Show kee kem BY L ELDER ERASTUS SNOW tt jf at pana pariss gear vear icar lakein Lal lai ceon seon saturday afternoon august ath 1880 REPORTED BY GEO P F GIBBS taylor referred in his remarks this morning to myself as coming from the far south and as traveling extensively through the country and I 1 feel led in my feelings to make some bome re marks remarks on the south bouth sou til country and also the north and perhaps on some other portions of the country through which I 1 have traveled two years ago this summer I 1 visited the greater portion of tilo the territory of Ari arl arizona zoda that Is I 1 with others passed through tho the northwestern portions of the territory along near the eastern boundaries southward to the extreme southeastern portions of the territory re nig through tucson crossed the desert to the gila then crossed salt river biver and up through the tonta basin and over the Noo khoon to the tho little littie colorado and obtained a very general understanding of the country and the condition and facilities of the territory and also the western portions of new mexico last summer I 1 also visited the south part of colorado I 1 passed along the line of railroads from ogden to cheyenne thence passing south through colorado on the east side of the mountains to denver and thence to pueblo on the arkansas thence southeast to the bio rio grande del nort and down that stream to the new hew mexico line it is in contemplation pla pia tion that myself and a few other grethren tr ethren brethren will visit during the coming naji the southeastern southeastern counties of this thia territory those new now counties emery and san tuan juan that have been recently organized and the lower valleys on grand river biver and from grand giand river to the san juan and its tributaries tributa ries and the settlements tle ments that our people are forming upon those streams and probably we shall extend our travels further into new mexico and visit our new settlements on the head waters of the little colorado and the tributa ries of the gila ulla along the borders of new mexico and arizona the chief object of our visits is to learn the facilities of the country and to look after the flock of christ and also to hunt after any that might have strayed away and when found to try to gather them to some fold where we can place some shepherd over them who will endeavor to feed them with the bread of life and keep them from being entirely lost or tom torn by wolves vei we ver shall visit the new settlements as fast as and the older ones also to labor among the people according to our calling to teach the people their duty and to organize them as shall be necessary and to set in order all things necessary for theu then development and growth and to maintain the union and fellowship of the saints and respect for the gospel and the order and government of his IMs church and wing Ring kingdom dom there seems to be a necessity for the latter tatter day saints to gather together and then to scatter a littles little and then to gather a little and so on in other words something after the fashion of the bees they go out of the hive empty and return with their legs and wings laden with honey and bee bread now if all can do this we shall continue to thrive in the hive of deseret but if on the other hand wo we scatter and waste and destroy the good we have we had better remain in the hive until we shall havo have learned our pur duty better there is a tendency with some to want to get way from the restraint of the priesthood and the earnest teachings and admonitions of the gospel and the wholesome government that is maintained among the saints in order to enjoy greater liberties not greater liberties to serve gerve the lord for there is nobody in any wise restricted some are desirous of greater liberties than they think they enjoy among us in occupying the coun country and getting possession of theland the land and accumulating stock and desire a greater range now this feeling ought not to take possession of us too much because if we indulge e it too much we are liable to become darkened in our mind measurably and lose the spirit of the gospel but whence when we are called and sent out to labor either to preach the gospel in foreign countries or to gather the poor poon from distant lauds or sent to locate in any distant place with a view of helping to establish towns and villages and settlements epand organizing and helping liel ping to maintain good order and wholesome government and to ex tend the spirit of the gospel when we e ane ale are called billed upon to assist assiat in establishing these new now settlements it is right that we should respond it is as legitimate labor as any other branch of labor in building the church and kingdom langdom of god upon the earth but we ought to guard against a restless spirit of changing locality merely for it its own sake and moving to and fro in search of something better this thia restless feeling is not good nor non will it tend as a rule to bapple happiness 1 ess and permanent good and prosperity to those who possess it wo ve are not all alike homelie some become coma attached to whatever place they call their homb hornet wherever they labor and build up a home they gather around them the the comforts of or life