Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-06-17
Letter from Salt Lake City.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Utah TIE
ECHO CANON.

May Zju, 1901.
ECHO CANON.
At sunrise, yesterday morning, one OF
the coaches of the Overland Stage Com
pany, containing your correspondent
and company, entered a little ravine
high up in the snowy regions of the
Rocky Mountains, which the driver in
formed us was Echo Canon. The air
was quite cool, there being very heavy
frost, but we rolled up the curtain and
were on the q,li rice for a look at the
scenery and to note whatever objects of
interest might apprar to the view. The
Canon is twenty miles long and in many
places is barely of sufficient width for
the passage of the lively little stream OF
water which courses its whole length
and the wagon road. AT all points,
however, where there is little space,
we noticed luxuriant growth of grass
and flowers, which, after some hundreds
of miles travel across the vast, desert
plains of Colorado and Idaho, was more
refreshing than / can hope to ever give
you any idea Of The remarkable fea-
lures about the Canon are, briefly, that
it is one of the most perfect natural
wagon ways in the known world, and
that in u region OF country, too, where
roads, good or bad, unless made by the
skill Of man, are exceedingly rare; that
owing to the almost perpendicular
mountain walls on either hand, Their
mOpyle itself could not have afforded q
better position for defense against an
invading enemy-(and here let me re-
mark that great fears were entertained
that Brigham Young would so fortify
the place that our army under Johnston
would be unable to pass through in the
time of the Mormon war;; and that
emerging from a vast plain almost desti-
tute of vegetation, we here enter luXu-
RANT, fruitful valley at very great
elevation above the sea level
But while on the subject of Canon it
will not do to pass unnOticed Emigration
Canon, the head of which is ON the
mountain top, some twenty-five miles
from here, and from which you do not
emerge until within sight of the city
and some six miles distant. Yesterday
afternoon, when we entered it, the air
was cool to chilliness, Notwithstanding
the bright sunshine, and when we ran
out into the valley we found the weather
tie vegetation there is was Just beginning
to show signs of life, while in the valley
Strawberries are ripe and peach trees in
bloom. One of our company, u Prus-
sian, looked wonderingly upon the
scene and admiringly exclaimed, "Dere
is noting OH de Rhine what will COM
pare nit dis. Mine Gott, what coun-
try!-wiat Il sceneries ~
THE VALLEY AND CITY.
Emerging from the mountains, almost
as you would from huge cavern, yes
terday, about ) o'clock in the evening,
= tl,p boz fI,r .l
RANT valley, dotted with thrifty farms
well improved with young orchards,
barns and granaries; the smooth, bright
lake in the distance, glstening in the
sunshine, and, last, though not least,
the beautiful City of the Latter Day
Saints, with its cleanly, pale-looking
adobe houses, its broad streets, lined on
either hand with rows of shade trees, it's
purling streams Of pure, clear water in
every street, its beautiful and fertile gar
dens, its fruit trees and bowers. Truly.
it is sight one may seldom see except
in dreams.
At first sight you conclude that the
valley is not half as large as represented,
for, in this pure, clear atmosphere,
mountains and other objects twenty
miles away do not appear to be more
than a fourth the distance they really
are,-but by the time you travel few
miles, especially if on foot, the illusion
will vanish. The valley is enclosed on
all sides by lofty mountains, on the
highest peaks of which snow remains
during the greater portion of the year,
and the lake, though fed by numerous
streams, has no outlet.
North of the city, at point where the
mountains approach the nearest, are
warm sulphur springs of great volume
and with strong medicinal properties
TO visit them and enjoy a bath was one
of the first things we did upon our arri-
val, and whether we needed the luxury
of bath so much more than common,
or whether it is attributable to some
property in the water, its effects were
agreeable beyond anything of the kind
[ ever experienced. One comes out of
the water prepared to believe that there
may have existed somewhere a spring
possessing the quality of turning old
age to youth, and making the decrepid
strong and well, of which DeSoto was
said to be in search when he discovered
the Mississippi river. Further up the
valley, | am informed, is q similar
spring, with the difference that the wa
ter is very much warmer, called Hot
Springs.
President Young is not in the city,
having been absent on a visit to his
people in remote portions of the valley
for about a week. President Wells, third
in rank, is also absent, having gone to
Europe, SO | presume the present man
agement of the spiritual affairs of the
Saints devolves upon the second Presi-
dent, Heber G.. Kimball. Young has
extensive grounds, enclosed with high
wall of solid masonry, while Kimballs
grounds are less extensive and his wall
not SO high, and Wells are still less in
scope, and you might clear his wall at a
single bound.
We had the good fortune to meet with
your former tOwnsman, Mr.. Aaron
Stein, who has shown us much atten-
ton. He is at present the agent of the
Overland Mail Company at this place
With him we visited the Temple Block
and saw the work, as far as it has pro-
gressed, both on the Temple and Taber-
nacle. They have been in course of
construction for about eleven years and
the foundation walls are not yet COM
pleted even with the surface of the
ground. We were also at other places of
interest, but my letter is already too
lengthy, SO for the present must leave
any further description Of this city and
the plains.
Prices of every kind of produce are
exceedingly high. For example: hay is
worth sixty dollars ton and upward,
oats $3.50 to $4.O0 bushel, flour $1,000 a
hundred, and other things about in the
same proportion. C. e.
Bkg- The Richmond Sentinel is puzzled
at Grants operations. 1t says:
It is time for us all to cease specuia-
tions as to Grants movements and at