Later from the Great Salt Lake—The Mor-mons—California Gold, &c.
The Pittsburgh Gazette announces the arrival in that city of Mr. E. Whipple, one of the leading Mor-mons, from the settlement in the neighborhood of the Great Salt Lake.
Mr. Whipple left the Great Salt Lake settlement on the 13th of October, and arrived at Fort Kearney, on the Missouri, in 51 days. The settlement of Mormons with which he is connected, is located in a beautiful valley on the borders of the Great Salt Lake is about 150 miles long, by 50 broad, and contains nothing living. It is salt that three barrels of water will make one of salt. The shores of the Lake, in the dry season, are encrusted with salt fit for use. It has no outlet.
Nearly south of the Salt Lake is a fresh water lake called the Utah, which empties its waters into the former. In this lake, fish, the mountain trout, are found. The river which connects the two Lakes the Mormons call the Jordan. The valley in which they are situated slopes from the mountains to the river, on both sides. These lakes, we may state for the the information of those who have not access to late maps, are situated on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, near the head waters of the River Platte, which runs into the Missouri, the Colorado, which empties into the Gulf of California, and the Columbia, which empties into the Pacific. The waters of the Platte and the Colorado almost unite by means of the Sweet Water River, which heads west of the Rocky Mountain chain, and runs into the Platte through the famous South Pass. Between these Lakes and the California mountains, in which the Sacramento rises, is a vast valley or basin, supposed to consist principally of sandy plains, about 400 miles wide from east to west, and some of 600 to 700 miles long from north to south. From this immense basin no egress for water has been discovered, the rivers losing themselves in the sand.
The valley, in which the Mormon settlements are, is about fifty miles long, and forty broad, and is surround-ed on three sides by high mountains, and on the north side by the lake. It gradually slopes from the moun-tains to the River Jordan, and is formed into steppes. From various gorges in the mountains, numerous fresh water streams pour their waters into the Jordan, afford-ing fine water power. No timber grows in the valley, but an abundance is supplied by the valleys of the streams in the mountains. It consists of fir, pine, hem-lock, and sugar maple.
In this delightful valley, about 1,000 miles from Mis-souri on the east, and 700 from the gold-diggings of the Sacramento, on the west—the Rocky Mountains being a barrier on one side, and the Great Basin, and the Cal-ifornian or Sierra Nevada range on the other—the Mor-mons have at last found a resting place. About 7,000 persons, of all ages, and both sexes, are now collected in this valley. They commenced arriving in the valley in July, 1847, and last season they raised a fine crop of wheat, corn and other productions, sufficient for their own consumption and of those of their faith who are yearly coming in. After next harvest they will have provisions to dispose of. They have two grist-mills and four saw-mills in operation, and have laid out several villages, and a town on an elevated plat, which over-looks the whole valley and lake. They are building sub-stantial houses and surrounding themselves with many comforts. They expect a large emigration this season from their brethren in the neighborhood of Council Bluffs, where there are some thousands congregated.
The road to Oregon and California, by the North Fork of the Platte River, and the South Pass, passes some 60 miles to the north of the settlement, but a route by the way of the Salt Lake can be taken, which will not take the traveler out of his way more than 40 or 50 miles. The Mormons will be able to supply fresh mules and oxen; and after next harvest, provisions to those who are emigrating to California.
Mr. Whipple says the road is very good all the way from Independence to west of the mountains. In 1847 about 1,000 wagons passed over it, and last year some 350. The trail is so well defined that no danger from losing it need be feared. Mr. Whipple recommends oxen in preference to mules, and says they will make just as good time. Emigrants usually make about 15 miles a day. On some portions of the route there is a scarcity of grass. For about 500 miles, buffalo meat can be obtained in abundance.
Mr. Whipple represents the valley of the Salt Lake as perfectly healthy, and the journey to that region as at-tended with no dangers, and but little fatigue. He re-turns again in the Spring.
The Mormons have established Ferries over the only rivers which are not fordable on account of high waters—the Platte and Green rivers—so that no hindrance to emigrants, from that cause, need now be feared. No gold has yet been found in the neighborhood of the Salt Lake, or anywhere east of the Sierra Ne-vada, as far as Mr. Whipple is informed. What has reached that region, was brought there by the dis-charged Mormon soldiers, who had returned from the Placer to visit their families.
With reference to the story, that the Mormons had claimed a preemption right to the diggings, and were demanding a per centage on the gold found, Mr. Whip-ple gives the following account. The first discovery of gold was made by Mormons, (discharged soldiers,) in digging a mill race for Mr. Sutter. As the discovery was on his ground, he gave them the liberty of digging gold, on condition of paying him a certain per centage. This they agreed to do, but soon started off to explore for themselves, and having found some rich spot, they demanded a per centage from new comers for digging in their ground, to which they claimed a right of dis-cover. This practice is general in the mines, and the Mormons, Mr. Whipple says, no more claim the whole of the mines than they do the whole of California.
