--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Talmage, James Edward collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 14 number: 11 published: 1911-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Talmage, James E., "The Deseret Museum," *Improvement Era* 14, no. 11 (September 1911): 953–982.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera14011unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera14011unse start_page: 953 end_page: 982 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1911-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera14011unse publication_year: 1911 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1911, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Deseret Museum IMPROVEMENT ERA. Vol. XIV. SEPTEMBER, 1911. No. 11 The Deseret Museum. BY DR. JAMES E. TALMAGE, DIRECTOR. The institution now known as the Deseret Museum had its beginning in the latter part of 1869. Its creation was primarily due to the energy and enterprise of John W. Young, son of the pioneer leader, Brigham Young. In its inception the Museum was virtually a private establishment, owned and con- trolled by its founder; nevertheless, from the first it was oper- ated and maintained for the public good rather than for purposes of private gain. The original plan was that of a combined menagerie and museum, and during the early years of the institution's history the live-animal exhibits excelled all the other collections, if not in number and variety at least in public interest and favor. The first curator of the Museum was Guglielmo Giosue Ros- setti Sangiovanni, who acknowledges that he was usually called Sangio— and this, he naively explains, — "for short." He was born April 27, 1835, at London, England, and is today a hale and active citizen of Salt Lake City. During the spring and summer of 1867, Mr. Sangiovanni had traveled in the capacity of inter- preter with a party then touring the principal countries of Europe under the leadership of John W. Young. In a statement written 954 IMPROVEMENT ERA. in July, 1911, Mr. Sangiovanni gives an interesting account of the conception of the museum plan as follows: In the fall of '69 John W. Young and I were talking over our trav- els, and it was suggested that it would be a good plan to start a museum and menagerie as a means of presenting in conven- ient form the resources of Utah. It was proposed to give the exhibit some such name as "Utah at a Glance, " and it was intended to make of the insti- tution a means of showing tour- ists what we have and what we are doing. We then and there agreed to start the enterprise. A flaming advertisement was inserted in the Deseret News, calling for relics, curiosities, mineralogical and geological specimens, and natural history specimens alive. The first to- wards the zoo was a fine pair of black bears, yearlings, p r e - sented by Walker Brothers. Many things were bought and many more were donated. The miner, the artisan, the hunter, and in fact citizens of all classes brought their contributions, and in six months the museum had already quite a start. The "Museum and Menagerie" had for its first home* a little, two-roomed house of but one story in height, located on the north side of South Temple street, a short distance to the east of the site now occupied by the imposing structure completed in the early part of 1911, and known as the Hotel Utah. The contrast is a striking one. The adobes or sun-dried brick of which the little house was built, were of the large size commonly used in the early 2. — JOHN W. YOUNG, Founder, and for eight years the proprie- tor of the Salt Like Museum and Men- agerie, now the Deseret Museum. From a photograph taken about 1876. *wSee frontispiece. THE DESERET MUSEUM. 955 days, measuring about seventeen inches in length, eight in width and four in thickness. This adobe hut, at the time of its con- struction, ranked among the most pretentious residences in Great Salt Lake City. It was built as a residence at the instance of President Brigham Young, and in it were born children destined to become prominent in the affairs of the community. Among those who there first saw the light were Eva Young, who in time became Mrs. Davis; Shamira Young, afterward Mrs. Rossiter; Alfales Young, now of the editorial staff of the Deseret News; Emily Wells, afterward Mrs. Grant; and Heber M. Wells, the first governor of the State of Utah. At first the institution was known as the Salt Lake City Museum and Menagerie. The following appeared in the Deseret Weekly News of December 22, 1869. The Museum and Men- agerie.— We were very much pleased in visiting the home museum of John W. Young, Esq. That gentleman has al- ready formed a very fine nucleus for an excellent museum; and every means is being taken to augment and enrich the collec- tion of objects, either by pur- chase or contribution. The 3.— GUGLIELMO GIOSUE BOSSETTI SAN- GIOVANNI, First Curator of the Salt Lake City Museum and Menagerie. From a photo- graph taken in July, 1911. proprietor is taking measures to supply his menagerie with a complete collection of birds and animals indigenous to this region. Residents of remote parts of the country, where rare specimens of wild animals and birds are more plentiful than in this immediate locality, will confer a great favor on Mr. Young, and render material aid in furthering the object he has in view, by securing such specimens as may come within their reach and forwarding them to him. S a M 5 3 <» •- THE DESERET MUSEUM. 