volume he gives an Ideal but essentially
practical method of a genius In the study of Nature. He

266 Utah, the Land of Blossomiiig VaUeys
draws a ^isdnating pcttxre of a woman teadiier and her
methods: '* She loved the fields and tiie woods, the moimtains,
meadows and the babUu^ brooks and all of the Ug and
littie dwdlers that in tiiem homed in natural peace attd
comfort. She was on intimate terms with the weeds and
trees, the grasses and tiie flowers, even of the fish that
swam the tarbolent moantain stream rambling past her
school-room door. '
"The birds which sang from the lone plao^ of tiie
desert or from tiie branches of the trees in tiie ndlgfabor-
hood of her place of service, gave themsdves freely and
apparently to herself alone. Nothing in all creation was
too indgnificant for her most loving consideraticm.
" This life-long contact with the wild folk — not wild
to her by any means ! — had established a state of redpro-
cation rarely observed in human beings. Of whatever she
was possessed she gave abmidantty, whether to the small
boy with the stubbed toe, to the sweet siqging bird near
her, or to the down-hearted girl, and always she was
rewarded in proportion to that which she e^^ended.
"... She instilled into the eager recq>tive minds
of her girls and boys tiie natural laws of the universe.
She led them by the invisible linked-leash of tolerance,
understanding, sympathy and love. Each one was directed
how to be himself all the time."
Dr. Hummer tiien gives examples — which he himsdf
saw, for he daims his modd teadier is a reali^ — of how
this woman conducted her dasses in school and outside.
She taught and led by su^estion and tiie disdpline of
the powers of observation. In this regard Dr. Plummer's
presentation is not second to that whidi Professor Lane
Cooper gives of the great Agassiz, whose three prind
ples of education might be said to have been, (i) obser
vation, (2) more observation, (3) continued observation.

 A Western Physician-Naturalist 267
And she evidently had taken for her motto, consciously
or unconsciously, the words of Liberty H. Bailey :
"If one Is to be happy he must live In sympathy with
common things. He must live in harmony with his envi
ronment. He cannot be happy yonder nor tomorrow ; he
is happy here and now or never. Our stock of knowledge
of common things should be great. Few of us can travel.
We must know the things at home."
In the chapter on the " Birds of Utah," I have referred
to Dr. Plummer's exhaustive studies of wild fowl on Hat
Island. He has written a most fascinating book upon the
subject which it Is hoped will shortly be published.
He is also a poet. His lines on the well-known and
famous " Sea Gull Monument," as well as a poem on
" The Boastful Daffodil " are well worthy of preservation.
TO THE MEMORY OF THE SEA-GULLS
DEDICATED TO MAHONRI M. YOUNG,
SCULPTOR
" O bird of snow-white plume and graceful poise, thou
art
Immortalized In gilded, everlasting bronze !
On spreading pinions, held aloft by globe and shaft
Of stone, o'er pedestal of granite ages old.
Thy service told In tablets Is a tale of life.
Thou cam'st a seeming messenger of God, to save
From famine, dire, men, women, little children, too.
Who journeyed far to make their home In deserts wild.
As long as time endures, thy praises will be sung !
Thy form in sculptured bronze shall always rev'renced
be.
And pioneers will tell to those who follow them.
That God was good, — He sent thee from the unknown
waste."

268 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
THE BOASTFUL DAFFODIL
" Once a daffodil so proud
Shook his head and laughed so loud.
That a violet near by
Was afraid, she was so shy.
" For the daffodil had said.
As he tossed his yellow head,
' God's great sun of yellow gold
Paints for me my color bold.
W^ith the great transcendent light
I, alone, am thus made bright.
Spring's warm zephyrs do not blow
On the humble and the low.'
" But the violet so shy
Oft had looked upon the sky !
And she humbly raised her head
From its dainty purple bed;
Looked again upon the sky.
Saw God's face — ne'er wondered why
She was scorned in life's keen race.
When she saw Him face to face.

" Still she sheds her odors sweet.
Blooming at the Master's feet."

CHAPTF.R XIX
UTAIT's INFLUENCK UrON LITERATURE
This clinplor makes no pretense to completeness. It is
merely ilesigneil to give to tlie general reader a glimpse
into what, to most people, is an unknown field. ^Vhile
I was in Salt Lake City, writing a part of this book, the
historian of the Mormon Churdi freely opened their large
librar}-, both of books, manuscripts and letters, to me,
and ga\e me unrestricted use of them for several weeks.
One whole section was devoted to Anti-Mormon Works,
scores, hundreds of them; another section was devoted to
generally favorable literature, while the rest was given up
to the work^ of their own people. It was the first time
in my not small or limited experience that I was given
access to e\erythiug that could be found against the faith
and people of those about whom I was writing, and I
believe this attitude of frankness fairly represents the
position taken by all intdhgent Mormons of today in
regard to tlieir faitli and mode of life.
The polemic part of this literature I am not particularly
interested in, though I carefully read everything I could
find that came from the pen of Joseph Smith, the IMormon
Prophet. But there were many other books that are
entitled to be called literature, full of deUghtful and
charming descriptions, that sliould be better known.
Foremost among these are such books as Stansbury's
E.vpIoration and Surt'cy of the Valley of the Great Salt
Lake of Utalt in iS.}0. This was printed by order of
Congress and issuetl in 1S53. It is illustrated with a

270 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
number of toned lithographs, neither very artistic nor
accurate, still useful as giving an idea of the conditions at
that early date. It contains nine chapters, the first four of
which are devoted to the journey from Fort Leavenworth
to Salt Lake City. As the expedition was joined by a
band of emigrants going to California, and they traveled
with the surveyors as far as Salt Lake City, these chap
ters are enlivened with Incidents that otherwise might not
have occurred. Chapter V is devoted to a reconnaissance
to Fort Hall and return, and Chapter VI to the western
shores of the Great Salt Lake. Then, as winter came, and
further survey work was Impossible, the party spent the
winter in Salt Lake City, and Chapter VII is devoted to
a brief history of Mormonism and a relation of the
writer's impressions of the Mormons themselves. This
is both interesting and instructive, as Stansbury and his
party were kindly disposed to those who had treated them
with consideration and respect.
The most Important chapter of the book is Chapter
VIII which gives the report of the complete survey of the
lake; while later surveys have made a few slight correc
tions and additions, this is prartically the basis of our
knowledge of the lake and is still quoted as the chief and
prime authority. Chapter IX relates the story of the
return of the expedition to Fort Leavenworth with rail
road and other suggestions.
In 1859, Captain J. H. Simpson, under the authority
of the Secretary of War, made an exploration, and this
was published In 1876, as a government document. It is
entitled Report of Explorations Across the Great Basin
of the Territory of Utah for a Direct Wagon Route from
Camp Floyd to Genoa, in Carson Valley.
Camp Floyd was afterwards changed to Fort Critten
den, and was located in Cedar Valley, in what is now
Utah county. Simpson was an expert explorer and had
done work of this kind before for the government, hence

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 271
his report is an elaborate quarto of nearly 500 pages. He
gives an historical Introduction which tells, with fair
accuracy and fullness, of the several prior explorations,
beginning with that of Padre Escalante, the Franciscan
Friar, who desired to find a way from Santa Fe to the
new missions In California. He succeeded, however, in
reaching no further than Oralbl, one of the Hopi villages.
He then discusses the claim made that Jim Bridger,
the pioneer trapper, was the discoverer of the Great Salt
Lake. The discussion is interesting though it is difiicult
to decide when the evidence Is neither complete nor con
vincing. While there are many pages of dry scientific
data, the reader who loves to browse will find many fas
cinating lines and pages in Simpson's volume.
In the same year, 1859, Major Macomb of the Topo
graphical Engineers, accompanied by Dr. J. S. Newberry,
the geologist, made a Report of the Exploring Expedition
from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the Junction of the Green
and Grand Rivers of the Great Colorado of the West,
which was Issued by the government In 1876. I have
quoted in one or two places from this volume, and It
being one of the first accounts of careful explorations in
the wonderful region of south-eastern Utah it is entitled
to a careful perusal.
In both the Wheeler and Hayden geological surveys
Utah has no inconspicuous place and to the geologist these
early volumes are priceless. But it was not until Major
J. W. Powell was made the head of the United States
Geological Survey that Utah came into its own, as far as
scientific study was concerned.
In quick succession four Important monographs were
issued. The first of these was by Powell himself, entitled.
The Geology of the Uinta Mountains, in which he showed
that the formations of the region have an aggregate thick
ness of 50,000 feet, and that they marvellously illustrate,
on a grand scale, facts of displacement, degradation and

272 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
sedimentation. No romance is more startling than the
facts of geology he here discovered and to the superior
reader and student, even though he be not a technical
geologist, these pages are full of fascination.
Equally attractive, though in an entirely different way,
is Grove Karl Gilbert's Report on the Geology of the
Henry Mountains. Here we are treated to a study and
explanation of the peculiar volcanic Intrusions, which Gil
bert terms " laccolltes," and which are found not only
here but across the Grand Canyon as far south as the
region near Laguna, New Mexico.
Next came, in 1879, Powell's Lands of the Arid Region,
already quoted from and referred to in the chapter on
irrigation. Then, in 1880, was published Dutton's Geology of the
High Plateaus of Utah. This latter is a comprehensive
work and full of Dutton's prose-poems of description.
No intelligent student of the geological history of Utah
but will be delighted beyond measure with this volume.
In the chapters entitled " Glimpses of the Land,"
" Geology," and " Zion National Park " are extensive
quotations from the pen of Dutton. These are taken
from scientific monographs as the one here named and yet,
few writers of descriptive power, recognized as among
the masters of literature, have given to the world such
exquisite and perfect pen pictures as he. Dutton was a
captain of artillery, with a strong geological bent of mind,
and Powell, with that keen judgment of his as to the
capacities of men seized him, made a friend of him, and
sent him to study the rock formations that had so dazzled
and delighted him In his studies of Utah.
Neither man knew exactly what the results of their
work, and that of their compeers, were to be. Powell had
already made his memorable trip down the Canyons of the
Colorado, and had published the report of It. Dutton was
jiow persuaded to make a thorough study of the Canyon

 Utah's Lifluence Upon Literature 273
Country, and soon there came from his pen that graphic
scientific monograph : The Physical Geology of the Grand
Canyon District, which appeared in the Second Annual
Report of the United States Geological Survey, later fol
lowed by the fascinating volume : The Tertiary History of
the Grand Canyon District; with accounts of Mount Tay
lor and the Zuni Plateau, Hawaiian Volcanoes, etc.
Some years later Powell himself wrote his masterpiece
of description: The Canyons of the Colorado, which
deals largely with Utah, but the work was published as a
subscription book. In a limited edition, and few copies are
now to be found. It is my hope that some day this most
attrartlve work may be republished at a price that will
enable the many to purchase it.
Naturally, the Great Salt Lake has greatly attrarted
students of geology, and G. K. Gilbert has given to us an
exhaustive quarto volume entitled : Lake Bonneville, this
being the first of the separate monographs of the United
States Geological Survey. It was issued in 1890 and Is
now quite scarce. Lake Bonneville Is the name given by
the scientists to the prehistoric lake, of which Salt Lake
is but the small remnant, and the various shore-lines of
which are to be seen on the foothills of the Oquirrh and
Wasatch ranges.
Several other scientific monographs and books have
been published on Utah, several of which are elsewhere
quoted from in these pages.
Two of the most noted books, written by disinterested
travelers, who were attrarted to Utah by the reports of
the peculiar tenets of Mormons are A Journey to Great
Salt Lake City, by Jules Remy and Julius Brenchley, pub
lished by W. Jeffs, London, In 1861, and The City of the
Saints, by Robert F. Burton, published by Harper and
Brothers, New York, In 1862.
The former of these is a pretentious work, finely
printed in large type, illustrated, and in two volumes. > Its

'274: Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
chief author, Remy, was a cultured Frendiman, who, with
his companion, came from Cali f ornia to Utah. 1 le writer
with philosophical candor, and without any of Ihe vindic
tive prejudice so often found, giving his views of Mor
monism and its leaders in a calm and dispassionate man
ner, criticising without venom, and praising without fear.
Equally free from prejntlice is Burton's far more elab
orate and exhaustive work, though it is crowded into one
volume. But, though the type is large and clear, ils pages
are large, and there are nearly 600 of them, lie writes.
however, with a freedom and power possible only lo a
man of clear thought, strong opinions and simplicity of
expression, and as one reads, he feels that here are knowl
edge, sympathy and understanding as well as criticism
and censure.
For sane, calm, unbiased accounts and judgments these
two books can well be read and enjoyed.
In 1866 there was printed and published in San Fran
cisco a slender volume, daintily gotten up, with nothing
but the one word Poems on the cover. Inside, the tillc
page revealed that the authoress was Sarah E. Carmichael,
and the introduction that the volume was issued by
friends. These in reality were the oflicers of Fort Doug
las, and in it they thus express themsdves :
" It will hardly be deemed a matter of local prejudice
merely, that this friendly alliance dotes upon the fact that
so gifted a child of song has been vouchsafed to the
remote and obscure region of country known as the
Valley of the Great Salt Lake. It is indeed regarded by
llicni as worthy of more than ordinary note, that in such a
secluded spot — shut out from the world at large by the
frowning barriers of the Rocky Mountains, without the
advantages of books and intellectual training; without the
soul-expanding influences of a cultivated ami liberal public
sentiment; away from the softer elements of natm-al
beauty, and having nothing but her own heart to commune

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 275
with — her songs have taken so wide and glorious a
flight; ever loyal to truth and humanity, ever sweet and
melodious as the voice of nature."
It is a great regret that I cannot quote several poems
from this dioice little selection. Many of them are poems
of the war, and her threnody on the death of Lincoln Is,
without question, fit to rank with Whitman's "My
Captain " in true pathos and deep toned sympathy.
An incorrect version of her " Stolen Sunbeam " was
yet deemed so perfect a poem that Bryant Included it
in his Centenary of American Song. It is to be hoped
that some enterprising publisher, will, ere long, see it the
part of good business policy to republish this little volume,
for it cannot fail to give great pleasure to those who are
fortunate enough to secure a copy.
One of the books that all those interested in Utah and
the Mormons should read is A. B. Carlton's Wonderland
of the JVild JVcst. Mr. Carlton was chairman of the
United States Commission appointed by the President to
see that the anti-polygamy laws of Congress were carried
out in Utali. He was an Indiana lawyer and spent six
years on the work of this Commission. Needless to say
he was an anti-Mormon. The book is sketchy, and by no
means literature, but there are several things that commend
it. There is an honesty of purpose and a spirit of fair
ness manifested together with a determination to carry
out the law against polygamy. Now and then there are
fine descriptive touches, some of which are wdl worth
quoting. Historically matters are presented by one who
had time to study the subject thoroughly, and while the
author started into his work prejudiced against the Mor
mons he succeeded in showing us that before long, after
his arrival in Utah, his ideas underwent many changes.
Harry L. A. Culmer, to whom attention has been called
in the diapter on artists, would have been equally famous
in literature had he chosen to devote himself to it. In

276 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
that chapter quotations are given from an article written
by him on " Mountain Art " that show decided literary
ability. Elsewhere fugitive pages from his pen are found.
In Tullidge's Quarterly Magazine, January, 1881, is an
article entitled " Our Adventure in the Wasatch Moun
tains," which shows the power of his imagination and
the dramatic skill with which he was enabled to present
his visionlngs as well as his joy in the scenery of this glo
rious range. The story tells how he and a young artist
friend were caught in a storm and in trying to find their
way to shelter came upon a charcoal-burning hermit, who
in his anger and rage at seeing them, fell into an epileptic
fit. On his recovery, feeling that death was rapidly
approaching him, the hermit told the thrilling and sad
story of his life. It is in the telling of this romantic his
tory that Culmer displays his power.
In 1880, Edward W. TuUidge started the publication of
a quarterly magazine, which existed for two years. It
was a part of the so-called " reform " movement against
certain phases of Mormonism. There are many Interest
ing as well as instructive historical pages in each issue of
this magazine, and though antagonistic, in some respects,
to certain claiftis of the Mormon leaders, it gives fair and
even laudatory sketches of them and their work.
It can well be Imagined that the great variety of yarns
told by those who had passed through Utah and had come
in contart with the Mormons, and especially after Brig
ham Young's successful harassment of the federal forces
in 1858, the promulgation of the polygamy revelation, and
the Mountain Meadow massacre, would necessarily let
loose a flood of stories, dramas, novels, filled with the
wildest stretches of imagination of which the human
mind is capable. Joaquin Miller, the Poet of the Sierras,
wrote his Danites, under the impulse of this flood of
hatred turned against the Mormons, but In after years he
always regretted it, and again and again has said to me

OLD WHITE HOUSE, FIRST RESIDENCE OF BRIGHAM YOUNG, Sy\.LT LAKE CITY.

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 277
that It was the first and only time he ever allowed his mind
to be swept away by a popular clamor against anyone.
Captain Marryat, In his Monsieur Violet, was led off
Into pages of tirade against the Mormons. Denouncing
Joseph Smith formed a dramatic episode in his book.
Geraldine Bonner, In her Tomorrow's Tangle, intro
duces a dramatic situation based upon the possibility of
one of her characters having been a Mormon with more
than one wife, and Harry Leon Wilson, the genial author
of the Red Gap stories, before he had struck that most
interesting and popular gait, wrote a book which sup
posedly told the truth about the Mormons. The title was
suggestive of Brigham Young and his associates: The
Lion of the Lord. The book Is well written of course,
but Its facts are largely a rehash of John Doyle Lee's
Confessions. In his Introduction, Wilson thus speaks of
the secret vengeances of the Church, of the " Danites "
and the power they had over the timid souls of the
Mormons :
" There are others still living in a certain valley of the
mountains who will know why the soul-proud youth came
to bend under invisible burdens, and why he feared, as
an angel of vengeance, that early cow-boy with the yellow
hair, who came singing down from the high divide Into
Amalon where a girl was waiting In her dream of a single
love ; others who, to this day, will do no more than whis
per with averted faces of the crime that brought a curse
upon the land; who still live in terror of shapes that
shuffle furtively behind them, fumbling sometimes at their
shoulders with weak hands, striving ever to come in front
and turn upon them."
Even Conan Doyle had to take his fling at the Mormons
in his Study in Scarlet, and it certainly is not to the credit
of a truly great author that he was stampeded Into accept
ing accusations of horrible crimes against the Mormon
leaders as proven farts. Listen :

278 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
" The victims of persecution (the Mormons) had now
tumed persecutors on their own account, and persecutors
of the most terrible description. Not the inquisition of
Seville, nor the German Vehmgerlcht, nor the secret sod-
eties of Italy were ever able to put a more formidable
machinery In motion than that which cast a doud over the
Territory of Utah.
" Its invisibility, and the mystery which was attached to
It, made this orgazlation doubly terrible. It appeared to
be omniscient and omnipotent, and yet was neither seen
nor heard. The man who held out against the Church
vanished away, and none knew whither he had gone or
what had befallen him. His wife and children awaited
him at home, but no father had ever returned to tell them
how he had fared at the hand of his secret judges. A rash
word or a hasty act was followed by annihilation, and yet
none knew what the nature might be of this terrible power
which was suspended over them. No wonder that men
went about In fear and trembling, and that even In the
heart of the wilderness they dared not whisper the doubts
which oppressed them."
In this story John Ferrier is "required" to give his
adopted daughter in marriage to a Mormon. Brigham
Young himself comes to " advise " or " counsel " the
refractory father. After due consideration he refuses, as
she has chosen someone else, who Is a Gentile. Then,
with dramatic power, the great writer, page after page,
enlarges the stealthy terror of the powers of vengeance,
until Ferrier, his daughter and her lover escape from
Utah. They are pursued by " The Avenging Angels."
Ferrier slain, Lucy captured, taken back to Salt Lake
City and there compulsorlly married to the Mormon youth
who desired her. Her lover discovered the fact, and
thereafter pledged his life to vengeance, and the remain
ing portion of the volume is devoted to telling how he
sought and ultimately found it. Of course the subject is

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 279
a dramatic one, but to my mind it Is a monstrously cruel
thing to load upon any people the burden of sudi accusa
tions, unless they can be proven by incontrovertible
evidence. Zane Grey has taken a somewhat similar attitude
towards certain phases of Mormonism in his novels.
Riders of the Purple Sage, and The Rainbow Trail, but
he has enriched his volume with many wonderfully poetic,
dramatic and graphic descriptions of the little known
country of southeastern Utah. Even Charles Felton
Pidgin, as late as 1912, twenty-two years after President
Wilford Woodruff had announced the abandonment of
polygamy, felt called upon to write The House of Shame,
a novel," in which is told a story of love and marriage, —
not the marriage preceded by days of loving courtship, the
ring and the kiss, and the congratulations of relatives and
friends, but the mating that takes place in the great
American House of Shame, — the Mormon Church."
There have been secessions from the Mormon Church
for one reason or other. The Reorganized Church of
Latter-day Saints practically separated from the present
Mormon Church on account of polygamy, and they have
issued much polemic literature upon the subject. One of
their members, Paula Brown, wrote a novel. The Mormon
Girl, showing the horrors of polygan\y and using the
" Danites " with dramatic effect.
Another secession was that of James Jesse Strang, who
called himself " King of the Mormons," and located on
Beaver Island, in northern Lake Michigan, so I gather
from a remarkably Interesting novel written by James
Oliver Curwood. This book was published in 1908 by
Bobbs Merrill Company, and is entitled The Courage of
Captain Plum, and is but another of the stories that have
helped befog and confuse the public mind.
There is another class of writing that is too important
in its pernicious influence to be overlooked. This Includes

