The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-16 00:00:00

UST.

LITERATURE,.

The City of the Saints, and Across the Rocky Noun-
tams to ( alifc7 nia. By Richard F. Burton,
author of " A Pilgrimage to El Medinah and
Meccah. Longmans and Co.
The great city of the Salt Lake, the stronghold
of the Mormons, has been described by many
writers, all taking their own particular views, and
differing widely from each other. Notwithstand-
ing that the State or district of Utah has been
recognised by the Federal Government of the Union,
and that the fanatical followers of that clever un-
principled imposter, Joseph Smith (the martyr),
have at length found a resting-place, and to a cer-
tain extent mollified their extreme hallucination—
there still exists a wide distinction between them
and other men, both in religion, customs, and
habits. Although they are looked upon with
feelings of aversian, contempt, and pity, as the
case may be, still there is something so peculiar in
the organisation of this remarkable sect, living, as,
it were (and as was desired by themselves at first)
out of the reach of civilisation other than their
own, that all take an interest in their history.
There is something grand, too, and which com-
mands respect in the determination, devotion, and
self-sacrifice which impelled these devotees to
wander over the continent of North America, re-
pelled on every side as pariahs ; their settlements
broken up, their property destroyed, and their
families turned shelterless on the world. Cap-
tain Burton has endeavoured in his interesting

volume to depict the peculiarities of this strange

people without favour or affection. That he has
found it a hard task to arrive at even an approxi-
mation of the truth in many instances, he
informs us at the outset. The opposing witnesses

in a petty trial at the Old Bailey cannot
contradict each other more flatly than do the Mor-
mons and anti-Mormons. We may, however, com-
pliment the author on his success, as far as his
description of the country and the habits of
the inhabitants are concerned, and give him
credit for candour in the expression of his opi-
nions, although we may not coincide altogether
with them. Having determined on a visit to the
Great Salt Lake, Captain Burton made his pre-
parations—his experience of Eastern and African
travel made him well aware that a well-armed man,

if he cannot always make friends, can at least corn-
mand'respect. He informs us that for weapons he
carried two revolvers, besides a rifle, Bz.c.: and he
states that from the moment of leaving St. Jo to
the time of reaching Placerville, or Sacramento, the
pistol should never be absent from a man's right
side—it is hanlier there than on the other—nor
the bowie knife from the left. Contingencies with
Indians and others may happen, when the difference
-of a second saves a man's life. Captain Burton at
some length describes the most suitable weapons
to choose for various exigencies, also particulars
regarding outfits, &1., the study of which would be
valuable to those about to undertake any expedi-
tion where civilisation is not of high order, and the
rights of mean: and tuunz only theoretical. After
describing the three routes generally taken to cross
the continent, with some minuteness, and having
selected the least objectionable, the author entered
upon his travels, and departed from St. Jo on
August 7, 1860 :

TIIE START.-THE MAIL COACH IN THE FAR WEST.

The mail is carried by a "Concord coach," a spring
waggon, comparing advantageously with the horrible vans
which once disl,cated the joints of men on the Suez route.
The body is shaped somewhat like an English tax-cart
considerably magnified. It is built to combine safety,
strength, and lightness, without the slightest regard to ap-
pearances. The material is well-seasoned white oak—the
western regions and especially Utah, are notoriously defi-
cient in hard woods—and the manufacturers are well-known
coachwrights, Messrs. Abbott of Concord, N. Hampshire;
the colour is sometimes green, more usually red, causing
the antelopes to stand and stretch their large eyes whenever
the vehicle comes in sight. The wheels are five to six feet
apart, affording security against capsizing, with little
"gather" and less " dish;" the larger. have 14 spokes and
seven felloes •, the smaller 12 and six. The tyres are of
unusual thickness, and polished like steel by the hard dry
grouni, and the hubs or naves and the metal nave-bands
are in massive proportions. The latter • not unfrequently
fall off as the wood shrinks, unless the wheel is allowed to
stand in water; attention must be paid to resetting them,
or in the frequent and heavy " sidlins" the spokes may
snap off all round like pipe stems. The waggon bed is sup-
ported by iron bands or p:Tpendiculars abutting upon
wooden rockers, which rest on strong leather thorough-
braces; these are found to break the jolt better than the
best steel springs, which moreover, when injured, cannot
readily be repaired. The whole bed is covered with stout
osnaburg supported by stiff bars of white oak ; there is a
sun-shade-or hood in front, where the driver sits, a curtain
behind which can be raised or lowered at discretion' and
four flaps on each side either folded up or fastened down
with hooks and eyes. In heavy frost the passengers must
be half dead with cold, but they care little for that if they
can go fast. The accommodations arc as follows :—ln front
sits a driver with usually a conductor or passenger by his
side ; a variety of packages, large and small, is stowed
away under his leather cushion ; when the break must be
put on, an operation often involving the safety of the
vehicle, his right foot is planted upon an iron bar which
presses by a leverage upon the rear wheels,—and in hot
weather a bucket for watering the animals hangs over one
of the lamps, whose companion is usually found wanting.
The inside has either two or three benches fronting to
the fore or placed vis-a-vis ; they are moveable and
reversible, with leather cushions and hinged padded
backs ; unstrapped and turned down they convert
the vehicle into a tolerable bed for two persons or two and
a half. According to Cocker, the mail bags should be
safely stowed away under these seats, or if there be not
room enough, the passengers should perch themselves upon
the correspondence ; the jolly driver, however, is usually
induced to cram the light literature between the waggon
bed and the platform, or running gear beneath, and thus
when ford-waters wash the hubs, the letters are pretty cer-
tain to endure ablution. Behind, instead of dicky, is a
kind of boot where passengers' boxes are stored beneath a
stout canvas curtain with leather sides. The comfort of
travel depends upon packing the waggon; if heavy in front
or rear, or if the thoroughbraces be not properly "fixed,"
the bumping will be likely to cause nasal haemorrhage.
The description will apply to the private ambulance, or as
it is called in the west " avalanche," only the latter, as
might be expected, is more convenient; it is the drosky
in which the vast steppes of Central America are crossed
by the Government employee.

While traversing the early stages of the journey
the author enlightens his readers upon the pecu-
liarities of the conveyance and cattle employed
on these desolate journeys. Whether for saddle or
harness, mules are preferred to horses, being more
enduring and able to overcome difficulties which
would bring a horse to a stand-still. The journey
from St. Jo to Utah is amusingly described by ex-
tracts from the author's diary. The frequent mis-
haps and contretemps such as prolonged delays at
miserable post-stations, to enable the owners to
exact as much as possible from the unfortunate
passengers, aggravated by the refusal of the driver,
on reaching stations where any chance of comfort
and good food was to be obtained, to stay longer
than was necessary to change mules. If " neces-
sity makes us acquainted with strange bed-
fellows," certainly travelling across the prairies
brings the adventurer in contact with strange
company. On arriving on one occasion at
a station, where they were led to anticipate superior
comforts, they fell into the society of the fair sex,
whom the author thus describes :