957 The latest addition to the menagerie was made today. It is a very- beautiful specimen of the black-tailed deer, captured in Montana, and pre- sented to the institution by J. Gilmer, Esq., of the Gilmer and Salisbury stage line. We think the day is not far distant when, if this matter is perse- vered in, we shall have a fine zoological collection and a very excellent museum. An interesting description, summarizing the history of the institution during the early stages of its existence, was written in May, 1911, by John Q. Can- non, Esq., secretary of the Salt Lake Literary and Scien- tific Association, which asso- ciation at a later date ac- quired ownership of the Mu- seum. Mr. Cannon says: The Deseret Museum, like many another excellent and im- portant institution in the inter- mountain country, owes its inception to the busy brain and progressive spirit of John W. Young. Of course the forty odd years that have elapsed since the Museum's doors were first opened have witnessed a mighty growth in its extent and value, as well as a radical change in its aim and char- acter. In the beginning, indeed, the museum idea was second- ary and incidental. The promi- nent feature then was the live animal collection, the founder's plan being to assemble, exhibit and make familiar to young Utahns, the birds, beasts, reptiles and insects of the surrounding region. By way of spice and variety in the exhibit, that indispensable adjunct, a cage of monkeys, was added to fill up the measure of juvenile delight. Hence the exhibit was referred to more as the "managerie" than as the 5— JOSEPH L. BARFOOT, Curator of the Museum from 1870 to the time of his death, April 25, 1882. This portrait is reproduced from an enlarge- ment of a photograph taken during the last year of his life. "He was a diamond in the rough; a diamond of the first water." 958 IMPRO YEMEN T ERA . "museum;" and it obtained a hold on the affections of the urchin of that day which the lapse of time has neither loosened nor effaced. Its popularity was immense, and while it was well patronized all the time, there were certain days when the jam of youngsters was so great that moving out of one's place in the crowd was impossible. These were the occasions when the school chil- d r e n came by battalions in charge of their teachers, the admission fee being nominal if not entirely gratis. In was on one of these days, when the progress of the trooping youth had become entirely blocked, that "Sangio," the curator, in- geniously relieved the conges- tion by painting the strange word, "Egress,'' over a rear and unused door. The more inquisitive of the crowd detected the new sign, concluded it indi- cated the cage of some new and probably savage animal, and surged out pell-mell through the door. The pushing stream be- hind made return impossible, of course, and before the throng normal conditions had been 6.— BABFOOT MONUMENT IN SALT LAKE CITY CEMETEKY, Marking the resting place of Joseph L. Bi.rfoot, of whom those who knew him love to speak as "One of Nature's noblemen." inside had become wise to the ruse restored. In those days there were bears — brown, black, cinnamon and griz- zly; wolverines, mountain lions, wildcats, lynx, porcupines, badgers, antelopes, deer, coyotes, wolves, and for a very brief period a specimen of Mephitis, better known as skunk; there were minks and musk rats hawks, eagles, crows, cranes, owls and gulls, besides a cage of song- birds; there were snakes, lizards and horned-toads; and most splendid of all, there were the imported monkeys, and "Sangio's happy family," one cage housing dog, cat, blackbird, pigeons, pups, kittens, chickens and numerous other more or less antagonistic species. Occasionally there would be a two-headed calf or some other passing freak or mon- strosity; and there soon began to be collections of coins and curios. But foremost in the plans of the management — and in the interest of the THE DESERET MUSEUM. 959 visitors, too — was the "zoo" feature, for which the original curator was especially qualified, actually seeming to possess the gift — so we used to think — of talking to each particular beast in its own particular lan- guage. The animals knew him, and appeared to like him, and if he was not actually a natural-born trainer, without doubt he could have easily made himself an expert in this line. The institution, as stated, was founded by John W. Young, just prior to or about the time of the advent of the railroad; and it was first housed in the low structure behind the old wall west of the Lion House, and at or immediately east of where College Avenue now is. The animal cages were inside as well as in front and in rear of the building, and took up much the greater part of the space. The museum portion occupied 7.— THE CHURCH UNIVERSITY BUILDING, ' Erected by the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific AssociaDion, 1892-3. On the top floor of this building part of the Deseret Museum collections were exhibited from March, 1893, to July, 1903. The building with its grounds was transferred to the Universitv of Utah as part of an endowment gift; and subsequently the title passed to the State of Utah. thence to Salt Lake City, and lastly to the City Board of Edu- cation. The structure is now used by the Salt Lake City High School. 960 IMPROVEMENT ERA. one small room, which furnished sufficient space for the interesting relics and curios comprising the collection. The man in charge was Sangiovanni, a jolly, clever and loquacious son of sunny Italy, who fit into the position as if made for it. But science was not his forte, and no efforts were put forth by him, or at that time by any one else, to promote this aspect or field of the institution. After a time the museum quarters were required for the use of the Deseret Telegraph, company, and the collection — now shorn almost bare of 8.— THE VERMONT BUILDING, ERECTED IN 1909-10. This structure covers the site of the Museum's second home f see illustration No. 4) at the corner of South Temple and Richards streets. The Deseret Museum was here reopened to the public July 11, 1911, following a period of eight years during which the collections had remained in storage. its "zoo" character— was removed to the upper floor of the historic building that stood nearly opposite the south gate of the Temple block. There was still a cage or two of small animals and one of birds, kept in the yard, but they did not remain long after coming to the new quarters. THE DESERET MUSEUM. 