Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-08-27
WHOLE NUMBER sos.


round water worn granite bowlders of all
sizes from that Of pigeons egg UP 70
that Of potash kettle when the ravino
widened little, and the trait wound from
side to side OF the watercourse as chances
for foothold we're prodered by one or the
other. The bottom Of this ravine was
poorly timbered with Quaking Asp, Balsam
Fir with some Servce-Berry, ChokeeCher-
ry, Mountain Cnrrat, and other bushes
the whole ascent is four miles, not very
steep except for the last balf mile bnt
the trail is SO bad that il is good two
hours work to reach the summit But,
that summit gained, we stand IN broad,
opens level space on the top Of the Wah-
satch range, with the Wintah and Bear
Mountains on either hand, forming per,
feet chaos Of wild, barren peaks, some of
them snowy, betwecn which we hare a
glance at part Of the Salt Lake VaIleg.
some thirty miles distant, though the City,
much nearer, ishidden by Intervening nights,
and the Lake is likewise concealed further
to the right. The descent toward the VAL
ley is sleeper and shorter than the ascent
from the side Of Bear Rver--the first half
mile SO fearfully steep that I judge few
passengers ever rode down it, though car
riage wheels arc uniformity chained here.
But, though the southern face Of these
mountains is covered by far more Iuxuri-
ant shrubbery than he northern smong
which Oaks aud Naples soon make their
appearance for the first time in many
weary hundred miles, none of these seem
ever to grow into trees in fact, saw
none over six feet high Some Quaking
| Acme frop tor N fu-ot fxG Grof f.sofb btt~f, bo
largest hardly more than six inches through
cover patches of these PERCEPTIONS mountain
sides, down which and over the low inter-
yening mountain they are toisomely drag
ged fifteen or twenty miles to serve as fuel
in this city, where even such poor trash
sells for SIS to $40 per cord. The search
ty and wretchedness of the limber-Q
have not seen the raw material for de-
cent ax-helve growing in all my last thou
sand miles of trayel)--is the great discour-
agement and drawback with regard to all
this region. The parehed sandy clay or clay
ey sand of the Plains disappeared many
miles back there has been rich, black
soil. at least in the valleys, ever since we
crossed Weber River but the timber is
still scarce, small, and poor, in the ravines,
while ninety-nine huudredths of the sEr-
face of the mountains is utterly bare OF it.
In the absence of Coal, how can region
so unblest be ever thickly settled and prof
itably cultivated
The descent of the mountain on this side
is but two miles in length, with the Mail
Company's station at the bottom. Hero
IL miles from the city, 27 from Bear Riv-
er) we had expected to stop for the night,
but our new conductor, seeing that there
was still two or three hours of good day
light, resolved to come on So, with fresh
teams, we soon crossed the little mountain"
steep, but hardly mile in ascent and
but half mile in immediate deseent--and
ran rapidly down some ten miles through
the narrow ravine known as Emigration
Canon" where the road, though much ira
verSed by Mormons as well as emigrants
and merchant trains, is utterly abominable;
aud, passing over but two or three miles
Of intervening plain, were in this city just
as twilight was deepening into night.
Salt Lake City wears pleasant aspect
to the emigrant or traveller, weary, dusty,
and Drowned with thousand miles of JOLT
ing, fording, camping, through the scorch-
ed and naked American Desert 1t is lo-
| chISu kudltilN Ou tuC OChCh VI uoiQ AlnfCl
that slopes southward from the foot of tho
mountains toward the lake valley the
houses-generally small and Of one story
are all built of adobe (sun-hardened bfickl
aud have neat aud quiet look; while the
uniform breadth of the streets (eight rods)
and the magnificent distances" usually
preserved by the buildings leach block con-
tanning ten acres, divided into eight lots,
giving a quarter of an acre for baildings
an acre for garden, frGit, &C., TO each house
holder, make up an ensemble seldom equal
ed. Then the rills of bright, sparkling,
leaping water, which diverted from the
streams issuing from several adjacent noun.
tain canons flow through each street and
are conducted at viii into every garden,
diffuse an air of freshness GOODNESS which
none can fail to enjoy, but which only .
traveller in Summer across the Plains can
fully appreciate. On single business
street, the Post-0ffice, principal stores, &c,
are set pretty near each other, though not
so close as in other cities; everywhere else,
{ believe, the original plan Of the city has
been wisely and happily preserved. South
. ward from the city, The soil is softer and
: lrieher. and there are farms of--I Judge
i 1 lU 10 Az OF OO dCICos Out eotN eAHN
A the lowest portion Of the valley, nearly on
T. level with the lake, is SO impregnated
[ with salt, soda, etc, as TO yield hnt
2 Igrudging return for the husbandman's Ia,
] bor ] believe, however, that even this
region is available as a Stock-range--thou-
sands on thousands of cattle. mainly own
, ed in the city, being pastured here 10 VIA
ter as we'll as in Summer, aud said TO do
! we'll in all seasons For though snow is
never absent from the notwithstanding
which shut in this valley, il seldom irs long
in the valley itself
} The pass over the Wahsatch is. Il / mis-
take not, $500 feet above the sea-levels :
. this valley about 4,900 The atmosphere
4 is so pure that the mountains across the
} valley TO the sonth seem but ten or fifteen
miles of; they are really from twenty to
thirty. The lake is some twenty miles west
| ward but We see only the rugged mouB-
tain known as Antelope Island' which
rises 10 its center. and seems 70 bound the
. l.. T.. 49, .lf.aoft... rfttt lr.fk fhn