Show PAY TRIBUTE fa 0 SEAGULLS SEAGULLS' Mormons Honor Birds That Saved Sved Their Crops From the Devastations Devastations of Crickets A notable monument stands In the Mormon temple grounds In Salt Lake City In honor of ot the birds that saved the lie early settlers from om l-om threatened starvation In 1848 1843 It Is a pillar ab about ut feet high surmounted by a bronze seagull At Its base are Inscriptions detailing the reason for Its erection with Illustrations by Young the Utah sculptor The Tue first pioneer trekked across the plains into Salt Lake valley In 1847 Brigham Young stipulated that there 4 I I k Shaft in Mormon Temple Grounds Salt Lake City Honoring Utah's Sacred Bird the Seagull should be Intensive cultivation of the theIn In land lani ul Crops were sown and the farmers farmers farm farm- ers looked for a bountiful harvest the next year ear Then crickets in huge buge armies swooped down upon the crops The farmers tried tiled to eliminate the pest without success Transportation at at the time was difficult and means means to tal obtain fo foOd from distant points were limited The rhe situation looked critical When practically every everyone one had had- hadi i given ven up up hope of saving any part of the crops the seagulls termed by old Mormons as the messengers from heaven appeared They did not touch the grain but warred on the crickets and In a short time had rid the fields of the pest There are no nore re records to show from whence the birds ca cam came m e e. e The seagull Is Utah's sacred bird It Is unlawful to kill kUl It Many of the people of this state hold bold It in hi affectionate af sf- memory and during the summer sum sum- mar mer thousands give their bread brend to the birds that may be s seen e 1 In la large e numbers numbers num sum bers bets at a resort a few ew mUM miles fo from Salt Lake Lak City on the Great Salt lak iak lake |