[h~e mnan e           -me~itt, a  ulI    i, hile th~e IleeS Lrivotl,,land  oo,-ei their t,,t-.'
7"
1, 
I
- Z, Z, .  
THE
HUS13AND IN UAll;
OR,
,itg {s sl   icenttne g  ng  t t, om-as.s
W I T H
REMARKS ON THEIR MORAL AND SOCIAL
ECONOMY.
BY AUSTIN N. WARD.
EDITED BY MARIA WARD,
AUTHOR OF "FEMALE LIPE AtMONQ TlHE MOInMONS."
NEW YORK;
DERBY  & JACKSON, 119 NASSAU  STREET.
CINCINNATI:-H. W. DERBY & CO.
LONDON: -SAMPSON LOW, BSON & CO.
1857.
4* 
aEN.D  according  t, Act of CogreSs,  in  the  year  1857, by
DERBY & JACKSON,
In the Clerk's Offict of the District Court of the United State., for the Southern District of New  Y.I,
a.o.. U,,          &..  CO., rP} INTKI8.
W. B. MESON, S?E~OTYPER., 
PREFACE.
ONE year since, with fear and trembling, I gave to
the world my testimony against the Mormon delusion.* It was not a history of that people, or the rise
and progress of their singular creed. It made no
pretensions even to trace them as a body through
their various settlements in the Western country previous to their emigration to the Valley of the Great
Salt Lake. It was designed simply as a record of
personal experience-a transcript of events writteni
fi'om memory; a faithful narrative of such hopes and
fears, joys and sorrows, as any woman placed in such
circumstances must necessarily feel.
The success of that venture emboldens me to send
another barque in the same track, though this time it
is the experience and adventures of another-of a
man. Of course he takes a somewhat different view,
* "Female Life Among the Mormons."
V
0  
PREFACE.
but his account corroborates my testimony. He presents a philosophical view of the Mormons, withli their
moral and social condition as a community; but that
neither softens nor modifies the nature of the facts
which came beneath his observation. It was not from
ambition or the love of gold, but a sense of duty to
my country and the world, that the other book was
written. The impostors are still abroad in the land;
every month brings the arrival of their dupes from
foreign shores. Again I lift the voice of warning.
Beware of their arts.-Enter not the circle of their
fascinationis; their chlarms are like those of the serpent, and lead to the death of all that is holy and
beautiful in this life, and all that can support the
anxious soul in its moments of dissolution, and give
it a happy and abundant entrance into the presence
of just men made perfect.
I have been careful to preserve the thoughts and
sentiments of the writer. In no case have I changed
or omitted a sentence, because it did not agree with
my feelings and opinions. I wished to be true to
him as I had been to myself.
The write: was the nephew of my husband. Subsequent to my escape from Mormondom, but before his
family were aware of the fact, he took the overland
route to California, stayed among the Mormons for a
vi 
PREFACE.
time, went on to the Gold Region, caught cold firom
exposure in the mines, and came home to die.  He
was unmarried, and in the distribution of his effects
his papers were given to me. I hand them over to
you, kind public, relying on your candor and generosity for a charitable appreciation of the work and
the motives which prompted it.
.MARI  WARD.
Vii
I  
THE EDITOR'S DESIGN.
THE public mind has begun to appreciate, with some degree of
correctness, the evil influence of the Mormon  faith, and the true
nature of its institutions. It has at least commenced to perceive the
extent of folly and wickedness that must naturally grow up under
such a system, adverse alike to democratic institutions and the truths
of Christianity. Priestcraft, in its worst phase, is the soul and life
of Mormonism. The United States, as well as foreign countries, teem
with these men and their confederates, whose morality is even more
lax, whose delusion finds readier dupes, and whose designs are more
sinister and dangerous than those of Rome. Polygamy and the conversion of women are accounted among the chief instrumentalities to
promote their designs. To support the one and effect the other the
most strenuous exertions are made. Nor is it always the case that
efforts to secure fresh victims are confined to the use of persuasion
and advice, but physical assistance can be rendered when necessary
to abduct and carry off, in some emigrant train or caravan, such youth
of either sex as circumstancs throw in their way.
If either of these volumes * should be the means of warning one
individual to escape their nefarious designs, I shall have been amply
repaid for all my pains and labor.
* The Author here refers to the popular work entitled "'Fe,'iale Life amongl tlo
Mormons."
I* 
A 
C ON T ENT S.
CHAPTER I.
UTAH-MOUNT ZION-INCIDENTS AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS-BROTHER UNDIRWOOD.
Incidents and First Impressions-Brother Underwood-My Accommodations Recognizing an Acquaintance-An Invitation-Brother Underwood's Ortlho doxy-Searching for Information-Large Families the Source of Disquietude   15
CHAPTER II.
GLANCES AND GLIMPSES-COSTUME-SCENES IN THE STREETS, ETC.
Glances and Glimpses-Costumes-An Interesting Aged Couple-A Burial American Residents-A Beautiful Girl-A Variety of Opinions-Character istics of the Free Trappers....                                 8]
CHAPTER III.
RURAL SCENERY-RURAL LIFE-JUDGE WHITE-HIS OPINION OF POLYGAMY-THE
BRIGHT SIDE OF THAT INSTITUTION.
A Disagreeablie Party-Judge White's House-Polygamy a Patriarchal Institu tion-An Abrupt Question-Conversation with Judge White-The Judge and
his Wives-Retiring for the Night-Breakfast-The Half Breeds. 
CHAPTER IV.
ALEXANDER BURNHAM-HIS HOUSB-TRAGIC OCCURRENCNES-WDDINGS-DH,ATHS.
Polygamy-Mrs. Burnham-A Storm and a Calm-A Mysterious Death Death of Mrs. Burnham.....  68
xi
48 
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
DIFFERENT SENTIMENTS-POOR CLASS OF MORMONS-MISERY OF WIVES-ETC.
C.mparisons are Odious-Condition of the Laboring Classes-A Character A Sullen Husband-An Ex-Presbyterian-Maria Ward's Philosophy-Ill Treatment of Wives.....
CHAPTER VI.
AN ENGLISHMAN'S OPINION-ENGLISH EMIGRANTS-THEIR CHARACTER-ETC.
An Englishman's Opinion-A Call on Brother Wells-Brother Wells' Wives Journey to Salt Lake-Brick-Town-Cold Water Scarce-The  Bishop's
iouse-The Bishop's Three Wives-" Matches"-Getting Supper-The Bishop
on Polygamy-A Lucky Escape.....
CHAPTER VII.
THE MRS. UNDERWOOD'S JEALOUSIES, MISUNDERSTANDINGS, AND REMOVAL.
Superiority of the First Wife-Mr. Underwoold's Jealousy-Looking for Board
-Mrs. Hyde-A Sensible Woman-Mr. Inkley's Wives-Different Ideas of
Comfort-Gathering Honey-Dew-An Opinion Plainly Expressed-A  Sad
History-Frederick's Father....... 125
CHAPTER VIII.
TILE DINNER-A NEW WIFE-JAUNT TO GRANTSVILLE, AND WHAT I SAW THERE, ETC.
A New Wife-Dinner Talk-A Terrible Storm-Jaunt to Grantsville-Female
"Help" Dangerous-Camping-out-Occupations of the Women-" Swap?"
-Disgusting Food-A Family of Emigrants-A Tempting Invitation-A
Mormon's Villainy........ 151
CHAPTER IX.
RETURN-OGDEN'S CITY, ETC.
A Favorable View-Brother Ripley's-A Comfortable Apartment-Traditions
of Ogden's Hole-Goodall and his Horse-Goodall's Opinion of the Mormons  174
CHAPTER X.
FREDERICK B-   -THE MORMON THEATRE-MRS. CANFIELD, ETC., ETC.
A Call from Frederick B.-  -Death of Frederick's Father-A Disgraceful
Scene-A Burial-A Mormon Theatre-How to tell a Frenchwoman-Man ners at the Theatre-Mrs. Canfield...... 157
xii
84
99 
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
THE TABERNACLE-FORM OF MORMON WORSHIP-SPECIMEN OF PREACHING, ETC.
Assemblage at the Tabernacle-The Duty of Men-A Plea for Mar-riage-A
Curious Guarantee of Salvation-Martha Inkley's Opinions-Search for Miss
Scott.......... 202
CHAPTER XII.
THI  COUNCIL OF HEALTH-MIRACLES-DREAMS, AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
Mormon Miracles-The Council of Health-Sister Lippincott's Remedy-An
Ailing Party-Sins of Omission-Falsity of the Mormon System.. 214
CHAPTER XIII..
REMOVAL-MY NEW LANDLADY-MISS SCOTT, ETC.
Family Peace!-Mrs. Snow, the Poetess-Angling for a Husband-A Direct
Proposal-Exchange of Gifts-Mrs. Farrow's Hulnanity-Clearing up my
Character-Miss Scott's Sufferings......  226
CHAPTER XIV.
CONVERSATIONS WITH AN ELDER ON POLYGAMY, AND THE FUTURE OF THE MORMONS
-THEIR NATIONAL AND SOCIAL POLICY, ETC.
Eliza Snow Mlarries Brother Brighlam-Conversation with a Mormon Elder Prospects of Mormonism-Manifest Destiny-Conscious Security-A Briglht
Future-Intelligent Elders....... 243
CHAPTER XV.
THE MARKETS OF SALT LAKE CITY-SHOP-KEEPER-STREET-VENDERS OF MERCHAN                  DISE-MANUFACTURES AND MECHANIC ARTS.
Shop-Keepers-Second-hand Shops-Manufactures-Aversion to Outsiders. 256
CHAPTER XVI.
SCHOOLS-LITERATURE-INTRODUCTION TO ELDER KIMBALL, ETC.
A School-Teacher-Introduction to Elder Kimball-The Future foretold by the
Past-An Invitation accepted....... 264
CIIAPTER  XVII.
DECEPTIO.NS-RASCALITIES —DUPES-IMPOSTORS-PARLEY PRATT-HIS SCHEMES TO
RAISE MONEY-A BEREAVED HUSBAND AND FATHER, ETC.
An Opposer to Polygamy —Mrs. Cunningham's Experience-Dismal Prospects
-Misplaced Confidence-Parley Pratt-Detestable Practices-A Traitorous
Son-A Heartless Wife-Determination of Mrs. Hays... 272
xiii 
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
TIIE MORMON PARTY-MORMON BELLES-INCIDENTAL NOTICE OF BRIGHAMl YOUNG
AND HIS FAMILY, ETC.
The Mormon Party-A Row-Brigham Young-Fanaticism of the Sisters. 290
CHAPTER XIX.
EXTERIOR INFLUENCES- YOUNG MEN-DISSATISFACTION WITH POLYGAMY-CHANGES
TO BE WROUGHT IN THE SYSTEM OF MORMONISM, AND HOW.
Tile Young Men-Polygamy an Evil-A Prophecy for the Future..  800
EXPLANATORY........ 807
xiv
EXPLANATORY NOTES 
THE
HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER I.
UTAH —MOUNT ZION-INCIDENTS AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS               BROTHER UNDERWOOD.
TAH I Deseret I The country of the Great Salt Lake!
The region of saline plants 1-the abode of the beautiful, the wonderful, and the new. Snow on the mountains,
flowers in the valleys-the tall pine trees crowning the rocky
heights, and the graceful cottonwood marking the margins
of a hundred streams-the air redolent with the fragrance
of blossoms unknown to the East-cattle grazinrg peacefully
among the hills, or reposing in the shade-the tall spires of
the Mormon temple glittering in the rich sunlight-the Mormon city, with its picturesque edifices, and busy inhabitants
-bustle, hilarity,  and  confusion  in  the  streets-huge
family carriages filled with a mixed variety of old and young 
TIlE IHUSBAND IN UTAH.
women, and children of different ages and sizes-stately
Mormon elders proceeding on pedestrian excursions of business or pleasure-dashing soldiers with nodding plumes,
gay uniforms, and prancing steeds-Indians in all the glory
of their national costume loitering near places of low resort.
And last, not least, a company of English emigrant converts to the new faith, approaching in the distance.
MOUNT ZION.
The Great Salt Lake City, called Zion by the Mormons, is pleasantly situated. They are fond of comparing
it to the ancient capital of Judea, though to find any
resemblance between the two, must require a great stretch
of imagination. For sublime and picturesque scenery, the
Mormon city has no rival in the world. Behind it, like an
amphitheatre, rise the lofty summits of the Wahsatih
mountains, whence never-failing streams of fresh water
descend, and are conducted in small channels on either side
of the streets. The city is well laid out; the streets, which
are one hundred and twenty feet wide, intersect each other
at right angles, and are ornamented by rows of cottonwood
trees. The houses are all adobes with the exception of the
Governor's palace. They are substantial and elegant, and
though generally small, a few are very large and commodious; each house stands back a short distance from the
street, and is surrounded by a small garden; each block
has a bishop or spiritual overseer, whose duty it is to know
16 
INCIDENTS AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
everything passing within his jurisdiction. He must examine
every week into the moral and material condition of each
family, and report to the Governor. With this preliminary notice of Utah, and its famous city, I shall proceed
to recount whatever was most interes.ting, amusing, and
instructive to me during my visit to that place, in the summer of 1855.
INCIDENTS AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
I was one of a small company who took the overland
route to California, n ore for the amusement of the thing
than any other purpose. We hunted buffalo on the plains,
visited trappers in the mountains, and feasted with halfnaked savages, till novelty gave place to weariness, and our
approach to the habitations of civilized man, was attended
with feelings of decided pleasure. When the saints from
the United States, or other parts of the world, arrive within
sight of the city, they prostrate themselves to the earth like
the Mohammedans when they discover the sacred edifices of
Mecca; in our case, however, the discovery of its gleaming habitations was only hailed by a shout of joy, and
accelerated speed along the well-worn road. This road,
though generally good, was quite as remarkable as other
things belonging to the same territory.  It went bending,
hither and thither, first to to the right, then to the left,
winding around the mountain spurs, and the bases of hills,
till finally reachiI),, the plain oli whi(ch  the city s,tands, we
17 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
entered it just as the sun was declining in the western
horizon, and the shadows of night began to gather on the
mountain tops.  Of course our first desire was to obtain
shelter and food, not only for that night, but several weeks.
Zion was crowded with visitors, travellers, and emigrants,
under similar necessities. There are some persons who for
a consideration will supply what we want-I say for a con
sideration-the Mormon brethren in this respect resembling
the Jews of old, who while affecting to despise the Gentiles, were at the same time strongly enamored of Gentile
gold. We applied for lodgings at the United States Hotel,
kept by the Hon. Mr. Kinney, U. S. judge for the territory of Utah, but to our great disappointment his house was
full. He likewise expressed regret, but gave us directions
to a smaller and much inferior establishment, kept by a
Mormon-Brother Underwood.
" BROTHER UNDERWOOD!"
I said to myself, walking in the direction of his -house,
"that name sounds familiar," and I patiently strove to recall
where or under what circumstances I became acquainted
with its owner. Thus meditating, I reached the domicile.
It was now nearly dark; there was no candle or lamp burning, and I could obtain only a very unsatisfactory glimpse
of my host.   Yet  his manner was kind and cordial, and
he spoke in a frank cheerful voice. I told him my necessities. Hle said, very well, he would see, and disappeared.
is 
BROTHER UNDERWOOD.
The formality usual in Eastern hotels was entirely dispensed with here. There was no registry of names, and
there seemed to be no clerks or assistants, with the exception
of a small boy, who acted in the double capacity of errand
runner and bar-tender. At present he sat dozing behind
a small counter, apparently unconscious of the presence of
a stranger; meanwhile we heard some one (whom we supposed to be our host) running up and down stairs, opening
and shutting doors, and calling through the rooms, "Nelly,
Nelly!" After an absence sufficiently prolonged to have
cooked and prepared a good supper, he returned with the
dismal intelligence that there was no one in the house who
could get us anything to eat, but that he would show us
to our apartments if we desired to remain. My companions
angrily expostulated with the man. He excused the matter
by throwing the blame on his wives; they generally took
turns, he said, in going out, and the one whose duty it
was to stay at home, had neglected or forgotten it. He
supposed she was at a neighborjs, though where, it would be
impossible to tell. All but myself decided to depart. I was
secure of a shelter, that was half I sought, and I hoped that
the remainder might be forthcoming; so taking up my travelling-bag, I bade my companions call on me the ensuing
day, and with a hearty "good night," prepared to follow
my obsequious host. The room to which he consigned me
was a sort of little cell. He had brought up in his hand a
short piece of tallow candle, contained in an iron can
19 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
dlestick, which to judge from its appearance, might have
been coeval with Noah's ark. This he placed on a rude
semblance  of a table, and unceremoniously withdrew.   I
scarcely had courage to inspect the apartment. I hoped that
the roof was tight, and the bed clean. I hoped too, that
by-and-by I might be summoned to supper, though my
better judgment rebelled against such anticipations. On
rummaging my pockets, however, I found the remains of a
broken cracker, and a small portion of dried fruit, which
had hitherto escaped my notice. This I ate, and commending myself to Divine Providence, retired to bed, though
determining to lie awake, at least, until the candle burnt out.
The more I saw of Brother Underwood the more firmly I
became convinced that I had been previously acquainted
with him. At length, with a sudden flash of thought, I
remembered the time and circumstances. It was in the
State of New York.   My introduction to him was merely
casual, though with the woman he subsequently married I
was  intimately  acquainted.   How  exceedingly strange I
Would she know me?  Would she receive me as a friend?
I questioned. Only those who have been far from home
and friends can realize with what delight I anticipated
meeting with an old acquaintance, in whose society some of
the happiest days in my life had been spent. Then it
occurred to me that I might be mistaken, and having by
this time relinquished all hopes of supper, I saw the candle
swale, flare, and  flicker without reluctance.   A  moment
20 
MY ACCOMMODATIONS.
more it blazed, flashed up suddenly, then the wick fell over
to one side, became saturated in the melted tallow, and all
was darkness.
I cannot say that my bed reminded me of any I had ever
slept in before; for to tell the truth, it did not. Though
not much inclined to luxuriousness, I found it hard, cold,
and uncomfortable. It was yet early in the season, and
cool nights are characteristic of the climate of Utah, even
in the midst of summer. I wished for a warm quilt or coverlid, but as none could be had, determined to be satisfied
without it. After all, there is no philosophy like that which
prompts a man to conform to circumstances, and make the
best of everything. With these feelings I composed myself
to rest, and soon fell asleep. I awoke in the morning with
a gnawing sensation of hunger, and actually shivering with
cold. Silence prevailed throughout the house, and no one
seemed to be stirring, though it was broad day. I had full
leisure and opportunity to examine my room and its concomitants. I found it a hard thing, indeed, to be satisfied
therewith, and unavoidably found myself wishing that its
general appearance were otherwise. Notwithstanding all
my philosophy, I-felt that my satisfaction would be greater
were more neatness and taste displayed in its arrangements.
I had been accustomed to lave my hands and face in the
fresh mountain springs, and could not be content with the
quart bowl of water prepared for my use. Then the napkin
had evidently grown old in some other employment before
being applied to its present purpose. I think that if the
I
21
I 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
floor had been well scrubbed and sanded, this small piece
of old, dusty, faded rag carpet might be happily dispensed
with. The uncurtained window looks unpleasant, the glass
being so dingy that before looking through it to obtain a
view of the mountains, I am obliged to wash it with the
napkin, in which laudable endeavor to exercise the vocation
of chamber-maid, I pushed out one of the panes. It fell to
the ground and broke with a crash, probably awaking the
family, as I heard them moving about soon after. In
attempting to seat myself on one of the chairs, it let me
sprawling to the floor, and I ascertained that, one leg being
broken, it could only be retained in an upright position
while standing with its back to the wall. My table had
evidently been a stranger to hydropathy for a very long
time. Instead of a lock, my door was fastened with a wooden
button. The fireplace was filled with ashes and cinders,
while the jambs were literally festooned with pendent webs.
I look around for a bell. The apartment is not furnished
with any such convenience. I think of ordering a fire. I
wonder when breakfast will be ready. I ponder the best
way of making myself known to the landlady. I muse on a
thousand other things, till tired out of all patience with waiting to be summoned below, I hastily descended and made
my way to the bar-room without formality.
I found Brother Underwood in the bar. He was quietly
munching a hard brown lump, designated a rusk. He
looked up, and his broad features relaxed into a smile.
"Got in a hurry for breakfast, eh?" he inquired.
22 
RECOGNIZING AN ACQUAINTANOE.
I replied in the affirmative, reminding him that I had no
supper the night before.
"Ah yes," he answered, " I recollect, Nelly was out."
I paid no attention to this remark, but again referred to
the morning meal.
"Certainly,  certainly,"  he  said,  "it  will  soon  be
ready."
There was certainly a great rush of business going on in
a neighboring apartment, and as my host seemed communicative, lively, and amiable, I sat down to wait patiently and
converse with him.
" How long have you been in Utah?" I ventured to
inquire.
"About five years," he replied, musingly.
"And you removed from Cortland County, in the State
of New York."
"Why do you ask?"
"Because your voice, and face, and name, strongly
remind me of one with whom I was formerly acquainted."
"Your name?" he inquired.
I mentioned it.
He looked earnestly in my face for a minute or two.
Yes," he observed, " I have a faint recollection of your
features, and I have heard my wife speak of you."
"Her name was Maria R         "
He assented, and held out his hand.
I met his grasp with a cordial pressure.
"I shall be most happy to see her," I observed.
23 
TTHE HUSBAND IN UTAIH.
"You will probably meet at breakfast," he said. "I
wonder whether or not she will know you?"
Probably an hour elapsed before we were summoned to
breakfast, and then a faded woman came to the door with
the announcement. I directed an inquiring glance towards
my host.
"My second wife," he remarked.
"Oh, I beg pardon."
"No apologies are necessary," he replied, leading the
way to the breakfast room. Half a dozen women, all the
wives of my host, were standing around. I knew Maria at
a glance, though she gave me no look or token of recogition. Her husband smiled, and inquired if she had forgotten
an old friend; she gazed curiously in my face, then her
countenance lighted up, and she cordially offered her hand.
Our meeting, however, under such circumstances was one
of painful embarrassment. I could not help speculating on
the appearance of Maria compared to what it had formerly
been. I had known her as one of the most tidy and industrious of girls, and now her dress and manner were indicative of the utmost carelessness and negligence, to say nothing of the want of neatness conspicuous in every part of the
house. Though my hunger gave it a zest, the breakfast was
anything but good. There was not a dish' on the table
even tolerably well cooked.   The coffee was  bitter and
"muddy," the meat burned, the bread half dough, and the
butter-but  I forbear to speak of that-it looked indeecribably, and I did not taste it.
24 
AN INVITATION.
"As you are an old acquaintance," said Underwood, "I
shall expect you to make my house your home during your
stay in this place. You can scarcely expect to be better
accommodated. Quiet is a great thing, sir, a very great
thing.   I have no boarders except my family, and little
custom. Of course, I don't want much-just a. little to
bring in a trifle of change, is all that I desire. It is expensive living here, very-so many mouths to fill," and he
glanced at his wives.
"How long did you design staying?" inquired Maria.
"That depends on circumstances."
"You will stay with us, I will see that you have comfortable accommodations," said Maria.
"All the other houses of entertainment are full," continued Underwood.   "They  always  are.   The  brethren
moved out here to be separated from the rest of the world,
and build up a righteous and holy kingdom, but it seems
that the world cannot do without them."
Maria turned her eyes towards him imploringly.
"I should suppose that my companions would soon be
here," I observed, wishing to change the conversation; nor
was I mistaken. On rising from from the table, I heard
voices in the bar-room.   "They have come," I ejaculated,
and taking French leave of the ladies, went out to meet them,
"And what do you think of Mormondom?" inquired
Harry Buck, the moment we were out of the house.
"I shall reply by retorting the same question," I answered. "What do yoit think of it?"
o
25 
THE HIUSBAND IN UTAH.
"What will induce me to get away as soon as possible,"
he said.  "We are going on to-morrow."
"To-morrow!" I exclaimed with surprise.
"You needn't look so scared up," he said, laughing.  "Is
it strange that a man should wish to leave a place where he
can get no food but roasted potatoes, and no shelter but an
old emigrant wagon cover."
"Has this been your fare?"
"Certainly it has. We went around to the different
houses of entertainment, but all were full. We could present n9 claim to the hospitality of the Saints, and had not
an old Indian fortunately come to our assistance, we should
have been compelled to pass the night in the streets, or to
have sought you out with a certainty of not getting any
supper."
"And  the old fellow took pity on  your forlorn condition?"
"He did. He cheerfully shared his bed and food with'
us. It was poor and scant to be sure, and only better than
none."
"Is he a Mormon?"
"A Mormon! No; he hates and despises the whole sect
-says they are thieves, liars, and devils; in short, the
greatest rascals in existence."
"That may be all true," I replied, "yet I prefer to have
evidence of the fact. I have succeeded in finding an old
friend, and shall remain some time, probably all summer."
They tried in vain to dissuade me, but my resolution once
26
b
Vl,. 
BROTHER UNDERWOOD IS ORTHODOXY.
taken was not easily moved. Various reasons which it is
not necessary to repeat, influenced my decision, and the
matter was settled.
I found a manifest improvement in the appearance of
things at Brother Underwood's when I returned at night.
The floors had been newly swept, the webs brushed away,
and the dingy windows cleansed. When I ascended to my
room of the previous evening, I found that the good work
had extended even there. A cheerful fire was burning on
the hearth, the broken chair had been removed, and so many
little additions to comfort and convenience had been furnished that the transformation was complete. I could easily
guess who had done this, and what motive  inspired it
Afaria was ambitious to make her circumstances appear in
the best possible light to one she had formerly known.
There was no harm, and there might be much good in that.
Just at dusk I was called to a plentiful supper, at which she
presided, while the other wives of her husband remained in
the kitchen.
I subsequently discovered that Brother Underwood was
not considered  strictly orthodox.   He  belonged  to the
Mormon church, and practised polygamy, yet he was not so
liberal with his money as the elders desired, and had on
several occasions boldly refused to pay his assessment of
tithes.  He possessed, however, and in an eminent  degree,
one quality which Mormon husbands especially need,
and which at all times and seasons they are' required to
exercise.  This was good niature, and that easy sort of dis
27 
THE EIUSBAND IN UTAH.
position, which rests satisfied with getting along "somehow." If things went wrong," oh well, never mind." If
the meals were not prepared by the right time, or not at all,
it made little difference to him. He would roast a potato,
or munch a crust, and expected to live just as long as though
everything went on in the smoothest manner.
His wives generally partook of the same qualities. They
were the laziest set it was ever my fortune to behold, and
the five did not perform on an average the ordinary work of
one good housewife in the Eastern States. Yet strange as
it may appear, Underwood had married them solely with the
view to their labor. He wished to keep a hotel or boardinghouse without the  extra  expense  of servants.   When
Maria's health failed, and she could not perform the duties
devolving on her, instead of hiring a girl he married another
wife. She refused to work, and he resorted again to the
same alternative with no better success. Thus one after
another had been added to his family with no advantage to
him. Fortunately they bore few children, or his circumstances would have been still more embarrassed.   These
women divided their time pretty equally between visiting,
sleeping, and going to church; one attending to the household affairs this day, and another the next; while such general
concerns as washing and scrubbing were utterly neglected.
Thlough these women were actually too indolent to quarrel,
they had no domestic feeling, no interest in common with their
husband to preserve order, and promote the family welfare.
In this apathy and indifference they strongly resemble the
28 
SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION.
servants, for whom they were designed to be a substitute.
These things were obvious enough to a stranger; I determined to ascertain whether  or not Brother Underwood
regarded them in the same light. I felt little delicacy in
broaching the subject, as the Mormon, unlike the Mussulman, manifests little sensitiveness in regard to his wives.
They will sit for hours relating their domestic experiences,
vexations, and the motives that caused them to desire so
intimate a connection with so many women. Of course there
will be different views, but in many cases it is my candid
opinion that the husband is more to be pitied than his wives.
