OCR Text |
Show 122 ^ WtKTFB IK SALT LAKE CTTT. for the construction of the station*, had to be hauled from the mountains, in toany cases fifteen or twenty miles distant, oyer a rough country without, roads. Almost every stick* used for this purpose cost from twenty to thirty miles' travel of a six- mule team, This, together with the delays of getting into the cafion?, where alone the timber can be procured, cutting, down . the tte&, and hauling them down the gorges by hand to. the nearest spots accessible to the teams, involved an amount of time and labour whlcjh must be experienced before it can be appreciated. All this ]} ad to be done, however, or the prosecfutioh of the Work would have been . impracticable. Before leaving the Salt Lake City for Fort Rail, I had engfcgetj the services of Albert' Garrington, Esq., a member of the Mormon community, who was to act ak an assistant on the survey. He wad'without experience in the'use of instruments; but, being a gentleman of liberal education, he soon acquired, under instruction, the requisite - skill, and, by bis zeal, industry, and. practical good sense, materially aided us in our subsequent operations. Re continued with the party until the termination of the survey, a6com-panied it to this city, and has since returned to his mountain home, oarrying with him the respect and kind wishes of ^ 11 with whom he was associated, , The winter season in the vaHey was, long and Bevere. The vicinity of so many high mountains* rendered the weather extremely variable} snows fell constantly upon them> and frequently to the depth of ten: inches in the plains. In many of the caBonp it accumulated to the depth of fifty feet, filling up . the passes so rapidly that, in more than one instance, emigrants who had been belated in starting from the States, were overtaken by the storms in the*, mountain gorges, and forced to abandon every thing, and escape on foot, leaving even their animals to. perish in the snows. All communication with the world beyond w* s thus ^ effectually cut off; and, as the winter advanced, the gorges became more and more impassable, owing to the drifting of the snow into them from the projecting peaks. We remained, thus shut up until the third of April. Our quarters- consisted of a Small unfurnished house of Unburnt briek or adobe, . tmpkatered, and' roofed with board* loosely nailed on, which, every time it stormed, admitted so much water as Called ipto requisition all the - pans apd buekets in the establishment to receive the numerous little streams which came tricUing down |