LANDS OF THE GOLDEN WEST.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 45

LANDS OF THE GOLDEN WEST.

From the Notebook of H. P. and S. B. P.

VII.— LIFE IN MOKJIONDOS;.

The people of Salt Lake City, though patient and persevering, have not that wild headlong rush and dash about them so noticeable further west. A pall of contemplation seems to overshadow them. Life with the Mormon saint, whether in the sacred city or out in the distant counties, is a very serious matter. He seems to look at much of the beauty, the pleasures, and the Realities of life through spectacles tinged irith the sembrehues of sad experience. The elder women too seem solemn and sad. Whether it is the celestial marriage that is weighing down their inner feeling of robust, healthful life or not it is difficult to say. young children, however, seem perfectly happy. The cares of life sit lightly upon their young hearts, and existence to them appears a continually expandiog flower ever displaying to their astonished gaze fresh wonders. Beneath the surface of domestic concerns, however, one can picture the varied feelings of five or six sets of balf-sleters, all budding into interesting womanhood, chirping into the earn of their sad-faced mothers a glowing description of their half-sisters' dresses, yet all anxious to outshine the star of the family. Our New Zealand mothers with two or three marriageable daughters will he able to appreciate tho carking oares of a Mormon mother's life, and perhaps will ibot wender much at the touching sadness expressed in their faces. Happily or not, the iact is growing clearer that polygamy is losing ground, notwitstanding the fact that the United States President has quashed the convictions lately gained against the Mormons on the question, on the ground that 41 the people are a law-abiding and industrious race." However, on the other hand, young and old ran along in grooves and paths of life not yet entirely wedded to the jtrorld or its wild headlong rush for wealth. Though in every sense the people are advancing and prosperous, there does not seem to t>e the same greed of gain so noticeable in many other States. The present population of the city is about 68,000. There is in the immediate vicinity of Salt Lake City quite a number of interesting places. There are large smelting works, where one oan witness the latest scientific processes in full operation, and manufacturing establishments are fast springing up. The Great Ontario mine at Park City, iO mlleß away, is the largest in the world. Near the oity are gas wells and oil fields. Several of the wells already sunk are estimated to yield from 10,000.000 to 15,000,000 cubic feet of gas daily. Then there are the famous Dead Sea bathing establishments *nd pleasure resorts on the shores of- the lake, while nearer the city is the famous sulphur baths and hot springs. A dip in the Tepid waters of these baths is somnifio in a high degree. A magnificent supply of pure water is brought into the city, said to be capable of supplying the wants of a quarter of a million of people. In face of this faot, however, the people support no less than a score of hotels, to it will be conceded that temperance principles, as understood in this polony, find little favour with the people of Bait Lake. Yet, notwithstanding this, the Mormons are a very temperate people. There are no fewer than five daily papers published In, the oity, and almost every side of politics figs a fair chanoa of being heard. Feeling ijuns pretty high on many questions, and rides are taken on important issues that the most /profound thinkers of the age are unable to agree on. For instance, we attended a great gathering held in the theatre to discuss the Suestion of bimetallism and the purchase of Iyer by the United States. Delegates were present from a number of important western xoinhig States. Senators and governors were jon the platform, and " orated " on the subjeot. J^Hmost every kind of argument was adduced to prove that the stoppage of unlimited purchase of silver was 'the fulcrum that set the various forces on the down grade in rapid motion. One speaker thought that it was " nothing ] more nor less than treason to the west to refuse to maintain the parity of value," and that the great States of tho far west should declare for independence, arm themselves, and prepare for a bloody revolution if the legislature refused thorn their rlgtits or sacrificed their interests. The speaker was the Governor of an important State, and yet he felt himself free to talk about bursting up the Union. Another speaker considered that "it was nothing but the cursed English blood-sucking money-lenders that were drawing all the gold from the States, leaving us, gentlemen, nothing but workad-out mines, exhausted fields, and a cowed and brokenspirited race of miserable hangers-on." All this, remember, beoause the State Treasury Jbad been depleted in the purchase of millions of ounces of silver that can be mined In these rich mineral States as freely as iron or tin are mined in less rich mineral-bearing .countries, and was about to stop the purchase. Bat there are as many sides to the politics of this State as there are scales on a crocodile's back, and so plenty of elbow r«om is allowed for the five papers that have for their object the giving forth views to suit Ihe tastes of their various' readers. > -The Mormons have a very perfect system <tf electric tram lines, and one can travel over 'the 50 odd miles already open for a very Rifling sum. The site of the City as first surveyed comprised an area of some four miles square, or about 2600 acrei. It was cut up into square sections, the streets running, as preWiouW stated, at right angles. The purest of . Jrater was brought down from the neighbourIng mountains and made to run down the iitreeis. Everything points unmistakably 'to the method and system that seems to underlie the first great plan as we see it worked out on the surface. R. H. Burton tells us that " in the annals of domestic and addnced to equal the, £oai> the cheerfulness, and the enthusiasm of the peculiar saints of fche areway State of Utah, 11 And possibly Burton mat be right i at any rate these views sQ^£S.iQrjael Me* 80 i&tt » tttb &nd