280 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the works of psychologists and others to account for
Joseph Smith. One of the leaders in this dass is The
Founder of Mormonism, by L. Woodbridge Riley. Some
of the materials of the book were utilized in 1898 for a
Master of Arts thesis on the Metaphysics of Mormonism,
and it was enlarged and presented to Yale University —
as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In
it the author proceeds, in a supposed strictly scientific
method, to analyze Joseph''s ancestry, the dreams of his
father and mother, and their relation to the visions of
Joseph himself. A chapter is devoted to his environments
and visions, and the latter according to the author, are
"largely explained by the influences of suggestion and
hypnotism." The " value " of this kind of absurd speculative writing
may be understood when I call attention to the fart that
Mr. Riley's publishers, The Putnams' Sons, have repudi
ated his articles on " Christian Science," and " Mormon
ism," which appeared in the last volume of the Cambridge
History of American Literature series, have called In the
copies of the book already issued, suppressed the remain
der of the edition, and promised a new issue with fair
and truthful articles replacing Riley's fantastic absurdities.
Another remarkable book that, however, can scarcely
be said to be solely a product of Mormon polygamy is
William Hepworth Dixon's Spiritual Wives, in the two
volumes of which he gives a graphic and comprehensive
account of the almost simultaneous promulgation of the
doctrine in Germany, England, New England and Utah.
One of the charming writers of our day is Florence A.
Merriam (Bailey) whose books on birds and bird lore are
enjoyed wherever birds are loved. In 1904 she published
My Summer in a Mormon Village. It is full of exquisite
and delicate cameos of description of the Great Salt Lake,
the birds, the people with whom she met, and especially
of one dear old English grandma, who with her husband

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 281
had embraced ^lormonlsm in an early day, had left com
fort and luxury behind, and joined the pioneers.
" It was like reading a page of history to hear her tell
about crossing the plains. . . . Thdr company was
a wealthy one of fifty teams and they had a merry time
in crossing the plains. Even after travehng all day they
were not too tired to dance at nighL ' We had splendid
singers in our band,' grandma said with a smile of pleas
ure at the memory of those days. But it was not all
brightness. They met with one of the tragedies so com
mon in pioneer hfe — their oxen st^unpeded and killed a
number of women and children. Grandma pressed her
own children thankfully to her heart, and the mourn
ers buried thdr dead on the londy plain and went on
thdr way.
"... She liked to remember the voyage over.
' I love the sea,' she exclaimed, with a noble hght in her
eyes. ' We had a terrible storm but no Latter-day Saint
was ever lost at sea, which shows that we were guided and
blest — doesn't it ? ' she confused me by asking, in her
sweet straight-forward way."
One of the valuable historic records of the days prior to
the building of the Union and Central Padfic railways is
The Great Salt Lake Trail by those two western pioneers.
Colonels Henry Inman, and WiUiam F. Cody. It is the
story of thrilling days and nights of stress, storm, dan
ger and death. All the pioneers who helped blaze this
trail from d\ilization into the heart of the desert
are recalled in glowing periods and the narrative is exdt
ing throughout.
Of all the books written by Mormons who abjured thdr
early behef perhaps the best, and the one written with the
least animus is T. H. B. Stenhouse's, The Rocky Moun
tain Saints. Naturally it critidses both the behef and
the leaders of the Church of his time, but there seems to
be no dishonest, unfair or -vindictive spirit shown. His

282 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

wife's book, however, Tell It All, is full throughout of a
bitter spirit against polygamy and she condemns the sys
tem and those who Introduced it in no unmeasured terms.
A noted woman in California literature should, in jus
tice, be accredited to Utah, for this was her birthplace. I
refer to NInetta Fames Payne, long of Glen Ellen, but
now of Berkeley, California. As H. A. Crittenden, a
well-known New York journalist, wrote of her :
" She is a writer whose fine enthusiasm and inimitable
descriptive style have done more than any other Individual
agency to make the natural attrartions of California and
the West better known. . . . Her prose contribu
tions . . . are of the very essence of poetry. They
have caught and embalmed the hum of the bees, the voices
of the birds, the bronzed gllntings of the hillsides, the
mad exuberance of the flowers, the soothing Influence of
the manzanitas, and the religious inspirations of the
sequoia forests. The minuteness, the lovingness, the fidel
ity with which she lingers over these themes entitle her
to be called the Thoreau of her day and of the Pacific
Coast." She and Culmer, the artist, were life-long friends, and
it was owing to this friendship that the world owes Cul-
mer's paintings of the cypresses at Monterey, and the
various allurements of the Yosemite. Several articles
that Mrs. Payne wrote were illustrated by Culmer.
One of her most distinctive Utah articles appeared in
Outing, for March, 1897, and is entitled " Cruising Among
the Salt Lake Islands." After recounting some of the
wild, weird and startling traditions prevalent in her child
hood days about the lake, she says :
" To spend even days, to say nothing of weeks, within
sight of the Great Salt Lake, is to become possessed
with an ardent longing to set foot on the mysterious
peaky islands far out on Its dazzling plain. At no hour
is one Indifferent to their allurement and beauty. In the

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 283
crystal mornings, through the burnished network of mid
summer noons, and in the unspeakable grandeur of
the sunsets, the picturesqueness and seeming inac
cessibility of these isolated points, irresistibly appeal to
the Imagination."
The boat she went on was the Cambria, of the English
model of catamaran, in order to float on the shallow
waters and also bear the astonishing weight of the waves.
" By middle June and on through July and August, the
lake is at Its best. A fine breeze Is usually to be counted
on in the early morning, and late in the afternoon it
blows up lively again, making a sail at sunset a delight.
" Three mountain chains cross the lake bed, and are
easily traceable by the distinct groups of islands that mark
their course. Antelope and Fremont are in a line with
Promonitory Point, which shows the northward connec
tion with the Oqulrrhs ; the Aqui peaks leave Stansbury,
Egg, Carrington, and Hat Islands In their wake, and fur
ther to the west — dimly outlined In the ineffable blend
ing of sea and horizon, the Desert Range lifts a trio of
bold heads, Strong's Knob, Gunnison and Dolphin.
"Of these islands, Antelope Is the best known , . .
It has an average width of four miles, and its highest
point is 3,000 feet above the lake, and 7,200 feet above
sea level. There is little diversity in the topography of
the eastern coast, but a look at the west side from the
stony ledge of Pilot's Peak discovers troops of chimneyed
rocks stepping out boldly into the wrinkled shoals and
back of them the dizzy mountain front is gutted and
cloven into monstrous shapes by the erosions of storms
and sea.
" From Monument Ridge, the highest elevation of the
island . . . the view is stupendously grand, yet des
olate beyond words. The awful aloofness of the distant
mountains and islands, their profound Isolation from
human interests, were an enchantment as well as a weight

284 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
to the spirit. Indeed, I had never behdd a scene that
impressed me so strongly with its utter loneliness. This
may have been due in part to a stiUness that was devo
tional and the total absence of hfe, save a solitary wild
duck floating on the rippldess arc of White Rock Bay.
The whitened mass piled fantastically off shore gives the
bay its name and adds an effective dash to the uniform
shades of lake and sky, and the stem rock-casing of the
island. "Westward and north the immensity of the sun-hot
blue, sown with islands, spread away and away to the
glare of the desert and the doud-mixed summits of the
terrace chain. White Rock seemed hardly a stone's throw
off, and beyond it rose Carrington's notched drde, with
its single culminating peak, and farther still, where the
eye lingers longest, was that group of bleached hmestone
cliffs — wan specters of islands upthrust in dun sea
spaces — Strong's Knob, Gunnison, and Dolphin, whose
Infinite sequestration is the despair of lovers of the
uniquely picturesque. The twin domes of Stansbury were
loftily defined against the faint snow-line of the Tuilla
Range, and Fremont, standing boldly apart off the grim
obtmsion of Monument Ridge, was yet near enough for
us to distinguish the twisted formation that makes it
sometimes called ' Castie Island.'
" Diredly across from the north face of Fremont,
Promontory Point juts into the lake, and is one of the
most striking features of the mainland. On the north
and east, the eye can trace gigantic gaps in the blue and
white of the Wasatch, where the three rivers — Bear,
Weber and Jordan* — force their way to the Great Basin,
and thence lakeward through green marsh borders. This
constant influx of fresh streams makes no perceptible
decrease in the saltness of the waters.
•Mrs. Payne is in error here. The Jordan River does not force its way to the Great
Basin. It is a short stream coasectlng Utah Lake with Salt Lake.

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 285
" A noticeable feature of the Great Salt Lake Is that
the wind here has none of the salt freshness of the ocean,
but rather the warmth and electric dryness that belong to
desert regions. The extreme dimensions of the lake are
about eighty miles in length, and fifty in width, and Its
greatest depth does not exceed sixty feet. Some concep
tion may be had of its altitude when one reflects that Its
surface is higher, above sea level, than the average height
of the Alleghany Mountains.
"... Contrary to supposition, there are living
things in this ' Dead Sea of America,' minute. It is true,
but multitudinous In number, though few in species. The
sole representative of the vegetable kingdom Is an alga,
green and soft as plush and the size of a buckshot. This
globular seaweed aggregates and floats in ragged mats on
the surface. It Is the food of innumerable small winged
shrimps peculiar to this water. In July the larvae of mil
lions of tiny flies are attached to the algae — the shrimps,
the black oat-shaped worms and the flies constituting all
the animal life found in the lake."
It is a regret that I cannot Include here Mrs. Payne's
graphic and thrilling description of a dark and starless
night, suddenly illuminated by a brilliant moon, and finally
lost in a wondrous dawn, with which she concludes her
sketch. Among the citizens of Utah of today I find the literary
spirit in active evidence. One man In particular, Albert
Whipple Hadley, though born in 1879 In Minnesota, and
a world-wide traveler, came to Utah In 1900, and ever
since has kept returning to his first love. He now resides
in Ogden. His specialty, strange to say, is Egyptology,
and he has the proud record of being the only man to
secure photographs of the secret upper chambers of the
great pyramid, as well as the lower passage and chambers
of the second and third pyramids. He firmly believes that
Khnem-Ba-Khuf was the real and original builder of

286 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the great pyramid and that Cheops came later and endeav
ored to " obliterate "' his predecessor and then daim
that the pyramid was his. He makes out an exceedingly
strong case.
Mr. Hadley has written many poems, most of them
locally published, from which I select the following :
The CEDAR TREE'S LO\'E
" You, Oh Cryptomeria grand.
Were a sapling straight and tail.
And I but a seedling with the ferns.
Growing beside the walk
I watched you towering there above
AH bathed in sunlight's glow.
And envied the other trees about.
And worshipped you here below.
'¦ You seemed to notice me now and then.
So I flourished in anxious fear.
Lest you might favor the stately pine
That trembling, stood so near.
She drooped and died when you tumed your head.
And I'd gained your love I know.
For I felt your strong roots dasping mine
De^ in the sod bdow.
¦ And on throu^ the drifting years you told
Me tales of the world above.
While I told you of the things of earth
And dwelt in a realm of love.
Dim centuries hence when you've grown old.
And I am gnarled and dead.
You'll feel my roots still pressing your;
As the davi when we were wed-

 Utah's Influence Upon Literature 2S7
" When the night-bird's call to its ghostly mate
Is echoed across the glen,
You'U think of the sighs that we exchanged.
Alone in the tangled fen.
Ah, Cryptomeria — loved one, mine.
Though centime come and go,
Youll dierish a thought for the cedar tree
That loved you here below."
Just before going to press I have received from Mr.
Hadley an interesting collection of his poems, entitled
Hadley's Mormon Rhymes, by a Xon-Mormon, which is
well worth careful perusaL

CHAPTER XX
THE ARTISTS AND SCULPTORS OF UTAH
It may truthfully be said that fifty years ago there was
little real Arherican art. The art of Paris, London and
Italy dominated the thought and expression of our
American painters, because the foreign standards had
formed the tastes and therefore controlled the pocket-
books of their patrons. It has ever been hard for the
human mind to break away from tradition, and It is not
in the power of every one who desires freedom to win it.
Desire, will, longing, may go a long way towards freedom,
but only when these are combined with genius in expres
sion are prejudices overcome, new standards justified, and
the victory gained.
The West has borne a large part in achieving this free
dom for American art. Such men as Albert Blerstadt,
Thomas Moran, Harry L. A. Culmer, Thomas Hill, Wil
liam Keith, Julian Rix, and Chris Jorgensen have won for
themselves honest fame not only in spite of their deviation
from European standards but because of their sponta
neous, natural and truthful presentation of the landscapes
that they loved, which were American — purely western.
Any attempt to present them in other than distinrtly west
ern fashion, that Is, with a free, untrammeled hand, would
have been affected and untrue.
One of the daring artists who was impelled by the hon
esty of his own nature to become a purely western artist
was Utah's honored son, Harry L. A. Culmer, of Salt
Lake City. Born in Kent, England, March 25, 1854, his
288

IMonumcnt Park, m Southeastern Utah
From a painting by H. I.. .1. Culmer. In the a!!lhor'.<!
pri:\ilc (-,)//,•.•/;¦,¦;;

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 289
parents removed to Utah when he was yet a small lad.
As a boy he longed to be a painter, yet the demands of a
life of poverty allowed him to give only his Sundays and
holidays to the carrying out of his heart's desire. Yet
such was his natural ability that he early attracted the
attention of the artists of Salt Lake City, principally of
Alfred Lambourne to whom he was Indebted for long-
continued and most generous assistance. At intervals he
worked under masters in California and New York; but
his studies under the tutelage of others were brief, and
his training and the success he achieved were mainly the
result of his own genius and a never-failing energy in
seeking to express it.
To the outward world Mr. Culmer was a business man,
being intimately connected with several important enter
prises of Utah. Only to his friends, and In his leisure
hours, was he the masterly artist, and not until four years
prior to his death did he feel justified In casting aside
business cares and responsibilities and devoting himself
altogether to his beloved art. He painted both in oils and
water colors, and it is a question not easily settled, among
critics, in which medium his genius the better expressed
itself. Those who have his vivid water colors of the Red
Rock Country, the Vermillion Cliffs, the Monument Park
Region, and the Colossal Bridges of southeastern Utah,
claim that In these the artist was at his best ; while those
who rejoice in the possession of his occasional oils of
those regions, or of canvases of the exquisite lakes of the
Uinta and Wasatch ranges, the Tetons in Wyoming, the
Cypresses of Monterey, etc., are convinced of his super-
excellence In this medium.
In his desire for art culture and expression Culmer was
not satisfied with a narrow and limited outlook. He was
a voracious and yet careful reader — a student, indeed not
only of art, but of philosophy, science and life. Though,
as we say, self-educated, he was highly educated, for he

290 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
was far more deeply, really and intdligentiy in converse
with the great minds of the ages than many who had
taken university degrees.
The breadth of his reading and studies led to the formu
lation of high personal ideals both of life and art. He
was an ideal dtizen. He performed the duties inherent in
dtizenship with a faithfulness and interest highly to be
commended to those who ignore such responsibilities.
He gave largely of his time and talents to the furtherance
of all plans for the benefit of his dty and state, and
few men in Utah, therefore, were ever more honored or
beloved. His pictures, too, dearly show this deep and real cul
ture. There are no mistakes in them of anatomy, botany,
dendrology and geology any more than of the fundamental
prindples of perspective, drawing, shading, etc. Such of
his pictures as " The Mystery of the Desert," and " The
Temple of Om " both of which are in the lobby of the
Hotd Utah, dearly reveal his profound knowledge of
geology and the deep significance it possesses in the under
standing of such scenes as those portrayed. One feds,
as he looks at these canvases, the countiess ages required
to create such mysterious desert areas, or to deposit under
the seas, uplift, and then can'e, with the almost impercep
tible showers of nature's winds and rains, storms and sun
shines, the glorious towers, temples, pinnades, minarets,
diffs, bridges and buttresses which abound In the state
of his home and affection, and which he so much loved
to paint.
That he was no mere copyist dther of the master art
ists he admired, or of the nature he loved, is demonstrated
by both his pictures and his words. Now and again he
wrote of his conceptions. In one of his artldes entitled
" Mountain Art," he daringly and justiy criticises a few
of our great American painters, and shows wherein they
failed In some of their produrtions. He dearly shows

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 291
that the treatment of a subjert is not wholly a considera
tion of truth, but is largely a matter of choice. He says :
" The question is whether an artist should narrow his
vision to seeing but one side of nature, or whether he
should go out doors with his eyes wide open, — seeing all,
daring aU; sometimes failing ignominiously, but making
a success, now and then, which sheds Itister upon all art,
and which he could not have accomphshed If he had lacked
the nerve to break away from tradition and fordgn
influence." Then he pleads with American artists for a fuller and
more comprehensive treatment of American mountains.
He traces the development of true landscape painting
from the days of Titian and Tintoretto, through the -n-ild
vagaries yet undoubted genius of Salvator Rosa, the truth
ful beauties of Qaude Lorraine, to the masters of the
EngHsh and German schools. He then shows wherein
American critics have injured American art by thdr atti
tude towards the master mountain-painters, and compares
these giants of the brush with those who " abide by the
edge of the wood, where they work over and over again
the material that ten thousand other painters have worked
in during the past himdred years."
Finally, with a sweep of doquence inspired by his
bdoved Utah mountains, he declares :
" That which Kfts itsdf above the level is the moun
tain-painter's subjed-matter, the aspiring, the exalted,
the lofty. The dweUing-place of Jove is on the summit of
Olympus, — God's place is on high. He deUvered the
laws to Moses on Mount Sinai. ' How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth glad tidings ! '
How are the thoughts exalted in high places ! ^^^lat are
the rhapsodies on the mountain top! How paltry seem
the affairs of men in the distant ^•alley, when one stands
on a lofty summit, with the canyon's gloom beneath him
and the great northeast wind upon his brow, — when

292 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
mountain chains stretch out before him, the forests
beneath, and the crags piling tumultuously around his
feet, — and his gaze sweeps over a vast expanse of rifted
diffs and snowy peaks into the far distance, where filmy
clouds drift across purple hills, which are lost at last in
the infinite beyond ! Then the true artist strives in vain to
calm his beating heart; his brain is afire, every nerve is
tingling. The wdgh^ of thousands of feet of atmosphere
is lifted from his head, and his soul leaps in ecstasy. For
the emotions especially aroused by mountain scenery are
those of sublimity, awe and grandeur, — emotions impos
sible to inspire by figure pirtures or by those of valley
scenery. Ruskin says that mountains have always pos
sessed the power, first, of exciting religious enthusiasm ;
secondly, of purifying religious faith,
"... My own appreciation of mountain beauty
and its pictorial allurements has grown out of my wander
ings in Utah, particularly amidst the wild and pirturesque
scenery of the Wasatch and Uinta ranges. . . , Some
of our mountains, with their splendid bold fronts rising
from the grassy valley, are as fine in form and color as
any in the world. It is a marked characteristic of the
Salt Lake Valley, that the western front of the Wasatch
presents its massive wall sheer and predpitotis above the
level vale, without foot-hills, and absolutely without the
lateral ranges which are rarely absent from the neighbor
hood of high peaks in other countries. It is this feature
which makes the Wasatch mountains so magnificently
beautiful, challenging the admiration of artists particu
larly, who rejoice in the splendid fines carved in the moun
tain side, somrtimes sweeping from the highest peak
to mountain-foot. These lines are curved and grace
ful, most of them taking the ideal line of beauty. Indeed
the line of beauty is never swung until the mountain flings
it forth. . . . Again! I think of the Alpine lakes,
of the Cottonwood canyons, Lake Mary and many others,

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 293
and of one high lone]}" pool of melted ice that sleeps far
above them afl. \'ast beds of gleaming snow lie along
its edge in July and August, and the waters have that
pale, intangible hue of green so characteristic of gladal
pools. The altitude is so great that the vegetation is of a
different imture to that which surrounds the lower lakes.
The great wind currents which sweep incessantly from the
northeast across all the high mountain peaks of L'tah. have
exerted thdr steady pressure on the hoarj- eld pines, tmtil
they ding in a most weird and fantastic manner to the
porphA-ritic diffs. It is the Umit of timber; the moun
tains abo\-e are bare and scored with perpendicular lines,
down which ax^alanches have rushed with uninterrupted
force for centuries. "'
It was singularly appropriate, therefore, that with such
subhme thoughts and conceptions of the mountains as
these in his heart, Mr. Culmer's last painting should have
been of " Moonli^t on the Weber River." in the L'inta
range. He and President W F. Jensen of the Salt Lake
Commerdal Qub had been on a fishing trip on the Weber
the preceding summer. One day they were overtaken by
a severe storm. They remained under shdter until eve-
nine when the storm broke to sive awav to a wonderful
moonht night. Between two big trees, the moon, sur
rounded by a magnificent doud etect, played down upon
the dandng waters of the Weber. Both stopped and
enjoved the scene for a while and then each declared it
the most beautiful he had ever seen. " Faint it for me ! "
requested Mr. Jensen, and it was while putting the finish
ing touches upon this picture that the artist was taken ill,
and, a few days later, Jairaary lo. 1914. passed away.
He has gone, but his work remains, and even in tiie
reproduction of one of his loved mountain scenes pre
sented in these pages, the reader is assured of his great
and lasting genius. I have been thus expansive in dealing
with Culmer and his work, because I regard him as pre-

