USA > Utah > Cache County > Logan > Utah gazetteer and directory of Logan, Ogden, Provo, and Salt Lake Cities for 1884 > Part 25
USA > Utah > Salt Lake County > Salt Lake > Utah gazetteer and directory of Logan, Ogden, Provo, and Salt Lake Cities for 1884 > Part 25
USA > Utah > Utah County > Provo > Utah gazetteer and directory of Logan, Ogden, Provo, and Salt Lake Cities for 1884 > Part 25
USA > Utah > Weber County > Ogden > Utah gazetteer and directory of Logan, Ogden, Provo, and Salt Lake Cities for 1884 > Part 25
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"In Dr. Hayden's preliminary report of the field work of his survey for the season of 1877, noticed on page 56 of the current volume of the journal, there is no mention of the observation at Red Rock Pass, but the omission appears to have been accidental, for on page 7 he says: 'At the divide between the Malad and Marsh Creeks is another of the old outlets of the ancient Salt Lake when its waters were at the highest level.' This passage occurs in a summary of Dr. A. C. Peale's geological observations. but it is to be hoped that the idea will not be advocated in that gentleman's report. The divide referred to is near Malad City, and separates Malad Valley from Marsh Valley. The Bonneville Beach is well marked all about Malad Valley, and nowhere more strongly than in the vicinity of Malad City. It runs between that place and the divide at an altitude of about 400 feet (by barometer) above the city, while the divide, as determined by Dr. Hayden's assistants, has an altitude above the city of 950 feet. After mak- ing every allowance for the errors incident to barometric determinations of altitude, it must be conceded that the divide is several hundred feet higher than the water line. It appears so evident from a distant view that the lake did not overflow this ridge, that I did not ascend to the summit, although I had undertaken last summer to examine every divide between the Columbia
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UTAH GAZETTEER.
and Salt Lake Basins that might possibly have afforded passage to the water. I am aware that Professor F. H. Bradley, who visited the locality in 1872, expressed the half-formed opinion that it had been a point of outflow, but he described no channel of outflow; and it is evident, moreover, that he gave little thought to the subject, for he made the somewhat astonishing suggestion that four outflowing streams might have coexisted-one at the Soda Spring Pass, one at Red Rock, one near Malad City, and one at the head of the Malad River. If he had seen the channel at Red Rock, I do not doubt that he would have recognized it as the real avenue of discharge. It is proper to add in this connection, that I have been able to demon- strate that certain small orographic movements have transpired in the Bonneville Basin, not only since its desiccation but during its flooding, and that it is perfectly conceivable that such movements shifted the outflow from point to point. To ascertain whether they actually did so, I have traced out during the past summer all of the shore line that had not previously been explored, and in so doing I have satisfied myself that the only outlet of Lake Bonneville was Red Rock Pass."
Professor John Muir gives this description of a bath in Great Salt Lake: "When the north wind blows bathing in Salt Lake is a glorious bap- tism, for then it is all wildly awake with waves, blooming like a prairie in snowy crystal foam. Plunging confidently into the midst of the grand uproar you are hugged and welcomed, and swim without effort, rocking and whirling up and down, round and round in delightful rhythm, while the wind sings in chorus and the cool, fragrant brine searches every fibre of your body, and at the end of your excursion you are tossed ashore with glad God-speed, braced and salted, and clean as a saint. The nearest point on the shore line is distant about ten miles from Salt Lake City, and is almost inaccessible on account of the boggy character of the ground; but by tak- ing the Utah and Nevada Railroad, at a distance of twenty miles you reach what is called Lake Point, where the shore is gravelly and wholesome, and abounds in fine retreating bays, that seem to have been made on purpose for bathing. Here the northern peaks of the Oquirrh Range plant their feet in the clear blue brine, with fine curving insteps, leaving no space for muddy levels. The crystal brightness of the water, the wild flowers and lovely mountain scenery make this a favorite summer resort for pleasure and health seekers. Numerous excursion trains are run from the city, and parties, some of them numbering upwards of a thousand, come to bathe, and dance, and roam the flowery hillsides together. But at the time of my first visit in May, I fortunately found myself alone. The hotel and bath- houses, which form the principal improvements of the place, were asleep in winter silence, notwithstanding the year was in full bloom. It was one of those genial Sundays when flowers and flies come thronging to the light, and birds sing their best. The mountain ranges, stretching majestically north and south, were piled with pearly cumuli, the sky overhead was pure azure, and the wind-swept lake was all aroll and aroar with white caps. I sauntered along the shore until I came to a cove, where buttercups and wild peas were blooming close down to the limit reached by the waves. Here, I thought, is just the place for a bath; but the breakers seemed terri- bly boisterous and forbidding as they came rolling up the beach, or dashed white against the black rocks that bounded the cove on the east. The outer ranks, ever broken, ever builded, formed a magnificent rampart, sculptured and corniced like the hanging wall of a bergschlucht, appearing hopelessly insurmountable, however easily one might ride the swelling waves beyond. I feasted awhile on their surpassing beauty, watching their coming in from afar like faithful messengers, to tell their stories one by one; then I turned reluctantly away, to botanize and await a calm. But the calm did no tcome that day, nor did I wait long. In an hour or two I was back again to that
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U AH GAZETTEER.
