The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1906-04-12
From Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, I will try and write
you a short account of it.
l left home the first week in Febru-
airy, when the weather was cold and
the snow plenty, and forty-eight hours
after leaving Fargo I was in Salt
Lake City where the lawns were green
and the weather very moder ate.
Since then we have had considerable
snow but the snow was so warm that
it did not remain, but was gone in a
few hours and I have worn no heavier
wraps than a light rain coat.
came e the N. P. Ry. to Butte,
the last twenty miles of the route being
over the Rocky Mountains with the
grandest scenery I ever beheld. Half
way up the mountain we passed
the famous Pipestone springs and
when nearly to the summit we could
look down, seeing the tracks and
bridges we had passed over, and a
blot on the landscape which they told
was the village of .Pipestone. - The
tunnels at the summit of the mountain
was over a mile long through solid
rock. Butte, as you know, is the
smokiest of cities, 5000 feet above sea
level, the sulphurous fumes from / the
shelters making it entirely impossible
to raise any green thing within the
city o in the vicinity for a distance
of eight miles. AS I left Butte at 5
P. M, 1 did not see much of the
coutry until I reached Ogden, but by
the amount of fine dust which entered
the sleeper I should think we had
passed through a desert. The train
was we'll filled with editors and their
wives from Montana who were on
their way to Los Angeles, by a special
invitation of Senator Clark. At Og-
den, where we stopped for breakfast,
it seemed to be a beautiful fruit coun-
try. 1t is a city of some 5000 inhabit-
ants. I arrived in Salt Lake City
about $50 A. NJ. having travelled over
the Oregon Short Line Ry.
Since Henry arrived we have been
sightseeing. This city has about Is,
600 inhabitants and is as clean and
pretty a city as you could wish to see.
The streets are eight rods wide and on
each side large trees, with streams of
clean mountain water running next to
the curbing. The soil is light but not
sandy and after a few days of dry
weather they sprinkle the streets.
One day we went to Fort Douglas,
located about three miles east of the
city neal the mountains. There is a
large force of Infantry and Artillery
located here with about $50 horses,
some of them being very fine ones.
The officers homes with the necessary
fort building make quite a little city.
Their open air band concerts COM
menced that day for the summer and
the music was very fine.
Another day we took in the Utah
~penitentiary. Here are confined 200
prisoners who seem to be we'll cared
for and have many privileges not ac-
corded in other states. -
They are employed in making shoes
to supply their own institution and
the State Insane Asylum at Provo,
about SO miles south. Brushes, scrub
bling and coarser horse brushes made
from rice straw, but their chief occu-
patton is making mems working
socks. Each person is required to
make Sc pairs a day but as they are
woven on machines their work is COM
pleted by 2 P. M. and then their time
is given up to recreation. The
prisoners are divided into three
grades and when entered into the
prison are placed in the End grade, if
their behavior is good at the end of
three months they are promoted to the
first grade and given many privileges.
If on the contrary: they are placed in
the third grade and all privileges
taken from them and when not at
work are locked in their cells, and
only continuous good behavior will
replace their privileges. Our visit
was made about 3 P. M. and the yard
was filled with men playing ball
while in the corridors of the first and
second grades they were playing
caroms or other parlor games. A
fine music room is provided and an
excellent library for the benefit of
which a small admission fee is charged
each visitor. Back of the buildings
the convicts are executed and they
are given the choice of shooting or
hanging. The guard told us that it
was nearly always shooting that was
chosen. They are doing away with
the stripes except in the third grade
and are dressed in plain grey. The
lock step is also a thing of the past.
Each cell is fitted comfortably and
has an electric light and they are
allowed the library books in their
cells.
Yesterday we spent part of the after
noon at the state fish hatchery. We
found this very interesting watching
H. -.--1 ~