2di Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
eminentiy the greatest painter Utah has produced. Yet
the state has other artists whose work must have, at least,
brief mention.
According to Tullidge, the first man to devote himself
entirely to the bmsh in Utah was William Majors, who
painted small profile portraits, some of which are still
found, highly prized, in the homes of the earliest settlers.
He died in London in 1853.
In 1861 came George M. Ottinger, whose conscientious
and original work is found in the scenery of the old
theater, and in various canvases that found great favor
witii the public, both In Utah and the East. During the
Civil War he made some excellent pictures, and his
" Overland Pony Express " was published in Harper's
JVcekly. In his larger and more pretentious work he
struck out into decidedly westem lines. He was par
ticularly carried away with Prescott's historical genius
and sought to visualize upon canvas many of the most
vivid scenes of Mexican history. Some of his paintings
are notable, especially his " Montezuma Receiving the
News of the Landing of Cortez."
In 1862 Daniel A. Weggeland, a native of Norway,
arrived In Salt Lake City. He had been trained in the
art schools and by the artists of his own country and Den
mark, and had also had some experience in England. On
his arrival he was speedily engaged on the scenery of the
new theater, and later his canvases began to attract atten
tion. He won several gold and silver medals and diplomas
of merit, and those who now own his pictures are par
ticularly proud of them.
A year later came John Tullidge, an Englishman, from
Weymouth, and quite a number of his landscapes found
their way Into the collections of the Walker brothers, both
of whom fully appreciated liis artistic ability.
It was largely through the efforts of Ottinger, Wegge
land and Tullidge that the Deseret Academy of Arts was

The Artlstg and Seujpttas of Utah 2S&
organized in 1863. This institotion did great good in fnr-
tfaeting art education in ffae chief dty of die new state,
tfaoogli its efforts were not knig-Gred.
In 1866 another 'Eji^isbaaaaj Ai&tur Mitdidl, arrived
in Salt Lake Gtj. He was ¥ety fond of painting fruit
pieces and diowed wonderful ^rtitode in this regard,
though now and again, a rardy ddicate htadscape, oi
small size, would come from his bru^ These are all
hig^ify prized by fheiT fa^py possessors.
Ruben Kirkham, who lived in Lc^;an, also arrrved about
tins time, and being soon enamoured of the sti^endous
sooies of the Wa^tch and other mountain ranges of
Utah, he b^;an to dqnct the grand and majestic, tiie g^
rious ai^ suMime features that so ^pealed to him.
Thoog^ he came to Salt Lake Cty in 1866, a boy of
Extern, it was in 1870 tiiat he b^an to attract some
notice hy his attempts at artistic expression. He was
amlnfious to become a great painter, and several ^ctures
of his that atfem tl^ waDs of Salt Lake Cfy homes show
that he had some originality and considerable force and
'vigor. But'his pt^ and itieadj Cnfaner, soon surpassed
him, and he will later be better known for the help he
rendered the younger artist, tiian by any adiievements of
his own, worthy tiioug^ they are of hig^ consideration.
One of the most popular of tiie living artists of Utah
today is a native, J. B. Fairbanks, who was bom at Pay-
son, December 27, 1855. His eagerness as a boy to
know something of painting and how it was done, is illus
trated by tiie story that, when he was quite a lad, he hov
ered eagerfy about the Union Hall, hoping he might be
admitted and thus be enabled to see the painters at work
on some new scenery. One of the painters sedng his
eagerness, made him happy hy telling him that if he would
carry water for than he m^it come into the halL He
very ^adiy accepted the posititm as water-carrier, and as
he wateh^ tiie wotk he even veirtured suggestions rd-

296 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
ative to the scenery, and some of these suggestions were
accepted. When Fairbanks was eighteen years of age he
received considerable help in his studies of drawing from
a Mr. J. L. Townsend, an eastern college graduate, who
came to teach school at Payson, and the following year he
was made happy by seeing a real artist at work using real
tube-colors and the dainty brushes of the profession. This
artist was John Hafen, and he set Fairbanks at work copy
ing such representations as he deemed would be helpful
to the struggling youth. He evidently was pleased with
his success, for, soon thereafter, he took him into partner
ship in the work of enlarged portrait painting. Then In
June, 1890, came the great opportunity. The officials of
the Mormon Church chose Hafen, Lotus Pratt, and Fair
banks to go to Paris to study under the best masters in
order that on their retum they might decorate some of
the rooms of the Salt Lake Temple. On the first of
August he entered, with his companions, the Academy
Julian and studied under Benj. Constant, Jules Lefebre,
M. Duce and Jean Paul Loranz. In the spring of '91
he went out into the country and for three months studied
very hard, sketching and painting landscapes. When he
returned to the city Will Clawson suggested that he go
for a month with him under an American landscape
artist, Mr. Scott, now a professor In one of the leading
art schools in Paris. He did so and reaped considerable
benefit from even this brief instrudlon. The next spring
and summer he studied landscapes under Albert Rigolot,
a noted French artist, who was a student under Pallou,
one of Corot's favorite pupils.
At the conclusion of this work he took some of his
studies of the country for critidsm to his old professor.
Constant. The master accorded him high praise and bade
him strike out for himself, avoiding all ruts, and he would
make a great artist.
Returning to Salt Lake City from January to April,

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 297
1894, he assisted in decorating some of the rooms In the
Salt Lake Temple. At the Utah State Fair of that year
Mr. Fairbanks took the first prize for the best landscape
painting. In 1900 and 1901 he accompanied an exploration expe
dition through southern Utah, Arizona, Mexico, Central
America, and into South America, as artist and photo
grapher. When in Mexico City he made a number of
paintings and sketches. In Santa Marta, South America,
he made a careful study of the ocean and drew many
sketches from which he afterwards produced some excel
lent marine scenes.
On returning from South America Mr. Fairbanks came
by way of New York, and here he was so attraded by the
opportunities afforded that he returned in 1902 and prac
tically spent four years In the metropolis, studying, sketch
ing up the Hudson River and elsewhere, and copying some
of the masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum. It was
while here he made the copy of Rosa Bonheur's " Horse
Fair," which now occupies an honored position in the
rooms of the Provo Commercial Club. One of his orig
inal paintings, " Ships That Pass in the Night," was
accepted In the exhibition of the National Academy of
Design; and in other exhibitions he was represented.
In 1914 Mr. Fairbanks and his son Avard went to
Paris, France, stopping in Chicago, New York, Bos
ton, Liverpool and London, visiting artist friends and
museums. While In New York Avard modeled a portrait
of a child playing with a book. His father thought so
well of It that he sent it to the Paris Salon, where it
was exhibited.
Mr. Fairbanks and his son arrived In Paris May ist.
Mr. Fairbanks entered a night school to brush up on his
drawing and during the day-time worked In his studio or
skdched in the country and in the parks. Avard entered
the Ecole des Beaux Arts, photographs of his work being

298 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
suffident recommendation to gain admittance for him.
When the war broke out the two artists were in the
country bordering Switzerland. The war cut short their
study in France and they returned to America.
In 191 7 Mr. Fairbanks went to Little Zion Canyon,
now Zion National Park. It was then just merging into
popularity. He has now spent four summers there, mak
ing careful study of colors and forms, sdeding the very
best subjects and the very best time of day for his work.
His paintings are true to nature, their originals having
been studied day after day at the same hours and under
the same climatic conditions. They are becoming very
popular with people who have visited the canyon. Dr.
G. W. Middleton has one of the best paintings of this
series, "The Great White Throne." Another, "The
Temple of the Sun," hangs In the home of the Commer
cial Club In Salt Lake City. Another is " The Angd's
Landing " and " Hixe's Point in Early Morning." Dr.
Leonard of Denver has another, " El Gubenadore."
During the summer of 1920 Mr. Fairbanks went to
Bryce Canyon and made careful studies, from which he
produced what he considers some of his best productions.
Mr. Fairbanks has exhibited at Omaha (World's Fair),
also in several New York exhibitions, including that of
the National Academy of Design, also In Boston. He
was vice-president of the Utah Art Institute when it was
created and author of a bill that brought the institute
$1,000.00 per year for the purchase of art works. At
the Utah State Fair in 1920 he received the first prize for
marine painting and second and third for his landscapes,
and elsewhere his paintings have been especially honored.
He is a member of the American Artist's Association
of Paris, the Society of Utah Artists, and the American
Federation of Arts.
The Influence Utah has had on artists who have been
merely temporary sojourners within her borders is well

CYRUS E. DALLIN^ SCULPTOR.

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 299
evidenced by some of the master paintings reproduced In
government publications of an early day. Then, too, latef
artists are attracted by the splendor of the scenes offered,
and one of the reproductions of a Zion Canyon painting
is by an artist of this class. This Is Orion Putnam's strik
ingly vivid and colorful " Angel's Landing," which
gives a general view of the splendor of the canyon when
the color effects are most powerful. Mr. Putnam for
many years has been the artistic head of the photographic
firm known as The Putnam Studios, in Los Angeles, but
for several years past he has largely devoted himself to
work with the brush and with admirable results.
UTAH SCULPTORS
Whence comes the art instinct ? What Is it that seizes
some men, youths, boys, (and those of the other sex)
and urges them to mould clay Into the likeness of living
things ; to take canvas and depirt thereon the scenes that
have thrilled, pleased, delighted them? Are art-Instinds
"holdovers" from an earlier existence? Does one have
to have a prior training In the refinements of life, the
fundamentals of esthetics ere he is subject to the
art impulse?
These and a hundred other questions will assert them
selves when one talks about Cyrus Edwin Dallin, the now
famous sculptor, with C. H. Blanchard, of Salt Lake City,
the man who first noted his artistic ability. Dallin was a
rude miner. Born of English parents at SprlngvIUe,
Utah, at the foot of the noble Wasatch range of moun
tains, November 22, 1861, he seemed destined for the
ordinary life of the western boys of his time. Money was
scarce, labor urgent and plentiful, the struggle for exist
ence hard, and as he grew up seven other mouths to feed
came to the Dallin nest. Cyrus's home was a one-story
log cabin, and while his daily food was rough and hearty,
his mind and soul were feasted with the glories and beau-

300 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
ties of one of the most majestic ranges on this conti
nent, stern rocky masses towering into the turquoise blue
of the Utah sky, crowned with dazzling snow upon which
the Utah sun brilliantly shone, the steep slopes seamed
with wild picturesque canyons, where white-foamed
streams dashed madly to the plain, and the foothills of
which were covered with a brilliant display of number
less wild flowers. Indians were numerous in those days,
and after their summers of hunting, fishing, and gather
ing of pinion nuts, wild grass seeds and other edibles in
the mountains, they would cluster near the little settle
ments in the valley for the winter, erect their rude
" wlklups " or skin and brush houses, and there live out
their simple but picturesque lives.
Was the growing lad Influenced by these sublime and
picturesque environments? Who can tell? He knows
that he had to work hard enough to keep mind and body
busy. Barefooted, wearing home^spun, home-made,
home-patched clothes, herding cows and horses, chopping
and sawing firewood, gathering wild berries, digging
sego roots, shooting ducks and other birds for the family
table, he could not have been picked out from any other
of the thousand and one active boys who were having
like experiences all over Utah. When he was fourteen
years old he and a comrade undertook to drive a wagon
loaded with produce to Alta, a silver mining camp, forty
miles away, in Cottonwood Canyon, three times a week.
See the youngsters, their wagon loaded, horses harnessed
and hitched up ready to start. They must leave in the
afternoon so as to get their load to market as quickly after
gathering as they could. After driving as far as possible
they would stop and make camp, feed and hobble the
horses, roll out their blankets on the ground, stretch out
and sleep under the stars until the first suggestion of
dawn, then up, a hasty snack before the tiny camp-fire,
harness up and off before a modern watch would have

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 301
shown the hour of five. Slowly they climbed up the can
yon to the elevated mining camp, with the elevated name,
unconsciously, perhaps, but, nevertheless, surely, drinking
In the beauty of the passing scene, and then, on their
arrival about noon the lads sold their load, rested the
horses and then started home by way of Granite. For
this labor they received fifty cents a day, and though the
occupation lasted only three months in the year they were
glad to have it.
While Cyms was quite a lad a Rev. Mr. Leonard, an
old-fashioned Presbyterian minister, came to SprlngvIUe
and started a school. He had a natural affection for boys,
and they liked him and were not afraid of him. One day
he discovered that Cyrus had an aptitude in drawing and
from that time on he fostered the desire by urging him to
copy certain prints that he had. These were sent to Salt
Lake City and exhibited, and the old teacher was proud
enough of his pupil to secure a good notice of the lad's
work in one of the papers. Then It was desired to per
suade eastern friends to provide funds for a new school
house, and to aid in the campaign Mr. Leonard got Cyrus
to make a drawing of the old adobe, then doing service.
And for this he received pay, the first paid commission,
and how proud and happy it made him.
Then, when about seventeen years of age, he and his
father went to work in one of the Tintic mines, of which
Mr. C. H. Blanchard, later his patron, was superintendent.
This was the Important step that led to the change In his
li f e. One day, while the miners were at work, some chalky-
looking clay turned up. When lunch time came Cyrus got
a lump of It and enjoyed himself in shaping two portrait
busts out of it. His rude companions looked upon him
with wonder, for the work was striking enough to arrest
their attention. The foreman also became interested and
soon the fame of the young sculptor's work reached the
ears of Mr. Blanchard. When the lalter saw the work

302 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
his Boston trained Intdled instinctively recognized genius.
He took the lad's work to Salt Lake City and soon inter
ested Joab Lawrence and others in financing the budding
genius to a year In Truman St. Bartlett's school In Bos
ton. Here began his real training. He worked with the
day class and his first attempt was on the head of a tiger.
How swiftly that first year went, and how carefully he
husbanded the little cash his Utah friends had provided
him with. When it was gone there was no repining, no
fault finding, but resolutely relying upon himself, now
that he had found his feet, he went to work at a terra
cotta factory, moulding pottery and sometimes being
cheered with an order to work on graveyard designs.
Commercial work though it was, It gave his hands greater
strength and power to obey the didates of his mind, and
beside, it furnished him with funds to continue his
beloved studies. Then, in 1882, he found his wings and
resolved to fly. He took a studio In Boston and here he
worked on busts and living models, determined to tackle
the hardest branch of his art and master it. Those were
struggling days, but as Dallin himself said in a recent
conversation : " I think the artist who never tasted the
bitterness of hard struggle, has never felt the real flavor
of success." To him success is never money. The
consciousness of seeing one's creations work out into the
form he has planned them brings greater joy, and if the
money comes, it is welcome in that it means opportunity
to give one's life more completely to the calling in which
it is devoted. Continuing, he said : " There is a point
in every artist's progress when his life ceases to be a
continuous struggle. If there were not, the world would
be little entitled to the service of its artists. The problem
Is whether one can successfully fight to this point, or is
to be wrecked In the adversities around him before he
reaches it, finishing his life as a derelid instead of at
anchor in a permanent success."

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 303
This point was reached in Dallln's own life when the
committee of Boston citizens determined upon an unique
competition for a statue to commemorate the ride of Paul
Revere. It was unique In that they secured a board of
eminent sculptors to determine who should be invited to
compete. These competitors then were to be paid for the
time spent and the material put into their work. After
that, the three most successful were again to compete for
the honor of making the model from which the statue
would be erected. Dallin was one of those chosen to com
pete, and in the first trial he, D. C. French and James E.
Kelly, the latter both of New York, were successful, and
in the next attempt his model was the one chosen. This
was the sculptor's entrance to the golden pathway of suc
cess. Strange to say, however, the statue has not yet
been erected. While there was much enthusiasm at the
time the competition was started, the funds needed did
not materialize and the matter Is sflll In abeyance. But it
has answered Its allotted purpose In Cyrus Dallln's life,
and from that time on he has held foremost place in the
rank of leading American sculptors. He has received the
following honors: Gold Medal, American Art Associa
tion, New York, 1888; Honorable Mention, Paris Salon,
1890; First Class Medal and Diploma, World's Colum
bian Exposition ; Silver Medals, Massachusetts Charitable
Mechanical Association, Boston, 1895 ; Paris Exposition,
1900; Pan American Exposition, 1901 ; Gold Medal,
St. Louis Exposition, 1904; First Prize In competlon for
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Syracuse, 1906. He is
a member of the Society of Arts, London; National
Sculpture Society, Architectural League, New York;
St. Botolph's Club, Boston. His principal works are
Signal of Peace, Sir Isaac Newton, Pioneer Monument,
Salt Lake City, Angel for Salt Lake Temple, Don Quix
ote, Apollo and Hyacinthus, Medicine Man, The Clergy-

304 Utah, the Land of Blossoming V^eys
man, and his latest is a heroic statue of Ann Hutchinson,
for the Boston State CapitoL
After his success in the Paul Revere competition he
worked hard, and finally turned his attention to Indian
figures in which he has proven himsdf a master. How
wdl I remember the powerful impression made upon me
at the first sight of his " Signal of Peace." Half a life
time spent in contad with Indians, riding their wild mus
tangs, famiharizing mysdf with thdr customs gave me
a critical knowledge of them that enabled me property to
estimate the masterly chararter of the work, and the first
impression of genius thus received, has grown as " The
Protest," " The Medidne Man,'" and other figures have
materialized from his fertile brain. His latest master
piece is of Ann Hutchinson, the famous Puritan of New
En^and. The sculptor has seized and immortalized that
moment, when, after receiving the banishment order by
the General Court of Massachusetts, she fifts her eyes to
heaven and exclaims : " It is better to be banished from
the church than to deny Christ" Her left arm clasps a
Bible to her breast, and her right hand rests protectingly
upon the shoulder of her Httle daughter who is clinging
to her gown. Both are dressed in the Puritan costume of
the time.
Dallin is yet a young man. He is in the heyday of his
power. Tlie West, Utah, is proud of him, but it confi
dently looks for many even more masterly products from
his hands and brain.
The couchant hon on the Lion Hcrase was the work
of George Ward, a sculptor, who came to Salt Lake City
about 1852-3. He remamed but a few years and then
retumed to the East
The masterly work of Mahonri Young has already
been referred to in the chapters on Salt Lake Cit}',
Irrigation, and Dr. Plummer. I regret that I cannot give
more in detdl the work of his life.

" MEDICj>"Z max "  BY CYIi-r; E. DaIXIN.

The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 305
Another of Utah's boys who has made a notable name
for himself as a sculptor is Melvin Earl Cummings. He
was born In Salt Lake City, August 13, 1876. On both
sides of the family his ancestors were prominent in Mor
mon drcles. He began his career as a sculptor at a very
early age, using a button-hook to chip edges off the
granite of Brigham Young's tombstone to sell to tourists.
As Mr. Cummings now holds the honored and dignified
position of Professor of Sculpture In the University of
California it may be " giving him away " to tell this story
of his artistic beginnings, but that It Is true there is no
doubt as he and his friends often joke about it. After
receiving the usual education in the public schools of Salt
Lake City, he took a course In the Agricultural College In
Logan, and then spent a year In his father's bank, who,
for many years was the highly esteemed treasurer of the
dty. But he was not destined for a commercial life.
About this time there arose somewhat of a " craze " for
wood-carving; and he thought it would be well to learn
the art, hence, from the time "he was fifteen until he was
nineteen, he worked pretty steadily, gaining a thorough
knowledge of the fundamentals of this branch of artistic
endeavor. Then his parents allowed him to enter the Hopkins
Institute of Art, in San Frandsco, where for three years
he devoted himself seriously to sculpture. Here he made
such rapid progress as to win several scholarships, and
he thus came prominently into the eye of the university
regents. One of them Introduced him to that philan
thropic and beneficent patron of rising artists, Mrs.
Phoebe Hearst. She was so pleased with the youth's
advancement, which seemed to her full of promise, that
she sent Mr. Cummings to Paris, and for three years
kept him there, while he studied in L'Ecole des Beaux
Arts, and under such masters as Massiet and Louis Noel.
Each year his productions were accepted and exhibited in

306 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
the salon, one of his choicest pieces being a portrait bust
of the daughter of Judge Dixon.
On his return to San Frandsco he opened a studio, and
was soon commissioned to design a fountain for Golden
Gate Park. This was accepted. It represents a boy play
ing with a tortoise and occupies a striking place in front of
the conservatory. Then the Scottish Sodety, desirous of
placing a statue of their beloved poet, Robert Burns, in
the park, called upon him to create It. This figure has
received many words of high praise from world-travelers,
and is a common rendezvous for those who visit the park
from the land of heather. Others of Mr. Cummings'
public works are a fountain, representing an old man
drinking out of his hands, located in Washington Square ;
a Sun Dial, erected for the Colonial Dames, near to the
museum, In Golden Gate Park; and a monument to
Reuben Lloyd, one of San Francisco's prominent attor
neys, also in the park. His latest work is another foun
tain, which was recently placed in front of the new
museum. At the Panama-Pacific Exposition, in 191 5, his "Pool
of Enchantment," where two pumas crouched absolutely
fascinated and tamed by the piping of an Indian boy, was
regarded as one of the notable marbles exhibited. Then,
too, it should not be forgotten that when It was desired
to build a monument at the Presidio of Monterey in honor
of Commodore Sloat — who seized Cahfornia for the
United States — in the public competition which ensued,
when thirty-five models were submitted, the committee
unanimously chose Mr. Cummings' model. It is in the
form of a granite pyramid, upon which is a portrait of
Sloat In relief, the whole surmounted by a large eagle.
In 1897-8 he displayed at the Bohemian Club, San Fran
dsco, of which he has long been a member, a strongly
attradive figure in plaster of a nude boy seated on a globe.
This received so many plaudits from the members, that

 The Artists and Sculptors of Utah 307
they finally decided to have It reproduced in bronze, and
it now occupies an honored position in the reception room
of the world-famous dub.
In 1904 the Mayor of San Francisco appointed him as
the artist member of the Board of Commissioners of
Golden Gate Park, and though there have been several
changes of administration since that time, each one has
honored him by asking him to remain on the board. And
in 1921 he completes his fifteenth year as Professor
of Sculpture of tiie University of Callfomia, a position
he has filled with honor and credit alike to the university
and himsdf and to the rapid advancement of those stud
ents who have placed themselves under his artistic
direction. Professor Cummings is now at work on an equestrian
statue of General Richard W. Young, for Salt Lake City,
and a memorial to the late Dennett C. Sulhvan of
San Frandsco.

