# History of Utah, 1540-1886/Chapter 11

CHAPTER XI.
IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
1848.
Food and Raiment—Houses—Home Manufactures—The Fort—Wild Beasts—Cannon from Sutter's Fort—Indian Children for Sale—Measles—Population—Mills and Farming Machinery—The Plague of Crickets—They are Destroyed by Gulls—Scarcity of Provisions—The Harvest Feast—Immigration—Five Thousand Saints Gathered in the Valley—Fencing and Farming—Distribution of Lots—Organization of County Government—Association for the Extermination of Wild Beasts.
At the opening of January 1848, the saints were housed, clad, and fed in moderate comfort, and general content prevailed. The season was exceptionally mild; there were occasional light falls of snow, but not enough to interfere with ploughing and sowing, and a large tract of land was partially enclosed and planted with wheat and vegetables.
So many people were now in the valley that notwithstanding the abundant crops food at length became scarce. Families weighed out their flour and allowed themselves so much a day. The wheat was ground at a mill on City Creek, but as there was no bolting-cloth, the shorts and bran could not be separated. The beef was very poor, as most of the cattle ​
(276)
had been worked hard while driven to the valley and after their arrival, while those turned out to range did not fatten quickly. Butter and tallow were needed. One wild steer, well fattened, was brought in from Goodyear 's rancho. A herd of deer crossing from one range of mountains to another was startled by the unexpected obstruction of the fort, and one sprang into the enclosure and was killed. Wild sago and parsnip roots constituted the vegetable food of the settlers. A few deaths occurred from poisonous roots. The bracing air and hard work stimulated appetite as stores decreased. For coffee parched bar- ley and wheat were used, and as their sugar gave out, they substituted some of home manufacture.* In the spring thistle tops were eaten, and became an impor- tant article of diet.^
Anxiety began to be felt about clothing, and the hand-looms were now busily at work, although wool was scarce.*' As shoes wore out, moccasins were sub- stituted, and goat, deer, and elk skins were manu- factured into clothing for men and women, though most unsuitable for use in rain and snow.
At the time of Parley P. Pratt's arrival, the city of Great Salt Lake consisted of a fort enclosing a block of ten acres, the walls of part of the buildings being of adobes and logs. There were also some tents.^ As additional companies came in, they ex-
and watermelons, and made preserves for winter, which were excellent, by- boiling the rinds of the melons in this molasses.' Hornets Migrations, MS., 30. ' I attempted to make sugar out of com. A rude apparatus was made to squeeze the corn stalks, but the manufacture was not altogether a success. After this, beet molasses followed. The boiler I used this time I made out of some stove piping and lumber. Brother Cannon and I assisted to saw our lumber.' Taylor s Reminiscences, MS., 16.
^ ' They collected the hair of the bufialo from the sage brush as they travelled, and used also the hair of cows.' Hume's Migrations, MS., 35. From this blankets were woven and used in exchange with the Indians. Mrs Home remarks that ' in Nauvoo there was a man dressed througliout in a suit made from the curly hair of his dog, which was sheared annually.'
' It stood on what was later known as the 6th Ward Square. ​
SALT LAKE CITY.
277
tended the south divisions, which were connected with the old fort by gates. Wa.£jon-boxes were also brought into line, and served for habitations until better accom- modations were provided. The houses were built of logs, and were placed close together, the roofs slanting inward, and all the doors and windows being on the inside, with a loop-hole to each room on the outside. As everything indicated a dry climate, the roofs were made rather flat, and great inconvenience resulted. In March the rains were very heavy, and umbrellas were used to protect women and children while cook- ing, and even in bed. The clay found in the bottoms near the fort made excellent plaster, but would not stand exposure to rain, and quickly melted. All bread- stufls were carefully gathered into the centre of the rooms, and protected with buffalo skins obtained from the Indians. The rooms in the outer lines all ad- joined, and many of the families had several rooms. On the interior cross-lines rooms were built on both sides, the streets being eight rods wide.
"SOUTH FORTS NORTH FORT
Fort, Great Salt Lake City, 1848.
There were serious depredations committed by wolves, foxes, and catamounts, and great annoyance occasioned by the howling of some of these animals.^ Further discomfort was caused by innumerable swarms of mice. Digging cavities and running about under the earthen floor, they caused the ground to tremble, and when the rain loosened the stones of the roofs.
® ' One night soon after our arrival I spread some strychnine about, and in the morning found fourteen white wolves dead.' Lorenzo Young's Ex., ​MS., 8.
scampered off ia hordes. Frequently fifty or sixty had to be caught and killed before the family could sleep.^
The furniture was home-made, and very little of it at that. The table was a chest, and the bedstead was built into the corner of the house, which formed two of its sides, rails or poles forming the opposite sides; pegs were driven into the walls and rails, and the bed-cord tightly wound around them.^° The chim- neys were of adobe, and sometimes there was a fire- place in the corner wiuU a clay hearth.
In the early part of the year two brass cannon were purchased at Sutter's Fort for the church, by the battalion brethren.^^
During the winter of 1847-8, some Indian children were brought to the fort to be sold. At first two were offered, but the settlers peremptorily refused to buy them. The Indian in charge said that the chil- dren were captured in war, and would be killed at sunset if the white men did not buy them. Thereupon they purchased one of them, and the one not sold was shot. Later, several Indians came in with two more children, using the same threat; they were bought and brought up at the expense of the settlers. ^'^
Measles now appeared for the first time among the natives, who did not know where the disease came from or what to do. They assembled in large num- bers at the warm springs, bathed in the waters, and died.i^
' ' One contrivance for catching them was a bucketful of water with a board sloping at each end, greased and balanced ou the edge. The first cat and her progeny were invaluable. The green timber from the mountains was full of bed-bugs, another serious trouble.' Home's Aligrations, MS., 31.
1" This describes the furniture of the first liouse occupied in the fort by Brigham Young's family. Mrs Clara Young's Pioneer Ex., MS., 8.
" Forty-five of the battalion brethren contributing $512 for the purpose. Hist. B. Youni), MS., 1S48, 35.
■'■' ' Charles Decker bought one of the prisonci-s, a girl, who was afterward brought up in President Young's family. She married an Lidian chief named Kanosh.' WelW Narr., MS., 48.
" ' Some they buried, but not all. We buried thirty-six in one grave. They killed their dogs when their masters died.' Nebeker's Early Justice, ​
MS., 2.
Public meetings were generally held near the lib- erty-pole in the centre of the fort; religious and secu- lar meetings were also held in private houses. In March 1848 the population of the city was reported at 1,671, and the number of houses 423." Bridges were built over Mill Creek and Jordan River. Daniel Spencer was appointed road-master, and authorized to call on men to assist in making roads. In order that the burden might fall equally on all, a poll and property tax were instituted.
There were several mills soon in working order. A small grist-mill on City Creek was built by Charles Crismon near the pioneer garden; then there were Chase's saw-mill and Archibald and Kobert Gardiner's on Mill Creek, and Nebeker, Riter, and Wallace's in a canon ten miles north of the city. A carding machine was erected near Gardiner's saw-mill by Amasa Russell, and a flouring mill during the summer by John Neff, Leffingwell constructed a threshing machine and fanning mill on City Creek, with a ca- pacity of two hundred bushels per day. Mill-stones cut out of the basalt in the valley were of very good quality. Mill-irons, mill-stones, printing-presses, type, paper, and the carding machine were brought by the first bands of emigrants in 1848.^^
The spring saw everybody busy, and soon there were many flourishing gardens, containing a good va- riety of vegetables. In the early part of March plough- ing commenced. The spring was mild and rain plenti- ful, and all expected an abundant harvest. But in the latter part of May, when the fields had put on their brightest green, there appeared a visitation in the form of vast swarms of crickets, black and bale- ful as the locust of the Dead Sea.^^ In their track
^*Juv. Inft., ix. no. 1, 9.
