Misc. Records
Where to Emigrate and Why - Frederick B. Goddard, Peoples Publ. Co., 1869
UTAH
The history of Utah, compared with that of every other territorial organization of our Government, is strange and anomalous. More than twenty years have passed since its first settlement, and yet Utah remains a Territory, while other younger Territories have rapidly advanced in wealth and population, and assumed the rank and responsibility of State sovereignty. The peculiar religion of the original settlers of Utah - their self-imposed isolation from the outer world, and their frequent efforts to prevent social or business intercourse with those "not of the household of faith" - account for the comparatively tardy growth of Utah.
In the summer of 1846, Brigham Young, accompanied by less than two hundred Mormon pioneers, settled in the valley of Great Salt Lake. They had been driven from Illinois in the spring preceding, by the people of Nauvoo, who claimed that numerous outrages against the peace and good order of the community had been directly traced to the Mormons. These facts are mentioned as preliminary to the founding of the new settlement in Great Salt Lake Valley, the writer disclaiming any expression of opinion concerning the merits of the Nauvoo controversy.
The site of Great Salt Lake City was peculiarly adapted to the tastes and purposes of the Mormon band. It overlooked a broad and fertile valley, beyond the limits of which, on all sides, towered gigantic mountain barriers, shutting out the curious gaze of the outside world, and frowning defiance upon those who might seek to disturb the peace and quiet of these religious pilgrims. Here a new colony was founded, and for several years the Mormons were left to the enjoyment of their own peculiar faith. By patient industry, and the accession of new proselytes to their faith from abroad, the followers of Brigham Young steadily increased and prospered. But the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast, and the consequent large emigration across the continent, brought Utah in contact with "gentile" prospecters and adventurers from all parts of the Union, and gradually the outer world came to understand and know something of the peculiarities of the "Latter Day Saints." The institution of Polygamy - a cardinal principle of Mormonism - had been condemned by the enlightened judgment of all Christendom. It seems strange that a system so repugnant to the moral and social sense of the refined and cultivated, should find so much favor with a people proverbial for their industry, their frugality, their temperance, and their general freedom from other excesses; and we doubt not the Mormons themselves will sooner or later abandon Polygamy, and yield to the irresistible influences of a worthier and purer domestic relation.
But it is not our purpose to discuss the religious or social status of the Mormons. Our only apology for referring to the matter at all, is, that we desire to present to the emigrant as full information as possible respecting the early history and peculiarities of a people whose remarkable industry and perseverance have made the solitudes of "Deseret" to glisten with golden fields, and filled her granaries with the fruits of multiplied harvests.
Utah for many years has depended almost entirely upon its agriculture. Its soil, where irrigated, is well adapted to the cultivation of the cereals, to fine fruits, and in its southern districts cotton and tobacco experiments have been quite successful. The surplus products of Utah have, until within a few years, sought a ready market in vain. Scattered over the Territory are large granaries, or warehouses, where vast quantities of produce had been collected and stored, in accordance with church regulation of the Mormons. But the settlement of Montana, Colorado, and other mining regions within convenient distances of Salt Lake, and the rapid progress toward Utah of the Great Pacific Railroad, have created a demand for the surplusage of the "Saints," and this has to a great extent stimulated and strengthened the industries of the Territory.
The "gentile," or anti-Mormon population of Utah, may be put down as less than five thousand. As the Pacific Railroad penetrates the Territory from its eastern and western borders, this number will doubtless be increased; but at present the principal immigration of Utah consists of proselytes to the Mormon faith, the larger majority coming from Great Britain and Ireland Missionaries* and earnest advocates of the faith; are continually laboring in foreign fields, and as a result of these efforts large bands of Mormon emigrants annually cross the ocean, traverse the great Plains, and settle in the basin of Utah. Most of these emigrants are from the humbler walks of life, but many are well educated and refined people, who find an irresistible fascination in the mysterious influences of the religion of the "Latter Day Saints."
[* handwritten note in book states, among pointing out other areas of contradiction in the above, that it is untrue regarding the amounts of Irish who became Mormon, and that there was only one Irishman a Mormon and never an Irish woman at that time.]
The local authorities of Utah have hitherto discouraged all attempts to develop the mineral resources of that Territory, and gold prospecters have received neither aid nor encouragement at their hands. The Mormons desired to be left undisturbed in the enjoyment of their peculiar views, and dreaded more than all things else the influx of a population such as had overrun California and other gold-producing regions. But latterly they have exhibited a more liberal spirit, and exploring parties have been treated with courtesy and kindness.
