The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-03-13
OUT WEST.

OUT WEST.
SALT LAKE CITY AND ITS SURROUNDING
THE INDIAN GRAVES" AT THE Rail
ROAD sTATION-THE TRIP ACROSS TIL
CONTINENT.
Special Correspondence OF the VIRGNIAN.
After all have written abou. Salt LAX
still feel that there is much Of interest lei
unnoticed. ought to tell you about tn
good work being done by the Presbyterian
Missions; of the schools established ant
supported by them; Of the gradual inroad
which the Christian religion is making. Blu
have not time to tarry longer, so can only
urge you all to visit this valley Of beauty
when you come to California. Do not lei
an opportunity pass unimproved to enlight
en- yourselves about it, for one of these day!
on the border land Of which perhaps we are
lready treading this portion Of the ceun.
try will be brought prominently into no
tice; for little handful OF men aud wo
men will not always defy the laws of ou
land and 60 UNPUBLISHED. In Gods own goot
time they will be made to put their iniqui
ties afar from them.
Do not abandon visit to Salt Lake be.
cause you hear Of uncomfortable and I'M
clean hotel accommodations. made my
first visit there prepared to battle for my
life, for I had heard most uncanny tales
about the doings of the B. BIS, which were
said to hold a perpetual lease ofal. the rooms
Believing it safer to trust myself to a Gen.
tile rather than Mormon house, where the
big BIS might ape the morals of the lords Of
creation. and have wives and children too
numerous to mention, I went to the Walker
House, and am glad to bear testimony to the
fact that there is no cleaner, better kept hotel
In any city of similar size in the United
States; few are so we'll appointed, for it is
furnished with first-class passenger eleva-
tor 1.-THE only one between Chicago and San
Francisco which makes the rooms at the
top of the house as accessible as any, and
nearly all the rooms are sunny and afford
a fine view of the Valley. lido not believe
in blowing any body's born. but with the
comfort of my readers in view, feel that I
am simply dong my duty when I commend
them to the Walker House. at Salt Lake.
Bidding adieu to our frieuds we W i'll trust
ourselves to the horse cars which pass the
door of the hotel, and will carry US directly
to the railway station. By the by, Salt Lake
horse cars ought to be called mule cars, for
the practice is to use four large mules to
haul each of the larger cars, and by the way
the animals spread their ears, one might
imagine they are reporters for the Mormon
press, keeping their ears open to catch any
careless remark dropped by visiting Gen
tiles.
Back again at Ogden, which is reached in
season, to connect with the western bound
train.
How easy it is to tell who has just arrived
from east of the Rockies One lady APP
preached me cautiously and asked:
'sDo you live here?"
To my reply that did not, she breathed
easier, and then said, almost in a whisper
"Do you suppose there are Mormons here,
real ones with two wives %
eyes, with half dozen wives, no doubt, !"
answered.
'sShe looked about uneasily, and then ex-
claimed: so, how should like to see one!''
took her across the platform to where a
man stood selling fruit. telling her as we
went, to take good look at him.
'sAt him !" she exclaimed "why he looks
Just like anybody; don't believe he can be
one."
When assured her he was the proud pos
SCISSOR of five wives and score of children,
her establishment was something amusing
it reminded nae of the days when the
black people Of the south began to make the
discovery that Yankees did not wear horns.
1t is dark when the train starts westward,
but as this is my third trip across the CONT
nent, know we are passing through por-
ton of the country which by and by will be
as thickly settled as Illinois is to-day. 1t
will require irrigation to make the land as
productive as that of Illinois, but that
is now but small drawback to improve
ment.
Off to the left OF us lies the Salt Lake
motionless, like great sea of melted silver.
Occasional winds bear the health-givine
salt sea air to the valley we are in, and fol
niles on our way the Inhabitants are bene-
fitted by it. There is no other body of wa
ter like it; it is an inland sea, eighty miles
in length and fifty wide, receiving innumer
able streams Of fresh water, yet always
maintaining the same brackish characters
tics; never overlooking, yet without any
visible outlet. Bathers find themselves
buoyed as ii sustained by life preserver
and on emerging from the water are envel-
oped in scales of salt, Farmers requiring
salt as a fertilizer have only to place the wa
ter Of the lake in barrels, or even turn i
upon the ground; after evaporation take
place, one barrel of salt is said to come from
each four barrels of water evaporated. TIL,
lake has within its borders several large is
lands and numerous smaller ones all oil
which are said to be rich in minerals
One OF the large islands has Ion
been used by the Mormon church as pas
ture ground for the cattle brought in a
tithes, and it is quite safe to calculate tina
Brigham Young's beef came FROM there.
Forty miles out from Ogden our trai
passes Brigham station, with lourishn
little town OF the same name three mile
distant, which being branch OF the mai
settlement, is jealously guarded by the apos
tolic lights OF Salt Lake. Only five mile
further and we pass Corrinne, which is jus
as decidedly GENTLE as Brigham
u Mormon town, and it is marked by d.
gree of ge-ahead-a-tiveness which ought
ensure its success. 1t isn't much but
rough and tumble frontier town yet, but
has excellent prospects, and the natural III
friendliness between its people and tn
neighbors eight miles away will tend to kce
them from falling asleep.
Going eastward the trains pass this POI
ton Of the route in early morning, and
summer time the. traveller is amply reward
ed for rising early by the occasional view OF
gets OF Salt Lake and the Watsach moul
toinc ho oorc coroo .Jor,, %brornh 81