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XII.

UTAH SCENERY.

FROM the petty squabbles of discordant and rabid Mormons it is a relief to turn and gaze upon the panorama of natural beauties which, from dawn to sunset, is provided for the enjoyment of the dweller in Salt Lake City. Some of the noteworthy characteristics of the city are by no means unique. The streams of sparkling water which flow through the streets, the trees which shade the pathways and the ample gardens in which the houses stand are not more bright, abundant, and attractive than those of the Pyrenean town of Bagnères de Bigorre. But with this exception, comparison is hardly possible.

comparable.

The site as a whole is in

The elevation is 4,000 feet above the sea level. If not absolutely rainless, the region is one in which the rainfall is scanty. Hence the air is almost free from floating vapour, and the sky is seldom obscured by masses of cloud. The extreme purity of the atmosphere renders the new-comer

M

inexpert at calculating distances.

The mountain

slopes, which seem as if they were but a few yards from the city, are in reality several miles distant. But, if this miscalculation is sometimes disappointing, other effects due to the same cause are all the more impressive. The outlines of the far-off peaks and ridges, declivities and clefts are distinctly visible in every line of rugged contour or soft undulation.

Turning from the range of snow-crested mountains on the east of the city, another range is discernible across the valley beyond the western shore of the Great Salt Lake. The valley is more than forty miles broad. It is intersected by the Jordan which runs from Utah Lake several miles to the South and is absorbed in that inland sea of salt water, from which there is no outlet and in which there is no life. The valley appears to be wholly sage-brush which is worthless as food or fodder. Where this plant is abundant the chances are that nothing else will flourish in the bitter earth wherein it thrives. Here, however, the rich and nutritive bunch-grass is found also. Thus these plains are excellent grazing land for cattle.

covered by the

By accident I learned that this valley had a special attraction for the archeologist.

Indian

An

burial mounds of great antiquity are situated in its midst. These mounds contain the relics of tribes which are now extinct, having been driven away or exterminated by the Indians who, in their turn, have had to give place to the Mormons. English friend, a visitor like myself to this city and, unlike me, a well skilled archæologist, heard the tidings with delight, and made instant arrangements for a visit to the mounds. On enquiry, we learned that few persons knew their names, far less their history, and that hardly one cared a straw about them. The driver of a conveyance between the hotel and the city baths, professed to know where they were situated; he told us that the distance to them was eight miles and that his fare for the journey would be about one pound sterling. Closing with his terms, we started off on our quest. Taking the road which runs west, and crossing the Jordan, we then proceeded in a south-westerly direction. On our way we saw the half-finished canal which was undertaken at the command of Brigham Young with a view to repress discontent by finding employment for idle hands, and was also designed by him to prove that the age of miracles had not departed. If the canal had been finished and had served the intended purpose of bringing water from the Jordan to the city,

then a miracle would indeed have been wrought, for the water of the Jordan would have run uphill!

As

After being driven about in different directions across the plains, the driver told us that the mounds had changed their position. Certainly, no trace of them could be perceived. We questioned men who were tending cattle, and got some hints for our guidance. They had never seen Indian mounds, but they had heard of sand-hills. these were the mounds in question, we ascertained where they were situated, and at last, we reached them. It was evident that they were not natural formations. The labour of a few hours proved to us that they were in reality the places of sepulture of an ancient Indian tribe. Flint spear heads, flint arrow-heads, stone implements and fragments of rude potteryware, we disinterred from the sand. As the means at our disposal for making a thorough search were very imperfect and as the time in which to conduct it was very short, the total number of articles discovered was but small. All of them were found in the larger of the three mounds. It was something, though not much, to have satisfied ourselves as to the fact that in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake there are monuments of the buried past, and that the extinct Indians who once were the masters of this region have left behind

them lasting records of their customs and their character.

The Indians who once lived here first passed away; others of fiercer manners and greater spirit occupied their places; the latter being now forced to acknowledge the superiority of a still more valiant and powerful race, have become the dependents of the white men, and are themselves gradually disappearing from the earth. The Mormons have annexed Utah to the Territory of the pale faces; they have instituted a form of government according to their fancies; to all appearance, their wills are law here, nevertheless an authority stronger than their own is the actual lord of this place. Two miles to the east of the city, the stronghold of the real, though quiescent superior over this Territory is situated. On a plateau, to which the ascent is gradual but continuous, the troops of the United States are encamped, and the artillery of the United States is in position. The 'sconce' which Dugald Dalgetty persistently advised Sir Duncan Campbell to erect upon the round hill called Drumsnab' could not have been placed in a more commanding position than Camp Douglas is for the purpose it was designed to subserve. Behind it is a mountain chain rising to a great height, before and below it is the capital of