The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-07-06

ever. not having arrived, Mayor
Jennings expressed his regret and
proposed the toast Utah." a SUI
perior response being made-here
giYen-by
Col. j. HoLLIsTER.
could wish, in responding to your
toast. that certain beautiful words had
NOT been SO often used in plcturlng the
transformation of Utah as to have become
haclxneyed, for none can be so lifting.
They are these: ''The wilderness and the
40 Iitary place shall be glad for them, and
the desert shall rej0ies and blossom as the
rose" Ore might well fancy that the poet
OF another age and CLINE, when he uttered
those words, was watching the spring
draw on here In the morning shadow OF
the Wasatch mountains, as you and I
have many times seen 1t. Dwelling here,
Won are become used to it, and perhaps
think the application forced. But get
away, travel in neighboring States few
DAYS. or in the outlying parts of Utah,
and then return, and you viii perceive
that a il a veritab BILE oasis. Entering it at
anv Doint is like entering Paradise. L
have lately had occasion to try the expert
ment and confess never before appreci-
ated 1t.
Coming down from Idaho in early May,
our train entered this valley aud a scene
as Of enchantment at the came time. IL
was about the hour of sunrise. Tue sky
was without cloud, vast dome OF pearl
HIGH arching over all. The air was the
perfumed breath OF the early morning and
| the Young spriug. Nothing could he
! fresher, sWeeter. The dew hung in
| ieweled drops from the grass blades and
seemed to tremble on the eyelashes ofthe
flowers. Chr way lay through vineyards
and orchards, farms, gardens and villages,
Brooks tumbled down the mountains, ran
along by our side, then sped away into
the lake. The farmers were driving afeld
to their blowing and sowing. The grass and
fall wheat could almost wave in the slight
breeze; the birds made the meadows and
hedges vocal with their morning mathis;
plums and peaches in full bloom were
sprinkied upon the whole country side
| like Towering shrubs in park; the tender
young foliage Of the larger trees seemed
TO caress the eye that rested upon 1t.
But in this heart OF spring, winter was
not far away. Mountains held
high their white heads behi1d
us: they lowered at our side, an
endless snow field, unrelieved for
long stretches by single dark object;
whittier than anything else on earth,
and beautiful with beauty which
can find no words TO contain
or convey. So near, too, 1t seemed you
could put your hand on them. Once in
while turn in the road would disclose q
new horizon of snow caps, high in the
upper air, still and solemn, glistening
against the sun, almost taking your
breath at first sight
a hundred miles OF this brought US into
Salt Lake, and here these monarchs Of
old, with white shoulders and foreheads,
encOm passed us round save in the direc-
ton OF Antelope Island, and fancied ap-
peared not uninterested spectators while
spring created new world at tn .ir feet,
| from which she would soon climb their
steep sides and give them vestments OF
flowers for their robes OF snow. There
| was never lovelier scene. and the ride
might have been extended second hun
dred miles without running out of it. II
was the utmost glory of spring and OF
winter, that is to say, of life and OF death.
placed along side by the simple device of
sharp and great difference Of altitude.
Nowhere else can it be seen to such ad-
vantage, in America at least, and it Is on
exhibition here a month in every year.
The spring is indeed lovely in Utah, and
these well-watered, weIl-tilled valleys are
none the less delight and relief as the
season wears on 20 Its setting
height and descends 10 its close.
The effect is enhanced ten-fold by
their settling in the heart of a
thousand mile desert full OF valleys and
jornadas of death, and incapable of being
transformed into another Utah, from
lack OF water.
Water is pre- eminentIy the source Of
life in Utah. 1t brought down the fine
rich valley soil, and the gentlemen OF the
geological survey after having approx
mately gagged its volume say there is
enough TO irrigate 1000 square miles of
land. What that means let me illustrate:
In the province of Valencia, In Spain, a
certain 40 square miles of land, under the
canals OF eT1rla, sust aims population OF
20, $50 souls. At the same rate your 1000
square miles would sustain more than
8, SOC, 900. If then there should not be land
enough, your descencents will find as
much more, dare say, land that can be
cropped without watering, that can be
watered from springs and wells,
aud perhaps from husbanded waters.
You have farming land enough for 100, 900
farms Of % acres each. Small farms are
the best for the many If not for the few.
The necessity Of irrigation will keep your
farms small, and encourage If not compel
high farming. You will always have
large unappropriated range for cattle and
sheep, although y tab is not great stock
country. The native bunch and other
grasses are fine feed, but they have no turf
for the most part, and are soon tramped
out. You harvest 2,500,000 bushels of
grain, clip 1900, 900 pounds of wool, and
sell off 40, 600 head of stock year. You
may do fifty times as well as that and
still have large reserves OF agricultural
capacity to draw on. But 1t viii take en-
terprise, care, skill, science and numbers
to do it.
Your soil and climate are peculiarly
adapted to fruit growing. Into the young
tree they send all their riches with electri-
cal energy. l have thought sometimes
that the subtle alchemy of Utah fruit
trees extracted wine, rather than sap,
from the elements; at all events they are
most vigorous growers and generous
bearers. The fruit, if one half the sets
be knocked of, grows large, fair and fine
favored, and the crop may fairly be said
to never fail.
You are wonderfully favored in climate,
know of no place that Is more SO. 1t is
agreeable, inVigorating, comparatively
equable, and conducive TO health and long
life. You can live mile above the sea, or
two miles, or at any intervening altitude.
You have a variety of mineral springs,
and lisile salt ocean of your own, favor
f.ao fsr.r of, ID