One day, when our acquaintance had ripened into familiarity,
I inquired of Brother Underwood if he considered polygamy
conducive to the happiness of those husbands who practised
It.
He frankly replied, "Generally speaking, I do not.  One
thing is certain, it has been my ruin in a pecuniary viewnot that exactly either, but it has caused a stagnation in
my affairs that to a person of different temperament would
have occasioned madness or suicide. Fortunately I take
things easy, and never suffer myself to be worried, come
what may."
No one, I believe who had seen his broad, smiling, goodnatured countenance would have disputed this.
"It seems to me that you might do a good business at
hotel keeping under other circumstances," I remarked.
"No  one can be more certain of that than I am," he
answered, broadly smiling; "yet I have given up all hopes
29 
-4
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
of that; in fact I care no longer about it. One or two
boarders at a time is quite enough. I wish to retain what
little property I have succeeded in getting; I have no expectation of ever obtaining more."
"Candidly and truly, do not you, who have tried both,
consider the one-wife system to be the best pecuniarily, as
well as morally and socially?"
"Not a doubt of it," he replied; "but uneasiness seems
characteristic  of human  nature.   Few  men,  I believe,
are entirely satisfied with one wife. They find deficiencies
in her which they seek to remedy, where polygamy is allowed, by taking another, and as no woman is cvcr perfect,
the number from this same motive may be indefinitely
increased."
"And no one knows exactly what a thing is until he has
tried it," I replied.
"Exactly so."
"Do you not suppose that many who have tried polygamy
would gladly go back to the one-wife system, could they
reasonably do so?"
"I know it; but a marriage once consummated is not to
be readily abandoned. Justice to the woman requires its
permanency."
"And you find no difficulty in procuring second, third, or
even the seventh or eighth wife."
None whatever, so far as I am aware.  It is even said,
that the more wives a man has, the more he may have,
especially in those families where labor is required of the
30 
LARGE FAMILIES THE SOURCE OF DISQUIETUDE. 31
female members. I have been told that many girls make it
a condition in their courtship that their future husbands
shall marry at least two other wives, in order that the cares
and burdens of household duties, with the annoyance of
children, may be lessened by being divided."
"A practical view, certainly."
"And one which serves admirably to banish whatever
objections a female might reasonably have to married life.
Most women strongly object to being mothers to large
families, and if such is the case it is decidedly against their
wishes and wills. The first child is welcomed, the second
tolerated, the prospect of a third occasions tears and reproaches, and that of the fourth is attended with exhibitions
of temper, ebullitions of spleen, fits of melancholy, and not
unfrequently with actual dislike or hatred of the husband.
Whatever unhappiness the want of children may occasion
in some families and under certain circumstances, it cannot
be denied by any one even tolerably acquainted with the
facts of the case, that too many of them is a source of greater
disquietude and discontent to those that give them birth,
and on whom during infancy and childhood the care of them
necessarily devolves."
"Likely enough; yet what bearing has this on the system
of polygamy?"
"Much, very much. Where polygamy is indulged, few
women ever give birth to more than two or three children
apiece. These are soon out of the way, and their mothers
at liberty; while at the same time the burdens of the hus 
THE HUSBAND IN IUTAH.
band are increased, and his application to labor or business
is even more imperatively required."
"But Maria was doubtless averse to your second marriage?"
Without noticing my last remark, he continued: "I
could point you to many women in Utah who are strong
advocates of polygamy, though their husbands are doubtful
of its utility, and hesitate about practising it."
I became subsequently convinced that there was much
truth in his statement, and was forcibly reminded of Lady
lfary Wortley Montague's remarks, where she expresses her
belief that the ladies in the Turkish harems lead the easiest
and happiest lives in the world, and also of what a young
lady of good sense and respectable position in society once
said in my hearing, "that she would rather be the fiftieth
wife of a rich man who could support her without the necessity of labor, or the inthrallment of family affairs, thar the
only wife of one who would expect her to perform all sorts
of menial labors, besides giving birth to and rearbig a dozen
children."(a.)
32 
GLANCES AND GLIMPSES.
CHAPTER II.
GLANCES AND GLIMPSES-COSTUME-SCENES IN THE STREETS,
ETC.
HILE walking the streets of Zion my thoughts con      stantly referred to the great changes that a few short
years had sufficed to accomplish. Land rescued from
sava       ges and               wild beasts; redeemed from the wild; elegant
structures built; a populous city, rich in the various elements of prosperity, and the resort of thousands of emigrants
from all parts of the world, is a great work to be performed
in half a score of years, more especially when its isolated condition, and the absence of all water communication with the
ocean is considered. One thing is certain; the Mormons,
whatever may be the faults of their religious or social system, are not deficient in the energy and perseverance of the
Anglo-Saxon race. Yet not a tithe of the country they
nominally occupy is cleared or inhabited. Little colonies
o       f         Mormons a re settled here and there, at fifty, forty or
twenty miles from the main settlement, to which, for various
reasons they pay a semi-annual visit much in the same man
2*
33 
THER HUSBAND IN UTAH.
ner as the ancient Jews went up to Jerusalem. The appearance of these people, when seen in- the streets, is much inferior to that of the natives of Zion, and you soon learn to
distinguish them. They are coarse and rude in manner,
impudent, staring and curious, miserably dressed in a costume half-way between that of the Indian and white man.
You are surprised at the unmistakable marks of Indian
descent that many  of the younger  ones exhibit.   The
straight, well-proportioned figure, long coarse hair, high
cheek bones, and wary expression of eye and countenance
betray to the most casual observer the mixture of races.
One thing that strikes you as remarkable, is the assemblage of different nations to be seen in the streets.  Gibralter itself can scarcely be more favored in this respect.
Every nation in Europe, and every State in the Union has
representatives here. The tall Norwegian, fresh from his
native pine forests; the Dane, probably a descendant of
some sea-king of old; the blue-eyed German, meet, and
probably salute you in a language whose strange unintelligible gibberish has no more meaning to your ears than the
gabble of so many geese. These generally retain their
national costume for a time, but sooner or later adopt that
of the Mormons, which varies little from the usual style of
English dress.  Brigham  Young, the patriarch, attempted
to lead the fashions, and set out with a slouched yellow hat,
much too large even for his large head, green frock coat,
and pants large in size and loose in fit, white socks, and
slippers. Hie was followed by some of the elders, though
34 
. COSTUMES.
the young men and dandies were so intolerably wicked as to
prefer imitating the people of the world.
Zion, like other cities, has its fashionable streets.  In
these some are dressed with foppish extravagance, and a
great many in clothes of expensive material. You are
tempted to wonder how so much finery ever found its way
to such an out-of-the-way place.
Of course, the ladies in personal adornment must keep up
with their husbands and lovers. The wives and daughters
of the rich dress expensively, with good taste and effect.
Many of them are attractive in appearance, and some would
produce a decided sensation in any European drawing-room.
These were objects of especial attention to the United States
officers and soldiers, which gave great  umbrage  to  the
Mormons.
Many of the poorer class of women work in the fields.
These adopted a costume something like the Bloomer, consisting of wide pants, gathered with a band around the
ankle, short skirts, and a broad-brimmed straw hat of home
manufacture, yet all the better for that. They were adorned
with knots of ribbon, and being rather jauntily worn on one
side, had altogether a pleasant effect.
The arrival of an emigrant train always occasioned a
great amount of bustle. and excitement, and such arrivals
were of frequent occurrence. Some were bound to Oregoin,
others to California, but by far the greater number were
foreign Mormons, who came to join their brethren in the
promised land. These are hospitably entertained, and pro
35 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
vided with homes among the wealthy saints, until they can
procure some of their own.  Even  after that, they are sup plied with cattle, domestic utensils, food, clothing, and other
necessaries at a trifling cost, until they are enabled to get a
"start." This seems to me a praiseworthy and humane
policy. "Thou shalt not oppress the stranger, for ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt," said the great Jewish Law giver; a maxim too often forgotten by our own people.
These emigrants are a source of great wealth to the Atormon Church, besides being an important addition to their
numbers.   Mlany of,them bring large sums in gold and silver; others have strong hands and willing hearts to work,
and thereby increase the material wealth of the country
and all are blindly attached to their novel faith and creed.
Such emigrants are precisely the kind of people required
to bring out the resources of a State.   Few "gentlemen"
among them, and no "ladies;" but all true-hearted men and
women, inured to toil and hardship, with brawny shoulders,
firm step, and coarse hands. Deficient ill the exterior graces
of polite education, they generally exhibit a strong native
sense of right, and what is due from man to man. They
soon found employment, and in most cases, were busy and
satisfied.(b.) The exceptions were those of old people, who
had left their native country for the sake of ending their
days in the society of their children, and who seemed to
sadly miss the old familiar accociations of former years. I
was always fond of the society of aged people, and some of
these interested me very much, though I could neither speak
36 
AN INTERESTING AGED COUPLE.
nor understand a connected sentence in their language. I
was deeply struck with the appearance of two old Norwegians-husband and wife, who lived with their son and his
family, in a small adobe house, on one of tile principal streets.
They had all the appearance of great  age-long white
locks, and bent forms, with that indescribable something in
manner and countenance, which even among the rudest people commands veneration.  They seemed inseparable-that
old man and hIis equally ancient wife. When the air was
damp or chill, you could see them sitting by the window. In
warm sunshiny weather they often came out on the little
porch, but it was easy enough to be perceived that the old
people were not happy. There was an air of loneliness
about them. They were home-sick-how could it be otherwise?  They were too old to form new friendships, or seek
new pleasures. They are tired of isolation from all the
habits to which they have been accustomed through a long
and undoubtedly happy life, besides being disgusted with
the condition of the things they find around them. The
wife pines for her old neighbors, her little village church,
the voice of her aged pastor, and the mounds in the tidy
grave-yard, where her ancestors sleep. I missed them one
day from the window, and still the next they were invisible.
Then rumors came that the old Norwegian woman had
fallen down in a fit. Another quickly followed, that she
was dead, and I felt a certain presentiment that her companion could not long survive. I attended the funeral,
which was conducted after the manner usual in Norway.
37
ir
I 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
The coffin was borne on the shoulders of six stout foreign ers, and followed to the place of burial by a large company
of foreign men and women.   First, and conspicuous among
them, was the aged husband of the deceased, bending
beneath the weight of unutterable sorrow, and looking older
by several years, than when I had last beheld him He
seemed utterly decrepid and helpless, and was obliged to
lean heavily for support on the arm of his son.   His frame
was that of a giant, and he must have been in his best days
of wonderful strength, though now he shook and shivered
as if under the influence of strong convulsions.
The procession passed out into a little open plain, bounded
by large rocks, and extremely desolate in appearance. It
halted by an open grave, over which a solitary cottonwood
waved its huge branches. After the usual preliminaries, the
coffin was lowered down, when the old man tottered to the
head of the grave, and sat down, with one long, earnest,
straining look into its gloomy recesses.   Then the son, taking his station at the foot, opened a small book, and read
from it in his native tongue, what I supposed to be the
funeral service of the Norwegian church, during which the
whole assemblage reverently uncovered their heads. Many
of these were evidently illiterate, and somewhat boorish in
maiiner, but all seemed deeply influenced by unaffected feeling. Several of the women sobbed and wept bitterly, and the
reader himself paused at intervals, apparently overcome by
the depth of his emotions.
This exercise was succeeded by a few moments of silence,
38 
A BURIAL.
when another person stepped from the crowd, and began a
short address, perhaps eulogistic of the virtues of the
deceased, or more probably a strain of exhortation to the
living. His manner was earnest, and the tone of his voice
solemn and impressive. He finished, when a few handsful
of earth were thrown into the grave, when those who had
acted as bearers came immediately forward, and taking
some shovels proceeded to fill the grave. While this was
transpiring, the son took his former place, and some one in
the assembly raised a hymn, with a long, slow, mournful air.
The strain was immediately taken up by many voices, while
the echoes rolled and died away in musical cadence among
the hills. I was deeply affected, though unable to understand a syllable.
Meantime, a man had gone into the ravine near by,
whence he returned with two small branches with green
leaves, that he had broken off a chenopodiaceous shrub,
native to the place. He approached with the apparent
intention of erecting them at the head of the grave, when
the old husband, who had sat immovable, his face buried in
his hands, made a hasty gesture of dissent, and pointed to a
dwarf pine growing on a small mound at a little distance.
The man understood his mistake, and throwing down the
shrubs, proceeded to gather the pine boughs, with their
green tufts of long spiral leaves and pointed cones. These
were placed upright at either extremity of the grave. A
few sentences of prayer were then repeated in a low voice;
the old man, assisted by his son, rose to his feet, and all di
39 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
persed. For a day or two I thought much of the old Norwegian, and the probable effect which the decease of his
wife would have on him. Then I took a short trip to a
neighboring settlement, where I remained nearly a week.
I purchased a horse, and returned by a bridle-path, leading
near the old woman's place of burial. Suddenly my horse
pricked up his ears, as if listening intently, and in another
moment the loud echoes of a martial strain reverberated
through the woods. Riding on, I soon discovered that
another funeral was proceeding. The singers were standing
around a new-made grave, chanting with most impressive
utterance and gestures, the national air of Norway, and
simultaneously bursting into a chorus, of which the burden,
prolonged in a loud, full-toned, enthusiastic aspiration was,
"Gamle Norge." I reined in my horse till the pine branches
were erected, when the company peaceably dispersed, and
all that remained to earth of the old manl, was left sleeping
quietly by his wife. Upon inquiry, I found that he had
been a patriot and a warrior, and that his name was
honorably mentioned in his native land.(c.)
Many emigrant trains on their way to California or Oregon stop at the Mormon city to obtain rest and refreshment.
This is obviously a great advantage to the country, and contributes largely to its wealth, by furnishing a market for all
kinds of produce. These trains are not the least remarkable feature of the western world.   They come from all
quarters-Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri, and such
a combination of strange characters rarely and perhaps
40
l 
AMERICAN RESIDENTS.
never meet under other. circumstances.   Each  family is
generally furnished with a large stout wagon drawn by
mules or oxen, in almost fabulous numbers, and capable of
accommodating quite a number of people. Hoops, bent to
form a half-circle, with a coarse white cloth stretched over
them, make a passable cover. These are attended by men
on horseback, with hunters and half-breeds on foot.  Many
a time emigrant parties double in number while journeying
across the plains. The Americans, or those who had resided
for several years in the States, were usually well-dressed,
though mostly rough and coarse, and generally fond of
spirituous liquors. The men were not sociable, except when
the prices and qualities of land, or the abundance of gold iil
their prospective home, was the subject of discussion. This,
however, I attributed to a sort of jealous fear of the Mormons, whom they had learned to regard as enemies, and
whose movements  they incessantly watched.  They took
care to show the handles of concealed weapons, and managed fire-arms with dexterity, though carefully avoiding all
altercations and disputes. One thing was particularly
observable in many of them-a straining after effect, and
an attempt to make themselves appear more wealthy and
intelligent than they really were. Their language was
generally ungrammatical, idiomatic, and extravagant; excessively profane, and interlarded with obsolete phrases, and
nicknames applied almost indiscriminately. Yet one of
these men, who had acquired some little property, and felt
41 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
very large in consequence, though he could neither read
writing nor write his name, had the impudence (what else
can we call it?) to cause himself to be nominated as candi date for the legislature of his native State, was supported
by an independent ticket, and obtained the office, after
which he aspired to be governor. Failing in this, he con ceived the idea of going West, where his talents would be
better appreciated. Hence he had gone roving about,
always dissatisfied because the people refused to trust
him with some high office. He was evidently a singu lar man, uniting in himself the confidence and self-possession
of the well-bred gentleman, with the coarseness and low
tastes of the uncivilized boor. He would exhibit in one
day the most opposite qualities. Frankness and reserve,
recklessness and self-control, penuriousness and prodigality.
I was told of one act which he originated and carried
through the legislature, and which empowered each of the
members to purchase at the public expense a leather trunk,
dressing case, and gold pencil of the value of ten dollars.
Could anything show the man in a clearer light? It
was amusing to witness the sharp eyes with which these
men regarded the movements of their women when the
Mormons were about.
There is a camping,-ground on one side of the city, where
such travellers as choose can pitch their tents and reside
with comfort during their stay at Mormondom, which is
always prolonged to a month, and sometimes much longer.
4'-?, 
A BEAUTIFUL GIRL.
I used often to visit these companies, and when they had
satisfied themselves that I was not a spy, or Mormon emissary, I was uniformly well received;
In one of the trains en route for California was a beautiful
girl, of most bewitching  manners,  slightly  addicted  to
coquetry and remarkably fond of society. Her mother was
dead, and she had inherited from her a small property, which
she lavishly expended in dress and ornaments.   Her father,
a man of naturally kind and humane disposition, with true
parental feeling attempted to restrain the faults of his child.
During their journey she had little opportunity to exercise
her levity of disposition, but once encamped in the immedcliate vicinity of a populous town, and that town a military
post, she determined by present indulgence to make amends
for past restraint. Her beauty soon became the general topic
of conversation, at least among a certain class, and her
little coquettish arts delighted and excited the young soldiers
in no small degree. Several of the younger Mormons seemalso struck with her fascinations. Like most other women,
however, she preferred a military uniform, and when a young
lieutenant became her constant attendant her happiness
seemed complete. Meanwhile Mr. Scott, the father, forbade
her lovers approaching his tent, and reprimanded her severely
for encouraging them. A scene ensued. The father was
violent, the daughter impetuous. He threatened her with
punishment;  she  defied  his  power.   That  night  she
fled.
I had grown quite intimate with Mr. Scott, during his
43 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
stay at the city. Friendship among travellers is of rapid
growth. Utterly ignorant of what had occurred, I went
the next day to his tent, and found him in a state bordering
on distraction. He knew her recklessness and impetuosity,
and doubted not that she had rushed headlong into the most
deplorable evils.
"'My daughter has gone, sir, gone," he said, bringing
down his fist with great emphasis on the table; "and I
drove her away, yes sir, drove her away, my beautiful
Louisa, could you believe it, sir?"
"I certainly should not, except for your own words," I
replied; "but what occasioned it?"
"Those cursed Mormons, sir, those cursed Mformons were
all the time running after her.  I forbade their coming, and
talked rather savagely to her-too much so, sir; a father
should never indulge his passions towards his children
never sir-that caused my daughter to run away."'
"Perhaps she will come back."
"Never, sir; she's too much grit for that.  She'll never
come back unless she's brought back, sir, brought back by
main force. The Mormons "
Excuse me sir," I said, interrupting him.  "But I doubt
that the Mormons had any hand in this reprehensible conduct of your daughter. It is much more probable that
some one of these young officers has deluded her."
"Do you think so?" he inquired meditatively.
"I certainly do."
"I should like to know your reasons."
44 
A VARIETY OF OPINIONS.
"I believe that Miss Scott was rather partial to the
militarv."
"And I know she was," interposed the stepmother, who
had been a listener to our conversation, and who manifested
little disturbance at her daughter's flight.
I was sincere in this belief, and circumstances, as I conceived, warranted the full expression of them, not only
that the ends of justice might be met, but to prevent a
collision between the Mormons and the exasperated travellers, which must result fatally to the latter.
"What shall I do, sir, what can I do?" he inquired.
"The camp will be moving in a day or two-and to leave
my daughter, sir, I cannot think of such thing."
Not knowing what better to say, I simply remarked,
"I presume not."
"If she prefers a rascally soldier to yourself, I should say,
let her go," observed the step-mother.
Her husband silenced her with a look.
Others of the emigrant party came in, and expressed
great exasperation. Some persisted that the Mormons had
kidnapped or abducted the girl, and proposed all sorts of
violent measures to effect her rescue.  Others contended,
with much more show of reason, that she had voluntarily
sought the protection of a lover.
"I've studied woman nature in my life," said one old
man, "and I saw that in her eye which told me what she
was up to. Lord I how they danced and sparkled at the
45 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
sight of a pair of epaulettes! It's the epaulettes that did
the business."
"Shouldn't wonder."
"She'll repent it," said a woman, who stood at the door
of the tent, looking in.   "Well, it's just what  I expected.
These beauties; I never could bear'erm, not one in ten is
what she should be."
Afore than one of the men looked at the speaker, who
was excessively homely, with a broad smile.
In a few days the enc ampment broke up, and the travellers
moved on, leaving the young lady behind tiem. Mr. Scott
requested me to look for his daughter, and if I obtained
intelligence of her to write and lat him know.  Tlhis I promised to do.
I am  told that it is no uncommon thing for beautiful
young girls to be abducted from  emigrant trains, or persuaded to abandon their parents for the sake of a Mormon
husband.
I was particularly interested in one class of men, who
occasionally  visit the  Mormon  city, and  who, generally
speaking, are honest, brave, and liberal; I allude to the
free trappers. During my sojourn in this country I was
often thrown in contact with them, and can safely endorse
all that has ever been said in their favor, though I have
strong doubts of the correctness of many fabulous reports of
the crime and violence attributed to them.   True, they
want polish and grace; many of tlhem are uneducated; all
are more or less deficient in the usual formas of (civilized life,
46 
ClAI'.' Cl LRISTICS OF THE  FREE  TRAPPERS.                  47
but for generous feelings and the combination of noble
qualities, which make a high-minded man, they are rarely
to be equalled and never excelled.
Generosity with them is almost a fault. Their purses,
their pleasures, and their hearts are ever open to the weak,
the stranger, or the needy. They have little of the sordid
love of gold; still less appreciation of caste or condition.
Confide in them, and no friend can be more true. 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER III.
RURAL SCENERY-RURAL LIFE-JUDGE WHITE-HIS OPINION OF
POLYGAMY-THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THAT INSTITUTION.
OMIE of the Mormons are wealthy, and not a few have
fine farms at some distance from the city, besides townhouses of considerable pretensions to architectural elegance.
Of course they would suffer in comparison with the buildings
of New York, or other eastern cities, though in this place
they really look well. Usually these men have several wives
with families. The first wife, with two or three others,
resides on the farm probably, while the others are supported
in the city, or it may be the reverse. The husband revolves
between these two establishments; blessing one place with
his presence for perhaps a month, and then staying an equal
length of time  at the other.   I understand  that these
husbands are greatly petted; each wife vieing with the
other to best entertain her lord. As the dispositions of
women are various, in certain instances this may be the
case; in others it is not.
It was a fine, warm, bright morning when I started on a
48 
A DISAGREEABLE PARTY.
stroll with my fishing-rod up City Creek. This stream is
rapid and beautiful. It runs from a wild gorge on the north
side of the city, along the banks of the principal canal,
conducting the water for distribution into one part of the
town. The stream was full of trout, which, however, declin ed to bite, and I resolved to visit the farm of Judge White,
which I knew could not be far off. Certain business connec tions had led me to form an acquaintance with this man,
who was considered a pattern saint, and who, at sundry
times, had pressed me to share his hospitality.   Striking
into a nlarrow. path I walked rapidly along the edge of tlle
plateau at the base of the mountain, for about two miles,
when I came suddenly on a little mud shanty of indescribable
appearance. It seemed to swarm with children. A parcel
were playing at the door when I approached.   Seeing me,
there was a hurried ejaculation, and they ran in quickly to
communicate the news. Three men immediately came out,
and double that quantity of women showed their faces at the
door, while the lesser ones behind were pushing and crowding to obtain a glimpse.  Miy approach had produced a
sensation more than I considered safe or agreeable. Two of
the men were half breeds; the other the most villainous
looking white fellow it was ever my misfortune to behold.
Snaky glittering eyes, shaggy brows, and sensual mouth,
with an expression of countenance at once malicious, cunning,
and devilish. The women were suitable matches for such men,
nearly naked and undescribably filthy.  I approached them
frankly. The white man held out his hand. Not wishing
3
49 
THE HIUSBAND IN UTAH.
to encounter the grasp of such a man, I took no notice of
the action, but inquired if he could direct me to the residence
of Jucldge White.
"Judge White?" he reiterated.  "Really, stranger, but
come ill here, and we will see," motioning towards the cabin.
This movement revealed the handle of a concealed dirk. That,
however, was nothing of consequence; weapons, in this country, being considered a necessary appendage to every man.
"No, sir," I replied.  "Have no occasion.  Will you
direct me?"
"Walk in, and we'll have a game," he said, drawing  a
pack of cards from his bosom, where they rested side by side
with the dirk.
I declined in the least offensive manner I could assume,
satisfied that the man had evil designs towards me.
"But I say you must, stranger," he continued, with an
attempt to be facetious, with ended in a hideous leer.  "It
isn't often that anybody comes this way, when they do, we
must be civil and obliging.  Now there han't been better
liquor to be had around here since old Noah came out of the
ark, than I've got in yonder. I want you to go in and taste
it, come," and he grasped me by the shoulder, attempting to
drag me forward. He was a powerful man, broad-chested,
and long-limbed, and his grip was that of a vice; but I shook.
him off, and ran; yes, ran, with all my might across the
plain.  I heard a great shouting and laughing at my expense,
but no one followed me.
Wandering about in one direction and another I became
60 
JIUDGE WHITE7S HOUSE.
thoroughly wearied, when ascending a small eminence the
house I sought appeared before me.  I had heard it described
so often that I knew it instantly. It was a large adobe
house, two stories high, with a piazza running all around.
A pretty stream of water coursed rapidly a short distance in
the rear, and being lined with a growth of trees, it had an
Eastern appearance truly refreshing. On the other side of
the way was a large and convenient barn, with other outbuildings, suitable for the rearing and sheltering of stock.
The house was surrounded by a good fence, with very neat
gates. The yard was intersected by gravelled walks, with
beds of flowers on either side. I noticed some very beautiful
flowering shrubs peculiar to the country, and others also of
which the seeds had been brought from the East. Two or
three stout healthy-looking boys were playing on the grass,
and the sound of a spinning wheel mingled with singing
came through the open door.
"Judge White lives here, does he not;" I asked of one
of the boys.
"Yes sir," said the little fellow, with a smile of intelligence.
"Is he at home!" I asked again.
"Down at the stable yonder," said the boy, pointing to a
large new building.  "The Devons are there, too; he thinks
a great deal of them."
While I was speaking to the child, a good-looking woman
came to the door, courteously saluted me, with an invitation
to "walk in."
51 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"Run, boys, and tell your father that a gentleman wishes
to see him," she said, addressing the children who scampered
off with great glee.
I followed her into a large and handsomely furnished room;
carpets covered the floor; there was a neat, well-filled bookcase, a mirror, several pictures, fancy chairs, a sofa, and
elegant harp. Bouquets and vases of flowers were tastefully
arranged in various parts of the room, and there was that
comfortable pleasant air, in which most Mormon homes
are sadly deficient. Handing me a chair, and seating herself nearly opposite, she prepared to act the cheerful entertainer during the absence of her husband, and commenced
by asking me if I was a stranger in the Mormon country,
to which I made a suitable reply.
"And how do you like our people?" she asked.
My answer was rather equivocal. "Better than I expected."
"I admire your intelligence," she said with a bland smile.
"We  have been greatly misrepresented.   People who
come among us as a general thing, are much too prejudiced
to form a cool dispassionate judgment of our institutions.
They see and report only one side; this is scarcely fair?"
I answered that it was not.
The extreme cases of female suffering and unhappiness
reported in the books and papers which circulate through
the Eastern States, are by no means general. I am told,
however, that formerly it was much more the case than now.
Opposition to polygamy is the effect of habit and education.
52~ 
POLYGAMY A PATRIARCHAL INSTITUTION.
Females become reconciled to it by custom. Perceiving
that she was willing to discuss the matter, I said that among
civilized nations, polygamy had generally taken the name of
a crime, that I believed it was rarely attended with domestic happiness, and that few women would be allowed to
tolerate a rival in the affections of their lord.
She answered that jealousies and heart-burnings in such
cases were preposterous, and that if there was a class of women
on earth who were really and truly objects of pity, it was the
wives of small farmers and poor mechanics, who, generally
speaking, were nothing more than household drudges-doing
work of half-a-dozen, though unable to work at all.
"You refer to the States?"