same little cove. The waves still sang the old storm song and rose in high crystal walls, seemingly hard enough to be cut in angular sections like ice.
"Without any definite determination I found myself undressed, as if some one else had taken me in hand; and while one of the largest waves was ringing out its message and spending itself on the beach, I ran out with open arms in the next, and received a hearty salute. Then I was fairly launched and at home, tossed into right lusty relationship with the brave old lake. Away I sped, in free glad motion, as if like a fish I had been afloat all my life, now low out of sight in the smooth glassy valley, now aloft on firm combing crest, while the crystal foam beat against my breast with keen, crisp clashing, as if composed of pure, crisp salt. I bowed to every wave, and each lifted me right royally to their shoulders, almost set- ting me erect on my feet, while they went speeding by like living creatures, blooming and rejoicing in the brightness of the day, and chanting the his- tory of their grand old mountain home.
"A good deal of nonsense has been written concerning the difficulty of swimming in this heavy water. 'One's head would go down, and heels come up, and the acrid brine would burn like fire.' I was conscious only of a joyous exhilaration, my limbs seemingly heeding their own business, with- out any discomfort or confusion, so much so, that without any previous knowledge my experience on this occasion would not have led me to detect anything peculiar. In calm weather, however, the sustaining power of the water might probably be more marked. This was, by far, the most exciting and effective wave excursion I ever made this side of the Rocky Mountains; and when, at its close, I was heaved ashore among the sunny grasses and flowers, I found myself a new creature indeed, and went bounding along the beach with blood all aglow, reinforced by the best life salts of the mountains, and ready for any race.
"Since the completion of the trans-continental and Utah railways, this magnificent lake in the heart of the continent has become as accessible as any watering place on either coast; and I am sure that thousands of travelers, sick and well, would throng its shores every summer were its merits but half known. Lake Point is only an hour or two from the city, and has good hotel accommodations, and a steamboat for excursions; and then, besides the bracing waters, its climate is delightful. The mountains rise into the cool sky, 'furrowed with canyons almost Yosemitic in grandeur, and filled with a glorious profusion of flowers and trees. Lovers of science, lovers of wildness, lovers of pure rest will find here more than they ever may hope for."
The principal islands are Antelope and Stansbury, rocky ridges, rang- ing north and south, rising abruptly from the lake to an altitude of 3, 000 feet. Antelope is the nearest to Salt Lake City, and is sixteen miles long. Stansbury is twenty miles to the westward of Antelope, and twelve miles long. Both at one time were accessible from the southern shore by wagon. Both had springs of sweet water and good grass for stock. The view from the summit of Antelope is described as "grand and magnificent, embracing the whole lake, the islands, and the encircling mountains covered with snow -a superb picture set in a framework of silver." Mention is made of the scenery on the eastern side of Stansbury. "Peak towers above peak, and cliff beyond cliff, in lofty magnificence, while, crowning the summit, the dome frowns in gloomy solitude upon the varied scene of bright waters, scattered verdure, and boundless plain (western shore) of arid desolation below. Descending one day from the dome, the gorge, at first almost shut up between perpendicular cliffs of white sandstone, opened out into a superb, wide, and gently sloping valley, sheltered on each side to the very water's edge by belting cliffs, effectually protected from all winds, except on the east, and covered with a most luxuriant growth of bunch-grass. Near
23
186
UTAH GAZETTEER.
the shore were abundant springs of pure, soft water," probably covered by the lake now. There was no sweet water on the western side of the island. Of minor islands, there are Fremont, Carrington, Gunnison, Dolphin, Mud, Egg, Hat, and several islets without names. With the ranges enclosing the valley they present water marks at different heights, one principal one 800 feet above the present lake level, indicating a comparatively recent receding of the waters, either from change of climate or the relative level of of the mountains and basin.
