Unpropitious as the morning has been we are assembled here for the
purpose of receiving instruction. It is a pleasure to me to meet with
the Saints. I feel the spirit that prompts them in the discharge of
their duties, and the response which comes from the congregation to
the speaker, inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, is mutually
calculated to instruct and encourage us in the discharge of our
several duties.
Since Conference I have visited the settlements south to some extent,
accompanying President Young on his journey. I have been much
gratified that the Saints are progressing, and that the teachings
given at Conference are being generally carried out, although the
settlements were then but thinly represented, in consequence of the
almost impassable state of the roads. The word, however, has gone
forth, and the feeling is implanted in the breasts of the Saints to
make new efforts and endeavors to fulfil the duties of their calling,
and to cultivate that spirit of oneness which is necessary to enable
us to overcome and to attain that position in the earth which God
designs His Kingdom to occupy in the last days.
I must say that in traveling through the country, and looking at
things as they naturally exist, I could but wonder that anybody on the
earth could envy us the privilege of living in these mountain deserts.
Our brethren in the cotton country have had to struggle against
natural difficulties to a great extent, and have overcome them only by
main strength, and a continued exercise of that strength is necessary
to keep what they gain. It is true that some of the settlements or
towns are located in positions where they can obtain their water for
irrigation from springs; this, however, is in limited quantity. The
city of St. George receives its water from a number of springs which
seem to be increasing in quantity, but if the city should be enlarged,
as anticipated, the water will have to be brought from a distance at a
very great expense. The city lots in Washington and Toquerville are
watered by means of springs, but the farming lands in Washington and
St. George are watered from the Rio Virgin and Santa Clara rivers.
These streams are subject to floods. The soil on their banks is so
friable and uncertain that whenever a flood comes the dams that are
placed in these streams, to aid in taking out the water, are easily
washed away, and the cotton and grain fields can be irrigated only at
a vast annual expense.
It seems a difficult task to contend with the elements, and to
accomplish that which is required of us; and I am very well satisfied
that no other people would attempt to improve these locations
for a long time to come were we not occupying them. The settlements
already made are like oases in the desert—they are made productive by
irrigation and the industry of the Saints, and are kept flourishing by
the constant application of labor. This rule applies with almost equal
force to every settlement in the Territory, as well as those in the
cotton country. All the irrigation that is carried on, whether it be
from large or medium sized streams, is done at considerable expense,
and when the floods come, through the melting of the snow, sudden
rains, or waterspouts, the canals are filled up and the works torn
away, which imposes constant and continued labor on the hands of the
Saints; the result is that, whatever agricultural improvement is made
is held by main strength.
Now, I regard this as peculiarly favorable to the Latter-day Saints,
because they are possessing what nobody else in the world would have.
You know when we lived on the rich fat lands of the Mississippi and
Missouri valleys, our fields and improvements were coveted. Our
enemies gathered around us and attempted to drive us away, and
ultimately succeeded, and they robbed us of our inheritances, which
were worth millions of dollars. When we located here we located on a
spot that was not likely to be desirable to anybody else, any further
than our labor made it so.
The country in the southern part of this Territory is singularly
constructed, and embraces a variety of climates within a very few
miles. For instance, when we reached Parowan it was cold, the season
was backward, the bloom on the peach trees was scarcely visible; we
went on to Cedar, eighteen miles farther, and there was a very slight
change. We then went on to Kanarra, a settlement thirteen miles
farther, there was a very slight change, but the season was not near
so forward as at Salt Lake City. Between Kanarra and Toquerville, a
distance of twenty-three miles, we pass over a series of low ridges,
generally denominated the Black Ridges. About twelve miles of this
road have been worked through rocks at a very great expense, and it is
still very rough. The winds and rains together have so blown and
washed the soil from among the rocks that it is a hard road to travel.
There is nothing on it, however, but a few patches of sand to hinder a
team from hauling considerable of a load. When we had crossed this
road and reached Toquerville, it was astonishing to see change in
vegetation. The town was perfectly green; the apricots were from
one-third to one-half grown, the peaches were as large as bullets, and
the grapes all set and the stems formed, and it looked like
midsummer. This was in the short distance of some twenty-three miles.