tell of a past that we need not attempt to penetrate. As the afternoon sun is sinking in the west, and the reflections of the great lake glint out on the horizon, we hurry down to the Rio Grande W.K.R. in time to catch the eastward bound train. After we are comfortably peaked we take a last, parting ghmco ai the tall spires of the famous temple that none but the faithful are ever allowed to enter and the bare rugged hills that rise beyond. Then we think of the electric fans and the millions of little flies that torment one's existence, and thus thinking of the cuteness of the idea of the Mormon fly-catcher, our train steams out of the station.

Our route for a few miles lay along the Great Valley, and the first point of interest that we touch is the American Forks, a rather pretty little town on the eastern shore of Lake Utah— a beautiful sheet of fresh water. The lake is compared by the faithful to the Sea of Galilee or Lake of Tiberias of Palestine, and so is held in high repute. There is very little natural scenery around the lake to enhance its beauty, but the Mormons are fast effecting a change by planting trees In its vicinity. Between the Fork and Lehi is located one of the first beet sugar faotories established in the State of Utab, and laid to be the largest factory of its kind in the United States. The Great Valley of Utah is moßtly capable of irrigation and beet is largely cultivated by the Mormon settlers. The quality of augar produced is of a first class order— soft and white— and is used largely throughout the States. The beet land is of course highly cultivated, and every attention is given to the growing crop. Provo, a faw miles beyond this point, is another thriving little town, and has one of the largest woollen mills west of the great father of the waters, the Mississipi. It has a population of about 8000. It was between this point and Ogden that Brigham Young constructed his first railway,, thus bringing the whole of Utah Valley in touch with Salt Lake City. The pathetio side of life and the withering blast of civilisation, in the shaps of an asylum for the insane, is also represented here. Whether this indicates any special weakness on the part of the good folk of Provo ii somewhat difficult to ascertain.

The next point of interest we pass is near Castle Gate, about 60 miles further on. The railway'rune through what is oalled Price's Canon into the heart, of the range. This gate is considered to be quite eqnal in wild, rugged sublimity to the gateway leading to Garden of the Gods farther on. The two huge masses of rock that compose the Bides of the gate measure about 500 ft in height. The rocks are Btreaked with the staini of icon, and flra and pines grow about them, reflecting back in strong oontrast the everchangiDg shades of colour. Soon after leaving this station wd arrive at what is locally known as the " desert." In mapy respects, however, the desert is a very interesting spot. On the nerth side of the line, what are called the Book Cliffs rise up sheer like a wall 2000 ft above the plain. They remind one of the outworks of some anoient stronghold. The faces of the oliffa are worn and eaten into by the storms and frosts of ages, and diecloue delicate tracery and beautiful forms in the most lavish profusion. But they disclose what is of far more importance in thest regions, or will be in the near future— viz., tremendous seams of valuable coal, «aid to be the mo»t extensive deposit out west. This region is also rich in both minerals and native timber.