961 The museum collection, on the other hand, began to grow rapidly and was much enjoyed by the few who were anxious enough to inspect it to make their way around to the rear of the long building and climb the rickety stairs on the outside. That great naturalist, — whose worth was perhaps never realized — Joseph L. Barfoot, had been placed in charge; and his patience, his erudition and his unfailing willingness to devote his time and talents free to the public, gave to the Museum the character of a veritable mine of information. His capacity for work 9.— EAST ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE VERMONT BUILDING. This shows one of the lar^e Museum rooms before the installation of the exhibits. was prodigious, and his knowledge vast and inexhaustible. He contrib- uted regularly and voluminously to all the periodicals of the day, and did incalculable good in awakening an interest in and popularizing hitherto dry scientific subjects by his luminous treatment of them. It was not long before the lower floor of the building, heretofore occupied as a school, was also brought into use for the Museum, which grew rapidly in extent as well as in educational value through thorough and accurate classification. Prc-f. Barfoot died in April, 1882, lamented sincerely by the circle who knew him well, and respected by the entire community. 962 IMPROVEMENT ERA. With his departure, the now very valuable institution went into a period, perhaps not of decline, but certainly of inactivity. The Museum was financially and otherwise embarrassed, and was in no position to exploit or extend its usefulness. Temporary curators, more properly caretakers or watchmen, during the three following years were Messrs. Ford and Schofield; and the much beloved George Rey- nolds had for a time his literary "den" in one of its obscure corners, 10.— THE MINERAL SECTION. Here are exhibited over eight thousand minerals, many of them choice crystals. The three large specimens seen through the end panel of the case in the foreground are casts of large gold nuggets. The cases shown in this corridor are made of thick glass with oak frames; the shelves are covered with black cloth, thus affording a most effective background. Iron uprights of 1-inch pipe, suitably braced, support the shelves; this construction insures the framework against strain from weight. and was quasi-custodian in charge, doing there some of his best and most enduring work. In 1891, Dr. James E. Talmage, then president of the Latter- day Saints College, now the Latter-day Saints University, took charge of the Museum. At this critical time the property on which the adobe home of the Museum stood changed hands and the collections were removed to the Templeton building. With Dr. Talmage' s accept- THE DESERET MLSEUM. 963 ance of the directorship, a new era in the management and conduct of the Museum was inaugurated. John Q. Cannon, Secretary Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 5, 1911. The building referred to by Mr. Cannon as the second home of the Museum had been erected as a store for general merchan- n. -A VIEW IN THE ANNEX TO THE MINERAL SECTION. Tbe case in the foreground contains a splendid exhibit of calcareous deposits from caves, including stalactites and stalagmites of many unusual forms, and a number of Aragonite specimens in feathery forms, "as delicate as frost flowers, and as fragile as spun glass. " The case here shown is a type of the new cases recently installed; they are constructed of plate glass with a framework of bronze. The shelves are all of heavy plate glass. dise. In the illustration presented herewith, (No. 4) it is indi- cated by an arrow. This picture, by the way, is otherwise inter- esting, as it presents a general view of the Temple block before the foundations of the great temple had risen above the ground. The view is taken looking southward from a point near the junc- tion of East Temple and Center streets, on the slopes of Capitol Hill. With the removal of the institution to its new home its 964 IMPROVEMENT ERA. name was changed, and for several years thereafter it was known as the "Salt Lake City Museum," though even before its change of location the name "Deseret Museum and Menagerie" had found its way into print. In the Salt Lake Herald (Vol. I, No. 290> May, 1871) appeared the following notice of removal: The Deseret Museum and Menagerie has been removed from its former location to more roomy premises opposite the south entrance to the Tabernacle. The place just vacated by the Museum has become entirely too small for the large and interesting collection of 12— CASE CONTAINING HUGE CRYSTALS OF SELENITE, THE TRANSPARENT VAR- IETY OF GYPSUM. Here are exhibited the largest perfect prisms, twins and combination forms of this mineral, yet reported from any part of the world. Of the following pic- ures, Nos. 13, 11 and 15 illustrate the deposit from which these crystals were taken. specimens which Mr. John W. Young, the proprietor, and Professor Barfoot, the superintendent, have collected. The status of the Museum remained that of a private institu- tion, and, as late as 1874, the label stamp read, "The Salt Lake City Museum, J. W. Young, Proprietor." THE DESERET MUSEUM. 