In This Issue

As the advance party of Mormon pioneers began their entry into the Salt Lake Valley on July 22, 1847, General Winfield Scott was driving toward Mexico City for the last great battle of the U.S War with Mexico. Suddenly the future of Utah was tipped in a radically new direction Subsequent events have moved so rapidly that even with the benefit of historical knowledge and hindsight, today's scholars are still struggling to explain them all Perhaps this issue, dedicated to the sesquicentennial spirit, will make a modest contribution to that historiographical record.

In the first article a distinguished Utah archaeologist examines the evolution of his field during the past 150 years Looking both forward and backward from 1847, it is an especially enlightening beginning for our special issue. Its survey of methods, milestones, achievements, and personalities will appeal to readers of all interests while simultaneously reminding us that mankind called Utah home for thousands of years before those first wagons rolled out of Emigration Canyon.

And although the U.S negotiations with Mexico at Guadalupe Hidalgo had not even begun that July day, the first pioneers immediately recognized the Salt Lake Valley as home and set to work at developing its agricultural potential. They had met the hazards and uncertainty of the overland trek and could revel in triumph. That spirit of success has animated many descendants through the years, fortifying their faith through powerful myths, promises, and oft-repeated tales One such group of descendants, organizing themselves into the Yellow Ochre Club in 1936, retraced that pioneer route with artistic intent and left a record of celebratory achievement that until now—in our second offering—has never been outlined.

The third selection rises to the daunting challenge of juxtaposing modern Salt Lake City on the valley floor of a century and a half ago in an attempt to piece together the exact route of the pioneers' last few miles It is a study to delight trail buffs, advocates of heritage tourism, current property owners, and anyone else who enjoys the resolution of antiquarian mysteries.

The final article looks at a clash of cultural values that asserted itself almost immediately after pioneer settlement as New Mexican slave traders were arrested and tried in a territorial court In examining the facts of the case and motives of both the defendants and prosecution, the author advances a number of intriguing generalizations that shed new light on an old question and illustrate the essential point that the answer to ethical questions, like historical ones, is often just a matter of perspective.

Photo - Effie Carmack's oil painting, West from Temple Hill, Nauvoo, is part of the Yellow Ochre Club's legacy. Courtesy of John K. Carmack, Salt Lake City.