^^Hist. B. Young, MS.; Home's Migrations, MS.; Geo. Q. Cannon, in Juv. Inst.; Taylois Reminiscences, MS.; Woodruff^s Journal, MS.; Young's Ex., MS.; Wells' Narr., MS.; Richards' Narr., MS.; Nebeker's Early Justice, MS.; Jenning's Material Progress, MS., passim.
'6 Utah Early Records, MS., 29-30. ​
280 m THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
they left behind them not a blade or leaf, the ap- pearance of the country which they traversed in countless and desolating myriads being that of a land scorched by fire.^^ They came in a solid phalanx, from the direction of Arsenal Hill, darkening the earth in their passage. Men, women, and children turned out en masse to combat this pest, driving them into ditches or on to piles of reeds, which they would set on fire, striving in every way, until strength was exhausted, to beat back the devouring host. But in vain they toiled, in vain they prayed; the work of destruction ceased not, and the havoc threatened to be as complete as was that which overtook the land of Egypt in the last days of Israel's bondage. "Think of their condition," says Mr Cannon — the food they brought with them almost exhausted, their grain and other seeds all planted, they themselves 1,200 miles from a settlement or place where they could get food on the east, and 800 miles from California, and the crickets eating up every green thing, and every day destroying their sole means of subsistence for the months and winter ahead." ^^
I said in vain they prayed. Not so. For when everything was most disheartening and all effort spent, behold, from over the lake appeared myriads of snow-white gulls, their origin and their purpose alike unknown to tho new-comers ! Was this another scourge God was sending- them for their sins? Wait and see. Settling uj)on all the fields and every part of them, they pounced upon the crickets, seizing and swallowing them. They gorged themselves. Even after their stomachs were filled they still devoured them. On Sunday the people, full of thankfulness, left the fields to the birds, and on the morrow found on the edges of the ditches great piles of dead crick- ets that had been swallowed and thrown up by the
" Autobiog. P. P. Pratt, 405; Smith's Rise, Progress, and Travels, 17. ^^Juv. Inst., ix. no. 2, 22. ​
greedy gulls. Verily, the Lord had not forgotten to be gracious !
To escape the birds, the crickets would rush into the lake or river, and thus millions were destroyed. Toward evening the gulls took flight and disappeared beyond the lake, but each day returned at sunrise, until the scourge was past.^^ Later grasshoppers seem to have taken the place of crickets. They were of a kind popularly called iron-clad, and did much mischief'^"
Though the crops of this year of 1848 were thus saved from total destruction, fears were entertained that there would not be food enough for those already in the valley, and the expected arrival of large additional numbers was looked upon as a calamity.^' The stock of provisions was therefore husbanded with care, many living principally on roots and
'^ Kane says that the gulls soon grew to be as tame as poultry, and that the children called them their pigeons. They had clear, dark eyes, small feet, and large wings that arched in flight. The Mormons, 67. ' No one is allowed to kill a gull in Utah, and they are consequently very tame.' Jenning's Ma- terial ^Progress, MS., 7. 'I am sure that the wheat was in head, and that it averaged two or tliree crickets on every head, bending them down. One couldn't step without crushing under foot as many as the foot could cover. ' Mrs Clara Young's Experiences of a Pioneer, MS., 9. 'Channels were dug and filled with water to prevent their travel, but they would throw them- selves across; it was impossible to fight them back.' Nebeker^s Early Judice, MS., 2. 'In the spring, when thousands of young trees had been started and were several inches in height, came the crickets. The wheat, too, was well in head.' Home's Migrations, MS., p. 28.
^Says Mr Jennings: 'They would devastate hundreds of acres, and as they would rise and fly high in the air, the air would be darkened with them. They seemed to be massed together, and to take but one direction, flying eight or ten miles perhaps, then settling upon another field . . . The only extermi- nator seems to be the sea-gulls. They gorge themselves on this rich diet; they suddenly appear in the wake of the grasshoppers, and will swallow them, throw them up, and swallow them again. . .Sometimes the grasshoppers come like a cloud, and apparently alighting not knowing where; on one occasion a quarter of their number perhaps di'opped into the lake, and were blown on shore by the wind, in rows of sometimes two feet deep for a distance of two miles.' Material Progress, MS., 6-7.
and advising that no further emigrations should come in that season.' Mrs Clara Young's Experiences of a Pioneer, MS., 9. John Young wished to send an express to his brother, the president, advising him not to bring any more peo- ple to the valley, as there was danger of starvation. Utah Early Records, MS. , 30-2. Parley P. Pratt writes: 'I had a good harvest of wheat and rye with- out irrigation, but those who irrigated had double the quantity. Wheat harvest commenced early in July . . . Oats do extremely well, yielding sixty bushels for one.' Hist. B. Young, M ​S., 1848, 54.
thistles, to M^hich fare was sometimes added a little flour or milk. The wheat crop, however, turned out better than was expected, and pumpkins, melons, and corn yielded good returns.^'^
On the 10th of August, however, the harvest being then gathered, a feast was held in the bowery, at which the tables were loaded with a variety of viands, vegetables, beef, and bread, butter and cheese, with cakes and pastry. Sheaves of wheat and other grain were hoisted on harvest poles; "and," says Parley, "there was prayer and thanksgiving, congratulations, songs, speeches, music, dancing, smiling faces, and merry hearts."
The rendezvous for westward-bound brethren in the spring of 1848 was the Elkhorn River, and thither at the end of May came the president, who organized the people and gave them instructions to be observed on the way. Good order was to be preserved in camp; there must be no shouting; prayers were to be at- tended to, and lights put out at 9 o'clock. Drivers of teams must walk beside their oxen, and not leave them without permission. Brigham was general super- intendent of the emigrating companies, with Daniel H. Wells as aide-de-camp, H. S. Eldredge marshal, and Hosea Stout captain of the night-guard. Mov- ing west early in June, on the 14th the emigrants were fired on by Indians, two being wounded. At this time also there was sickness in the camp. To secure grass and water, the emigration was sepa- rated into divisions, of which there were two principal
^* 'Wheat harvest good. Co.: crop good. The worms ate some in the ear. Price of wheat, $2 a bushel. Population, 1,800; n.ain fence, 12 miles long. Had a surplus of bread -stuff this year.' Hint. B. Young, MS., Aug. 1, 1848, 52. Parley states that he and his family, in common with many others, suffered much for want of food. He had ploughed and planted, in grain and vegetables, nearly 40 acres, nearly every women and child in his family toiling in the field so far as their age and strength would permit. Autobiog., 405. 'One family had nothing but milk to live upon;... they would let a portion thicken, and then icix it with new milk and eat it for bread. They lived upon it for six weeks, and thrived.' Eli2;a Snow, in Utah Notes, MS., 6. ​
ones, under Brigham Young and H. C. Kimball, with several subdivisions.'^
The first letters received at Great Salt Lake City from Brigham came twelve months after his departure from the valley, and were sent on in advance from the encampments. The excitement was great as Taylor and Green rode into the city and distributed the letters, without envelopes, tied round and round with buckskin thongs, and bearing the cheering news that a large body of brethren was on the way, and bring- ing plenty of food.^*
In June and July two small parties left the city to meet the immigration, and another in August. In September Brigham and the first companies arrived; and under the organization of the president and his two counsellors, Willard Richards and Heber C. Kim- ball, during the autumn months most of the brethren from Winter Quarters and other camps reached the valley. ^^
Before the expiration of the year, there were nearly
23 The first division consisted of 1,229 persons, with 397 wagons, 74 horses, 91 mules, 1,275 oxen, 699 cows, 184 loose cattle, 411 sheep, 141 pigs, 605 chickens, 37 cats, 82 dogs, 3 goats, 10 geese, 2 hives of bees, 8 doves, and 1 crow; the second of 662 persons, with 226 wagons, 57 horses, 25 mules, 737 oxen, 284 cows, 150 loose cattle, 243 sheep, 96 pigs, 299 chickens, 17 cats, 52 dogs, 3 hives of bees, 3 doves, 5 ducks, and 1 squirrel.
