The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-11-23

1t lies In . high, natural ampnl-
theatre, with golden. satiny noun
tains forming . high barricade on
three sides, while on the fourth the
city slopes down to Q fertile valley.
fenced OF in orchards and FARMS
The great Salt Lake is visible only
through q telescope, being II miles
distant, and the great Salt Desert
is even farther away. After the
first shock Of surprise You cease to
connect the city with salt In any
way-it Is SO green and fresh look
ing-and later you are glad to have
the Salt Lake where it Is In all its
solemn, desolate grandeur ~ you
behold 1t from the window Of
Southern Pacific train on your Jour-
ney westward.
When the Mormons first saw Salt
Lake City they did not like 1t. They
had Travelled for a thousand miles
or more in a tedious and painful
fashion, walking and driving OK
carts all the way from Missouri.
and they were, to borrow q phrase
from the Mormon bible, exceeding
ly sore. Their feet especially were
sore. But even so. they declared
that they would rather 60 on for
anather thousand miles than
settle down ON the site they beheld
from Emigration canyon-merely a
great, placid basin of sand, dotted
with gray sagebrush. Brigham
Young, however, appeared to be
much impressed with it. He re-
manned silent for several minutes,
gazing down on its snug. cli6-pro-
tected baroness, and then he mads
his historic remark, This is the
place"
The. Mormons didn't like It any
better after that, but there was NO
disputing Brigham's word. You
can better understand this after
seeing the portrait Of the Mormon
leader which hangs in the Mormon
museum-the portrait of a man with
a square jaw and a high forehead,
with shrewd grey eyes and a thin.
straight mouth curving down
abruptly at the corners. So the
party moved down into the basin
and camped on the ground where
the city hall stands today. There
were las men In all, three women,
two children and horses, mules,
oxen, dogs and chickens. Personal
belongings we're few, because most
of the space in the OK carts had
been required for rifles, crude farm
ing implements, seed grain and a
years supply of provisions. One
lonely cannon also added greatly
to their courage in a country filled
with hostile Indians.
First Irrigation.
Under the direction of Young,
the campers Immediately started
breaking the sun-baked earth, but
in doing SO, broke their plows.
When most of the farm implements
had been ruined for life and all
seemed lost, Young had an inspira-
ton. He ordered them to dam the
nearby mountain streams 20 that
they flooded the land, and thus, &C.
cording to Utah historians, irriga-
ton by white men began in Amer
lea.
A fort was built as a precaution
against attacks from Indians, but
as Young's policy of making friends
| with the savages proved success
ful, this was soon abandoned and
log houses were built.
Then, just as conditions were be-
coming fairly tolerable, came the
crickets. In huge, ravenous droves
they descended on the new strug-
Cling crops and started deyourine
them. while the poor pioneers look
ed helplessly on. Insecticides were
not on the market then. and 1t il
doubtful if any insecticide ever in
vented would have proved a match
for these fabulous Utah crickets
Nevertheless. once mere all was moi
lost. In the wake of the crickets
came an equally ravenous flock Of
gulls-thousands of them - filling
the air with their harsh screeches
of delight as the fell upon the
choice, fat insects. The Mormons
believed that the coming of tht
birds was the work of God, but the,
also gave the gulls due credit, ant
in Utah today the gull is a sacred
bird, rigidly protected by law.
In lS49 Brigham Young started t
put into operation his plans fol
building a great. Independent Nor
mon empire. Salt Lake City wa.
not permitted to grow up in thu
usual haphazard fashion OF mos
American cities; it was CAREFUL,
planned and laid out in straight
wide streets, with long rectangular
blocks, six to a mile. Young said
LET there be green lawns, shrub.
and trees" and in due time his wore
was obeyed. To-day nearly ever,
house stands in its own greer
grounds, shaded by tall trees. US
ually poplars, and invariably some
where in the foreground, hard a
work, is the secret of all this green
ery-the humble garden hose.
i Early Schools.
| Next, Young turned his attention
to the provisions of educational ia
clities to which he attached enor
nous importance. although he him
self had been trained as a glaze
and cabtnet-maker and had suffere,
only one week Of school. The frs
class-roGms were opened in tent