AFFAIRS IN UTAH.
The Indians Reported to be Ugly—Outrages—The Overland Mail Business— Necessity for Keeping Communication Free—Brigham Young's Southern Trip.
Correspondence of the New-York Times.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Friday, Aug. 29,1862.
Mr. WILLIAM S. GODBE, druggist, arrived in this city, per mail stage, on Tuesday night. He had been on a business visit to the States, purchasing goods for himself, and purchasing and freighting for others. He reports the Indians "ugly," particularly on the Sweet-water route, they still persisting in killing a white man or two occasionally.
On the western route, on the Humboldt, and in the Ruby Valley, similar reports arise, or at least the re-ports are flying about here. In the Salmon River and Oregon Countries, about Port Hall and the emigrant routes in that section, the red man continues hostile, as in many places else-where, and ever and anon imbues his swarthy hands in the blood of the whites. Very little reliable news reach-es us from that northern region, in consequence of the comparative infrequency of travel thence in this direction. Three wounded persons, however, re-cently arrived in this city, being a portion of a com-pany of a dozen, with packhorses, journeying from the West toward the East, and who were attacked near Fort Hall, on the 8th inst., compelled to flee, after five of their number were wounded, until they met a Salmon River train, with which they returned to Snake River.
On the 9th a Denver and Salmon River company were attacked near the same place, with a loss of five killed and two wounded. The Indians managed to secure two wagons and heaps of groceries.
In this Territory, in a place or two, the natives evince their chronic fondness for indiscriminate acquisition in the animal line. For instance, a day or two ago, a band of one or two hundred horses was driven off a range on the Weber, one Mr. NATHAN TANNER feeling that much poorer by the operation.
These cases, with others, especially the tragic, dis-play of Indian savagery in Minnesota, would indicate a rather general hostile disposition toward the whiles, among the Indians.
Taking this into consideration, with the past six months' history of mail operations across the Plains and the Rocky Mountains, and there is some ground for uncertainty in regard to the future of the overland mail business.
Little need be said in respect to the importance of the Pacific and the Atlantic States continuing united in national bonds, but one of the strongest links in those bonds will undoubtedly be a rapid and thorough-ly reliable overland mail communication. The rail-road is just the thing, but that is many years in the future, and "while the grass grows, the cattle starve." The present and the immediate future is the all-important time. Now, the sea is open, and com-munication is free in that direction. But God only knows how long that can be said.
Allow me to suppose the case of England or France, or both, espousing the cause of the rebels. Then sea communication with the Pacific States will be very risky. And If the Indians should cause such a suspension of overland mail facilities, in conjunc-tion with the sea blockade, as was the case a short time ago, how would California and Oregon stand affected? Their ports might be bombarded and their commerce destroyed by the action of English, French, or Anglo-French mail-coated frigates, while the American Monitors would have a large stretch of Union and rebel Atlantic coast to look after and de-fend. The Pacific States, sooner than endure such an unequal contest, would be likely to consider them-selves, by event of Providence, forever separated from the Atlantic States. But, if the overland mail were well sustained, and kept in running order in every contingency, why, then, overland travel would vastly increase, the rapid settlement of the divers little oases of the plains, mountains and deserts on the overland would be mutually strengthened and bound together in cords of national unity.
And the contingency I have supposed is not alto-gether chimerical. The large increase of population contributed by the Atlantic to the Pacific slope, the present year, appears to be mainly composed of per-sons who already have had enough of the war, and who are fleeing westward to escape the sound of the roaring cannon. This kind of population will in-crease from year to year. Their votes, of course, may, in the future, be expected on the side of peace, though at the cost of separation from the older States.
I therefore consider it important that the Govern-ment should hold itself prepared, in case of any fu-ture interruption on the Central Overland Route, to promptly order sufficient help from the nearest available point, so as to prevent, if possible, another single day's stoppage in the delivery of the mails. Some such step may yet prove essential to the wel-fare and integrity of the Union. Doubtless, in this Territory, any needful number of men or amount of material would be found available, at any time, to secure uninterrupted communication, as far as the centre of the route was concerned.
Quite a number of persons in this city and vicinity are busy rigging up their teams and making other ar-rangements to accompany BRIGHAM on his southern trip next week. The journey to and fro will proba-bly extend to eight hundred miles, in round numbers -equal to the journey hence to Fort Kearney. How-ever, it will most likely all be accomplished within a month, preaching, exhorting and praying included. It must be so, for the "authorities" will scarcely be absent from the great Semi-Annual Conference on the 6th of October, in this city.
A little boy, son of DAVID HILTON, while in the Caflon with his father, who was getting wood, had the misfortune to have his thigh broken the other day, through a log rolling on him. This is rather a bad case.
The Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Soci-ety is pushing into notice. The annual "fair" is announced to be held in this city on the 2d, 3d, and 4th of October, when quite a budget of prizes will be competed for, books, seeds, and plants being by far the most numerous. "Diplomas" occupy a far less conspicuous place than formerly, they evidently being appreciated much less than more substantial tokens. The Society has undergone a sort of recon-stitution, has had the rivets fastened, the screws tightened, and the joints and wheels oiled BRIGHAM, not having been perfectly satisfied with its former performances. Now that the concern has been generally "slicked up," we may naturally expect an advance in the show.
The emigration toward the West is tapering off, and the little traders of this city are complaining that the emigrants have no money—are as poor as rats. The well-to-do folks evidently took an early start, while those blest with poverty bring up the rear. Next we shall have the Mormon emigrants pouring in upon us, all of them hungry, poor and needy. Labor will then be much cheaper and more abundant than it has been all Summer.
