SALT LAKE CITY.
The Mormons.--Pilgrimage Across the Continent.--Site of Salt
Lake City.--A People of Workers.--Spread of Mormons through
other Territories.--City of the Saints.--Streets.--Fruit and
Shade Trees.--Irrigation.--The Tabernacle.--Residences of the
late Brigham Young.--Museum.--Public Buildings.--Warm and Hot
Springs.--Number and Character of Population.--Barter System
before Completion of Railroad.--Mormons and Gentiles.--Present
Advantages and Future Prospects of Salt Lake City.
Of all the cities which have sprung into being and grown and prospered,
since the discovery of the American continent, there is not one with
which is associated so much interest, and which attracts such universal
curiosity as Salt Lake City. From the time of the so-called discovery of
the Book of Mormon, in 1827, by Joseph Smith, through all the wanderings
of the adherents of Mormonism, beginning with the organization of the
"Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," in Manchester, New York,
including its removal to Kirtland, Ohio, and the establishment of a
branch church in Jackson County, Missouri; its transplanting to Nauvoo,
Illinois; the temporary sojourn of its adherents in Iowa; and the final
exodus, in 1847, over the then almost unknown and unexplored plains and
mountains of the great west, until they reached the Land of Promise,
lying between the Wasatch Range and the Sierra Nevadas, and there
settled themselves permanently, to build up literally a "Kingdom of
Christ upon the earth," the Mormons have been in more senses than one a
peculiar people. They have been unpleasantly peculiar in their advocacy
and practice of polygamy, and during their early sojourn at Salt Lake,
in their defiance of the United States Government. In some other
respects they have challenged the admiration of the world, and have set
patterns in industry, and in a system of government, which seems to
consider the well-being of all, both of which might be imitated to
advantage by the "Gentiles" who affect to despise them.
After a weary pilgrimage through a wilderness far greater than that
traversed by the Israelites in days of old, the Mormons found their
Canaan in an immense valley, from four thousand to six thousand feet
above the level of the sea, and walled in by mountain ranges which
seemed to furnish natural barriers against the incroachments of an
antagonistic civilization. This valley, the geologist said, was the
bottom of a great, pre-historic sea, which by some mighty convulsion of
nature had been lifted up from its original level, and its outlet cut
off, and, like the Caspian Sea and others, was left to shrink by
evaporation. In the deepest depression of this valley still remained all
that was left of this ancient inland ocean, reduced now to seventy-five
miles in length and thirty in breadth, with an average depth of but
eight feet. Still holding in solution a large proportion of the salts of
the greater sea, its waters form one of the purest and most concentrated
brines in the world, containing twenty-two per cent of chloride of
sodium, slightly mixed with other salts. All through the valley of the
Great Salt Lake there are salt and alkaline deposits, evidencing the
former presence of water. The valley seemed barren and uninviting; yet
in it, as offering a refuge from the persecutions which they had
suffered in the east, the Mormons decided to establish their church and
build their homes. They found the soil, barren as it looked, would grow
grass, grain and fruits; and though the climate is changeable, the
winter cold, with deep snows, and the heat of summer intense, they had
faith to believe that they could endure whatever natural disadvantages
they could not overcome, and that they should in time receive the reward
of their piety and industry.
Their chief town and ecclesiastical capital was located on the eastern
bank of the river Jordan, between Lake Utah, a beautiful body of fresh
water lying to the southward, and Great Salt Lake, lying twenty miles to
the northward. The new settlement was eleven hundred miles west of the
Mississippi, and six hundred and fifty miles east-northeast of the then
scarcely heard of city of San Francisco. Its site extended close up to
the base of the great mountains on the north, while to the southward its
view spread over more than a hundred miles of plain, with a range of
rugged mountain peaks, snow-capped and bold, lying beyond. A grander
outlook could scarcely be imagined.
In the laying out of the city the fact was kept in view that it was for
a people of workers, each one of whom must be self-sustaining. In truth,
the great success of these people is due to the fact that no class of
drones has been recognized and provided for. All, from the highest to
the lowest, were expected to work, church officials as well as laymen;
and prosperity has attended industry, as it always does. The wilderness
and solitary place were glad for them, and the desert was made to
rejoice and blossom as the rose; and a mighty nation within a nation has
been built up in the valley of Utah, protected by its mountain
fastnesses. The Mormons have become a strong and prosperous people, and
have not only possessed themselves of Utah, but have sent out colonies
to Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho and Arizona, which have
prospered and increased, until they now practically control those
Territories.
[Illustration: MORMON TEMPLE AND TABERNACLE, SALT LAKE CITY.]