CHAPTER XXI

SALT LAKE CITY

Salt Lake City is one of the unique cities of the Amer
ican continent, indeed of the world. Benares, Amrltsar,
Mecca, Rome do not mean more to the devotees of the
religions that fixed their headquarters in them than does
Salt Lake City to the devout Mormon. Within its pre
cincts are found the chief temple for his Indurtlon Into
the mysteries of his faith, and the large tabernacle in
which to worship. HItherward he sends his tithes, and tS
his leaders, here resident, he looks for counsel and direc
tion in matters pertaining to his church membership, both
as to temporal and spiritual duties.
It is unique, also, in Its remarkable history, and that In
its " laying out " It bears, and will forever bear, the
Impress of the one master-mind that operated at Its found
ing. What faith he possessed! What foresight he
revealed! How faith and foresight clasped hands with
beauty and utility and laid out those streets that are the
perpetual delight of the residents and a source of equal
though ephemeral pleasure to Its thousands of annual vis
itors, is now known to the world.
Early day travelers from Europe attracted to Salt Lake
City by the peculiar tenets of Mormonism, as well as
those of our own land, were unanimous In their praise of
the location of this city. Scores of quotations might be
given, Indeed, enough to fill up this whole volume, so, it
must be confessed that it is attradive. Nestiing In a curve
of the great Wasatch range which proterts it 'from the
fierce winds of the north and the east, it practically rises
308

 Salt Lake City  309
on uneven benches or natural terraces from the level of
the great lake. Looked at from the shores of the lake, or,
on a clear day, from the slopes of the Oquirrh range on
the opposite side of the lake, it is a city to provoke excla
mations of dehght. It Is equally interesting and beautiful,
though the scene presented is of an entirely different
character, when viewed from Fort Douglas, or from the
University campus. Seen from any standpoint the Great
Salt Lake dominates the landscape. Its pure blue, when
it is calm and quiet, reflects the floating glory of the dazz-
hng douds of the sky, or, when the atmosphere is murky
its face is leaden and sullen, and again, when the winds
blow, white-capped waves dance and ghtter, swell and roll
and give it quite a different appearance.
Look at the dty now from the shores of the lake. Let
the view be taken late in the afternoon, when the wester
ing sun Is shooting its briUiant rays toward the east.
Salt Lake City is essentially a garden or tree-bowered dty,
hence ever3rthing we see is in happy combination and con
trast to the rich f ohage which Is found everjrwhere. From
these bosky bases rise the various buildings of a great and
prosperous dty. Here is a church, with its towering spire,
there an equally soaring " sky-scraping " office building,
streets are revealed and solitary dwelling-houses. To the
north-east a prominent group demands the eye, and we
see the beetie-shaped tabernade, the near-by soaring
spires of the granite temple, then the great Hotel Utah,
followed by the dassic office building of the L. D. S.
Church. Higher up, on one of the benches, stands the
Capitol, a dasslcal Greek structure of majestic proportions,
proudly typifying the glory of the state. Now let the eye
slowly move over the vast panorama towards the east and
south. Buildings everywhere, tree-shaded and contrasted,
homes of every type, many of them new and modem, rise
on the benches higher and higher, even, apparentiy, to the
very foot of the range. Now the University, with its sev-

310 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
eral fine buildings comes into view, and schools, churches,
office buildings surrounded by homes. To the south is
the stately City and County Building, located in a ravish
ingly beautiful park, and then the eye wanders out to the
spaces of the emerald valley, where the fertile acres extend
for miles to the far mountain boundaries. Here and there
are flashes of the Jordan River and Utah Lake, while as a
fitting background for the whole scene are the towering
walls and peaks of the Wasatch range, which rise almost
immediately behind the city.
When the point of outlook is reversed and one stands
at Fort Douglas or on the University campus the glory
of the city is just as great, but It is changed, and instead of
the mountains forming an Immediate background, there
are the meadows that lead the eye to the great lake, then
the shimmering, glistening water, Saltair and its great
pavilion shining like a jewel upon its edge, then the foot
hills, where the giant smelters at Garfield pour out their
clouds of smoke, and as a semi-distant western boundary
the walls and peaks of the Oquirrh range.
There Is but one flaw In the otherwise perfect picture
and location. During certain times In the year when the
wind is in a certain direction, the smoke from the city's
chimneys seems unable to escape from the mountain
pocket in which the city is located, and this necessarily is
an annoyance and disagreeable. The scientists, however,
are working upon the problem, and I doubt not that It will
ere long be perfectly solved.
Immediately upon entering the streets of the city one Is
impressed by their width and parklike arrangement. They
are all boulevards. With a confidently expansive outlook
for the future Brigham Young laid out his city with a sd
entlfic wisdom that makes it. In this regard, without an
equal on the American continent. The streets are all one
hundred and thirty-two feet wide between the fence lines.
Twenty feet of this, on each side, belong to the sidewalk.

Salt Lake City 311

Many of the streets have the center beautifully parked,
beds of gorgeous flowers and green lawns attracting the
eye on the level, and trees affording abundant summer
shade overhead.
Naturally the principal business streets are soHdly
paved and without trees, but down each side a stream of
clear mountain water runs almost continuously in the gut
ter, and, joy unbounded to the thirsty thousands, there are
bubbling fountains at every corner, which sing of melting
snows, tuneful cataracts, dashing mountain torrents,
mountain peaks and the wonderful freedom, purity and
delicious coolness of the heights. I never drink as much
water at any other time, as I do when, in the summer, I
happen to visit Salt Lake City.
The most attradive quarter of the city to the visitor is
the Temple Block, upon which towers the many pinnacled
temple and the oval-topped tabernacle. The temple is a
most Impressive building, prartically alike at each end,
where two towers occupy the corners and a higher tower
dominates the center. The walls of the main building are
solidly built, semi-buttresses making the frame-work for
the high windows. The stmrture Is of granite, quarried
from the Wasatch mountains, about twenty miles south
east of the city. The site is still pointed out. At first
the huge blocks of stone were brought on specially con
structed carts, drawn by four yoke of oxen, but so slowly
did they travel that It often required four days to trans
port a single block. Then In 1873 a railway was built to
the quarry and this expedited the work. The foundation
walls were laid less than six years after the first pioneers
reached Salt Lake. They were sixteen feet wide and eight
feet deep. The building was to be one hundred eighty-six
and one-half feet long by ninety-nine feet wide, and its
greatest height two hundred twenty-two feet to the top
of the figure which surmounts the central eastern tower.
Slowly the walls arose, varying in thickness from six to

312 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Vallejrs
nine feet, and in 1893, just forty years after the work was
begun, the stmcture was dedared finished. Great were
the rejoidngs and many days were spent in its dedication.
Its cost is said to have been about $4,000,000.
This temple, however, unhke the cathedrals, diurdies,
s)magogues of other worshippers is not a place of public
assembly and worship. Though visitors were allowed
prior to the chief day of dedication, April 6, 1893, none
have been permitted to enter since. It is a building espe
cially erected for tiie performance of the sacred rites of
the Mormon Church, to which none but the faithful are
admitted. Members are received, marriages take place,
also baptisms and other ordinances, which to the Mor
mons are of the highest importance. Naturally in the
earlier days of Mormonism there were many so-called
" exposes " of the ceremonies that took place in this build
ing, and some writers sought to travesty them. To the
unprejudiced mind there is nothing to excite either undue
curiosity or ridicule. Every churdi has its own peculiar
ceremonials and these are no stranger than many that are
performed in public without comment.
In the same grounds are the Tabernade and the Assem
bly Hall, the former being one of the famous buildings of
the world. Its history is most interesting, and a full
account of it has been written by my friend. Professor
Levi Edgar Young, of the State University. According
to him :
" The Mormon Tabemacle at Salt Lake City is indica
tive of the strength of diaracter and religious dreams of
the Latter-day Saints. The only building of its style in
the world, it stands out as unique in the history of archi
tecture. While its massiveness suggests a people strong
in spirit, conviction, and purpose, its lines indicate a splen
did adaptation of scientific principles in ardiltecture. The
Tabernacle Is a perfect ellipse, with two foci, whidi partly
account for the good acoustics of the building. A plain.

The Temple Grounds, Salt Lake City
Shelving the Temple and the Tabernacle

Salt Lake City 313

egg-shaped building, studded with heavy entrance doors
all the way round there is no attempt at ornamentation of
any kind, and yet the building is wonderful, both on the
exterior as well as in the interior, and is an example of the
trtilizing of the resources of the people for the purpose of
devating thdr intellertual and rehgious ideafism.
" The Tabernade Is one of the largest auditoriums in
the world, and seats from six to dg^t thousand people.
It is two hundred and fifty feet long by one hundred and
fift}- feet wide, and dghty feet in hdght The sdf-sup-
porting roof rests upon pillars or buttresses of red sand
stone, which are from ten to twdve feet apart in the entire
circumference of the building. These buttresses support
great wooden ardies, which span one hundred and fifty
feet The arches are of a lattice truss construction, and
are hdd together vcixh great wooden pegs and bindings of
cowhide. On the interior one is impressed with the great
\"aulted ceiling, and the " vastness of the place grows upon
one and inspires one with mingled feeling of solemnity
and admiration.' "
The Tabernade occupies the site of the old Tabernade,
built in 1S51-2. and this, in turn took the place of the
*' Bowery," a primitive structure of timbers and tree
boughs, temporarily used for purposes of worship.
" It was in 1863 that the Tabernade was begun. The
plan of the biulding was due to President Brigham Young,
AMDiam H. Folsom, and Hemy- Grow.
" Mr. Grow had a unique scheme for the roof, a plan
which was adopted and executed. Some few years before
he had built a bridge over the Jordan River, immediatdy
west of the dty. ' It was construrted after the Reming
ton patent of lattice bridges, in which planking and pegs
were used.' Mr. Grow was a bridge-bmlder in his native
state, Pennsylvania, and had construrted many bridges of
the Remington type. On coming west, he obtained per
mission from the inventor to use the idea in Utah, and it

314 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
was accepted by President Young as the one practical
theory for the construction of the new house of worship.
The two mechanics. Grow and Folsom, drew the plans for
the building which will ever mark them as geniuses in the
profession of architecture.
" The Immense roof, which is the principal portion of
the building, regts upon forty-four piers of cut sandstone
masonry, each nine feet from the outside to the inside of
the building, three feet In thickness, and twenty feet In
height. On each side of the building are nine pillars in a
straight line. From these an arch of forty-eight feet is
sprung. Thirteen arches spring at each end from thirteen
piers, which stand on a circle. The height from the floor
to the ceiling, in the center of the building is seventy feet.
Between the ceiling and the roof, there is a space of nine
feet. The roof is framed of lattice-arched beams, twelve
feet from center to center, each arch converging and
meeting at the highest given point of the main outside
bents, where they are securely fastened with cowhide and
wooden pegs. On the north and south sides are thirty
spaces between the piers, where the windows, containing
over 2,500 lights of glass, are placed. In twelve of the
spaces are the doors opening outward, which affords ready
egress from the building. There are four small doors in
the west end of the building, and two large ones in the
east end, leading to the gallery.
" Above the piers are over one million feet of timber;
in the floor, 80,000 feet; In the joists, 100,000 feet; in the
sleepers, 30,000 feet; in the doors, stand, benches, and
other equipment, 290,000 feet; in the aggregate, 1,500,000
feet. The roof was originally covered with nearly
400,000 shingles, but these were replaced In 1900 by a
metallic covering weighing many tons. No nails were
used in the roof, the timbers being tied in places with
cowhide and held together with wooden pegs.
" At first there was no gallery In the building, but In

Salt Lake City 315

1870 the large gallery was built around the entire build
ing with the exception of where the choir seats are placed.
This lessened the effect of vastness in the building as well
as diminishing the apparent height. It measures three
hundred ninety-five feet from one end to the other, and Is
thirty-two feet In width. Supported by seventy-two col
umns, the lines add to the artistic effect of the building.
The gallery will seat about 2,000 people. With the finish
ing of the gallery, the acoustic properties were improved,
making It one of the best places for hearing in the world.
The Tabernacle, like many other of the beautiful build
ings in Salt Lake City, observes the laws of proportion
and purity of style. Its plainness and simplicity are the
leading characteristics, and show that the men who had
the dirertion of Its building were great mathematical and
construrtlve artists."
The organ has an equally interesting history. Joseph H.
Ridges, an Englishman, undertook the work, with selected
associates, who knew they would have to rely entirely
upon native products for construction. Specimens of
wood were gathered from all over the state and experi
mented with, until it was dedded that the best material
for the pipes was to be had in Pine Valley near Parowan,
three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City.
Work was begun In January, 1866, and it was com
pleted and dedicated In October, 1867. Several times
since then It has been Improved and enlarged, and Is
known to the musical world as one of the largest and most
perfect Instruments In existence. In its present condition
it has four manuals with eledric artion to every part of
Its one hundred and twelve sets of pipes, and its seven dif
ferent organs — viz., great, swell, orchestral, solo, celes
tial, string and pedal.
Its organists are John J. McClellan, and his two assist
ants, Edward P. Kimball and Tracey Y. Cannon, all three

316 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
natives of Utah, but master musicians, trained In the best
schools of this country and Europe.
Daily, except Sunday, these accomplished performers
give organ recitals for the benefit of the thousands of
tourists who continually keep pouring through Salt Lake
City. During the recitals. In order that there be no inter
ference either with the performer or the listeners, it is the
rule to close and lock the doors.
Apropos of this habit, a funny but literally true inci
dent was related to me. A number of tourists came at the
usual hour and were informed that the recital would last
so long and that the doors would be closed during that
period. Half-way through the performance two ladles
arose and endeavored to go out. Had the sacristan been
at hand all would have been well, and the doors would
have been opened. But, unfortunately, he had gone
away for other duties. The ladles tried one door, then
three or four others In succession, and failing in all alike,
one of them burst out with a piercing shriek, while the
other screamed : " The doors are locked ! The doors are
locked 1" Immediately the whole audience was seized with
panic — fortunately It was not a very large one — and
rushed down stairs. Such was their Instant dread and
foolish terror that they battered down the door before It
could be opened.
Later, when one of them was remonstrated with about
his yielding to such a foolish panic he replied : "I thought
of the Mountain Meadow massacre and wasn't going to
take any chances with those fellows."
Evidently in his case music did not have a soothing
effert. Yet thousands have borne tribute to the wonderful
quality of the organ, in its power to evoke every emotion,
when manipulated by one who Is its master.
The organ, however. Is but an aid to the more import
ant feature of pubhc worship, viz., the human voice. Mor
mons believe In congregational singing, and they sing

THE SEA-GULL MONUMENT, IN THE TEMPLE GROUNDS,
SALT LAKE CITY.

Salt Lake City 317

heartily, but they also believe in having an excellent and
well-trained choir to lead them. Such a choir the Taber
nacle has had ever since It was erected. Noted men have
been Its leaders, men whose musical ability and knowledge
gave them power when they wielded the baton. It has
been my pleasure to hear this choir many times, under sev
eral of Its noted leaders. One of these, who Is still alive,
and who composed and condurted at the Centennial Cele
bration in 1920 the sacred cantata entitled The Vision,
commemorative of the visitation of the Father and the
Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith In 1820, Is Evan
Stephens, gained world-wide fame as a conductor of
great choruses. It was he who took the Mormon Taber
nacle Choir to the Chicago Exposition In 1893. Joseph
Daynes was his organist. To merely name the leaders and
organists of the past would be to call the roll of many
names famous In the musical world. The present director
is Professor Anthony C. Lund, the son of the late
Anthony H. Lund, who was one of the First Presidency.
There is another building for worship In the Temple
Block known as the Assembly Hall. It is a semi-Gothic
structure capable of seating 2,500 and Is used when the
Tabernacle would be larger than necessary.
Near to this hall is the celebrated Sea Gull Monument,
by Mahonri Young, a grandson of Brigham Young, and
erected to commemorate the wonderful occurrence related
in the chapter on irrigation, where the pioneers were
saved from a plague of crickets by the coming of the gulls.
There are four bas-reliefs at the base of the monument
descriptive of the coming of the pioneers and their mirac
ulous deliverance, and the column is surmounted by a
strikingly realistic figure of a flying gull.
There are also two life-size statues In the Temple
grounds, one of Joseph Smith, Jr., the Mormon prophet,
and the other of his brother Hyrum.
In order to give accurate and adequate information

318 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
about Mormonism, Salt Lake City and Utah In general, a
Bureau of Information has been installed, where literature
of all sections may be found, and tourists and home-
seekers given the guidance they need.
Across the way from the Temple Block Is the magnif
icent and stately Hotel Utah. There are no hotel struc
tures between Chicago and the Pacific Slope that surpass,
and few that equal it. It is fire-proof and modern In every
respect, with five hundred guest rooms, and adequate ban
quet-halls, ballrooms, committee rooms for meetings, con
ventions, etc. It was ererted at a cost of over two mil
lion dollars and was opened in June, 191 1. If Brigham
Young had designed this location for the majestic " hotel
of the future," he could not have found a more suitable
place. Directly across the street from the Temple and
Tabernacle, next door to the Office Building of the Mor
mon Church, at the head of the chief business street of the
city, close to the theatres, and at a junrtion of most of the
street cars. It Is convenient and easy of access. Its lobby
is spacious and attractive. Worthy of espedal note are
three of H. L. A. Culmer's finest paintings — pirtures
which not only reveal him Utah's finest and greatest
painter, but give the traveler some Idea of the less-known
portions of this great state. The Utah has been under
the competent management of George O. Relf — who had
made a great reputation In Chicago as a successful hotel
man — ever since its opening.
Surmounting the tower of this superb structure is a
beehive, the state emblem, symbolizing activity and indus
try. Nor should it be forgotten that Brigham Young,
when harassed by outside foes, called attention to the fact
that while bees were active and industrious, they could
also sting.
Almost adjoining Hotel Utah is the Office Building of
the Mormon Church. Built in classic Greek style, of gran
ite gained from the quarries of the Wasatch mountains, it

EAGLE GATE, WITH THE STATE CAPITOL IN THE BACKGROUND, SALT LAKE CITY.

Salt Lake City 319

Is one of the most beautiful office buildings in America,
indeed in the world. And its Interior appointments are
as perfect as is Its exterior, all its finishings being In Utah
marbles. Here all the general officers of the Church may
be found, including the president and his counselors, and
here also Is the Mormon library. This includes all the
written and published histories of the various societies
and departments of the Church, as well as books, pamph
lets and papers Issued by the Mormons themselves.
Besides this, there Is every book known to have been pub
lished on Mormonism, either pro or con, so that the stu
dent may look upon the subject from as many angles as
there have been writers.
The next buildings on the same street are the world-
famous Beehive and Lion Houses, the latter once the resi
dence of Brigham Young and his family. The former was
built at an early day in Salt Lake City history and Is a
simple structure, its lines are most pleasing and archi
tecturally it may be said to be the gem of all that Utah
has produced in this line. Later presidents have occu
pied this house as their residence, but It Is now used by
departments of the L. D. S. University.
At the end of the block, connecting it with the next
block, is the famous Eagle Gate. The bird of freedom,
with outspread wings, makes a striking arch to the portal,
which used to lead Into Brigham Young's private grounds.
Standing at the head of Main Street is the Monument
to the Pioneers. It represents Brigham Young In a char
acteristic pose, and is an excellent likeness of him in his
prime. It Is of bronze with a pedestal of Utah granite,
and is the work of Dallin, whose artistic genius is else
where commented upon In these pages.
To attempt to describe the public buildings, churches,
school houses, clubs, hospitals, hotels, offices, etc., of Salt
Lake City would be too long a task. Suffice It to say they
are worthy the capital of a great and growing state, and

320 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
as for the residences, one can ride for hours through
streets of surpassing loveliness, where stately, palatial,
dignified, modest, comfortable, cozy homes are em
bowered in native trees, approached by emerald lawns,
and surrounded by exquisitely beautiful and gorgeous
flowers of every hue.
One store of more than general interest, must, how
ever, be referred to. This is the building on ]\Iain and
South Temple Streets, bearing the inscription, Z. C. M. I.
This is the legend of the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile
Institution, organized October i6, 1868, by Brigham
Young, which has been derided, abused and lauded about
equally. Its avowed purpose was to give to Mormons the
benefit of cooperative trading, and now there are over a
hundred similar stores located throughout the state, owned
locally by the people, but mainly drawing their supplies
from the parent Institution. Connected with the letters,
Z. C. M. I., are generally to be found the All-Seeing Eye
and the biblical exhortation, " Holiness to the Lord."
Perched on the foothills, on a most commanding site
overlooking the city, is Fort Douglas, established in the
early days of Utah history, when antagonism between the
territorial and federal governments was feared. During
the late war it was utilized as a great military post, and
here, too, many alien prisoners were confined. It has a
fine water supply, sufficient for over 5,000 men, and the
reservation of 10,000 acres gives abundant room for both
infantry and cavalry manoeuvres. It is one of the chief
points of interest of the dty, not only for its historic
claims, but on account of the remarkable view of the city,
the Great Salt Lake, and the surrounding country which
it affords. The city has several parks, Liberty Park being the
chief, where the citizens congregate by the thousands to
enjoy the amusements provided' in the cool summer eve
ning air. There are many mountain resorts of easy access.