965 The man to whose ability and energy is due the con- tinued existence of the Museum during its period of dire pov- erty and hard struggle was Joseph L. Barfoot, the second curator, and the gentleman to whom Secretary John Q. Cannon refers in terms of well-merited appreciation and well deserved respect. Joseph L. Barfoot was a diamond in the rough; a diamond of the 13— COLOSSAL GEODE OF SELENITE, AS DISCOVERED IN SOUTH WASH, WAYNE COUNTY, UTAH, AND EXPLOITED UNDER THS AUSPICES OF THE DESERET MUSEUM. This was left exposed in the condition here shown by the weathering of the sand- stone matrix in which it was formed. The mass consisted of a gypsum shell, to the inner surface of which the great crystals were attached. The geode, which from a distance had the appearance of a glistening mound, was approximately 35 feet in length, 10 feet in average breadth, and stood 20 feet above the ground on the lower side. The photograph was taken in 189a, just before the removal of crystals was commenced. A natural opening is seen on the front side. 966 IMPROVEMENT ERA. first water, whose worth was known to few and appreciated by fewer. As I look over the old records and go through the time- stained papers that were once in Barfoot 's custody, many of them written by his own hand, I read a story of devotion to the cause of scientific investigation which to me is an ever-present inspi- ration and encouragement. Whatever the foreground of our museum picture may yet come to be, one of its principal charms will be found in the background of faithful service incidental to the efforts of its promoters and supporters in the early years of its checkered history. Joseph L. Barfoot was born March 29, 1816, within the walls of Warwick Castle, England. He came to Utah in 1865, and died here on the 25th of April, 1882. In the Deseret News of April, 26, 1882, appears the announcement of his death. Part of the article is here quoted: The death of Professor Joseph L. Barfoot occurred at 4:45 a. m. yesterday in his room on the upper floor of the Museum building. He had been suffering for some time from bronchitis, but no one antici- pated that the end was so near. On Saturday he was at his post in the Museum, of which he was curator, as usual, and slept well from nine that night till four a. m. yesterday. At that hour he awoke and was seized with a severe fit of coughing. He requested his wife to summon Dr. H. J. Richards, who soon arrived, but he had become unconscious, and passed away quietly as if falling into a gentle sleep. During the whole course of his life Brother Barfoot had devoted himself to the attainment of scientific knowledge, which he, by patient research and assiduity,succeeded in accumulating to a remarkable degree. In fact there is scarcely a branch of exact science with which he was not more or less familiar. Several years ago Hon. John W. Young founded the nucleus of a museum, and being aware of the pro- fessor's attainments, employed him a portion of his time daily to classify the different specimens belonging to and which were constantly being brought into the institution. Finally he became the curator, which position he retained after the Museum changed hands, and held it to the time of his death. His position in the Museum was one for which his nature and education admirably adapted him, and the vacancy created by his death will not be easily filled. THE DESERET MUSEUM. 967 Deceased was a lineal descendant of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, and heir to the earldom of Crawford. He was also directly descended, on the side of his mother, Sophia Louisa Ridley, from Bishop Ridley, of historic fame, who was martyred at Smithfield. Volumes might be written concerning this good and learned man, the story of whose life presents an almost perpetual struggle with 14.— INTERIOR OF SELENITE GEODE SHOWN IN NO. 13. This photograph was taken by placing the camera at the mouth of the cave-like opening, looking inward. Enormous prisms appear projecting inward from the walls of the cavern, and in some instances extending from side to side, "suggesting, but for their singular beauty, the heavy timbers of a deep mine." poverty. His devotion to the pursuit of truth was heroic, his kind- ness of heart proverbial, and his integrity to his honest conviction unwavering and unsullied. In the city cemetery is a block of native granite, rough hewn, 968 IMPROVEMENT ERA. except for a scroll on one side. On this carven page appears the inscription: Tribute of friends to the memory of a Natural Nobleman, Joseph L. Barfoot, Scientist, Saint. Born 1816, Warwick Castle, England. Died 1882, Salt Lake City. The rough-hewn granite block speaks of his character; the epitaph tells the truth. Sometime toward the end of the '70's, the ownership of the Museum passed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the "Mormon" Church. In line with its principle of fostering and promoting public education, the Church acquired possession of the museum collections with the purpose of developing the institution as a means of increasing and diffusing knowledge among the people. However, in those days but little money could be spared for other than necessities, and the bare maintenance of the Museum involved sacrifice and devo- tion. During this period of its history the Museum had as its executive head the highest official of the "Mormon" Church, viz., the president, who was known as the Proprietor-in-Trust. Among the old papers belonging to the Museum is a sheet in. Curator Barfoot 's own writing, which, while undated, was prob- ably written in 1878. This paper reads as follows: The Deseret Museum was founded in the fall of 1869 by John W. Young, under the patronage and by direction of the late President Brig- ham Young. For many years antecedent to this, collections of antiq- uities and curiosities had been made by the "Mormon" missionaries in various countries, many of which are now seen in the cabinets of the Museum. The opening of the mines in 1865 by General P. E. Connor, and the stimulus given to mining industry in 1870-71 and subsequently, led to a large influx of strangers who contributed handsomely to the newly-opened Museum, evidences of which are seen and permanently remain as a testimony of the liberality of the miners and prospectors of those days. Besides these advantages, the patronage of wealthy resi- dents greatly aided in the extension of the Museum. At present the exhibit is confined to a very limited space in a poorly lighted and ill- provided building opposite the Tabernacle gates. Very recently the THE DESERET MUSEUM. 