Complete Journey
December 1871 - September 1873
North America
January - August 1872
Summary: Upon arrival in San Francisco on the America, the beauty of the Golden Gate entrance — which had remained shrouded in fog — suddenly burst into view at dawn, leaving members of the delegation in awe of its beauty. After this breathtaking first glimpse of the United
States, the delegation was greeted by a fifteen-gun salute from a battery waiting for the group on Alcatraz Island. (Kume
14)
Golden Gate entrance to San Francisco, 1891, Source: Shepp's Photographs of the World, Globe Bible
Publishing Co. Philadelphia
Summary: The delegation was stranded
after in Salt Lake City from February 4th
to 22nd after snowdrifts in the Rocky
Mountain buried the railroad tracks. Even after the snow melted, the group was, forced to wait for another day as repairs were made to areas of the track damaged by flooding, During their time in Salt Lake City, they learned about the Mormon community, visited the Mormon Tabernacle, and met Brigham Young, founder of the city and prominent leader of the Mormon Church. (kKume 34)
Image: South-East view of Salt Lake City,
1880s, Source: L. Tom Perry Special
Collections.
Summary: Upon arrival in Chicago, the delegation was impressed by the ‘complex railroad tracks and crowds of people and carriages which filled the city streets. Nevertheless, Chicago was still recovering from the Great Chicago Fire, which had taken the lives of 300 Chicago residents in addition to burning down over 17,000 structures, leaving 100,000 residents homeless. As such, much of the delegates’ activities involved counter-fire measures, and they were given a demonstration of the recently invented fire-extinguisher in addition to a firefighter training drill involving a live fire.
(kume 49)
Image: Chicago following the 1871 fire, 1871, Source: Library of Congress.
