The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1902-03-28
Salt Lake City, Utah.
DEAR P1oNEER-ExPREss:-

March 10th, 1902.
We may never reach glory but we
have certainly spent one very enjoyable
day in Zion" here on earth. We arriv-
ed there at $50 Yesterday morning.
Salt Lake City is always full of tourists
so we had no trouble in finding all the
points interest. We were little un-
fortunate in reaching the city just after
a snowfall so it was not very pleasant
under foot. After spending the day
there | have concluded Brigham Young
had a long head-a very long head.
1t was in July l047 that he and his band
of followers including two women and
six dogs reached the site OF the present
city, and decided that here Zion should
be established. The development that
has followed has been little short Of
marvellous. Forethought is a great deal
better than hindsight, they say, and
Brigham certainly exercised it iii large
and copious quantities. He built roads
and bridges, laid out the city, and dreserv-
ed large tracts of land for the church III
general and Brigham Young in particular.
In the early days wood was scarce and
had to be brought down from the noun
tam, so he built, or caused to be built, a
road from the mountain pass down to
the city and through his grounds. There
he built toll gate and when load OF
wood came down,so many logs were roll
ed Oft for toll. This gate was at the site
of the present beautiful Eagle gate, SO
| called on account of the bronze eagle
which surmounts it. This road became
street in the city and is laid out IA
miles in length-as straight as rifle shot
and said to be the longest perfectly
Straight street in the United States. The
streets of "Z.on'' are very wide-132
feet-and neatly paved, and along the
sides of most of them water from noun
tain streams courses down. Brigham
adopted a very simple, but none the less
good plan for locating streets. Instead
of naming them they are all numbered,
the square containing the Mormon build
ing-Temple square it is called being the
base. All streets running north and
south, east of the square will be 1st st.
east End st. east &c., and following the
same plan on all sides, as all streets are
laid out at right angles. Temple square
the Mecca of all tourists surrounded
by paralleled adobe wall about Ia feet
high and two feet thick with heavy iron
gates on all four sides. 1t isn'tnecessary
to peep over" as they usually keep
open houses. The grounds are nicely
laid of-park style-with walks and in
summer time must be beautiful indeed.
This enclosure contains the 8 principal
buildings, Assembly hall, the Tabernacle
and the Temple. The first is massive
stone structure of rather less proportie MS
than the other two and devoted to the de-
liberations of the church potentates and
occasionally used for conventions on
worldly matters. The Tabernacle is
large oval building looking not altoget-
her unlike huge turtle and in many re-
spects is one of the most wonderful
buildings in the world. 1t is 25O feet
long, $50 feet wide and 80 feet high.
The construction of this building is
unique in that it is without any pillar
support. The ceiling is trussed and is 10
feet tlick. The wooden trusses are
fastened together by hard wood pins and
these in turn are kept in place by thongs
of raw hide. No nails or bolts are used
in its construction. There are twenty
double doors nine feet wide around the
building, all opening outward and it is
said the largest audience can find egress
in about three minutes. The building
seats comfortably 5000 people though
in pinch" Il, 600 can be Accommodated.
The pulpits are three in number. The
highest one, none but the president may
occupy. The second one is for the
twelve apostles while from the lower one
the lesser lights shed their rays. Just
above the pulpits stands the grand pipe
organ, the second largest in America. 1t
was originally Utah built and from native
materials, but has recently been over
hauled by a Boston firm. tits 3Ox33
feet in size and 48 feet high and contains
about 5000 pipes. Grouped about it are
500 opera chairs for the choir. some
times they have GOO singers but the aver
age attendance is about $50 and not al
paid singer in the lot. With the natural
inclination towards ''scrapping'' the
average church choir has, they ought
surely to have an interesting time.
The acconstic properties Of this build
ing are surprising. We stood 200 feet
from the custodian when he whispered
can yon hear mep' and II was perfectly
dist net Then he dropped y pin and