Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-08-27
WHAT I SAW OUT WEST.
BY d AVID HILL.

Bee Hive houses which have become
noted AS being the residences of Presi-
dent Brigham Young and his numer-
Gus fImily. They do not differ materi-
ally from other houses only from the
emblematic decorations which have
given them their names. One has the
figure of a lion placed in chouchant
position over the vestibule. The lion
was modelled and cut out of stone by
a Mormon whose name was VIM.
Ward. A large bee hive browning the
ridgepole of the other edifice gave to
ly named, on account Of the number
of Brigham's wives it contained. l al
so noticed inside Of the great wall that
there were a number of small houses
standing in a row which were separat-
ed from each other by other walls
through which were small doors and
covered walks connecting them to-
gether; that is, if Brigham desired he
could pass from the Bee-H down
to the first wall, open the door, pass
through covered walk into the
building, through that and another
covered walk to the next wall,
through door in that and another
covered walk into the second build
ing, and SO on throughout the whole
chain. A very convenient way if a
man is possessed with a lot of unruly
wives to keep them separated from
each other. Brigham alone controlled
the key to those doors, and it is said
that he was the only person to pass
through them. Whether the idea was
original with Brigham Or was adopted
from King Solomon 1 must leave to
those who are posted in scripture to
find out. AS I have said a great wall
of mortar and stone did surround the
whole of Brigham Young's estates.
This great wall with it's big stone col
umns and ungainly gates every few
rods along the highway is great OBJ
stacle to the beauty of the city, and is
slowly being torn to pieces and carted
away. In a few years the great stone
wall of Salt Lake City will be thing
of the past. The Eagle Gate is situated
east of the Beehive House. 1t is the
figure of an eagle carved out of wood
and hangs above the highway upon
supports connected with two pedes
tails situated one on each side of the
street. It once was the gateway lead
ing into the Presidents private
grounds and also into City Creek Can
yon. The pedestals have been lately
rebuilt and the bird coppered over in
order to preserve it as a relic during
the years to come. The Desert News
and Tithing office buildings do not
differ in many respects from other
buildings, only on account of the his
tory that is connected with them; and
as all are doubtless familiar with their
history more or less need not repeat
ffS TBG0 eye bL6eIqGuGa 2A!1tt-
acAdot hero point Of interest 3 at Salt
Lake City in connection with the Nor
mon is their z. G. M. I. or Coopera-
tive Store building located on the east
side of Main Street. It is four stories
in hight including basement, with a
frontage of ITO feet and a depth of
318 feet. It carries d stock valued at
one and a quarter millions, employs
two hundred men, and it's sales annu-
ally are from four to five millions. 1t
has branch stores in different states,
and is the parent store of that system
of cooperating merchandising found
ed by Brigham Young in 1868.
There are great many other places
of interest in and around Salt Lake
City, among which might be mention
ed the Utah Exposition Building, AS
sembly Hall, Hot Spring Lake, the
beach and the old fort built in 1847;
but my article is already too long to
give them a description. [ will only
state that I found my Mormon Infer
no, as was pleased to designate Salt
Lake City, not only one of the pref
test, but one Of the cleanest and most
business-like cities I visited in the
west.
1t was several hours after leaving
Salt Lake City to continue my jour
ney westward over the Southern Pa
cific Railroad before the great Lake
was lost sight OF in the vicinity Of
Kelton. Around the lake, especially
after passing Corinne, and I might
say clear across Utah and the state Of
Nevada, we traversed mile upon mile
without house, tree, shrub, or single
thing in sight. A raven was seen at
times and now and then solitary bald
eagle. The whole distance, with few
exceptions, was one broad barren
waste of fat arid alkali fields sur