2016 Issue

Historians pay compliments to the engi- neering and scientific knowledge of Orson Pratt who acted as the Company’s scientific observer. With instruments which included two sextants, one circle of reflection, two artificial horizons, two barometers, several thermometers, and a telescope. Orson cared for and used these instruments along the trail as he recorded the latitude, longi- tude and elevation at important landmarks. There are several different accounts of what exactly happened when the pioneers en- tered the Great Basin. One account credits “Orson Pratt with a number of men and wagons, leading the way down Echo Can- yon, up East Canyon, through and over the Wasatch Mountains toward the shores of the Great Salt Lake. From the summit of Big Mountain, on the nineteenth of July, Orson Pratt and another member, riding two days ahead of their companions, caught the first glimpse of the valley: on July 21, 1847, Or- son Pratt and Erastus Snow emerged from Emigration Canyon, a little south of where Fort Douglas now stands. Orson and Erastus had a single saddle horse, and were riding by turns. Erastus’s coat had fallen off the horse so he rode back toward the mountains to look for it, leavingOrson to walk on alone to the banks of City Creek. This stream then divided into two branches, one flowing south, and the other west. Thus it was Orson Pratt who was the first of the pioneers to actu- ally walk the site of Salt Lake City. Two days later, Brigham Young and the Vanguard party arrived at the site. Pratt had already chosen the location for the future settlement. Brigham Young along with other leaders of the Mormon Church proclaimed that “this is the place” for Great Salt Lake City. BrighamYoung then gave the task of laying out the new city to Orson Pratt who, as- sisted by Henry G. Sherwood, ran the origi- nal survey of Salt Lake City, on Monday, August 2, 1847. The initial point located at the southeast corner of the Mormon Temple site was the point of reference for surveying the new city. With his equipment, Orson calculated the latitude and longitude of this point of refer- ence, know today as the "Initial Point", by determining its altitude and azimuth based on astronomical observations. Orson’s ini- tial calculations were: Latitude 40°46'04" - Longitude 111°54'00". This same location has since then been updated with survey grade Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements and found to be: Latitude of 40°46’10.27” Longitude 111°53’28.78”. The difference in the two readings equates to a distance of about 2,486 feet. That may seem like a significant error, but his calculations were for a point positioned on the surface of the earth – very impressive calculations considering the instruments avail- able in 1847. Two of the next recorded surveyors to visit Utah were Howard Stansbury and Lt. John Gunnison. In the early spring of 1849, Stansbury’s party received orders from the government to make a reconnaissance of the Platte River Trail by leading his party west across the Wasatch Mountains to Salt Lake City. His tasks were to survey the entire valley of the Great Salt Lake, study the Indian tribes and the Mormons, locate a supply route from the valley settlement north to the Emigrant Trail and study the natural resources in the area. While stopping at Fort Bridger, Stansbury sent Gunnison with a supply train over the Mormon Trail into the Salt Lake valley. Stansbury had engaged Jim Bridger to lead his party to explore the country from the Bear River Valley to Ogden. After meeting up with Gunnison in Salt Lake Valley, they conducted a reconnais- sance survey of the Great Salt Lake. Stans- bury party is credited with being the first to completely circumvent the lake by land. The exploration team wintered in the Salt Lake Valley, completing their works by the following summer. On August, 1850, the exploration team left Utah after surveying and mapping the Jordan River, Utah Lake, and the Great Salt Lake. A few years later, under directions of Sec- retary of War Jefferson Davis, Gunnison was given the assignment to locate the best route for the Pacific Railroad. While exploring a portion of the Sevier River and Sevier Lake, Gunnison and six of his men were attacked and killed. How these men were murdered is unclear. Local Pahvant Indians were charged with themurders, but some accounts suggest that the murders may have been committed by white people disguised as Indians. We will probably never knowwho is responsible for these atrocities. Early Map of Great Salt Lake City Howard Stansbury Lt. John Gunnison Early Map of Great Salt Lake City Stansbury’s 1852 Map of Great Salt Lake City SURVEYING | continued from page 61 62