The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-03-19
i VISIT TO SALT LAKE. UTAH,

line territory OF UCan lies JUSC WeSL Vi
| the Rocky Mountains, in region often
called the great American desert, not from
tho sandy nature Of the soil, for that seems
to possess oil the elements Of fertility, but
because there is barrenness resulting
from insufficient rainfall. Tho approach
to Salt Lake Valley is made by the Denver
GS Rio Grande Railway, which is known as
! the scenic lire of the continent, and after
the grandeur of the Rockies, it is restful
to the tourist to enter smiling valley
made, by artificial means. fertile as gar
/ den. This making the desert to blossom
! as the rose," is due almost entirely to the
! Mormons, who are essentially an agricul-
I tural people. BY careful irrigation they
have made their barren valley yield an
unlimited variety Of products, among
them our own f1eecy staple of 80 fine and
glossy texture as to make Southorner
feel inclined to shrink from comparing it
with sample of our coarser-fibered cot
ton.
The valley contains, besides Salt Lake
City, several thriving towns and at Pro-
70, where we stopped for lunch we bad
the pleasure Of staring at real live Nor
mon-not one, but a dozen pretty girls,
who attended to our wants so merrily and
gracefully that it was evident they did not
mind being Mormons at all. Continuing
our journey, Salt Lake City was at last
reached. It was in 1a47 that Brigham
Young and his followers having been
over the plains until this, then, desert
valley, was reached. He declared it to be
the place be had seen in vision, and at
once made preparations for permanent
stay. To him is due the credit of selecting
most advantageous site and Of planning
city and buildings, which will be lasting
monuments to his genius. That he was
an extraordinary person no one will deny.
BE had, during his whole life, the un-
bounded love and confidence Of his follow
ers, and welded an influence over them
which, had it been directed to nobler end,
would have accomplished untold good.
The streets of his city are laid off at right
angles one hundred and twenty feet wide,
and run exactly north, south, east and
west. These are bordered by tall, sway
ing Lom hardy -poplars, which extend be-
yond the city limits, 80 that in case the
city should grow larger, the streets and
trees are all ready for the increase. This
was q wise provision on the part Of Brig
ham, for the city is now on the rise, and
bids fair to double its population of 10000
in the next decade. This sudden pros
perity is due to the fact that the Gentiles
have, by recent elections, got entire con-
troll of the city, and as their policy is to
encourage manufactures and develop the
wonderful mineral resources of the sur
rounding country, they bring in capital
and population from abroad. The Nor.
mons, although frugal, painstaking peo-
pie, adept at farming, are not, as class,
progressive, unless there is something to
spur them on. Now, that the Gentiles
have taken the lead, very many wealthy
Mormons are lending substantial aid in
forwarding the interests of their city, and
since polygamy has been abolished bust.
ness and social affairs are adjusting them
selves in way satisfactory to both fac
tions. AS it is Mormonism especially
which gives Salt Lake pre-eminence
among western cities, this description
will be confined to noted buildings erected
by these people, and other objects of in
terest associated with their eYentful his
tory.
Temple Block is the pride of the city.
It covers an area of ten acres, is surround
ed by high adobe wall, and contains the
Assembly Hall, Tabernacle and Temple of
the Latter.dey Saints. The Assembly
gables, spires and fancy trimmings, and
IS used for their ordinary assemblings.
The ceiling is ornamented with frescoes
representing historical scenes in The early
rise of the Church, the one attracting
most attention being the angel showing
Joseph Smith where the records were hid
in a hillside. From these records he
compiled the Book of Mormon, which
they consider a revelation of Gods deal
ings with the ancient people who lived
upon the American Continent, just as the
Bible is, to us, record of Gods dealings
with mankind in the old world.
The Tabernacle is most unique and
wonderful structure. and was built with q
view to its perfect acoustic properties.
The floor is oval, or better, elliptical in
shape, two hundred and fifty feet in
length, slightly inclined, and will seat,
with the galleries, ten thousand people.
The ceiling is an oval arch without any
center support, which makes it the largest
self.supporting arch in America, with the
one exception of the Central Depot, New
York. There are four seats, instead Of
pulpits, arranged on an incline one above
the other. The highest is occupied by the
the twelve Apostles, third by the lesser
priesthood, and the fourth by those who
have charge of the sacrament. In this
last, water is used instead of wine. No
collection is ever taken up, all expenses
being abundantly met by tithes Back Of
the pulpit is an immense organ, whose
bellows is filed with air by means of two
water-motors. 1t contains two and half
thousand pipes, cost 100000, was CON
structed BY Mormon, and is played by a
Mormon. 1t was our privilege while
there to hear a special organ recital on
this huge instrument, and it was, in a
word, grand. One piece resembled half
dozen brass bands, another could not be
distinguished from chorus Of voices, and
still another was, by request, that simple
and charming melody, "Angels ever
Bright and Fair" played with the softest
of variations On the occasion of some
celebration the decorations used were fes
toons of cedar made to hang in intermin-
able scallops from the ceiling, and as these
seemed to add to the almost perfect acous
tics of the building, they were allowed to
remain. That was fourteen years ago, and
they are now in remarkable state Of
preservation. The faintest whisper can
be heard between persons located at each
end Of the auditorium, and our accommo-
dating guide, in order to surprise US still
more, requested us to remain in one part
of the building while he took position in
the opposite end. First, he rubbed his
hands together and there came to us
across space of over two hundred feet a
distinct rumbling sound. Then as eli
max to his performances he held pin
aloft and as it dropped the sound was as
clearly heard as if we had been at his side.
The outside of the Tabernacle is extremely
plain without dome or spire, and the roof
is curved over in the shape CT q turtoise
she'll.
By far the handsomest of these build
ipgs on Temple Block is the Temple it.
self, which has been building since '53,
and has already cost $4,000, 900. 1t is
built of finely cut granite rock, i. very
large and very tall, with six towers, Sur
mounted by numbers of ornamental
spires. It is not designed for public wor-
ship, but for the administration of ordi-
uances, rites and ceremonies, such as bap-
tisms, ordinations, etc. The work on it
is very nearly finished, few workmen
being employed in putting the caps in
position on the spires. A Mormon will
give as reason for SO few workmen being
employed, that the work is now very
delicate and only experts will be allowed
to put the finishing touches. a Gentle
laughs at this himsy excuse, and will say
that their real object in not pushing the
work is to put off the completion of the
Temple until 1903, which is forty years
since the corner stone was laid. There is
a prophecy to the effect that it Will be
forty years in building. and at the end Of
that time Brigham will come back to ded
icate it. This will be rather difficult
feat, since they have buried him under a
granite slab weighing sixty tons.
Ct.1k