The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-08-14
EX-GOVERNOR GRAY HOME
FROM THE WILD AND WOODY WEST.
ne Talks Interestingly OF Washington Ter
ritory. San Francisco, Utah and the Nor
mons-How He Went Bathing
In the Great salt Lake.

Ex.Gov. Gray returned Friday from an
extended trip through the North and West and
along the Pacific slope. lie looks in excellent
health and is evidently able 20 stand the taxa
ton Of continued travel without i'll effects.
1t was bis FIRST trip among the territories. and
he expressed himself highly repaid for his
journey. He made the entire trip
alone, Mrs. Gray disliking the idea
of extensive travel in the summer time.
To SENTINEL reporter the governor last
night talked very Interestingly of the region
which he visited. 81 went out" said he, lover
the Northern Pacific by Duluth, and through
Dakota, Montana and Idaho, and into Wash
ington territory. ! was in Washington terri
tory some three weeks, and then went up on
Puget sound and up to British Columbia. I
was at Tacoma. Seattle, Whatcomb and other
cities of that territory. Washington
territory Is coed co6btry; they've got
fine climate, coal. and plenty OF
iron. The territory is well Eatered, and what
is called West Washington, east of the Cascade
mountains, is finely timbered. The principal
timber is fir and il grows very large. The
towns in the territory are all growing very
rapidly, aud there is a tremendous immigra-
ton. Il is territory OF great resources, and
think is going to make fine country. went
from Tacoma 10 San Francisco by railroad and
the scenery along the route was magnificent
From 1880 in the forenoon until o'clock in
the evening we could see Mount Shasta, with
its crest covered with snow, from the car
window. There has been some wonderful raj
road engineering in that western country.
"San Francisco is a great city, and is rapidly
growing. With its extensive trade from along
the Pacific slope, and it's Asiatic commerce, 1t
is certainly destined to make one of the very
greatest cities of the world. II is constructed,
however, almost entirely OF wooden buildings,
and it appears to me there is danger there OF
terrible confagration some time. l visited Los
Angeles San Diego, and various towns in the
grape growing region. In Southern California
they have a very hne climate, and l
guess that in those parts where they
have water for irrigation anything will
grow that comes up out of the earth. In
some sections where they have those large
and rich fruit farms 1t is really almost like
paradise. Outside of the districts where they
have irrigation, however, there is an appear
ance of desolatiOn, although some barley can
be raised, and occasionally some corn. San
Diego, Cal, has, / think, the finest site for
building city that i ever saw. / found that
the great boom which was heard OF in southern
California few years ago had about died down,
and that il was very quiet there The atten-
ton is now turning to Washington territory.
The population there is very cosmopolitan, as
every state is represented. There are many
people there from the East and also many
from the South.
Nevada is the worst country / saw. Ii is
principally desert There is very little water,
and very small tracts are irrigated. The popu-
lation is decreasing instead of increasing. 1t
was admitted as a state more than twenty years
ago. but at the last election only cast 1900
votes.
salt Lake City is nice town of about
thirty-fve thousand inhabitants. The great
Salt Lake valley has plenty of water, and is
pretty well settled and cultivated. They think
at Salt Lake City that the city will soon come
under what is called gentle rule. There is no
talk about republicans and democrats; ii is all
gentle and mormon. But the country outside
OF the city is settled almost exclusively by NOR.
mons There is large Swedish immigration
70 Utah just now, and they all mormons.
The latter seem to be doing very successful
work by sending their missionaries to Sweden.
The mormon population, observed. prin-
cipally composed of English, Scotch and
Swedes. There were not many American NOR
mons. That is, the number small COM
pared with the total population of the terri
tory.
1.-THE Great Salt lake close to Salt Lake City,
is the most peculiar water l ever was IN. 1t is
about 90 per cent. salt. | went out to Garfield
beach while was there. That's the bathing
resort 1t is located about seventeen miles
from the city, and there is a dummy road run
ming out 10 IT, Two hundred or three hun
dred people were there the day | visited the
place. Ii is pretty fine bathing resort. So
peculiar is the water that you can sit upright
in il or can put your hands back of your head
and lean back without danger OF getting your
mouth under water. With the least exertion
OF your hands you can move about, and do not
have TO guard against sinking. In fact, you
can't sink. There is not a living thing IN the
lake. Nevertheless, the bathing is considered
healthy and tonicky.
''The scenery on the Denver & Rio Grande
railroad, through what is called the Grand
canon, is very fine. Ii really cannot be de-
scribed. As ] saw it | thought of the expires.
sion used by Andrew Jackson Davis in refer
ring to the next world-of 'awfully magnif-
cent II is the canyon of the Arkansas river,
and il rises almost perpendicularly for thou
sands Of feet each side of the railroad
II was surprised nc Denver, which has pop
ulatiOn OF upward of 100000 and is largely
built up of good-sized brick blocks The city
is improving rapidly"
As 10 the manner in which the extreme West
compares with the middle states and the East,
Gov Gray said: awhile there is in California
and other states of the Pacific coast great deal
of country that produces lavishly, there are
also millions of acres which are worthless.
When il comes 10 fertility OF SOIL stone, gravel,
coal timber, water, regularity of rainfall, and
everything that il takes to make a country and
sustain population, the middle states have
the advantage"
Gov. Gray stated that there was very little
political talk in the West and he had not heard
much politics in his absence. 81 do not think"
said be, that the republican majority in Wash
ington territory is very large. Ii is small that
II the democrats would only organize and
make fight they would stand an excellent OPP
portunity of winning. In the election of dele
gate % the constitutional convention, the
democrats carried what is called East Wash
ington and the republicans West Washington
II met Maj. Calkins while was in the terri
tor. lie is located at Spokane Falls, and
seems to ike it very mzmf. I think he is max
ing very good impression there"
THE wEEk,s AuEwS