In all probability the whole area between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch was once a lake, in which the mountains rose as islands, and of which the lakes now existing, large and small, are the remains. The depos- its which cover the lowlands are chiefly calcareous and arenaceous, and often filled with fresh water and land shells, indicating a very modern origin. The formation of the islands and shore ranges adjoining Salt Lake is meta- morphic; the strata distinctly marked and highly inclined, but attaining no great elevation; generally overlaid with sandstones and limestones of the carboniferous age, both partly altered, the former constituting the loftier eminences; in places highly fossiliferous, in others, losing their granular character and becoming sub-crystalline, or threaded by veins of calcareous spar; the sandstones often, from metamorphic action, taking the character of quartz. In places on the islands, the surface is changed rocks, talcose and mica slates, hornblende and sienite. Captain Stansbury found the top of an island twenty miles west of the northern point of Antelope to consist of fine roofing slate. A nail could be driven through it almost as easily as through a shingle. It was in unlimited quantity. On another small island he found cubic crystals of iron pyrites in seams of ferruginous quartz. Near the point of Promontory Range he noticed a cliff of alum shale nearly a mile in length, traversed by dykes of trap, the shale containing numerous veins of very pure fibrous alum. Close by were strata of alum, slate, fine grindstone- grit, sandstone and albite. It is a manganese instead of an alkaline or true alum, but may be substituted for common alum in tanning leather, and, also, as a coloring agent in dyeing. Some of the islands are crowned with ledges of black and cream-colored marble.
Captain Stansbury navigated and examined the lake thoroughly, and was often oppressed by its solitude, nothing living in the water, although aquatic birds cover the shores and islands in the breeding season, either carrying their food from the fresh water streams that feed the lake or feeding on the larvæ of diptera, which accumulates in great quantity on or near the beaches. His boat was named the "Salicornia," contracted to "Sally" for common use, but he left no data as to its style and tonnage, except that it was flat-bottomed. Next in order among the navigators of the lake were the Walker Brothers, merchants of Salt Lake City, who sailed a lonesome pleasure yacht for some years. There is now a considerable yachting fleet. In 1868 General Connor built and launched the "Kate Connor," a small steamer, for the purpose of transporting railroad ties and telegraph poles from the southern to the northern shore. The next spring he built a schooner of 100 tons burthen, called the "Pluribustah." These were fol- lowed by a pleasure steamer, brought on by John W. Young from New York, "The Lady of the Lake," and in 1870 by the building and launching of a first-class boat, costing $45,000, by Fox Diefendorf, called, at first, the "City of Corinne," afterwards changed to "General Garfield." This boat was used chiefly for excursions, there being no business 'to justify Salt Lake navigation. The industries of its shores are not so magnificent, it seems, as those of the Tahuglauk in La Hontan's time, or perhaps railroads serve them better. The "Kate Connor" and her kindred long ago found a resting place at the bottom of the lake.
Though the land in sight is for the most part brown and sunburnt, an
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UTAH GAZETTEER.
excursion on the lake is exceedingly interesting. The reader is supposed to have gone out to the south shore via the Utah and Nevada, the distance being about twenty miles, and to have embarked at Garfield Landing. Our course is northward, between Antelope and Stansbury. The water is of a beautiful aquamarine, and so clear that the bottom is seen through four fathoms of it. Behind, on shore, are the Oquirrh and Spring Valley Ranges, with Tooele ( Tuilla) Valley intervening and rising as it recedes so as to hide Rush Valley, into which the Dry and Ophir Canyons open. A few miles from shore the village of Tooele is indicated by an oasis of foliage, while far to the west, under the gleaming Spring Valley Range, high enough to retain a few snow banks, although it is July, lies the village of Grantsville. Abreast of Antelope Island we distinguish grazing herds. If boring on this island would bring plenty of sweet water what a fruit plantation it might be made, with the lake to keep off the frosts.
