DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 



239 



gases, which usually go off into the air to poison and kill vegetation. 

 (For further information regarding smelters, see pp. 252-254.) At 

 several places along the line the traveler may obtain glimpses of 

 the Wasatch Mountains, and at almost every place he will see the 

 Bonneville shore line as a faint line across the mountain front or 

 the Provo shore line marked by great terraces or embankments of 

 gravel. 



The smelting industry has for many j'ears been an important one 

 in the Great Salt Lake Valley, and many smelters have been built 

 at or near the station of IMurray. Many of these smelters have 

 been abandoned or consolidated, so that only one 

 now remains — the Murray smelter, of the American 

 Smelting & Refining Co., which may be seen on the 

 right from the train. This plant smelts only silver- 

 lead ores, and the great bulk of the copper ores 

 from the Bingham mines are being treated at the Garfield smelter, 

 the smoke of which may be seen rising over the extreme northern 

 point of the Oquirrh Range on the west (left). 



The most prominent object seen by one approaching Salt Lake City 

 from the south is the new State Capitol (PI. XCII, A), which 

 stands on a commanding terrace north of the city, directly beneath 

 Ensign Peak. The tall buildings also attract attention, though they 

 are not particularly different from tall buildings in other cities. A 

 little farther to the right the traveler may notice the large letter U 

 on the mountain slope far back of the city. This letter was put 

 there by some class of the University of Utah, which stands on the 

 terrace directly beneath it. 



Murray. 



Elevation 4,310 feet 

 Population 4,584. 

 Denver 739 miles. 



their supplies in handcarts. * • * 

 For pluck and endurance this is a 

 record that has rarely been equaled. 

 " Five companies in all undertook 

 the journey that tirst year, but the two 

 that started last had a dreadful time. 

 James G. Willie commanded one and 

 Edward Martin the other. They had 

 been delayed in leaving the Missouri 

 River and were caught in the piercing 

 blasts of winter on the Platte and 

 Sweetwater. * * * Some of the 

 handcarts broke do\vn ; sickness and 

 lack of proper food dispirited the 

 marchers. * * * Thinly clad and 

 poorly fed they lal>ored on and on, and 

 then they were put on half rations 

 when not more than half of the 

 journey was completed. Despair seized 

 them. The company under Edward 

 Martin made a camp in a ravine be- 



tween the Platte and the Sweetwater 

 in the latter part of October. Food 

 became so scarce that the marrowless 

 bones picked up from the prairies were 

 boiled for soup. * * * 



" Brlgham Young received word of 

 the sufferings of the emigi-ants on the 

 plains. He immediately sent a com- 

 pany of the strongest men with wagons 

 and supplies under the command of 

 Joseph A. Young. This rescue party 

 found the companies in a most miser- 

 able condition, fed them, and brought 

 them to Salt Lake City. That is, they 

 brought the survivors, for 2.50 * * * 

 had died on the plains. 



" During the four years extending 

 from 1856 to 1860 more than 4,000 

 emigrants crossed the plains in this 

 manner, and the total number of 

 deaths was less than 300." 