969 entire control and ownership of the Museum has passed into the hands of the people, as may be seen in a notification to that effect in the Deseret News. President John Taylor is the Proprietor-in-Trust. Contents in brief: Cabinets of local minerals and ores; manufac- tured articles, among which may be mentioned a garment made of dog's hair; a valuable cabinet of coins of all ages and countries; photo- graphs of the "Mormon" dignitaries from the Prophet Joseph Smith to the present leader, John Taylor; fossils of the region, among which are those of the elephant, (Mammoth) etc.; specimens of the fauna and flora of the Rocky Mountains; a large and very valuable collection of Indian and Stone Age relics and curiosities; many specimens of local birds, some kept alive for exhibition; an almost complete set of the Government reports, maps, charts, etc., which are kept for reference. With the changes now in contemplation the enlarged prem- ises will enable the curator to show things to more advantage. It K v M f WW*\* l V » * 1 15.— GROUP OF SELENITE CtlYSTALS. A crystal aggregate, weighing when in the condition here shown, about 650 pounds. As trimmed to the state in which it is now mounted in the Deseret Museum, the group weighs over 550 pounds. This mass of inter-locking prisms was taken from the floor of the cavern shown in No 14; when in place the top of the group was partly cevered by loose rubbish brought into the cavern by mountain-rats; this loose material is seen in the last Illustration. 970 IMPROVEMENT ERA. The present name of the institution, Deseret Museum, seems to have come into use by popular assent before it had been officially adopted. With the change of proprietorship, whereby the institution came into the possession of the Church, the name became fixed. "Deseret" is a name in very general use in Utah and is exclusively a "Mormon" designation. It is a matter of record that in the many futile attempts to secure statehood for the Ter- ritory of Utah, the people proposed to call the prospective State "Deseret;" indeed even before the organization of the Territory of Utah, the pioneer colonists had established among themselves the ' 'Provisional Government of the State of Deseret. ' ' "Deseret' ' is a Book of Mormon word, signifying the honey bee. Thus we read in the account given of the departure of Jared and his colony from the tower of Babel after the confusion of tongues: "And they did also carry with them Deseret, which by interpre- tation is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees" (Book of Mormon, Ether 2: 3), Although the people were denied the fulfilment of their desire to make this the name of the commonwealth created by their zeal and toil, they adopted the beehive as the official emblem on the Seal of State; and moreover, "Deseret" is perpetuated as a distinctive designation in many applications. Thus we have the Deseret News — the pioneer newspaper of the intermountain region, — the Deseret National Bank, the Deseret Savings Bank, the Des- eret Sunday School Union, the Deseret Gymnasium, and in addi- tion there are irrigation companies, factories, societies and indus- trial organizations, all bearing this name; and moreover, there is still in flourishing existence the Deseret Museum. From April, 1882, when Joseph L. Barfoot died, to January, 1891, when the present director was placed in charge, the museum collections were left in the custody of a succession of care-takers, none of whom made pretension to scientific qualification or trained ability. But for the devoted service and self-sacrificing efforts of Messrs. George Reynolds and Don Carlos Young, who, as officers of the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association, exercised an efficient supervision, the Museum, instead of passing into a state of suspended activity only, would have suffered actual dissolution. During this period of interrupted growth, the institution THE DESERET MUSEUM. 971 underwent another change of ownership. In June, 1885, the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association was organized, and in the month following was duly incorporated under the laws of the Ter- 16.— A CORNER IN THE CORRIDOR DEVOTED TO REPRESENTATIONS OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. In the foreground is seen a cast of the head and tusks of a Mammoth (Elephas ganessa) . In the mid-ground appears the skull of the monstrous Dinothere — P'obably the largest mammal that ever walked the earth: its femur or thigh bone hangs on a pillar near by. To the left of the center is seen the skull of the Mastodon, with its huge, spreading tusks. ritory of Utah. The purposes of this organization are set forth in its articles of incorporation as follows: The objects of said corporation are to found and maintain a reposi- tory and collection of natural, scientific and literary curiosities and works of art; and to aid its members in literary and scientific pursuits, and not for pecuniary profit; and for the purposes aforesaid the corpora- tion may buy, sell, lease, hire and exchange such real estate and per- sonal property as may be necessary, suitable or convenient, and hold and use the same for the purposes of the corporation. Soon after its organization, the Salt Lake Literary and Scien- tific Association acquired possession of the Deseret Museum and the parcel of ground upon which stood the diminutive museum 972 IMPROVEMENT ERA. home. This property was sold by the Association in 1890, and thus arose the imperative necessity of providing other quarters for the Museum. A partial installation was made in a large room on the ground floor of the Templeton building, and therein the exhibits were re-opened to the public in January, 1891. These crowded quarters proved wholly inadequate and otherwise incon- venient. The side door to the museum room opened into an alley in which coal was delivered to the building, and many of the col- lections suffered serious injury from coal dust. In 1892-3 