^^ As recorded in Mrs Clara Decker Young's very valuable manuscript. She shows now the first letter received, still tied with buckskin thongs.
'^'The first companies under Brigham arrived on Sept. 20th; Kimball's party reached the valley a few days later. At the beginning of August Lorenzo Snow, A. 0. Smoot, and others, with 47 wagons and 124 yoke of oxen, were sent from Salt Lake City to assist the emigrants. On the 28th of the same month a party well supplied with wagons and cattle was sent back to Winter Quarters from the camp of the president, then on the Sweet- water. Utah Early Becords, MS., 33. The companies under Richards reached their destination toward the end of October. Richards' Narr., MS., 38. In relating the incidents of his journey, Richards states that his was the last party to leave Winter Quarters during that summer. His men were ill supplied with provisions; feed was scarce, and many of the cattle died from drinking alkali \\ ater, so that he was compelled to yoke to the wagons even bis yearlings and his milch-cows. Many families, iucluding the children, were compelled to walk the entire distance; yet not a single death occurred. Id., 34-5. * The companies behind were kept well informed of the progress of those in advance. . .Sometimes a copy of the camp journal was written and placed in a notch in a tree, . . .sometimes in a post stuck in the ground; but whenever a large buSalo skull or other suitable bone was found, . . .some particulars were written on them.' Cannon, in Juv. Inst., xix ​. no. 3, 36.
three thousand,^® and including the pioneers, the bat- talion men, and the companies that arrived under Parley, at least five thousand of the saints assembled in the valley.
Thus about one fourth of the exiles from Nauvoo were for the present beyond reach of molestation. That five thousand persons, including a very large proportion of women and children, almost without money, almost without provisions, excepting the milk of their kine and the grain which they had raised near their own camps, should, almost without the loss of a life, have accomplished this journey of more than twelve hundred miles, crossing range after range of mountains, bridging rivers, and traversing deserts, while liable at any moment to be attacked by roam- ing bands of savages, is one of the marvels that this century has witnessed. To those who met them on the route, the strict order of their march, their coolness and rapidity in closing ranks to repel assault, their method in posting sentries around camp and corral, suggested rather the movements of a well-organized army than the migration of a people; and in truth, few armies have been better organized or more ably led than was this army of the Lord.^^ To the skill of their leaders, and their own concert of purpose and action, was due their preservation. And now, at length, they had made good their escape from the land of their bondage to the promised land of their freedom, in which, though a wilderness, they rejoiced to dwell.
In a private letter written in September 1848, Parle}'- writes: How quiet, how still, how free from excitement we livel The legislation of our high council, the decision of some judge or court of
'^^ White persons 2,393, and 24 negroes, with 792 wagons, 2,527 oxen, about 1,700 cows, 181 horses, 1,023 sheep, and other live-stock. Utah Early Rec- ords, MS., 41.
^' ' So well recognized were the results of this organiaation, that bands of hostile Indians have passed by comparatively small parties of Mormons to attack much larger but less compact bodies of other emigrants. ' Kane's The Morinona, 34. ​
the church, a meeting, a dance, a visit, an exploring tour, the arrival of a party of trappers and traders, a Mexican caravan, a party arrived from the Pacific,^^ from the States, from Fort Bridger, a visit of Ind- ians, or perhaps a mail from the distant world once or twice a year, is all that breaks the monotony of our busy and peaceful life . . . Here, too, we all are rich- there is no real poverty; all men have access to the soil, the pasture, the timber, the water power, and all the elements of wealth, without money or price. "^®
On his arrival in the autumn, Brigham stirred up the people to the greatest activity. Fencing material being scarce, and the city lands all appropriated, it was proposed that a large field for farming purposes adjoin- ing the city should be selected and fenced in com- mon. By October there were 863 applications for lots, amounting to 11,005 acres.
A united effort was made to fence the city, which was done by enclosing each ward in one field, and re- quiring the owner of every lot to build his proportion of the fence.^" No lots were allowed to be held for speculation, the intention, originally, being to assign them only to those who would occupy and improve them. The farming land nearest the city was sur- veyed in five-acre lots to accommodate the mechanics and artisans ; next beyond were ten-acre lots, followed by forty and eighty acres, where farmers could build and reside. All these farms were enclosed in one common fence, constituting what was called the 'big field,' before mentioned.^^
^ ' In July 1848, William and Nathan Hawks, Sanford Jacobs, and Rich- ard Slater came from California with copies of Brannan's Star of April lat, and tidings that the brethren at San Francisco were doing well, and that those who had settled on the San Joaquin River had vacated in favor of the mosquitoes.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1848, 46.
16, and portions copied into Utah Early Pioneers, MS,, 34^5.
'" ' Every man is to help build a pole, ditch, or a stone fence. . .in propor- tion to the land he draws, also a canal on each side for the purpose of irriga- tion.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 55.
Young, MS., 1848, 68-9; Juv. Inst., ix. no. 3, 34. It had been decided by the high council in Jan. that fencing be commenced, and that the farm lands be ​
The streets were kept open, but were barely wide enough for travel, as the owners cultivated the space in front of their houses. At a meeting on the 24th of September, permission was granted to build on the lots immediately, all buildings to be at least twenty feet from the sidewalk; and a few days later it was voted " that a land record should be kept, and that $1.50 be paid for each lot; one dollar to the surveyor and fifty cents to the clerk for recording." A council-house was ordered to be built by tithing labor; and it was suggested that water from the Big Cottonwood be brought into the city; the toll for grinding grain was to be increased,^^ and a resolution was passed against the sale or use of ardent spirits. That all might be satisfied, the lots were to be distributed "by ballot, or casting lots, as Israel did in days of old."^^
On the 1st of October Brigham called the battalion brethren together, blessed them, and thanked them for the service they had rendered. "The plan of rais- ing a battalion to march to California," he said, "by a call from the war department, was devised with a view to the total overthrow of this kingdom, and the de- struction of every man, woman, and child. "^*
Winter was now at hand, and there was sore need that the saints should bestir themselves. The presi-
located as near together as possible, and immediately south of the city. The line of the fence began at a steep point in the bluffs just south of tlie warm springs, thence straight to the north-west corner of the fort, then from the south-east corner of the fort, east of south, to some distance south of Mill Creek, thence east to the bluffs again, its entire length, including two sides of the fort, being 3,638 rods. Utah Early Bfcords, MS., 20-1. The entire tract was 5,153 acres, of which 872 acres were sown with winter-wheat, the remainder being intended for spring and summer crops.
^^ 'Chas Crismon petitions that it be increased from 1-16 to 1-10; granted.' Hist. B. Y0UIVJ, MS., 1848, 64.
' The city plat is already allotted, and many families are at present without lots; therefore we have deemed it expedient to run off an addicion to the city, commencing at the eastern line of the city and running east as far as the nature of the land will allow for building purposes. Not only is this addition necessary, but we are going to lay oft' a site for a city about ten miles north, and another site about ten miles to the south of our city.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1848, 69.