UTAH STATE CAPITOL BUILDING, SALT LAKE CITY.

Salt Lake City 321

and Lagoon, north of the city, and Wandamere, at the
southern edge, are popular resorts. But transcending
them all, and known all over the world to travelers, is
Saltair, a pleasure resort, built on the Great Salt Lake.
Here, literally millions of people have come to enjoy bath
ing in the remarkably buoyant waters of the lake. No
one can sink In them, though It Is well to avoid swallow
ing the least quantity of the water, owing to Its salt and
bitter qualities.
The main hall is of Moorish design and Is one of the
largest dancing pavilions and roller skating rinks of the
continent, and in the dining room a thousand people are
easily accommodated at one sitting.
It was my pleasure to be present at rather a unique
gathering In the great pavilion last year. It appears that,
for the past forty-four years. It has been the custom of
the Mormon Church In Salt Lake City, and every city In
Utah, to gather together from every ward every old man
or woman over the age of seventy, regardless of creed,
color, race or previous condition of servitude, married,
single, religious or atheist, and give them a day's holiday
at some suitable and chosen place. And this gathering
together is no perfunctory affair. In every ward certain
offidals of the Church are charged with the responsibility
of listing those entitled to attend, and seeing that they get
to the point of meeting. Those over seventy wear a red
badge, over eighty, a blue one, and over ninety a white one.
There was a fair scattering of blue badges and but a few
white ones In the vast concourse of a thousand or more
red ones on the occasion when I was present. Tralnload
after tralnload began to leave the city directly after break
fast, and yet when I took the cars at noon there were still
hundreds to be conveyed. On our arrival at the pavilion
the tables were spread — absolutely laden with good
things to eat. Including California cantaloupes, Utah
plums and cherries, and several soft drinkables. Flowers

322 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys

galore adorned the scene, the fine Saltair orchestra dis
coursed sweet music, and flags and bunting added their
gaiety to the scene. There was no confusion. Each ward
had its tables, designated by large signs, and here active,
vigorous, motherly women waited upon their guests, saw
that they had abundance and were made to feel perfectly
at home. As soon as my presence was known, a half a
score cordial invitations were extended, so that when,
later, I was Invited to the platform to see the assembled
audience, I was full of good things. Standing on the plat
form looking over that vast sea of, at least, two thousand
faces, most of them over seventy years of age, I felt the
pathos of much of their past history. Here were revealed
in gnarled and seamed faces the sufferings, the hardships
of the long-ago days of persecution, the weariness of the
toilsome journeylngs across the plains, over the Rocky
Mountains, fording of dangerous streams, the terror by
night watching and waiting for the attacks of hostile
Indians, the endurance of sandstorms, hail and rainstorms
and the pitiless snowstorms of winter. And the struggles
of settlement were there, the wresting of the pitiably
Insufficient living from the soil In those first days of pio
neering. Yet now all were joyous, glad, happy, buoyant,
thankful for their successes and triumphs, grateful for
all they had passed through and overcome, and buoyed up
by a very real faith as to the rewards of the future.
It was a remarkably Interesting gathering and one from
which I gained many and interesting stories, which would
fill pages of this book. For Instance, one dear old lady,
nearly toothless, partly blind and deaf, came to me and
proudly introduced herself as one of the hand-cart bri
gade (whose story Is told in another chapter). She her
self had helped push a hand-cart from the Missouri
River to Salt Lake City. One old patriarch was with the
first band that reached the new Zion, and all had stories

 Salt Lake City  323
that emphatically showed the change that fifty years has
wrought in our civilization and progress.
One member of the audience I became much Interested
in. I was Informed that he was engaged In a printing
establishment, and had many books bearing on early Mor
mon history. Accepting his invitation to look over his
books I was surprised to find not only the local histories
I sought, but a well-selected, general library, all In excel
lent and well-bound editions, of over three thousand vol
umes. And this love for good books I found was by no
means unusual among many of those whose Income would
not have suggested their Interest In gaining a library. I
merely relate this as one of the many surprising and Inter
esting incidents met with in my ramblings in and about
Salt Lake City.
Taken as a whole It is one of the fascinating cities, both
in Its history and In itself, in our western world, and no
traveler should ever cross the continent who does not give
himself at least a week to see what it has to present.

CHAPTER XXII
RAILWAYS IN UTAH
The first railway to cross Utah was the Union Padfic,
built in that great epoch of railway construction which fol
lowed the Civil War. The government had pledged cer
tain great bonuses of land and bonds to the Union Pacific
and the Central Padfic Companies according to the mile
age built, and each was straining every nerve — - the one
from the east and the other from the west — to earn as
much of these bonuses as possible. It was a conflirt of
titans. The Central Pacific heads, under the dominat
ing personality of the actual builder, Charles Crocker,
imported hundreds, thousands, of Chinese coolies to assist
in tunneling, grading, cutting, dumping, snow-shed build
ing over the Sierras, and the Union Pacific imported all
the help it could secure from the east, which in conjunc
tion with the work of the Mormons, rapidly pushed the
track-laying westward. As the two ends of the railway
neared each other the struggle became more tense and
fierce. There was no cessation of labor, nights or Sun
days, continuous shifts of workmen kept the grade con
tinually extending, and track-layers followed so closely
at their heels that they almost " trod upon each other."
Finally the two lines met, at Promontory Point, Utah,
where, on May lo, 1869, the ceremony of driving the last
spike took place. This was made the occasion of Bret
Harte's poem, In which the two engines, that of the
Union Pacific faring west, and that of the Central Padfic
faring east, talk with and question each other.
324

 Railways in Utah  325
Brigham Young, though for some reasons preferring
the continued isolation of the Mormons, was statesman
enough to realize the great advantage a trans-continental
railway would be to them. Accordingly he aided It In
every way possible, personally building many miles of it,
and encouraging his people to help forward the work.
When the junction was made none were more enthusias
tic than the Mormons and joined more heartily In the
festivities that celebrated the occasion. Naturally the
next step was to connect the trans-continental line with
Salt Lake City, and In a short time the Utah Central Rail
way was constructed under Brigham Young's direction.
In order to give transportation to various parts of the
country, especially the northwest, several short lines were
built, and in 1890 all were consolidated under the manage
ment of the Union Pacific Company under the name of
the Oregon Short Line. The Denver and Rio Grande
system extended Its main line from Grand Junction,
Colorado, to Salt Lake City, and a branch, running from
Thistle on the main line, and known as the Sanpete
Branch, was constructed to Marysvale in the south. This
branch In turn had several small feeders built, mainly for
the transportation of coal and ore. The Western Pacific,
now the purchasers of the Denver and Rio Grande sys
tem, was started in 1905, as an extension of the latter
from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. It Is now in regu
lar operation.
But as southern California's population and business
facilities Increased, and the mining country of southern
Nevada, southern and central Utah came to the front, a
new railway from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, by a
direct route became a necessity. From Salt Lake City to
Sacramento by the Southern Pacific — Ogden Route —
is 780 miles; from Sacramento to Los Angeles Is 445
miles, making a total of 1,225 miles. It did not need
Euclid to demonstrate the self-evident proposition that

General View of Salt Lake City
The Temple and Hotel Utah to the right; the snow-clad Wasatch
Range in the distance

Railways in Utah

realize that in Senator W. A. Clark, of Montana, was one
of die ridiest men of America and one who was thor
oughly and completdy devdoped by and wedded to tlie
\A'est. The proposition was laid before him, appealed to
his western pride as well as his sound business judgment.
He sent railway and business experts into tlie fidd, and
.icting upon tlieir reports, he agreed to finance the under
taking to the extent of at least twenty millions of dollars,
if the people of Los Angdes would subscribe a million
dollars worth of bonds, and tlie Temiinal Company would
allow itsdf to be absorbed by the new company. This was
done, construction work begun and pushed rapidly and
tlie first passenger trains of tlie Los Angdes and Salt
Lake Route took possession of the rails between tlie
two dties.
In regard to transcontinental business, the Salt Lake
Route occupies a position of great strategic importance.
Competing systems enter Salt Lake City from the east,
tlie Union Padfic and tlie Rio Grande and Westem.
These connect at thdr eastern termini widi all the great
eastern systems running out of Omaha, Chicago, and
St. Louis. Nortliward from Salt Lake City the Oregon
Short Line connects witli tlie Great Northem, the Nortli-
eni Padfic. tlie Oregon Railway and Xa\'igation Com
pany's and tlie Canadian Padfic lines. \\Tiile frdght and
passenger traffic from San Frandsco and central Cahfor
nia will always find tlie Ogden Route the quicker and
more direct, equally so tlie Salt Lake Route affords the
better route from Los Angdes and all southern Califor
nia. And as the influx of tourists Into southern California
increases widi remarkable volume each year the Salt
Lake Route has already taken its place as the popular
and most direct route, and it appeals equally strongly
to those returning from its borders to the middle west,
north and east.*
•Just »s this vdnme goes to pres the news comes th»t the Union P»dSc Compiay
has purchased the Salt Late Route and made it an integral part of its ^pstesi.

APPENDICES I
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MORMON CHURCH
It is a remarkable fact that the most complete and far-
reaching — though by no means the largest — church
organization In existence is the product of the brain of
Joseph Smith, the prophet of Mormonism. Few out
siders, except those who live in close contact with it, have
any conception of the great Mormon system of church
government. It Is exceptionally thorough, down to the
minutest particulars. Nothing seems to have been over
looked; no essential point neglerted. It is military-like In
its attention to detail, and statesman-like in Its appeal to
the sense of responsibiUty in men, for thousands are made
to feel the weight of official position and thereby rendered
more careful In their daily walk and conversation. This
is what so wise and conservative an observer as Bishop
Tuttle of the Episcopal Church remarks about the Mor
mon system :
" Much satisfaction Is thus given to the self-assertion,
ambition, and desire for leadership, natural to man.
There Is strength in this. Furthermore, may it not be
said, and might not bishops and rectors of our own
Church be profited by taking heed to the saying, that the
intelligent interest and loyalty and devotion of disciples
are sure to be promoted by according to them some
authority and devolving upon them responsibility."
It goes without saying, that Joseph Smith personally
328

The Organization of the Monnon Church 329
disclaimed all credit or honor for the organization of this
system. To him and his followers it was a matter of
revelation. In his History of the Church he explains how
each step he took In the organization was guided and
direrted — revealed — by the Spirit of God, and he was
but the humble instrument, the channel, through which
the revelation came. Be that as it may, no one who
studies it can fail to be deeply impressed by the wisdom
manifested, and the high qualities of statesmanship
it implies. At first sight the organization seems to be somewhat
complicated. This is because, in conjunrtlon with the
offices held, there are two priesthoods — those of Mel
chizedek and Aaron — to which all officers must belong.
Hence it is essential first that the reader understand the
significance of these two priesthoods. According to
definitions given by the Alormon Church authorities.
Priesthood is the power and authority given to men to act
in the name of God, by which they can officiate in the
ordinances of the gospel, for the benefit of their fellow-
men. It also is to enable man to receive the ministration
of angels and to enjoy the presence of God the Father,
and His Son, Jesus Christ.
It should be remembered that the Mormon Church
claims to be the one trae church in that it restores —
brings back to life — all the ordinances of God as insti
tuted by Hun from the beginning. Bible students will
recall that the Old Testament speaks of the Melchizedek
Priesthood, and later of the Aaronic or Levitical Priest
hood. Early in the existence of the Mormon Church
Joseph Smith restored these priesthoods, the former as
the High or Holy Priesthood, and the latter as the Lesser
Priesthood. Every officer of the Church, from the high
est to the lowest, must be a member of one or the other of
these priesthoods. For Instance, in the Melchizedek Priest
hood there are five primary officers, viz., (i ) Apostle, (2)

330 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Patriarch, (3) High Priest, (4) Seventy, and (5) Elder.
Springing out of these In their proper order are various
important and administrative offices, with corresponding
officers. In the Aaronic Priesthood the^ four primary
offices are, (i) Bishop, (2) Priest, (3) Teacher, and
(4) Deacon. GENERAL OFFICERS OVER ALL THE CHURCH
He only who has been ordained a High Priest of the
Order of Melchizedek is eligible to be a member of the
First Presidency, either as President or Counselor, a
Prophet, Seer, Revdator or Translator.
APOSTLES
These are general officers of the whole Church, who,
under the direction of the First Presidency build up the
Church in all nations, and all must be elected as Apostles
in the Melchizedek Priesthood, ere they can be recognized
as having power and authority to be Prophets, Seers, or
Revdators. OFFICERS OVER THE STAKES
One must be a High Priest In the Melchizedek Order
to be a President or Counselor of the Stake ( for explana
tion of this term see later in this chapter).
THE SEVENTY
It will be recalled that the New Testament relates :
" After these things the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before his face Into every
city and place, whither he himself would come. There
fore said he unto them, The harvest truly Is great, but the
labourers are few : pray ye therefore the Lord of the har
vest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest."
(Luke 10:1,2,)
This "Seventy" has been restored by the Mormon
Church to promulgate its doctrines and care for Its work
and Interests at home and abroad. The Seventy act under

The Organization of the Mormon Church 331
the direction of the Twelve Apostles, and preach in for
eign fields. They also have the power to preside over the
branches of the Church wherever founded, though, as a
rule the Elders do that work in the home field. Hence the
Seventy are regarded as general officers, while the Elders
have but local authority. ELDERS
These Elders are the standing ministers of the Church
and have the authority to preside over any branch of the
Church and of all church meetings.
KEYS OF THE PRIESTHOOD
One of the terms used by the Mormon Church is little
understood by outsiders. It is the " Keys of the Priest
hood." Jesus said to Peter, (see Matt. i6: 19), " I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
Joseph Smith asserts that, by revelation, God gave again
to the Mormon Church the "keys" of power, which,
those, duly ordained, are able to use. Every office of the
priesthood has its own peculiar keys or authority, but
none may exercise this power unless he is duly called of
God, either by direct inspiration, as was Adam, Enoch,
Moses, or by the united voice of His authorized priest
hood, (which, of course, to the Mormons, means their
exdusive High Priesthood).
THE OFFICIALS IN THE MORMON CHURCH
Having thus made clear to the lay mind the significance
of the priesthoods of the Mormon Church, let us now con
sider the officials who act in their varied capacities and
exercise the authority of the various " keys," in the orga
nization of the Mormon Church.
First Presidency. This Is the highest presiding body
of the Church. Joseph Smith was ordained the First
President at Amherst, Ohio, January 25, 1832. Joseph
claimed that he had received a revelation that Sidney

332 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams should be appointed
Presidents and Counselors of the High Priesthood to him
self (Joseph) as President, and accordingly the follow
ing March (1833) they were duly ordained and set apart
to this office.
The office of President remained vacant for some time
after the murder of Joseph Smith, and the duty of pre
siding over the destinies of the Church fell upon Brigham
Young, as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, but on December 5, 1847, after the banishment
from Nauvoo, while the Mormons were in Winter
Quarters (the present city of Florence, Neb.), at a coun
cil held at the home of Elder Orson Hyde, Brigham
Young was unanimously sustained as President. He then
nominated as his Counselors Heber C. Kimball and Wil
lard Richards. This action was duly sustained by the
saints In general conference both at Council Bluffs in
1847, ^"d the following year In Salt Lake City.
The following have held the office of President since
the death of Brigham Young, viz., John Taylor, Wilford
Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, and Joseph F. Smith. The
present president is Heber J. Grant, with Charles W. Pen
rose and Anthony W. Ivins as his two Counselors. These
three officials comprise what Is known as " The First
Presidency," and In their office Is the highest power of
the Church of Latter-day Saints.
The Twelve Apostles. Even before the Mormon
Church was organized It was pointed out that there should
be a Council of Twelve Apostles, and in 1835, this impor
tant quorum was organized. In 1841, the Prophet Joseph,
called upon this body to undertake their proper work and
turned over to them much of the burden of the Church
that, hitherto, he himself had borne. One of the chief
callings of the apostle Is to be a preacher of the word,
everywhere and under all conditions. His jurisdiction Is
Illimitable upon the earth, yet his power, his " keys of

HEBER J. GRANT, SEVENTH AND LIVING PRESIDENT OF THE
MORMON CHURCH.

The Organization of the Mormon Church 333
authority," cannot be exercised unless he is called to his
work by the First Presidency through revelation. Yet
he, like all the other authorities of the Church, must be
approved by all the Church in conference assembled. This
approval is termed " being sustained " by the Church.
The Seventy. The first Quorum of Seventy was
selected by the Church in council, at Kirtland, Ohio, in
Febmary, 1835. from those who had proven their mettle,
faith, courage and loyalty in going with the prophet to the
aid of their persecuted brethren in Missouri. The pur
pose of the ordination of these seventies Is to provide a
large and well -trained army ready to go forth at the com
mand of the First Presidency or the Twelve Apostles, and
carry the teachings of the Church of Latter-day Saints to
the farthest corners of the earth. If one Quorum of
Seventy is not sufficient, other quorums can be organized
(according to a revelation received by Joseph). As the
work of these men is somewhat similar to that of the
Twelve Apostles, they are sometimes honored with that
name, yet their official power is less than that of the
Twelve. At present there are two hundred and nine
Quorums of Seventy in the entire Church throughout
the world.
The Presiding Patriarch. In order that "blessings"
may be given officially and authoritatively — even as a
father, a patriarch, has the right, authority and privilege
of blessing each member of his family — the Mormon
Church, by revelation, has Instituted this order of High
Priests. Joseph Smith, Sr., father of the prophet, was
the first to hold this important office in this dispensation.
He was ordained December 18. 1833, by his son. The
office of Patriarchs to the Church Is hereditary, to be
handed down from father to son, though no one may hold
the office who has not been appointed and ordained by the
First Presidency, and then sustained by the vote of the
Church. Wlien Presiding Patriarch Joseph Smith, Sr.,

334 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
died, his son Hyrum was called by revelation to succeed
his father. After Hyrum's murder, WIlHam Smith, his
brother, succeeded by virtue of his birthright, but later,
having apostatized he was disfellowshipped. He was suc
ceeded by John Smith, the brother of Joseph Smith, Sr.,
who acted until his death. John Smith, the oldest son of
Hymm Smith, was then ordained Presiding Patriarch.
The present Presiding Patriarch is Hyrum G. Smith, the
great grandson of Hyrum Smith. ,
Before discussing the Aaronic or Lesser Priesthood, it
is well for the reader fully to understand what may be
termed the governmental divisions of the Church. These
are the " Stake " and " Ward."
The Stake. The word " Stake " was taken by the Mor
mon Prophet Joseph from the words of the Prophet
Isaiah in such passages as :
"Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; thine
eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle
that shall not be taken down, not one of the stakes thereof
shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords
thereof be broken." Isa., 33:20.
"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch
forth the curtains of thine habitation : Spare not, lengthen
thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes." Isa., 54:2.
Stakes, in Mormon phraseology, are subdivisions of the
Church, for governmental purposes. For instance, in Salt
Lake City alone there are four Stakes, viz.. Ensign, Lib
erty, Pioneer and Salt Lake. Each Stake is presided over
by a President and two counselors and a High Council
consisting of twelve members with six alternate members.
In some instances a Stake is co-extensive with the county,
and may even include a greater area than is covered by
the county.
The Ward. This is a smaller subdivision of the Church
and is the unit of the Stake and may comprise any number
of members. The Bishopric, comprising a bishop and

The Organization of the Mormon Church 335
his two counselors, constitutes the presiding body in
the Ward.
Branches are still smaller subdivisions of the Church
and are generally established In localities where the mem
bers are few and living too far apart to sustain a Ward
organization. Conferences and Missions are also sub
divisions of the Church temporarily established in parts
of the world where missionary work Is being carried on.
SOVEREIGNTY OF THE CHURCH
The Mormons believe implicitly that God should be the
acknowledged supreme authority of all the governments
of the earth. Yet they realize and acknowledge that the
Kingdom of God is not fully established upon the earth,
for now, as in Christ's time, we are required to " render
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's " as well as " to
God the things that are God's." But they also believe
that when the King of kings shall come in the brightness
of His glory He will mount the throne of His power and
wield the scepter over earth's dominions as He now does
in heaven. He is the Great Sovereign, from Him ulti
mately shall emanate all authority permitting men to rule
among the nations.
Undoubtedly it is from the open promulgation of this
belief, that the serious charge of disloyalty to the federal
government was made. That there were clashes between
federal officials and the Mormon authorities there is no
question, but a careful study of all these differences will
indicate that the Mormons were more sinned against than
sinning, and that some of the men sent out to administer
government and justice were neither competent nor wise.
On the subject of polygamy the attitude of the Mormon
Church was that It was not a matter in which state or
federal government had the right to interfere. It was a
matter of conscience, life, religion, and not until the
Supreme Court of the United States finally, firmly and

