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Show 6 INTRODUCTION. of the republic, lies a field possessing mineral and agricultural resources sufficient, were they more fully known and explored, for the sustenance of a population equal to that of the original thirteen states of the Union. Constituting, as it does, a sort of neutral ground between widely separated portion's of this vast country, what can be more obviously desirable than that its character should be tnore fully known, its hidden sources of wealth developed, and rendered available to the enterprise of our ever advancing population ? In conclusion, I take much pleasure in acknowledging the efficient and faithful services of my friend and assistant, Lieut. J. W. Gunnison, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers. To high professional skill, he added energy, judgment, and an untiring devotion to the interests of the expedition, which very materially contributed to its success. Whilst confined to winter quarters in Salt Lake City, he paid particular attention to the religious doctrines and practices of the Mormon Church, the results of which, as I understand, he is about publishing to the world. The subject will doubtless prove of great interest to the theologian, and, indeed, to all who have watched, with any attention, the progress, in this country, of the various extravagant theories, civil and religious, which form so marked a characteristic of the present 4ge. |