the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association used the funds secured by the sale of the museum lot in the erection of a three-story building on what was then known as the Ellerbeck property on First North street, between First and Second West streets. The Deseret Museum collections were installed on the top floor, the remaining portions of the building being fitted up as labora- tories and lecture rooms and used for instruction work in connec- tion with the Church University. From 1891 to 1903, the curator had the assistance of Mr. J. Reuben Clark, Jr., to whom much credit is due for the successful operation of the Museum during this period. Mr. Clark was at that time a student, first in the Latter-day Saints College, after- ward in the University of Utah, from both of which schools he graduated with honor. Later he completed a course in the law school of Columbia University, and is now the Solicitor of State of the United States. The collections were exhibited in the Church University build- ing for a little over ten years, specifically from March 17, 1893, to July 30, 1903. Then another change became necessary. In pursuance of its purpose of assisting in the educational growth of the community, the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association had endowed a chair in the University of Utah with provision for its perpetual maintenance. The gift is thus chronicled in the official publication of the University: In April, 1894, the University became the recipient of a handsome endowment, the first of its kind in the history of the institution to come from private sources. The Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association, an educational organization of Utah, endowed the chair of Geology to the amount of sixty thousand dollars, this fund to be kept intact and the proceeds to be used for the support of the chair named. Acting THE DESERET MUSEUM. 973 under the terms of the law governing the endowment of departments in the University, the Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association named the chair "The Deseret Professorship of Geology." With the endowment went the use of the Church University building at a nominal rental for a term of years, and at the expira- tion of that term the title to the building and grounds passed to the University of Utah. The building is at present used in con- 17.— A CORNER IN THE SECTION DEVOTED TO ZOOLOGY. Here are seen mounted specimens of the Elk or Wapiti, adult male and female, and a half-grown doe. To the left is a mounted Big-horn or Mountain Sheep. Tn the zoological collection over five hundred specimens are on exhibition. nection with the scientific department of the Salt Lake City High School. As stated, these changes necessitated another removal of the museum collections and the institution found itself without a home of any kind. Not even the adobe tenements of early days were at its service. The collections were boxed and placed in storage, and so they remained from July, 1903, until July, 1910. In the month last named the work of installing the collections in the new Ver- mont building was begun. This structure stands at the corner of South Temple and Richards streets, on the old museum lot, and 974 IMPROVEMENT ERA. covers the site already described as the second abiding place of the institution. The Salt Lake Literary and Scientific Association found itself without means to provide for the maintenance of the Museum; moreover, the Association had incurred heavy obligations in con- nection with the erection of the Church University building, and in the endowment of the professorship in the University of Utah. In November, 1899, the Association transferred the Deseret Museum collections to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with which body the title still rests. The entire second floor of the Vermont building, together with additional space in the basement and on other floors, has been placed at the service of the institution. The work of installing and arranging the collec- tions for public inspection progressed slowly owing to the limited help employed, and not until July 11, 1911, were the doors of the new museum quarters opened to the public. In the work of re-installation, and in the operation of the Museum since its reopening, the director has been greatly assisted by the able labors of Mr. William Forsberg, who resigned an instructorship in the University of Utah to enter the museum ser- vice. Much of the convenience and attractiveness of the exhibits as they appear today must be credited to Mr. Forsberg's skill and devotion. Excepting the space occupied by the offices of the director an entire floor of the Vermont is devoted to exhibition purposes. A light-well divides the floor into east and west halls, and these are again divided longitudinally by rows of panelled pillars, each pillar presenting four surfaces, of use as hanging-space. The exhibition rooms now in use afford about seventy-five hundred square feet of floor space; and while this is small as gaged by present needs, it is great in comparison with the cramped quarters heretofore occupied by the museum displays. The photograph reproduced in the illustration No. 9 shows the general appearance of the exhibition rooms before the installation of cases. A num- ber of oak-frame cases used in the Church University building have been remodeled for present service, but many new cases have been added, and these are of the best models, constructed throughout of heavy plate-glass and bronze. The corridor devoted to minerals and rocks contains fourteen upright cases, in which THE DESERET MUSEUM. 