Show 17 When the Mormons surprisingly their homes settled in the Salt Lake valley they knew little about the region where they were to make While it is true that they did have access to studied all written accounts published before their such information was extremely meager migration in 1846-4- 7 They knev practically nothing about the lake itself An excellent indication of the appalling lack of inand had formation about the lake until the middle of the nineteenth century is shown by a study of early maps of the Great Salt -- Lake ed region in first Until Fremont's map of his explorations appear- 1845 no map approaching accuracy had been made complete and scientific The of the lake was made by study of the various maps of map Stansbury in 1850 A western America and the Great Salt Lake region published during the century and a half before 1850 reveals some interestiHoward astonishing things and depicts the general ignorance regarding the region as well as the gullibility of map makers willing to accept tradition and myth as scientific fact John Bidwell in discussing his experiences in the Great Salt Lake vicinity in 1841 made the following interest-in- g commentary concerning the maps of the region at that date:2 Some of the maps consulted supposed of course to be correct showed the lake in the vicinity of where Salt ng and 2 John Bidwell Bchoes of the Past 7 |