It is not my province to speak of the Mormons from either a religious or
political standpoint. Their material prosperity one cannot fail to see,
and a truthful historian must note it. The "City of the Saints," as Salt
Lake City is sometimes called, is doubly interesting, from its history
and from its peculiar features, so unlike those of any other city. The
streets are one hundred and twenty-eight feet wide, crossing each other
at right angles, an eighth of a mile apart, each square thus formed
containing ten acres. Each square is divided into eight lots, measuring
ten by twenty rods, and containing one-fourth of an acre. Several of the
squares in the business quarter of the town have been cut across since
the original laying out, forming cross streets. The streets are lined
with trees, while streams of running water course down each side of
every street, being brought from the neighboring mountains, ten thousand
feet high, furnishing a pure water supply, and irrigating the gardens.
Almost every lot has an orchard of pear, apple, plum, apricot, and peach
trees, and Utah furnishes large quantities of fresh and dried fruit for
the eastern markets. Apricots, which in the east are almost unknown,
sometimes grow as large as eastern peaches, from six to eight inches in
circumference. Locust, maple and box-elder are the favorite shade trees,
and these grow luxuriantly. When, however, their roots strike soil from
which the alkali has not yet been washed, their leaves turn from a dark
green to a sickly yellow. But irrigation washes out this alkali, and the
trouble from it grows less every year.
Salt Lake City is divided into twenty wards, nearly every one of which
has a square. Every ward has its master, who superintends the public
improvements, and sees that every man does his share without shirking.
The houses are generally of adobe (sun-dried bricks), though a few of
the newer business blocks are handsome and commodious stone structures.
Most of the dwelling houses are small, and but a single story in height,
having separate entrances when there is more than one wife in the
family. The city is not an imposing one. The wide streets, large grounds
around each dwelling, and low, small houses, give it more the appearance
of an overgrown village than that of a city. Nevertheless, it cannot be
denied that the plan upon which it is built secures to its inhabitants
the maximum of comfort, health and cleanliness. There are no narrow and
stifling streets, overshadowed by tall buildings; no dirty alleys; no
immense crime and pestilence-breeding tenement houses. Each little
dwelling has its garden and orchard, securing to each family the
blessings of fresh vegetables and fruit, and making each in a measure
self-dependent. The air is pure, blowing down the valley from the
mountain heights; and no foul vapors from half protected sewers or
reeking courts poison it.
The chief business thoroughfares are Main and Temple streets. The former
is entirely devoted to trade, while church edifices are found in the
latter. The Tabernacle is, of course, the most prominent object which
meets the eye of the traveler as he arrives in Salt Lake City, standing
out, as it does, in all its huge proportions, surrounded by the tiny
homes of the people. It is on Temple street, in the heart of the city,
and is entirely without architectural beauty, its predominant features
being its hugeness and its ugliness. It is an enormous wooden structure,
oval in form, with an immense dome-like roof, supported by forty-six
sandstone pillars. It will seat fifteen thousand persons, and is used
for the services of the church, lectures and public gatherings. It
contains one of the largest organs in America. It is inclosed within a
high wall, and a little to the east of it, within the same inclosure,
are the foundations of a new temple, estimated to cost ten millions of
dollars, but which will not probably be finished for many years to come.
An inferior adobe building, also within the walls, is the celebrated
Endowment House, where are performed those sacred and mysterious rites
of the Mormon Church which no Gentile may look upon, and where the
Saints are sealed to their polygamous wives.
On South Temple street, east of the Tabernacle, is the group of
buildings known as Brigham Block, inclosed, like the former, by a high
stone wall, and comprising the Tithing House, the Beehive House, the
Lion House, the office of the _Deseret News_, and various other offices
and buildings. The Beehive House and the Lion House constituted the
residences of the late Brigham Young and eighteen or twenty of his
wives. A handsome structure nearly opposite, the most pretentious
structure in Salt Lake City, and known as Amelia Palace, was built by
Brigham Young, for his favorite wife, Amelia. The theatre is a large
building with a gloomy exterior, but handsomely fitted up inside. It is
a favorite resort of the Saints, who make it a source of innocent
recreation, and entertain no prejudices against it, permitting their
wives and children to appear upon its boards. One of the daughters of
Brigham Young was at one time an actress at this theatre.
On South Temple street, opposite the Tabernacle, is the Museum,
containing interesting products of Mormon industry; specimens of ores
from the mines of Utah, and precious stones from the desert; a fair
representation of the fauna of the Territory; relics of the mound
builders; articles of Indian use and manufacture, and other curiosities,
which the visitor may behold on the payment of a small admission fee.