Between two and three hours out, having passed Stansbury, the view northwestward enlarges, and we might imagine ourselves standing out to sea but for an islet or two breaking the horizon. Through notches in the Cedar Mountains on the west the eye catches the snowy foreheads of the Goshoot and Deep Creek Ranges; while on the east the Wasatch rises 8,000 feet, a rugged, massive, gray wall of weather-sculptured rock 200 miles in length. Soon we have run past Antelope and are abreast of Fremont, which may be known by a rock upon its crest, resembling a castle. Con- tinuing northward, we shall soon have the Promontory Range on our left, with the water shoaling from fifteen to six or seven feet in our run of twenty miles, where we enter the channel of the Bear River. Forty years ago Fremont could not enter great Salt Lake from Bear River in a rubber boat eighteen feet fong, for want of water. Now a boat of 250 tons burthen passes from the lake into the river over the bank twenty miles from the lake shore. We can proceed up the river to Corinne, where the Central Pacific Railroad crosses it, but the lake excursions do not extend so far, or even as far as we have come. They usually go fifteen or twenty miles, far enough to get a good view of the surroundings, and there are few more interesting sights to be seen anywhere, and then return. The steamer "General Gar- field" has been dismantled, and is used as a house on the bathing ground of Garfield Landing. A small steamer, called the "Whirlwind," now affords a cheap opportunity for an excursion in the lake.
Great Salt Lake covers an area of 2,500 square miles, and its surface is higher than the average Alleghany Mountains. Its mean depth, probably, does not exceed twenty feet, the deepest place, between Antelope and Stans- bury, being sixty feet. The two principal islands used to be accessible from the shore by wagon; but the lake gradually filled five or six feet, from 1847 to 1856, and then slowly receded to its old level. In 1863 it began to fill again, and in four or five years had attained a stage considerably higher than its present level, perhaps four or five feet. In 1875 a pillar was set up at Black Rock, by which to measure this rise and fall, resembling a tide, but having no ascertained time. It is very slight compared with what it form- erly was. Professor Gilbert, of the Geological Survey, says that twice within recent geological time, it has risen nearly a thousand feet higher than its present stage, and, of course, covered vastly more ground. He calls the lake after Captain Bonneville, the original explorer of these regions, whom Irving has immortalized, Lake Bonneville. Causes which learned men assign as producing what they call a glacial period might easily fill the lake until it extended nearly the whole length of Utah.
It was once popularly supposed that the lake communicated with the ocean by a subterranean river, which made a terrible whirlpool somewhere on its surface. Needless to say, neither has been found. Receiving so many streams and having no outlet, it has become very saline from evapor-
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UTAH GAZETTEER.
ation and the inflow of salt springs. The saline or solid matter held in solution by the water varies as the lake rises or subsides. In 1842 Fremont obtained "fourteen pints of very white salt" from five gallons of the water evaporated over a camp fire. The salt was also very pure, assaying 97.80 fine. The solid matter in the water varies between spring and fall, between dry and wet seasons, and also between different parts of the lake, for nearly all the fresh water is received from the Wasatch on the east. It is the opin- ion of salt makers that an average of the lake at its present stage would show the presence of 16 per cent. of solid matter. It is undoubtedly a con- centration of the waters of the ocean, in which, as in Salt Lake, says Dr. Smart, the common and magnesian salts are held in solution, while the insoluble lime salts are precipitated to the bottom. Captain Stansbury found by experiment that it answered perfectly for preserving meats.
Within the last few years the lake has become of great interest as a watering place. In the long sunny days of July and August the water becomes deliciously warm, and it is much warmer than ocean water a month earlier and later. It is so dense that one sustains himself indefinitely with- out effort, and vigorous constitutions experience no inconvenience from remaining in it a long time. A more delightful and healthy exercise than buffeting its waves when a little rough can hardly be imagined. But for its tendency to float the limbs to the surface and the necessity of keeping it out of the nostrils, it would afford the best swimming school in the world. As it is, all ages and sexes in Salt Lake are fast mastering the art. Experience has proved its hygienic benefits. Whether it be the stimulating effect of the brine upon the skin, of the saline air on the lungs, or the exercise of the muscles involved in swimming, or all of them together, many have come to the conclusion that a few weeks' sojourn on the lake shore in the hot season is absolutely essential to their weathering the year. The lake coast at the north end of the Oquirrh for two or three miles is sandy, soft to the feet, clean and shelving. During the hot months cheap trains leave for the bath- ing ground daily at the close of business. The run is made in forty minutes, and the excursion, aside from the bathing, is not unpleasant. Some day this shore will be built up with private watering-place cottages, plentifully interspersed by large, airy hotels, with water and trees for the grounds; and it will be thronged in the bathing season as no ordinary seaside resort ever is; for it offers unparalleled attractions in its way-rest, comfort, saline air, and the most delightful and invigorating exercise, calling into play all the muscles. Never tiring, the water is so buoyant; never chilling, it is so warm; free from danger; recreating and invigorating; a tonic for all; a remedy for many ills; health-restoring and strength-renewing. The east shore of the fake, on the line of the Utah Central and Central Pacific Railroads, is resorted to for bathing. It is becoming understood that for the renewal of life and energy there is nothing like a few weeks of Salt Lake bathing inter- spersed with visits to the medicinal springs and the mountain canyons and lakes.
