OCR Text |
Show 1J0W STURDY PIONEERS Survlror of Salt Lake's Founders Tells of Public ' , Feast Held 55 Years Ago. One of the few, the very tew,- survivors survi-vors of that, brave, band of pioneers who, fifty-seven yeeis ago, entered the valley of the Great Salt Lake and be-' Kn the transformation ' of the 'desert i W. C. A. Smoot of this city. Mr, Smoot, who Is still robust, energetic ener-getic and active In his daily life, vivid ly .recalls the first celebration of Pioneer Pio-neer day, . held the second year after the conquerors of the wilderness' ar-. ar-. rived. ' . i . " For The Telegram Mr. Smoot has written the following aooount of the first observance- of the anniversary: . BY W. 0. A. SMOOT. I The first publio ' celeU-&tton of the Uh of July -was held In th year At daybreak cannon aroused the people xroro, their slumbers and the old Nau- voo pand passed through the city playing play-ing airs dear to the hearts of the pioneers. pio-neers. A large American flag was nn- J"1 from "Liberty pole' and another an-other brought .from Nauvoo was prominently prom-inently displayed on this eventful day. Tho reason for holding no celebration the year previous was probably the result re-sult of Brigham Toung's' absence during dur-ing that year, he having gono to Winter Win-ter Quarters' to bring about mora extensive ex-tensive migration-to the valley. No Floata la tha Parade. ' , ' ' The-principal event of ' the day was the procession. This consisted of a large number of people, all on foot-there foot-there were not ' the modern floats and tableaux of today's parades. The "feature "fea-ture -of -the procession was the appearance appear-ance of twenty-four maidens and twenty-four, young men in line as an escort to Brigham Young. The maidens were attired In pure white, while the ' men Wore white, linen trousers and black coats, with a large red sash across their breasts, much in the fashion of the Spaniards. 1 The parade started from . the old "Council House" and led Us way . to the "Bowery" a picturesque old meeting meet-ing place erected the year preceding. It was made of posts and rough boarding covered with branches and leaves. - It afforded a capacity for 8000 people. It was In this place, on the ground where the present Tabernacle stands, that the principal events of the day took place. Patriotism Prevails. , , ' . v ' i The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were read to the people', peo-ple', and prominent citizens were called upon to make addresses. It was before this time that the terrible plague of crickets had laid the land waste, and many were the remarks made concerning concern-ing the bountiful blessing that had been bestowed upon the hardy pioneers In their efforts to upbuild the land. The times of these terrible pests bad been lived through and the talks were of en; i couragement and an appeal for patriotism pa-triotism to their country, to their leaders lead-ers and to their homes In the vastness of the Far West. During this meeting, meet-ing, singing songs of worship and rejoicing re-joicing was Indulged In, the band rendering ren-dering the accompaniments. Great Feast Is Held.; ' " I After this" gathering had dispersed a great -feast was set for the people in the valley. , Not only were the Mormons Mor-mons there, but also several hundred Immigrants who were bound for the California gold fields and , three-score friendly Indians. - An -account of this feast by Brigham Toung Is given here: "The feast was served on tables 1400 feet In length, which were heavily loaded with all the luxuries of field and garden, and with nearly all the varieties varie-ties of vegetables of the world;, the seats were filled and refilled by a people, peo-ple, who had been deprived of those luxuries lux-uries for years, and they welcomed to the tables every stranger within; Its borders." ' ;:"'.'':. ' Germ of a Great City. It must be remembered that at the time of this celebration Salt Lake City was but the germ from which our magnificent mag-nificent city of today has sprung. The streets were all laldi out in the" precise way they are at the present day, but few of them were opened. Adown Main street extended a pole fence, behind which were stores, residences and stables. sta-bles. All these were of most primitive fashion and built for the most part of hewed logs and crudely-made, boards from the' neighboring canyons. All the people who lived 1n what Is now the State of Utah lived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, and a few hours', drive by ox team brought all within the voice of their leaders. The celebration of the yea? previous was but a harvest celebration and a poor harvest it was. The crops had been devastated by drought and when careful care-ful farming had brought scant reward, the cricket pest came upon the hardworking hard-working people and destroyed their only means of subsistence. . Weeds were eaten as greens to keep from starving, and those who had saved a little flour divided with their brothers-still brothers-still kept their hearts light as they might, and as a result, have built up a city which Is a fitting monument to their toil. Unceasing perseverance and unfailing trust in their Maker. |