Rich quartz lodes have been discovered in the immediate vicinity of Great Salt Lake City, and in other parts of the Territory gold is known to exist. The completion of the Pacific Railroad will undoubtedly open an inviting field in Utah for mining enterprises; and as her mountain system carries the same general features as those of California, Nevada, and Montana, it is reasonable to hope that explorations will result in the discovery of rich and profitable lodes and placers.
From a Government Report we extract the following concerning Utah:—
GENERAL FEATURES.
The boundaries of this Territory have been changed a number of times until its form approaches a rectangle. Its length from north to south is about 345 miles, and its breadth about 320 miles, with an area of about 110,000 square miles. Its population is variously estimated at from 80,000 to 100,000, and is rapidly increasing.
MOUNTAINS.—The Wasatch range of mountains divides the Territory diagonally northeast and southwest into two parts, the northwestern being much larger than that lying to the southward. The Wasatch Range is high and rugged. Its lofty summits, covered with perpetual snow, probably have an altitude of 11,000 or 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. In a broad and elevated range surrounded by countries rich in gold and silver, we should expect to find those metals. But, so far as is known, no range of mountains on the western coast has been found rich in precious metals that has a trend to the northeast and southwest, and it may be considered problematical whether any mines of those metals will be found of great richness in the Wasatch mountains. On the western side of the Territory are a number of small ranges, on the Goshoat and a number of others, that contain mines of gold and silver.
RIVERS.—The largest river is the Colorado, one of the longest in the United States. Of its capabilities for navigation comparatively little is known, though, so far as explored, the reports are unfavorable. Its principal branches are the Green, Grand, San Juan, and Virgin rivers. These drain the southeastern portion of the Territory. On the north, Goose and Holmes's creeks run into Snake River, but all the interior streams empty into lakes that have no outlet to the sea. Bear River and the Jordan empty into Salt Lake, besides many large creeks and numerous smaller ones.
SALT LAKE, &c.—Salt Lake is about 120 miles long, north and south, and 40 miles wide, and contains several islands of considerable size, some of which are partially covered with timber. A steamer is now being built for the purpose of shipping the timber from these islands for the use of Salt Lake City.
The lake is subject to sudden storms, and boat navigation is sometimes dangerous. Until the present time, no serious effort has been made to test its capabilities for navigation, but there is no doubt that the trade on this lake will, at some future period, be of considerable magnitude. The water is extremely salt. An analysis shows that it contains over 22 per cent of solid matter. It is probable the lake once had an outlet to the ocean; and from the fresh-water tertiary fossils found at Bear River, and at other points, it is almost certain that it then contained fresh water. Then, also, it doubtless contained many varieties of fish, but as the water grew salt, they gradually perished; and, so far as has been observed, it has no animal life in it at present.
The cause of the extreme aridity of this country lies in the fact that it is surrounded by high mountains. The Sierra Nevada on the west, the Wasatch Range on the south and east, and the Rocky Mountains on the north, completely encircle it. The wind coming from any quarter has its moisture absorbed in passing over the mountains. The absence of vegetation, the effect of this extreme aridity, also aggravates the droughts. The cultivation of these valleys by covering them with crops and trees, may cause some change in the amount of rain-fall, and it is not unlikely that in the course of years the water in Salt Lake will be permanently higher than it is now. As the small rain-fall at present is due to the environment of mountains, the inference is, that in former times they did not exist, and that this lake is older than the mountains; this conclusion appears to be warranted by our present knowledge of the facts.
Utah Lake, the source of the Jordan, is almost the shape of a right-angled triangle, about 30 miles long and 20 wide. The water is fresh.
There are several other lakes, as Little Salt Lake, Sevier Lake, and Goshoat.
Trade in the Territory is more depressed. than since 1850. This may cause the people to turn their attention to mining, a pursuit hitherto neglected, owing to the greater profits derived from agriculture. The favorable notice taken of the recent discoveries of the mines on the east side of Green River is evidence in point. The most potent cause of the increase of the population is the encouragement extended to emigration from foreign countries. Nearly nine-tenths of the adult population are of foreign birth.
SALT LAKE CITY.—Salt Lake City has a population of about 19,000 inhabitants. It is a beautifully laid-out town. The streets are wide, with streams of clear water running on each side. The carriage-ways are separated from the sidewalks by rows of trees, which present a refreshing appearance in summer to the way-worn traveler who has crossed the deserts. The private houses, built chiefly of wood, are perishable, but the public edifices are constructed of stone and wood, and are durable and highly creditable to the skill and enterprise of the inhabitants. The tabernacle, the principal place of worship, is capable of seating 10,000 people. The width of the streets, the umbrageous rows of trees, the great number of orchards and gardens in the heart of the city, and the incombustible nature of the houses, give a country appearance to the city, and render fires almost unknown. The small size of the farms is favorable to high cultivation. As a consequence, the greater part of Salt Lake Valley is under better cultivation than any other region west of the Rocky Mountains, except, perhaps, around the bay of San Francisco.