The City Hall, which is at the present time used by the Territorial
Government, is a handsome building, erected at a cost of sixty thousand
dollars. In its rear is the city prison. A co-operative store in
successful operation will be found occupying a handsome building on East
Temple street. The Deseret National Bank, at the corner of East Temple
and South First streets, is also a fine building. The two principal
hotels of Salt Lake City are the Walker House, on Main street, and the
Townsend House, at the corner of West Temple and South Second streets.
With all its quaintness and want of resemblance to other cities, it has
adopted the system of horse cars, which run on the principal streets,
and make all parts of the city accessible.
About one mile distant from the city are the Warm Springs, issuing from
the limestone rock at the foot of the mountains. The water of these
springs contains lime, magnesia, iron, soda, chlorine, and sulphuric
acid, and their temperature is lukewarm. A bath in them is delightful,
and beneficial, if not prolonged. Private bathing apartments are fitted
up for the use of bathers. A mile further north are the Hot Springs,
also strongly sulphurous, and with a temperature of over 200 deg.. Eggs may
be boiled in these springs in three minutes, ready for the table. The
water from these springs forms a beautiful lake, called Hot Spring Lake,
which practically destroys all agriculture and vegetation for hundreds
of yards within the vicinity. Strange as it may seem, the hot water does
not prevent the existence of some kinds of excellent fish, among which
have been seen some very fine, large trout.
The population of Salt Lake City is something over twenty thousand
persons, of whom about one-third are Gentiles and apostate Mormons. This
population is made up of all nationalities, apostles and missionaries
being continually sent out to nearly every part of the civilized world,
to make proselytes, and bring them to the fold. These converts to the
faith are usually from the lower classes, ignorant and superstitious;
and as a consequence the intellectual and social standards of Salt Lake
City are not high. But with their new faith these people acquire habits
of industry, if they never possessed them before; and the conditions of
the city are favorable for growth in certain directions. Their children
are educated and brought up to a higher position than that occupied by
their parents; so that whatever may be our opinion as to the advantages
or disadvantages, from a religious point of view, in their conversion to
the Mormon faith, materially, intellectually and socially they have many
of them undoubtedly made a change for the better. They are taken away
from the stationary conditions of life in the old world, and
transplanted into a new and growing country, where there is plenty of
room and incentive for progress and expansion. Though the first
generation do not always avail themselves of this room, nor even the
second, to its fullest extent, ultimately these people will come to
compare favorably with other classes of American citizens.
The completion of the Union Pacific Railroad, although it deprived the
Mormons of that isolation which they sought, has been of vast benefit to
them in material ways. It is said that when the city was first settled
the whole community could not have raised one thousand dollars in cash.
And up to the completion of the railroad nine-tenths of the business of
the Mormon people was conducted on a system of barter. A writer thus
facetiously describes the condition of things at that period: "A farmer
wishes to purchase a pair of shoes for his wife. He consults the
shoemaker, who avers his willingness to furnish the same for one load of
wood. He has no wood, but sells a calf for a quantity of adobes, the
adobes for an order on the merchant, payable in goods, and the goods and
the order for a load of wood, and straightway the matron is shod. Seven
watermelons purchased the price of a ticket of admission to the theatre.
He paid for the tuition of his children seventy-five cabbages per
quarter. The dressmaker received for her services four squashes per day.
He settled his church dues in sorghum molasses. Two loads of pumpkins
paid his annual subscription to the newspaper. He bought a 'Treatise on
Celestial Marriage' for a load of gravel, and a bottle of soothing syrup
for the baby with a bushel of string beans."
There are not the most harmonious relations existing between the Mormon
and Gentile people of Salt Lake City. Each regards the other with
suspicion. The former look upon the latter as hostile to their faith,
and determined to destroy it. The Gentiles regard certain practices of
the Mormons with abhorrence, and themselves as at heart rebellious to
the government to which they have been compelled to submit. The leading
papers of the two factions are very hostile, and keep alive the feeling
of antagonism.
Lying between two prominent mountain chains, the chief city in a vast
valley which the enterprise of man has demonstrated to be fertile;
furnishing a depot of supplies, and a mart and shipping place for
produce and manufactures; Salt Lake City is destined to become an
important point in the western section of our country. Her future is
assured, even though the people who founded her, together with the faith
to which they cling, should disappear from the face of the earth, and be
forgotten, like the lost tribes of Israel, which they believe themselves
to represent. Essentially American in all her features--since no city of
the Old World, either ancient or modern, furnishes a prototype--and in
her very plan including certain sure elements of success, as our Western
States and Territories become filled up with a thriving and industrious
people, she will find herself the natural centre of a vast agricultural
and mining population, and continue to increase in importance and
prosperity.