CLIMATE.
Perfect climate, like perfect humanity, is perfect nonsense. The most desirable climate is that which, while still calculated to promote health, is also adapted to outdoor employment the greatest possible number of days in the year. Generally, however, climate is considered excellent, accord- ing to the proportion of deaths among those who live in it. The climate of New Zealand is considered par excellence, because of the prevail- ing health of the people; in fact, it is called the "Sanitarium of the World,' the proportion of deaths to the population being so extremely low. And yet if people living in Utah were subject to the terrible rains that are of
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UTAH GAZETTEER.
common occurrence there, or should be forced to endure one of the long, strong and steady winds which blow, with such force as to carry clouds of gravel when it is not raining, they would pronounce the climate the most abominable under the sun. The climate of Utah is not perfect, it is too hot in summer for the most cold-blooded, too cold in winter for those of warm- est blood; and yet during the greater part of the year it is delightful.
The following table is from observations made by the Fort Douglas garrison for the first twelve years, and by the Signal Service officer at Salt Lake for seven years:
TEMPERATURE.
PRECIPITATION.
YEARS.
Mean.
Maximum.
Minimum.
Range.
Inches.
1863
52.93
103
7
96
7.47
1864
52.22
97
4
IO1
14.92
1865
50.11
100
6
94
15.51
1866
51.87
94
9
85
22.29
IS67
52.71
95
95
26.14
186$
50.66
96
5
91
17.25
1869
53.61
97
7
90
22.33
1870
51.66
95
4
92
20.96
1871
53.09
104
8
05
23.13
IS72
50.42
91
0
9
18.12
1373
49.26
98
3
99
17.37
1874
50. 18
97.
8
80
19.55
1875
51.26
IOI
5
96
21.07
1876
50.64
7
90
18.31
IS77
51.00
3
95
14.53
1878
51.29
97
5
02
17.86
1879
53.20
97
IO
107
13.11
1880
54.00
95
2
93
10.94
1881
51.54
100
13
87
16.88
Mean for Nineteen Years
51.54
15.73
Among the highest observed temperatures are 121º at Fort Miller, California, and 132° in India; while the thermometer has been known to fall to 76 below zero in Siberia, and to 40° below in some parts of the United States .* At places in the East and West Indies, the entire annual range of the thermometer is 14°; at Montreal it is 140°; at New York, 114°; at St. Louis, 133°; at Chicago, 132°; at Denver, 126°. At Salt Lake City, as will be seen, it has exceeded 100° but twice in nineteen years. It has gone to 100° to 104° five times in those years, and to 3º to 10° below three times. The range has been less than 900 in that time oftener than it has been 100° or more.
The appended table will give an idea of the seasonal and annual means:
TEMPERATURE.
PRECIPITATION.
SEASONS.
Mean of Season.
Mean of the Max. the Min. Tempera- Tempera- lures
tures.
Mean Daily Varia - tion.
Mean Relative Humid- ity.
Snow and Rainfall, Inches.
Davs on which Snow or Rain fell.
Spring
50.2
60.0
39.5
20.5
41.9
6.91
30.5
Summer
73.4
85.0
60.5
24.5
2S.5
1.55
14.0
Fall
51.7
61.8
41.7
20.0
39.8
4.37
33.0
Winter
31.9
39.7
24.9
15.3
(0.9
4.46
34.0
Annual
51.8
61.6
41.6
20.0
42.8
17.29
100.5
*Loomis.
Mean of
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UTAH GAZETTEER.
The annual mean of Salt Lake City places it very near the isothermal line of 50°, which crosses nearly 15° of latitude on each continent, owing to the influences of oceans, winds and elevations, starting on Puget Sound and passing near or through Salt Lake City, Santa Fe, Denver, Burlington, Pittsburg, New Haven, Dublin, Brussels, Vienna and Pekin. The summer and winter means describe the same undulations in traversing the continents, and they are more indicative of the climate in its relations to animal and vegetable life than the usual mean. The mean annual temperature of New York and Liverpool are the same, yet throughout England the heat of summer is insufficient to ripen Indian corn, while the ivy, which grows lux - uriantly in England, can scarcely survive the severe winters of New York. In both the East and West Indies the mean temperature of the hottest month in the year differs very little (at Singapore 372°) from that of the coldest. At Quebec, on the other hand, the difference is 60°, and at some places in Siberia, 100°. At Salt Lake City it is about 47º.
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