33(i Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
fully upheld the law of Congress upon the subject did the
Mormons yield and abandon the prartice.
In Mormon Church government priesthood stands for
authority. " The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right
of Presidency ; and has power and authority over all the
offices in the Church in all ages of the world," says the
Doctrine and Covenants. But as this authority is con
ferred only by the power or command of God, the gov
ernment of the Mormon Church may be called a theocracy,
according to the belief of its members, as they are assured
that their officials arc called of Cod to officiate in His
name and stead. Furthermore, the Mormons believe that
their church is the leaven that shall leaven the whole lump
of mankind and prepare it for the coming of Christ. In
the words of President Wilford Woodruff:
" We believe tbis Church will prepare the way for the
coming of Christ to reign as King, and that this Church
will then develop into the Kingdom of God."
We have seen how the Melchizedek Priesthood con
forms to this idea in the higher official work of (he church.
Let us now see how the Lesser Priesthood works.
THE LESSER OR AARONIC I'KIESTIIOOD
The Priesthood Conferred. While Joseph Smith was
engaged in translating the Book of Mormon, with Oliver
Cowdery as his scribe, on May 15, 1829, they went into
the woods to pray and inquire of God resi)ccling bap
tism, which they found mentioned on the golden plates.
Joseph says:
" While we were thus employed, praying and calling
upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a
cloud of light, and having laid hands upon us, saying:
' Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah,
1 confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of
the ministering of anj^^els, and of the Gospel of repent
ance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of

The Organization of the Mormon Church 337
sins ; and this shall never be taken again from the earth,
until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto
the Lord in righteousness.'
"He said that this Aaronic Priesthood had not the
power of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter ;
and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us
directions that I should baptize OUver Cowdery, and
afterwards that he should baptize me."
The messenger who %'isited them on this occasion,
according to ^lormon belief, was John the Baptist, and
he then conferred upon Joseph and all who later should
be called and ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, the keys
of the ministering of angels ; the authority to preadi the
Gospd of repentance ; and to baptize by immersion for the
remission of sins. Later on, other revelations were given,
conferring other powers which are now exerdsed by the
priesthood. The Presiding Bishopric. This bishopric, viewed as a
whole, comprises the authority of and presidency over the
Aaronic or Lesser Priesthood, who may officiate in all
the temporal business affairs of the Church. They " hold
the keys" to the Presidency of this Priesthood; this
means that they have the right, power, and authority to
officiate in any and all the offices bdonging therdo, and
also the right to ordain others to this ministry. It should
be noted here, that, according to Exodus, 40:15, all the
lineal descendants of Aaron are legally entided to this
office, but as God, in this latter-day dispensation, has not
designated who are the " sons of Aaron," and has author
ized the High Priests of the Order of INIdchizedek to
offidate in any of the lesser offices of the Church, this
custom has been followed and doubtless will continue.
Hence it wiU be seen that the First Presidency alone has
the power to appomt a Presiding Bishop, though he must

338 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
be confirmed or sustained in the office by the whole Church
in conference assembled.
Ward Bishops. Bishops of wards are seleded as fol
lows : The Stake Presidenc>' chooses a suitable man and
presents his name to the High Coundl for approval. If
so approved the name is sent to the First Presidency, who,
if satisfied of his fitness for the office, find out if he is
willing to accept. If so, his name is presented to the
ward, and on their vote bdng in his favor he is duly
ordained. The First Presidency also has the power to
appoint and ordain any person of its choice to this office.
Each Bishop has two counselors.
Here, then, it will be seen that every ward has its own
bishop. In Salt Lake City alone there are thirty-six
wards, hence thirty-six bishops.
The Priest. The duty of the priest is to preadi, teach,
expound, exhort, baptize and administer the sacrament,
visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray
vocally and in secret, and attend to all family duties.
These duties imply considerable preparation for the
preacher must know not only the Bible of the ordinary
church-minister, but also the Book of Mormon and other
works conveying the spedal doctrines of the Mormon
Church. Then, too, he should be a man of prayer, and
also of discretion and wisdom, for he is to call upon all
the members and urge them to their religious duties. He
must also know how to teach children in all good and
holy things.
The Teacher. The teacher has many duties to perform.
He is to watch over the Church and be with and
strengthen its members always. He must see that there
is no iniquity in the Church, so that he might aptly be
called "the policeman of the Church." He must warn
and counsel members against falling out, and seek to rec
oncile them to each other, as well as warn the liar of his
evil. His duty is also to see that there is no " backbiting

The Organization of the Mormon Church 339
nor evil speaking " — sins that poison the stream of
brotherly love, undermine fraternal confidence, blacken
Innocent character, and canker the souls of those who are
guilty of such meddlesomeness. He warns and rebukes
the law-breakers; he exhorts and entreats the negligent;
he counsels and persuades in the fear of the Lord ; and in
order that he may more fully understand the spiritual con
dition of the members within his jurisdiction, he is
required to visit them in their homes.
He must also see that members partake of the sacra
ment, pay their tithes, refrain from speaking evil of the
priesthood, keep holy the Sabbath day, and that they do
no actual wrong. He must act as peacemaker and also
warn, expound, exhort and teach, and Invite all to come
to Christ.
Quite a responsibility, requiring great care, wisdom
and knowledge. These teachers are all under the control
of the Ward Bishopric and are appointed to a certain
district, or " block " in a city.
The Deacon. This Is an officer whose chief work is to
care for the poor, help in all efforts furthering the inter
ests of the Church, and give what help he can to the
teacher of his " block." The office may be regarded as a
training school for the higher offices, aiding a young man
to get a clear and comprehensive idea of the workings of
the Church as a temporal and spiritual organization.
From this simple outline It will be seen that the Mor
mon Church is perfectly organized and with ramifications
reaching to every home. The deacon, teacher and priest
are required to keep in actual touch with every member
and to report constantly to their ward bishop. These in
turn report to the higher officers, so that the condition of
the membership Is well known to all the officials all the
time. I know of no other church organization that Is so
complete, or that so effectively trains Its members for the
performance of the work of the Church.

340 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys _
In addition to the organization above described, there
are church schools and auxilian.- organizations under the
control of the Church. These schools are scattered all
over Utah and some are in Idaho. Arizona and Mexico.
The other organizations are the Rdief Society, Sunday
School, Young Mens ^lutual Impro\ement Association.
Young Ladies" Mutual Improvement Association, the
Primary Asj^ociation, the Religion Class, all of them doing
thdr allotted work effecti^-ely and with earnest sincerity.
thus seeking still further to build up the power, and
enlarge the boundaries, of the Church.
The Tithing System. Before leaving the subject of
Mormon Church government it is imperative that the
tithing system be explained. The prophet Joseph Smith
gave to the Church the f ollo\ving revdation ;
" \'erily thus saith the Lord, I require all thdr surplus
property to be put into the hands of the bishop of the
Church of Zion.
" For the building of Mine house, and for the laying
of the foundation of Zion, and for the priesthood, and
for the debts of the presidency of My Church: and this
shall be the beginning of the tithing of M>- people; and
after that, those who have been tithed, shall pay one-
tenth of all their interest annually: and this sliall be a
standing law unto them forever, for My holy priesthood,
saith the Lord.
" \'"erily I say unto you it shall come to pass that all
those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed
of thdr surplus property, and shall observe this law. or
they shall not be found worthy to abide among jxtu. And
I say unto you if My people observe not this law to keep
it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto
Me, that My statutes and My judgments may be kept
thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say
unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto vou."
The good and consdentious Monnon, therefore, regards

The Organiiation of the Mormon Church 341
tithing as mandatory and he gives up one-tentli of his
income yearly. Temporal and spiritual blessings are
promised, in accordance witli sudi passages as are found
in Malachi 3 :io, 1 1, and all members of the Church are
assured that while tithing is not suffident to keep a man
in the Qiurdi, he certainly cannot retain his standing to
the end without it. No one is knowingly recdved into
the Churdi who repudiates tliis doctrine, and of those
already received who refuse the tithe payment it is said :
" To the non-tithe payer the doors of the Temple are
dosed, and the privileges of sacred ordinances cut off.
On what ground can one daim the right to be trusted
with the most sacred and spiritual privileges of the king-
domi, when he is not true to his trust in material things?
How can one daim Uie blessings of the Temple if he
refuses to build and maintain it?"*
The Churdi tidies that apostasy is the inevitable end
of persistent non-tithe paying, tliough there may be no
formal action taken against the disobedient member.
Spiritual laws work automatically. On the other hand,
those who r^darly and honesUy pay their tithes are
building up their spiritual diaracter in a variety of ways
that any thoughtful person may speedily realize.
In the early days, when money was scarce and the
major part of the members were tillers of the soil, most
of the payments were made " in kind." One could see
the farmers drive in to the old tithing-house that used to
stand where the magnificent Hotd Utali is now located,
bringing a sheep, perhaps, a side of beef, hams, bacon,
salt pori^ grain of every kind, beans and other legumes,
eggs, poultt^, butter, fruit and vegetables of all sorts, the
products of tfie looms, wool, jams, jdlies, preserves, and
all and everything that a sdf-sustaining people were
likely to produce. All these goods were duly credited
to the persons bringing ^eni and recdpts given.
•IttMie. tgr Omk* H. BiimKtll, Pi«id«nt Biighaffi Yoons UhivtRity, Pwra, Utek.

342 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
Then another interesting phase of the Mormon method
of those early days was witnessed. W'orkmen were often
paid in script on the tithing-house and men and thdr wives
would often anxiously wait for hours to see if those goods
came in that they desired.
Of late years the tithing has been mainly paid in cash,
and from the proceeds, the various temples, tabemades,
churches, schools, academies, etc., erected and sustained.
Two of the products of tithing are the pride not only of
Salt Lake City, but of the whole West. These are
the ^lormon Temple, fully described in the chapter on
Salt Lake City, and the magnificent, dignified and statdy
office building of the Church on South Temple Street.
This is a simple structure of granite, of dassic Greek
ty-pe, perfect in proportion, impressive from all \4ew-
points, admirably adapted for the work of the Church,
and naturally, the espedal pride of every Mormon not
only in the state, but throughout the world.

n
THE PECULIAR DOCTRINES OF MORMONISM
We have seen elsewhere that the mere preaching of
Mormonism seems to have aroused bitter antagonisms
that later developed into cruel persecutions. The Mor
mons claim the reason for this to be that the Powers of
Evil, knowing that God had Inspired this Church to dis
pense His kingdom upon earth in these latter-days, were
thus aroused to fight to the bitter end to preserve their
power over the hearts of men.
There is nothing peculiar, in one sense, in the claim
made by the Mormons that theirs only is the true Church.
This is the claim made by the Jews, the Catholics, the
Episcopalians, the Mahomedans, the Christians (Camp-
bellites), the Seventh-Day Adventists and a score of
others. But there are peculiar features about this claim
when put forth by the Mormons that have aroused the
Intense antagonisms of the other churches. The Mor
mons deny that it is merely another " sed," and assert
that It is an original creation, established upon the earth
in this age as a restoration.
Other churches have their power and authority handed
down from some earlier authority, the Roman Catholics,
for instance, claiming to date dack to the Apostle Peter.
On the other hand, the Mormons assert that their Church
and Its priesthood were reestablished on earth by Christ
in this "latter-day," hence their full name and title:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
in 1 84 1, the following Articles of Faith were promul-
343

344 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
gated by Joseph Smith, adopted In conference, and have
ever since been set forth as stating the belief of the
Mormons :
" I. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in
His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
" 2. We believe that men will be punished for their
own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
" 3. We believe that, through the atonement of Christ,
all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and
ordinances of the Gospel.
" 4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances
of the Gospel are : First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;
second. Repentance; third. Baptism by Immersion for
the remission of sins; fourth. Laying on of Hands for
the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
" 5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by
prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who
are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in
the ordinances thereof.
" 6. We believe in the same organization that existed
in the primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pas
tors, teachers, evangelists, etc.
" 7. We believe In the gift of tongues, prophecy,
revelation, visions, healings, interpretation of tongues, etc.
" 8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as
far as It Is translated correctly ; we also believe the Book
of Mormon to be the word of God.
" 9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He
does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal
many great and important things pertaining to the King
dom of God.
" 10. We believe In the literal gathering of Israel
and In the restoration of the Ten Tribes. That Zion will
be built upon this (the American) continent. That
Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the
earth will be renewed and receive Its paradisical glory.

The Peculiar Doctrines of Mormonism 345
" II. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty
God according to the didates of our own conscience, and
allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how,
where or what they may.
" 12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents,
rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustain
ing the law.
" 13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevo
lent, virtuous, and In doing good to all men; indeed we
may say that we follow the admonition of Paul : ' We
believe all things, we hope all things,' we have endured
many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.
If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report
or praiseworthy we seek after these things."
To this declaration of faith many Christian churches
could pledge their allegiance, hence if the Mormons have
peculiar beliefs they must be found in their doctrinal
teaching. This, we find, emphasizes Article 9, in that the
Mormon Church believes implicitly in present-day revela
tions. Joseph Smith received them constantly, and the
Church is ready at any time to accept future revelations.
In the chapter devoted to the organization of the
Church I have discussed their beliefs as to the restora
tion of the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods, and
the chapter on Polygamy has presented that now obsolete
practice. In the chapter on Joseph Smith his account of the
origin of the Book of Mormon was given. There have
been several theories propounded by the enemies of Mor
monism to account for it In other ways. They are all
found to be pure concoctions on the part of their authors,
though the so-called Spaulding theory is interesting
enough to deserve a few lines of elucidation and expla
nation. Spaulding, a well-educated man, a graduate of
Dartmouth College, came to live on Conneaut Creek,
Ohio, in which region were many mounds and other evi-

346 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
dences of a prehistoric dvilization- His business not
prospering, he retiumed to hterature as a recreation and
wrote a book, using the same fiction that Sir Walter
Scott, Mark Twain, and a score of other eminent authors
have done, namdy, that he had found the manuscript
buried in some cave or other and had merdy translated
or transcribed it Haice the title of his book was known
as Manuscript Found, and the subjed dealt with was the
supposed hfe of the prehistoric inhabitants of the r^on.
When the Book of Mormon was pubhshed there were
various claims made that it was ndther more nor less
than Spaulding's book, with a few additions of rehgious
and doctrinal matter. But how had the Prophet Joseph
Smith secured the book? Some said he had worked at
a place that enabled him to steal the manuscript from a
trunk in which it had been placed after Spaulding's
death; another that Sidney Rigdon had borrowed and
copied the manuscript from a ]Mr. Lambdin, who was an
employee in Patterson's printing and pubhshing estab-
Hshment, where it had been brought " to be passed upon."
After the apostasy of Dodor Philastus Hurlburt and his
vindictive persecutions of Joseph Smith began, he
secured a large number of affidavits from ndghbors of
Spaulding's who had heard parts of the manuscript read,
and all of whom daimed, in effed, that the Spaulding
book and the Book of Mormon were, to say the least,
suspidously ahke in matter, the names used, and in
phraseology. Later Hurlburt secured from Spaulding's
widow the manuscript itsdf, according to his and her
own statements, with the intention of pubhshing it to the
world and thus demonstrating Joseph Smith's theft and
unposture. But though K D. Howe, of Painsville, Ohio,
— the pubhsher of all Hurlburt's fuhninations with addi
tions of his own, in a book entided Mormomsm
Unveiled, — was as anxious as was he to present so con-
vindng a proof of Joseph's duphdty, it was found, when

The Peculiar Doctzines of Mormoiiism 347

the mannscript was read, that it was nothing like what it
was purported to be, hence could not be used. Thismantt-
script — the raily one Spaulding is known to have written
— was left by Horlbart, according to his own statement,
with Mr. Howe, " with the understanding that when he
had examined it he should return it to die widow. Said
Howe says die manuscript was destroyed by fire" — any
how, die widow never saw h again, and for years it was
deemed lost
Strange to say, it was left for Preddent Fairdiild, of
Oberiin Cbll^e, Ohio, the stalwart institution of an
almost rigid and orthodox poritanism, to unearth the
long-lost manuscript and denumstTate the falsify of the
Spaulding dieoiy. In about 1839 or 1840, a Mr. L. L.
Rice purchased the newspaper and plant of Mr. £. D.
Howe, the publisher of Mormonism Unveiled. In con
nection widi die printing plant was a large library of
books and manuscripts. Some years afterwards Mr.
Rice sold the piintiiig plant, but removed all his books
and manuscripts (induding those purchased from
Howe) to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he made his re^-
dence. In 1884 President James H. Fairdiild visited
him, and being anxious to secure early Ohio manuscripts,
espedally those on anti-slavery, for his coII^e library,
urged Mr. Rice to go over his collection and donate what
he could for that purpose. Now let Dr. Fairdiild tell
his own stoiy. It was published at Obeilin, Ohio, in the
January issue, 1885, of the BMiotheca Sacra:
" . . . In pursuance of this suggestion Mr. Rice
be^jan looking over his old pamphlets and papers, and at
length came upon an old, worn, and faded manuscript of
about one hundred and seventy-five pages, small quarto,
purporting to be a history of the migrations and conflicts
of tbe andoit Indian tribes whidi occxpied the territory
now bdonging to the states of New York, Ohio, and
Kentucky. On the last page of this manuscript is a

348 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
certificate and signature giving the names of several per
sons known to the signer, who have assured him that, to
their personal knowledge, the manuscript was in the
writing of Solomon Spaulding. Mr. Rice has no recol
lection how or when this manuscript came into his pos
session. It was envdoped in a coarse piece of wrapping
paper and endorsed in Mr. Rice's handwriting, ' A Manu
script Story.'
" There seems to be no reason to doubt that this is the
long-lost story. Mr. Rice himself and others compared
it with the Book of Mormon and could deted no resem
blance between the two, in general or in detail. There
seems to be no name or incident common to the two. The
solemn style of the Book of Mormon, in imitation of the
English Scriptures, does not appear in the manuscript.
The only resemblance Is the fact that both profess to set
forth the history of the lost tribes. Some other explana
tion of the origin of the Book of Mormon must be found
if any explanation is required.*
(Signed) James H. Fairchild."
This manuscript is now to be seen by any accredited
person in the Oberlin College library. A copy was made
from it by President Joseph F. Smith, who in 1884 was
residing In the Sandwich Islands, and in 1886 this was
published by the Deseret News — exactly according to
the transcript, with all its errors of grammar and orthog
raphy, as also with all the alterations, erasures, etc., made
by Its author. Indicated. This certainly does not appear
as if the Mormons had anything to hide in regard to the
Spaulding manuscript or theory.
If the reader is Interested In conjecture, there are many
others presented by various authors as to the origin of
this book. To these he is referred.
But there are beliefs that are peculiar to Mormonism.
•The italics are mine. George Wharton James.

jiisiu-n F. .-^Mini, SIXTH i'residf.nt of the mormon ouirch.

The Peculiar Doctrines of Mormonism 349
One of these Is " Baptism for the Dead." To hundreds
of thousands of orthodox Christians it has been a serious
question as to what became of those who died prior to
the coming of Christ, or who, after His coming, never
heard of Him and therefore could not " believe on Him
and be saved." Joseph, the prophet, had a revelation in
June, 1836, making it clear that all such, as well as
children who die before arriving at the years of account
ability, who would have received the Gospel with all their
hearts had it been possible, shall be heirs of the Celestial
Kingdom. On January 19, 1841, another revelation was
received urging the people to complete the Temple that,
among ^other needful things, there might be erected a
font where the ordinance of baptism for the dead might
be performed. Henceforth the prophet and leading elders
often expounded this doctrine and showed that by It the
holy ministrations of the saints could affect all the genera
tions of the past as well as those which were to come.
To an impressionable people it can well be seen what a
wonderful vista this opened up. The Mormons quote
such passages as the following to show that the dead can
be preached to and saved :
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming,
and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son
of God; and they that hear shall live, — John 5:25.
" Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge
the quick and the dead. For, for this cause was. the
gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live
according to God In the spirit. — i Peter 4:5 and 6.
" Else what shall they do wjiich are baptized for the
dead, if the dead rise hot at all? Why are they then bap
tized for the dead?" — r Cor. 15:29.
This doctrine has been much emphasized, and the Mor
mons have faithfully observed it, being baptized for their
dead that the latter might be saved.

350 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valle3rs
The Mormons also believe that in the future life there
are grades of happiness and misery — that all men are
not alike either happy or wretched, but they are rewarded
according to their works.
Another pecuhar doctrine of Mormomsm, which many
have confounded with polygamy, is Celestial Marriage,
The Mormons show that, according to the ritual used,
the Christian Churches marry only " until death doth
part." They claim, however, that their priesthood has
the power to seal for eternity as well as for time, and
that real marriage is an eternal relationship. And they
further believe that, where no marriage for eternity has
taken place, and been solemnized in their duly appointed
temples, and by their duly appointed priesthood, the
heavenly condition of those thus unmarried for eternity
is lower than that of those who have been married
for eternity.
As has been shown elsewhere the Mormons believe that
America Is the place of the New Jerusalem, the country
in which Zion shall be established, — somewhere in the
western part. And that Christ shall appear In Zion and
there shall be a general resurrection of the righteous
dead, after which the era of peace shall be established
and Christ shall reign among men in visible presence.
In order to provide for the needs of the Church, the
Mormons believe in the payment of tithes. They bring
one-tenth of their annual increase and dedicate it to the
service of the Lord.
The Mormons also believe that man, even in his physi
cal body, is created in the image and likeness of God,
and furthermore, that man has the power to attain to the
divine estate. This leads to another belief, viz., that God
is but exalted man. The Church teaches that :
" God himself was once as we are now, and is an
exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. That
is the great secret. If the veil was rent today, the Great

The Peottliar Doctrines of Mormonism SSI
God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds
all worlds and all things by His power, was to make
Himself visible — I say, if you were to see Him today,
you would see Him like a man in form — like yourselves
in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for
Adam was created in the very fashion, image, and like
ness of God, and received instruction from, and walked,
talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and
communes with anotfier."
Thus, it will indeed be seen that, in their beliefs, the
Mormons are what they daim to be, a peculiar people.