"I do, where thousands of women are expected to bear
and rear from six to one dozen children apiece, besides
keeping their houses in order, and doing with their own hands
all the cooking, washing, scrubbing, making, and mending
for their families. Now, suppose all the sufferings of those
women during ill health, all their toils, cares and annoyances-for these must exist where there are children, with
discontent and unhappiness from various other causeswere all drawn in one picture, keeping the worst side
constantly in view, it would show marriage in a dreadful
light."
Probably."
"No one can deny that polygamy is a patriarchal institution, directly countenanced by the Scriptures, and nowhere
inhibited by them.   The chosen people, the Jews, were
53 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
direct descendants, not simply from the wife, but the wives
of Jacob. Bathsheba, the fourth or fifth wife of David, was
the lineal progenitor of Christ.
Hiere the conversation was interrupted by the entrance of
Judge White. He welcomed me to his house with great
cordiality, excusing himself for not coming sooner, by saying,
that he had just purchased some very fine Devons, and wished
to superintend feeding and stabling them.
Many of these Mormon farmers pay great attention to
the breeding of stock, and no country in the world can
boast a superior quality of butter and cheese. The bunch
grass, indigenous to the climate, gives it a peculiar yet most
delicious flavor.
Accompanying Judge White, over his extensive farm, I
was surprised and delighted with its judicious arrangements.
Whatever may be the errors of Mormon theology, or the
evils of its social customs, it certainly does not disqualify a
man for the business of life. I have rarely seen a place on
which everything was more admirably contrived for comfort,
convenience, labor-saving, and economy of space. The stable was a model of its kind, and the animals were sleek,
docile, and kind; soft and pliant of skin, abundant milkers,
and excessively fond of the bunch grass.
There are extensive bottom lands on this farm, subject to
be flooded by freshets, when the snow melts on the mountains. Here, the cows are pastured usually with the assistance of "herders," who are paid for their services by monthly
wages. These fellows were sitting on rocks quietly tuning
54 
AN ABRUPT QUESTION.
a rude pipe, or lying at full length on the grass beneath
the shade of cottonwood trees, while the cows were feeding
a little-way off. The whole scene was suggestive of the pastoral ages.
The lands devoted to wheat and corn, were rather elevated, and of very fertile soil. The wheat was heading, and
gave promise of an abundant harvest, and the long swardlike leaves of the corn, were of the rankest, deepest green, and
rustled pleasantly as we approached. There were extensive
fields of potatoes, a large garden filled with vegetables, and
a young peach orchard. Several laborers were employed on
the farm, and I learned that wages were much the same as in
the Eastern States. At tea-time we returned to the house,
and were ushered into the dining-room, where we found a
table abundantly furnished with the good things of life. The
lady with whom I conversed on my first arrival, presided at
the table, and I was introduced to three several Mrs. Whites
whom I had not seen. We all sat down together. There
were no exhibitions of ill temper or moroseness, and I could
,iot help wondering whether or not was this good nature
affected, and what scenes were reserved for the special entertainment of the judge.
When the supper was finished, I was left alone with the
judge for a time. The conversation had flagged for a few
minutes, when my host abruptly asked what I thought of
Mormonism. The question was sudden and unexpected, and
I hesitated to answer it. He laughed outright, saying,
"You do not know what to think!"
55 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"Indeed, I do not," I answered.
"And why not?"
"Because no one can form a just idea of a people until
he has seen them, nor even then without the exercise of
great sagacity and judgment, especially if their institutions
should be different from those to which he had been accus tomed."
"A wise thought, happily expressed," said Judge White,
"though the usual custom of tourists is to run through a
country, selecting and sketching the most prominent objects,
looking out extreme cases and supposing them to be general,
and then, after a large blank is filled up entirely from the
imagination, the world receives the benefit of swallowing
the crude and ill-concocted mass. Our people are not perfect by any means.  The  Mormon church requires reform.
I am not perfectly satisfied with the system as it exists
among us, but in this age of the world, where free opinion
is universally tolerated, no two people think alike. What
one considers a deformity is regarded by another as a great
beauty, and the very thing that one desires to preserve, another will wish to purge.  We must take things as we find
them, though beneath a standard of imaginary excellence.
The same course is necessary in your own churches."
"I am aware of that."
"I used to be frequently amused, when listening to disc;lions on the relative and comparative merit of the different churlches.  How common was the remark, "I don't think
my Church perfectly right, but only the nearest right. But
66 
CONVERSATION WITH JUDGE WHITE.
whatever may be the faults of Mormonism, polygamy is not
of the number."
I was glad when he touched on this point, feeling some
delicacy in introducing it.
"Is not?" I replied inquiringly. " One Mormon gentleman
with whom I conversed, and whd had several wives, objected
to the whole system, and expressed regret that he had ever
been tempted to adopt it.  I referred to Brother  Underwood.
"Is he a man of property?" inquired White.
"Some considerable."
"Then he has probably been unfortunate in the choice of
his wives."
"Very likely."
"Still that proves nothing against the system. Have you
never heard men with only one wife express regret that they
were ever married?"
"Frequently."
"Yet you never set it down as the fault of the system,
but that of the individual."
"Even so, though I have thought, and still think, that
there is more unhappiness in marriage than in celibacy.
To early marriages and the necessity of supporting large
families without previous provision being made for them,
nine-tenths of the poverties and miseries in our large cities
may be attributed."
"I believe it," he replied.  " Among  us it is the custom
to obtain the consent of the first wife to the second mar
3*
57 
THIE IIUSBAND IN UTAH.
riage, not because the law requires it, but as a matter of
domestic policy."
"And do the first wives consent to this willingly?"
"Generally they do," I am told.
"Of course your wife did."
"Have you been  conversing  with her?" he inquired
archly.
"A short time this morning."
"She had no complaints to enter?"
"Nothing of the kind."
"She gets along admirably. The same as a mother with
her daughters. I never entertained a thought of taking the
second wife, till she, herself, made me the proposition. We
had a very large dairy; it made abundance of work, and
help was scarce, with high wages. What was still worse,
the hired girls, if reproved, or required to do anything not
perfectly agreeable, would get offended and go away, leaving
us in the lurch. On one such occasion, when Betty ran off
with a half-breed Indian without giving us a moment's warning, my wife thus addressed me
"'MAy dear, I am utterly disgusted with this system of
hiring girls.'
"' So am I; but what are we to do? You cannot possibly
bear the whole burden of labor.'
"'No, I can't; but you can take another wife.'
"'Take another wife,' I said, surprised that she should
propose the matter so bluntly.
"'Certainly; why not?' she answered.' There is Sarah
58 
THE JUDGE AND HIS WIVES.
Fogg, a most excellent dairy-maid, and a girl of good disposition. If you could marry her it would be much better than
to hire a servant.  She would take more interest in the
work, and I think we could get along quite as well together.
What do you say?'
"'That I will do so, if you wish it.' And the next month
Sarah Fogg became my wife.  Since then, I have united
with others, as it seemed expedient."
"Expedience, then, is the governing principle in Mormon
marriages?"
"Sometimes, though not always," he replied.   "Many
women are'sealed' to a husband for the sake of salvation."
This absurdity was too much for my gravity, and I could
not suppress a smile. A shade of displeasure passed over
his countenance. It was but momentary, however, and he
became serene and cheerful. Is it possible, I thought, that
a man of such seeming intelligence and probity can cherish
ridiculous notions, or is all that I have heard of Mormon
hypocrisy, indeed, true? Perhaps he guessed what was passing in my mind, though too well bred to manifest anger.
We were soon joined by the ladies, all wives of my host.
I believe they were all very industrious, and so many hands
certainly made labor light. They came in, each with her
knitting work, and all apparently cheerful and contented.
"My dear," said the husband to his first wife, who seemed
a sort of sultana, "is the milking done?"
"Certainly it is," she replied.
"And the men have had their suppers?"
59 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"They have."
"Did you give them orders to yard and stable the cows?"
To be sure, I did."
"I thought you might have forgotten it," he returned,
half apologetically.
"When did I ever forget such things?'
"Never, that I know of-excuse me."
The conversation was resumed, and I soon began to suspect that the religion of this man, like his marriages, was
founded on expedience. No man of the world could have
exhibited a more utter absence of all moral principle,
clothed in the most specious and sophistical language.
I think your people are fond of hair-splitting theories,"
he observed; "they consider it just, and right, and virtuous
for a man to have three or four, or even, six or seven wives
one after the other."
"But only one at a time," I suggested.
"Yes, one at a time, though if it is right to marry several
at different times, it must be right also to have them at
once. Virtue or vice must be inherent in the action itself,
and not merely a question of time."
I replied that I was not prepared to argue the subject
with him.
"But you can hear may reasons and arguments," he replied,
and launched forth in a strain that I will not hazard the
good opinion of my readers by repeating..
During the evening he requested his youngest and last
wife, who was very pretty, to favor us with a song. She con
0         60 
RETIRING FOR THE NIGHT.
sented, accompanying her voice with the harp. When the
music ceased, and I had complimented her execution, which
was very good, her husband informed me, that she was the
daughter of a wealthy New England family, who, becoming
converted to Mormonism, had abandoned their home and
friends, and emigrated with the saints.
He considered her courage, perseverance, and eminent love
of truth, as most remarkable, and said these qualities first
won his regard.
When bed-time approached, the ladies took leave of each
other, with a friendly good-night, and retired.
"Do you prefer to sit up late?" inquired my host, look ing at his watch, "it is now past ten."
"About my usual bed-time," I replied, rising.
Judge White rose also, took a silver candlestick from the
table, and said that he would show me to my room. I followed him up stairs, to a very comfortable chamber, neatly
furnished. Hie sat down the light, politely hoped that I
would sleep well, bade me good-night, and went out shutting
the door behind him.
The bed was good and well made, the apartment fresh
and airy, yet I found it impossible to sleep. Judge White
and his wives, their seeming intelligence, yet absurd and
depraved ideas, filled my mind. It was a new phase of
human nature for which I was altogether unprepared, but it
filled me with greater abhorrence of the system they denominated patriarchal, than I had previously conceived.
1 had not yet learned to regard marriage as nothing more
61 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
than a civil contract-a matter of mere expedience. I had
been taught that it was a holy ordinance, instituted by the
Almighty, and that a union thus consummated would be perpetuated in another world. But to sanction and excuse polygamy, my Mormon friend had taken an entirely different view
of the subject; he had divested it of every charm only mere
practical utility; his connections were purely sexual, with
neither romance nor sentiment to clothe and adorn them.
How would my pious and venerable mother regard such
sophistries? What would my venerable and white-haired
father say to them? Then I thought of the first Mrs. White';
thought, too, of Fanny Wright, and others of the strongminded sisterhood, and their preferences for "free love."
THE MORNING.
The family were early risers. The morning star was blazing in the east, when I heard the judge arousing his men,
and presently the whole house was astir. The females were
busy milking and getting breakfast. I saw two from the
window tripping across the dewy grass, each carrying a clean
bright pail.
Descending from my chamber to the sitting-room of the
previous evening, I found the table laid out preparatory to
the morning meal.  It was covered with a cloth, white as
the snow on the mountains. The dishes were stone china of
elegant pattern, and the knives and forks had been rubbed
62 
BREAKFAST.
and polished until they shone like a mirror. The food was
brought in by the two first wives of the judge, and breakfast was announced. The two milkers had not yet come in,
and we sat down without them.  I have rarely seen a table
better provided with good substantial edibles. There were
fried fowl, and fried bacon and eggs, with cold ham and
game. There were preserved strawberries and honey. There
were cold wheaten bread, and hot corn bread, hot biscuits,
and hot short-cakes.   There were home-made butter and
cheese, with most excellent coffee. A pitcher of milk stood
on the corner of the table, and glass tumblers were placed
by each plate to receive it when wished for. Judge White
made a short extemporary prayer, nowise different from
those usually delivered on such occasions-thanking the
Lord for the bounties of nature set before them, and the
revelation of divine truth which had enlightened their minds.
At the conclusion, the females pronounced "Amen" with
one voice, and their lord requested me to "help myself,"
though without waiting for me to do so, he commenced
piling the delicious viands on my plate. I ate heartily, and
my host was evidently delighted. 
"Don't you think the patriarchal institution works admirably in my family?" he inquired.(d.)
"It seems to," I answered.
"There is no seeming about it," he said quickly, "it is all
real-matter of fact. Don't you believe it?"
"Certainly I have no reason to doubt it."
"And there is no reason why you should.," returned the
fi?:st Mrs. White
63 
THIE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
I mentioned my adventure at the hut on the morning of
the previous day.
"I know them," said my host, "they are mischievous fellows, and doubtless were influenced by some evil intent. I
Krave more than once suspected them of injuring my cattle
and once I caught them in the very act of dressing one of
my sheep."
"Are they Mormons?" I inquired.
"They come under the spiritual jurisdiction of our prophet, though they have no faith-no religion of any kind.
We have made great efforts for their conversion, but without
success."
"They seem to have adopted Mormon institutions. I saw
several females with them."
"Yes; they have two or three wives apiece, and I don't
know how many children."
"Does the system do well in their case?" I inquired.
"I should expect not, very," he replied.   "If I had the
laws to make, such fellows should not get married at
all."
I looked surprised, perhaps inquiringly.
"No one should have the privilege of getting married,
who had not made provision for taking care of a wife."
Thinking that the conversation might be profitably
changed, I inquired what he thought of the general condition and character of the Half-breeds.
His observations and opinions might not be of much value
here, though they verified my own experience of the same
people. He said they combined the worst qualities of the
64 
THE HALF BREEDS.
Indian and white man, with little of the good belonging to
either; were lazy, shiftless, improvident, and lived wretchedly; rarely working at all, but depending for subsistence
on the precarious supply of hunting and fishing, or the plunder of fields and folds.
I observed that they seemed quite numerous.
"They are numerous," he replied, "more so than you
would suppose from your short acquaintance in this country
There are hundreds, and, I verily believe, thousands of them
of all sexes and ages."
Mrs. White here interposed that some of the half-breeds
were respectable, wealthy, independent men, far superior to
the general class of Indians, and fully equal to the whites,
whose opportunities for education and knowledge of the
world had been no greater.
Oh, yes, my dear," he replied, "there are exceptions to
the most general rule." He then stated as a grand climacteric to their depravity, that they were sadly deficient in
religious faith; that neither their hopes nor fears of future
punishments or pleasures could be excited; though he owned
that they were disposed to relish and practise polygamy.
I subsequently learned that though sufficiently numerous,
their isolated condition, as individuals, precluded their forming a distinct class, and that the circumstances attending
their births generally threw them into association with the
Indians.
They compose the illegitimate offspring, of white hunters,
trappers, and United States soldiers, and Indian females.
65 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
As the habits of these people are migratory, and they rarely
occupy permanent residences, the mother and her child, or
children, is usually left among her own people. The men
are generally robust, capable of great endurance, though
predisposed to intemperate habits. Their complexion is sin gular, taking, in matured manhood, the'color of a dark red
berry; their features are those of the white man, with the
black, snaky, glittering eye of the sons of the wilderness.
Like other mongrels, they are said to be short-lived, and ex tremely liable to the attacks of infectious diseases.
Some of the half-breed females are said to be models of
womanly beauty, combining in the most exquisite degree the
lithe, agile figure and graceful proportions of their mother's
race, with delicate features and clear olive complexions.
These are frequently sought in honorable marriage by the
whites, and it cannot be denied that they make good wives
and affectionate mothers; being, as an old trapper once
assured me, much more modest and humble, and much less
exacting and capricious, than their white sisters. The old
fellow had good opportunities to know something about it,
having shared his cabin with seven or eight different ones at
different times, and being, according to his own account, the
father of nearly a score of children.
I saw many of these women in the Mormon city. They
were quite as distinguishable as the Quadroon women of the
South. Some were residents with Mormon husbands, though
the greater part were occasional visitors. They usually wore
the picturesque costume common among Indian females of
66
1. 
THE HALF BREEDS.
the higher class, and many times were well-mounted on
valuable horses, which they rode with ease and grace. Many
of them carry on a considerable traffic with the whites.
They embroider buffalo robes, woollen blankets, moccasins,
and similar articles, in the most beautiful  manner; are
extremely skillful in knitting bead work-pockets, necklaces,
and armlets; weave mats and baskets from the inside bark
of certain kinds of trees and rushes, and practise other little
arts of handicraft. These articles they barter for beads,
those indispensable ornaments for the toilet of an Indian
belle, needles, vermilion, and similar things, though they
have learned the value of money, and prize it highly. And
thus it is wherever the white man treads. Love of gold,
like a shadow, follows his footsteps, and all with whom he
comes in contact are infected with the same selfish passion.
67 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER IV.
ALEXANDER BURNHAM-HIS HOUSE-TRAGIC OCCURRENCES                  WEDDINGS-DEATHS.
IHAVE  described, perhaps with tedious prolixity, the
order and decorum manifest in the family arrange ments of Judg,e White, for the purpose of giving an idea of
the phases which polygamy under certain circumstances
assumes, and the arguments by which its votaries attempt to
excuse it; yet this aspect must not be considered as a general
characteristic, but only as occurring in rare and exceptional
cases, where the disposition of the parties combine with
pecuniary abilities, in a manner particularly favorable.
Notwithstanding all that has been said and written of
the sentimentality and romantic tendencies of women, I find
by observation that as a general thing they are excessiyely
practical. They ask husbands who can support them in ease
and splendor, and so long as this is obtained care little for
moral character and personal habits. Do not many in all
our large cities prefer living in style as the mistresses of
68 
POLYGAMY.
rich men to being the lowly and industrious wives of poor
tradesmen or mechanics?
Even in the Empire State I have known women not averse
to polygamy. Fifteen or twenty years since there lived in
Onondaga County, a man named Warner, who owned three
farms, with large brick houses, and supported a wife at either
place. The dwellings were in one vicinity, and the women
were good neighbors to each other, frequently visiting and
otherwise extending little courtesies. The younger of these
women had refused the hand of a respectable, but poor man,
declaring that what she asked and would have of a husband
was physical support above the actual necessity of labor.
Another man in the same State had two wives, who lived
in two houses close together, on the same farm. Both had
families, and the children ran and played together with great
harmony.  This man might often be seen at public places
with his wives, one on either arm. They usually dressed
precisely alike, and might readily have been mistaken for
two sisters. They were very friendly, and never manifested
a jealous or contentious disposition.
A former acquaintance of mine is now living in the State
of Ohio, with his two wives. The women seem perfectly
satisfied with their condition, and assist each other in the
performance of domestic duties, with great alacrity. Yet
none of these women or their spouses were Mormons, and
I have mentioned them to show that after all the Mrs.
Whites were not the unique and singular beings that some
might imagine.
69 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
Now, even in Mormondom, if the females would unani mously set their faces against polygamy it might soon be
be abolished. Why they do not is referrible to particular
causes. They have neither the time, nor opportunity, nor
capacity for concerted action on the subject. Many of them,
I verily believe, are well suited with it. Others consider it
necessary because the elders tell them it is, and the remainder, being the minority, are obliged to conform.
Hiow mnuch the former are to be pitied I leave the theologian and moral philosopher to decide; but the condition
of the latter is most deplorable.  Generally impulsive and
passionate, they cannot view things with the cool expediency
of Mrs. White,  and not sufficiently superstitious  to  be
governed in all their feelings and sentiments by the priesthood, their souls revolt at the associations and connections
in which they are placed.  Their lives become a continued
scene of bickerings, jealousies, and contentions, rendering
themselves and all around them supremely miserable.   In
such cases, as Maria Underwood informed me, the most
tragic occurrences are not uncommon, yet it usually happens
that the affair is hushed up, and very few either hear or
even suspect the truth.
I requested her to relate without exaggeration the history
of these events. She smiled sadly in return, and asked me
if I ever heard of a woman in the States stabbing or poisoning her rival through jealousy and hatred?
Certainly, I have heard of such things," I replied.
"Then you can readily conceive what they do here under
70 
POLYGAMY.
the influence of the same passions," she answered. "Human
nature is the same everywhere, and in some cases proves
itself superior to spiritual wickedness in high places, though
yielding perhaps to as great evils of another kind."
She then went on to inform me that the most strenuous
opposers to polygamy were those who came there ignorant
of its existence, or those who with little or no faith in the
Mormonl doctrines, had accompanied their husbands thither
rather than be abandoned by them.
"And do women, who are not converts, ever come here?"
I inquired with some surprise.
" Certainly they do," she answered. " There is Mrs.
White."
"And what is she?"
"A believer in the doctrines of Fanny Wright."
"Is it possible?"
"Even so. She lived in Massachusetts several years,
where she lectured on Woman's rights and other issues of
the day."
"She seemed very intelligent."
"Of course, she is intelligent, no one doubts that."
"But, Maria," I questioned, "can't you relate to me some
of those tragic occurrences of which you have spoken?"
"I could, though it might occasion trouble for me to
do so."
" What kind of trouble; you cannot, certainly, be afraid
of your husband?"
"Not exactly afraid of him, but it is the safest here, I
71
11, 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
believe, as it is everywhere else, to see nothing, hear noth ing, and know nothing. By professing ignorance I have
frequently avoided trouble."
"But such professions will not avail you now," I replied.
She smiled, and rising, went to the door, opened it and
looked out.
"Whom do you fear?" I inquired.
"No one," she answered, but proceeded to examine the
windows.   She then remarked, as if talking to herself:
"They have all gone, I believe, but Underwood, and he is
in the bar entertaining a drunken soldier, and will hardly
have time to play the eavesdropper." Then seating herself,
she inquired: "Did you ever know, or have you ever seen
Alexander Burnham?"
"Never to my knowledge; but what of him?"
"Nothing of him, though what I am about to relate
occurred in his family."
"The same thing," I suggested.
"Well, it makes no difference, but come to the window
and I will point out his house;" and she led the way. "You
see that dwelling yonder, seemingly isolated, and occupying
a picturesque situation on the elevated plateau?"
I assented, remarking that I should suppose it to be a
very pleasant place.
"It is," she answered.   "The  landscape is agreeably
diversified with hill and valley, mountain and meadow, and
presents altogether a rare combination of natural beauties;
but the house-you just ought to see the house."
72 
MRS. BIURNHAM.      ~
"What is there remarkable about that?" I inquired.
"Nothing so very remarkable, when all things are con sidered," she replied; "yet to one accustomed only to the
square, plain, substantial buildings of the Eastern and Mid dle States, it would be neither more nor less than a curi osity."
"What is it like?" I inquired.
"It is a long, rambling, irregular concern," she answered.
"At first it was a plain adobe structure, with three apart
ments on the ground floor, and as many above; but since
then wings and lean-tos have been built, and domestic offices, such as kitchens and nurseries, erected; these various
rooms communicating with each other by closets or small
and generally dark entries.
"Then you have been there?" I said inquiringly.
"Certainly, I have been there to both weddings and
funerals."
"And how many wives has Mr. Burnham?"
"Only three at present," she answered.   "To accommodate these wives, the rooms are subdivided into suites of
apartments, wonderfully alike in their appearance and appointments. To describe one will give a general idea of all.
Each consists of a bed-room, sitting-room, and closet, simply
furnished with such necessary conveniences as civilized life
renders indispensable to neatness and comfort.  Yet all the
movables, the chairs, tables,curtains, glasses, beds, even to
the scent-bottles and work-baskets, are precisely of the same
4
73 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
color, quality and cost. In the living inmates of these rooms
alone a difference exists, and that is difference indeed.
"Mr. Burnham was a well disposed man, whose character
exhibited a singular mixture of strength and weakness, wisdom  and folly.  Though apparently wishing to make  all
around him happy, his well-meant endeavors frequently miscarried, through his own want of foresight and judgment. He
had a pleasant voice, a kind face, and was generally liked as
a neighborly, good sort of man. He was probably aware of
his mental deficiencies when he concluded to embark his
domestic happiness amid the quicksands of polygamy. He
might have considered himself able to educe order out of
that chaos in the family establishment, though it is much
more likely that he thought nothing about it, but married
his second wife, as most men do their first, from mere passional attraction."
"Had he been long a resident of Utah?"
"He came in with the first settlers, bringing his wife and
one daughter. Mrs. Burnham was a woman of high pas sions, great strength of character, and unusual mental power.
She was tall and commanding in stature, moved with the
majesty and grace of a queen; yet these exterior advan tages were more than counterbalanced by a deficiency in
moral and religious principle.
"Though the daughter of pious parents, and educated by
a mother particularly exemplary, she seemed utterly devoid
of conscientious restraints. Public opinion, however, exer
74 
MRS. BURNHAM.
cised great influence over her, and while many doubted her
goodness of heart, no one could point to any open infringe ment of the laws of society, or the fact of a lax morality.
She was the senior of her husband by several years, and it
was whispered that the marriage on his part was one of ex pedience, rather than affection. Whether as a consequence
of this, or his knowledge of her unprincipled character, or
both combined, Mrs. Burnham never acquired any great in fluence over her husband's mind, though her love for him
was of the most ardent and passionate nature. When the
Mormon missionaries came to their native village, and his
easy and credulous mind was won to the belief of their tenets,
she cared little, and said less. All religions, or none at all,
were the same to her, and when he openly avowed his deter mination to emigrate to Utah, she readily declared her
willingness to follow him, even to the ends of the earth, if
he desired it.
"Mrs. Burnham had always been conscious that her passionate affection was not returned measure for measure,
though she never found occasion to complain of neglect or
ilk-treatment. He was uniformly kind, and when a daughter
was given to their arms, his demonstrations of tenderness were
neither few nor feigned. Time, however, gradually effaced
the novelty of paternity. The father relapsed into his
accustomed manner of coldness and constraint, and his wife
solaced herself with a mother's cares, and their reward.
"Mrs. Burnham was one of those people who never weary
in the pursuit of an object. She had determined during the
75 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
first year of her matrimonial life, that if she could not com.
mand her husband's love, she would at least extort his
praise by good management and attention to all wifely
duties. And this laudable design she carried out by the
most unremitted exertions. His appetites were consulted,
his tastes gratified. His home was always pleasant, neat,
and cheerful, and his table spread in the nicest manner. At
evening the most comfortable place by the glowing fire was
kept for him, and the easy-chair, slippers and newspaper
provided to his hand.
"Could Mrs. Burnham have found it in her heart to be
satisfied with gratitude and esteem, anything in short but
passionate affection, she might have been happy, though as
it was, she continually pined and longed for the good beyond
her reach. She felt that gratitude and esteem were cold
and commonplace. She had given love, and she asked it in
return. Thus several years passed away.
"It is well known that some time elapsed after the rise
of Mormonism before its peculiar doctrines were publicly
proclaimed. Had Mrs. Burnham fully understood them, it is
to be presumed that she would have opposed her husband's
scheme of uniting with that people. But accustomed to
comply with his wishes, she bade farewell to the scenes of
her youth, without a tear, and almost without a sigh.
"It is unnecessary to recount the incidents of their journey. They arrived in Utah, and Mr. Burnham prepared a
home for his family, and tried with a right good will to make
them comfortable and contented. But Mrs. Burnham dis 
MRS. BURNHAM.
covered too late that she had taken a step most fatal to
her peace. For the first time she had reason to reproach
her husband for neglect. He would perhaps be detained
from home on business of the church, leaving her without
food or fuel. Then, too, she was shocked with the developments of polygamy, but true to her woman's nature, she
never for a moment wavered in her resolution, to be all and
everything to her husband. This she conceived would guard
him against the temptation to take another wife, and through
weariness and grief, and manifold discouragements she toiled
and struggled.
"Mr. Burnham had been absent from home two or three
days, and returned unusually hilarious and cheerful, embraced
his wife and kissed his daughter with a great demonstration
of affection, and then sitting down, commenced a conversation at once singular and unique.
"'My dear,' he said, addressing his wife,'we have a
nice little place here, I think. It makes no pretensions, and
it is cosy and comfortable. Amy's bright face is a great
improvement to it. But Amy needs a companion. Now,
my dear, would you have any objection to take a child, one
of the finest and freshest creatures on earth?'
"'A  child! take a child 1' echoed  Mrs. Burnham in
supreme astonishment.