From here on to Crev&eie we pass through some wonderful scenery. The constant succession of wild glimpses of Nature that we get reveal the grandeur and sublime beauty of the Rooky Mountain*. In ascending the iteep grade of the outer range the couplings of our carriage give way. We have two powerful engines on. The night is silent and still except for the roar and puff, puff of our iron horses. It would have been almost certain destruction for the four carriagea behind ours bad not the air brakes stopped them before they got way on. As it was, we got a scare for a few seconds. The grade on some portions of the line is simply terrific, and to see the lumps of cinders and blazing sparks pouring out of the funnels one would almost conclude that a fireworks display was intended. We have just orossed the Utah line, and are now in the mining State of Colorado, and Crevasse i 3ft place of some little scenic interest. It is on the Grand river, and is surrounded by lovely : scenes— wild, rugged, and simple and quiet in j tone alternately. The valley widens and then closes in, then 'expandß and narrows again in the most surprising manner. In some places the water has eaten a deep chasm through the hard blue limestone clean down to the ejranite, in whioh the river flows on solemn and silent. There is said to be plenty of fish here, and some of our paseengers badly wanted to stay over a few days and try a little fishing. The idea of New Zealanders fishing in the Rocky Mountains 1 At the Grand Junotion, 330 miles from Salt Lake, we branch off the main line and go south j by way of the Rio Grande narrow gaage line. Almost immediately after leaving the junction the train drops down into the Red Canon. Right on from this point to the borders of Mexico the traveller passes through some of the most broken, twisted, and gnarled ecanery imaginable. Tree and rock and winding river all seem shaped in a strange conformity. Canons within canons, rocks heaped up in spires and domes, crested and adorned by the stunted cedars ; rivers leaping and foamirjg over rocky beds, then almost lost to view in some narrow, tortuous ravine. And all the while the train crawling and winding around bold cliffs or sharp headlands.- Sometimes the train is running along great red sandstone walls that tower above it hundreds of feet, while away down on the other side is the bed of the rushing river. These great gulches are in places thousands of feet deep, and have bean worn in the rocks by the oonstant friction of the rushing waters. The railway companies in constructing their lines over the Rooky Mountaiea found that these immense river chasms were the cheapest passes that could be found, and so they have been turned into paths over the broken ranges. But these wild mountain oafions have not been always as we find them to-day— silent and mysterious pathlines for the iron bone, No ; they have been something rnoremjihipast toftu that. a]qj>£ tfefl oottrH .ftLthg Qiatid.Caloa «

Colorado several lost oities have been found. On the broad ledges and in the deep recesses of the gorges, deserted and ruined buildings have been found that tell us a people unknown feo history have one time in the past lived and died in these Vild fastnesses. The-*e buildings are of stone, and there ar<j pi.-s-agts generally cut in the rcck-s leading tv »he .'ifcjh lableljmus abov:\ Tnis lells as that the people were in fear of pursuit, and were not the predominant race, but must have been driven into these rugged regions by a more powerful people. They mummied their dead in a somewhat similar manner to the Egyptians, rolling a cloth around the bodies, and then burying them in a dry chamber specially made for the purpose. The mummies are small and of slight build, and so far speculation seems to lean towards the belieE that they belonged to the white races. From Antonlto we run north again to Salida, on the head waters of the Arkansas river. This is the centre of a busy mining district, and is a thriving place. We run east from here to Pueblo, the junction of a number of lines. The country is cut up, and mining is carried on in every direotion. Minerals of all values are found here— gold, silver, tin, lead, and many, others. A large quantity of the ore is sent north to Denver, the capital of the State. From Pueblo wa run duo north, and break out of the Rocky Mountains at the beautiful little Palmer Lake. This is one of the lovelist sights one could imagine. The freshness of the scenery tells us that we have entered another and fairer land. The broad expanse of country before us, the tiny little lake of clear water nestling at '.the base of the hills, as it wore at our feet, while behind us we picture the snow-clad mountains and Marshall's Pass, 10,852Et, that we have crossed. Wa have a dip in the lake, and are indeed refreshed when we pursue our journey a little later. Just as our train is about to start we notice the conduotor tryiog to haul an Italian out of one of the carriages ; but the man from the sunny south does not seem to care about nuch attentions, and appears a bit riled. Gatting an opportunity to land ihe conductor one, he is about to rush back into the carriage. It soon appears, however, that he has determined men to deal with, for, like a flash, the conductor's " shooting iron " is out, and western land is soon master of the situation. These conductors shoot on sight, and are often compelled to übo violence In the carrying out of their duties. Our train steams away from Palmer Lake on the straight run for Denver, and In a short time we arrive at our destination, and soon forget all about the poor Italian's short ride in admiration of the Qaeen Oity of the Plains— Danver.