Ill
THE MORMON MISSIONARY SYSTEM
Few people outside of the Mormon Church have any
idea of the extent, the methods and the work of the Mor
mon missionary system. While the fearful persecutions
were going on in Missouri, and the days of the saints
in Ohio were being numbered, the organization of the
Church was enlarged by the ordination of a Quorum of
Twelve Apostles, and two Quorums of Seventy.* As
a natural sequence enlarged operations became essen
tial, and to those who recognize the claims of the Mor
mon Church, it will be evident that nothing less than an
attempt at world-wide missionizatlon could be attempted.
As one historian of the Church has written :
" The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
was never intended to be merely an American sect of
religion — the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times,
the dispensation into which will be gathered all former
dispensations of the Gospel of Christ, all keys of author
ity, all powers, all gifts, all graces essential to the welfare
and salvation of men — all that is essential to the com
pletion of the mission of the Christian religion. The
mission of the Church in such a dispensation is general,
not local, world-embracing. Had it been less than one
of the world's great movements, Mormonism had been
inadequate to the world's needs — less than sufficient for
the world's redemption."
*The term "quorum," used frequently in the foregoing pages, ha9 a peculiar and
.'¦'.'"^"Jf "^ in Mormon phraseology. It is thus defined in the Standard Dietimuuy:
4. Monnon Church. A council or an oiganized body; as, an eJdtets" nerxm; the
guorum of the Fust Presidency."

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The Mormon Missionary System 353
It matters not whether we — you, my reader, and I —
believe In the Mormon Church or its mission, or not, it
is evident we cannot understand its actions unless we are
acquainted with the mental and spiritual well-springs of
those actions. In the above they are revealed to us. How,
then, do they work out?
Believing as they do that their's Is the one divinely-
appointed Church Into which all men should be gathered,*
it Is the policy of the Mormon Church to send forth
every man member, as early In his religious life as pos
sible, to be a missionary of the faith. These men, like
the apostles of old, must go when and where commanded,
not reluctantly and with anger, but eagerly, gladly and in
the spirit of willing obedience. Where practicable they
must go in the fashion prescribed by Christ, — without
purse or scrip — trusting absolutely in the Lord for the
supplying of all their needs, but when laboring in the
cities and large towns missionaries have to be provided
with money or, under the law, they would be arrested as
vagrants. Traveling " without purse or scrip " and rely
ing entirely upon the people for the actual necessities of
life is the Ideal condition, and this obtains in many of
the missions ; yet, as stated, it is not universal.
But, asks my reader, do these men go when thus com
manded? Do they obey the orders of thdr Church supe
riors? As far as I can learn there Is and always has been
an almost perfect obedience to this requirement. Men
of business, of large affairs, have left everything at the
call of the Church, and have gone out to be street preach
ers, house to house canvassers and distributors of litera
ture, and for one, two and even six and seven years have
remained where sent, faithfully discharging the duties
imposed upon them.
•Though they thus hold, the Mormons also believe that at the time of the Lord's
advJnt (let in the future) the Church will be restively small in numbers.

354 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
No one can accuse Bancroft of favoring the Mormons,
yet this is what he says of the missionaries :
" In their missionary adventures no sect was ever more
devoted, more self-sacrificing, or more successful. The
Catholic friars in their new-world excursions were not
more indifferent to life, wealth, health, and comfort, not
more indifferent to scorn and insult, not more filled with
high courage and lofty enthusiasm, than were the Mor
mon elders in their old-world enterprises. In all their
movements they were circumspect, moderate, studying the
idiosyncrasies of the several nations in which they labored,
and careful about running unnecessarily counter to
their prejudices.
" On reaching the scene of his labors, the missionary
earned his daily bread by some trade or handicraft, not
even refusing domestic service, In order to provide for
his wants, and meanwhile studying the language of the
people among whom he lived. Many were cast into dun
geons, where they were forced to live on bread and
water; many traveled on foot from district to district,
with no other food than the roots which they dug near
the wayside; many journeyed under the rays of a tropi
cal sun, the water trickling from the rocks and the ber
ries hanging from the bushes, forming at times, their
only subsistence,
" The term of their labors had no certain limit, depend
ing entirely upon the will of the first presidency. For
the more distant missions it was seldom less than two
years or more than six. They must remain at their post
until ordered home; and when recalled, they were often
forced to earn by their own labor the means of crossing
seas and deserts. Restored at length to their families,
they were ready to set forth at a day's notice to new fidds
of labor ; and for all this self-denial they sought no earthly
reward, esteeming it as their greatest privilege, thus to
give proof of their unfailing devotion to the Church.'"*
*mstory of Utah. By II. H. Bancroft.

 The Mormon Missionary System 355
Having spoken several times to Mormon assemblies
while I was in Salt Lake City, many thousands of the
members of tlie Church came to know me, hence I was
often addressed by those whom otherwise I should not
have known. This gave me some interesting experiences,
and led to tlie obtaining of knowledge I was anxious to
gain. One day I was in a baker's establishment. It was
early in the morning before the usual sales-derks had
arrived. Accordingly a young man came out from the
bakery itsdf to wait upon me. We entered Into conver
sation. Though yet certainly not more than thirtj', he
informed me that he had been sent " on mission." For
two years he was an itinerant mlssionarj-, preaching from
Alinneapolis, dowa into the Soutli, through Tennessee,
and finally returning Aaa St. Louis.
Another young man, whom I saw almost daily, was a
reporter on the staff of the Salt Lake Tribune. Quick,
mentally alert, wdl educated, above the average of cub
reporters, he wrote not only detailed matter, but often
got in a spedal both for his own. and other papers. He
could not be much over twenty. Yet he told me with
unconcealed joy and exultation that his Church had chosen
him to go on a mission to England, espedally to combat
some particularly vidous and lying propaganda against
Mormonism that was now rife. Here was no regret, no
faring an unpleasant task unwillingly, but the proud con
sdousness that he was deemed worthy the trial, the test
ings, the difficulties, the hardships he would have to
endure, and all for the glory of God and His Church.
Another of my Mormon friends was engaged at a high
salary, with commissions, In one of the leading real estate
offices in Utah. He was quite a student, espedally of
local Mormon histor\-, had been on a prolonged mission
through several of the adjoining states, and withal, was
a young man of considerable literary talent. ^^'llIle
engaged in this highly profitable business the authorities

356 Utah, the Land of Blossoming Valleys
of the Church were called upon for a man to assist in
preparing the history of the Mormon Church in an
adjoining state. My friend was appointed to the task.
In less than one week, he and his wife and children had
packed up, left the home they owned and had made com
fortable by their own efforts, and were located In lodg
ings in another state, and promised a salary of less than
one-third the amount he had been receiving.
This is missionary self-abnegation, and certainly a
pretty strong proof, it seems to me, of the Mormon's
belief in his religion and his ready acquiescence in what
he is taught is God's will concerning his duty towards
the rest of mankind.
Men are sent to Europe, to Asia, to Australasia and to
Africa, and thousands of them are now in foreign sta
tions, preaching the Gospel as they believe it.
The spirit of the true Mormon missionary is well set
forth In the following poem, by W. W. Phelps, one of
the writers of early day Mormonism :
" The gallant ship is under weigh
To bear me off to sea,
And yonder floats the streamer gay
That says she waits for me.
The seamen dip the ready oar.
As rippled waves oft tell.
They bear me swiftly from the shore;
My native land, farewell!
" I go, but not to plough the main.
To ease a restless mind,
Nor yet to toil on battle's plain.
The vidor's wreath to find.
'Tis not for treasures that are hid
In mountain or in dell,
'Tis not for joys like these I bid
My native land, farewell !

The Mormon Missionary System 357
" I go to break the fowler's snare.
To gather Israel home;
I go, the name of Christ to bear
In lands and isles unknown.
And soon my pilgrim feet shall tread
On lands where errors dwell,
Whence light and truth have long since fled.
My native land, farewell !
" I go, an erring child of dust,
Ten thousand foes among.
Yet on His mighty arm I trust.
Who makes the feeble strong.
My Sun, my Shield, forever nigh —
He will my fears dispel.
This hope supports me when I sigh.
My native land, farewell 1
" I go devoted to His cause.
And to His will resigned;
His presence will supply the loss
Of all I leave behind.
His promise cheers the sinking heart
And lights the darkest cell.
Exiled pilgrim's grace imparts;
My native land, farewell !
" I go, it is my Master's call.
He's made my duty plain ;
No danger can the heart appall
[When Jesus stoops to reign.
And now the vessel's side we've made,
The sails their bosoms swell,
Thy beauties In the distance fade,
My native land, farewell!"
THE END

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bait .FY, Mss. Floseuce Merriam : My Summer in a Mormon Vil
lage.
Bakceoft, H. H. : History of Utah.
Beadle, J. Hanson : Western Wilds and the Men Who Redeemed
Them : Life in Utah.
Bonner, Geraldine: Tomorrow's Tangle.
Brown, Paula : The Mormon Girl.
Bdrton, Robert F. : The City of the Saints.
CAMFBEii, James (Publisher) : History and Philosophy of Mar
riage.
Cannon, Frank J., and Knaip, George L. : Brigham Young and
His Mormon Empire.
Cableton, a. B. : The Wonderlands of the Wild West.
Carmichael, Sarah E. : Poems.
Cdrwood, James Ouver: The Courage of Captain Plum.
Dellenbaugh, F. S. : A Canyon Voyage : The Romance of the
Colorado River.
Dickenson, Mrs. Ellen : New Light on Mormomsm.
Dixon, William Hepworth: Spiritual Wives.
DovLE, Conan: A Study in Scarlet
Dutton, Clarence E. : Geology of the High Plateaus of Utah:
Physical Geology of the Grand Canyon District : Tertiary His
tory of the Grand Canyon District.
Gilbert, G. K.: Geology of the Henry Mountains: Lake Bonne
ville.
Grey, Zane : The Rainbow Trail : Riders of the Purple Sage.
Hadley, Albert Whipple: Mormon Rhymes.
Henry, J. H. : By Order of the Prophet
Inman, W. H., and Cody, W. F. : The Great Salt Lake Trail.
James, George Wharton : Reclaiming the Arid West : Indian
Blankets and Their Makers ; etc.
Mac»mb, Major: Exploring Expedition from Santa Fe to the
Junction of the Green and Grand Rivers, 1859.
Marryat, Captain : Monsieur Violet.
Mead, Elwood: Report on Irrigation Investigations in Utah.
Miller, Joaquim : The Danites. 359

360  Bibliography

Pidgin, Charles F. : The House of Shame.
Powell, John Wesley: Geology of the Uinta Mountains: The
Canyons of the Colorado: Lands of the Arid Region.
Remy and Brenchley : A Joumey to Great Salt Lake City.
Riley, L. Woodbridge : The Founder of Mormonism.
Russell, Isaac: Lake Lahontan.
Simpson, Captain J. H. : Explorations Across the Great Basin of
Utah in 1859.
Smith, Joseph F. : Book of Mormon : Word of Wisdom.
Smythe, William E. : The Conquest of Arid America.
Stansbury, Howard: Explorations and Surveys of the Valley of
the Great Salt Lake of Utah in 1849.
Stenhouse, T. H. B. : The Rocky Mountain Saints.
Stenhouse, Mrs. T. H. B. : Tell It All.
Talmage, James E : Mormon Articles of Faith : The Vitality of
Mormonism.
Webb, Robert C. : The Real Mormonism.
Widtsoe, John T. : Dry Farming in Utah.
Wilson, Harry Leon : The Lion of the Lord.

INDEX

Titles of Chapters are in small capitals

Aaronic Priesthood, 5a, 329
et seq., 336.
Abajo Mtns., 36.
Academy of Arts, Deseret, 294.
Acknowledgments, xii.
Adams, Mrs. Annie, 143.
Maude, 143.
Agassiz, Mt., 230.
Agriculture, 6.
Alkali Canyon, 36.
Allen, Charles, 56.
America, The Home of Zion,
350.
Americana Magazine, (q.) 48.
American Fork Canyon 4.
River, 226.
ANaENT Inhabitants of
Utah, 31-46.
Angel's Landing, 299.
Animas Ruins, 32.
Antelope Island, 12.
Apostle, 329 et seq.
The Twelve, 333.
Appeal to the President, Mor
mons, 63.
Aquarius Plateau, 220.
Arid Region, Lands of the, 196.
Armstrong Canyon, 240.
Arrowhead Trail, 24.
Articles of Faith. 131, 343.
Artifacts, Ancient, 40.
Art Development, 288.
Artists and Scin-PTORS of
Utah, 288-307.
Ashley National Forest, 218.
Assay Creek Springs, 232.
Assembly Hall, 312^
Atwood, Wallace W., (q.) 158.
Audubon Warblers, 248.
Augusta Bridge, 239.
Authority of Priesthood, 336.

B

381

Babbitt, A. W., Delegate, 109.
Bailey, Florence Merriam, 280.
Bald Mountain, 230.
Bamberger, J. A., 209.
Bancroft, H. H., (q.) 69, 95,
112, 354.
Baptism for the Dead, 349.
Basin, Great, 2, 3, 34.
Wyoming, 5.
Basketry, Ancient, 40.
Battle Creek, 109.
Bauchmin's Creek, 8.
Bear Lake, 216, 224.
River, 5.
Beehive House, 319.
Bennett, John C, 74.
Bierstadt, Albert, 288.
Big Mountain, 8.
Bingham Canyon, 16, 311.
Bird Island, 253.
Bird Life in Utah, 246-259.
Bird Sanctuaries, 259.
Bishop, George, 32.
Bishopric, Presiding, 337.
Bishops, Ward, 338.
Blackbirds, 247.
Red winged, 251.
Blanchard, C. H., 208, 299.
Blasting at Copper Co., 17.
Blossoming Valley, Utah Land
of, X.
Blue Bell Mine, 209.
Blue Springs, 232.
Boastful Daffodil, The, 268.
Boggs, Lilburn W., 56, 69, 73.
Bonner, Geraldine, 277.
Bonneville, Capt., 155.
Lake, 3, 156, 273.
Book Cliff Coal Fields, 214.
Book of Mormon, 345.
On Polygamy, 119.

362

Index

National Parks, 183.
Bountiful, 109.
Bowery, 137, 313.
Bowles, Samuel, (q.) 7.
Bowring, Mrs. 139.
Boy Scouts, Dr. Plummer with,
261.
Branches of Mormon Church,
335^.
Brant, Black, 258.
Brassifield, Newton, Murdered,
117.
Brenchley, Julius, 373.
Bridger, Fort, 105, 113.
Bridges, Natural, of Utah,
235-345.
Discovered, 238.
Brighton, 228.
Brocchus, Associate Justice, 110.
Brown's Hole, 27.
Brimhall, Geo. A. Pres., (q.)
341.
Bryce Canyon, An Amphithe
ater OF Erosion, 193-4, 231.
Buchanan, Pres., Ill, 114.
Building a State, 107-118.
Bull, W. H., 186.
Buncombe Mob, 70.
Burton, Robt. F., (q.) 8, 133,
273.
Butcher Bird, 250.

Cable in Zion Canyon, 186.
Cache Cave, 19.
National Forest, 218.
Caine, John T., 139.
Cannon, Frank J., (q.) 84, 92.
Geo. Q. (q.), 133.
Tracey Y., 315.
Canyon, American Fork, 4.
Alkali, 36.
Big, 10.
Bingham, 16.
Brigham's, 12.
Chaco, 31, 38.
City Creek, 14.
Colorado, 372, 273.
Coon's, 12.
Cottonwood, Big, 14, 238.
Little, 14, 228
Devil, 36.
Echo, 11, 18.
^migration, 8, 11, 13, 14,

Grand, Physical Geology of,
373.
Hatchberry, 41.
Long, 36.
Mill Creek, 14.
Nine Mile, 31.
Parley's, 14.
Square Tower, 41.
Weber, 21.
Carbonate Mine, 207.
Carbon County, 31.
Carlton, A. B., 375.
Carmichael, Sarah, 374.
Caroyln Bridge, 239.
Carrying Companies, 109.
Carthage, 75, 76, 77, 98, 99.
Castles, Ancient, 41.
Hovenweap, 41.
Valley Coal Fields, 214.
Cave Dwellings, 31 et seq.
Cedar City, 24, 114, 232.
Tree's Love, 286.
Valley, 270.
Celestial Marriage, 350.
Centennial — Eureka Qaims,
208.
Centerville, 109.
Central Pacific Ry., 334.
Chaco Canyon, 31, 38.
Mesa, 31.
Chickadee, 248, 252.
Church, Sovereignty of the, 335.
City of the Saints, (q.) 8, 373.
Clark, Genl., 70.
Clarke, Senator W. A., 327.
Clawson, Hiram B., 137.
Clayton, Prof., 208.
Cliff Dwellings, 31 et seq.
Qimate of Utah, ix, 6.
Clive, C, 139.
Coal Fields, 314.
Cody, Col. W. F., 281.
Colfax, Schuyler, 7.
Colob Plateau, 179.
Colorado, Canyons of the 272,
273.
River, 5, 214.
Colossal Natural Bridges of
Utah, 335-345.
Conan Doyle, (q.) 277.
Conferences of the Church,
335.
Confessions, J. D. Lee's, 277,
Congress Memorialized, 109.

Index

363

Connor, Col. P. E, 116, 307.
Cotton Grown in Utah, 332.
Cottonwood Canyon, Big, 14.
Little, 14.
Council Bluffs, 101.
Country Life in America, (q.)
253.
Courage of Capt. Plum, 279.
Cowdery, Oliver, 52, 68.
Creeper, Brown, 248.
Crittenden, Fort, 116.
Cruising among the S. L. Is
lands, 282.
Culmer, Harry L. A., 275, 288
et seq., 318.
Cummings, Dr. Byron, (q.) 31,
35, 43, 242 et seq.
Melvin Earl, 305.
Cumorah, 51.
Curwood, James Oliver, 379.

Daffodil, The Boastful, 268.
Dallin, Cyrus, 208, 279, et seq.,
319.
Dandy Crossing, 338.
Danites, 276.
Deacon, Office of, 339.
Delegate Babbitt, 109.
Dellenbaugh, F. S., 34, 178
et seq.
Denver & Rio Grande Ry., 325.
De Lamar, Col. J. R., 211-
Derr, Wm., 139.
Deseret Academy of Arts, 294.
News, 348.
Territory of, 109.
Desert of S. E. Utah, 23.
Chipping Sparrow, 250i.
Horned Lark, 249.
Sage Thresher, 350.
Sparrow, 350.
Devil's Canyon, 36.
Slide, 168.
Dinah Creek Pass, 164.
IDinosaur National Mon., 164.
Dixieland, 232.
Dixie Natl. Forest, 233.
-Sevier Natl. Forest, 232.
Dixon, Wm. Hepworth, 280.
Doctrines, Peculiar of Mor
monism, 343-351.
Dominguez, Padre, 42.

Donahue, Owen, 209.
Doniphan, Genl., 71.
Douglas, Stephen A., 73.
Douglas, Fort, 309, 320.
Doves, Mourning, 348.
Doyle, Conan, 277.
Drainage of Utah, 5.
Drama in Utah, 138.
Drive Out the Mormons, 98
et seq.
Dry Farming, 6.
Duck Springs, 233.
Dutton, Clarence E., (q.) 23,
160, 170-192, 272.

Eagle, 350.
Gate, 319.
Mine, 309.
Echo Canyon, 11, 18.
Education in Utah, 146-154.
and Brigham Young, 146.
Elders in the Church, 330.
Ellen Peak, 163.
Ellsworth, Mt., 163.
Emigration Canyon, 8, 11, 13.
Emma Mine, 307.
England, B. Young in, 93.
Escalante Desert, 3.
Padre, 42, 271.
Experimental Station, 233.
Exploring Expedition, Ma
comb's, 38, 271.
Across Great Basin, 270.
Colorado River, 171.
Great Salt Lake, 369.
Eureka Hill Mine, 208.
Expositor, The, 76.
Esra the Mormon, (q.) 134.

Fairbanks, Avard, 397.
J. B., 395 et seq.
Fairchild, President, Explodes
Spaulding Theory, 347.
Farming, Dry, 6.
Far West, 67, 71, 72.
Ferrier, John, 278.
Fewkes, Dr. J. W., (q.) 42.
Fillmore, 109.
-Fishlake Natl. Forest, 218.
Finch House, 248.

364

Index

Fire Fighting in Natl. Forests,
218.
Fish' and Game Dept, 231.
Hatchery, State, 232.
Lake, 230.
Lake Natl. Forest, 330.
Flagstaff Mine, 207.
Flickers, 347, 348.
Florence, Neb., 101, 106.
Floyd, Camp, 116.
Fly Catchers, 248.
Folsom, W. H., 137, 313.
Forbes-Robertson, 145.
Ford, Gov., 75, 76, 77.
Forest Experiment Station, 223.
Forests, National, of Utah,
216-234.
Mountains in, 217.
Foreword, v.
Fort Douglas, 374.
Founder of Mormonism, 380.
Freedom to Worship, v.
Fremont River, 5.