"' Not exactly a child in years,' pursued Mr. Burnham,
'but a child of nature, simple, unsophisticated, enthusiastic,
and an orphan, the daughter of my old friend. Though she
can play, sing, dance, draw, sketch, and write poetry, it is
77 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
her misfortune that she could never learn to do anything
really useful. She is much too delicate for household labors;
sewing she fears would spoil her fine eyes. She has no
patience with children, and so is incapable of teaching, or
attending on them. A being so helpless and guileless, with
such a fine inaptitude for worldly affairs, must excite the
sympathy of every man.'
"'I believe, however, that few women would fancy such
an addition to their household,' said Mrs. Burnham.
"' It has been revealed to me,' continued Burnham, without noticing his wife's remark,' that it is my duty to adopt
her into my family. The will of Heaven must be obeyed,
whatever may be the consequences.'
"A sudden and mortal sickness shot through the heart of
Mrs. Burnham at this announcement. All her previous fears
seemed about to be realized. Her husband loved another,
and that loved one was about to be introduced into her presence, and to share her home. All her cares and toils, and
the deep, deep love she had lavished on him had been of no
avail. A fearful, a horrible thought flashed into her mind
so suddenly and with such distinctness, that it seemed the
suggestion of another. Was it the tempting of a fiend?
"That afternoon," continued Maria, "I paid Mrs. Burnham a visit. She received me with great friendliness, though
her countenance bore the traces of great mental anguish.
To my inquiries if she was ill, she returned the monosyllable
'No.' We had been on terms of intimacy for some time,
and I pressed her to tell me what the matter was. At
78 
A STORM AND A CALM.
length the floodgates of her soul opened, and she poured
forth a~perfect storm of wrath, accompanied with such bitter denunciations against the little simple creature designed
for the second wife of her husband, that I actually trembled,
while Amy burst into tears, and wept bitterly.
"'Only to think —to think that he intends to bring such
a silly, coquettish, lazy thing as she is here, and then to
insult me with talking about her fine eyes, and her helplessness, as if I am going to be her slave-her slave, indeed 1'
and her countenance indicated some fearful purpose.   I soon
took leave, determining to watch the progress of events.
"The next day Mrs. Burnham returned my visit. She
seemed cheerful-even joyous. I was somewhat surprised
at the change which such a short time had sufficed to bring
about. She laughed outright.'What is the use of making fools of ourselves?' she said.'My mind has changed
much since yesterday; and I have called to request that
you will not report anything I said in reference to this projected marriage. It might create further difficulties.'
"I assured her that I would not, with a feeling of pleasure
that the affair was likely to terminate so happily.
"The next week we were invited to the wedding-feast.
There was a great company present; for Mr. Burnham was
a noted man in the Church. The apostles and elders were
all there-some with two or three wives, and others with
only one. My attention, however, was chiefly engrossed by
the bride, and the first Mrs. Burnham, who, it seemed to me,
were the most dissimilar beings in existence. The former
79 
TH HUSBAND IN UTAH.
was a delicate little thing, with rather a large head; but
her face was fairy-like, her voice sweet, and she. really
looked charming. All she said was free from effort, and
spontaneous; and she had such a captivating gaiety in her
laugh, that it was fascinating to hear her.  She bandied
jests with every one, and manifested the utmost brilliancy
and enjoyment."
"And the first Mrs. Burnham?" I suggested.
"It would be difficult to give you an idea of her appear ance. She was calm, yet rigid; and it was evident that
her features and gestures were schooled for the occasion.
Once, and once only, she was thrown off her guard, and
then the nervous twitching of the muscles of her mouth
betrayed a degree of internal agony painful to behold.
There was a gleam, too, in her eye, as it followed the
motions of the bride, that filled me with secret apprehensions I cared not to reveal.
"The husband evidently wished the occasion to be a joyous one, and-between demonstrations of tenderness for his
new bride, and nonsensical remarks, designed to excite the
mirth of those present-acted, as I thought, excessively
silly. One of the elders breathed an extempore prayer,
when cotillions were formed, the twelve Apostles leading off
in the first set."
"Is it, indeed, a fact that cotillions are introduced with
l,rayers? I inquired.
"It is; and the effect is most ludicrous.  I could scarcely
help laughing outright."
80 
A MYSTERIOUS DEATH.
"A fitter subject for weeping!" r replied.
"Well, every one to their mind," she continued.  "But I
could not help thinking that both exercises were remarkably
similar-both seemed got up for the especial occasion. The
new husband, in his zeal and fervor, quite outdid himself  balancing to this one, turning that one, and then whirling
round his young wife for a final flourish, till she grew quite
giddy.
"The first Mrs. Burnham presided at the table. The
dinner was excellent and abundant. After eating heartily,
the whole company resorted to dancing again, which was
kept up with little variation till late at night. And the
next day we were astounded by the intelligence that the
bride was dead I"
"Dead! i How did she die?" I ejaculated.
" How did she die? How often was that question asked I
but who could answer? It was all a mystery. It was not
even known when she died. An hour after the company
dispersed, she was found by her husband in the portico of
the dwelling, senseless and speechless.   A physician was
summoned, but the remedies came too late, and before
* morning she expired.
"We went to the funeral. The husband seemed incon solable. The first wife was rigid and indifferent, though,
when she approached to look at the corpse, I either saw or
fancied that a momentary gleam of malicious pleasure flitted
over her countenance. Amy, too, wept with unaccountable
bitterness. Ill-natured people seemed disposed to suspect
4*
81 
THE HUSBAND IN IUTAH.
that all was not right;'but their surmises never took tangible form or shape, and the affair was soon forgotten, like
every other nine days' wonder."
"And did Burnham relinquish the idea of taking another
wife?"
"Far from it. Before one month had elapsed, his versatile and fickle fancy had selected another. The courtship
was carried on with all that fond intercourse usual where
no wife exists. The day for the wedding was set, when the
bride elect suddenly sickened and died. People thought it
strange. The elders condoled with the afflicted brother,
and many of them advised him to try again."
"And his wife "  "Carried herself as usual, though perhaps a close observer
might have detected a greater degree of haughtiness in her
manner, and a cautious reserve in her conversation, even
with her most intimate friends.
"That season was proverbially sickly. Bilious and other
fevers extensively prevailed. Mrs. Burnham was among the
first attacked. I was summoned to watch by her bed-side.
She was wildly delirious, and raved in a manner really
frightful. I shuddered, listening to the revelations of her
guilt. She avowed herself a murderess, and called on Heaven to witness the truth of what she said. Her husband
stood by, livid as chalk, and trembling like an aspen. She
accused him of destroying her soul, by exposing her to such
horrible temptations. I never saw such a deach-bed before.
May I be mercifully spared from seeing such again I"
82 
DEATH OF MRS. BURNHAM.
"She died, then?"
"She did; and, after what had happened, it was a great
mercy. Since then, Mr. Burnham has married six different
women, and no doubt finds it a relief to be without her."
"And Amy"
"Ran off to California, with a tourist old enough to be
her father. But I have heard that her husband has become
rich, and that, taken upon the whole, she did well."
83 
THE HEUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER V.
DIFFERENT SENTIMENTS-POOR CLASS OF MORMONS-MISERY
OF WIVES-ETC..
I FIND that, even among husbands, the utmost diversity
of sentiment, with regard to polygamy,  prevails.   It
cannot be disguised that the whole system is indebted, for
support, to the protection and countenance of the elders.
These monopolize the fairest, most healthy women, leaving
the old, ugly, and decrepid to be shared among their foilowers. I have known some of the most virtuous and intelligent of these people to be exceedingly disgusted with what
they saw and heard, though evidently cautious notto express
publicly their feelings of disapprobation. Slavery and polygamy, both institutions of barbaric ages and countries, have
this in common, that while increasing the luxuries of the
rich, they add to the discomforts and miseries of the poor.
A poor man-by which I mean one dependent on his daily
labor for the necessaries of life-will generally find the
decent support of one wife, and her little brood, quite
84 
COMPARISONS ARE ODIOUS.
enough for his exertions.   But poverty exempts no one
from the passions inherent to the race; and if a rich man
indulges himself by taking six wives, his poor neighbor
will imitate him as far as possible, and probably take two,
though against his better judgment, and fully aware that
his domestic happiness will be thereby destroyed.
In conversation with an intelligent Mormon, I inquired
how it happened that they were so well supplied with women, as the proportion of the female population to that of
the males was about as four to one. He replied that the
ranks were thus filled by the female converts to Mormonism.
"You would imply, then, that more women than men
embrace your doctrines?" I suggested.
"A great many more," he replied. "Women, in all ages,
have been the most susceptible of truth, you know."
"And of imposition, too," I replied.
The first believers and preachers of Christianity were
women," he continued, without noticing my last remark.
"And the first convert to Mohammedanism was a woman," I answered.
"Youicomparisons are odious and unjust," he retorted,
angrily.
" The truth should not be either," I replied.   "Women,
from their peculiarly susceptible temperaments, are extremely liable to be charmed with novelties.  While their
devotional sentiments are more easily excited than those of
the men, it holds, as a general thing, that her reasoning
powers are much inferior; hence I question whether she is
85 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
as capable of perceiving and appreciating the truth as are
the stronger sex."
My Mormon friend, however, did not seem inclined to
discuss the subject further, and our interview ended with
manifest displeasure on his part.
Another with whom I conversed, considered this abundance of women as a providential interposition in behalf of
the saints; and when I attempted to argue with him on the
absurdity of such notions, he broke out in a malediction,
denouncing me as an infidel, Gentile, and heathen. It is a
fact that Utah, as compared with other portions of our
country, is disproportionately supplied with women, and
many of them excuse or advocate polygamy for that reason.
"Suppose," they say, "that only one woman was married
to each man; then for one married woman you have three
or four single ones. What is to be done with them? Shall
we let them sink into vulgar, degraded, and abandoned
habits, as they do in all your large cities? Shall their
young affections run to waste? Shall the State be deprived
of the children they ought to bear?  And last, not least,
must they spend their lives in a hopeless celibacy, because
certain legislators have deemed it expedient to restrict the
intercourse of one husband to that of one wife?"
When I remarked that I should fancy they would be
happier single than married, under such circumstances,
"They don't think so," would always be the answer.  "We
have no difficulty in obtaining wives."
I scarcely think they do.
86 
CONDITION OF THE LABORING CLASSES.
The laboring class in Utah are not so comfortably pro vided for as might be wished yet the question arises, Where,
in the wide world. is not such the case? In civilized,
Christianized, and enlightened London, to marry two wives
is a crime considered worthy of transportation, though
to let a next-door neighbor starve, yourself rolling in luxury
meanwhile, elicits no reproach. New-York, the great, the
spacious, the commercial, has its free schools and churches,
side by side with dens of squalid poverty and haunts of
crime. Where, I say, are the comforts of the laboring
classes duly considered, or where do they take the position
in society they are justly entitled to? It would be a hard
thing to tell.
As a general thing, however, labor is more respected in
Zion, than in any other city which I have visited; and
laboring people do not form, as elsewhere, a separate and
distinct class. This may be chiefly owing to the discordant
elements of which society is composed, and which require
mixture and fusion before the scum can rise to the top, or
the dregs settle to the bottom. Yet I am inclined to think
that it originates in the policy' of the Mormon leaders; and,
without looking further, we can find very good reasons why
they should wish to have it so.  Though accused of laziness
themselves, the Mormon elders are "loud" against its being
practised by others, and take every occasion to enforce the
duty and necessity of industry.  Of course, there is a class
of loafers, but these are mostly outsiders, visitors, and
Gentiles.
87 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
Most of the mechanics, small farmers, and day-laborers,
have each two or three wives. Some of these women are
very industrious, though others are not. Indeed, I thought
laziness more prevalent among them than any other class.
Perhaps that is owing to polygamy-perhaps to natural dis position. I do not attempt to decide. But in this hetero geneous assemblage from different parts of the earth, a
great diversity of character necessarily exists. In walking
out, one morning, I came unexpectedly to a miserable
shanty, and called, to rest and look around. It was occupied by four women, all the wives of one man. One oI
them was weaving a kind of coarse cloth, and the others
did not seem to have anything to do. I ascertained that
the husband was a blacksmith, who bad emigrated from
Cayuga county, in the State of New-York, but a few years
previous. One wife only had emigrated with him. He
found the others subsequent to his arrival. They were
aware of his condition, and that nothing better than a
hovel could be afforded them, yet each one preferred sharing this with the others and a husband, to living in celibacy.
I inquired if the husband followed his trade, and received a
negative answer.
Why not?"
"No particular reason, that I know of, except that he
prefers to hunt and fish."
"Prefers to hunt and fish, does he? And yet I should
suppose that a rather precarious manner of gaining a livelihood."
8 
A CHARACTER.
"You would, ha? We live as well as our neighbors,
sir-poor people, I mean-yet, if you have a trifle to give
me, I should thank you, sir-I should, indeed I"
I tossed a twenty-five cent piece into her lap, and bade
her "good-day."
My curiosity was excited to look further.   The cabins
which I entered were usually occupied by two or three, and
sometimes six or seven, very dirty women, and a group of
ragged, squalid, miserable-looking children. There was but
one room and loft to each cabin, or, where there were two
rooms, they were occupied by two families. They were very
destitute of furniture, and without any ground floor. There
was no glass in the windows; and the whole scene was comfortless in the extreme. I encountered one old fellow sitting
near the entrance of a covered wagon-body, which had been
removed from the wheels. ilis countenance had a simple,
idiotic expression; and I approached, accosting him with
the inquiry of, "What are you doing there, uncle?"
"Nothing at all," he answered.   "This is my house"pointing to the wagon, with ineffable self-satisfaction.
'i Your house!" I reiterated, in great surprise.
"To be sure; and a very good one it is," he answered.
I slept ill it all last winter."
"Didn't you suffer with the cold?"
"Not much. I had a buffalo."
"tave you any family?" I questioned.
"None at all," he answered, but avowed his determination to marry at least three women when his prospects
89
11 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
brightened a little. Thinking this idea to be a good one, I
encouraged him in it, and passed on. Yet these were solitary cases.
Entering a small cabin by the road-side, I found two
women, one man, and three or four children. The house
and its furniture looked very well; so did the women and
children; but a large bandage was bound over the face and
one eye of the man, that gave him a grotesque appearance.
"What is the matter with your face, friend?" I inquired.
"Burnt it," he answered, gruffly.
The women looked at each other with ill-concealed merriment, while the husband rose and went out.
"I've a great mind to tell the stranger how it happened," said one.
"Do," answered the other.
"I should like to know, certainly," I replied.
"Well," resumed the first speaker, "our husband is a
little queer sometimes."
" He always is," suggested the other.
"For three or four years, however, when anything occurred to rumple him, he would refuse to go to bed, and actually sit up the whole night, dozing away his time in the
rocking-chair."
"Did he suppose that plagued any one but himself?"
" He knew very well that it plagued me; but often I was
as innocent as you were of giving him cause for offence. If
the pigs got into the yard, he was mad about it, and
wouldn't go to bed. If I found a word of fault with any
9Oi 
A SULLEN HUSBAND.
of his arrangements, the next thing was, he wouldn't go to
bed. Sometimes, by coaxing and flattery, I would succeed
in getting him off; but I grew tired of this, and concluded
to let him set up till he got enough of it. Yesterday, he
got sullen, as usual. Neither of us said a word, or took
any notice of him. When bed-time came, we retired, leaving him to his meditations. In the night we were awakened
by a loud shriek. We fancied what had happened, but
determined not to rise or go to his assistance, unless he
requested it. We heard him going about the house, but he
said nothing to us, and this morning his face was bound up,
as you see. I suppose he got to sleep, and fell against the
stove."
"It will probably be a lesson to him," I said, though I
could scarcely speak for laughing.
"I should think so," she replied.
These women did not seem miserable. I have seen few
that did. They have probably become accustomed to the
prevailing state of things; and custom, it is said, is second
nature. I believe that the manifestation of deep feeling, by
the wife, when her husband takes his second partner, is
exceedingly rare. Are they restrained by fear, or is it
actual indifference, or do both these feelings come in for a
share?
AIaria Underwood, to whom I mentioned the subject,
declared that the greater part, though outwardly calm,
were inwardly dying with grief, vexation, and jealousy, and
attributed to polygamy all the shiftlessness and laziness
91 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
observable in certain quarters. I should doubtless have
received the same impression, had I not been aware that
similar habits existed among a certain class where polygamy
was never tolerated. Yet there can be no doubt, I think,
that it operates unfavorably on the mind of the wife, by
removing the great stimulus to the proper discharge of her
family duties.
St. Paul, a wise man, and accurate observer of human
nature, thus remarks: "The married woman careth for the
things of the world, how she may please her husband." And
there can be little doubt that the chief stimulus to exertion
in the female mind is the idea of pleasing the husband.
" What will he say?-How will he like it?-Will it suit
him?"-are the thoughts constantly recurring to her mind,
though, when discouraged by his indifference, she becomes
weary, careless, and aimless.  Maria Underwood informed
me of two or three cases where the first wife had actually
poisoned or drowned herself on the advent of the second,
though the second cared little or nothing when the third
was taken.
"Mr. Griscom formerly resided in New-Jersey, and was a
member of the Presbyterian Church, yet few thought him
to be a man of much principle, and many openly questioned
his honesty. But he was wealthy, and wealth is respectable.  Consequently his conversion to Mormonism  made  a
decided  sensation-a  sort of nine days' wonder-in  his
native village. Mrs. Griscom had riches in her own right,
but the scheming husband had contrived to get them- all in
92 
A  EX-PRESBYTERIAN.
his possession, thus leaving her penniless for voluntary and
separate support. When he proposed to unite with the
Mormons, and emigrate, her friends decidedly objected to
her accompanying him. To this he manifested entire indifference, telling her to go or stay, whichever she preferred
but when she mentioned her property, he told her plainly
that he should not voluntarily relinquish one cent, and that
the law, under the circumstances, would give her nothing.
Not wishing to become a burden to her friends, she determined to remain with him.
"After innumerable difficulties and dangers, they reached
Deseret, with a company of the first settlers. The country
was wild, and inhabited by Indians; but one thing was in
their favor-they had the choice of pleasant localities.
"Mr. Griscom made immediate preparations for extensive
grazing. He justly concluded that milk, butter, and cheese
would be in extensive demand; and, to make sure of
" help," in the domestic department, he hired a great, redfaced, freckled, and blowzy German girl, who immediately
became a candidate for matrimonial honors. Most men are
vain, and Mr. Griscom was manifestly flattered by her
endearments and attentions, while his poor wife looked on
in insufferable agony.
"A year elapsed, and the consequence of their intimacy
became manifest. Mr. Griscom was a proud man, and she
was not exactly such a woman as he would have selected,
even for his second wife. But there was no alternative
she refused to leave the house. and in this determination the
93
I' 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
elders encouraged her. Finally-and, it may be, for the
sake of his child-his reluctance was overcome. They
were married in the evening; before morning she became
a mother.   On this occasion, the absence of the first Mrs.
Griscom was observable.   Inquiries were  made, but she
could not be found. Two days elapsed, still she came not.
A week went by, when some hunters discovered the body of
a woman floating in the thermal spring. It was soon ascer tained to be that of Mrs. Griscom. The poor lady, whose
prospects of life were once fair and bright, had been
reduced to the last great extremity of committing suicide."
"And how did he get along with his German wife?" I
asked.
"Extremely bad," she replied.   " His domestic establishment embraces at this time six or seven more, but they are
little better than slaves. He appoints their daily tasks, and
when they fail in the performance, punishes them.
"For my own part," continued Maria, introducing the
subject which I had longed to hear her touch upon-" for
my own part, I didn't lay it to heart like some women
would. Of course, I worried a little at first, but soon concluded it was no use to make a fool of myself. If Underwood had grown tired of me, and thought another would
suit him better, why, let himn try it. I was never much
given to sentimentality. I always considered marriage to
be of all things most exceedingly practical. I could very
well be contented with beef, bread, and butter, with or without the husband. As the formation of matrimonial con
9-1 
MARIA WARD'S PHILOSOPHY.
nections with another would not cancel his obligations to
me, I raised no objections, but kept all the time thinking,
with a slight variation, of the old song:
"' I think light of him as he can think of me,
Not a fig for an old man who marries two or three.'
"After the second wife came here, I determined to take
matters easy, and I have done so."
"And the others have imitated your example, I guess."
"Yes; we don't all perform the labor that one industrious woman would."
Another woman of intelligence and strict propriety informed me that the general tendency of polygamy was to
make husbands either dupes or despots.   If they were of
an easy and moderate disposition, their domestic concerns
would be neglected, and the utmost disorder, waste, and
discomfort prevail-while, on the other hand, if they could
and would bring themselves to treat their wives like so
many servants, they might get along tolerably well, though
the happiness usually experienced where one wife received
all the affection and care of her lord; was out of the question. Many wives, she thought, brought themselves into a
state of apathetic indifference, but then they had little
affection and no respect for their husbands, and generally
managed to make them miserable.
Her husband, she continued, had married another wife
soon after their arrival in Zion, and they managed to get
95 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
along comfortably, and with little quarreling-quarreling
she always detested-but, as for taking care of his house or
clothes since, she hadn't done it, and didn't design to do it.
She believed most men found it more difficult to get a but ton sewed on a shirt, where their houses were filled with
wives, than to have the whole shirt made where there was
only one.
And are husbands often despotic?  That is, do they
often punish their wives, to enforce labor and obedience?"
Well, she rather thought not. She did not suppose it
was very common, though the Germans and other foreigners
had little mercy on their women. One German that she
knew, accustomed his wives to working in the fields, himself
standing by, with a whip in his hand, and looking for all the
world like a Southern slavedriver. When reproved for such
an exhibition of unmanliness, he excused the matter by saying that it was the custom in Germany, and he didn't see
why the women were better here than there.
"But is there no law to bring husbands to account for
such brutality?"
She guessed not; -had never heard of such a thing; was
pretty certain there was not. The operating laws of the
Territory were all founded on the code of Mormon; and
husbands, according to that precious document, could do no
wrong.
"Then the safety of the wife, or wives, depends altogether
on the naturally humane disposition of the husband. If he
96 
ILL-TREATMENT OF WIVES.
chooses to punish her, or make her a slave, he can do it
with absolute impunity, and that, too, within a country
famed for its enlightened and liberal institutions."
I had frequently observed that most Mormon women were
cautious in the expression of sentiments adverse to the prevailing customs, and, before giving information on su(ch
points, required a promise of secrecy. To account for this,
I subsequently learned that some of the more orthodox
husbands chastised their wives for heresy-meaning by this,
the manifestation of displeasure or opposition to Mormon
institutions in the presence of Gentiles.
This brutality on the part of husbands, however, cannot
be justly attributed to polygamy. Husbands, uneducated,
low, vicious, and sensual, have manifested the same tempers
in the monogamous state. The ill-treatment of wives is a
common topic of newspaper and neighborhood gossip, and
of such frequent occurrence that no one wonders to hear or
read of it. Even in our Christianized and enlightened
State, wives are butchered, are poisoned, are subjected to
all kinds of brutality, that would sicken one's heart to hear
of, if perpetrated in a distant country.
I have never yet heard of one instance where a Mormon
husband has actually and in cold blood murdered his wife.
WVould to Heaven I could say the same of those who are
not ALormois!(~.)
But there is a phase of polygamy which I have not
noticed yet, and which seems really cruel, though the monogamous system is not exempt from the same or similar evils.
5
97 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAII.
I encountered, one morning, in my walk, a poor woman,
middle-aged, and faded, through hardship and exposure.
She complained that her husband had deserted her and her
..
children; that her house was cold, open, and exceedingly
uncomfortable; that she had neither food, fuel, nor necessary clothing, though her lord resided with a younger and
fairer wife, in a sumptuous mansion, partaking all the pleasures and luxuries of life.
Upon inquiry, I found that provision for the wife was
optional with the husband, and that if he chose to neglect
or abandon her, she had no legal remedy.
98
j    t 
AN ENGLISHMAN'S OPTIION.
CHAPTER VI.
AN ENGLISHMAN'S OPINION-ENGLISH EMIGRANTS-THEIR
CHARACTER-ETC.
iY   OURS  is certainly a most remarkable country,"
remarked an Englishman, who had been attached
to the Hudson's Bay Company of traders-" a most remarkable country. Don't you think so?"
I replied that few Americans would be inclined to dispute it.
"In looking at your system of government, and the institutions which flourish beneath it, I am strongly reminded of
the pseudo-philosopher whom MAlarryatt has rendered famous,
aid who contended that everything going on was simply a
rehearsal of past events."
" Why so?" I queried.
"Because you would-probably contend that your country
has made the farthest advance in liberal and enlightened
institutions-which I cannot deny-but where has it brought
you? Right back to the patriarchal ages-the practice of
polygamy, the encouragement of slavery.  Who, after this,
c. 
99 
THE HUS8BAND IN UTAIH.
will contend for the progress of the race, when the extreme
of civilization merges itself in barbaric practices I"
"But we shall probably get clear of both."
"Far from it. Slavery has become already too deeply
incorporated with your social and political system, and
polygamy soon will be. Even now I doubt the ability of
your government to get rid of it. What will be the result
when Utah desires admission into the Union as a State?
She can scarcely be refused, because your Congress have
no right to interfere with the domestic regulations of the
States; and if she is received, and the practice of polygamy
tolerated in her case, who shall decide that in course of
time it may not become general?"
"I cannot believe such a thing possible. You think too
meanly of us. Our Doctors of Divinity, philosophers, and
strong-minded women would all be adverse to such a'state
of things."
"And yet how powerless are these when acting against
the inexorable law of destiny, or the equally invincible bias
of human nature!"
"You are not a believer in human progress?"
"I am not," he replied.   "I look upon that doctrine as
dangerous and deceitful.   The  history of the world  disproves it. Men, systems and opinions change, but never
advance.   Some virtues are most fashionable in one  age,
and  some  in another.   Of course, those that  are most
fashionable will be most practised. It is just so with vices.
The ancients were addicted to some of which we are happily
.,..-..
100 
AN ENGLISHMAN' S OPINION.
innocent, while we are guilty of many that they never tolerated-and thus, in the words of the song,
"'Round and round we run."'
"I don't clearly understand you," I said, and, in truth, I
did not.
" Humanity moves in cycles, or, more properly, circles,"
he continued.   "We  who  stand on one side, necessarily
occupy a different position from the ancients, who were on
the other side, though on a level with them. They had a
class of ideas, of inventions, and opinions, precisely adapted
to their tastes and wants; and we have another class, different, indeed, but no better, and no more wisely accommodated to our desires. We assume to pity their ignorance,
and they would have as certainly detested our folly. Here,
in your age and nation, we see mankind coming directly
back to the practices of the patriarchs. What a solution
to the great question of ages, whether or not the race was
susceptible of indefinite perfectibility!"
Not caring to discuss a question so purely theoretical, I
left the Englishman to speculate on the incongruities of our
people and government, and  sauntered into  the  streets.
The Mormon missionaries seem to have driven a smart business in England, making converts and procuring emigrants.
A11 classes of the English people are represented in Ijtah,
with the exception of the highest aristocracy and clergymen
of the Established Church. Some of them are intelligent
and refined, but others are mean, selfish, arrogant, anId ill
101 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
bred —regular, downright John Bulls. Their general treat,
ment of women was rude, discourteous, and boorish. If a
woman met one of them on a bridge, or at the streetcrossings, she must turn and go back, giving him the way,
at the risk of being thrust into the mud and water. In
vehicles or churches, they always usurp and keep the best
places. At the table, they rudely appropriate the most
dainty pieces of vegetables or game. They seem to have
no appreciation of any one's comfort but their own, and are
quite as deficient of artificial politeness as of natural kindness of heart.   I did not wonder that such fellows were
polygamists in principle, though I really did wonder how
they were ever enabled to practise it, as it does, or ought
to, take two to make a bargain.
ENGLISH EMIGRANT MORMONS.(f.)
