Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1858-11-27
A Birds Eye View of Things I'm Utah.


The Prairie du Chen Leader of Nov. 18th
says: "We are permitted, through the kind
ness of Mr. COLGATE, Of this city, to make
the following extracts from letter received
by him from brother who is connected with
the U. S Army in Utah. The letter is dated
Camp Floyd, Cedar Valley, Utah Territory,
Oct l, 1865"
DEAR BROTHER: Here am in this outland-
ish place, 1900 miles from LeavenwOrth City.
1t is the meanest place, think, that / ever was
n 1t is thick with dust from morning until
night, as there is stiff breeze that blows
steadily and keeps the air full of dust; and
as for trying to keep clean, that is altogether
out of the question. You may wash yourself
clean, but in twenty minutes you will be as
black as a nigger. San Francisco
is 7GO miles from here; fare, by stage, which
runs regularly once week, $125. Everthing
here is at California prices. Eggs SOC per
doz, butter 81 per h., coffee 65c per ib, su-
gar 75c per tb. bacon SOC per H., boots S15
a pair, commOnest kind of pants so pair,
socks 81 PAIR, flannel shirts s. piece, hats
80, common coats $l5 to $50, and everything
ise accordingly. = i x Salt Lake City
covers great deal of ground, but it is divided
up in blocks of four acres; each person living
IN one corner is allowed one acre to raise what
vegetables he may want to support himself
and his four wives, or more. The MOrmons
| are mean, close-fisted, avaracious set of men,
| and none too good to steal or murder; and as
| for the women, they are regular set OF pros
titutes. The city, by what could judge, has
| about $4,000 inhabitants. The houses are
mostly built of adobe brick, except the FL
ders and Brigham YOungs, which are built
| Of wood and quite costly. Brighanis private
house cost $50, 900, the Lion House, or house
| Of his easy virtues residence, stable and out
houses, cost SIC, 900; the Government build
| ings are very nice. 1t makes person think
of the States when he goes into the city and
sees the large number of stores, butchers
shops, rum shops, billiard saloons, gambling
| hells, and everything else where man can
spend his loose change. l consider that Gov.
Cummings is as much of Mormon as any of
hem l think that the best thing they can
do with him, is to call him back to the States,
| as he does no good here. He hardly dares
show his head out of his dwelling, as the army
officers out here are so enraged against him.
| As for the U. S. subduing the Mormons,
| ,hink it is on the other leg, as the MormOns
| 10 as they always have done, and the pres
ence of the army does not seem to worry
them lit. At the present time they are
making a good thing out of Uncle Sam, as
they are stealing his mules nightly; mp to this
time have taken about four hundred. The
U. S. also have to buy of them all the hay,
wheat barley and oats that they feed to their
animals. The Mormons yesterday poisoned
a soldier, and to-day he was buried. Brig
| ham has given orders to all his tribe to have
three years supply of provisions on hand this
winter, which looks as if they intended to be
ready to make better show of fighting. We
are now 80 miles from Salt Lake City; our
| camp contains about 5000 U. S. troops, 1900
tcamsters, and 500 MormOns. Ten miles
from here is Nauvoo- city population, 10000
, and Mormon Bee city, population 10000; 20
| miles further Ogden city, population 25,OO0.
There are several other smaller cities around
as. The Mormon population of the Territory
i, estimated at 10000, of whom $4,000 are
lighting nlen.
Yours, H. c. c.