AMONG THE MORMON SETTLEMENTS. 125 



thrown in the case, which was left to stand until its con- 

 tents had the required hardness, when it was moved a length 

 further on to he refilled in the same way. Did rain fall in 

 these regions, these fences w^ould not last a year, and neither 

 would the dwellings; but as it was, I have seen walls twelve or 

 fifteen feet high, of several years' standing, which were appar- 

 ently as substantial as ever. The lack of rain which would 

 appear in every way disadvantageous to the Utonians, is not 

 altogether a curse. 



As there was a municipal law in Spanish Fork against 

 building open fires inside the walls, we were under the 

 necessity of quartering ourselves on the good citizens, who 

 were glad enough to receive us, for the reason we gave them 

 a half-dollar apiece for our meals. My host was the village 

 miller — a clever man by the way — whose demands were so 

 moderate that he had but one better half, while his neighbors' 

 wives indulged in better thirds, fourths, and so on. I spent an 

 agreeable evening chatting with the good people of the 

 house, as we sat around a huge log fire which was burning 

 brightly in the broad, old-fashioned chimney corner. The 

 supper was a good one, although I strongly suspected that 

 the tea was bogus, as that commodit}^ is so dear in Utah 

 that the inhabitants resort to various means to counterfeit it. 

 Coff'ee is imitated also ; the substitutes being scorched wheat 

 and bread-crust compounded, from which a beverage is con- 

 cocted which is not so much unlike the genuine article. 



It was odd to see well constructed saw-mills, grist-mills, 

 threshing machines and other labor-saving machinery in 

 these out-of-the-world regions ; but they are quite common. 

 We may say as hard things as we please about the Mormons, 

 but at the same time let us give them due credit for the 

 enterprise and ingenuity they have displayed in the partial 

 overcoming of the great disadvantages of soil, climate and 

 isolation which they experience. Under the necessity of 