About twenty miles from Zion, near an outlet of the
Great Salt Lake, a company of English emigrant Mormons
had squatted down, and I determined one day to make them
a visit. Informing Maria Underwood of my intention, she
attempted to dissuade me, saying that she feared I would
meet rough treatment.
"W hy so?" I inquired.
"Because they will think you a spy, or something of that
character," she replied.
"Are they then so afraid of strangers?" I questioned.
"Oh, I don't know what is the matter with them; but
102
,III 
A CALL ON BROTHER WELLS.
they are singular, and have such strange notions, and are so
insolent and impertinent, that I shouldn't like to trust myself
among them."
"If that is all, it is rather an inducement to go," I
replied, and accordingly determined to start the next morning.  I was up early, ate my breakfast with a good appetite, and, being abundantly supplied with cakes by Maria,
took my gun and set off across the plain. Though it was
rather the wrong season for game, I congratulated myself
with the idea that my appearance among them would be
somewhat excusable on the plea of hunting. The morning
was beautiful, the breezes fresh from the mountains, and
the whole scenery delightful.   I pressed rapidly forward,
but before five miles had been passed over, began to regret
that I had undertaken such a journey on foot.  Fortunately
the res'dence of brother Wells was near. This man was a
very good Maormon, had four wives, and, what was of infinitelv more interest to me, owned several valuable horses.
Of course, I did not wish to buy, but to hire one for a day
or two. As I approached his dwelling, two or three dogs
ran out of their kennel, barking and yelping; and presently
a large aldermanic-lookillg individual came to the door, and,
seeing me advance, instantly came out of the house, and
withdrew around the corner. I followed him. Hie was
standing near a small out-house, evidently awaiting  my
approach.  As I passed around the dwelling, I heard evidences that hot work was going on within. Children were
screaming, women scolding, and abusing each other in the
103
7- 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
most vulgar language.  The man looked worried, and half
frightened. I didn't wonder why; for the horrible discord
grew louder and louder, and I could hear to distinguish the
profane and obscene words.
"Have  I the pleasure of addressing Mfr. Wells?" I
inquired; but the noise from the house completely drowned
my voice.
"Sir?" he said, coming nearer, and looking towards tho
window, which was literally filled with heads.
"Have I the pleasure of addressing MIr. Wells?" I
repeated, making my best bow.
"Yes; that is my nate.  Yes "-advancing still nearer.
There was a momentary pause in the domestic tempestcuriosity connected with my appearance and business, overcoming anger for the time being. I took advantage of the
silence to make known my errand,with as little peroration as
possible.
"I should like to hire a horse for a day or two. Could
you accommodate me with one?"
"To be sure he couldn't!" screamed a voice from the
window. "Do you suppose that he keeps horses for the
like of you?"
Brother W7ells' face flushed, and he made a gesture of
impatience. I turned in the direction of the voice. A
large, masculine-looking woman had thrown up the sash,
and, leaning through the aperture, regarded me with an
expression of low cunning positively repulsive.   I neither
bowed nor spoke to her, but turned again to the husband.
104 
BROTHiER WEI.LS WIVES.
"Could you accommodate me with a horse?" I asked.
"Begone! you vile dog's whelp, you! Begone! I say.
You want to steal the horse.  You'll run away with him.
You'll never bring him back.  You'll"
Sally! Sally!" interposed Wells, approaching the window. "Go in! Go in, and be a good girl I I'll give you
some money."
This woman was the complete picture of a termagant.
Hler features large, coarse, and flushed with anger; her
uncombed hair-red in color, and standing upright-and
her whole appearance, unpleasantly suggestive of shrewishness and ill-humor. She might probably have been somewhat mollified by the promise of money, had not a rival at
that moment appeared and put in her claim: "You promised to give the next money that you got to me. You
know you did! And I'll have it, too I So I will!"
The last speaker presented an exact contrast to the other.
She was little, spare, and withered, with a countenance on
which vixen was plainly stamped.   She spoke remarkably
fluent, and all her gestures manifested a corresponding
agility. The first one turned towards her with an expression of intense hatred, but she responded to the glance with
a more malignant scowl.
"Now, do go in, while I talk with the gentleman," said
the husband, coaxingly.  "I will divide the money between
you."
"You won't do any such thing! She shan't have the
first red cent I" screamed the vixen.
5*
105 
THE HIUSBAND IN UTAMH.
"I will!-that I will I" yelled the other; and she made
a plunge at her antagonist.
I expected to see the husband rush in, to put an end to
tle mele, but he never stirred.
Those women  are fighting, sir.  They will kill each
other!" I said, with real concern.
"I wish in my soul they would!" he replied.   "It would
to me be a happy riddance of bad luggage. It would,
indeed! They are the torment of my life-always mad
and quarreling, sir."
"You forget my errand," I interposed.  "Can I have the
horse?"
"Guess vou can," he said. "You will bring him back,
of course, and not override or otherwise injure him?"
" I will take good care of the horse," I replied; "and
return him safe and sound."
I was obliged to raise my voice to a pretty loud key, as
the tumult from the house effectually precluded hearing
common conversation.
"This way," said Mr. Wells.   " This way, sir."
I followed, glad to escape the uproar. Hle led me half
way down the side of a small hill, to a well-built adobe
stable, in which several noble animals were standing.  The
master entered, and spoke to them in a pleasant voice.
They recognized him with a low neigh. Surely this man
cannot be  utterly depraved, I thought-an affection for
dumb animals having always seemed to me as inherent to a
noble spirit.
106
ph'. 
JOURNEY TO SALT LAKE.
"I keep my horses stabled," he said, addressing me while
preparing to adjust the saddle.   "The flies plague them so
in the field, they are very fond of the shelter.  Nancy,
here," he continued, "has much the easiest gait.  Steady,
steady, girl!"
The mare seemed overflowing with an exuberance of
animal spirits.
"So you are going to that English settlement," he
remarked.   "Well, they are rough customers, but take
good care of the mare."
"Certainly, I will do that."
He led her out. I paid him, in advance, the hire for a
couple of days; and, vaulting into the saddle, bade him
"good-day," and departed.
It was now near noon, and the hot rays of the summer
sun were pouring down on the plain, which offered no convenient shade. I took the main road to Salt Lake, that
leads over several inequalities of ground, through a literal
thicket of saline plants, which continually increased in size,
abundance, and beauty. At length we came to several
miry depressions, strongly impregnated with saloeratus, and
two or three large ponds, filled with countless wild fowl,
which rose screaming into the air. I took aim, and fired.
Three fell, of which I obtained two.
Antelope Island, in the Salt Lake, was distinctly visible,
rearing its mountain form before me, and, though I had
been approaching it for hours, seeming no nearer. Then,
however, its outlines became more boldly relieved against
107 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
the sky, and the rocks, ravines, and inequalities of its sur face assumed a shape and distinctness. Here, also, the road
forked-one branch leading directly to the lake, and the
other bearing off to the southward.   I took the southernl
track, leaving the lake, of which I had just obtained  a
glimpse at my right hand.   I paused for some time, to take
in a view of the scenery, it was so wonderfully sublime,
grand, and impressive. The prospect to the north was
uninterrupted for a great distance, but, stretching away
southward, the huge Alps of the Western World towered in
majestic grandeur, the cradle of tempests and the birth place of a thousand streams.   Nestled in their deepest
recesses is the Utah Lake, a broad sheet of clear, fresh
water, that ever holds a mirror to the purple heaven. Here
Nature seems to exult in sublimity.  In outline, everything
is massive, grand, and imposing.
Following the slight traces of a road, we came suddenly
upon a singular vehicular establishment. It was a sort of
cart, consisting of a beam, axletree, and two wheels, to
which a couple of unbarked saplings were fastened for
shafts, and hitched in these, by attachments of raw-hide
and rope, stood a single ox, meekly and contentedly chewing his cud.  A mnan, poorly dressed, and with a crowuless
hat, was lying on the ground, in the shadow of the wagon,
while two hounds were squatting on their haunches, in close
companionship. The man eyed me with a sullen stare, while
the dogs growled and showed their teeth.
"Good-day, friend," said I, advancing.
108 
BRICK-TOWN.
He barely noticed my salute.
"Is this the direct road to Brick-town?" I inquired-the
settlement I sought having obtained that sobriquet, from
the fact that its inhabitants were, or had been, brick-burners
in their native country.
"I don't see why ye can be wanting to go there," he
replied, without looking up.
"I don't know that it matters why," I answered; "though
if you would give me the direction, I should esteem it a
great favor."
"W\ell, yes.  Keep right on, then, till you come to the
sand, when you are e'enamost there."
"I thought this was sand," said I; and, indeed, it was.
"No, this ain't the sand," he answered.   "But  you'll
know it when you reach it; and then keep right on through
that, till you see the houses. You can't miss it."
Not seeing any probability of obtaining more perspicuous
directions, I thanked him, and rode on.
I did, indeed, know the sand when I came to it, which
was very soon. It was deep and heavy, with a vegetation
of large flowering cactuses; but, fortunately, it did  not
extend far; and I soon came in sight of a long, low fringe
of green, which I knew to be a belt of cottonwood trees,
such as always in this country line the margin of the
streams.
I soon came to the village. It was a cluster of wretched
mnud-hovels, with pig-sties close to the doors, and miserable
little gardens, growing nothing but weeds.  There seemed
109 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
an abundance of women, children, and dogs, though but
little of anything else. Few of the houses had either windows or doors, and their only furniture seemed to be old
b)arrels, boxes, and such like lumber.
Of course, I attracted great attention.   Heads were
thrust from the windows, and the little, low doors were
crowded with women of uncouth shape and feature. I
have scarce ever seen females, of any age or country, more
decidedly ugly. They laughed, leered, and talked to each
other in a loud voice, as I passed by.
Approaching one of the hovels, which had an air of
decency, compared with the rest, I alighted, hitched my
horse to an old cart, and went in. The air of the apartment was almost suffocating, so hot and offensive, and great
untidiness prevailed, though it is doubtful how far neatness
is compatible with such a place. There was no fireplace,
but a great, thick, old-fashioned cook-stove occupied nearly
one-fourth of the room. I subsequently ascertained that it
was the only oven in the village, and quite a public concern,
as all the baking required for the whole was done in it, and
that, consequently, it was reeking with heat the greater
part of the time. I presume the inhabitahts of the cabin
had become accustomed to the sweltering atmosphere. A
man, looking very dirty and dissipated, was lying at full
leng,th on the ground, smoking a short, black, stumpy pipe.
A woman, with a bruised face, held to her bosom a little,
gasping baby; while another woman, who looked younger,
but whose cast of feature was excessively disagreeable, sup
110 
COLD WATER SCARCE.
ported a larger infant on her lap. There was a great girl
washing some dirty dishes in some very dirty water, and a
great boy tying lip a dog, while any quantity of smaller
boys and girls were lounging about in various attitudes, not
remarkable for grace. All occupations, except the smoking,
stopped; and, though none welcomed, all looked at me.
Well, my friends," I said, assuming an air of carelessness which I certainly did not feel, "I am something of a
stranger in these parts.  Can you direct me to a house
where I can obtain refreshment for myself and my horse?"
"Don't you want something else?" growled the man on
the floor.  "Wouldn't you like to have some whisky now,
or a swig of rum, in exchange for a broad piece of silver?"
"No, sir," I replied.  "I've no occasion for anything of
the kind, though I would thank you for a drink of cold
water."
"Cold water!" cried the man.   " Ha! ha I that's too
good!  Cold water in hell!  We  live in hell, sir!-that's
what I call it. Run, some of ye, and get some water, such
as it is." But nobody stirred.
"Can you direct me to the bishop's?" I asked, at length.
"And what do you want to go there for?" he inquired.
"The bishop is no better off than the rest of us. They
hadn't nothing to eat yesterday.   I don't b'lieve they have
to-day."
I glanced at the women. The one with the small baby
looked sad and sorrowful, while the other broke out in a
coarse, disgusting laugh.
ill 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"Do you suppose the bishop to be at home?" I inquired,
hesitatingly.
"Better look after your horse, I guess," said the man.
The bishop wants nothing of such as you."
"But I want something of him," I answered.   " Come,
here is money, if you will tell me;" and I drew a ha]f-dollar
from my pocket. In a moment, I saw the impropriety of
this act. A telegraphic look of intelligence was suddenly
exchanged all round, excepting the woman with the small
baby. The boy let go his hold of the dog. The man rose
from the floor, took his pipe from his mouth, and came
towards me.
"The bishop is no better off than the rest," he said.
"Shouldn't wonder if some on us is better off than him.
But Jim Leek, down here, I should think likely he'd keep
you. At any rate, I'll go and see."
"Where does he live?" I asked.
"Don't worry yourself," said the man. "' Set down here,
if you can find anything to set on. I'll find out." And he
started. I was somewhat surprised at the sudden interest
he manifested in my welfare, but, raising my eyes, I encoun
tered those of the woman, who was looking at me with a
gaze full of meaning. A sudden, yet fearful, suspicion
flashed into my mind. Yet I said no more. I felt that the
only person who would willingly give me the desired information, durst not do so; and so, not knowing what else to
do, I went out and stood by my horse.
I saw the man coming; and, attracted by my appearance,
112 
THE BISHOP'S HOUSE.
several others came and stood around. They were ill-look ing fellows, and I could not but notice their significant
glances.
"Jim Leek says that he'll take you," cried the fellow,
"though his accommodations ain't none of the best; and I
guess you can get along somehow. Come on."
I had had time for deliberation, however; and, turning
suddenly around to the bystanders, said, "Will some one of
you tell me where the bishop lives? 1 have pressing business with him, and have been already detained too long."
"He lives down there, in that house standing by itself,"
replied a half-idiotic fellow, who did not or would not understand the winks and gestures around him-" the house clear
down furthest of any."
"Thanks, my  good fellow I   May  you always  find a
friend in need!" I said; and, loosening my horse, mounted,
and rode in the direction he had pointed out.
To tell the truth, however, I began to fear that my curiosity, like that of the wives of Bluebeard, would be the
means of getting me into trouble. The sun was just sinking behind the western horizon. I was both hungry and
thirsty, and so was my faithful animal.  Even if I found
the bishop at home, I was not certain of a welcome reception; but of one thing there could be no doubt-it was a
nest of thieves and cut-throats, who would not shrink from
the commission of the foulest crime.
The bishop's house was not a whit superior to the others,
that I could discover; and I had little hope that the char
113
ri) 
THE HUISBAND IN UTAH.
acter of the man was much better. As I rode up, a man
with a fiery red face came to the door. I bowed, and
addressed him with, " Good-evening." He returned the
salutation more courteously than I expected, though not so
much so as I desired.
"Have I the pleasure of addressing the bishop?" I asked.
"I am that person," he responded.   "What  may your
business be?"
I am a stranger in this place," I replied; "and if you
can accommodate me and my horse with shelter and refreshments for the night, I "
"Can't do it," he answered.   " This is a poor place for
strangers. Don't see what they ever come here for."
"Different motives call them here, I presume. But, my
good friend, you see I don't ask you to give this to me. I
am able and willing to pay you abundantly."
His countenance brightened in a moment.
"Well, well.  I will see what can be done.  Our accommodations are none of the best, but such as we have is all
that we can give."
"Certainly, sir."
He then pointed out a sort of hovel, where he said my
horse could stand through the night, I requested food and
water for her.  "Yes, he would see how they were on it for
meal," and went into the house.
In a few minutes he returned, with an old water-bucket,
and a tin dish, filled with coarse meal. For water, I was
directed to a spring at a little distance. Though I found
i 4
l_q 
THE BISHOP'S THREE WIVES.
it without difficulty, the water was foul and muddy, and
nothing but extreme thirst could have induced the mare to
drink. As the grass grew plentifully around the spring, I
permitted her to feed till dusk, then led her to the hovel,
and gave her the meal. Though somewhat apprehensive
of leaving her in such an exposed situation, I could do no
better.
On returning to the bishop's house, he met me at the
door, and invited me to enter, with apparent cordiality:
"Walk in, sir; walk in; and don't be surprised at our
poor appearance. Take a seat;" and he handed along the
only chair to be seen in the apartment.
"Thank you, sir; occupy the chair yourself.   I will sit
here, if you please;" and I tok possession of a low bench.
There was a dim light, formed by a wick floating loosely in
a saucer of melted grease, and the room was swarming
with mosquitoes. Presently, two women came in, saluted
me coldly, and sat down.
"Couldn't you prepare this gentleman a little supper?"
inquired the bishop, whom I now understood to be the husband of the two.
Neither deigned an answer, and I began to consider my
chances rather doubtful. Presently, another woman came
in, a third and younger wife, who, being reigning sultana
for the time, desired to appear amiable. Again the bishop
proposed that some one should get supper for me.
"What shall I get, pa?" she inquired.
115
0
i 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"Oh, anything that you can. I dare say the gentleman
is not particular," he answered.
" Well, I will see," she said.
She did see; but found the larder empty, with the excep tion of a little coarse mneal and a few potatoes.  Then the
water was gone, the fire out, and, to judge from appearances, I was likely to make a great deal of trouble. Seeing this, I begged them to desist, saying that I could do
very well without supper.  The bishop, however-who probably had an eye to the pay-insisted that it would never
do to exhibit towards a stranger such an infringement of
the laws of hospitality; that he could get the water, whlile
she made  the fire; that it would take very little time,
beginning being more than half.
Liz, go and borrow some fire, can't you?" said  the
third favorite, addressing one of the others.
" No; I shan't," retorted Liz.
"You go, Sally, won't you, while I peel the potatoes."
Sally shrugged her shoulders, but made no move to go.
"Well, I can go myself, and no thanks to you?" she continued.  The two women sat like dumps, apparently sullen
or sulky.  The bishop, meanwhile, went out, with a pail on
his arm, and his wife followed, to borrow fire, leaving me to
my meditations. These, it will readily be conceived, were
not of the most pleasant character; but they were suddenly interrupted by a loud scream overhead.
There! that young un's awake," said Liz, and  she
i  6 
a MATCHES. 
mounted the ladder leading to the loft. The scream was
followed by others, in quick succession, and, it seemed, from
four or five voices, so multitudinous and loud was the din.
"Darn the young uns, I say 1" muttered Sally, likewise
ascending the ladder.
The music overhead seemed momentarily to increase,
between the harsh scolding of the women and the cries of
the children, varied, by way of chorus, with an occasional
noise of blows. In the midst, the fire-borrower-whom I
shall henceforth denominate my hostess-returned, carrying
a small handful of coals between some hollow pieces of bark.
"You don't have matches here," I remarked, wishing to
appear sociable.
" MAatches!" she reiterated, with an accent of some surprise-" Matches    I should think there was  enough of
them!"
"Then why don't you use them? They are very handy."
"  Vhat do you mean?" she said.   "I thought you was
talkiing about matches —getting married."
This ludicrous misunderstanding completely upset my
gravity, and we laughed together, thus becoming acquaintances and very good friends.  It is astonishing how a joke
will unbend the most austere; how it inspires patience and
creates intimnacies; how, from laughing with a stranger, you
get to talking to him.  It is ever so with me.
"The tempest overhead has subsided," I remarked.
" WVhat?" she queried.
"The tempest overhead has subsided," I repeated.
117
I 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"Oh, yes," she said.  "I have become so used to such
sounds that I don't mind them at all. Neither does pa."
"No fire yet!" said the bishop, entering the house, and
setting down the pail of water, with a loud grunt.
"And little prospect of any," she echoed.
Indeed, it was becoming doubtful whether the few borrowed coals, instead of kindling a flame, would not become
totally extinguished.
"Here, pa; you set down and whittle up some shavings,
can't you?" she said.
"Be sure, I can. I declare, these hot nights are enough
to kill the devil!" he continued.
I thought so, too, and finally left the house to procure a
breath of fresh air.  Outside, my ears were greeted with a
concert, though not of sweet sounds. Two or three dogs
were barking, probably for their own amusement, while
shouts and oaths of drunken profanity camne from a cabin
where several men had assembled to hold a debauch. The
night was sultry-not a breath of air stirring-and I returned into the house.
The bishop had stink down on a bench, and was violently
fanning himself with a handkerchief. His wife was squatting before the fire-place, quite as violently blowing the fire
with her apron, of which the corners were wrapped around
her hands; and the motion up and down puffed out great
gusts of smoke and embers, completely enveloping her and
filling the room.
"Sit down," said the bishop.  "We've got a beginning,
118 
GETTING SUPPER.
you see, and beginning's half. There's never smoke without
fire."
He was disposed to be facetious.
"I exceedingly regret putting your family to so much
trouble," I said.
"Never mind that-money'll make it all square."
If he could feel so, I was satisfied.
At length the smoke cleared away, and its place was supplied by a bright, clear flame. An iron pot-which did
triple service, as tea-kettle, boiler, and stew-pan-was
brought out from its seclusion in the corner, filled with
water, and set over the flame. Then, while the Rev. Mormon peeled a handful of potatoes with his jack-knife, my
hostess mixed a corn-cake, after the most approved backwoods fashion. The dough-simple meal and water, with a
little salt-she flattened, with her hand, on a long, narrow,
but smooth board, and placed it on one edge before the fire.
In this reflection of glowing heat, the cake soon acquired
the requisite tint of brownness, when it was nicely turned,
and the other side exposed to the same ordeal.
Meanwhile, the potatoes were being boiled; and an hour
before midnight my supper was pronounced ready.  Though
got up with extraordinary effort, it was not a very extraordinary affair. Tea or coffee was not to be thought of in
such a connection. Meat was a proscribed delicacy. Sweetcakes and sweetmeats were out of the question; but a sharpened appetite gave a zest to the most ordinary food, and I
made a hearty, though frugal meal.
119 
TIHE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
During the repast, I attempted to open a conversation
with the bishop about the prospects of the Mormon Church,
and its connections in Europe. He was not inclined to give
me the information I desired, but I fancied that he seemed
dissatisfied. I learned, however, that he was a man of
small property in England, frugal, contented, and happy in
the affections of a small and virtuous family. But the serpent crept into his Eden-the tempter came. Hle whispered
of wealth, honor, and distinction in the new church. The
dormant passions of his nature were aroused. Thoughts
and feelings in his heart that had always slept, came into
strange and tumultuous exercise. IHe no longer relished
the simple pleasures of his home. He shrunk from toil,
and despised the honest and honorable occupations of his
ancestors.  The glowing accounts of the New World, with
its Land of Promise, whose beauty of climate and fertility
of soil was described as unequalled, induced him to emigrate.
He sold his property, placed the proceeds in the general
church-fund, and, with others of his countrymen, took passage in a ship for New-York, under the superintendence of
a Mormon priest. After many difficulties, they reached
Zion, in a state of want, discomfort, and disorganization
absolutely indescribable. Their national spirit, however,
kept them together.   They hated the Yainkees, and the
Yaiikees despised them.  Brigham took the matter in hand,
but could not reconcile the jarring factions. Finally, he
advocated their removal and settlement in a separate colony-thus forming a distinct branch of his church, with a
120 
THE BI1SHOP ON POLYGAMY.
bishop, chosen from their number, to superintend their spiritual affairs. They consented to this, and my entertainer
was the one selected. Yet his promotion was merely nominal, and barren alike of wealth or honor.
He informed me that the Mormons were quite numerous
in England, and had their chapels and places for public
worship in many parts of London.
"Do they practise polygamy there?" I inquired.
"No; the laws will not allow it," he answered.
"And do you really and truly consider it an advantage?"
I asked.
He shook his head.
"Are the Mormons in England aware of the practice
here?"
"They were not, till recently," he replied.   "I understand that it proves a great stumbling-block in foreign
countries, and that many who would otherwise join us hesitate about doing so on that account."
Having finished my supper, the bishop pointed to a sort
of cot in one corner of the apartment, where he said I
could sleep; and then, after making some remarks on the
lateness of the hour, and several excuses for the paucity of
my accommodations, he ascended to the loft, followed by his
wife, who bade me "good-night" as she disappeared.
Without disrobing, I threw myself on the cot, and
attempted to sleep, but in vain. The heated atmosphere
grew closer and more stifling every moment. I was assailed
on all sides by buzzing, stinging insects, and yet more nau                           6
121 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
seous vermin. It was near morning when I sunk into an
uneasy slumber, from which the advent of half a dozen
children aroused me  in the  morning.  They were little,
dirty, elfish-looking beings, only half clad, in old, faded
garments. The females soon followed, and, last of all, came
the bishop himself. Not wishing for a repetition of the
scenes of the previous evening, I made immediate preparations to depart, and inquired of my host what I should pay
him for all the trouble that I had occasioned. Of course, I
expected a pretty good charge, but was hardly prepared for
the unreasonable demand of five dollars. However, I paid
it without grumbling, and was rather amused at his apparent pleasure when I bade them'" good-morning."
I started direct for the outhouse where I had left my
filly, with some apprehensions that she might have been
stolen. Fortunately, in that respect, at least, I had misconceived their characters. She was there, and recognized my
approach with a low neigh. I adjusted the bridle and saddle to her head and back, and, leading her forth, was met
by the man with whom I had conversed the previous evening. He was evidently recovering from a debauch of the
preceding night.
"Going now?" he said, with a satanic leer.
I am.  Have you any objections?" I replied, with more
complaisance than, under other circumstances, I might have
manifested at so unceremonious an intrusion.
"Well, you can't go; not yet," he said, taking the horse
by the head. "I've a bill to settle with you."
122
T' 
A LUCKY ESCAPE.
This was said with a voice, gesture, and manner that I
find utterly impossible to describe.
"What kind of a bill?" I repeated, wishing to humor
the fellow, though strongly inclined to knock him down.
"Let go of my horse, will you?" I continued-" and tell
me what I can do for you;" and I vaulted on her back.
"No; I shan't let go the horse," he replied; and now he
was joined by three others, quite as ugly and depraved as
himself. I really felt alarmed, and began to consider the
best way of escaping their clutches.
"You're a'formant!" said one.
"A spy!" chimed another.
"I knowed that last night I" cried a third, pleased with
the idea of his superior penetration.
A lucky thought occurred to me. Taking a handful of
loose change and coppers from my pocket, I scattered them
on the ground. The man let go his hold of the horse on
the instant. His companions scrambled for a share, while I
quietly rode off without further opposition.
I subsequently ascertained that they practised a regular
system of sponging on travellers, and that one was fortunate to escape as easily as I did.
I stopped several times on my homeward route, to allow
the horse to feed; and, having accidentally lost my game
of the previous day, shot three more ducks. It was near
night when I reached the residence of brother Wells. He
was pleased to see me, probably because I brought his
horse safely back.  I was foolish enough to think that pos
123
— i 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
sibly he might invite me to take supper with him, though I
much doubted the capability of his household to prepare
anything eatable. Whether on this account, or because he
was conscientiously opposed to wasting hospitality on a
Gentile, he breathed no murmur of invitation; and I plodded back to Zion, actually more hungry than I had ever
been before.
124 
SUPERIORITY OF THE FIRST WIFE.
CHAPTER VII.
THE MRS. UNDERWOOD'S JEALOUSIES, MISUNDERSTANDINGS,
AND REMOVAL.
N  most Mormon families where polygamy is practised, I
believe the superiority of the first wife to be involuntarily acknowledged. Certain it is, that the others are jealous
of her, and act as spies on her conduct. If they can find,
or invent with the least plausibility, any cause of reproach
against her, they are only too happy to communicate the
same to their lord. Thus, family difficulties are occasioned,
and actions really innocent in themselves become, through
jealousy and misrepresentation, the cause of great domestic
trouble.
I had been admitted, as a boarder, to brother Underwood's house, yet a former acquaintance with his wife had
certainly given me a right to be treated with greater consideration than a mere stranger. I had sought and obtained
many opportunities of conversing with Maria, thoughtless
that my attentions could be construed to mean more than
mere friendly regard, or that the easy and amiable Under
F'
125
ff — 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
wood could be induced to cherish a jealous feeling. I had
noticed for some time an increased coolness on hi. part
towards me, and had half suspected that a system of
espionage on my conversation and conduct was being practised.
