OCR Text |
Show BSD PORK- MORMON EMIGRANTS. 223 easterly course, and follows up the valley of Red Fork: the ascent, except for the first three miles, in which the rise is tolerably rapid, is moderate, enough so for a railroad, and the valley sufficiently wide and- direct for such a purpose, without the necessity of resorting to curves of a small radius. The valley of this stream seems to havq been the result of some convulsion forming an anticlinal axis, the strata on either side of the caflon dipping in opposite directions; that on the left to the north- west, and the other to the south- east, with an elevation gradually increasing as we ascend until it reaches 45°. High, perpendicular clifis of red sandstone conglomerate, intermingled with lime and quartxose pebbles, and occasionally fine- grit sandstone, were continuous on the north side of the cafion the remainder of the day's travel. These strata varied from one to thirty feet in thickness, and near the mouth of the fork the clifis were from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, with lofty peaks of the more indurated portions of the rock towering toward the sky in a wild and picturesque manner. As we advanced up the valley, several unconformable strata of horizontal sand and pudding stone were observed overlying the dipping rock, the red sandstone intermingled occasionally with the yellowish- gray, yellowish, and white varieties. To the right the hills are rounded at their summits, and their sides for the most . part are covered with soil, through which the rock occasionally appears. Water, grass, and wood are sufficiently abundant for camping purposes. Toward the lower end of the valley, wild cherries and wild hops of the best quality abound in great profusion. Ninety- five wagons were met to- day, containing the advance of the Mormon emigration to the valley of the Salt Lake. Two large flocks of sheep were driven before the train, and geese and turkeys had been conveyed in coops, the whole distance, without apparent damage. One old gander poked his head out of his box and hissed most energetically at every passer- by, as if to show that his spirit was still unbroken, notwithstanding his long and uncomfortable confinement. The appearance of this train was good, most of the wagons having from three to five yoke of cattle, and all in fine condition. The wagons swarmed with women and children, and I estimated the train at one thousand head of cattle, one hundred head of sheep, and five hundred human souls. Our day's march was only sixteen and a- half miles. Several |