The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-10-22
Still Camping on the Trail
NO. 5.
BY JOHN MAeUIRE.

clothing may in appearance be
mitigated in a measure, every male
of every age and condition is
dressed in khaki suits and khaki colors.
There is a hustle of business ia the at
mosphere, building everywhere Is in
pTogress-here there is a brick block
under constructiOn-her is frame
hotel and restaurant, for already the
owner has his painted oilcloth sign
! nailed across the end announcing its
opening on a certain early date-in-
Vulnerable are the number of tents used
both as stores and residences-all wait
ing for building material, of which
there is a famine at present, in conse-
quence of the great demand. especially
for lumber-the lack of which enfOrces
a number of mechanics To wait idly I'M
til the next consignment. But this want
of building material has no deprecia-
tive effect on The business of the place
more than its convenience. There are
dry goods stores, grOcerS, hardware,
and other branches Of mercantile BUSH
ness being pushed as vigorously as if
envirOned in blocks OF granite. with the
latest expansion Of plate glass and
brass trimmings. As l approach the
Las Vegas hotel, 1 was seized with
tremOr of anxiety as / behold an inn
mense wall tent. probably eighty to a
hundred feet long, and by the addition
of a wing at either side having a 'front.'
! age Of nearly fifty feet.
I anticipated all kinds Of discomfort,
but imagine my agreeable surprise
when / enter find a completely
equipped hotel Office, with first class
Office furniture a portion of it devoted
to a reading and writing room. for
which ample accommodation is proYid-
ed. There behind the circular counter is
an immense safe, inviting confidence,
and both these departments, the office
| proper and the writing room, form the
annex which for its ground plan, the
| letter T. Looking down the main
aisle one is reminded of an immense
! hospital ward. On each side is d row OF
single iron bedsteads, enameled in
| white with brass finishings. There is
| a snowy white Counterpart, and COW
cred pillows on each, all giving the
strongest evidence Of the purity and
| cleanliness of the place After regis
tering, the clerk in the usual urbane
and msinuating manner Of the Well
| bred hotel clerk, inquired if I would
| want a room. Did 1 hear aright-a
what? "A room to myself" Before re-
| plying / looked towards the vista Of the
naked encampment of beds and then
| lQQulflugly at the august person De-
! kinds the Office counter. 20, yes" he
| continued, seeing my budious hesita-
| ton, 1--WE have a number of bed rooms.
| partitiOned of by canvas walls, and
many of our guests like the privacy OF
/ a bed room to themselves" l was
| shown to room y. s. 1t was the regu-
| latiOn size of the ordinary bed rooms
of most hotels, furnished with a large
size bed, bureau and toilet stand and
appurtenances. The floor was carpeted,
! and there was a canvas flap or door
| which could be fastened by means of
a simple cOntriVance, enough TO shut
! out WOuid-be intTudeTs while the bed
! itself for comfort and repOSe and quail
| ity of its furnishings. could not be eX-
! celled by the best hosiery in the coun-
/ try. / do not know who runs the hotel,
nor do I care, but l make this ack-
nowledgment Of its worth with heart
| mess that the travelling public viii APP
/ preciaJe, and only regret il is the only
/ one deserving such notice Of all that
lie between Salt Lake and Los Angeles,
although but tent.
After n necessary ablution and a
hearty dinner. I am called upon by my
DID friend Badly" That the reader of
| these lines may have some appreciation
of this quaint character it is necessary
for them to be somewhat acquainted
with some of his antecedents. Badly
Sackete is truly a child of the plains
! There is not a creek or a pass, between
Independence, No, and the most
southern point of California, with