975 are displayed about eight thousand specimens. The plan of classi- fication according to which the specimens are grouped is popular rather than technical. Among the mineral exhibits there are two cases which never fail to arouse the interest of students and visitors in general. One of these is shown in the foreground of illustration No. 11; it con- tains a fine collection of cave deposits from the Iron Blossom IS. -A VIEW IN THE ETHNOLOGY SECTION. The case shown in the foreground and the one next beyond contain a number of human bodies taken from the burial caves of the ancieat Cliff Dwellers, in San Juan County, Utah. There are the remains of a number of men, women and chil- dren, with several hundred artifacts, such as weapons, tools, household imple- ments, ornaments and articles of clothing. mine, near Eureka, Utah. Beside stalactites and stalagmites of ordinary forms there are numerous specimens of very unusual shapes — bent and twisted, contorted and convoluted; but most striking of all are the groups of feathery Aragonite, as delicate as frost flowers and as fragile as spun glass. The other case referred to as of surpassing interest holds the largest mineral crystals of approximately perfect form yet reported from any part of the world. These are the famous Sel- 97G IMPROVEMENT ERA. enites, or gypsum crystals, for the discovery and exploitation of which the Deseret Museum has been accorded much credit and praise. Here are to be seen single prisms three and a half to four feet in length, weighing from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty pounds each; magnificent twins of from twenty to eighty pounds each; cleaved slabs, some of them of perfect transparency, and ranging from a square foot to eight or ten square feet in sur- face. Mounted by itself is a group of Selenite crystals, the like of which has never been found. Trimmed to its present dimensions this huge crystal-aggregate weighs five hundred and fifty pounds; as taken from the colossal geode in which in occurred it was fully a hundred pounds heavier. The general interest shown in these specimens warrants at least brief mention of their occurrence. These mammoth crystals were removed from an isolated deposit in the stretch of desert-land known as the South Wash, in Wayne County, Utah; the discovery was made in the fall of 1892, and the work of removal began six months later. The crystals occurred as the lining of a huge geode which had been exposed to view by the weathering of the sandstone matrix. Over fifty tons of crystals were taken from the deposit, and of these, specimens are now to be found in many prominent museums of this country and Europe. The first announcement of the discovery appeared in 1893, and from the writer's description then published the following excerpts are reproduced:* The writer is pleased to report a deposit of selenite in southern Utah, which is remarkable for the size, perfection and variety of the crystals there to be found. * * * The crystals occur in a cave, and this is inclosed by a thick shell forming a mound which stands in relief on the side of a hill bounding the Wash. Of this formation a good idea may be gained from Fig 2, [No. 13 of the illustrations presented herewith] which is reproduced from a photograph. The mound is somewhat of an egg-shape, 35 feet in length east and west, 10 feet in breadth, and of an average height of 20 feet from the ground on the lower side, all outside measurements. This selen- ite mass seems to have been left exposed by the weathering of the loos- ened, friable sand and clay, of which the hill whereon the mound is situ- *See Science, Vol. XXI, No. 524, February 17, 1893, pp.. 85-6, "A Remarkable Occurrence of Selenite." THE DESERET MUSEUM. 977 ated is composed. The mound consists entirely of selenite, the outside having a somewhat battered and roughened appearance from the action of the wind-driven sand; yet the whole exterior is made up of the exposed ends and sides of crystals, and in the sunlight the formation glistens with indescribable beauty. The outer walls are generally regu- lar, though there are a few depressions and sheltered niches, within which small prisims of selenite nestle snugly in groups. The entrance to the cavern faces the east, and when first observed by the writer it was about six feet in height, and three and a half in 19.— OFFICES OF THE DIRECTOR, DESEBET MUSEUM. width. The cave can be traversed to the depth of 26 feet. Generally the crystals project from either side toward the central line of the cav- ern, approaching each other within about three feet, though some of the largest crystals extend entirely across the cavern like huge beams. Fig. 3 [No. 14 in the present series] is from a photograph of the interior of the cave, one massive crystal having been sawn off to afford a better view. The floor of the cavern consists mostly of sand, probably deposited by water in flood times, and carried in at all seasons by winds. Projecting out of the sandy floor are the terminations of many superb crystals. Inside the cavern, a yard from the entrance, the crystals descend within three feet of the bottom, so that one has to stoop to pass; but farther in there is room to stand erect, and near the back wall 978 IMPROVEMENT ERA. a person may clamber up to a height of fifteen feet. Looking upward from the bottom of the cavern, one sees a mass of mammoth prisms, suggesting, but for their singular beauty, the heavy timbers of a deep mine. The entire deposit is a colossal group of crystals, the like of which is seldom to be seen. Prisms of perfect form and varying in length from one to five feet, and in weight from ten to one hundred pounds, are of frequent occur- rence. One of the most regular yet taken out is four feet long, and the widest faces are six inches across. Cleaved slabs are obtainable six feet in length, and two and a half feet in breadth. One of the longest per- fect prisms yet obtained extends fifty-one inches, and from one of its faces nineteen smaller crystals sprout. Twins are common, as are also compound terminations of very complicated structure. A magnificent group, weighing over six hundred pounds was removed from the floor of the cavern; it was set up on the outside and photographed (see Fig. 4). [No. 15 as