Litchfield enquirer., 1853-03-03
TOUR OVER TIE CONTINENT
 CHAPTER W.

River. over a brokens Oartens WOtsulSS country. we came to Fort Bridgir. g. caIled after the name of its owner. Wht S,ss lonC resided in the country and tra- \ Iea with the Indians in furs' horses ;nTIes '&c. At this place the road to Salt Lake diverges iu a sou!nerly oEec, tion from the. most direct California trail Ge;e Ie had the pleasure of seeing sOm' t5;ob cedars, which was indeed a cheer TSo' sight after trave:ing so long over country destitute of everything but sage bns6es Ia attempting to cross nar~ sC,s nrit rapid stream, our horses, wagon, ! driver and all, tloatcd down stream aDt ;t was with great difficulty that we sue
 seeded in hauling them out through the v;liows below, after losing some $lO wortli. of provisions in the water.
 S'St KSoHt one hundred miles north east or sglt Lake. the country becomes more Lilly and | mountainous. Small groves o' nonlar trees are seen along the trail. In 5,temntipc to mount my horse to eros ' deem rapid stIeam. he at the sam' time plunged into the water, and. making misslep, stumbled. submerging botl Eorse and rider at the same instant.- We crossed Bear River, (which IS per haps thirty rods wide and very raiPd') bv tying fopes together long enough to reach 10 the opposite side, where mes
 were stationed; one end of the ropes beino fasten ed to the wagon-tongue. the wagons wore drawn safely over,-, From this poiIt to Salt Lake, the coun Ary was so mountainous that 1t cannot oe
 Sassed over except by following. the streams, which run down through very narrow valleys, with vast masses ot rocks oyerhanging on the west side. carved into Ill manner of flgures'by the hand-of'man or worp by the water. In following flown one of these valleys, we had to haulsoar wagon across the'streain on two poles: and were compelled to cross and re. croas ten times in one day. Another suchs stream we crossed some fourteen times in single day. on account ot its xieG>sag course from one side of the val lev to tle other. Webber River, about the size of Bear River, we crossed on raft, some men on the opposite side hauling us over with rope. Price ol ferriage $4.
 June 6. The day before we reached ahe Salt Lake, we passed oyer some very high hiils or, mountains. cn the top oi which, was snow<bank six feet deep Some most beautiful fir and other trees grow on these mountains. As we drew hear to the great Salt Lake Valley vt
 passed down narrow Kanyan or ravlne
 through whicl, stream flowed, the be- of which was much of the way the tral .ws had to travel--sometimss the hub Q one wheel rolling % shs, mud s.-a.s and la' sh upon our. view. Along the foot of tk; mppptaip for two or three miles. is sl elevated barren plain or tsble-land ove which we travelled, and the City of tht Mormons appeared in sight. At first thought tue buildings were tents ranged in regular order. The houses are small, one story high, built of sun burnt brick pr logs The streets are very vide, down Through which runs on either side a etream of pure water from the melting snoWs of the. mountains. There are four stEsels built up, running east and west. and perhaps six running north and south =-crossing each other at right angles. ghe houses are generally ten or twelve rods apart. There was no public house in the village, and but three stores. and those not in public place. They were erecting Council House, building about equal to an ordinary Court House in the States. We were treated as hos. pitably asswe should have been in any village in our own country, but some of the women told our party that if the peo. ple of the States troubled them again, they would manure their land with their fareases.
 It really seems 10 them as though the distance of 1900 miles of barren noun tains and desert plains ought to prevent the heather of the East from :respassine upon their rights and privileges. The Valley is twenty miles across - one smooth. unbl oken plain or marsh de, tcending gently from the base. of the mountains on either side to the Jordan, rendering almost all the land convenient to irrlgale, as they do not expect much rain in the summer. It is bounded on the southwest by high mountains. to lhe southeast it extends sixty miles to UtahLaks, which empties itself into Salt Lake through the Jordan. on the east by T mountain called in the vulgar Indian | tongue, Iinpanegos. but exactly resem-~ bling the pictures of Mount Sinai.- Whether tho people sufficiently cherish the principles promulgated on that ia. pous Mount to christen it Sinai, I am not advised :; but certain it is, that it tfowns axfally down upon the { chy of [ lhe plain; The, Jordan in. its co urss tlows iiorth. west apdsfalls inao the Dead Sea twenty miles. from the city. The moun!aia IS said to be l>2 miles high, | and tWehty miles from the civ: aIbongI