IRRIGATION.—The system of irrigation is excellent and extensive. Farmers in the Eastern States might learn much here that would be valuable to them. From a report of the Deseret Agricultural Society of January 11, 1866, it appears that " there have been constructed 277 main canals, in length amounting to 1,043 miles, 102 rods, at a mean width of 5 feet 6 inches, and a mean depth of 2 feet 2 inches, which water 153,949 acres of land at a cost of $1,766,939, and that there is in course of construction canals at an estimated cost of $900,000."
Ogden is a flourishing town on the east side of the lake, and ranks next to Salt Lake City in population and importance.
MINES AND MINING.—In the spur of the Wasatch, on the east side of Salt Lake, gold has been found in very minute quantities. Some of the quartz assayed about $2 per ton. The mountains at this point trend west of north and east of south. The country rock is granite, and quartz is abundant.
The thermal springs in this vicinity show the presence of sulphate of iron, and possibly mines of value may be found in this spur of the mountain.
MINERSVILLE.—The western part of the Territory, adjoining Nevada, so far as known, is the richest in metals. At Minersville are mines of lead and copper, which contain some gold and silver. The percentage of silver contained in the lead and copper ores of this district is sufficient to justify the conclusion that the working of these mines will be a source of profit at some future day.
RUSH VALLEY.—This district abounds in veins containing argentiferous galena and copper. When transportation is cheaper, fuel more abundant, and labor cheaper, these mines will doubtless be valuable. At present no profit is likely to be derived from working them.
COAL.—The eastern part of the Territory contains large seams of coal. As it has been found as far south as Pahranagat and at San Pete, it is not improbable it abounds in many parts of the Green River valley. That said to be from San Pete is a firm bituminous coal, considered by many superior to any found west of the Rocky Mountains, but its quality must be thoroughly proved in large amounts before it can be pronounced equal to the bituminous coal of Pennsylvania.
* * * * * * * *
Owing to the scarcity of fuel in the mining regions of the eastern part of Nevada and the western part of Utah, where most of the silver , copper, and lead ores must be smelted, coal will in time be in great demand.
Anthracite.—The most interesting discovery in this connection is anthracite coal. Scientific men have long been seeking in vain to find anthracite west of the Rocky Mountains. It has recently been found on Green River. An old iron-worker from the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania says the deposit is identically the same. The coal is heavy, and will not burn with a flame. When used in a blacksmith's forge it gives an intense heat. This article has been tried, and found to answer all the purposes required of it.
PACIFIC RAILROAD.—The advantages to be derived from the construction of the Pacific Railroad will be beyond computation. Branch railroads will follow, and these coal fields will eventually be opened up. The number of coal seams visible along the cañons in eastern Utah is remarkable. Many of them are of large size; some are said to be 15 feet thick. Occasionally they can be traced four or five miles. They are so numerous and easily found that the inhabitants do not locate them. It would be difficult to imagine such an abundance of valuable coal deposits in Nevada or California as to preclude location. Utah appears to be nearly in its normal condition. The recent elevations and depressions are slight; consequently, in mining for coal, it is probable few faults will be found. The great number of veins near the surface will furnish that article for years to come without deep mining, or the use of expensive machinery for hoisting or pumping. If the coal fields on Green River should prove as extensive and of as good quality as there is reason to expect, it will be a great advantage to the miners on the Colorado and Pahranagat, as well as useful in the navigation of the Colorado River. A thorough exploration of the coal fields of Utah, Dakota, Colorado, and Montana is much needed. It would probably establish the fact that western coal fields, though inferior in quality, rival in extent the vast deposits east of the Mississippi River.
IRON.—Iron ore is abundant in Utah. Attempts have been made to smelt it, but so far without success. There is nothing refractory in this ore to render smelting difficult with skill and the proper appliances. The demand for iron will always be large in Utah, and the cost of freight from any other point of production renders it an important resource for development. With a large agricultural population, labor will be cheap. In every point of view, Utah appears to have better facilities for the production of iron than any of the adjoining States or Territories. The profit on agricultural pursuits will become less every year, for many years to come. All the adjacent mining States and Territories will soon raise their own stock and grain. With the exception of New Mexico and Arizona, they are now doing it to a great extent, so that there will be only a home market for the produce of Utah. This will have a tendency to turn the attention of the inhabitants to mining and manufactures. In the latter branch of industry they are already actively engaged.