The little belt of land upon which the settlements along the southern
border of the Territory blessed with this climate are located, was so
narrow and small that it was really believed by those who first
explored it that it was scarcely capable of supporting any population
at all. Every year, however, develops more and more its capabilities,
and the people are becoming more healthy and contented as prosperity
smiles upon them and attends their labors.
I have passed through the region to the south of our settlements a
great many times, and I have been thankful for the desert that I had
to go over. As many of you know, it is many miles from one spring, or
from one place where it is possible to obtain water, to another. There
are water stations formed by springs or little mountain streams;
but they sometimes go dry, and it is generally fifteen miles, and
sometimes twenty or thirty between each. Nothing grows there except
sage and a little grass, and when we get to the southern border of the
Territory we find thorns and thistles, and the cactus, which grows to
a tree seven or eight feet high, and so thorny that no one, seemingly,
can get near it. I was struck with the good condition of the cattle as
I passed through the country. I could not see what they got to eat;
they would stand and watch the cactus, it looked so nice and green,
but woe to the animals that touched it. The earth in this region is
fortified with thistles sufficiently to justify the prediction to
Adam, when, cast from the garden—"Thorns and thistles shall it bring
forth."
A great portion of the soil cultivated by the brethren is sand;
cultivation, however, seems to change its nature considerably. In
Washington and St. George they have been greatly inconvenienced in
consequence of mineral being in the soil. Much of this mineral land is
being reclaimed, and the prospects for abundance of fruit are very
good. Grape vines planted three or four years ago now bear
plentifully, and the extent and breadth of soil for the planting of
vineyards, and for raising abundance of other fruit to which that
climate is more particularly adapted than this upper region of the
basin, are being greatly increased. To look at these little spots one
would think that all the land susceptible of cultivation was now
occupied, and that there was no room for more; but, by continued labor
and expense, additional land may be reclaimed. The dam constructed
four years ago for the irrigation of the farms near Washington,
situated four miles above the town, has been washed out by the floods;
the result will be to some extent disastrous to the cotton crop, and
but little, probably, will be planted. The fact is, however, that as
soon as the people are able to do it, they can dig canals on each side
of the Narrows where this dam has been located, and thus procure a
permanent supply of water.
The proposed canals will bring under range of irrigation several
thousand more acres of land, which, by being carefully and properly
cultivated, will make room for many more settlers. Notwithstanding the
many difficulties with which the people have to contend, we found them
progressing and feeling warm and warm-hearted. Most of them were sent
there as missionaries, and sacrificed good homes and competence in
this part of the country to go and assist in building up that mission,
and we feel, in relation to them, that they are really the choice
children of Israel. The town of St. George is being built up
magnificently, many of the houses are of first-class character, their
improvements are permanent, and their gardens and vineyards are being
cultivated in a very tasteful manner, and its present appearance seems
to indicate that at no distant day it will be one of the most
delightful spots in creation.
The people who were sent on that mission, and who have remained in the
country, are those who are willing to do what is required of them, and
determined to fulfil the laws and commandments of God. There are many
who thought the country could not be reclaimed, and abandoned it, who
are scattered along the road between here and there, and some are now
going back to make a beginning. The building of the cotton factory by
President Young at Washington has also encouraged the Saints; it is a good building, has excellent machinery, is capable of making
considerable yarn, and is calculated to promote the growth of cotton
and to render the settlements permanent. We did not visit Kane County,
but understood that the settlers there had suffered considerably from
floods in the Rio Virgin destroying the dams and washing away fields
and orchards. Many of the Saints from Kane County attended Conference
at St. George, and rejoiced in the instructions that were given.