lire and feel settled in that place and attached to their surroundings while others seem hard to settle down and make any place seem like home for any length of time to me this spirit has always appeared str strange auge ange so contrary to my nature and disposition notwithstanding as has been remarked I 1 travel among the people as much as or more thau than any of my brethren of the apostles of late years perhaps for the last twenty years still my home has lias been in st george having had bad the care oi of the churches in the southern part of the territory to a great extent I 1 have been obliged to travel a great deal but this has been from a bense sense of duty and not because I 1 have felt tired of home and wanted to 10 move mova about from place to place and I 1 may add that in all my travels the thought of seeking a new or better place for myself or family has never entered my heart no matter how many good places I 1 may find it is for others and not myself it is to search out places where we can plant colonies ol 01 latten latter day saints where the sons son bon and daughters of the saints that are growing up in the older settlements and who desire soon to spread out our where thegean they can make homes and form new settlements where we can plant nurs nurE nurseries erles eries of latter day saints but it is not as I 1 said to seek locations for myself or for my own family only such portions of them sw a ought to go out anu anil begin to operate for themselves and make themselves homes I 1 am not one of that shifting sort of men the lot that was ass assigned ned to me in salt lake city at the time lime the pioneer pioneers entered salt lake valley I 1 retained until I 1 was sent to st ht george aud then I 1 transferred it back to pres young from whom I 1 received 11 it I 1 have never felt to change since I 1 located in st george and if I 1 had been located upon a barren rock I 1 would have packed soil enough to make a beautiful home of it and by the way I 1 believe the home I 1 have made has cost me as much labor as if I 1 had hauled the earth on to it I 1 have had to manufacture a great deal of what is now n on there and so sol soi I 1 may say any it has been with the greater part of our town and dixie county naturally to look at it it was a very forbidding country when we first settled there we were not allured to that region by py the green fields the fine extensive meadows buchas such buch as you have liere here the grass which we see upon the surrounding hills inviting the flocks and herds to eat and the flowing crystal streams of pure water which make music sweet and enchanting to the ear as they wend their eway gway through your valleys to the lake beyond is in marked contrast to the natural facilities olour of our southern home why if I 1 were to tell you half the truth the most of you would lyver nver want to go south to live but we are not in the habit of picturing the unpleasant feat features ures dres of the country but rather of speaking the best we can about it feeling that behave we have need to do doit dolt it and there are some who have had faith enough and stamina enough in them to speak well of the country and nothing short of faith and mormon grit could do it were doing this we did not forget to ask ithe blessing of god upon the land and I 1 need hardly say that it has been through his blessing that we have been prospered and enabled to make beautiful out of the once forbidding sterile wastes we were sent there to raise cotton potton when our nation was thrown into anarchy through b a civil war and when it had beckmen become a question with all israel shirts or no shirts shirl it was vas shirts we were after we went to make co cotton aton farms and it was anything else but an inviting cott cottin n region As I 1 have said no axtens extensive ive lve fields made the eye glad but every thing looked as though the whole country had been thrown together lna inu in a irregular broken manner the water had to be raised from the low channels chann elsin elain in which it flo wedin quick sand bottoms by means of long and expensive canals in order to get it upon the tho bench lands but now through the blessing of the lord and hard knocks we have a very fine city inhabited by a pretty good people I 1 will say however that the country is not so very much changed from what it was when we went there excepting in a few places where the people have made inviting homes but the homes that have been made are the more precious because of the labor it has cost to make them and they are prized more highly lyon on that account than they otherwise would be you may ask me if I 1 for volunteers for that region of couf country itry no not at all and yet the southern people would welcome most heartily any of the brethren and sisters from bear lake or any other section of the country who may feel desirous of locating among us to share with us the rocks and sands and the cactus and lizards I 1 say we shall welcome them most heartily and then tilen while they would have llave to take their share and maybe more of this natural product of our sout bout hren bren climate they would also share with those thoe who labor for their kindred and friends and their own exaltation in the temple which our father has graciously and in his indescribable