Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-05-27
Daily Eagle
AMONG THE MORMONS.
SALT LAKE CITY. Utah. Nav 9

J. arrived at the great ana only Salt Lake
City, the hotbed of Mormonism: city
OF which everyone has heard: city with
very interesting history, and one con-
corning which much could be written.
But there could be written much more
relative to Salt Lake City-the interest
ing city by the sodium sea-if there
were no Mormons here, and If there was
nothing to say relative to the habits and
costumes, the great houses of worship,
ETC., of which this Mormon community
offers an endless fund for the writer,
there would still be much left to talk
about.
The city is a veritable garden. The
old, quaint and picturesque adobe houses
harmonic, as it We're. in their cool,
quiet tones, with the extensive orchards
of fruit and gardens of flowers
which surround them, and the
business blocks of the city are
indeed very creditable and at times mas
sive. A little ways back of the city and
perhaps 400 feet above, is what is known
as the "Beack," and located upon this
tableland is Fort Douglas, where the
STARS and stripes float upon the breeze,
and from this location can be obtained
most desirable view of the city. Strong
and very rapid mountain streams come
rushing at a furious rate through the
caBOns. and are led into the city where
the very c e II and limpid,,waters MARBLE a
happy song as they sport and frolic along
the sides of the streets, all of which are
over 1870 feet in width, where they are
guided through almost the entire city,
and thus this continual flushing has been
gong on for years. The Wasatch noun
tains rise almost abruptly from the ex-
IRENE northern limits Of the city, while
the Oquirrh mountains shut in the valley
to the west, and some fifteen miles to the
south is the great salt lake,
glImmering in the sunlight like stream
of silver. This lake is about 100 miles
long by fifty miles wide and has an aver
age depth of forty TO fifty feet If this
entire earth was dependent upon Salt
Lake for its supply of salt it could Ice
readily satisfied, for it has been com
Iu ed to contain, if it were all evapor-
ated, 1913, 900, 600, 900 cubic feet, or 49,
133 900, 0C0, 600 pounds, and if this should
be- spread out a foot in depth and a quar-
ter of a mile IN width il would make a
band entirely around the earth, and this,
too. at its greatest circumference; and if
it were all loaded into freight cars it
would require 673, 800. 900 of them to
carry it. And this, it is said, by no
means constitutes the total supply of salt
in the territory, but this is enough for
all practical purposes.
1t is simply impossible for one to
sink in the lake and the bathing is the
finest perhaps in the world. The bather
if even unacquainted with the first rudi-
ments OF swimming, may lift his feet
confidently from the bottom he walks
upon, and, leaning back, will float and
rest as if in a chair-the water buoying
him up. Men very often lie upon their
backs and by the slightest eXertion from
either hand are fioated for any length OF
time and it is a common occurrence to
see numbers of them smoking cigars
while in this or similar positions, and
where the distance to the bed of the
lake will be at times twenty feet
or more Salt Lake is indeed one Of the
wonders of creation.
| must write briefly about the Mormons
and their great tabernacle, temple, as
sembIy hail, etc, but of the Mormons
themselves | cannot say much. as to
gain anything like thorough
knowledge of their peculIarities
it is requisite that one spend much time
in their midst, and this too might be
done and still the sercher for inside
Mormon" knowledge would find he was
still in tine pr INNER, and by no means
graduate III information relative to this
class. To visitor at Salt Lake these
MormOnS appear IN every sense as do
every other class of American citizens
and there Is absolutely nothing in their
outward every day life in business or
social relations, or Sunday church
worship, to indicate that they be in any
4
any other city. I attended their services
yesterday held in the tabernacle. This
monstrous edifice has a seating capacity
of Il. coo people and is $50 feet long by
$50 feet wide and it is seventy-five feet
from the floor to the roof, which is
entirely without central support. The
exterior of this tabernacle is not
little but attractive, but the interior is
very imposing in the extreme west and
is located the immense pipe organ-one
of the five iargeSt-it is said III the in
the world. This instrument was con-
struCted by Utah citizens. Some fifteen
years We're consumed in its construction,
prompt working being impossible. There
are in the organ some 5000 pipes, sew
enty-siX stops and four banks or keys.
1t Is run by a huge water motor and is
sixty-eight feet high by thirty-eight feet
in width.
There are one hundred in the taber-
nacle choir equally divided between
male and female voices, and the singing
they render. is at times, very fine. The
choir is led by skilled musician who
standing in front of them beats time with
his baton. The choir is also accompanied
by several brass instruments and the
combination OF organ, horns and voices
rends forth a great volume of sound, not
too vast however for the massive pro-
portions of the house The congregation
al JOIN in the singing, except IN cases
where the choir go 1t alone.
Near by the tabernacle and within the
same enclosure is now being hulit the
new temple. which for magniticence and
imposing proportions quite equals any
thing IN the order of church buildings
that | ever saw. This temple was COM
menced in 1858 and il will require SIX or
seven years of constant work to complete
it. Already about four millions have
been expended upon it and il is eSti-
mated that when it shall have been
completed the cost will reach an amount
RpproXimating seven million dollars. /
This building Is 200Xl25 feet and the
walls are over 100 feet in heigth. there |
RE 20 be four immense towers which |
will Surmount each corner and these |
towers viii be each zoo feet high above !
the roof The temple Is built entirely !
of granite. and this structure when fin /
ished viii be model of elegance and
architectural beauty. The assembly .
hall. or chapel, as we would call the |
smallest of the three houses of worship