^Hht. B. Young, MS., 1848, 65, This was not the case. See Hist. Cal., vol. V. chap, xviii., this series. ​
(lent and others of the church dignitaries worked in- defatigably with their people, carrying mortar and making adobes, hauling timber and sawing it. There w^ere but 450 log cabins within the stockade, and one thousand more well-filled wagons had arrived this season.
A county government was organized, and John D. Barker elected sheriff, Isaac Clark judge of probate, and Evan M. Green recorder and treasurer. ^^ Two hunting companies in December were formed, under the leadership of John D. Lee and John Pack, for the extermination of wild beasts. There were eighty- four men in all, and their efforts were successful.^* From the 1st of December until the end of February there were heavy snow-storms. On the coldest day the mercury fell below zero,^^ and on the warmest marked 21° of Fahrenheit. On account of the snow in the canons it was difficult to bring in the necessary fuel. As the previous winter had been warm, the settlers were unprepared for such cold weather, and there was much suffering. ^^
^^ ' George Conlson, Andrew H. Perkins, and David D. Yearsley, county commissioners; James Sloan, district clerk; Jacob G. Bigler, William Snovr, Levi Bracken, and J onatlian C. Wright, magistrates.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 77.
36 « n^[^Q tvvo hunting companies organized last Dec. report that they have killed 2 bears, 2 wolverenes, 2 wild-cats, 7S3 wolves, 409 foxes, 31 minks, 9 eagles, 530 magpies, hawks, and owls, and 1,C26 ravens.' Mist. B. Young, MS., March 1849.
" ' To 33° below freezing-point on Feb. 5th. ' General Epistle of the Twelve, in Fronti'-r Guardian, May 30, 1849.
^^ 'At Fort Briilger the winter had been unusually severe, and the traders, it was reported, had suffered almost starvation.' It was resolved that no corn should be made iuto whiskey, and that if any man was preparing to distil corn into whiskey or alcohol, the com should be taken and given to the poor. Hist. B. Youwj, MS., 1849, 4. ​
CHAPTER XII.
IN THE VALLEY OP THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
1849.
Food Supply and Shelter — Building Lots — Currency Issue— Bajik Notes and Coinage— Private and Public Buildings — Wide Area of THE City — Second Anniversary of the Pioneers — Festivals and Amusements — Labor a Duty among the Saints— Effect of the Cali- fornia Gold Discovery — Immigration— Carrying Company — Cali- fornia-bound Emigrants— Their Traffic with the Mormons— Prod- ucts AND Prices — Gold-hunting Frowned upon by the Church.
Throughout the winter of 1848-9 food was scarce among the settlers. Many still subsisted mainly on roots, thistles, and even on rawhides.^ Milk, flesh, and the small quantity of breadstufls that remained were, however, distributed among the poor in such quantities as to prevent actual starvation. On April 1, 1849, each household was required to state the smallest allowance of breadstuff's that would suffice until the forth-coming harvest. Some received half a pound a day, and others four ounces.^
1 ' Many were necessitated to eat rawhides, and to dig sago and thistle roots for mouths to subsist upon.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 95.
^ The committee on breadstuflfs reported on the 8th of Feb. that there was I'oo lb. per capita for the next five months. Utah Early Records, MS. , 45. ' In the former part of Feb. the bishops took an inventory of the breadstuff in the valley, when was reported a little moro than | lb. per day for each soul, until the 9th of July; and considerable was known to exist which was not reported. Hence while some were nearly destitute others had abundance. The price of corn since harvest has been $2; some has sold for $3; at present there is none in the market at any price. Wheat has ranged from $4 to $5, and potatoes from $6 to $^0, a bushel; and though not to be bought at pres- ent, it is expected that there will be a good supply for seed by another year.' General Epistle of the Twelve, in Frontier Guardian, May 30, 1849. ' Those persons who had imparted measurably to those who had not, so that all extremity of suffering from hunger was avoided.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 95. ​
388)
Until the first fruits were reaped the famine con- tinued, but the harvest of 1849 was a bountiful one,^ and for six years thereafter none wanted for bread in the city of Salt Lake.'*
During part of this season many women and chil- dren were without shelter or fuel. To each family as it arrived was given a city lot, until the site was exhausted, as we have seen; but for most a wagon served for dwelling during the coldest months, and later an adobe hut, roofed with unseasoned lumber, and thatched with hay or frozen mud.^ Before sum- mer all were housed in log or adobe dwellings/ the fort
' It was not injured by crickets. Kane's The Mormons, 67. ' Our prophet predicted that if we would exercise patience under our difficulties during the immediate future, our necessities would be supplied as cheaply as they could be in the city of St Louis; and this proved to be true, for in 1849 we raised fair crops.' Smoot's Mormon Wife, MS., 5-6.
tical value when once understood. ' For two years all the saleratus used was obtained from Saleratus Lake, near Independence Rock; the salt from the lake became an article of value in local use and among their exports. The alkali swept down from the mountains, and composed of a great variety of ingredients, &uch as magnesia, soda, salt, etc., when once subdued, makes the most durable of soils, which needs no enriching.' Richards, in Utah Notes, MS., 8.
^ ' Now as regards my beginning at Salt Lake. Soon after my arrival a city lot was assigned to me for a home and residence, on which I placed my wagon box or wagon bed, which contained our provisions, bedding, and all our eartlily goods, placed them upon the ground, turned away our stock upon the winter range, and looked about us. I soon disposed of some of my cloth- ing for some adobes, and put the walls up of a small room, which we covered with a tent-cloth, that answered us during the winter, until lumber could be procured next spring.' Richards' Narr., MS., 38; Early Records, MS., 36-8.
^ On Feb. 18th the people began to move out of the fort to their city lots. Id., 47. A number of temporary farm buildings had been completed before this date. Pratfs Autobiography, 406; Millennial Star, x. 370. A correspond- ent of the Neiv York Tribune, writing from Salt Lake City, July 8, 1849, gives an exaggerated account of the place, which has been copied by several writers on Mormonism. ' There were no hotels, because there was no travel; no bar- bers' shops, because every one chose to shave his neighbor; no stores, because they had no goods to sell nor time to traffic; no centre of business, because all were too busy to make a centre. There was abundance of mechanics' shops, of dressmakers, milliners, and tailors, etc. ; but they needed no sign, nor had they time to paint or erect one, for they were crowded with business. I this day attended worship with them in the open air. Some thousands of well-dressed, intelligent-looking people assembled, some on foot, some in car- riages, and on horseback. Many were neatly and even fashionably clad. The beauty and neatness of the ladies reminded me of some of our congre- gations in New York.' The letter is in Macl-ay's The Mormons, 282. It is unnecessary to expose the absurdity of this description, as the reader is well aware that hundreds of California-bound emigrants passed through the valley this year. Harvesting began July 9th, and until that date the Mormons were Hisr. ​ViAU. 19
being rapidly broken up by the removal of the houses on to the city lots. The city was divided into nine- teen bishops' wards ;^ the ten-acre blocks were divided into allotments of an acre and a quarter, the five-acre lots in similar proportion, each building facing the garden of the one adjoining, the space of twenty feet left between the houses and the surrounding fence being afterward planted with trees and shrubbery.^
The need of a circulating medium had been felt ever since the valley had been settled.^ Their cur- rency was blankets, grain, and seeds; and even after gold-dust was brought in by the miners great incon- venience was experienced in its use, and many re- fused to take it, as there was a waste in weighing it. To meet this emergency, bank bills for one dollar
often without their daily bread, as we have seen. The following is probably much nearer the truth: ' The houses are small, principally of brick (adobe), built up only as temporary abodes, until the more urgent and important mat- ters of enclosure and cultivation are attended to; but I never saw anything to surpass the ingenuity of arrangement with which they are fitted up, and the scrupulous cleanliness with which they are kept. There were tradesmen and artisans of all descriptions, but no regular stores or workshops, except forges. Still, from the shoeing of a horse to the mending of a watch there was no dif- ficulty in getting it done, as cheap and as well put out of hand as in any other city in America. ' Kelly's Excursion to California, 226.
