The country in its natural state is almost destitute of trees. The only timber found is in the more sheltered ravines, on the banks of a few of the streams, and occasionally on the bases of some of the moun tains. Wild game abounds. The antelope, doer, bear, and panther are very numerous The lake-ielands are frequented by aquatic birds in astonishing quantities. The more common kinds aro swans, geese, ducks, curlews, plovers, gulls, blue herons, cranes, pelicans, he. Mos quitoes and sand-flies are very numerous and troublesome. But the greatest insect pest is a large kind of cricket, which at irregular periods appears in enormous numbers, and commits terrible ravages ; it is said that the corn crepe are this year (1855) almost entirely destroyed by them.
Utah from its insulated situation must be to a great extent thrown upon its own resources, if the peculiarities of its population did not cherish by every means their separate self-dependent condition. Cut off by lofty and difficult mountains and vast deserts from all other settled states, with agricultural resources little more than sufficieut for the supply of its own increasing requirements, and without any staple product or material required by the arta or luxuries of other com• munities, it is not likely to have any considerable amount of external trade or commerce ; while there will probably be a sufficient stimulus to the growth of such manufactures as are required for ordinary domestic purposes. With California regular communication is main tained, but the cost of transit is too great for California to offer a. market for the produce of Utah. On the other hand, from Salt Lake City to St. Louis, the nearest considerable market, is upwards of 1600 miles. Some modification would undoubtedly be wrought by the construction of the projected Great Pacific railway, but in any case Utah must remain to a great extent a country separated geogra phically, politically, and commercially. The local government has done everything it could to encourage the establishment of factories and there are already several woollen-mills, potteries, hardware-works, he., especially along the valley of the Jordan. Flour-mills are in operation very generally.
Divisions, 2bums, &c.—Utah is divided into 12 counties. Fillmore, a little village, in the south-western part of the state, is tho political capital ; but the chief city, indeed the only ono of any consequence is Salt Lake City. There are several other 'cities,' but they aro merely collections of a few adobe cottages.
Salt Lake City, or as it is officially designated, the City of the Salt Lake, is situated on the east Aldo of the Jordan River, a strait which unites Utah Lake with tho Great Salt Lake, in 40' 45' N. lat., 112' 5' W. long., and at an elevation of 4300 feet above the sea. The popula tion in 1850 was over 5000; it has since largely increased, but wo have only vague estimates of its numbers. The city was laid out in July 1847, under the direction of Brigham Young, the Mormon prophet, as the great central city of the Mormon people. The space marked out was four miles long and threo miles, broad, the same size as Nanvoo ; the streets intersect at right angles, and are 132 feet wide; and tho houses are ordered to be set back 20 feet from the front line of the lot, and the intermediate space to be planted with shrubs or trees. A plot of several acres is sot apart for the site of the great temple, which is to be built on a scale of the greatest possible splendour, far surpassing the famous temelo of Nauvoo. The houses are mostly built of adobe, or sun-dried bricks, and have a neat appear ance; but large houses and public establishments are now built of stone. There are several manufactories and mills in the vicinity of the city, and salt is largely made on the borders of the lake. Several
schools have been established, and a site has been set apart on one of the terraces of the Wahsatch Siountain for the erection of a university.
Government, History, &c.—The government of Utah territory is exactly simliar to that of New Mexico.
The territory of Utah originally formed a part of the Mexican province of Alta, or Upper California, and, with the rest of that pro vince, was transferred to the United States by treaty in 1848. But the whole of the province had really passed out of the hands of Mexico for some years before the formal transfer; and while the tract west of the Sierra Nevada, or whet now forms the state of California, was already in the poaseselon of the citizens of the United States, the (leant Dula, hitherto absueloned to the native Indians, lay open to any body of settlers strong enough to maintain themselves within it.. By snob a body it was occupied in 1347. It does not fall within our province to relate here the early history of that remarkable sect the Mormons, whose occupation of the territory has invested Utah with so ainguler an interest. It will be enough to remind the reader, that the Mormons first settled as a community at Independence, and after wards In Clay county, Missouri; and that on being expelled in ouccession from each of these places, they loft state, and established themselves at Nauvoo in Illinois. Here they speedily became a large and flourishing body ; and, besides various publio edifices, erected a spacious temple at a cost of nearly a million dollars. Joseph Smith, their prophet., governed them with absolute and almost unquestioued authority until his death in 1844, which was brought about in a very shocking manner. A newspaper establishod in Nauvoo by some opponent. of the sect, having published certain scandalous statements the town council directed its publication to be stopped and the office to be razed. The editors appealed to the mayor of Carthage, who issued a warrant for the arrest of Smith and his brother. Smith at first refused to obey, and placed the city in a state of defence; but he was induced to surrender in order to prevent a collision between his followers and the state authorities, on receiving a pledge of protection from the populace. A mob was however permitted to break into the state jail and murder both Smith and his brother. The Mormons elected a new prophet, Brigham Young, as the successor of Smith, and affairs again became prosperons. But organised mobs several times attacked the city, and at length regularly invested it; and the leaders were forced to under take that the whole body should entirely quit the state. The prophet and elders now formed the bold resolution to lead their followers across the vast western wilderness, to the far distant and nearly unknown country lying beyond the Rocky Mountains—there to seek some secluded retreat beyond the reach of their persecutors. They bad been promised to be allowed till the spring to. make their prepa rations for the departure of the first or pioneer party ; but their enemies became clamorous, and they were obliged to set out in February 1816, while it was yet winter. The sufferings of this pioneer party were of the most terrible and trying kind; but they struggled on resolutely, planting crops and otherwise preparing the way fur those who were to follow them. It was not till July of the following year that the first section of the pioneers reached the promised land. The remainder were soon to follow ; for although the authorities had engaged that the rest of the community should be allowed to stay in Nauvoo till apprised of the safe arrival of the first migration, their old opponents came _down and drove them all out of the city in September 1846.