Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-07-21
rrnh Items of Interest

Utah Items of Interest
The letters from the Tfibune's special cores
pOndent from Salt Lake City down to the 18th
of June note many matters of interest in desc
lated Mormondom. He accompanied the frst
division of the army, and thus speaks Of the
VALLEYS o. The MOUNTAINS.
l have ceased to ridicule the eXtrayagant rhet-
ORC of the MOrmOns about the "a Valleys OF the
Mountains" /" or to wonder that a people so fan
alieal by nature should have found in the scene
" which surrounds them inspiration Tor the
@war." l have traversed the TyrOi, wandered
through Switzerland, .tramPed with party OF
German students over the hills of the Palatinate,
have crossed the Alleghenies half dozen times,
and have waded in the trout brooks of Northern
New Hampshire so many summers that am IA
miliar with every landscape between Lake Umba-
gog and Connecticut, but have never seen
panorama of mountain scenery so varied and
beautiful as on our ride from Bear River to the
Valley of the Great Sat Lake. For miles and
miles in the kanyOns the road winds through
thickets of willows and alders and hawthorn
bushes, whose twigs :nterlaced and often hung
so low under the load of leaves and blossoms
that even when we bent down on the neeks OF
our little Indian ponies they swept our backs
Through the interstices of the foliage we could
catch gIimpses of the mountain sides, streaked
by slides Of gravel and studded with masses Of
sandstone, surrounded by twittering focks of
birds which had built their nests in the ereyices
of the rock. The ridges we crossed between
kanyon and kanyon were covered with fields Of
luxuriant grass and flowers. From them, when
ever the sun shOne clear, we could see on the
west and south the broken line Of the Wahsatch
ridge; but through the morning haze only the
outline OF its white crest was visible, and our
eyes strained to discern more.
The writer gives minute description of the
Mormon Notifications in Echo Kanyon, and
comes to the conclusion that they possess no
merit and little strength, adding that ''there is
not Brevet Second Lieutenant in the army
who will not smile when he passes them" We
clip his
FIRST SIGHT OF THE CITY.
It was not until we emerged from Emigra-
ton KanyOn that We obtained our first view of
the city. The sky was clear overhead, and the
sun was burning away the clouds from the
submits of the West Mountains. They still
hung low on the peaks which bound the valley
on the southeast, almost covering the snow
upon the crests of the range. The line Of the
Great Salt Lake was glttering along the wes-
tern horizon The transition was so sudden
that the whole party uttered shout Of delight.
We spuTred our ponies down the long slope,
those of the company who had lived in the city
pointing out the prominent buildings as we
galloped alOng-the timed cupalo of the Court
House, the Mansion and the Zion House of
Brigham Young, the Temple square, and the
Arsenal All down the valley on each side Of
fha anufharn rod hrnaH Eal1z Of
grain, TO which the showers had impaired an
additional green. Through the plain we could
trace the windings Of the Jordan by the glitter
Of the sunlight on its bends. As we rode
through the streets hardly soul was visible
At last we saw group of half-naked Indian
boys padding in one OF the rivulets which run
along the cutters. The city is deserted.
The Peace Commissioners were met on the
Weber river by Porter Rockwell and Elder
eroesbech, who were travelling eastward with
a band Of twenty-five men and large mule
herd, and Rockwell sent messenger to Provo
to warn Brigham Young of their apPrOaeh.-
When entering the city the Commissioners
were met by George d. Grant and William A.
Kimball, both Mormon Major Generals, who
introduced themselves and escorted the Com
missioners TO the Globe Restaurant, which had
been opened for their reception.
THE DESERTED CITY OF THE SAINTS.
Almost every house 10 the city was deserted,
closed, and partially dismantled. None of the
principal dignitaries Of the Church-not a sin
gle member of the First Presidency or of the
Twelve ApOstles-were visible Brigham
YOung's mansion and his Zion House were a.
bandOned by their occupants boards were nail
ed over the windows, the gates were closed,
premises. No vehicles were to be seen in the
streets, and the few persons whose footsteps
were occasionally heard, belonged to the Nor
mon detachment which was left under the
command of Grant and Kimball, to take care Of
the gardens and houses Through the ehinks
in the wooden gate Of the Temple square few
wOrkmen were to be seen engaged in tearing
of the roofs of the buildings within the inelOs
ure, which have been used for civic and eeclesi-
sstieal purposes.
A number of noted MOrmons dined with the
Commissioners on invitation, the Arsenal was
visited by the party, and one brass and one iron
six Founders were exhibited. Gov. Cumming
arrived from 4 trip in the country on the 9Th,
and on the 10th Brigham, Heber, Daniel, and
seAS eaAtt aASAS Ae~oAAiS A-SA VI AhS SHNASA
including most Of the Twelve Apostles, entered
the city. A grand conference was commenced
in the Council House the next morning, at
which terms of settlement were discussed. A
second and third conference were held before
final agreement
POLYGAaY.
The difficulty in arriving at ''harmony'' was
the fear of the Momons that the army would
be quaTtered in their settlements, and that at
tempts would be made to interfere with pOlyga-
my The word "polygamy" was not once ut
tered, but the idea was repeatedly expressed by
circumlOcutions.
On the 18th Gov. Powell addressed a promis-
cuous audience of Momons at the request of
Brigham Young, saying that their principal
citizens had pledged the population to submis-
sion and loyalty, and expressing hope that the
pledges would be redeemed On the 10th Gov.
Powell spoke to an audience of more than 200
MOrmons at Provo, and in the evening to 1900
more at the town of Lehi. The Commission
ers intend to see the army take its positions in
the Territory, and then return to the States, |
starting at the beginning of July.
YoUNs's INvEsTNENTs-RoAD BUILDING
Brigham Young informed the Commissioners |
at Provo, that the inhabitants will return to
Salt Lake City as soon as the amy shall have |
gone into permanent quarters, but not before
he wishes to avoid all contact between them
and the troops He himself, however, has made |
extensive investments in real estate near Provo,
and some persons surm;se that in the future he |
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