' The bishops were David Fairbanks, John Lowry, Christopher Williams, William Hickenlooper, William J. Perkins, Addison Everett, Seth Taft, David Pettigrew, Benjamin Covey, Edward Hunter, John Murdock, Abraham 0. Smoot, Isaac Higbee, Joseph L. Hey wood, James Hendrix, Benjamin Brown, Orville S. Cox, and Joel H. Johnson. Utah Early Records, MS., 47-8, 69. The valley is settled for 20 miles south and 40 miles north, and divided into 19 wards. Hist. B. Youvg, MS., 1849, 57.
^ At a council held Feb. 17, 1849, the committee on fencing reported that the enclosure termed the big field would include 291 ten-acre lots, 460 five- acre lots, the church farm of 800 acres, and 17 acres of fractional lots, the whole requiring 5,240 rods of fencing, of which it was recommended that 3,216 should be of adobes, 663 of adobes or stone, and 1,361 of ditch, posts, and rails. 'When the Mormons first arrived they did not quarrel for best lands, but cultivated a whole district in common, dividing the harvest according to work done, seed supplied, and need of family. On dividing the town into lots, each received his plat, and so with fields, for south of the town lay a field of 6 square miles, cultivated in common; this was divided into 5- acre square lots and given to beads of families, by lot or distribution, in tracts of one to eight lots each. After the distribution some began to speculate with their lots, but to this the church objected, saying that none should sell his land for more than first cost and improvements, for it belonged to God, and was merely held in use by the holder. Still, secret speculations occurred. ' Olshausen's Mormonen, 166-7.
' ' Owing to the absence of small change, the tax collector was instructed to give due-bills for sums less than a dollar, and redeem them when presented in suflicient amount.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 23. ​
were issued on the 1st of January, 1849, signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Thomas Bullock, clerk. In September, Brigham had brought eighty-four dollars in small change into the valley, which had been distributed, but was no longer in cir- culation. On the 6th of January, resolutions were passed by the council to the effect that "the Kirtland bank bills be put into circulation for the accommodation of the people, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Joseph, that the Kirtland notes would one day be as good as gold." The first printing was in connection with the manufacture of paper raoney.^"
Previous to the issue of this currency an attempt was made by John Kay to coin gold-dust, but the crucibles broke in the attempt. All the dies and everything connected with the coining were made in Salt Lake City.^^ Subsequent attempts were more successful. The coin was made of pure gold, without alloy, which made it deficient in weight; it was there- fore sold as bullion. Brigham then proposed the issue of paper currency until gold could be coined. ^^ There was also a paper currency issued some years later by a company in Salt Lake City known as the Des- eret Currency Association, its capital being in cattle, but this was merely a temporary convenience.^^ Cur-
'^ Fifty-cent and one-dollar paper currency was issued. Hist. B. Young, MS., 1S49, 3. On the 22d, type was set for 50-cent bills— the first type- eetling in the city. Id., 42-3; S. L. C. Contributor, ii. 209.
" 'Robert Campbell engraved the stamps for the coin.' Wells' Narr., MS., 42. Brigham says, 'I offered the gold-dust back to the people, but they did not want it.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 1. 'Thos L. Smith, a mountaineer, wrote me from Bear River Valley, offering to sell me §200 or $300 in small coin. . .and take our currency for the same, and he would trade his skins, furs, robes, etc., with us.' Id., 79.
'-'John Kay coined $2.50, %o, and $20 pieces.' Nebeher's Early Justice, MS., 3. A description is given in Juv. Inst, of coins with beehive and spread eagle on one side, with inscription 'Deseret Assay OfSce, Pure Gold,' and at the base '5 D.' On the reverse is a lion, surrounded by 'Holiness to the Lord,' in characters known as the Deseret alphabet. Vol. ix. no. 4, p. 39. In 1849 and 1850, coins of the value of $20, $10, $5, and $2.50 were struck off. Their fineness was 899-1000, and no alloy was used except a little silver. -S'. L. ('. Contributor, ii. 209. 'The gold-dust was sufficient in quantity for all ordinary purposes. . .In the exchange the brethren deposited the gold-dust with the presidency, who issued bills or a paper currency; and the Kirtland safety fund re-signed it on a par with gold.' Id., 56.
^*See Taylor's Reminiscences, MS., 23. ​
rency, in either gold or paper, was afterward desig- nated as valley tan, a name synonymous with home- made or of Utah manufacture, the origin of which will be explained later. ^^
Of the houses built early in 1849, few had more than two rooms, many had only board windows, and some were without doors. Several of the adobe houses in the fort had fallen down from the effects of the thaw. When at last they had learned how to make adobes, they were of the best kind. Alkali at first was mixed with the clay, which, when exposed to rain, would expand and burst the bricks. After this year more commodious structures were erected for public and private use, the means being supplied in part by traffic with emigrants for California. Conspicuous among them was the council-house on East Temple street, a two-story stone edifice, forty-five feet square,^^ used originally for church purposes, and afterward occupied by the state and territorial legislatures. In front of the council-house was temple block, on the south-west corner of which stood the tabernacle, buiit in 1851-2, on the ground now occupied by the assem- bly hall, with accommodation for 2,500 persons, ^^ and consecrated on April 6th of the latter year.^ Dur-
^* See chap, xix., note 44, this vol.
'^'I was appointed superintendent of public works in the fall of 1848. The first house that was built was a little adobe place that was used for the church office. . .The little office that was the first place built was one story, about 18 by 12 feet, slanting roof covered with boards and dirt. This re- mained the church office for about two yeai'S. . .The foundation of the council- house was laid in the spring of 1849, and then the first story put up.' Wells^ Narr., MS., 41-2. Built by tithing. Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 55. At a meeting held Oct. 1, 1848, it was I'esolved to build a council-house, and on the 7th of November masons commenced laying the foundation. Utah Early Records, MS., 36, 38.
'® Linforth gives its dimensions at 126 ft by 64, and states that the roof was arched, without being supported by pillars. Route from Liverpool, 109. In Utah Early Records, MS., 125, 127, it is stated that the dimensions were 120 by 60 ft, and that work was begun May 21st. See also Deseret News, May 17, 1851; The Mormons at Home, 112-13, 147-9; Burton's City of the Saints, 270.
" At a general conference, the proceedings of which are related in the Coiilrlbutor, ii. 333. The conference lasted several days, and at its conclusion a collection was made to provide funds for a sacramental service, $149 beijig given in coin, together with several pounds' weight of silver watch-cases, spoons, rings, and ornaments. From the silver, cupa were made, which are still in use at the tabernacle. ​
ing its construction, the saints in every part of the world were urged to self-denial, and it was voted to dispense with the use of tea, coffee, snuff, and tobacco, the sums thus saved to be also used for the building of the temple, which was to stand on the same block. The latter was to be built of stone quarried in the mountains, and a railroad from temple block to the quarry was chartered for the conveyance of building material.