I will say that, so far as I am concerned, I was not annoyed during
the whole journey by being compelled, or even required by gallantry or
common courtesy, to take tea or coffee. The brethren of the party
observed the Word of Wisdom in this respect, and wherever we went we
found the feeling to do the same general among the people. Some of
the brethren who had long been in the habit of chewing tobacco found
it unpleasant, but as a general thing they were reflecting on the
subject, and were disposed in good faith and with determination to do
right. President Young and his brethren were received at every place
with demonstrations of joy, gratitude, and pleasure. The meetings were
crowded, and every building and bowery we assembled in seemed to be
too small. It was astonishing where so many people came from. We
realized that our settlements were increasing, and that our
institutions were favorable to the increase of population. Still
there is room for more, for all were busy and had more than they could
do, and there are yet many ways in which labor can be advantageously
employed in building towns, cities, schoolhouses, and in making other
improvements.
With this view of the subject I can but express my thanks to God for
all the drawbacks peculiar to our location here—the mountains,
perpetual snows, the deserts, the barren sage plains, the sand hills,
the noxious mineral in the soil, and the uncertainty of the climate,
for they help to isolate and shelter us from our enemies; for, for
some cause, from the time we commenced to preach the principles of the
gospel of Christ it has been the fixed determination of our enemies to
destroy us, and they have sought every occasion against us. Wherever
we have lived we have been law-abiding, still we have been subjected
to the power of mobocracy. Mobocrats have robbed us of our
inheritances, and have driven us from place to place, but here, while
we have to contend with the sand, rebuild our dams, and to irrigate
every particle of vegetation that we raise for our sustenance, we are
no longer subject to their molestation. Like the fabled fox in the
brambles, I rejoice at these difficulties. The fox had been chased by
the dogs, and he escaped to the brambles; he found himself in a rather
thorny position, but consoled himself with the reflection that though
the thorns tore his skin a little they kept off the dogs. So it is
with us. These mountains and deserts, with their changeable climate
and the great difficulty and immense labor necessary for us to endure
and perform in order to sustain ourselves, keep off those who would
rob and deprive us of the comforts of life; and every man of
reflection who passes through this country is apt to say—"This country
is just fit for the Mormons; nobody else wants to live in it."
To be sure men might come into your garden and partake of your
strawberries and other fruits, and seeing what a nice little spot you had made with twenty years of labor, they might say, "had we
not better rob them of this," or "cannot we lay some plan to rob them
of this?" There was a person of this kind over in Nevada, who
presented a bill to Congress to rob the Latter-day Saints of their
inheritances unless they took certain oaths, which no Latter-day Saint
could take conscientiously. What does this spirit of robbery amount
to? It simply shows the corruption and wickedness of men, and makes us
thankful that God has given us this country for an inheritance, that
the Saints may attain strength, cultivate virtue, uprighteousness,
honesty, and integrity, and maintain themselves as the servants of the
Most High.
I have enjoyed myself very much on this tour; we have had very
agreeable meetings. During twenty-three days the President preached
about nine hours. We had altogether thirty-five meetings It was a very
industrious trip. It was pleasant, but the pleasure was hard earned.
So far as we learned, the natives were disposed to be friendly, all of
them we saw were so, and those who were reported to us were in the
same condition. We have hopes that the action of our brethren in
gather ing to stronger positions and living more compactly is
calculated to promote peace. Carelessness on the part of the brethren
in scattering beyond their settlements with their families and cattle,
and thus tempting the wild men of the mountains to come out and rob,
plunder, and murder, has been the chief cause of Indian difficulties
heretofore. The observance of the counsel and instruction given will
put a better face on these matters, and more peaceable times may be
anticipated. So far as the hearts of the Saints are concerned, they
seemed one. We found no divisions, jarrings, or contentions, but all
were struggling to do a great and good work. They rejoiced to see the
President and to hear his instructions, and were ready to carry them
out.
The brethren and sisters are struggling with all their might to build
up the Kingdom of God, enjoy its blessings, and partake of its glory.
This is the feeling we found in traveling; we rejoiced in it, and we
rejoice in the privilege of returning; and we pray the Father that His
peace may be on the Saints, that they may eternally enjoy a fulness of
the everlasting gospel, with all its glory, in the celestial kingdom,
through Jesus our Redeemer, Amen.
- George A. Smith