Latterly, when conversing with Maria, a flitting shadow,
the sudden fall of something, or the echo of a retreating
footstep, would indicate the presence of a third person, till
I really began to think that the wives of brother Underwood possessed a remarkable sort of ubiquity. They were
ever hovering near you. If you sat in the dining-room, the
doors would be left open, and your eyes delighted by the
continual passing and repassing of petticoats.  If you ascended the stairs, keen black eyes watched your progress.
Where you least expected their appearance, they would be,
sometimes, with a meaning smile on their countenances-at
others, with a leer-but always with an expression that
seemed to me extremely disagreeable. I am not naturally
suspicious, and for a long time considered these little circumstances as accidental, of course, and though excessively
annoying, not sufficiently so to warrant my removal from the
house. Recently, however, I began to suspect that more
was meant than met the eye, and determined to be as
guarded and circumspect in my deportment as possible.
On the day of my return from Brickville, I went at once
to my boarding-house. It was near dusk; and two drunken
Indians, and one or two soldiers, were in the bar-room, with
Underwood behind the counter. He took no notice of my
126 
MR. UNDERWOOD'S JEALOUSY.
entrance, not even returning my evening salutation. I
passed4on to the kitchen, with my game. Two or three of
the ladies were standing around, in listless attitudes.
"Who is housekeeper for to-day?" I inquired.
"Mrs. Maria," answered one of them, laying a peculiar
emphasis on the " Mrs."
"And where is she?"
They all giggled, but returned no answer.
Not seeing anything so very ludicrous in my question, I
inquired what they were all laughing at.
This redoubled their mirth, when, flinging the ducks at
the feet of one, I hastily retreated towards my room.
It was now duskish, and I encountered MAaria on the landing-place. She carried a small candle, and had evidently
been weeping.  Instantly recognizing me, she said, "So
you have returned; but you must go away again."
"Where to?" I demanded.
"Anywhere. You must seek another home."
i' Seek another home! Why, pray?"
"Because-because-oh, we have had such another time
during your absence!  My  husband was so angry I  In
short, he is jealous of you."
"Jealous of me!"  The idea was so ridiculous that I
burst into a loud laugh.  I could not help it.
Do not laugh," said Maaria.  " It will be heard.  Some
one is watching us now, I expect. I dare say that this
moment there are listeners to our conversation. You must
go hence immediately, and return no more."
127 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
This moment I heard footsteps and voices.
"Together again I" said one whom I knew to be Under
wood.
I looked around. tie was standing at the bottom of the
staircase, two or three women peering over his shoulders, on
tip-toe, and the bar-room group leering and staring behind
them. Maria retreated hastily. I stood still, facing the
group; for I thought some explanation due myself and her.
Addressing Underwood, I requested to know the meaning of
such strange conduct.
"You  know very well what  it means," he replied.
"Wasn't you talking just now to Maria, and she to you?
Tell me that I"
"We certainly were conversing."
"What about?" asked one of the soldiers.
"Jealous husbands, and wives who act the part of spies,"
I replied, and passed on to my room.
The agitation of my feelings almost precluded the idea of
hunger.  Then Nature asserted her rights over sentimen't.
I descended the stairs, went direct to the larder, and helped
myself. Whether any one saw me or not, I neither knew
nor cared.
Mv first business next morning was to procure new lodgings, and I determined, rather presumptuously, not to go
where there was more than one wife. My inquiries must
have seemed ridiculous enough. In the Eastern cities, the
number of children often determines the bargain in such
cases, but with me it was rather the number of wives.
128 
LOOKING FOR BOARD.
"Do you know of any place where I could obtain board
for a month or so?" I said to an old Mormon with whom I
had become slightly acquainted.
Well, I don't know," he replied.   "There's brother
Solomon-a very good man-takes in boarders sometimes.
Don't know whether or not he wants any now."
"How many wives?" I inquired.
"Only ten."
"Won't do for me."
"Why not?-the more the merrier!  One is a good
singer.   Another  plays  the harp beautifully.   I should
think you would be agreeably entertained."
I shook my head.
He smiled.
"Is there a man in this city with only one wife?"
"There may be, though I know of none."
"Not one?"
"No.   Stay —yes; there is Elder Hyde.   I recollect
hearing that he had but one."
"And do you suppose that he could be induced to take
me in?"
"Doubtful. His wife, they say, won't suffer any addition
to the family. She fears it might lead to the consequences
she most dreads."
"I shall make the trial."
"You can do so, but I think it will be useless."
I made the trial-it was useless.
6*
129 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
MRS. HYDE.
I found Mrs. Hyde, and her family, in a small, yet con venient, adobe house, situated at the eastern side of the
city, in a very public place.  I say "her family;" for she
certainly seemed the ruling, reigning spirit, monopolizing
the conversation, and manifesting her independence in a
thousand little ways. I was quite charmed with her naive
simplicity, though I saw that it augured adverse to my
scheme.
Addressing the elder, I inquired, "If he could find it
convenient to take a boarder."
"Ask her," he replied.  "I have nothing to say about it."
"We have had several applications for board lately,"
she interposed, with remarkable vivacity. " Excuse me, sir,
but are you a stranger!"
She said this flitting around the house like a hummingbird, very busy in preparing dinner.
"Not exactly a stranger, madam. I have been in this
place about two months."
"Where have you been living 1" she continued, with true
feminine curiosity.
"At Underwood's."
"Indeed!  And why don't you stay there?"
She was determined to have the whole story, while I felt
such questions to be decidedly impertinent.
130 
MRS. HYDE.
"Excuse my freedom, madam, but I scarcely think that
subject pertinent to our present business," I answered.
Her face flushed for a- moment, then her black  eyes
twinkled, and she finally burst into a laugh.
That's right!'~ said the elder, with mirth depicted on
his countenance.    The curiosity of women is"
"Now, hush!" said the little, vivacious wife, clapping her
delicate hancl ovlr his mouth.
The husband laughed and struggled.
"There was no harm in her asking," I said.
"And there was no harm in your refusing to tell," she
answered.  "I understand your feelings; the rebuff was
merited. Yet, in a place like this, where there is such a
constant influx of strangers, it is necessary to know something of one's character, especially if he proposes to become
an inmate of one's family."
This was said with such a charming air, and so deprecating a manner, that I felt half ashamed of myself, and
wondered that I had attributed to mere feminine curiosity
what had evidently arisen from a better and nobler feeling.
Mrs. Hyde, assisted by her husband, set out the dinnertable. Then she laid the cloth, and selected the dishes
necessary to the repast, but found, in the meantime, abundant opportunity to talk.
"I made up my mind some time ago, that nothing should
induce me to receive any additions to my family;" and she
glanced at her husband. "I do my own housework, and I
find it quite sufficient to keep me busy."
131 
THIE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
" I have told her, sometimes, that we had much better
take in two or three boarders, and keep a hired girl.  I
think we could make it profitable," said the husband.
"No hired girl comes on the premises while I stay!" she
answered quickly, her black eyes fairly snapping.   "I de  test the whole tribe!"
"That is a strong expression," said the husband.
"It's a true one, however," she replied.   "Come, dinuer
is ready."
I was invited to partake, and not having received a defi nite answer to my proposal, was not prepared to depart,
and in consequence accepted it. The food was excellently
dished, and served with taste. There was no disorder nor
disarrangement.  Everything looked well, and ate well; for
all was suitable and in place. The elder was complaisant,
the lady social, and I thought she took great pains to inter est and amuse him, though immovable in her determination
on certain points.
When the dinner was finished, and we had risen from the
table, she again addressed me: " Now, sir, not to keep you
longer in suspense, I must firmly, yet respectfully, decline
to receive you."
The husband looked towards her as if he wished that she
had decided otherwise.
"I have one question to ask, however, which I really
hope you will not consider impertinent. I wish to know
what induced you to make application here for a home.   It
132 
A SENSIBLE WOMAN.
is a perfect mystery to me why so many seem disposed to
abide with us."
I could not help smiling at he; earnestness, but doubted
the expediency of making the communication she desired.
"You hesitate," she began.   "Shall I guess?"
"Certainly."
"And you will tell me then?"
"Be sure, I will."
"Is it because my husband has but one wife?"
"It is. At least, that was the inducement with me."
"I thought so." And she looked archly towards her
husband. He sat apparently in meditative mood.
"Have you seen much of polygamy?" she questioned.
"I could not be in this country without seeing enough of
it," I replied.
"In my opinion," she said, "it is the most abominable
practice ever introduced into the world. If I had a daughter, I would much rather see her shrouded for a coffin, than
married to a Mormon."
"But a Mormon might be a just and upright man."
" AMight be," she repeated. "Yes, might be, as my hiusband is; but you have no security in law, Christianity, or
public opinion. If my hushand goes out, I cannot help
thinking that possibly he may return with another wife. If
a single lady comes to visit me, how can I be sure that she
has no designs on him?  And  the worst of all is, I am
under the necessity of concealing my feelings."
133 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"That must be a vexation to one so free-spoken as yourself," retorted the husband.
"I have no fears that this gentleman will ever take the
.s
trouble to report my conversation," she said.
"I hope, sir, that you will not," said the elder, addressing
me. "It is all unfounded prejudice on her part. Many
families live happily, I believe, where there are two or even
more wives."
"I replied that, after my hospitable reception and entertainment in their family, it would be the height of ingratitude in me to report anything that might tend to their disadvantage; and soon after took leave, really pleased with
my visit.
THE NEW BOARDING-HOUSE.
After making repeated inquiries, I was driven to the
alternative of accepting any situation that offered, without
reference to the number of the presiding goddesses. Mr.
Inkley had but two wives-so he informed me-and they
were unexceptionable women.
"And how many children?" I inquired.
"Only four "-laying great stress on the adverb.  "Very
good children, too. Don't think you have ever seen better;
still and obedient, to a charm."
To Mr. Inkley's I went, accordingly.
Maria Underwood was not in sight when I returned for
my baggage, though two or three of the others stood
around, apparently watching my motions with much satis
134
Tll 
MR. INKLEY'S WIVES.
faction. I took no notice of them-not even saying "fare well "-and hurried away.
Mr. Inkley was a singular man, and some of his points
decidedly laughable. He evidently considered it beneath
his dignity to pay much attention to his guests-sometimes
rudely turning his back when inquiries were made of him,
and scarcely ever heeding complaints or requests. Hiis wives
were far his superiors in manners, but as they were expected
to do all the work, and perform the duties of attendance on
the boarders besides, it is not surprising that many things
were disregarded that should have been attended to, and
that it seemed the study of each to shirk the labors and
responsibilities herself, by laying them thick and heavy on
the shoulders of her companion. Thus, if the towels were
not changed, or the chamber service duly performed, Martha
accused Hannah of the remissness, or Hannah declared that
all the blame was chargeable to Martha.
But I was chiefly amused, though many times half vexed,
at Inkley's manner of praising himself and the arrangements
of his household. It was the only subject over which he
ever grew eloquent.
"What an excellent supper you have got, Martha I  I
declare, you beat all women for getting up good things,
with little effort, though I cannot say without cost. Wish
I could; it would be better for all concerned," he began,
drawing his chair unceremoniously to the table, and inviting
me to follow.
135
0
i'l 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"We have little variety here," he continued.   "Though
I never fancied variety in food-a few dishes, and good
ones, I say. Martha understands that!"
At this juncture, Hannah flung out of the room in high
dudgeon, while Martha smiled complacently, and I looked
in vain to discover some particular excellence in the dishes
before me. They consisted of cold salt-meat, dry slices of
bread, stale butter, and some kind of wild fruit, stewed in
water, without spice or sugar. The weakest nerves could
not have been deranged by the tea, which was served with
blue milk only, while cakes and preserves seemed unknown
or forbidden delicacies.
Now, do help yourself," said Inkley, setting the example. "Make yourself at home, as Aaron used to say.
Don't you remember, Martha, when we went to Aaron's,
that time, with your sister's family, and you, being afraid
that Susy wouldn't like so many of us coming at once, took
along an old dress, to work in, and assist her about getting
dinner; and how pleased Aaron seemed, and how he tickled
you by continually saying,'Now, Matty, make yourself at
home?'" 
"Oh, yes; I remember it all," said Martha; "'but it
was hardly necessary to repeat it here."
"Help yourself to the butter.  Excellent butter we have
in Deseret-far superior to that in the States," he continued,
affecting to eat eagerly, though in reality devouring little.
"Now, don't stop so I" he said, when I refused the
136
. 
DIFFERENT IDEAS OF COMFORT.
second cup of tea, and drew back.  "Why, I ain't half
done yet! Bread and butter, and stewed berries, are good
enough for a king.
"We have a very nice chamber in readiness for you, sir,"
he said, soon after tea. "My dear," addressing Martha,
"that bed has been properly aired, has it not? I know
you always have things very nice and comfortable, but
thought no harm could come of mentioning it."
Martha replied that if he wished to know about that, he
must go to Hannah.
"Well, I presume it's all right. We will go, if you
please."
I followed him up stairs, to a small room, in one corner
of the house, next under the roof. To judge from appearances, not a soul had entered it that day. The door was
closed, the windows had been shut, and the air was as hot
and stifling as that of an oven.
"A very nice chamber, this," said Inkley; "convenient
and comfortable."
"Uncomfortable, you might have said," I suggested.
"The heat is intolerable; the room has not been sufficiently
ventilated," and I threw up a window.
"Strange I" said Inkley.  "This room has always been a
favorite with every one. I had some thoughts of occupying it myself, but the boarders always liked it so well, that
I hesitated to deprive them of it. Hope you are not more
difficult to suit than the others have been.  Good-evening,"
and he withdrew.
13, 4' 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
That was a pretty good hint. I slept, as usual, with the
windows open, and awoke in the morning, refreshed and
invigorated. Various domestic sounds saluted my ears.
The husband talking, one woman scolding, another laugh ing, with the racing, shouting, and crying of children, quite
counterbalanced my natural tendency to a morning reverie
in bed.  I rose hastily, but no conveniences for a gentle man's toilet were at hand-neither water-pitcher, stand,
napkin, or mirror. There was no bell; but had there been,
who would have answered it? Fortunately, I had acquired
a habit of taking things as they came, and had been too
long accustomed to a camp-]ife, to be discomposed by trivial
circumstances. Taking care that my apartment should have
a good airing, at least, for that day, I removed the sheets,
shook up the bed, and extended the windows to their utmost
capacity.
While making these arrangements, I heard Inkley's voice
calling, from the foot of the stai;.rs, "Breakfast is ready, sir."
I descended, to find that breakfast was not ready, but
only in a state of preparation. The kitchen was divided
from the sitting-room by a thin partition; and it was impossible, while remaining in the one, to be ignorant of what was
going on in the other. The women were quarrelling, and
appllying to each other the coarsest and most brutal epithets; and the husband, by attempts to reconcile themn,
only made matters worse. Growing vexed and wearied at
this, he seized the broom, and threatened to strike the first
one that opened her mouth to speak again. "And get
138
I I 
GATHERING HONEY-DEW.
breakfast ready in double quick time. Don't you know that
the gentleman is waiting?"
"Let himn wait, then!" muttered one of them.
By the time that breakfast was ready, however, lannah
had become good-natured, though Martha refused to appear
at the table. The master, as usual, extolled the fare, and
pronounced the lady beside him the most accomplished
housekeeper in the world.
During this time, the children were scrambling for the
choice of pieces, and drawing the saucer of berries from
one to the other, alternately, across the table.
Good children, they are," said the father, "though full
of spirits, and a little boisterous sometimes. But we were
all children once, I suppose, and probably no better than
those we see around us now. People don't realize this as
they should, or they would exhibit more patience with the
little ones."
Having finished my breakfast, I went out to breathe the
fresh air; and, walking to the banks of a small stream,
encountered a party gathering honey-dew from the leaves
of the cottonwood trees growing along its banks. They
were in highl spirits, and the valley rang with their shouts,
songs, and hilarious laughter.  There were old and youngmen, maidens, and boys-somne with spoons and saucers, and
others without-but all, it seemed to me, more intent on
enjoyment than on obtaining the honeyed secretion, which
stood in great saccharine globules on the leaves. The
saints profess to consider this substance as identical with
139
,,,I . 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
the manna which fell, miraculously, to supply the pressing
wants of the Israelites during their sojourn in the wilder ness.  Gentile eyes, however, cannot  discover  anything
extraordinary in it. It resembles gum-arabic in color, but
is of softer and less adhesive consistence, with more decided
saccharine taste. To one unused to eating it, it is scarcely
palatable.
Several married men were in the company. One, with
whom I was slightly acquainted, and knew as the husband
of six wives, was flirting and ogling most unmercifully with
a delicate maiden of twelve years, who seemed decidedly
pleased with his attentions, practising all the arts and
allurements of the most accomplished coquette. A more
disgusting sight I never witnessed.   Stranger still, the girl's
mother was along, highly elated with the scene, and seeming
to do all in her power to increase their intimacy.
I did not mingle with the group, but seated myself on
the trunk of a fallen tree, within sight and hearing, where
I was presently joined by one of the party. He was a
young man of comely appearance, and remarkably fine
eyes, beaming with intelligence.   I had previously seen
him, and he now accosted me with an ease and grace of
manner only to be acquired by mingling in good society.
"You are an Eastern man, I think, sir?"
"I am."
"Were you ever in New York?"
"That is my native State."
"Then I must shake hands with you; for it is mine, too,
140
-i I 
AN OPINION PLAINLY EXPRESSED.
and I am proud to say it," he continued, extending his
hand.
We shook hands.
"Excuse my liberty-your name?"
I gave it.
"And mine is Frederick B         r.  And now we may consider ourselves as acquainted, for the future, may we not?
"Certainly."
And we entered into conversation. I soon ascertained
that he was not particularly partial to the Mormon system
of religious faith, and viewed the patriarchal institution
they professed to prize so highly, with supreme contempt.
Hiis allusion to that subject excited my curiosity.
" Have you a family?" I inquired.
"No,' sir; and never shall have while I remain here."
"Why  not?   I have  seen several fine specimens  of
womanhood among your people."
"When I marry, my wife must be both virtuous and
intelligent. I could not find a woman here that would
meet my views in that respect."
"What do you mean?"
"What I say."
"That there are no virtuous women in Utah?"
Just so."
"I think there must be."
"You have not penetrated beneath the veil."
"Probably not."
"I may do wrong in saying that there are none. There
141 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
must be some, I suppose. Sodom could furnish one righteous man; Noah remained a preacher of righteousness,
when all flesh had corrupted their way; and there may be
some who are really endowed with more correct moral principle than I give them credit for. Till my mother died, I
knew there was one. Since then, I have had no faith in
those by whom I have been surrounded."
"Then you have parents here?"
"M Ay father is here. As I have told you, my mother is
dead. Love and gratitude to the authors of my being, first
brought me here, and the same feelings now detain me."
Meanwhile, the gatherers of the honey-dew had obtained
all the sweets to be found there, and departed to look elsewhere. We were not sorry to be alone. He told me of
their beautiful home in New York, and how happy they
were in the society of friends and neighbors, till the tempter
came.
"My father," he continued, "was simple in his ways and
habits, unsophisticated and ignorant of the world as a child.
My mother was gentleness itself, and of the most confiding,
inoffensive, and placid disposition. Neither had enjoyed the
advantages of a classical education. They were of the old
school, when to read, write, and cipher to the Rule of
Three, was the acme of ordinary attainment. But I have
always observed that those most deficient in education
themselves, seem most disposed to bestow its coveted treasures on their children. I was an only child, and they
determined that I should be educated, whatever might be
142
II 
A SAD HISTORY.
the consequence.   This determination was, probably,  the
cause of all our subsequent misfortune; for, had I been
near my parents, instead of being at college, in the hour of
their temptation and trial, they would not have fallen into
the snare.
"A letter reached me from my mother. It breathed her
usual tenderness, but I detected in it a change from the
usual placid serenity.  I felt, in a moment, that something
had occurred to agitate or wound her feelings, though of its
nature I had not the most distant idea. That day, in look ing over the newspaper published in my native village, I
saw an announcement that the Mormons were to preach in
the schoolhouse, at an appointed time, with a preliminary
view of the rise and peculiarities of the new faith. Yet I
never dreamed that my honored parents could be seduced
from allegiance to the church they had loved and honored
from childhood. I had too much confidence in their stability of principle and abiding good-sense, and only thought of
them as wondering at the defection and apostasy of others.
What, then, was my surprise when another letter from home
announced their conversion to Mormonism, and  informed
me that they had determined to dispose of their beautiful
home, and emigrate, with their new-found friends, to the
Promised Land I The writing was, indeed, my mother's,
but I knew-I felt certain-that the spirit it breathed was
not hers. Oh, no; I would not believe that such a change
had come over her whom I had always considered the most
perfect of women."
143 
THE HUSBAN  IN UTAH.
"And you went home?"
"I went home, after asking leave of absence, which was
reluctantly given. The stage stopped near my father's door.
I alighted, ran to the house, and entered the parlor, without
announcement. It was dusk, and the apartment was lighted
by a lamp. I was surprised to see so much company around,
and all were too busy to notice my abrupt, yet noiseless,
entrance. My mother was seated near the table, on which
lay a pile of papers; and a lawyer-bending over her chair,
and pointing with his finger to recent inkmarks on one of
them-was repeating,'You acknowledge this to' —
"I comprehended the scene in an instant:'Stop, mother I
For Heaven's sake, stop!' She lifted her eyes, sprung
towards me, and fell, fainting, into my arms."
Frederick paused for a moment, and then resumed  "My father had been deluded into the rash act of signing
over his entire property to the use and behoof of the Mormon Church; and so great was the infatuation of my
mother, that she actually seemed to rejoice that the affair
was consummated. She said it was their duty to lay all
their possessions at the apostles' feet, as in the days of the
primitive Church; and that whoever kept anything back,
would risk meeting the doom of Ananias and Sapphira. To
my reasonings she turned a deaf ear; she was insensible to
my entreaties; and so great was the influence held by the
priesthood over her, that I verily believe she regarded me,
her son, as her direst enemy.  I left them-in sorrow more
than in anger. What else could I do?
144 
A SAD rISTORtY.
"After that, though I wrote frequently to them, I never
received a word in answer. At length, vacation came, and
I went back, my heart burning with affectionate desires.
Strangers occupied the mansion where we had passed so
many happy hours; and my aged parents, I was told, had
removed with the Mormons. I wept like a child, and my
greatest sorrow was for the loss of their affection.
Two years elapsed.   I had heard  nothing from  my
parents, and began to mourn them as dead, when a letter
reached me, superscribed from the valley of the Great Salt
Lake.  I broke the seal with a trembling hand.   It was
from my mother; and such a revelation as it made! What
harrowing anxiety was depicted in every line! What bitter
remorse and agonizing self-reproach!  Finally, she conjured
me, as her first-born and only child, to come to her, saying
that she only waited to behold me once more, and then
close her eyes to the earth and its misery!
"Of my father she said nothing, and I could but wonder at her silence.   I knew the perfect confidence that
had so long existed between them, and how fully each had
endorsed the other's sentiments; and I felt apprehensive
lest a great gulf had opened between them, in some unaccountable way.   However, my  mother's appeal was  not
suffered to go unheeded. I made immediate preparations
for joining them, and, after many difficulties and dangers,
reached their abode. They were tenanted in a miserable
hut, with few of the comforts and none of the luxuries of
life. My father, in his old age, had actually been obliged
6
,1I
145 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
to work by the day for wages, and my mother to beg washing of the soldiers, to obtain their daily food-they, who
all their lives had been above necessity or want I
"But this was not, by any means, the greatest misfortune
of my poor mother. A few months had done the work of
years on her frame. Instead of the round, full, red cheeks,
like ripe winter-apples, her face was shrunken and withered;
her hands trembled, as if with palsy; and her eye had a
gleam and glitter that made me fear for her intellect.  -We
had sat a short half-hour together, when a coarse, red-faced
woman, with a flannel night-cap on her head, came in, and
seemed perfectly at home. When she went out, I inquired,
'Does that woman live with you?'
' Yes.'
"' In what capacity?'
1Her lips quivered, her whole frame trembled, and her
eyes filled with tears. It was some moments before she
could reply, and then imagine my horror and astonishment
on hearing that she was my father's second wife. With
tears streaming down her face, and her voice broken by
sobs, she went on to narrate how this ugly, greasy specimen
of womanhood had been formerly attached to the harem of
a priest, where she kept the whole house in an uproar. He
determined to get rid of her, and so persuaded my kindhearted parent that it was his duty to take her. The old
man hesitated, and asked time for deliberation. The next
morning, she came to his house, and took up her abode,
where she soon usurped all authority. My mother could
146 
A SAD mSTORY.
not even have the privilege of making a cup of coffee without the jade's permission, and had more than once been
subjected to the indignity of blows, in her moments of illtemper.'Your troubles in that respect are at an end, dear
mother,' I said.' I will soon make the house too hot to
hold her!'  She smiled sadly.
"From that moment, all power in that dwelling was
exercised by me; and though naturally averse to quarreling with a woman, between this termagant and myself there
were some exciting scenes.  My father remonstrated.  He
feared the power of the priests, but I did not. She was
expelled the house, and went back to her former lord.
"But my mother never recovered her serenity of mind,
or physical health; and the most that I could do was to
smooth her passage to the tomb. I had the satisfaction of
knowing that her eyes were opened to the iniquities of the
Mormon system; and it was painful to hear her, on the
verge of the grave, lament that she had left her'first love,'
like those mentioned in the Revelations-that she had not
been content to leave' the first principles of the doctrines of
Christ, and travel on towards perfection,' but had turned
aside in the bye-paths which, she now believed, led to temporal misery and eternal death. She pined for the society
of her old friends, especially for that of the pastor who had
broken for her, in former days, the bread of life. Her last
words were full of Christian hope and trust-' Behold the
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.'
"No Mormon priest officiated at her funeral.  I would
147 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
not have her remains so desecrated. Neither would I per mit her to be buried in their cemetery. I selected the spot
myself, and caused a suitable monument to be erected, as a
record of her worth."
"And your father "
' Is nearly superannuated, and almost imbecile; and that
hateful woman is the torment of my life. She persists in
visiting him; and the elder, her pretended husband, encourages her in making the most scandalous advances. He
seems determined to billet her on us for support."
He concluded by inviting me to visit his father. I consented, and we walked back to the city in company.
"I have reason to believe," said Frederick, "that the
history of my parents is not a solitary one. Events as
tragic, interesting, and thrilling, have probably transpired
in all the families around us, though unseen, and even unsuspected, by the uninitiated."
As we approached the cabin, a dirty, slattern-like woman,
with a small bundle under her arm, darted from the door,
andI ran off down the street.
"There she goes," said Frederick.   "She knows better
than to let me catch her in the house! I'd like to know,
though, what she has been carrying off."
"Carrying off-does she steal?" I inquired.
"To be sure, she does I She had been twice in the penitentiary before coming here, I have been credibly informed.
When I reproached her with this crime, she had the impudence to attempt its justification, saying that the earth and
148
N q
i.7 
FREDERICK' S FATHER.
its fullness was created for man in general, and that one,
just as much as another, had a right to its blessings.'
"'And so that gown you have on is as much mine as
yours, eh?' I inquired.
"''Yes, if you want it. Do you want it?' she replied,
with an air of the greatest insolence, taking up, and holding
out for display, her ragged, draggled skirt."
We entered the cabin.
I have brought you a visitor, father," said Frederick.
The old man raised his head, and returned my salutation
with affability. He had mild, brown eyes, with such an
easy, guileless expression of countenance, that I doubted
not his complete subjection to the designs of the impostors.
Strange as it may appear, his faith in Mormonism was not
in the least shaken; and when I commenced conversing
with him, he answered by exhorting me to come out from
the world and unite with the saints.
I inquired if his happiness had been promoted by his
union with them, to which he replied that, whether or not,
such questions were irrelevant to the subject; that they
were not expecting happiness here, and must be contented
to cheerfully bear minor trials, in consideration of the glorious consummation in prospect.
