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Show PROGRESS OF THE SURVEY IN 1849. 121 ticable, bringing with them a drove of twenty- five horses. They had met with very rough usage from the Indians, having been robbed of a number of their horses, beside the whole of what remained of their goods, and narrowly escaped with their lives. From the report by Lieutenant Gunnison of his operations during my absence, I make the following synopsis. A thorough exploration was made, with the view of ascertaining the points for such a base line as would best develop a system of triangles embracing both the Salt Lake and Utah valleys. A line was selected, and carefully measured by rods constructed for the purpose, and tripod stations erected over the termini, which were marked by metal points set in wooden posts sunk flush with the surface of the ground. The length of the base is thirty- one thousand six hundred and eighty feet. Fourteen principal triangulation stations were erected, consisting of large pyramidal timber tripods, strongly framed, to be covered, when required for use, by cotton cloth of different colours, according to the background. The triangles extended to the south shore of Utah Lake, and embraced an area of about eighty by twenty- five miles. A survey and sounding had been made of the Utah Lake, and also of the river connecting it with Salt Lake: this operation requiring a line to be run of one hundred and twenty- six miles, principally by the back angle, with the theodolite. Although such a result, from less than two months1 labour, would be entirely satisfactory under ordinary circumstances anywhere, and would reflect credit on the energy and capacity of the officer in charge of the work, yet it may be remarked that it would be very unfair to judge of it by a comparison with similar results obtained in the Eastern States. There, all the accessories to such a work, especially water and timber, are abundant, and generally at a convenient distance: here, on the contrary, both are very scarce and hard to be obtained. AU the water, for instance, used both for cooking and drinking, that was consumed on the base line, ( requiring seven days of incessant labour in its measurement,) had to be transported upon mules from the river, which lay a mile east of its eastern terminus; and the force employed in the erection of most of the triangulation stations had to be supplied in a like manner. But the principal difficulty waej the scarcity of timber. Wood grows nowhere on the plains; all the wood used for cooking in camp, and all the timber, both for posts on the base line and |
