128 CITY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 



the constitutional right of the United States to hold jurisdiction 

 there, have organized a provisional State government, under which 

 the civil policy of the nation is duly maintained." <«That there 

 is now a sulB&cient number of individuals residing within the State 

 of Deseret to support a State government." They therefore asked 

 <' that, if consistent with the constitution and usages of the Federal 

 Government, the constitution accompanying the memorial be rati- 

 fied, and that the State of Deseret be admitted into the Union on 

 an equal footing with other States" — "or such other form of civil 

 government established, as Congress in its wisdom and magna- 

 nimity might award." 



A constitution and petition for a Territorial organization had 

 been previously forwarded to Congress ; but in consequence of in- 

 formation received afterward, a memorial for a State government 

 was substituted in its room. Such is a brief sketch of the origin 

 and progress of this colony, and the condition in which we found 

 it upon our arrival in August, 1849. 



A city had been laid out upon a magnificent scale, being nearly 

 four miles in length and three in breadth; the streets at right 

 angles with each other, eight rods or one hundred and thirty-two 

 feet wide, with sidewalks of twenty feet ; the blocks forty rods 

 square, divided into eight lots, each of which contains an acre and 

 a-quarter of ground. By an ordinance of the city, each house is 

 to be placed twenty feet back from the front line of the lot, the 

 intervening space being designed for shrubbery and trees. The 

 site for the city is most beautiful : it lies at the western base of 

 the Wahsatch Mountains, in a curve formed by the projection 

 westward from the main range, of a lofty spur which forms its 

 southern boundary. On the west it is washed by the waters of 

 the Jordan, while to the southward for twenty-five miles extends 

 a broad level plain, watered by several little streams, which, flow- 

 ing down from the eastern hills, form the great element of fertility 

 and wealth to the community. Through the city itself flows an 

 unfailing stream of pure, sweet water, which, by an ingenious mode 

 of irrigation, is made to traverse each side of every street, whence 

 it is led into every garden-spot, spreading life, verdure, and beauty 

 over what was heretofore a barren waste. On the east and north 

 the mountain descends to the plain by steps, which form broad and 

 elevated terraces, commanding an extended view of the whole val- 

 ley of the Jordan, which is bounded on the west by a range of 