Adjoining the tabernacle was the bowery, 100 by 60 feet, made of posts and boarding, completed three or four years later, and large enough to contain 8,000 people, a temporary structure having been erected in 1848. Among other buildings may be mentioned the tithing office, the social hall, and the seventies' hall of science. Several bridges were also built, which were paid for by the one per centum property tax.^^
Thus at the western base of the Wasatch Moun- tains was laid out the city of Great Salt Lake, its buildings being distributed over a greater area than that on which stood, in 1850, the commercial metrop- olis of the United States. ^^ Its site was on a slope, barely perceptible except toward the north, where it was enclosed by the Wasatch Range and a spur trend- ing to the westward. Resting on the eastern bank of the Jordan, it was watered by several creeks; a canal, twelve miles long, crossing three streams, being pro- posed to convey the waters of the Big Cottonwood to the farm-lands south of the city; and through each street flowed a rivulet of pure water, which was thence diverted into the garden plats.
On the 24th of July, 1849, was held the second anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers.^^ At day-
" Resolved that a tax of one per ct per annum be assessed on property to repair public highways. Ilhft. B. Young, MS., 1849, 5.
^^ Kaiie'.'i The Mo/ mom, 74; New York Tribune, Oct. 7, 1849.
■■'"The 4th and 24th of July were at first celebrated together, but on t^e latter date because bread and vegetables were more plentiful at the end of this month than at the beginning. Utah Early Record ​s, MS., 91,
break cannon were fired and bands of music passed through the city, arousing the citizens for the great events of the day. A flag brought from Nauvoo was prominently displayed, and a larger flag was hoisted from the liberty-pole. A procession was formed of young men and maidens, who in appropriate costumes, bearing banners and singing, escorted Brigham to the bowery. They were received with shouts of '*Ho- sanna to God and the Lambl" While the governor and the church dignitaries were passing down the aisle cheers and shouts of " Hail to the governor of Des- eretl" greeted them on every side. The declaration of independence and the constitution were then read, followed by patriotic addresses. The procession was then re-formed and marched to the feast served on tables fourteen hundred feet in length. "The tables were heavily loaded," says Brigham, "with all the lux- uries of field and garden, and with nearly all the vege- tables of the world; the seats were filled and refilled by a people who had been deprived of those luxuries for years, and they welcomed to their table every stranger within their border.""^ A greater variety was provided, as the saints had exchanged for many luxuries their flour, butter, potatoes, and other pro- duce, with passing emigrants.
Not only on the pioneer anniversary but on the 4th of July,^^ at christmas week, and on other occa-
^1 'The hospitalities of the occasion were not confined to the saints alone, but included several hundreds of California emigrants who had stopped to recruit, as well as threescore Indians, ' says Eliza Snow. See Snow's Biographj, 95-107, for description of the celebration; also Kane's The Mormotis, 80-1; Hist. B. Young, MS., 108-116, 143; Mrs Horne's Migrations, MS., 30; Frontier Guardian, Sept. 19, 1849. After dinner four and twenty toasts were drunk, fol- lowed by volunteer toasts. President Young declared that he never saw such a dinner in his life. One of the ciders remarked that 'it was almost a marvel- lous thing that everybody was satisfied, and. . .not an oath was uttered, not a man intoxicated, not a jar or disturbance occurred to mar the union, peace, and harmony of the day.' Frontier Guardian, Sept. 19, 1849. Among the guests was the Indian chief Walker, who, accompanied by Soweite, chief of the Utahs, and several hundred Indians, men, women, and children, had vis- ited the city in Sept. 1848. Utah Early Records, MS., 33.
^^For a description of 4th of July festivities, see Frontier Guardian, July 10, 1850, Oct. 3, 1851; Deseret News, July 12, 1851, July 10, 1852; S. L. G. Contributor, ii. 271. ​
sions festivities were held.'^' Sometimes the guests contributed toward the expense of the entertainment, the amount that each one was expected to pay being stated on the card of invitation.^*
In winter, theatrical performances were given by the Deseret Dramatic Association at the social hall, and in summer at the bowery, the parts being well sustained and the orchestra and decorations well ap- pointed.^^ At the former, private parties were given when the gathering was too large for the residence of the host; in the basement were appliances for cooking, and adjoining was a dining-room with seats and tables sufficient for three hundred persons. All entertain- ments were opened with prayer; then came dancing, songs, and music, followed by supper, the guests being dismissed with a benediction at an early hour.
The public festivities of the Mormons were always conducted under the auspices of the church, and none were allowed to join in them who were not in good standing. To sing, dance, and rejoice before the Lord was regarded almost as a religious duty, but only those must rejoice whose hearts were pure and whose hands were clean. Thus, toward christmas of this year, 1849, regulations were issued by the high council for the observance of the approaching holi- days. They were to commence on the 20th of De- cember and last until the council should declare them at an end, officers being appointed to preside over the dances. No person who had been disfellowshipped
'^ The-christmas festival of 1851 is described in the Deseret News, Jan. 24, 1852. ' On the 24th,' writes Brigham in regard to another occasion, ' I in- vited the wives of the twelve apostles, and other elders who were on missions, with a number of my relatives, to dine at my house. Seventy ladies sat down at the first table. I employed five sleighs to collect the company; the day was stormy; near my house the snow drifted three feet deep.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1850, 2.
^* Contributions were often made in the shape of eatables, and an in-door picnic extemporized. Ferris' Utah, and the Alormom^, 306.
^^ In May 1851, the second act of ' Robert Macaire' was performed at the bowery, the performance concluding with the farce of 'The Dead Shot.' Coil' tributor, ii. 271. ​
or excommunicated was allowed to go forth to the dance. Those who had sold liquor for gain, thereby corrupting the morals of society, were also disquali- fied. All friends and well-wishers to society, all who remembered the poor and needy,'^^ were invited to participate, though not members of the church. But declares the council : "Woe unto them that dance with guile and malice in their hearts toward their neigh- bor! Woe unto them that have secretly injured their neighbor or his or her property! Woe unto them that are ministers of disorder and of evil ! If these shall go forth in the dance without confessing and forsaking their guilt, the faith of the council is that they seal their doom by it."
After their festivities the people returned, each to his calling, with renewed zest. It was an article of faith among them that labor was honorable, and all who were not missionaries were expected to do their part. By revelation, Joseph Smith was released from this obligation, but Brigham Young worked as a car- penter in his own mills. Labor was regarded as a duty no less than prayer or temple service, each one working with his hands at whatsoever he found to do, and cheerfully contributing his tithes toward the church revenues, which were expended for public im- provements, for the support of missions, and the re- lief of the sick and destitute.^^
^* ' Bring all your tithes and offerings to the proper place for the poor, that there be none hungry among us, and let the poor rejoice; and then you may rejoice in the dance to your heart's content.' Regulations of the High Council, in Frontier Guardian, Nov. 28, 1849. Brigham, in an address at the State-house in 1852, at a party given to the legislature, said: 'I want it distinctly understood that fiddling and dancing are no part of our worship. My mind labors like a man logging. This is the reason why I am fond of these pastimes; they give me a privilege to throw everything off and shake myself, that my body may exercise and my mind rest.' And again: 'This company is controlled like the ship by the rudder in a gentle breeze, that can be turned hither and thither at the will and pleasure of him who com- mands.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1852, 22.