SALT.—Salt can be produced in unlimited quantities, both for home consumption and export. When the railroad is completed it will probably pay to transport this article to the markets of the Atlantic. In the State of Nevada salt is so cheap and abundant that it will not pay to send it west from Utah.
SODA. exists in vast beds in many parts of the Territory. When labor and freight are cheaper, this will probably be an article of export.
COTTONWOOD CAÑON is about 27 miles southeast from Salt Lake City, in the Wasatch mountains. It contains several silver mines. The veins occur in limestone, and ore exists at the surface in abundance. This is a valuable lead-mining district. The ore is remarkably free from antimony.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.—The Territory of Utah will undoubtedly become in time an important and prosperous State. It possesses a great variety of resources. Whatever may be the opinions entertained as to the peculiar institutions existing there at present, none can deny that its population is industrious and enterprising. A people who have redeemed the deserts by a vast system of irrigation, built up cities, inaugurated an excellent school system, established manufactures of nearly all the articles necessary for the use of man, opened up roads in every direction, and supplied the miners of the adjacent Territories for several years with their products, can not fail to achieve a condition of high prosperity in the future. Contact with their neighbors, who entertain views antagonistic to their social institutions, will remedy the evils under which they now labor. As they become more intelligent, the impolicy of isolating themselves from the moral sympathies of the world will become apparent, and their patience, industry, and self-reliance will be turned to good account.
CORRESPONDENCE.
We are indebted to Judge CARTER, of Fort Bridger, for the following information respecting that portion of Utah. Our informant has for many years occupied prominent official positions on the frontier, and is well known to every trapper and mountaineer throughout the entire Rocky Mountain region:―
FORT BRIDGER, August 2, 1868.
We have no surveyed lands. The valleys are fertile, but not extensive, and require irrigation, which, owing to the peculiarity of the streams, is no great labor. Usual wages are $40 per month for farm hands and general labor. Among the Mormons of Utah I am unacquainted with the price of labor, but suppose it is much less. Coal and wood are abundant. We have full crops and good prices. The Union Pacific Railroad traverses the Territory. Of school and religious advantages we have none. Population here is mostly native American, of the Uté and Shoshone tribes.
Fort Bridger is situated in the northeast part of the Territory. It was formerly a great rendezvous for trappers and traders. It is 8,000 feet above the sea. RICHARDSON describes the scenery of this vicinity as follows: "Coming from a desert dreary as Sahara, we began to view mountains that rival Switzerland, and skies of Italian beauty. The air was soft and warm, flowers abounded, and mosquitoes buzzed about us, though patches of snow were on all sides. From the ridges we looked over an immense area of green valleys, gay with flowers, bright with silver streams, and mountains of every hue, dotted with dark cedars, streaked with snow, and lost in dim fleecy clouds."
The following letter is from a leading and influential official of the Mormon church:—
SALT LAKE CITY, U. T., July 30, 1868.
FREDERICK B. GODDARD, Esq., New York City:―
SIR: By request of President Brigham Young, in reply to your favor of July 11, I send you the following laconic answers, to your interrogations:―
1st. The farming lands of the Territory are such tracts as lie contiguous to streams, and can be irrigated by conducting water upon them by the aid of dams and canals, which is done at a cost varying from five to one hundred dollars an acre. The original title to lands is vested in the Government; and the value of the land is governed by the expense of the irrigating canals, and the amount expended in building upon, fencing, and otherwise improving it.
2d. For agricultural and ordinary day-laborers about thirty dollars per month, with board, is paid. Hands most needed are the class named.
3d. The climate is dry in summer; temperature variable; frequently great change of temperature between night and day. The proximity of high mountains is the cause of the difference of temperature.
4th. Iron ore, lead, copper, zinc, sulphur, salt, and coal, have been discovered, with some prospects of silver and gold. Timber is scarce, and only found in the cañons and high on the slopes of the mountains, where it is watered by the snows, and is generally of inferior quality, and very difficult of access.
5th. Wheat, barley, oats, maize, sorghum, peas, and garden vegetables are successfully cultivated, except in grasshopper years, when every thing suffers materially; and at the time of writing it looks as though the trees and other vegetation in this city would be almost entirely destroyed by the locusts. Wheat is $2 per bushel ; potatoes $1.
6th. The market has been the mines north, west, and east, five hundred miles distant; transportation by ox and mule trains.
