In my ride across the Territory of Utah amid its snow-capped mountains, hot sulphur springs and its great Salt Lake, I met no hostile Indians, but on the contrary many hospitable Mormons; in fact, my reception by both Mormon and Gentile was invariably kind and generous. I saw something of the social life of Utah as well as the wonderful country through which I passed, and was favorably impressed with the material development of the latter, as witnessed in its farms and mechanical industries. The men I conversed with were fairly intelligent--some exceptionally so; and hesitated not to explain and justify their peculiar faith and domestic life. They are certainly neither monsters nor murderers, but men possessing good manners and many of them refined tastes. In short, I found much good human nature among this people as well as social culture. Business intelligence and activity is a marked feature in their intercourse with strangers. In Utah agriculture is the chief occupation of the people. The long dry summers and the clayey character of the soil insure defeat to the farmer, unless he helps his crops by artificial means. Irrigation is therefore universal, and the result--the finest crops to be found anywhere in the West. The Territory of Utah covers the region drained by the Great Salt Lake and many miles more, both in length and breadth, but the Mormon settlements extend one hundred miles further into Idaho on the north and two hundred miles into Arizona on the south. These settlements are mostly small, but there are some places of considerable importance, as, for instance, Provo at the south and Ogden at the north. On July 14, 1847, Brigham Young, a Mormon leader, and his followers entered the valley of the Great Salt Lake. The lake itself is one of the most remarkable bodies of water on the globe. It is seventy miles long and forty-five miles broad, and stands 4,250 feet above the sea-level. It bears a strong resemblance to the Dead Sea of Palestine, but, unlike that sea, it abounds in animal life. When Young entered the valley Utah belonged to Mexico, and the leader believed he could found whatever character of institution should suit him and his people best. It has been alleged that Brigham Young had "chains on men's souls." There is no doubt that superstition and the machinery of the Mormon Church were in some degree the secret of his irresistible power over his followers; but back of the superstition and the marvellous church organization stood the brain of a great and masterful man. His power, he knew, must rest upon something material and tangible, and this something he reasonably discerned to be the prosperity of the people themselves. He proved himself to be an organizer of prosperity, and this was the real source of his strength.