Show I Antelope Island Island- What's In A Name By LESLIE W W. W KING Second in a series of articles on the Great Salt Lake and An Antelope Antelope Antelope An- An Island Known variously as Porpoise Island Church Island and Buffalo Buffalo Bul- Bul falo Island Antelope Island is located jut just west of Syracuse in inthe inthe inthe the southeast portion of Great Salt Lake FOLLOWING the general pattern pattern pattern pat pat- tern of mountain ranges in the vicinity Antelope I Island s I and is about 16 miles long tapering to toa a point at either end At Its broadest point it is about six miles wide It has an elevation of feet It is the largest of the islands located in Americas America's Dead Sea At extremely low water levels it is connected to the mainland by a sandbar which theoretically makes it a peninsula peninsula peninsula penin penin- sula although it is always re referred referred referred re- re to as an island IN 1848 THE TILE ISLAND was briefly called Porpoise Island because a party of men seeing numerous large fish nosing inthe in inthe inthe the mud mistakenly thought they were porpoises Believing the lake surrounding the island to be full of porpoises they called the Island by that name Th The fish were actually large carp prevalent in the waters of I the Jordan River one of the tributaries which feed the lake I LATE IN THE fall of 1848 a I herd of antelope was surprised on the north end of the island by bya a group of horsemen who named the island Antelope Island During the early days of the theL L Church under Brigham Young the island was used as a herd ground for raising sheep cattle and horses There were I I upwards of head of sheep on the Island besides cattle and there were at times over 1000 horses raised on the island THE HORSES were fleet fleet- footed winded long-winded and used to nimbly climbing the rugged mountain s slopes l lop o p e s and rough trails rails with which the island abounded In disposition Hon the horses were gentle and mild once they became used to hand- hand ling hag They were ideal as saddle horses In the early history of the island island is- is land and horse a herd of antelope ran along with the band of wild horses following them in the winter as they pawed snow off the ground to get at the grass which the antelope in turn ate and romping together in the summer THE HERD of wild horses bred on the island under the direction di direction direction di- di of Briant fell out of favor upon his death in 1871 For four years afterwards afterwards afterwards after after- wards the horses on the Island were ignored until the Church contracted with Chambers Chambers Chambers Cham Cham- bers White and Company to remove them from the island With the advent of a government government government govern govern- ment land grant to the railroad company which affected Antelope Antelope Antelope Ante Ante- lope Island the activities of the Church on the the Island were brought practically to an end And the name of the island which had been called Church Island reverted to the name Antelope again CATTLE RAISING on the is- is began on a broad scale shortly thereafter when a wholesale butcher company used the island to raise stock Several springs of fresh water are found on the island making it ideal stock range Geologists say the water to the springs flows down from the mountains and beneath the lake over to the island John H H H. H White and Sons is credited with restocking the Is Island island island is- is land with buffalo in 1893 at a time when the lake was low and the venture could be undertaken Long tong before the arrival of the Mormons to the valley the Island is island island is- is land had been the native habitat of ot both loth antelope and buffalo THE ISLAND is particularly suitable to raising buffalo DurIng During During Dur Dur- ing the winter the west slope provides ex excellent cell e n t winter range the north part is good for summer and the east provides provides provides pro pro- vides fine pasture for late summer summer summer sum sum- mer and fall During this period Buffalo Island as the name of the island was used almost In 1921 there roamed on the island the largest herd in America but they were soon found too great a handicap to the developing in interest interest interest in- in terest in cattle raising THEY CONSUMED so much feed and were impossible to keep fenced apart that in 1926 a hunt was authorized which de depleted depleted de- de the herd from several hundred to about 30 cows and 25 cal calves ves The herd has not been allowed to increase far beyond that point since Thus ended the period where the island was called Buffalo Island and it reverted to the name it is known by today Antelope Antelope Antelope Ante Ante- lope Island dating from the time of discovery of the first herd on its acres lk Ik I |