Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1878.djvu/44

XLII

The reports from this institution show that during the year the hospital has been free from any of the diseases usually occurring in lying-in asylums, no adult death being recorded in the obstetrical department. Only one death is recorded in the medical and surgical division, although many of the operations performed were regarded as among the most severe and dangerous in surgery.

The number of patients treated in hospital during the year was 294; the daily average was 29.48. The number treated in the dispensary was 485.

In response to a letter addressed to the governors of the several Territories, reports relating to their present condition, resources, &amp;c., have been received from Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, and Washington Territories, and will repay careful perusal. Utah is represented as rich in minerals and the precious metals — gold, silver, copper, zinc, iron, coal, sulphur, and salt being found in various parts of the Territory. The lands fitted for agricultural purposes are mostly taken up and are now under cultivation. There are vast tracts of land which might be valuable for cultivation if properly irrigated, but as the water would have to be brought through canals for long distances, the chances of their redemption are remote. The larger portion of the lands of the Territory is represented as of no value except for grazing purposes.

Agricultural pursuits in Utah are followed almost exclusively by Mormons, while the mining enterprises are conducted by the anti-Mormon population. As a rule the farms are small, owing to the expense and difficulty of irrigating the land. About three-fourths of the population is represented to be foreign born or of foreign-born parentage, representing nearly all the European nations, the Sandwich Islands, and China, while it is claimed from the best attainable information that about nine-tenths of the people are Mormons.

For school purposes the legislature has imposed a direct tax upon all taxable property of three mills on the dollar. Owing to the fact that the schools are controlled by the Mormons and none but Mormon teachers are employed, the Gentiles decline to send their children to the public schools, patronizing instead private institutions conducted under the supervision of the various religious denominations.

The Uintah Indian Reservation is the only one within the Territory. The Indians thereon are represented to be well behaved, many of them having adopted the habits of civihzation and have built comfortable houses for their use. They are engaged in cultivating the soil, raising stock, and give promise of being self-sustaining in a few years. The governor ascribes their present condition as due to good management and to the fact that they have been isolated and under no influences other than those of the officers of the agency.