In the afternoon Emery and I decided to walk to
Linwood, lying just across the Utah line, four miles up Henry's Fork.
Jimmy preferred to remain with the boats.
Between the river and a low mesa lay a large ranch of a different
appearance from those others which we had passed. Those past were
cattle ranches, with stock on the open range, and with little ground
fit for cultivation, owing to the elevation. Here we found great,
broad acres, fenced and cultivated, with thoroughbred stock--horses
and cattle--contentedly grazing.
This pastoral scene, with a background of rugged mountains, appealed
strongly to our photographic instincts. After three or four exposures,
we climbed the farthest fence and passing from alfalfa to sage-brush
in one step, were at the foot of the mesa.
Climbing to the summit, we beheld the village in the distance, in a
beautiful green valley--a splendid example of Mormon irrigation and
farming methods. Linwood proved to be the market-place for all the
ranchers of this region. Dotting the foot-hills where water was less
plentiful were occasional cabins, set down in the middle of hay
ranches. All this husbandry only emphasized the surrounding
desolation. Just beyond, dark in the southern sky, rose the great
peaks of the Uintah range, the mountains we were so soon to enter.
Storm-clouds had been gathering about one great snow-covered peak, far
in the distance. These clouds spread and darkened, moving rapidly
forward.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40