Gallatin, Mo., 69.
Garden City, 384.
Garfield Smelters, 213.
Gemini Mine, 308.
General Glimpses of the
Land, 1-30.
Gentiles, Influence of, x.
Murdered, 117.
Geology of Utah, 155-168.
Grand Canyon District, 273.
Henry Mts., 272.
High Plateaus of Utah, (q.)
23, 272.
Uinta Mtns., 371.
Gilbert, G. K., 155, 156, 163,
272, 273.
Gibbon, T. E, 335.
Gila Monster, 178.
Glaciation of Uinta and Wa
satch Mtns., 158.
God Like Man, 350.
Golden Plates, 51.
Gold Finch, 251.
Goose, Canada, 258.
Cackling, 258.
Wild Snow, 358.
Grand Canyon of Colorado,
272-3.
River, 5, 27, 28, 29, 35.

Grant, Pres. Heber J., 333.
Gray Cliff, 165.
Grazing in Natl. Forests, 222.
Great Basin, 2, 3, 6, 34, 155.
Salt Lake, 2, 3, 5, 7, 253, 273,
385. Desert, 3, 350.
Trail, 281.
Green River, 5, 27, 38, 39, 31.
Grey, Zane, 23, 335, 336, 379.
Grouse, Dusky, 352.
Ruffled, 252.
Sage, 252.
Grow, Henry, 313.
Gull, Sea, 258.
Gun-Grabbing Johnny, (q.) 363.
H
Hachberry Canyon Ruins, 41.
Hadley, Albert Whipple, 285.
Mormon Rhymes, 287.
Hamblin, Jacob, 171.
Hammond, Scout Executive,
261.
Handcart Brigade, 103 et seq.
Harris, Martin, 51, 68.
Harte, Bret, 324.
Hat Island, 353 et seq.
Hatchery, State Fish, 233.
Haun's Mill, 71.
Hayden, F. V., 33.
Peak, 230.
Surveys, 271.
Hawks, Marsh, 247.
Sparrow, 347.
Western Red-Tailed, 247.
Henry Mtns., 163.
Heritage of the Desert, (q.)23.
Heron, Blue, 358.
Higbee, Elias, 73.
Highland Boy Mine, 211.
High Priest, 339 et seq.
Hill, Thos., 288.
Hilliers, Mt, 164.
Hiram, 53.
History of Utah, Dramatic, v.
Holden, Bert, 308, 209.
Holmes, Mt., 164.
Horsley, Harry, 139.
Horseshoe House, 41.
Hotel Utah, 309, 318.
House Finch, 840.
Rock Valley, 165.
Wren, 248.

Index

365

House of Sham^, 279.
Hovenweap Ruins, 40, 41, 42.
Howe, E. D., 346.
Humming Birds, 348.
Hurlburt, Dr. P., 346.
Hurricane Ledge, 165.
Hyde, Orson, 333.
Hydro-Electric Development, 7,
323.
Hymns, Mormon, 65.
Hyrum Smith, 77.

Illiteracy in Utah, 154.
Indian War, 109.
Influence of Utah upon Lit
erature, 269-387.
Inman, Col. Henry, 381.
Irrigation and the Mormons,
195-306, 6.
Investigations in Utah, 201
et seq.
Island Antelope, 13, 283.
Islands of Salt Lake, 383.
Ivins, Anthony W., Pres., 333.

Jackling, D. C, 211.
jfackson County, 54.
Jacob's Pool, 165.
Jays, Long Crested, 248.
Rocky Mountain, 248.
Woodhouse, 248.
Jensen, W. F., 393.
Jordan River, 5, 350:
Jorgensen, Chris., 288.
Journey to Great Salt Lake,
273
Judd, Neil M., 43.
Juncos, 247. K
Kaibab Plateau, 233.
Kaiparowits Plateau, 4.
Kamas Prairie, 4.
Katchina Bridge, 239.
Kanab, 24.
Kane, Thos. L., 114.
Keith, Wm., 288.
Keys of the Priesthood, 331
et seq.
Kidder, Alfred V., 35, 36.
Kimball, Ed. P., 315.
Heber C, 91, 333.
Mrs., 126-7.

Kingbirds, 248.
King's Peaks, 227.
Kirkham, Reuben, 295.
Kirtland, 58, 64, 68, 69, 91.
Temple, 65.
Kiskadden, Mrs. Asenath, 143.
Kivas, 37.
Knapp, Geo. L., (q.) 84, 92.

Labyrinth Canyon, 35.
Creek, 29.
Laccolltes, 164, 272:
Lagoon, 321.
Lambdin, Wm., 346.
Lambourne, Alfred, 140.
Land Classified in Natl. For
ests, 322.
Lands of the Arid Region, 272.
Lark, Desert Horned, 349.
La Sal National Forest, 318.
Leavitt M. B., (q.) 137.
Lee, John D., 115, 377.
Lehi, 109.
Liberty Jail, Prophet in, 71.
Liberty Park, 330.
Library, Mormon, xii.
Thomson's, 323.
Lincoln, Pres., 117, 133.
Linnets, 347.
Lion House, 304, 319.
Of the Lord, 377.
Literature, Utah's Influence
On, 269-287. _
Livestock on National Forests,
221.
Logan, 324.
Valley, 5.
Long Canyon, 36.
Horace J. Discovers Bridges,
238
Valley, 165.
Lucas, Genl. Sam. D., 71.
Ludlow, Fitz Hugh, (q.) 126.
Lund, 233.
Prof. Anthony C, 317.
Lyne, Thos. A., 138, 139.
Lynne, 109. M
Macomb, Capt. J. N., (q) 28,
32, 271.
Magpie, Western, 248.

366

Index

Majors, Wm., 394.
Maiben, Mrs.. 139.
Mammoth Cave, 232.
Springs, 232.
Manchester, N. Y., 51.
Mancos Canyon, 31.
Ruins, 32.
Man Like God, 350.
Manti National Forest, 218.
Manuscript Found, 346.
March from Nauvoo, v, 98 et
seq.
Marvin, Mt., 231.
Marriage, Celestial, 350.
Plural, 120.
Martial Law Declared, 112.
Marryat, Capt., 277.
Martin, Edward, 103.
Marysvale, 335.
McChrystal, John, 309.
McClellan, J., Organist, 315.
McElmo Ruins, 32, 36.
McGuire, Don, 33.
Mead, Ellwood, (qL) 301 et seq.
Meadow Larks, 347, 251.
Melchisedek Priesthood, 329 et
seq.
Memorial to Congress, 109.
Merriam, Florence B. (q.) 280«
Mesa Verde Ruins, 43.
Metaphysics of Mormonism,
280.
Migrations of Mormons, v.
Wonderful, vi.
Militia, 73.
Orders to, 113.
Millard, Charley, 139.
Millenial Star, 93.
Miller, Eleazer, 91.
Joaquin, (q.) 349, 376.
Minard, F. H., 211.
Minindoka Forest, 218.
Mines and the Ore Deposits
OF Utah, 206-215.
Mining and Scientific Press,
(q.) 15.
Camps Opposed, x.
Industry, 6.
Missions, 335.
Missionary System, Mormon,
352-357.
Missouri Mobs, 55 et seq.
Mormons Move to, 54.
Mitchell, Arthur, 395.

Modern Irrigation and the
Mormons, 195-205.
Mormon, Book of, 50 et seq.,
79, 119, 345.
Church, Organization of,
328-342.
A Restoration, 343.
Not a Sect, 352.
Belief, vi.
Control in Politics, xi.
Girl, 279.
Library, 269.
Village, My Summer in a,
280.
Rhymes, Hadley's, 287.
Mormons, King of, 279.
and Irrigation, 195-205.
Driven Out, 98 etseq.
Mormonism, (q.) vii.
Author's Attitude Towards,
vii.
Origin of, and Joseph
Smith, 47-81, 280.
Metaphysics of, 280.
Unveiled, 346.
Monmouth, 73.
Monsieur Violet, 277.
Montezuma Creek, 35, 36.
Monticello, 35.
Monument Park, 289.
Monument to Pioneers, 319.
Moonlight on Weber River,
293.
Moran, Thomas, 288.
Moroni, The Angel, 51.
Morrill, Justine S., 116.
Morris. 139.
Mountain Art, 276.
Big, 10.
Little, 10.
Meadows Massacre, 114.
Of Utah, 3, 4, 317, 227, 230.
Mount Abajo, 4, 217.
Bear River, 5, 217.
Henry, 4.
La Sal, 4, 29, 217.
Navaho, 4.
Oquirrh, 10, 13, 15.
Timpanogos, 4.
Wasatch, 15.
Uinta, 15.
Mukuntuweap, 160-192.
Murder of Two Gentiles, 117,

Index

367

My Summer in a Mormon Vil
lage, 280. N
Narrows, 31.
National Forests of Utah,
216-234.
Natural Bridges of Utah,
Colossal, 235-245.
National Monument, 240.
Nauvoo, 72, 73, 98.
Charter of, 75.
Ejcodus from, 102 et seq.
Seized by Enemies, 102.
Nebo, Mt., 230.
Nephi, 3, 52, 230.
Neslen, Robt., 139.
Nevada, 116.
Nightingale, Northern, 249.
Nine Mile Canyon, 31.
Nonnezoshle Boco, 341.
Northern Nightingale, 249.
Nut-hatches, 248.

Oberlin College Library, 348.
Observation, Training of Pow
ers of, 366.
Office Building, L. D. S., 318.
Officials of Mormon Church,
331 et seq.
Ogden, 109.
River, 5.
Omaha, 101.
Ontario Mine, 307.
Opalescent Valley, The, 169-
192.
Oquirrh, Mtns., 10, 12, 13, 15.
Ore Deposits of Utah, (q.) 1,
157.
Trains, 17.
Oregon Short Line, 325.
Organ, Tabernacle, 315.
Organization of the Mormon
Church, 328-343.
Of City and County, Salt
Lake, 108.
Origin of Mormonism and Jo
seph Smith, 47-81.
Orioles, 247.
Ottinger, Geo. M., 139, 294.
Out of Great Tribulation,
98-106.

Outing, (q.) 383.
Overland Guide, (q.) 21.
Pony Express, 294.
Owachomo Natural Bridge, 240.
Owls, Desert, 250.
Screech, 247, 251.
Short-Eared, 247, 251.

Pangultch, 193.
Lake, 233.
Paragoonah Ruins, 43.
Paria Creek, 165.
Partridge, Bishop, 56.
Parunuweap, 180.
Patriarch, 330.
Presiding, 333.
Patterson's Printing Est, 346.
Pajme, Ninetta Eames, 262.
Payson, 109.
Peculiar People, vi.
Pelicans, 253 et seq.
Peniston Opposes Mormons, 69.
Pennell, Mt., 164.
Pennellen Pass, 164.
Penrose, Chas. W., Pres., 332.
Phelps, W. W., Hymns of, 65,
356.
Pidgin, Charles Felton, 279.
Pikyabo Natural Bridge, 243.
Pilgrim's Migration, v.
Pine Valley Mtns., 283.
Pioneer's Day, 321.
Monument, 319.
Pipe Springs, 166.
Pitfs Brass Band, 136.
Placer Mines, 214.
Plague of Crickets, 199.
Playhouse, A, 140.
Player, Recollections of a, 142.
Players at S. Lake Theater,
141.
Plateau Province, 2, 3.
Pleasant Grove, 4.
Plum, Courage of Capt., 279.
Plummer, Dr. C. G., xii, 246
et seq., 253, 260^368.
Plural Marriage, Revelation on,
120.
Polygamy in Utah, 119-134,
vi, 110, 116.
Forbidden, 118.
Pool of Enchantment, 306.

368

Index

Powell, John Wesley, 157, 169,
195, 272.
^Sevier Natl. Forest, 218, 220.
Pottery, 39.
Pratt, Parley, 103.
President, Mormons Appeal to,
63.
Of Mormon Church, 330.
Presidency, The First, 330.
Priest, 338.
High, 330.
Priesthood, Aaronic, 329 et seq.,
345.
Authority of, 336.
In Mormon Church, 329, 345.
Melchizedek, 329 et seq.
Primary Officers of Mormon
Church, 329.
Promontory Point, 324.
Prophet, 330.
Provo, 109, 326.
River, 4, 5, 236.
Putnam, Orion, 186, 299.
Q
Quail, Bob-White, 251.
California Crested, 251.
Mountain, 351.
Quincy, 111., 73, 73, 99.
Whig, 101.
Quorum, 330 et seq.

Raft River, 6.
Railways in Utah, 324-327, 6,
117.
Rainbow Bridge, 241.
Trail, 235, 279.
Range in National Forests, 223.
Reclaiming the Arid West, 195.
Reid's Peak, 330.
Relf, Geo. O., 318.
Remy and Brenchley, 122, 373.
Reorganized Church of L. D. S.,
879.
Revelations, 52, 345.
Given to Brigham Young, 86.
On Plural Marriage, 120.
Revelators, 330.
Rice, L. L., 347.
Richards, T. A., (q.) 15.
Willard, 78, 332.
Richfield, 331.

Riders of the Purple Sage, 279.
Rigdon, Sidney, 53, 68, 73, 95,
98, 331, 346.
Riley, L. Woodbridge, Repudi
ated, 280.
Rix, Julian, 288.
River, 3, 4.
Bear, 5.
Colorado, 5.
Dirty Devil, 231.
Duchesne, 329.
Fremont, 5, 331.
Grand, 5, 28.
Green, 5, 27, 28.
Jordan, 5, 250.
Ogden, 5.
Provo, 4, 5.
Raft, 6.
San Juan, 6.
Seven Mile, 331.
Sevier, 5.
Snake, 6.
Spanish Fork, 5.
Virgin, 5.
Weber, 4, 5.
Roberts, B. H., (q.) 48.
Robins, 847, 251.
Robinson Murdered, 117.
Rocky Mountain Saints, The,
281.
Rockville, 165.
Creek, 229.
Rockwell, Orrin P., 73.

Sage Thrasher, 250.
Grouse, 253.
Salina, 231.
Saltair, 310, 321.
Salt Lake City, 4, 8, 106, 107,
215, 313-323.
Army Enters, 114.
Birds in, 247.
Great, 5, 9, 107, 269.
Islands in, 282.
Route, 232, 325 et seq.
Theater, 135-145.
Tribune, 118.
San Juan Co., 32, 35.
River, 5, 29.
San Rafael Swell, 24, 160.
St George, 26, 233.
Screech Owls, 347.

Index

569

Scomp and Nattiral Bridges,
asa
Scribncr's Magasme, (q.) 25.
Sculftcsk and Art in Utah,
2S5-307.
Sea Gulls, 255 et seq., 267.
Montunent, 200, 2o7.
Secessions from Mormon
Church, 279.
Secular Authority, 132.
Seers, 33a
Settlements, Individuality of,
xii.
Seven Mile River, 231.
Seventy. Qiio'Ti™ of, 330 et scj.
SeWerXational Forest, 231.
Sevier River, 5.
Sham£. Reuse of. 279.
Shipapu Xatnral Bridge, 239.
Shunesburg. 165.
Sierra La Sal, 89.
Simpson, Capt J. H, 31. 270.
Siskins, Pine, 24T.
Smelting in Sal: Lake Ci:y, 214.
Smith. H\-rcra, T7, 317.
Hyrum' G., 334.
SiOTH, Joseph axb the Origix
OF M<»[MOXISSI, 4T-S1, vi.
Arrested, 73,
First President 331.
How Exp'.ain, 80.
Letter to Persecuted Saints,
5S.
Shot, 75.
Statue of, 317.
Joseph F., Pres,, 332, 34S.
Smithville. 32.
Snake River, 6.
Snow, EUiza R, 124.
Leroi C. xii.
Lorenzo, Pres., 123, 124. 332.
Social Hall, 137.
Soil, L" tab's. 6,
South Pass, 27.
Sovereignty of the Chnrti. 335.
Spanish Fork River, 5.
Sparrow, 247.
Chipping. 247. 230.
Desert. 250.
Hawk, 247.
Song. 250.
WTiite-Crownsd. 249.

Spaulding;, M. S^ 34S.
Theory, 345.
Springs in Utah, 232.
Spiritual H'ircs, 2S0.
Springfield Republican, (q.) 7.
Stakes, 330 <:f seq.
Stansbury, (q.) 27, 269.
Star, Evening and Morning, 53.
St.ate, Buildikg .\, 107-llS.
Steamboat Mtn, 165.
Stenhouse, T. H. B., SSL
Mrs., 2S3.
Stephens, E\-aii. 317.
Stolen Simbeam, 275.
Stoddart James H, 142.
Strang, James Jesse, 279.
Strawberry Reservoir, 229.
SuH Pictures of Rocky Moun-
taUs, (q.) 32,
Surouaro, 33,
Swallows, S4S.

Tabernade, Salt Lake, 312.
Choir. 136.
Organ, 315.
Talnwge, Apostle, J. E., (q.)
131.
Taylor, John, Pres., 7S, 3S2.
Teacher, Mormon, 3oS.
TcU It AU, 2SS.
Temple Blodc, 311.
Kirttend, Dedicated, 65.
Salt Lake. 311.
Territory of Deseret, 109.
Utah, UO.
T^rfiarv History of Grand Coh-
yo»l. 273.
Theater, The Salt L-vse, 135-
145.
Thomson, S. O, Private Li
brary, 323.
Timber, Native. 22a
Waste, 219.
Timpanogos, Mt, 4, 225.
Tintic Mme, 207 et seq.
Tithing System, 34a
Tobacco and the Mormons, 152.
Tomomm^s Ta»gU, 279.
Tommy Duck Springs, 232.
Towers, Accient. 4a 42.
Of tl-e \Trgin, 172.
Sqaare. 42.

370

Index

Transportatjon, 6.
Trumbull, Mt, 233.
TuUidge's Quarterly, 276, 294.
John, 294.
Tuttle, Bishop, (q.) 128, 131,
328.
Twin Peaks, 15. U
Uinta National Forest, 218.
Range, 3, 5, 227, 271.
Glaciation in, 158, 236.
Union Padfic Ry., 324.
Unit Type House, 42.
University of Utah, 153, 309,
310.
U. S. Smelting, Refining and
Mining Co., 206-9.
Utah, Bird Lefe in, 246-259.
Central Railway, 325.
Copper Co., 15, 207 et seq.
Descsifhon of, 1-30.
Gbisjoey of, 155-168.
Illiteracy in, 154.
Made a Territory, UO.
Museum, 45.
Railways m, 324-327.
TinAer, 22a
VaUey, 229.
War, 111.
Utah's Attractions, ix.
Climate, ix, 6.
Bjucational System, 146-
154.
Influence on Lueeature,
269-287.
Mines and Ore Deposits,
206^15.
Tran^wrtation, 6.
Soil, 6.

Valley, San Pete, 6.
Sevier, 6.
Utah, 229.
Valleys, Blossoming, x.
Van Buren, Pres., Appealed to,
72.
Van Vliet, Capt, 112.
Vermillion Cliflfs, 165.
Virgen Rio (same as Virgin).
Virgin River, 5, 165, 190, 234.
Towers of, 172.

Vision, Joseph Smith's, 49, 317.
Vulture, 250. W
Walker Bros., 294.
Wall, CoL Enos A., 210.
Wandamere, 321.
Warblers, Audubon, 248.
Yellow, 248.
Ward, 334.
Bishops, 338.
Ward, G«>rge, 304.
Warren, Major, lOL
Wasatch Natl. Forest 218, 225.
Range, 3, 4, 5, 15, 228.
Glaciation in, 158.
Water Power, 7, 22Z, 225.
Weber Canyon, 21, 168.
River, 4, 5,
River, Moonlight on, 293.
Weggeland, Daniel A., 294.
Western Padfic Ry., 325.
Wesiekn Physiclan-Natural-
IST, A, 260-268.
Wheeler Survey, 43, 156, 271.
Whitingham, Vermont, 91.
White Canyon, 238 et seq.
Whitmer, David, 68.
Whitney, Horace G., 138.
Orson F., (q.) 206.
Widtsoe, John, Dr., 6. 153.
Williams, Fredk. G., 332.
Willie, James G., 103.
Wilson, Harry Leon, 277.
Winter Quarters, 101 et seq.
Wre in Zion Canyon, 186.
Wonderland of the Wild West.
27Sl
Woodpeckers, 248.
Woodruflf. Wilford, Pres., 332.
Manifest against Polygamy,
118, 129.
Word of Wisdom, 80.
Wren, House, 248.
Wylie's Camp in Zicm NatL
Parl^ 185.

Yard, Robt Sterling, (q.) 175,
177.
Yarrow, Dr. H. C, 43.
Yellow Jacket Ruins, 36, 41, 42.

Index

371

Young, Brigham, Religionist
AND Statesman, 82-97, yi.
And His Mormon Empire,
(q.) 84.
Bom, Whitingham, Vt, 91.
And Education, 146.
And Irrigation, 197.
Conflict with S. Rigdon, 95.
Guidance of Settlers, xiL
His One Revelation, 86.
In Charge of Exodus, lOL
In literature, 277.
Lient-Genl. of Militia, lOL
Made President 332.
Missionary in England, 93.

Opposed to Mining Camps,
X, 206.
Prophecy Concerning, 95.
Rebukes Brocchus, 110.
Levi Edgar, Prof., 43.
Mahonri, M., 200, 267, 304,
317.

Zion, City of, 53.
Land of, vi, 350.
National Park, 165, 169-192.
Z. C M. I., 119, 320.
Zion's Camp, 64, 92.

m

''ill.!''

iii, , .lii'afi