492 OCEA^' TO OCEAN ON HORSEBACK. 



ter of the soil insure defeat to the farmer, unless he 

 helps his crops by artificial means. Irrigation is 

 therefore universal, and the result — the finest crops to 

 be found anywhere in the West. 



The Territory of Utah covers the region drained by 

 the Great Salt Lake and many miles more, both in 

 length and breadth, but the Mormon settlements ex- 

 tend one hundred miles further into Idaho on the 

 north and two hundred miles into Arizona on the 

 south. These settlements are mostly small, but there 

 are some places of considerable importance, as, for in- 

 stance, Provo at the south and Ogden at the north. 



On July 14, 1847, Brigham Young, a Mormon 

 leader, and his followers entered the valley of the 

 Great Salt Lake. The lake itself is one of the most 

 remarkable bodies of water on the globe. It is seventy 

 miles long and forty-five miles broad, and stands 4,250 

 feet above the sea-level. It bears a strong resemblance 

 to the Dead Sea of Palestine, but, unlike that sea, it 

 abounds in animal life. When Young entered the 

 valley Utah belonged to Mexico, and the leader be- 

 lieved he could found whatever character of institution 

 should suit him and his people best. It has been 

 alleged that Brigham Young had ^^ chains on men's 

 £ouls.'' There is no doubt that superstition and the 

 machinery of the Mormon Church were in some degree 

 the secret of his irresistible power over his followers; 

 but back of the superstition and the marvellous church 

 organization stood the brain of a great and masterful 

 rauj. His power, he knew, must rest upon something 

 material and tangible, and this something he reason- 

 ably discerned to be the prosperity of the people them- 



