The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1859-09-15

quesIion-ahu am amazed that 80
much has been well done here In, the
way of building, tilling, fencing, plant
ing trees, &c. Of course this city Is
far ahead of any rival, being the spirit
ual metropolis and the earliest settled
but 1 am assured that the valley of
Utah Lake is better cultivated than
this, though Provo, its county seat, is
far behind this city, which; with It's
broad, regular streets, refreshed by riv-
ulets of bright sparkling, dancing
water. and shaded by rows of young
but thrifty trees, mainly Locust and
Bitter Cottonwood, is already morelst-
tractiye to theeye than an average city
of like size in the States. The houses
(of adobe or merely sun-dried Ebriek)
are uniformly low and generally too
small; but there is seldom more than
one family to dwelling, andrarely
but one dwelling on lot of an acre
and quarter: The gardens are well
filed with Peach, Apple and other
fruit-trees, whereof the Peach already
bears profusely, and the others begin
to follow the example. Apricots and
Grapes are grown, though not yet
abundant; so of strawberries. Plums
are in profusion, and the Mountain
Currants are large, abundant and very
good. Many of the lots are fenced
with cobble stones laid in clay mortar,
which seems to stand very we'll, That
of Brigham Young's garden and
grounds is nine or ten feet high, three
feet thick at the base, and cost some
$50 per rod. Undoubtedly this people
are steadily increasing in wealth and
comfort. ~ ,r.~ 49,, 49,. -
E Still, the average life in Utah iss
hard one. Many more days faithful
labor are required to support family
here than in Kansas, or any of the
States. The climate is severe and ca
pricious--now intensely hot and dry;
in winter cold and stormy; and though
cattle are usually allowed to shirk for
themselves in the valleys they are apt
to resent the insult by dying. Crickets
and grasshoppers swarm in myriads,
and often deyour all before them.
Wood is scarce and poor. Irrigation
is laborious and expensive, as yet,sit
has not been found practicable to irri-
gate one-fourth of the anable land at
all. Ultimately, the valleys will be
generally irrigated; but this will re-
quire very costly dams and canals.
Frost is very destructive here; Indian
corn rarely escapes it wholly, and
wheat often suffers from it. Wheat,
oats, corn, barley, rye, are grown St
about equal cost per bushel-s2 may
be taken as their average prices wheat
is usually heavy, though this year it
threatens to be relatively light. / es-
innate that one Hundred and fifty days.
faithful labor in Kansas will produce as
an aggregate of the necessaries Of life
food, clothing, fael--as three hun
just such days. work in Utah. Hence
the adults here generally wear q toll
worn, anxious look, and many of them
are older in frame than in years. I
ardently hope it may not always be
thus. ~ iofp1eEss5fo
ed5 - Esese ssils1 D8na otgf
9reI8 PoLYGAMY.i dsifa vd
| do not believe the plural-wife sys-
tenn can long endure; yet almost every
man with whom / consersed on the
subject seems intensely fanatically de-
voted to it, desming this the choieest
of his earthly blessings. With che
women, l am confident it is otherwise
and / watched their faces as Elder
Taylor, at social gathering on .Sstur-
day night, was expatiating Numerically
on this feature of the Mormon system,
to the great delight of the men; but
not one responsive smile did I see. on
the face Of q woman On the contra
ry, I thought they seemed generally to
wish the subject had been passed over
in silence. Fanaticisrn, and belief
that we ara Gods especial exclusive
favorites, will carry most of Us q great
way but the natural instinct in every
woman's brest must teach her that to be
some ones third or fourth wife is to be
no wife at all. Issked my next neigh
Dor the name of q fair young girl Who
sat some distance from as with babe
on her knee. "That is one of Judge
Smiths ladies' was his quiet, matter
of course answer. OF course no
woman spoke publicly-I believe none
ever speaks in Mormon AssembIage
and shall not ask any one her pri-
vate opinion of Polygamy !; but / think
! can read an unfayorable one on many
faces. i Es IN ese
Yet Polvcamv ;s one main bills