Salt Lake Telegram | 1928-12-07 | Page 28 | Know Utah

K KNOW UTAH H I By ALBERT L TF F. F PHILIPS Most histories in any allusion made to the theor Mormon Mormon Mor or ormon mon people would have the reader believe that the first white people to Invade the Salt Lake Lale valley were wele Latter Day Saints or Mormons l as they are arc known This Is not the fact Jim Bridger was the first white man and the pioneer band ban of souls who camped In Emigration can canyon on on th tho evening of or July 21 21 when Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow Entered valley alley and made a circuit of ten miles f from om the mouth o of the canyon an and returned to camp late that evening were the settlers Previous to this on July 13 Orson Pratt had been appointed to precede the main body of the pioneers towards Salt Lake Lale valley and he took with him twenty three three wagons and two forty fort two two men and arrived in the valley on the evening of July 22 and camped on Canyon creek as ns the advance guard of the company On July 23 23 the tho advance company moved about three miles and camped on what is now Washington square where the city and county building stands They immediately organized for work worl and plowing and planting were inaugurated the first furrow being turned by William Carter An irrigation plant was wasat wasat wasat at once started and by evening water was turned and irrigation in the western world was instituted the water being brought from City creek creel On July 24 the pioneer leader Brigham Young who had been ill and had remained at Little Mountain on the night of ot July 23 22 entered the valley and uttered the phrase which became historic This is the place place drive drive on Soon afterward he ho and his company joined the advance advance advance ad ad- vance guard suard which started its long trek from the river Missouri early In April The founding of an ane e empire was begun This party of were the first white settlers in in Utah but not tho the first white men mento mento mento to invade the tho valley alley a a i. i i i C days doy later on July 29 20 an advance guard of the lU Mormon rmon Battalion under command of Captain Jam James s Brown numbering arrived they having come from froni Pueblo to Fort Laramie and west westover westover westover over the orm l Mormon ll trail which tho the Pioneers had blazed With them came a party larty of immigrants from Mississippi Mississippi sippi Increasing the number of people in the 1 valley to I a a a aJust Just ono one n month a after tel his arrival with tho the I b nd tid ndoC I of oC pioneers President ant Brigham Young pan od cd by jy seventy of oC the tue pioneer band land started east for Vintel Winter Wirier Win Win- tel ier Quarters on the Missouri river rivel They arrived at their destination October 31 making the trip in sixty five ff e days On their way i cast they met a number number num- num ber of immigrants bound for Cor the the- promised land in inthe inthe inthe the Salt L Lake ke valle valley a a a aThe The he pioneers were wele an unusually working hard set of men and arid women This information is found in an anold anold anold old journal kept b by a a. member of tho the pioneer band This is also shown sho by the tho fact that In a no month after their heir arrival in the valley valle they had laid off orr a fort built twenty seven log houses plowed and planted four eight r acres with potatoes corn beans buckwheat and ind turnips an and had manufactured from the waters of the Great Salt Lake Lale bushels of saltO salt O 00 t Immigration from the headquarters of of the pioneers at Winter Vinter Quarters continued heavy during the last two two months of 1847 and the census the number reaching the valley during the fall fan of that year fear aggregated 2000 souls and COO wagons