^' Olshauseii's Mormonen, 164-5. On July 28, 1850, the president writes to Orson Hyde, then at Kanesville. 'Our celebration was well attended. It is a general time of health with the saints, and peace and plenty of hard work, as every one has been so busy that they can hardly get time to eat or sleep. You speak about hurry and bustle at Kanesville; but if you were here, to see, feel, and realize the burdens, labors, and responsibilities, which are daily, ​
CALIFORNIA-BOUND EMIGRANTS. 297
Among the causes that led to the prosperity of the people of Utah at this period was the migration of gold-seekers to California. Hundreds of emigrants, turning aside to Salt Lake City, wearied and dis- pirited, their cattle worn out and their wagons broken, were glad to exchange them, together with their tools, household furniture, and spare clothing, for provisions and pack animals at very low rates.^^ Many were glad to remain during winter, and work for their liveli- hood. Though reports were freely circulated to the contrary, there is sufficient evidence that as a rule they were kindly treated, and not a few abandoned their search for gold to cast in their lot with the saints.^^
The arrival in November of the first pack-mule train from California, laden with many luxuries and neces- sities, was an important event. The people formed in line, waiting hours for their turn to buy the limited amount allowed.^" When a sack of potatoes was
hourly, momentarily, rolling, piling, tumbling, and thundering upon us, you would at least conclude that there was no danger of our getting the gout from idleness or too much jollity.' Frontier Guardian, Sept. 18, 1850. Men- tion of cholera on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in the spring of 1849 is made by Brigham. 'Many Mormon brethren and sisters emigrating on those rivers died; 60 died going from St Louis to Kanesville, mostly from England and Wales, under Capt. Dan. Jones.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 85.
^^ Horses, harnesses, carriages, wagons, etc., were bought of eager emigrant? at one fifth of their cost in the states. Utah Early Uecords, MS., 113.
^* In the autumn of 1849 many emigrants, while resting in Salt Lake City, wrote letters to their friends, in which they acknowledged the kindness and hospitality shown them by the saints. Extracts from these letters were pub- lished in newspapers throughout the states. Gunnison, The Mormons, 65, says: ' Their many deeds of charity to the sick and broken-down gold-seekers all speak loudly in their favor, and must eventually redound to their praise. ' See also Kane's The Mormons, 76-7; Stansbury's Expedition to O. S. Lake, i. 134. In March 1851, numbers of emi,t;rants were baptized, and most of them remained in Utah. Id., 123. D. J. Staples, who remained at S. L. City for two or three weeks with a Boston party bound for California in 1849, says: 'The Mormons showed their kindness in every possible way, supplying all wants and taking care of the sick.' Incidents and Inform., in Cat., MS., D. 1-3. See also Van Dyke's Statement, in Id., 1. Among later instances may be mentioned that of John C. Fremont, who with nine white men and twelve Indians arrived at Parowan Jan. 7, 1854, in a starving condition. He was supplied with provisions and fresh animals, setting forth eastward on the 20th.
was allowed more than one pound of anything. Mrs Hornets Migrations, M ​S.. 30.
brought into the valley in the spring, they were eagerly bought at any price. From four small ones, costing fifty cents, was obtained a bushel of good-sized potatoes which were saved for seed.
The immigration during the season numbered some 1,400 souls, who were added to the settlers in the valley,^^ and who, with the number remaining of those originally bound for California, made a large population to clothe, feed, and shelter.
A carrying company was also established^^ in De- cember for the purpose of conveying passengers and goods from the Missouri River to the gold regions of California. In their prospectus, the proprietors set forth that, residing as they did in the valley, and be- ing acquainted with the route, they could provide fresh animals as they were needed and save the loss of hundreds and thousands of dollars that had been incurred by former parties through inexperience. For passengers to Sutter's Fort, the rate was $300, of which $200 must be paid in advance, and the remain- der on reaching Salt Lake City. For freight, the terms were $250 per ton, of which two thirds must also be paid in advance.
A small company under Captain Lamoreaux left the valley for Green Kiver, and there established a ferry and trading post; among them were wagon- makers and blacksmiths, whose services would be in- valuable.
When the immigrants of this year arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, many of them were
' Our cattle stampeded, and at the south pass of the Platte we were overtaken by a heavy storm, in which 70 animals were frozen. We made our journey to Salt Lake City, 1,034 miles, in 145 days, arriving Oct. 27th.' Geo. A. Smith's Autobiog., in TuUidije's il/r/fl'., July 1884. The cattleof tlieCalifor- nia Enterprise Company, under Judge Thos K. Owen of 111., stampeded near the forks of the Platte and ran back 130 miles in about 26 hours; they were brought aloi'g by Capt. Allen Taylor's company, which received from their owners a series of resolutions expressive of their gratitude. Hist. B. Youmj, MS., 1849, 157-8.
^^ Termed the Great Salt Lake Valley Carrying Company. The proprie- tors were Shadrach Roundy, Jedediah M. Grant, John S. Fullmer, George D. Grant, and Russell Homer. Utah Early Records, MS., 101; Hist. B. Youmj, MS., ​almost destitute of clothing, bedding, and household furniture, such articles as they possessed having been exchanged for food during their journey. In 1848 it had been prophesied by Heber C. Kimball that the commodities, known among the brethren as 'states goods,' would be as cheap in Salt Lake City as in New York; while Brigham Young, soon after setting forth from Nauvoo, had made a similar prediction, declaring that within five years his people would be more pros- perous than they had ever been. Both prophecies were fulfilled, when, during the first years of the gold fever, company after company came pouring into Utah, which might now be termed the half-way house of the nation. Several hundred California-bound emigrants arrived in the valley in 1849, too late to continue their journey on the northern route, and proposed to spend the winter in the valley. There was scarcely provision enough for those already there, and as Jefferson Hunt of the battalion offered to pilot the company over the southern route, they decided to undertake the trip, and started on the 8th of October, arriving in California on the 22d of December. On the 1st of December nineteen men came into the city on foot, nearly famished, having been two days making their way over Big Mountain. Their wagons had been left on Echo Creek, and their animals at Willow Springs, where the snow, they said, was six feet deep on a level. Though many of these adventurers were poor, some of the trains were loaded with valuable merchandise, for which their owners ​
300 IN" THE VALLEY OP THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
expected to find a ready market on reaching their destination. But while sojourning in the valley, news arrived that vessels laden with similar merchandise had arrived in San Francisco, or were far on their way, and that already the market was greatly over- stocked.^^ The emigrants were thereiore glad to exchange their costly outfits and their trading goods for whatever they could get in exchange, a single horse or a mule, with a small stock of provisions, be- ing sometimes accepted as an equivalent for property that had cost the owner thousands of dollars. The cattle thus obtained by the settlers, in barter, after being fattened on the nutritious grasses of the valley, were driven to California, where a sure and profitable market was found.
As a result of the California-bound migration, there followed an enormous advance in the price of provi- sions, flour selling before the harvest of 1850 at one dol- lar per pound, and after harvest at twenty-five dollars per cental.^^ Throughout the autumn of this year the grist-mills were run to their utmost capacity, grinding wheat for the passing emigrants, who at any cost must procure sufficient to carry them to the gold mines. Some other articles of food were for a time equally scarce, sugar selling at the rate of three pounds for two dollars ;^^ though beef was plentiful, and could be had for ten cents per pound.^^ It is probable,
'6 ' Thousands of emigrants. . . have passed through Salt Lake City this sea- son, exchanging domestic clothing, wagons, etc., for horses and mules.* Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 143.
2' Utah Early Records, MS., 112; Contributor, ii. 240. See also Frontier Guardian, Sept. 18, 1850, where is a copy of an address delivered by Brigham Young at the bowery, S. L. City. 'I say unto you, farmers, keep your wheat, for I foresee if you are not careful starvation will be on our heels.' It was not intended, however, that food should be withheld from the destitute; in another address from Brigham, published in tlie same paper, we read: ' I say to you, latter-day saints, let no man go hungry from your doors; divide with them and trust in God for more.' 'Emigrants, don't let your spirits be worn down; and shame be to the door where a man has to go liungry away.'
