Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-11-11
AMONG THE M0RM0NS.
Salt Lake City, It's Sights and Char
acteristiCs.
A Chapter from the UBpublished Man
useript Of the Travels OF Mrs. Lex"
and Mrs. Al, shin, I'm the Far West.

and MR.. Al, shin, IN the Far West.
Social Correspondence TO the ARGUS:
SALT LAKE CITY. November --Hav>
ing crossed the Jordsn We are, of curse,
In the 'hoy lard AS foreign cores
pondence is always received with greater
zest than home, we feel that we have &C
CURED new dignity rs well a. experience
in this far'off country. but as the ARGUS
still keeps an eye on US we shall not be
likely to "fsll from grace" 50 far as to
adopt the religion OF these latter day
saints need hardly speak of our
trip over the Denver & Rio Grande rail
way from the beautiful city of Denver,
which, as laid out, covers an area almost
as great as that OF the city of London.
being thirty miles between limits 10 one
direction This trip should not be con
tinuous one-by leaving Dsnyer In the
morning We passed through Colorado
Springs; had fine view of Pixies Peak:
stop at Pueblo for an excellent dinner;
through Canon City-sll by daylight;
then spent the night at Sslids, but this
place is so crowded by tourists that only
our overpowering avoirdupois entitled US
TO hold our place at the desk to register
in time, thus securing the last vacant
room for the night. while the remaining
unfortunstes passed the long hours on
cots in nei9hboring houses. SO we had
daylight again for the Grand ard Black
canons in the Royal Gorge. We crossed
q bridge spanning the spark ling and i'm
petuous Arkansas. This bridge Is gus
pended from the rocks above by iron
beams. and the precipice is 2,20O feet
high. To say that the scenery is superb.
but family expresses ones impressions.
and to borrow pun to say that it is
gorgeous Is even less satisfactory, but
as everyone travels nowadays must not
ask for an adjective to express my ad-
mIratIon.
The Black canon Is sixteen miles long.
and the views could not be grander. We
had the complement of the newly
welded, and az the observation cara had
been taken of for the winter. the plat,
forms were the only place for sight-seers,
and these afforded fine opportunity for
the display of that clinging confidence
which Is SO touching to witness. Stops
are made at Guunison aud Grand juno
ton for meals, but TO say that they were
worse than the appearance of the towns,
would give you little idea of their
wretchedness, so your correspondent and
Mrs. Aleshine were forced TO produce
from their capacious pockets the bIstor,
ical fruit Jars containing crackers and
cheese, which were rs dry as the country
through which we were passing.
should have said "sweeping," as Stock
tons heroine did, but we were sure from
the amount of dust encountered that no
broom had ever passed over that land.
Here We had our first experience with the
prickly pear now out of blOom-so that
our feelings were lacerated with no COM
pensation for our sense of niury 10 the
brilliant flower.
The alfalfa tiourishes here with its
clover-like leaf and purple blossom which
we think must belong TO the orchid fam
lily, though our acquaintance with or
chids is limited to the pink and white
aud yellow moccasin flowers of our ma
tive heath" and when we looked on the
vast fields of sage brush we thought what
paradise this would have been for the
old ladies who used TO make our life a
burden by recommending sage tea for all
our childish ailments.
Everyone has read descriptions Of Salt
Lake City, but to the persistency of its
sunshine and the depth of It's dust no pen
can do justice. 1t lies in great basin.
surrounded by the Wasatch and MIntel
mountains, where well up on the sides
may still be seen the broken surface
which once marked the shores of this salt
sea which now only exists twenty miles
away, with its waters 80 diminished as to
be about one hundred miles long by If y
in width.
The streets are very broad, 132 feet
from sidewalk to sidewalk although these
latter exist only In imsginstion) they are
nearly all bordered by trees, often two
rows. But locust and poplar predomi-
nate with some box elder. Oaks grow
here only about as high as our hszel
bushes. but they bear leaves all the same.
No grass anywhere except in the
private grounds. and no doubt it is
the desire for something cheerful to
rest the eye upon that leads so many
OF the poorer class to paint their houses
in vivid green or "old rosa" The streets
are unpaved and for the most part I'M
watered, only drainage and water pipes.
and very few of them. The majority
OF the houses to the south and west are
low, one-story, three or four room cot
tsges of the poorest description. and the
residents correspond with their homes.
But TO the north and west there are quite
n number of large and handsome private
residences and in the more central part
some fine business blocks The inevi-
table electric cars occupy the middle of
almost every street, and the telegraph
and electric light poles are there also
You may not know that the numbering
OF the streets all have reference to the
temple. or had until lately; now few
have been renamed, those on the four
sides being North South. East and West
Temple; these next being First South
street. East First South street, West First
West street, North and South, etc. So
you see there is method la their mad
ness after oil. The blocks. except on
the north side, are are all one-eighth of a
mile square. The population OF the city
10 ut present about So, 600. When il was
20 600. 10000 OF that number were Nor
mons and the proportion of men to vom-
en- was one to five. The gentle element
has largely increased since then, but wom-
en- are still In the majority.
A ride on the electric cars Of about
mile north from the temple. through the
Eagle Gate, which was until lately used