The simple creature then proceeded to relate the marvels
and miracles that had been wrought in favor of the Mormons. According to him, their journey was attended with
events almost as wonderful and supernatural as that of the
Israelites when they went up out of Egypt. Springs sprang
149
1.1 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
up in the desert when they were thirsty; herds of buffalo
approached when they were starving; prowling Indians fled
before their faces; and, to cap the climax, he averred that
he had no doubt, had there been a Jericho on the route, its
walls would have fallen down at the blowing of rams' horns,
as they did in the days of old. Why shouldn't miracles be
common now, as they were then? Why shouldn't they,
sure! Others than himself have asked that question.
When I bade the old man farewell, Frederick accompanied me a short distance towards my boardinghouse.
"You see my father, what he is —a mere child. I cannot leave him to the tender mercies of these creatures.
Duty, honor, filial affection, forbid it. He is weak and
imbecile. Still he is my father; and not till his earthly
pilgrimage closes, shall I leave the Alormon city."
I commended his resolution; and, promising to call again,
arrived at home in time for dinner.
150 
A NEW WIFE.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE DINNER-A NEW WIFE-JAUNT TO GRANTSVILLE, AND
WHAT I SAW THERE, ETC.
HE  dinner was got up with unusual taste, and a new
divinity presided at the table. She was a little, neat
woman, with brown complexion, and black eyes. Her motions were quick and graceful; and, flitting from thing to
thing, she strongly reminded me of Mrs. Hyde.  Inkley was
highly pleased, and exceedingly loquacious.   He laughed
and talked, told droll stories and humorous anecdotes,
pinched the lady's cheek, and jogged my elbow in a manner quite unaccountable.  Hannah and Martha were invisible, but their lord did not seem to perceive, much less to
regret their absence. The children, too, had disappeared,
and were, probably, at that moment dining with their mammas, in another apartment.
I subsequently learned the history of this woman. It
was somewhat singular.  Her maiden name was Sarah Carter, and she had rich and highly respectable connexions in
the State of Rhode  Island.  Sarah, when a child, was
chiefly noted for versatility of talent and changeableness of
151 
THE DUSBAND IN UTAH.
purpose. In her studies, before one science was half mas tered, she flew off to another. She abandoned French for
music, music for crayon-drawing, and drawilng, for sculpture.
She gave up school-teaching, and became a public lecturer
on woman's rights.  Wearying of this, she became a clair voyant, then a spirit-rapper, and finally fetched up on the
shoals of Mormonism. That she was witty and graceful, no
one could deny, and many would have admired her style of
beauty.  A Mormon elder certainly did.  He saw her on the
ferry-boat that plies between Jersey City and the island of
Afanhattan, was struck with her appearance, and inquired
her name. Learning this, he presented himself, without the
ceremony of an introduction, was graciously received, and
soon became one of her most devoted admirers, though six
or seven wives pined for his embraces at home. The lover
was ardent in his protestations, liberal in gifts, and the consequences of their intimacy soon1 became visible. At this
juncture, he persuaded her to follow him to Salt Lake.
Change was her element, and she consented; but immediately on their arrival, he abandoned her. Among strangers,
and without resources, she became a pensioner on the bounty
of Parley Pratt.  Here Inkley saw her, was made acquainted
with her circumstances, proposed for her hand, was accepted,
and the marriage celebrated-all in one day. The next
morning- the day on which I saw her-he brought her
home, which was the first intimation that his other wives
had received of the affair. They were surprised, but not
angry, and at once abandoned all the house-keeping arrange
152 
DINNER TALK.
ments to her hands. She accepted the charge with a very
good grace, and doubtless with the expectation of resigning
it in her turn to another.   She addressed me across the
table, with great good-humor, saying that she was curious
to know why I came to Salt Lake City.
Without waiting for my answer, Inkley replied: "The
same that others come for, probably-to see and be seen.
Wasn't that so, sir?"
"Doubtless that had something to do with my motives,"
I replied.
The lady then launched into a voluble strain-talked of
Mesmerism, spirit-rapping, and woman's rights-said that
Lucy Stone was the greatest woman of the ag,e, that Mrs.
Bloomer deserved a monument, and Antoinette Brown a
wreath of laurel.
"And yet all these women are in pursuit of an idea
rather than a principle," I said. "They cannot succeed,
because they oppose nature."
" How oppose nature?" she inquired.
"Because man and woman never advance side by side.
He leads the way-she follows.  He acts the tyrant-she
becomes the slave. He affects the noble and godlike-she
rises proportionately. Never has woman opened a path in
literature, art, or science."
Inkley laughed heartily, and the bride looked vexed.
"If anything were wanting," I continued, "to prove how
completely woman is subjected by nature to the caprices of
man, we have a practical exemplification of it directly
I*
153 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
before our eyes.  How readily she assumes the character he
destines for her!  How"
"I do not understand you," she said, interrupting me.
"I do," said Iukley.  "I have often thought of the same.
Many think polygamy degrading to women; that is undeniable. I can't say that I do, however. But whether it is
or not, matters little. One thing is certain-they are impotent to resist it. Man wills it, and, whether she wishes it or
not, woman submits."
Dinner being over, Mr. Inkley informed me that business
connected with the Church would call him to Grantsville,
and that he expected to be absent for several days. I immediately asked permission to accompany him, and inquired
for the locality of that settlement.
"About forty miles west," he replied, and went on to
impart considerable information connected with the place
and its inhabitants, which tended to increase rather than
diminish my curiosity and spirit of adventure.
The afternoon was spent iu preparations for the projected
journey. WVe had a cold supper, and retired early, purposing to start at daybreak. In the night, I was awakened
by a loud clap of thunder, and sensations similar to those
experienced in a shower-bath. It was raining violently;
and the roof being leaky, and the window-casements loose,
the water dripped and drove in from every quarter, wetting
the bed, and standing in large pools on the floor.  The
night was black as pitch, except the occasional gleams of
lightning, followed instantaneously by the crack of thunder,
154
i I 
A TERRIBLE STORM.
loud and terrific as if heaven and earth were coming
together.  In a pause of the storm, I ascertained that the
inmates of the house were all up and in motion.  Once
there was a loud crash, and fall, as of a heavy body tumbling down stairs; then the suppressed screams of women
and children, and a man's voice, in a softer key, caught my
ear. I arose, but my garments were saturated with wet.
Those protected by the cover of my trunk, however, were
in a better condition.  After long searching in the dark, I
found and put them on. Simultaneous with this, the house
was illumined by a blinding flash, of which I took advantage, to rush out of my room and down the stairs. The
family were all in the kitchen; and a small lamp, burning
on the hearth, sufficed to give a view of each blank and
terror-stricken countenance.   The children were weeping,
the women sobbing, and all, except Sarah, huddled together,
like a group of frightened sheep.  She was walking up and
down the apartment, wringing her hands, and making gestures of the wildest despair, while exclaiming, "Oh, poor
sinners I What will become of poor sinners I The day of
judgment has come I-the great day of judgment I Oh, oh!"
Seeing me, she cried out, "Are you ready to-stand before
the bar of the great God?"
"Compose yourself, madam," I replied. "There is no
occasion for all this terror.  And were  it as you say,
though vice has always cause for fear, virtue should stand
unbleached amid the ruins of the world."
"Poor sinners! Oh, poor sinners I" she continued, shriek
Pi 
155 
THE IHUSBAND IN UTAH.
ing-thus forcibly depicting the horrors of superstition, and
illustrating the fact that, whatever may be the boasted
knowledge of the age, weak minds will be terrified at the
phenomena  of nature.
Presently, the flashes came no more, and the thunder
rolled in the distance. Then the clouds parted-one great
body rolling off to the eastward, while the other settled into
the south. The moon, just sinking in the western horizon,
came out ill its mild, pale beauty, and a few stars, seen here
and there, glanced out, like the eyes of angels.  Inkley
remarked on the suddenness and violence of the storm, and
Sarah, now that it was past, laughled at her unreasonable
fears. Then all retired again to their respective chambers,
except myself.  I was not partial to a wet-sheet pack, just
then, but stretched my limbs on a buffalo-robe, and soon fell
asleep.
It was that most delicious of hours, between dawn and
sunrise, when I awoke. Hastily rising, I went out. The
air was fresh, delicious, and invigorating; but everywhere
were to be seen traces of the last night's tempest.  Trees
and shrubs had been torn to pieces or overblown, fences
levelled, and fields of grain bent to the ground. In all the
hollows, pools of water were gathered, while the streams
rushed wild and turgid down the declivities. Hearing a
voice behind me, I turned, to meet the countenance of Inkley. He, too, had risen, and come out to ascertain the state
of the weather.  Considering this favorable, the women were
called up, and immediate preparations for breakfast made.
166
I
I 
JAUNT TO GRANTSVILLE.
This being over, and our small amount of baggage ready,
we mounted a wagon with two wheels, exactly resembling a
cart, except that it was covered with a coarse white cloth,
drawn tightly over bows, bent in a half circle, and fastened,
by the ends, to the wagon sides.  Elder Lyman had talked
of going along —more for company, I believe, than anything
else. We called first at his house, and were answered, from
the door, by a woman with a blowzy face, flaring from a
red nightcap, that the elder could not travel in the company of Gentiles.
"Is that all?" inquired Inkley.
She said that it was.
Where is he?"
"In the house."
"Can I see him?"
She hesitated a moment, when, finally, it came out that
the worthy was taking his morning snooze.
"Let him go, and be d-d!" said my companion, in a
low voice, starting the mules into a gallop.
For two or three miles, we moved on rapidly, over a
tolerably good road; then the ground became soft, spongy,
and, in many places, decidedly muddy. Sometimes a deep
gully would intercept our progress, and sometimes we would
have to circumnavigate a fallen tree. The jolting was
severe and incessant, yet, as if to make up for this, the
whole scenery was perfectly delightfill. The day was finenot a cloud to be seen-and the mountains flashed their
summits in the rich sunlight. We passed around the elbow
157 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
of the mountain range, on the lower steppe of which the
city is built, and went directly north-first by the warm
springs, which furnish to visitors the luxury of a bath, and
then by the hot springs, of which the ascending vapor is
such a remarkable addition to the scenery.
After a time, the road diverged to the left, and some
very pretty farm-houses, surrounded by fields of grain,
appeared in view. MIr. Inkley stopped at one of these,
leaving me in the wagon, to hold the mules, with the positive assurance that he would be back in five minutes, though
his stay was prolonged to an hour. He returned to the
wagon, evidently pleased with the success of his visit.
"Very nice place, sir," he began. "Nice people, too,
sir-very nice; though sister Laton appeared rather downcast.  She finds it hard to conform to the rules of our
faith-very hard, sir.  But, as I told her,'no cross, no
crown."' 
Mr. Inkle  interlarded his conversation with expletives, at
certain times; at others he did not.
"What is it that she finds so hard?" I questioned,
excusing myself, mentally, for such a breach of etiquette,
by remembering that Inkley loved to tell news quite as well
as any one could delight to hear it.
The fact is, sir, that brother Laton has been seriously
exercised about taking another wife.  He knows very well
that it is his duty, but hitherto, from respect to the prejudices of his first wife, has neglected it. The case went
before the church, and the council of elders decided that, to
158
III 
FEMALE 44 HELP ) DANGEROUS.
ensure his salvation and that of his family, he must conform
in all tlhiJgs to the requirements of our faith."
"And Mrs. Laton "
"Fainted away when informed of that decision."
" Who is the candidate for promotion?"
"The hired girl, I believe," he answered, with all the
coolness imaginable.   "Brother Laton was much affected
by the distress of his wife, and it required all the arguments
I could bring, backed by the influence of the church, to
strengthen his resolution."
"What did the girl say?"
"Oh, nothing.  Mrs. Laton was an Eastern woman, and
very proud.  I suppose it cuts close to have a servant elevated to an equality with herself. But the proud shall be
brought low, and the humble exalted-such is the language
of Scripture."
"When is Laton to marry his second wife?"
"Next week. Her bridal robes have been ready for
some time."
"It must be dangerous, in Utah, to have a hired girl I"
"Rather I" he replied, laughing, and the subject was
dropped.
For the remainder of the day, we journeyed over a good
road, along the lake-the ascending vapor of the hot-spring
hang,ing like a thin veil of gauze at the base of the mountaiiis, and the city dimly visible in the rear. This, however,
entirely faded from view as we descended into the valley of
the Weber, and paused to rest, in one of the loveliest spots
159 
lTHE HUSBAND IN'UrAH.
imaginable. Hiere the mules were unharnessed, and left to
feed on the rich grass, while we sat beneath the cooling
shade of some very handsome trees, or strolled, in search of
wild flowers and odd-looking pebbles, along the margin of the
stream. The banks were exceedingly steep and precipitous,
and the water coursed along with the rapidity of a racehorse.
We crossed the Weber on a bridge, and then we had a
rough and troublesome causeway of brush and poles for
half a mile, through a wet piece of ground. I had heard
this place mentioned, previously, as very dangerous, in
miring animals; but the falling of the river, and some
repairs, enabled us to pass it in perfect safety.
Thus far we had been on the regular California route,
and I was loth to leave the well-beaten road for the
scarcely perceptible Indian trail which Inkley said led to
Grantsville, the place of our destination.  Making a virtue
of necessity, however, we turned off, over a rough piece of
ground, and descended the valley of the stream, amidst a
labyrinth of mountains, irregular highlands, and frightful
gorges, which it would be quite impossible to describe. I
no longer wondered that so many travellers, hunters, and
emigrant trains had become lost, in their long wandering
among the mysterious passes. I even began to fear that
the same calamity would befall us, and hinted as much to
Inkley, who laughed, and said that there was no danger.
Of all countries, it seems to me that Utah is most lonely
and desolate-most destitute of animal life.  Mountains
160
.i!I 
CAMPING-OUT.
generally are the resort of game. With the single exception of wild fowl, there is very little here. You may travel
a whole day without hearing the voice of a solitary bird.
The buffalo never leave the prairies; the Rocky-Motuntain
goats are scarce, and chiefly inhabit farther north; grizzly
bears are seldom seen, and rarely caught; but a species of
small rabbit abounds, in great plenty, and the grasshoppers
in summer are almost a match for the locusts of Egypt.
Our animals had become so weary that we concluded to
halt for the night, when two-thirds of our journey was
accomplished. Our camping-ground was a beautiful valley,
carpeted with herbage, and watered by a clear, cool stream,
a tributary of the Weber. Our wagon contained plenty of
eatables, which were brought out at sunset, and we had a
cold but delicious supper; for a good appetite gave it zest.
Inkley, as usual, talked vivaciously, and praised everything, even to the luxury of a hard bed on the bottom of
the wagon. Slumber readily comes to weariness, and I fell
asleep, dreaming of vagabonds and Indians. Our repose
was undisturbed.  We were up by daylight, and, having
untethered the mules, let them range two hours, for pasture, previous to resuming our journey. The remains of
our supper served for breakfast; and, having dispatched
this, we were soon ready for a start.
There is a certain sameness connected with this scenery
that wearies the most ardent lover of nature. The mind
wearies of sublimity-the eye becomes tired of resting on
the great and grand. Rocks, mountains, rivers, precipices,
II
161 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
torrents, gorges, though ever varying in shape, size, and
magnificence, possess the same general characteristics.
I was really glad when the road diverged into a pleasant
valley, and the village we sought appeared in the distance,
though seeming little better than a camping-ground of savages. It was simply a collection of huts, built in wigwam
fashion, with few of the appurtenances or appearances of
civilization. The nearer we approached, the more conspicuous became these features, until I could scarcely persuade
myself that I was approaching a Christianized community.
Is that Grantsville?" I inquired, with some surprise.
"It is," returned by guide.
"Then all I have to say is, that report has spoken better
of it than it deserves."
"I hardly think so," he replied.   "There is a flourishing
church, chiefly composed of converted savages and ha]fbreeds; and it could hardly be expected that they would
assume at once all the peculiarities of civilized life."
I assented to this, not without wondering how many vices
of which they were previously innocent, had been engrafted,
with this religious system, on their simple, unsophisticated
natures. They were certainly the most impudent and unmannerly creatures I ever beheld.  Noticing our approach,
they came rushing out to meet us, surrounded the wagon,
clambered up the sides, pillaged the remnants of our food,
and actually began to examine the contents of our baggage,
beg,;ing, all the while, in a whining, abject tone, for beads
and trinkets. Inkley, in a loud voice, and with a flourish of
162 
OCCUPATIONS OF THE WOMEN.
his whip, commanded them to desist, and, showing a small
silver coin, declared that he would give it to the one who
should first inform the elder of our arrival. That was a
sufficient inducement, and off they all ran-men, women,
and children-helter-skelter, whooping and shouting, and
each one trying to outstrip his companions, while we
brought up the rear at a moderately slow pace.
I saw, at a glance, that Indian blood greatly predominated in the population. They were athletic fellows, but
vagabonds, to a man.   They had no regular occupation,
but fished a little, hunted a little, and smoked and lounged
a great deal. After the usual fashion of savages, the
women  performed  the labor.   Several were  out in the
fields, hoeing or weeding small patches of maize; and we
passed by a place where two women were busily engaged
in building a hut, a man standing by, apparently giving
directions, and overseeing the work. He nodded familiarly,
and with an air of great satisfaction, to my companion.
"Are you acquainted with that fellow?" I asked.
Inkley replied that he was.
"And who are those women under his command?"
" His wives.  Hie married them last week, both at a time,
so that neither could claim precedence. They seem to be
building a house."
In consideration of my hearers, I forbore the expression
of contempt that was rising to my throat.
Still further on, a woman was plowing, with a very stubborn mule, that gave her an infinite deal of trouble, to the
163 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
great amusement of the loungers; and many others were
feeding the hogs or cattle, working in their small gardens, or
performing similar labors-the men loafing around, as uncon cerned spectators.
Their singularity of appearance was greatly heightened
by grotesqueness of apparel.  Many of the women had on
men's hats and coats, and some had even put on the worn out and cast-off breeches of hunters and travellers, which
were much too large for them. The children were keen,
bright-looking little creatures, nearly nude, and with an
expression of countenance and agility of motion strongly
reminding one of the young of wild animals. I was all eyes
and ears, till the wagon drew up before a building differing
little from the rest, though somewhat superior.
"Does the elder live here?" I inquired.
The answer was affirmative, with a wonder that he
didn't show himself, followed by the exclamation, "Here he
comes."
A man, evidently a half-breed, with a face the color of
some rich, ripe berry, made his appearance, and bowed with
such a ludicrous air to Inkley, that I could not forbear
laughing. He had been drinking, which rendered his idiomatic pronunciation more harsh and guttural.
" He good fellow, broder," he began.   "Tum in; tum
in. Gad to see you," and he made a step forward, to meet
us, when, his toe coming in contact with something on the
floor, he lost his equilibrium, and fell prostrate.  The noise
brought out two women. Without noticing us, they seized
164
11 
c SWAP.           )       I
their lord, and bore him, notwithstanding his struggles to
the contrary, into the cabin.
"What shall we do?" said I, not relishing the idea of a
drunken Indian host.
"Get out, and go in, of course," said Inkley, leaping
from the wagon.
I followed his example, and, after hitching the mules to a
low stockade fence, we gathered up our baggage, and
entered the house, with a great train of men, women, and
children at our heels. Such a motley set I never saw
before, and hope never to see again.  They were pushing,
jamming, crowding, and trampling on each other, with the
manifest intention of getting at us and our baggage.  The
word "swap" was continually on their tongues.  First one
and then another would grab at some article of my clothing,
and, pulling it violently, would call out, "Swap?"  Some
of the women were actually determined to have my vest,
whether or not; and, with great want of discretion, I displayed mt pocket-handkerchief, by wiping my face with it.
Its brig't (color instantly attracted attention, and one, more
bold than y:he others, snatched it from my hands, and made
off with i., leaving me to the consolation of thinking that
the gang thereby was numerically weakened.
After being made to understand that we could not and
would not "swap," they became curious to know what we
possessed.  Our refusal to gratify their curiosity only increased it, and, as a last resort, we unrolled our bundles,
carefully separating, shaking out, and holding up each arti
165
11 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
cle they contained, so that all might obtain a full view. A
grunt of pleasure announced their satisfaction; and, after a
long time and much persuasion, they were induced to disperse.  While  this was going on, our Mormon  dignitary
overcame his drunkenness sufficiently to sit up, and signify
by gestures and an unintelligible lingo, his deep anxiety to
become possessed of our things. As I watched his countenance, and noted the villainous expression of his eye, I
really began to be apprehensive for our safety, notwithstanding his sacerdotal character.
Three wives and seven children composed the, family of
this nondescript, and all were huddled in this little cabin,
with a dirty stable in the rear. One of the women, cvidently the oldest, and apparently mistress of the establishment, invited Inkley to drive his mules around under the
shelter, where she said they could stand in perfect security.
While he was attending to them, the Indian elder became
drowsy, with the fumes of intoxication. His head swayed
to and fro, like a reed shaken by the wind; and he began
muttering and spluttering, in a style unintelligible to me,
but which occasioned great merriment to his wives. The
youngest of these, going up beside him, gave him  a push
that completely upset his centre of gravity, and tumbled
him on the floor. In another moment he was sound asleep.
It will readily be believed that this cabin was in a state
of great filth, dirt, and confusion. WVhat else could be
expected, or who could have been neat in such a place?   A
dog-kennel, in one corner of the hut, was swarming with
166
III 
DISGUSTING FOOD.
inhabitants; and while I sat, looking around, the mistress
approached, seized one of the puppies by the hind legs, and
deliberately proceeded to knock out its brains against the
wall. I turned away my head, overpowered by a sickening
sensation; and when I looked again, it was skinned and
dressed. The prejudices of civilization were strong within
me, and, with emotions of intense disgust, I saw her thrust
it into a pot, with water, kindle a fire beneath it, and understood at once that it was designed for our supper. Her
motions were not lost on Inkley. He went to her, and,
with the significance of words and gestures, succeeded in
making her understand that we had  brought provisions
with us, and consequently did not require her hospitality.
With a nod, she pointed to the children-as much as to say
that they would need it.
We slept in our wagon again that night, and by morning
our Indian host had become sufficiently sober to enter on
the business of the church.  These Miormon settlements, as
auxiliaries and branches of the mother establishment in
Zion, are subject to her government and supervision. Brigham Young, as supreme pontiff, provides each one with a
presiding bishop or elder, whose -duty it is to render a
monthly account of all the affairs connected with his spiritual jurisdiction-the number of births, marriages, and converts; the amount of tithes; and other matters in general.
With an appearance of great sincerity, the Inidian-or,
rather, half-breed-praised the zeal manifested by the male
members of his flock, which had run rampant to marry and
167
r-  
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
give in marriage, till not a single woman could be found in
the neighborhood. Several times he spoke of divorces, in
connection with these marriages; and I ascertained, on
inquiry, that the transferrence, or exchange, of wives, was
nothing uncommon-that is, a woman would be divorced,
by the church, from her husband, with the express understanding that she should marry another man. He said that
scarcely a day occurred in which he was not called upon to
solemnize such connections, and that he believed the want
of money to pay for it, prevented many more such matches
from taking place.
While we were conversing, a couple came into the cabin,
though whether Indians, or half-breeds, it would be difficult
to say.  They were clasping each other's hands, and seemed
very loving. The man stepped up to the elder, and whispered something to him which I could not bear, displaying,
at the same time, a small silver coin, in the palm of his
hand.
"Nodder wife, eh?" said the Indian priest, with a grin.
It would be impossible to transcribe their language, but I
learned that the wives of this fellow having all deserted him
for other men, he had begun taking a new stock. Not
being particularly interested in their affairs, I strolled out
for a walk, and, by going around the back way, and keeping out of sight as much as possible, managed to avoid
having a crowd at my heels.  Descending into a small valley on the eastern side of the village, by an Indian trail, I
was greatly surprised to see a large emigrant wagon, with
.rl
168
lp,P,r I l 
A FAMILY OF EMIGRANTS.
six oxen quietly feeding on the luscious pasture, while an
elderly man, a young woman, and three children, were sitting and lying around, in various attitudes. They were
busily talking.
" How I want to get away from here!" said the old man.
"So do I," answered his companion.
"I hope none of the fellows up yonder will discover us.
They are very devils, and I shouldn't feel safe a moment if
they knew we were here."
"Nor I either."
"Do you think they would kill us?" inquired one of the
children.
"Don't know. Can't say. Like as not," replied the
man.
I coughed  slightly, to attract their attention.   They
started, looked towards me,  and said no  more.   I approached nearer, and addressed them.  The old man had a
thin, withered, and very brown face, with a speaking twinkle
in his eye. He was dressed in clothes of the Quaker cut
and color-a broad-brimmed, low-crowned, grey-colored
hat, white cotton shirt, open in front, and without cravat, a long-skirted, snuffcolored coat, of coarse homespun, short trowsers, of blue drilling, and heavy cowhide
shoes.
"Good morning, friend," I said.
"Good morning," he answered, surveying me, at the same
time, from top to toe.
The examination was probably satisfactory; for his coun
8
169
I II 
THE HISBAND IN UTAH.
tenance brightened, and he inquired the time of day. I
gave it to him, when he continued the conversation  "Right warm weather."
"It is, indeed."
"And flies swarming like bees."
"Yes."
"Going to California?"
"I shall probably fetch up there, though, at present, I
am staying at Salt Lake."
"Come from the East?"
"Yes."
"What State?"
"I have been a resident of several States."
"How long have you been here?"
"Two or three months."
"Reckon you ain't a Mormon?"
"Why so?"
"Because ye don't look like one. I can always tell a
Mormon, when I see one. They carry the mark of the
beast."
"Father I" interposed the woman.
He looked at me, inquiringly.
"You have guessed rightly," I said.  "I am not a Mormon, and never shall be."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Looking around."
"Well, if you've seen much worth seeing, you've had
better luck than I have had," he replied.
170
71=1 e-,Fl'i' 
A TEMPTING INVITATION.
The woman laughed, shrugged her shoulders, and said,
"Whether you've seen much or not, you have found out
some things."
"I'm blowed, but I know that I've found out that the
Mormons, with few and rare exceptions, are damned rascals I
There! now I've said it. But you won't tell?"
"I certainly shall not."
"You'd better go on with us."
"I rather think not."
"Yes, you had. My daughter there is a widow."
"Ah, indeed."
The young woman blushed scarlet, and tears sprang to
her eyes as she ejaculated, " Oh, father I"
"But  that's of no account," he  continued.   "I'm  a
widower. My wife, and her husband, both died since we
commenced our journey. I buried them both, with my own
hands, on the prairie. I only hope that the wolves haven't
found their graves."
These remarks might have seemed heartless, and- yet
there was something in his manner that indicated feeling,
rather than the want of it. His daughter began to weep.
"Whence have you come?"
"All the way from Ohio."
Alone?"
"Not all the way. We started in company with some
Mormons.  I didn't know them, then, as I do now, or I
would have as soon undertaken the journey with Old
LI
171 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
Scratch himself. I've not a particle of doubt that all my
misfortunes were owing to them."
"Think so?"
"Stranger, I know it I  You see, my wife was glib of
tongue, without the least bit of deceit.  She couldn't and
wouldn't put up with all their vile practices. She couldn't
bear to see the women so free with the men, and the men so
fond of the women, and she would and did say it. I used
to caution her against exciting their ill-will, but it did no
good. She had no fear; and you might better attempt to
bridle the wind, than a woman's tongue."
" How can you talk so, father!" said the woman.
"There was a young girl in our company, the daughter
of a widow considered rich, and certainly beautiful. She
was a great favorite with the elder, who, though possessing
several wives already, made a formal proposal for her hand.
A young hunter, from Illinois, not a Mormon, was likewise
her suitor. MAy wife-who must have a say in everythingfavored his pretensions, and attempted to dissuade the girl
from marrying the detestable polygamist. The elder said
little.  Had he said more, I should have feared him less.
Your talkers give vent to their anger, and that's the end of
it; but your silent, plotting men-beware of them!  I left
the camp, one day, to hunt; but, somehow, I didn't feel
right, and went back, long before night.   I found my
daughter vainly trying to soothe the dying agonies of her
mother and husband, who were both writhing in strong con
172
ilil 
A MORMON'S VILLAINY.
vulsions. I knew, instinctively, that they were poisoned,
and inquired what they had been eating.
