AND PACIFIC COAST GUIDE.

121

 

Leaving Uintah, the road winds around
to the right and follows the base of the
mountains, with theriver on the left. The
country is fertilé and dotted with well-
tilled farms. As ‘we run along down the
Weber River, and 7.5 miles from Uintah,
we reach

Ogden—the junction of Union and Cen-
tral Pacific railroads. The distance from
Omaha is 1,082 miles; from San Francisco
882 miles; from Salt Lake City, 36 miles;
elevation, 4,301 feet. Near the station
building are the depots of the Utah Cen-
tral and the Utah Northern railroads.

All passengers, baggage, mail, and ex-
press, “change cars” at this station. Pas-
sengers who have through tickets in sleep-
ing cars will occupy the same numbers in
the Central as they had in the Union, and
those who had their baggage checked
through need give it no attention; but
those who only checked to this place—to
the end of the U. P. road—will need to
see that it is rechecked. At this station,
trains stop a full hour, and sometimes a
little longer—much depending upon the
amount we matter to be changed from one
train to another.

The station building stands between the
tracks, in which passengers will find a
dining room, where they can have ample
time to eat a good “square meal ”’—price
$1.00. Most of the buildings at the station
are of wood, but the necessary grounds
have been secured near by for the erection
of a “Union Depot,” When will it be
done? Quien sabe?

OGDEN City is situated two miles east
from the depot, at the mouth of Ogden
Canyon, one of the gorges which pierce
the Wasatch range, and between the Weber
and Ogden rivers. Population, ahout
6,500. This is the county seat of Weber
county, and has amply provided itself with
all needful county buildings. The Mor-
mons have a tabernacle, and several other
denominations have places of worship
here. The citizens are mostly Mormon,
and all public improvements are under
their supervision. It is a poor place for
“ carpet-baggers.”

The waters of the Ogden River are con-
ducted through the streets, and used in the
gardens and fields for irrigating, the re-
sult of which is that the any is in the
midst of one ees flower garden and for-
est of fruit and shade trees. In the gar-
dens are fruit trees of all kinds, which
bear abundantly, and in the fields are

raised immense crops of grain and vege-
tables.

Rich mines of iron, silver and slate
are reported near the city, but little has
been done towards developing them.

Ogden has several good hotels, chief of
which is the Utah House. Two news-
papers are published here, the Daily June-
tvon and the Freeman, weekly.

The Wasatch Mountains rise some thou-
sands of feet above the city, and the tourist
would find much of interest in a stroll up
the mountain side and along the canyons.
Ogden Canyon is about five miles long, and
from its mouth to its source, from plain to
mountain top, the scenery is grand and im-
posing. In places the granite walls rise on
each side 1,500 feet high, and for a consid-
erable distance not more than 150 feet apart.
About six miles from Ogden, up in the
mountains behind the town, is a lovely lit-
tle valley called “‘ The Basin,” watered by
mountain streams and covered with a lux-
uriant growth of grass.

 

Before proceeding further, we will take a
hasty glance at

Utah Territory.

This territory extends from the 87th to
the 42d parallel of north latitude, and from
the 109th to the 114th ee of west longi-
tude, containing a superficial area of about
65,000 square miles, with a population of
about 130,000 whites, Indians and Chinese.
This area includes large tracts of wild
mountainous and barren country. At pres-
ent, most of the lands under cultivation
and the meadow lands are around the
lakes and in the neighboring mountain val-
leys, and are very productive when irri-
gated ; grains, fruits and vegetables matur-
ing readily, and yielding large returns—
the aridity of the climate precluding the
growing of crops by any other means.

Opposite title page of this book, see illus.
tration—Utah’s Best Crop.

Rich veins of gold, silver, coal, iron, cop-
per, zinc, cinnabar, antimony, and nearly
all the metals found in the “Great West,”
exist in Utah, and it is the opinion of most
men, had it not been for the “ Councils” of
Brigham Young to his followers, the Mor-
mons, not to prospect for minerals, Utah
might to-day: be an honored State, in the
great family of States, with a developed
mineral wealth, second only to California,
and possibly the first. The whole country
within her borders would be illuminated