The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1859-10-13
AN OVERLAND JOURNEY
XXI.
Salt Lake and its Environs,

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July le, 1859
A party of US visited the Lake on Sat
urday. |, is not visible from the city
though it must be from the mountains
which rises directly north of it. and more
remotely on all sides; but Antelope, Stans
bury, aud perhaps other Islands in the
Lake, being mainly covered with high
rugged hills or mountains, are in plain
sight from every part of the Valley. The
best of these islands is possessed ~ "the
Church" (Mormou) as herd ground or
yanche for its numerous cattle, and Is
probably the best tract for that in the
Territory. That portion Of the Lake be-
tween it aud the Valley is so shallow tha
cattle may at most seasons be safely dri-
ven over to the island, while 1t Is so deep
lbetween three aud four feet that none
will stray back again, and it would be
difficult aud dangerous to steal cattle
thebce In the night, when that business is
mostly carried on. So the Church has
large aud capital pasture, aDd her cat
tie multiply aud wax fat at the least pos
sible expense The canon for wood near
this city is likewise owned by "the Church"
-boao owned | can't pretend to say
but whoever draws wood from it must de-
posit every third load in the Church s ca
pscious yard. These are but specimens
of the 10 auag cement whereby. though the
Saints are generally poor-oi,en quite
Door, so that Saint who has three wires
can sometimes hardly sford to keep two
bcds-yet "thc Church has comforta-
bio allowance OF treasures laid up on
earth. ADd her leading Apostles and
dignitaries also, by a curious coincidence,
seem to be iu thriving circumstances. 1t
looks to me as though neither they nor
the Church could afford to have the world
burn up for a while yet.
Crossing. just west of the city, the
Jordou bich drains the fresh waters of
Lake Utah into Salt Lake. and is large,
sluggish creek), we are at once out of
reach of irrigation from the Dortbern hills
the river intercepting all streams from
that quarter-and are once more on
parched clay plain covered uaiuly with
our old acqusintances. Sagebush and
Greenwood; though there are wet springy
tracts, especially toward the southern
nountains and near the Lake, which pro-
Guce rauk coarse grass Yet this SEEM
ing desert has naturally better soil than
the hard pebly gravel on which the city
stands and which irrigation bas converted
iuto beautiful gardens aud orchards.
rejoice to see that dam over the Jordan
is in progress, wherby a considerable sec-
ton OF the valley of that river 40 miles
long BY an average Of 20 broad is to be
irrigated. There are serious obstacles to
the full success of this enterprise in the
inequality of the plain. which is gouged
and cut up by numerous (now dry wa
ter-courses; but if this project is well en-
gineered, it will double the productive
capacity of this valley, and L earnestly
trust it may be. In the absence of sy.-
tematic aud judidious irrigation, there are
far too many cattle and sheep on this
great common, as the guant look of most
of the cattle testi6cs. Water Is also
scarce and bad here; We tried several OF
the springs which are found at the south
ern mountains, and found them all black
ish, while not single stream flows from
those mountains 10 the five out OF six miles
that we skirted them, and L am told that
they afford but one or two scauty rivers
through the whole extent of this valley.
Iu the sbseoce of irrigation, nothing is
grown or attempted but wild grass; OF
the hulf-dozen cabins we have passed be-
tween the Jordan and Lake, not one bad
even the semblance of garden or OF any
cultivation whatever. A shrewd woman
who bad lived seven years near the Lake
assured me that it would do DO good to
cite mpt cultivation there; "too much al
kali" was her reason. learn that on
the city side Of the Jordou, when irrigs-
ton was irst introduced and cultivation
attempted, the soil. whenever allowed to
become dry. was covered the frst year or
two with some wbitish substance; but this
was soon washed out and washed of by
water, SO that no alkali DOW exhibits it.
self, and this trnct produces handsomely.
Let the Jordan be so damned and it's
ater conducted into lateral canals that
its whole valley may be amply irrigated,
and there are few tracts of like area that
will produce more generously, albeit
nsjority of its acres now seem as sterile