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Show Brigham Young Helped Mining P .... , ' " ' . . I '' '$ V I 4 -J ' i - t i ? . "V -s N" . I ; -' K V-- - 1 j ' ' v ;V v' 1 Contrary to the belief of some, ' Brigham Young was never opposed to mininf? as an industry. In fact he signed the bill, passed by the Territorial Legislature in 1854. offering of-fering a prize of $1,000 for the first vein of coiil that might be discovered dis-covered within a radius of forty miles of Salt Lake City. Emphatic testimony of his interest in-terest in the mining industry is shown in the accompanying picture. pic-ture. Patricia Ann Bowman, Salt Lake City miss, is pointing to a rock collection of the "Mormon" leader which is now in the possession posses-sion of his descendents. Just as cooperation with mining is necessary to build a strong state now, it was then. Through the efforts ef-forts of the early Pioneers the foundation for the mineral industry of Utah was laid. The first discovery of commercial metals was in Southern Utah, nen Parley P. Pratt, with a company of his "brethren" were exploring that region in 1S49-50. Some iron ore was mined and an old iron bell in the museum of Cedar' City is mute witness today of how the metal was put to use. One of the first recovery re-covery furnaces built was that of Isaac Grundy, who in cooperation with others, built a crude recovery furnace at Minerville in 1858. Indian In-dian deperdations had been carried on in Southern Utah and metal was needed to produce bullets. ' Levi Edgar Young, western historian, his-torian, in an article on early mining min-ing in Utah writes: "When - Parley P. Pratt discovered dis-covered iron ore in 1850 in southern south-ern Utah, President Young received the news of the discovery and in a letter encouraged Mr. Pratt to do all he could to develop the claim for the welfare of the people. When Bishop Isaac Grundy and his associates as-sociates located lead and silver mines near Minerville in 1858, they built a crude recovery furnace, that metal for bullets might be pro-douced. pro-douced. When the great discoveries of gold, silver and lead were made in the sixties, Brigham Young reiterated rei-terated what he had said to his people as far back as 1849. His people had come to the 'tops of the mountains' to work out their destiny, des-tiny, and the foundation of their success would lie in the reclaiming of the soil. They were compelled to do this or perish, and they therefore there-fore conquered the land. In conquering con-quering it, they learned to love it and to lay the foundation of an imperishable im-perishable state." |
