Los Angeles daily herald., 1873-11-26
LETTER FROM SALT LAKE,
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah Territory,

November 81, 1873.
Dear Mr.. W I've gotten pretty
high up in the world (4,SOO it, but not
so high as to forget the friends that l
left in the little city near the sea, and
the promise ! made of writing.
Pm quite in love with this eyrie.
No city has so superb mounting, the
Wasatch encompass 1t with a royal
rim, seen on this glorious Indian Sum-
mer day, one instinctively recalls the
Indian legend, which runs something
like this. When the lofty and barren
mountains were first lifted into the
sky, and from their elevation looked
down on the lesser heights covered
with the vine, and the olive, and the
fruitful trees, and the valleys verdant
and fiowery, they sent up murmur
of complaint to Brahma, "Why thus
barren? Why these SCARED and naked
hillsides exposed to the eye of men"
And Brahma answered, "The very
light shall clothe you, and the shadow
of the passing cloud shall be royal
mantle. More verdure would be less
light, We shall share in the azure Of
heaven, We belong half to u.s." And
so were the mountains lowered.
No eloquence of words can describe
the beauty of this valley viewed from
the Bench. The City is scattered over
OH area of ten miles, regularly laid out
but sparsely built. The streets, eight
rods wide cross at right angles, and
are bordered with trees whose roots
are kept lively by the "Sects'' (the
Mormon word for zanja) which run
through the length and breadth of the
City. We have plenty Of breathing
room, for the blocks, seven to the
mile, were laid out In acre and quarter
lots, so that every household could
have orchard and "truck patch" before
its door. The plan has been some-
what modified by the growth Of the
city, but enough OF it remains to give
the place "the air of green countrie
towne" though. We are quite civiliz-
ed with street cars, gas, theatre, lee
ture hall, etc. The Theatre is quite
handsome building, capable of accom-
modating large audience in the par
quette, dress circle, and three tiers of
gallery. The stock company is ex-
celient, several old California names,
Crosble, Cogswell, Kate Denim, etc.
May Howard has been STARRING" for
the last week. l'm no dramatic critic
but seems to me that she lacks the
real histrionic power.
In the number and variety of
churches, there is no lack. To begin
with the M0rmons, there are twenty
one Ward Meeting Houses, exclusive
OF the tabernacle, which alone seats
l2,OOU, in which the new revelations OF
Celestial Marriage, Baptism tor the
dead, POiygamy," etc. are preached to
the saints. lien come III tile various
religious bodies, from the oldest down
to the newest. There il no OCCASION
tor man to err lOr the want OF in
struction. He can hear preaching not
only III his own tongue, Dut in his own
beiiet-which Is an Improvement on
the pentecostal dispensation. kemem-
Der we believe i'll iatter-day reveia-
tons, in these mountains, but must
confess that the utterauces OF the lab
ernacIe sometimes SAVIOR more OF earth
than OF heaven, perhaps it is because
Pm Geutlle.
/ believe I'm becoming naturalized
to everything about NE except Poiyga-
my. IL does not seem quite natural
Tor man to hold as wives u mother
aud her two daughters, or three sisters,
or two nieces, etc. The size Of the
families is quite interesting, imagine
ii your fancy is capable OF such a hight,
seventy-tw0 chilulen belonging to one
man. They told me story of another
man, who had q contract on the rail-
road, and had forty OF his own family
employed in the work. There is ali
example OF home manufacture-or
home industry.
These people live as comfortably as
in any new country; they are chiefly
engaged in agriculture, cultivating
from tive to fifty acres and upwards.
AS In California, the land is rich and
productive where it can be irrigated,
water is the disideratum in the devel.
opment OF the Territory. The climate,
thus far has been delightful, one fall
Of snow, which carried me back to the
old Kentucky Home.
Your friend, JOSEPHINE COLE.