7th. There are common schools in every ward in this city, and in all the settlements in the Territory. In this city there are also two academies and two commercial colleges. Liberal religious organizations exist in every settlement, under the auspices of bishops, counselors, and teachers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; connected with these are Sunday-schools.
8th. Majority native Americans.
Very respectfully,
GEO. A. SMITH.
PROVO CITY, UTAH Co., U. T., August 11, 1868.
FREDERICK B. GODDARD, ESQ.:―
DEAR SIR: In reply to the queries of your circular, I will briefly furnish answers so far as the valleys of Utah and Cedar, composing Utah County, are concerned.
1st. The principal farming lands are along the Utah Lake banks on the east, and on the river bottoms that make into the lake from the cañons. Bottom land in part rich, much of it injured by alkali; and as crops are raised by irrigation, canals are sometimes used to convey streams of water on the dry benches at very heavy cost, ranging from $5 to $100 per acre on the land improved. Farming land may be bought here; but settlers seeking good land, and having access to the broad lands east, west, and north, would look upon the broken patches of land in Utah County as not worth the labor expended to improve them, as most of our farmers have, in order to secure the amount of land they can farm, to buy, take up, or improve in several fields or companies hence the land claims of Utah County do not offer any great inducements to the settler for farming.
2d. Common labor $2 to $3 per day; mechanics from $3 to $5 per day. Price of board per week from $5 to $12. As with every new country, the demand for labor is ample, provided the products or staples of the country will be received as pay, the circulation of currency being frequently very limited.
3d. The climate is quite healthful, and has its extremes as with mountainous regions generally. Winters severe. This summer has been very warm, and of late years we have had more rain.
4th. The mineral resources of the country are said to be extensive. As yet we have not discovered any thing that pays. Coal is found in Weber and San Pete counties, north and south of us, but none here. Our saw-timber grows on the mountain tops (watered by the melting snow), which can be got only by very hard labor. Some firewood is obtained in the cañons on the banks of the streams and gorges of the mountains. No timber grows in the valleys, except shrub cedar and grease-wood. Timber planting has not been commenced yet. Lumber ranges from $5 to $8 per hundred. Lime and limestone abundant, and sandstone found in the cañons; granite rock from north end of the county.
5th. Wheat is the principal crop raised. Corn, barley, and oats grow well; also potatoes. Wheat, $2 per bushel; oats, $1; barley, $1.50; potatoes, $1; butter and cheese, 30c.; beef, 7c. to 12c. per lb. Prices vary from these occasionally, with the demand and supply.
6th. Salt Lake City, a distance of fifty miles, is the nearest and only market for the Territory. The farmers have to haul their produce with their ox and horse teams, as we have no railroad or water conveyance, but the near approach of the Union Pacific Railroad will, it is hoped, be of much benefit to the country.
7th. Each ward or precinct has a common school, and high schools and colleges are rising in different places. Our Sunday-schools are of a high order, and much importance is attached to them, with a growing interest. The prevailing religion is the faith of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," although many in the community entertain different creeds, and the highest standard of religious freedom exists here.
8th. The majority of the people are of British descent, although the community is made up of persons from almost every nation, and, as you are no doubt aware, there is an annual immigration from Europe. For a virtuous, intelligent community, Utah can not be surpassed. So far as agricultural and mineral resources are concerned, inducements do not present themselves here; but for stock-growers there are sections of country where men locating with the most improved kinds of stock might, I believe, do well; and where persons might locate and afterward conclude to move, the change of location could be more easily effected, as it is our opinion that the person who desires the accumulation of wealth and establishment of an easy home, can find many places more congenial to this end, unless local affinities, social and religious, induce the settler or emigrant to halt and sojourn in these valleys, and labor among the rugged mountains for a quiet resting-place, away from the troublous scenes which will more than likely assail and increase in this and among other nations, as the political world now so clearly foreshadows.
Please excuse this hasty scribble, and accept the will to do better. With success to your enterprise, I am, yours very respectfully,
A. F. MACDONALD.
Another correspondent, writing from SALT LAKE CITY under date of August 3, 1868, says:—
* * * The character of land here, as in other places, varies from the very poorest to that which can not be excelled; but the cost of irrigation in this country is a serious tax, and many locations have had to be abandoned on account of it. * * * The price of common labor is $1.50 per day; mechanical ranges from $2 to $4. * * * St. Louis, New York, and California have supplied our market mostly, but in a few months we will be in such close proximity to these places as to reduce the tariff on transportation so much as to bring the price of merchandise to a near level with those there. * * * We inculcate and practice virtue, sobriety, industry, and other moral qualities, to a greater extent than is to be found among any other people; hence our prosperity.
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.