here reproduced.] As to the habit of the crystals, in the midst of such variety it is difficult to specify. Prisms short and stout, also long and comparatively slender, are numerous; and of twins, the "swallow-tail" vie with the cruciform and penetration varieties in point of abundance and perfec- tion. Some of the crystals are of perfect transparency, and cleaved slabs of this quality are common. Sometimes the prisms inclose sand and clay, which is so distributed as really to add to the beauty of the crystals in the eyes of all save the mineralogist. When fracture planes are made visible by striking a crystal containing such impurities, the particles appear on the internal planes as on shelves of glass. In the section devoted to paleontology there are large collec- tions of fossil forms, both originals and casts, the latter including plaster reproductions of many of the extinct monsters. In this section about thirteen hundred specimens are listed. Among the most prominent casts are those of Mezozoic reptiles, including land saurians (Dinosaurs) swimming saurians (Enaliosaurs) and flying saurians (Pterosaurs); also heads of the mammoth and mastodon, with original Elephas fossils of local occurrence; skulls of the dinothere, the megatherium, the titanotherium, and replicas of many other unique finds. An excellent specimen of the daemon- elix, commonly known as the Devil's Corkscrew, is among the re- cent acquisitions. The exhibits of mounted birds and mammals and other verte- THE DESERET MUSEUM. 979 brate preparations comprise about five hundred listed specimens, with much additional material yet to be mounted. The collections include excellent mounts of the wapiti, or elk, (male, female and young) the prong-horn antelope and other American deer, the big- horn or mountain sheep, an unusually large head of the buffalo or American bison, wolverines, wolves, badgers, porcupines, (local 20— A VIEW IN THE LABORATORY. and Asiatic), and representatives of most of the important families of birds native to the West and Middle West. There are over seventeen hundred listed shells, corals and allied forms; and about six hundred mounted insects, mostly of local species. The ethnology section derives special interest from the exhibits of the Cliff Dwellers. This collection comprises human remains of men, women and children, with a wide variety of arti- facts such as tools, weapons, ornaments, sandals and other articles of dress. The bodies, commonly referred to as mummies, owe their preservation in part to a process of partial embalming, but mainly to natural desiccation incident to their having been 980 IMPROVEMENT ERA. entombed in dry caverns or buried in dry, sandy earth. When disinterred each body was wrapped in "fur and feather cloth" — a fabric woven of rabbit-fur and feather-down, with a warp of yucca fibre. Most of the bodies were found in a reclining posture or in a huddled-up sitting position; though one — the body of a man who, judging from the articles buried with him and from the condition of his sepulchre, was a person of rank and importance — is fully extended. The desiccation is so nearly complete, and the actual 21.— AS SEEN FROM THE MUSEUM WINDOWS. The Hotel Utah, adjoining the site occupied bv the adobe hut in which the Museum had its beginning (see frontispiece . the view is taken looking east- erly on South Temple street. decomposition of tissue so slight, that the hair is still in place, and even the details of physiognomy are preserved. In addition to the material illustrative of the life of the Cliff Dwellers, there are cases devoted to the modern Indians, particu- larly the Indian tribes of the West; to the ethnology of the Ha- waiians, the Maoris, the Samoans, and the peoples of the Orient. The ethnological exhibits comprise about one thousand and fifty listed exhibits. 982 IMPROVEMENT ERA. A section is devoted to local history, and herein are included the extensive and valuable collections brought together by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, comprising a great array of material telling the story of struggle and effort in the early days of Utah's colonization. These invaluable collections are so exten- sive and varied as to require a separate booklet for even a general description. In this section is preserved the pioneer press, on which was printed the first inter-mountain newspaper — the Deseret News, and alongside is hung a copy of the first issue, dated June 15, 1850. Of special interest to the people of Utah and to the members of the "Mormon" Church, is the press from which issued the first edition of the Book of Mormon, printed in 1830. Among the other objects of special interest are the artillery pieces used by the early militia, and still occasionally called into service in ceremonial salutes. In addition to its exhibition rooms the Museum is provided with library quarters, in which are preserved over two thousand volumes, either its own possessions or loans, among which are many rare editions of increasing interest and value. There are also preparation-rooms and rooms for storage in the well-lighted basement, and these, though spacious, are already taxed to their capacity. The office rooms are modern in arrangement and equipment, and no essential provision has been omitted. In connection with the director's office quarters is a laboratory admirably equipped fur investigation and research. Besides the usual provisions for hot and cold water, electric current for light and power, distilled water apparatus, gas, etc., there is a specially constructed hood with fan draft, and in addition a compressed-air plant for blast and furnace operations. A photographic dark room is provided with all needed accessories. In its expansion and development the Museum has grown with the city. Its windows look upon stately structures that stand as lasting monuments of energy and zeal. In its present condition the Deseret Museum is at once a consummation and a beginning.