^On Nov. 21, 1849, Mr Vasquez opened a store in Salt Lake City, and met with ready sale for his sugar at this rate. Utah Early Records, MS., 100.
"' Fuel and building material were costly, firewood being worth, in 1850, ten dollars per cord, adobe bricks a dollar a hundred, and lumber five dollars the hundred feet. Two years later, 'states goods' had also become scarce throughout the territory, linen selling for 20 to 30 cents per yard, flannel for ​
THE GOLD FEVER AMONG THE BRETHREN-. 301
however, that these rates represent the prices charged to passing eaiigrants, for at this period the wages of laborers did not exceed $2 per day, and of skilled mechanics $3. The saints prided themselves upon their honorable dealings with these strangers, and the moderate prices demanded, though frequently charged with swindling. *° They could afford to part with their produce, because they had learned to dis- pense with many articles which among other com- munities were considered necessaries. For men who had fed during their first winter in the valley on hides and roots, it was no great hardship to dispense for a season with a portion of their provisions, their grain, beef, and butter, their coffee and sugar, in return for which they received such value.
It was not of course to be expected that while thou- sands of California-bound emigrants were passing each year through the Mormon settlements, the saints should themselves entirely escape the gold fever. In November 1848, several small parties of the battalion found their way to Salt Lake City,^^ some of them bringing considerable quantities of gold-dust, which, as they relate, had come into their possession in this wise.
In September 1847 about forty of the battalion men arrived at Sutter's Fort in search of employment and were hired by Sutter to dig the races for a flour mill about six miles from the fort and for a saw-mill some forty-five miles distant.'*^ The latter work be- ing completed in January 1848, and the frame of the
30 to 40 cents, prints for 25 to 50 cents, and jeans for 75 cents to $1.25; while a bottle of ink cost $2, and a ream of writing-paper $10 to $12. Deseret News, Nov. 6, 1852, where it is stated that on some classes of goods traders realized from 200 to 10,000 per cent profit.
and sold to an emigrant at the usual price, $1. He was surprised at its cheap- ness, but in all our dealings with emigrants we took no advantage of them. I took boarders at five or six dollars a week.' Mrs Richards' Rem., MS., 36.
Records, MS., 30-1.
for their stock. Tyler's Hist. Mormon Battalio ​n, 332.
building erected, water was turned into the flume on the 24th, and the fall being considerable, washed out a hole near the base of the mill on reaching the tail-race, whereupon Marshall, Sutter's partner, and superintendent of the party, examined the spot, fear- ing that the water would undermine the foundations. While thus engaged, he observed there pieces of yel- low glistening metal, and picking up a handful put them in his pocket, not knowing what they were, and supposing probably that he had found nothing more valuable than iron pyrites.
They were no iron pyrites, however, that Marshall had found, but, as it proved, nuggets of gold, the largest of them being worth about five dollars. The discovery was revealed in confidence to three of the saints, who unearthed a few more specimens, and soon afterward removed to a sand-bar in the Sacramento river, since known as Mormon Island. Here was gold in paying quantities, the average earnings of each man being twenty to thirty dollars per day. But though dust and nuggets were freely shown to the brethren, there were few who would believe their senses, and for weeks the matter caused no excitement. At length, however, the secret was disclosed, which soon transformed the peaceful valleys of California into busy mining camps, changing as if by magic the entire face of the country. How throughout the settlements on seaboard and on river the merchant abandoned his wares, the lawyer his clients, the parson his flock, the doctor his patients, the farmer his standing grain — all making one mad rush for the gold-fields, some on horseback, some with pack-mules, some with wheel- barrows, some with costly outfits, and some with no outfit save the clothes on their backs — is fully set forth in my History of California.
When the disbanded soldiers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake and displayed their treasures, a cry was raised among the saints, "To California; to the land of Ophir that our brethren have discovered!" ​
THE GOLD-SEEKERS REBUKED. 303
But from the twelv^e came a stern rebuke. "The true use of gold is for paving streets, covering houses, and making cuHnary dishes; and when the saints shall have preached the gospel, raised grain, and built up cities enough, the Lord will open the way for a supply of gold to the perfect satisfaction of his peo- ple. Until then, let them not be over-anxious, for the treasures of the earth are in the Lord's store- house, and he will open the doors thereof when and where he pleases."*^
President John Smith wrote to the saints in Cali- fornia in March 1848, urging them to gather at the Great Salt Lake, "that they might share in the bless- ings to be conferred on the faithful; and warned them against settling down at ease in California with an eye and a half upon this world and its goods, and half an eye dimly set towards Zion on account of the high mountains and the privations to be endured by the saints."
"If we were to go to San Francisco and dig up chunks of gold," said Brigham to the returned battalion on the 1st of October, 1848, "or find it in the valley, it would ruin us." In an address on the sabbath he said: "I hope the gold mines will be no nearer than eight hundred miles ... There is more delusion and the people are more perfectly crazy on this continent than ever before... If you elders of Israel want to go to the gold mines, go and be damned. If you go, I would not give a picayune to keep you from damnation."** "I advise the corrupt, and all who want, to go to California and not come back, for I will not fellowship them. . .Prosperity and riches blunt the feelings of man. If the people were united, I would send men to get the gold who would care no more about it than the dust under their feet, and then we would gather millions into the church...
" Second General Epistle of the Twelve, dated Salt Lake City, Oct. 12, 1849, in Frontier Guardian, Dec. 26, 1849.
Some men don't want to go after gold, but they are the very men to go."^^
Thus the threatened migration was stayed; a few companies departed/^ and were asked in all kindness never to return. "If they have a golden god in their hearts," said Brigham, "they had better stay were they are." But the majority of the settlers were well content to abide in the valley, building up towns, planting farms, and tending stock in their land of promise.
few have caught the gold fever; I counselled such, and all the saints, to re- main in the valleys of the mountains, make improvements, build comfort- able houses, and raise grain against the days of famine and pestilence with which the earth would be visited. '
^*The gold fever first broke out in June 1848, news of the discovery be- ing brought by a party of battalion men that arrived from California in that month. In March 1849, about a dozen families departed or were preparing to depart for the mines. In March 1851, about 520 of the saints were gath- ered at Payson, Utah county, most of them for the purpose of moving to California. Utah Early Records, MS., 31, 69, 122.
* ↑ Parley P. Pratt says: 'Here life was as sweet as the holidays, as merry as in the Christian palaces and mansions of those who had driven us to the mountains.'
* ↑ 'It was a strange sight to see sometimes furrows on one side and snow on the other. In Feb. men worked out of doors in their shirt sleeves. ' Horne's Migrations, MS., 24.
* ↑ 'It was so tough that Brother Taylor suggested we must grease the saw to make it work.' Home's Migrations, MS., 26.
* ↑ Parley relates that during 1848 he and his family were compelled to go barefooted for several months, reserving their Indian moccasins for extra occasions. Autobiog., 405.
* ↑ In the summer of 1849, almost every article except tea and coffee sold at 50 per cent below the prices ruling in eastern cities. Frontier Guardian, Sept. 5, 1849.
* ↑ 'The company became dissatisfied at the continued southern direction. At Beaver Creek, one Capt. Smith came up with a company of packers, saying that he had maps and charts of a new route, called Walker's cut-off. All the packers and most of Capt. Hunter's co. joined Smith. After wandering about the mountains for a time many turned back and took the southern route, while Capt. Smith and a few others struggled through and arrived in California on foot.' Hist. B. Young, MS., 1849, 167.