providence located iea lea Ica ted among us and permitted us to build with the help of the saints generally throughout the Territory we feel that there is a wise providence overruling this it is in such a country that the wicked hareno have no desire for what they see around they have passed through it and as a general thing are satisfied not to come back again there being nothing to induce them to do so and this being the case st george is a peaceful home of the saints and as a rule a very good spirit prevails there sometimes a little too much of the spirit of wine because the grape is a staple article among us and foolish persons some times indulge too freely in the wine which is manufactured from that fruit and it is one of if the labors that we have upon us to teach the people how to use the things which gud gives us in a proper way and not abuse them to control their appetites and not allow wine to bring evil into the community and we feel in this labor that we have succeeded to a goodly degree there being much less of this kind of indulgence practised practiced among the people now than there has been since we settled and im improved proved the country now touching the climate and soil and general facilities of the country through which I 1 have traveled in arizona and along the borders of new mexico when compared with this region of country it is a desert that is the facilities for agricultural purposes tire are far less than in utah and you know ow pretty well what they are in utah it is more ot a grazing region there is a lack of mountain streams streamy for the hills are generally low they do not tower up in the cloud sand sand saud are not capped with snow as they are in this northern country the main range of the rocky mountains falls onn off about the time you reach the new mexican lineard line and the hills then becom elower and the streams are not so numerous the facilities most attractive to my along the continental divide in the eastern portion of arizona and the western portion of new mexico the northeastern portion of arizona is watered by thet the little colorado and its tributaries tributa ries and the farming region is on the head waters of this stream but it iq is not extensive there are s however facilities for small settlements tie tle ments and extensive ranges for and cattle the garden of arizona so far as agricultural facilities are concerned is on salt bait river after it emerges from the mountains and where our people are locating armesa at mesa city and jonesville janesville Jones ville the country along salt river is being occupied by people from various parts of the world who are not of us these two settlements of our people are doing very well so I 1 understand and there are facilities for many more in lu the same region the climate is warm t the ile lle summer is long scarcely any winter at aily alls all ail and scarcely any frosts but in that immediate vicinity there is not range for stock that is there here is not very extensive growth of grass the range is in the hills hills in the northeastern and southeastern parts of or the territory on the head waters of the gila and its ita tributaries tributa ries the san ban pedro tedro and black and white ivers rivers and also are many facilities or small agricultural settlements the climate generally Is milder than this and consequently more pleasant the eastern and northern portions are temperate neither very hot nor very cold in the southern portion aa as I 1 have eaid said the summer is long and warm it is decidedly a hot and a dry cou country nry the country I 1 visited last summer further to the east and northeast the upper valleys or valleys on the rio grande del norte which are in southern colorado and run into new mexico is a fine agricultural agri and grazing country fine flue mountain streams come out of the foot hills to the broad valleys and open plains this region affords facilities for flourishing settlements as well as for flocks and herds and the climate is as cool as that of bear lake and the other elevated valleys of utah and if not eo so severe winters as in cache and pear lake valleys at least something approaching them there are facilities for many fine flourishing settlements in that region of country and we are ate establishing some colonies in ing mostly of emigrants emig grants from the southern states with a few from utah to counsel and instruct them in the art of irrigating the so soil soll and establishing tab lishing settlements after the order of zion we find ourselves under the necessity of sending a few more to that region and a few others to diff different brent breut localities to assist in establishing tab lishing and maintain maintaining inz our new settlements but bat now I 1 return to this lovely valley of bear lake lovely indeed it has seemed to have visited it but it must be remembered that I 1 have never visited it only when it was covered with green still I 1 understand that the country is covered for many months in the year with the white mantle and for this reason many of you complain of the long jong winters but if it were not for the hard cold winters and the melted snows you would not have these beautiful meadows and green hills you certainly have to thank the snows knows for this blessing but I 1 have no |