"'Nothing but some fruit.'
"'And the fruit-where did it come from?'
"They found it. It was such as we had all eaten. It
could not be the fruit. So they all said; but I knew better. It was plain to me as a book. They died that night.
The next morning their flesh, spotted with black and green,
confirmed my suspicion. Think you, after that, I would
travel in their company a moment longer? Not I I We
waited till they were gone, and then came on alone."
"But the girl-did she marry the elder?"
"Oh, I don't know, but I expect so."
Hie then informed me that he had mistaken the way,
because he refused to inquire of the Mormons, or have any
intercourse with them.
"And now," he continued, when I was preparing to
depart, "don't tell them fellows that I am down here. I
wouldn't have'em to know it for any money. I shouldn't
feel certain of my life for an hour longer."
I promised to remain silent, as he wished. Then, inviting
me to visit him, if I ever came to California, and could find
where he lived, we bade each other farewell, I believe with
mutual regret.
173
I,l 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER IX.
RETURN-OGDEN'S CITY, ETC.
HE  next morning, bright and early, we started on our
return route, which lay through Ogden's City, another
auxiliary branch of the Mormon Church. Inkley was very
conversable, and found something to commend, even in the
detestable manners of the brutalized inhabitants of Grants -
ville.
"You should have seen these people one year ago, sirone short year ago —and then you might form some estimate
of their advance in civilization. Why, bless my heart!
they were savages then-had little knowledge of a Creator,
none of a Saviour, and, if not exactly worshipping idols,
had no regular attendance on public exercises of devotion.
Yes, sir, their improvement has been little short of miraculous."
Such a palpable and manifest misrepresentation excited
my risibility. He laughed, too, for company.
"My character is original," he began, after a moment's
silence. "I am aware of that. Most people delight in
finding fault; it is my abhorrence. In the ugliest counte
1,74
we
r -, 
A FAVORABLE VIEW.
nance I always look for, and generally find, some redeeming
feature. Beneath the most vicious character, I can detect
the similitude of virtue.   I find something  or other to
praise, wherever I go. It may be a little, still it is somethling, and it always makes me feel better myself, and think
better of my kind."
"And what did you find at Grantsville?"
"That woman's ready hospitality struck me as a beautiful
trait."
I turned my head aside at the recollection.
"You view the subject altogether in a wrong light," he
said, reproachfully. "She was preparing for us the best
that she had, and what she considered excellent herself.
Could the most polished female have done better? Would
she probably have done as well?"
"But what proofs of an advance in civilization could you
discover?-for, to tell the truth, I thought their manners
much more disgusting and insolent than those of the wild,
untutored natives."
"You must make allowance for the many foreigners, of
all classes and nations, that they are in the habit of seeing,
and whose manners they insensibly imbibe. Ogden's City,
however, is far superior. I think you will be pleased with
it and its inhabitants."
175 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
OGDEN CITY.
About five miles from Ogden City, we stopped at an
exquisitely neat adobe house, standing a short distance off
the road, with a beautiful pine in front of it. The windows
were without glass, but drapery,,of snowy muslin, restrained
the currents of air, and admitted light. The master of the
house, a hale, companionable fellow, gave us a gracious
welcome, and his wife looked so happy, I wondered if polygamy could be there. Everything was neat; nothing costly.
Taste, not ornament, had evidently been consulted in the
arrangement of the furniture.  There was a table that had
been polished with soap and sand, till it shone almost like a
mirror; several benches, white and clean as wood could be
made; a small dresser, on which some very nice patterns of
queen's-ware cups and saucers were upturned, in the most
approved style, while plates to match were ranged on their
edges behind them. A small iron-furnace stood in one corner of the fireplace, supporting the tea-kettle, bright and
shining as a new dollar. Above this, on a nail, hung a
spider, as free from soot as if it had never been touched by
smoke. A rifle, powder-horn, and shot-pouch hung above
the mantelpiece, while some fishing tackle garnished the
wall opposite.
WVe had been seated but a short time, when the husband
glanced towards his wife. She understood the signal, and,
rising, with a smile, took her tea-kettle to a pail, very white
176 
BROTHER         RIPLEY S.
and sweet, that the husband had just brought in, brimming
full of cold, fresh water. Then, while she was filling the
kettle with the fluid, he kindled a warm, light blaze in the
furnace, over which it was placed for the second time.  Not
wishing to prolong our stay until after tea, I proposed
going, when both the man and wife seemed disappointed,
and pressingly invited us to share their hospitality.   My
companion, however, excused us, on the plea of the lateness
of the hour, the darkness of the night, and the miles we
had to travel, before reaching our destination.
I inquired of Inkley if this family were Mormon. He
said they were not, though the saints had made great efforts
to secure their conversion. He thought they were incorrigible, and given over to hardness of heart.
After dark, we found much difficulty in keeping the road,
there being frequent forks, and nothing to guide us. We
crossed two or three brooks, and several miry places, while
I began to grow impatient, when a cluster of lights appeared
in the distance. We soon reached a long, low cabin, which
Inkley said was brother Ripley's, and that we could be comforta       bly  entertained.  This was, indeed, good news.  The
door was shut, to keep out the mosquitoes; but, hearing
our steps, the good man came, opened it, and asked us to
enter. It was cheerful and comforting within, and formed
an agreeable contrast with the damp, dark night. A bright
lamp diffused a mellow light through the apartment, and a
balsamic odor breathed from the low fire of scented wood.
A door to the right, opened to the background of supper
8*
177
Iq!. 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
table and kitchen; and a nice, stout, hale-looking, but oldish lady, in a neat cap, came forth to welcome us, while a
boy was dispatched to attend to the mules.
When we were somewhat rested, supper was announced
by a negress, in a very white bib, and a very red turban.
There were several preparations of swine's flesh, fresh fish,
chicken, wheat and corn bread, with very rich short cakes,
and two or three kinds of sweetmeats. Both tea and coffee
were served, and water, cooled with the luxury of ice.
After supper, while Mrs. Ripley was absent from the room,
superintending her domestic affairs, Mr. Inkley inquired of
our host whether or not he had taken a second wife.
"I have not," said Ripley, "and probably never shall.
One good wife, like mine, is worth more to a man than a
dozen poor ones. I have long thought that."
"But it is the duty of the saints, you know."
"I don't know any such thing. If a man chooses to
curse himself with more than one wife, I have nothing to
say. If he remains contented with one, it is quite as well,
in my opinion."
"You will probably change your mind," said Inkley,
"when the right one crosses your path."
"I think not," answered Ripley.  "For twenty years I
have lived in an atmosphere of domestic happiness. My
expectations of connubial felicity have been fully verified.
In sickness and in health, in poverty and wealth, my wife
has been the sun that diffused life and light and joy through
the sphere in which I moved. At my advanced period of
178 
A COMFORTABLE APARTMENT.
life, with my knowledge of womankind and the world, it
would scarcely be policy to attempt the experiment."
Here Mrs. Ripley came in, and the subject was dropped
Her husband arose, and presented her with a chair, with all
the gallantry of youth; and it was beautiful to see the little
courtesies and attentions they bestowed on each other, and
which are generally so sadly neglected in the marriage
state. I could not help hoping that the great good-sense
and real happiness of this amiable old gentleman would preserve him from ever listening to the tempter, whose counsel,
in his case, at least, would be a certain prelude of misery
and disappointment.
The room in which we lodged that night, was one of the
best I had seen in the Mormon country. All its appointments and furniture bespoke the neat and thrifty housewife.
Nothing at loose ends, or out of place. Nothing neglected
for some one else to oversee. Our bed-chamber was a house
in itself, separated from the main building, though connected
with it by a platform or gallery in front. The windowsashes had been raised, for ventilation, and their places supplied by mosquito-curtains. Two stuffed easy-chairs stood
near the fireplace, each with a tub of tepid water, to bathe
our weary feet, before it, while a small lamp shed just
enough light to render the apartment pleasant.   Everything for comfort and convenience was so much superior to
what I had been accustomed to see in this country, that I
could not help noticing and remarking on it to my corn
179 
THE HUSBAND  IN UTAH.
panion. Strange to say, however, he was rather disposed
to cavil and find fault, thus revealing a phase of character
by no means singular.
The next day we visited the elder, and, through all the
Mormon empire, I have not seen a man more truly and
really lovable and worthy. To my infinite surprise, he had
no wife at all, and his house was kept in order by a youthful
niece.  Though a rigid Mormon in other respects, he was
bitterly opposed to polygamy, and had several times refused
his niece to the solicitations of men with families. His
example had not been without its influence. A majority of
those within his spiritual jurisdiction had but one wife-few,
if any, had more than two; and I was ready to make the
inquiry, if the superiority of Og,den's City over other MAormon neighborhoods was to be attributed to this fact.
Accompanied by the elder, we visited the tabernacle,
which was not remarkable for architectural taste or beauty,
though answering all the ends of a roomy structure. It is
large on the ground, very low, and has a wretchedly tame
appearance. However, father Smith, our guide, informed
me that when the church became sufficiently wealthy, another and better building would be reared, and the present
one removed, and applied to other purposes.
Many excellent farms are in this neighborhood.  Fine
meadow and pasture lands border the river on which the
city stands, and which bears the same name. I noticed
very fine herds of cattle, and sheep of improved breeds.
iso 
TRADITIONS OF OGDEN'S HOLE.
The whole region had an air of pastoral simplicity, blent
with romantic associations, and I became insensibly in love
with it.
The city itself (which is merely a thickly-settled neighlbor hood, or large village) is near the mountains-huge, frowning battlements, that seem  to pierce the clouds.  Along
their sides you can trace the wavy paths made by the moc casined feet of the Indians, in finding their way to their
inaccessible dens and caverns among the hleights.
Ogden's Hole, a noted place in this region, is celebrated
for one of those desperate encounters between white men
and savages which are fast becoming traditionary. Who
knows but that the future pen of the novelist may make it
famous as Ellerslie and Wallace's Cave. It is simply a
quiet, sequestered nook of the canion, whence the river
flows, in which one Ogden, with a party of white hunters,
made a successful stand against a host of Indians.
It is noted, too, as the scene of a romance of softer character and more recent date: One of the Indian chiefs had
a beautiful daughter, who was sought after, in marriage, by
a roving hunter, named White. The belle of the wilderness could not resist the fascinations of the white man.
They were married according to the Indian mode, and took
up their residence in Ogden's Hole. The luxuries and appliancs of civilization were wanting in their retreat, yet thiyn
were happy and comfortable. His rifle supplied them w;il
food.  He contended successfully with the grizzly bear, ai;l
dragged the panther from his lair. Such exhibitions cf
181 
THlE lHUSBAND IN UTAH.
strength and bravery gave him great influence over the
natives.  His retreat, sheltered from  tempests, remained
green the entire year, and he gathered about him a remark ably fine herd of cattle. These he drove off to California,
and returned with a splendid lot of horses. His reputed
wealth tempted the cupidity of his Mormon neighbors.
Then he was not a believer in their faith, and did not hesitate to reprove their practices. He went out hunting, one
day, but did not return. His wife was alarmed, and, with
her relatives, instituted a search. They found him dead,
from the effects of a bullet that had penetrated his brain.
But who aimed the murderous weapon? Alas I the rocks
and deep glens had no tongue for mortal ears. His property was seized, under some pretense, and eventually distributed among the dignitaries of the Mormon church, though,
to the credit of father Smith, be it said, he returned his
portion to the bereaved widow and her orphan babes. I
heard of many such instances, and cannot wonder that the
Mormons are greatly detested.
Ogden's City boasts, likewise, a drinking-house or tavern,
which I visited, from sheer curiosity. I had been informed
that one Goodall, a man famous through all the West for
his narrow escapes and daring exploits, was there to be
seen, with his men; and I went to look at them, as to a
collection of natural curiosities, or a menagerie of strange
animals. They were lounging around the door, and in the
house, which seemed filled with them-swarthy Mexicans
and Indians, of nameless tribes, dressed in their native cos
182 
GOODALL AND HIS HORSE.
tumes. There was also a Lipan, with the keen, fiery eyes
peculiar to his race; and two Pinos, from the interior of
New-Mexico.  A number of thieving, murdering Camanches
exhibited their hateful physiognomies; and the whole company had such a vagabond look, that I wondered Goodall
was not afraid of them.
Goodall hails from New-York State, where he left a wife
and several children, though he has since assumed the marriage relation in nearly or quite all the native tribes among
whom he has traded. It gives him influence, and, no doubt,
the Indian belles are glad to secure so attractive a lover.
His costume is decidedly picturesque. It consists of richly
embroidered buckskin pants and moccasins, exhibiting a
great degree of taste. A gaudy belt around his waist,
garnished with weapons, giving him the appearance of a
finished mountain-rover. Several very large dogs, of the
Newfoundland and Spanish breeds, were attached to his
train, and he rode, when in motion, one of the finest horses
I ever beheld.
I was strongly reminded of Dick Turpin's favorite Black
Bess, while listening to the anecdotes related of this wonderful animal. Goodall declared that he could do everything but talk, and had a way of expressing himself that
no one could misunderstand.   He seems to be perfectly
aware that he is a privileged being-allows no one to
mount him but his master, and domineers like a despot
over every other horse or animal that comes in his way.
AMarvellous stories are told of him. How he saved his mas
183
,-.I 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
ter's life, by bearing him through the floods of a swollen
river, and, again, by outstripping a band of mounted savages, running eighteen hours, without pausing for a moment
until he reached a place of safety.
Goodall was no friend to the Mormons; it was business,
and that alone, which induced him to pass through their
territory. He had a drove of sheep, quartered at a little
distance in the valley. At first, he took me for one of the
Mormons, and was rather shy; but ascertaining that such
was not the case-that I was simply a tourist, travelling for
instruction and amusement-he became communicative, and
invited me out to see his camp. The sheep-long-legged,
coarse-woolled, and black-nosed animals-were quietly feeding, in a beautiful pasture-ground near the "corral," into
which they were gathered at night, and which consisted of
upright logos, stockade fashion.
I inquired if there was not danger that some of the
animals would be stolen.
"Danger!" he replied.  "Of course, there is dangerotherwise there would be no necessity for keeping a gang to
watch them."
I asked whom he feared. His reply was characteristic,
and to the point  "The Mormons, of course."
I replied that the Mormons seemed to'bear rather a bad
name, but I supposed that there must be honest men among
them.
"Not a damn one I" he answered, quickly.  "Not a damn
1 8-1 
GOODALL'S OPINION OF THE MORMONS.
one! Stranger, I've always knowed'em. I knowed Jo
Smith, and a greater rascal never trod shoe-leather. I
knowed Brigham Young when he was a boy.  We went to
school together.   I knowed Elder Gould,  and hundreds
more; and I never yet knew one that could be trusted.
To lie, and steal, and cheat, is a part of their religion. I
say it is!"
"But I should think that among so many, there must be
some good and sincere men."
"Not a damn one!  Not a damn one I" he repeated.
"It takes a good while to find them out, sometimes; but
the knowleldge will surely come."
"I hope it may not."
"Stranger," he continued, "until I came among these
Mormons, I had faith in human nature. I have none now.
I had faith in virtue, in purity, and in goodness. It is all
gone. I curse them, because they have cursed me with the
sight of their inborn depravity. They will curse you in the
same manner."
I could hardly forbear smiling at his earnestness. The
hunters and traders cherish, very generally, an ill-feeling
towards the Mormons.  This  might  partly be explained
without accusing either party of dishonor or actual dishonestv.  The Mormons have contrived to absorb most of the
Indian trade; and the herding business is much less profitable, since so many have embarked in it. Then, too, the
hunting-grounds have been materially lessened in extent, the
game rapidly diminished, and the natives thereby incited to
I
185
,I.,I 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
acts of violence and opposition to the wishes and interests
of those they had formerly treated and regarded as friends.
"What everybody says, must be true," is an old adage;
and all agree in telling one story about the Mormons, and
attributing to them the grossest deception and the foulest
vices.
186
I
_. 
A CALL FROM FREDERICK B
CHAPTER X.
FREDERICK B.-THE  MORMON THEATRE-MRS. CANFIELD,
ETC., ETC.
H EN we returned to Zion, the Mrs. Inkleys informed
me that a young man had been there twice, and both
times inquiring for me. At first, I was utterly at a loss to
conjecture who it could be.
"Did he give his name?" I inquired of Hannah, the only
one present.
"It was not me, but Martha, whom he asked," she
replied.
"Martha, did that young man give his name?" she cried.
"No-yes-that is, it seems that he did.  Fred-  Frederick; that's it."
Frederick B?"
"That was the name. He said that he wished you would
come round there, when you got home."
"Was that all?"
That was all."
It was then quite late in the evening. I was weary, and
187
vin 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
so postponed going until morning. When morning came,
breakfast was later than usual, and it was near ten o'clock
before I could obey the summons. My heart misgave me.
I felt almost certain that something unusual had happened,
though its nature I failed to define. I quickened my pace,
only pausing to salute two or three acquaintances, and soon
arrived at the place. The door was shut, and I knocked
softly.
"Come in," said a voice that I knew to be Frederick's.
I entered the apartment, when the first object that met my
view was the old man, apparently in the last agonies. HIis
son was bending over him, with all the tenderness of a
woman, wiping the death-damps from his brow, moistening
his parched tongue, and otherwise administering to his physical comfort. He pressed my hand, in silence, glanced at
the sufferer, and resumed his post by the bedside. I sat
down on a low bench, an interested spectator in the scene.
The old man's senses were wandering. He muttered,
scarce intelligibly, of the days and events of his youth.
His marriage, the birth of his child, and their happiness in
the cottage-home, all came back, in pleasing retrospect. At
length his tone changed, his words became fewer and more
distinct, and he suddenly woke to recollection. We both
knew it to be the last flickering beam of life and intellect,
and Le felt it so himself.  Holding out his hand to his son,
he said, "I am going to meet your mother, Frederick. She
was with me, just now; but her garments were white, and
her face was that of an angel's."
iss
, 
DEATH OF FREDERICK'S FATHER.
Overcome by the violence of his emotions, the strong
man sobbed aloud.
"Now, don't-don't-my son," he said.  "I am an old
man.   My time has come.   It is meet that I should go.   I
die in the faith."
"What faith, father?"
"Of the Lord Jesus Christ," and he fell back, dead.
Frederick lifted his hands, and said, "May you meet my
mother in that land where there is neither change nor apostasy!"
" O God, it is a fearful thing,
To see the human soul take wing!"
More fearful, perhaps, in the stillness, and gloom, and sorrow
of a home to be bereaved, than in the earthquake, the
stoirm, or the battle, where all the softer and tenderer emnotions are wrought to an intensity of excitement that borders
on sublimity.
After the lapse of a few moments, I arose, and proceeded
to perform the last sad offices of affection for the dead, disposing the decent limbs, folding the meek hands over the
quiet breast, and sealing the waxen eyelids in an attitude of
slumber. The next day was appointed for the funeral, which
Frederick decided to keep secret as possible. With the
assistance of a few friends, a coffin was procured, and the
rolbes for the dead prepared.
No  Mormon  has been  spoken  to," said  Frederick.
"I hope they will remain in entire ignorance of what is
.~oing o1."
189
i,
I I ' — ii-) 
THE HEUSBAND IN UTAH.
"For your sake, I hope so, too, though it is rather
unlikely."
A slight noise at the window attracted my attention, and,
looking around, I beheld a pair of glaring eyes.
"Who is there?" I whispered to Frederick, pointing
towards them. But, before he could turn, they had disappeared.
"The vultures will soon be here," he said, and he spoke
truly. When a Mormon dies, the church assumes the right
to look after his property, if he is possessed of any. In
half an hour, a priest was at the door. He came ill without ceremony of knocking, and deported himself with an
insolence altogether unbearable.
"So  our brother has gone," he said.   "Peace to his
memory I  Dying happily, as a Gentile never dies; and
certain of taking his place in the promised land, at the last
day."
"My father died in the faith of Christ, and in no other,"
said Frederick, somewhat tartly.
"Ours is the faith of Christ," said the priest.   " He was
one of us; our brother.  He loved our institutions; he
followed our practices. What are you, to assume the dictation of affairs? That prerogative belongs to the church."
"Begone!" said Frederick.  "I have not words to waste
on such a reptile."
The countenance of the priest actually assumed a fiendish
expression. "Time will manifest who is lord here," he
muttered, and went cut.
190 
A DISORAOCFUL SCENE.
"He has gone for a reinforcement," I observed.
"This is dreadful!" said Frederick.   "The necessity of
quarrelling over the body of so near and dear a relative!"
In a few minutes the priest returned, leading the woman
who, in the Mormon ritual, had been "sealed" to that old
man as his second wife, and whom Frederick had expelled
from the house.
"The church," said the priest, addressing her, "delegates
you the mistress here. Take possession and authority."
"She shall not I" said Frederick.
"She shall I" said the priest.   "He is her husband."
"He is my father."
The hag, meanwhile, stood a silent, though apparently
well-pleased spectator.
Seeing how matters must terminate, I slipped from the
room, without saying a word to any one, ran to the hotel of
Colonel Kinney, where I knew that the officers of the military were boarding. Fortunately, the commandant was disengaged. He received me graciously, listened to my statement of the pending difficulty, and immediately dispatched
a corporal, at the head of his platoon, to occupy the premises, and see that order was maintained.
As I anticipated, the house was filled with Mormons, on
my return. Frederick was lying, bound, on the floor, and
that hideous woman sitting beside the corpse. They were
evidently disconcerted when the military appeared, and the
priest grew wonderfully respectful when addressing the officer. He seemed to comprehend affairs at a glance, ordered
pi 11
191
m 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
them all to disperse and depart, assured the woman that it
was no place for her-that she looked much more like going
into a wash-tub than to a funeral-and carried out his commands by compelling obedience. The priest asserted his
right to stay, as a minister of religion; but the gallant
soldier plainly told him that his orders were imperative,
without distinction of class or profession.  Uttering imprecations against the soldiers, the government, and everything in general that might dare to interfere with the
liberties of the saints, he departed.
Released from the ignominious cords with which his
enemies had bound him, Frederick stood again beside his
dead. The soldiers-hushed, reverenit, and uncovered, in
the presence of death-occupied one side of the house.   I
sat near, conscious that the mourner required my presence,
as a support in this hour of affliction.
To avoid the public gaze-above all, to prevent the
attendance of those whose faith he loathed, and whose
presence he hated-Frederick determined that the burial
should take place at midnight.
"The hour is unseemly," I said, "for such as your
father-a peaceful and good man. It would do well for a
brigand-a man of war and bloodshed-but not for such
as him."
"We are among brigands," he replied, and his resolution
remained unchanged.
That night, therefore, when the city was silent with
slumber, the procession moved from the house, and slowly
192 
A BURIAL.
down the street-the strong soldiers, in their scarlet uniforms, bearing the coffia with ease, and Frederick, with
myself, following as chief mourner.   Side by side with the
tomb of his wife, had a new grave been made. There they
paused, and, after a little preparation, lowered down the
coffin, by the strong glare of torches, held high above their
heads by the others in attendance.   Then followed  the
striking of spades in the gravelly earth, and the ringing of
clods  on the coffin-sounds so fearful and ominous to the
human heart.  When the cavity was filled, the soldiers, at
a word from their commander, moved silently and reverently
away, leaving us alone, with the deep solemnity of darkness
around us, and the stars watching above.
But others than the stars had seen us, and noted our
proceedings.  I accompanied Frederick to the house we had
left, and going, he remarked on the silence and apparent
desertion of the streets, exulting secretly as I thought, in
lhaving so far outwitted his enemies, and the betrayers of
his f.Lther's peace.  The cabin, too, when we reached it,
was dark and silent.  He unlatched the door-we entered.
Whence the impression arose, I know not, but I felt intuitively that another presence than ours was there-that
some influence had been to work in our absence, and that
we might expect a surprise.   I am  not naturally superstitious, yet the midnight burial, the hour, the darkness, and
the receint presence of death, were not without their impressions. Frederick, meanwhile, was groping around, to prorure a light.
9
. 193
op 
THIE HUSBAND N =A.
"The table stood here, I thought, with a candle on it,"
he said; "but now I cannot find either."
A light broke into my mind, but I said nothing. IHe
passed around the room, in the darkness, and finally, with
outstretched hands, caught hold of me.
"One of two things is certain," he remarked-" that we
have either mistaken the place, or those wretches have been
here and stripped the house in our absence. Fortunately, if
I cannot find a candle, I can strike a match."
He did so, and applied it to some fragments of dry wood,
which instantly illuminated the apartment. Every vestige
of the furniture had been removed-the table, chairs, and
bed; in short, all the movables.
"This is more than I expected t" said Frederick, with a
look of blank amazement.
The whole affair was so singular, I could not wonder at
his surprise.
"Only another proof of their artfulness, and the constant
espionage they practise," he continued.   "Many a time the
uneasy consciousness of the probable presence of some one
when I was not assured of his or her being near, has made
me nervous. I suppose they feared that something might
escape their brigandism, if they waited till morning. Well,
I hope they are satisfied."
Very heartily I echoed the devout wish, and proposed
that we should adjourn to my boarding-house.
"Do you live with a Mormon?" inquired Frederick.
Being assured that I did, he declined the invitation,
194
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I I 
I 
A MORMON THEATRE.
because he had formed the solemn resolution never, on any
condition, to accept hospitality from a people by whom his
parents had been so grievously wronged and deceived.
"Where, then, will you go?" I inquired.
" To the house of Mrs. Canfield, my mother's best friend."
" MAfrs. Canfield, the actress?" I echoed, in some surprise.
" The same."
"But she is a Mormon."
"You mistakle.  Policy induces her to assume a friendliness towards them, which she is far from feeling. Come, let
us be going."
Together we left the empty house, and passed along the
street; but I could not reconcile it with my notions of propriety, to ask, at such an hour, the hospitality of a strangerlady, and so we separated, for the time.
I cannot tell how the next day passed. I suppose like
many others that leave no abiding impression.   I never look
out for adventures-they are wearisome. I care little about
incidents-they are commonplace. But that night I went to
the theatre. Yes, friends, a veritable Mormon theatre; for,
whether you do or not, you should know that these worthies
are quite as fond of carnal pleasures as the Gentiles, though
not quite so well fixed for enjoying them.
The building dedicated to the worship of Thespis bears
little comparison to those of the same character in our
Eastern cities. It wants their style, their finish, their elegant adaptation to comfort and convenience; yet this
deficiency is more than ma,de up by the novelty of every
I l 
195 
,THE HUS13AND IN'TTAHI.
thing around you, and the singular appearance of the heterogeneous crowd that throng on every side.
The Mormon theatre is always well filled. There meet
the hunters from the head-waters of the Colorado, the falls
of the Columbia, and the great northern lakes of Canada.
Here the Santa-Fe trader and New-MAexican stand side by
side with the Dane, Norwegian, and German. Here soldiers
in uniform jostle plain citizens, or stately Indian chiefs, in
all the glory of war-paint and feathers, bend their stern
brows inflexibly and immovably over the scene. Last,
though not least, are the stately elders and their fair
spouses. The High Priest usually appears with ten or a
dozen, Kimball with as many more, Dr. Richards with nine,
and Parley Pratt with an equal number.
I was there early, and it was really amusing to see these
dignitaries of the church provide seats for the members of
their harems. The gentleman would come in first, followed
by his wives, in the order of two by two. He would look
around, as if calculating distances and numbers.  If there
was an empty seat, well and good. He took possession of
the middle, and his ladies ranged themselves on either side
of him —the youngest and fairest, next his person; the oldest and ugliest on the outside. Let me hazard the comparison of some stately knight of the barnyard, on his perch,
accompanied by his numerous and faithful retinue of females
The youngest ladies, as the favorites of their husbands for
the time, were the best dressed, and many of them were
decidedly beautiful. How they could consent to occupy the
196 ~ 
HOW TO TELL A FRENCHWOMAN.
position of ninth or tenth wife to old and not particularly
handsome men, excited my wonder; and I was beginning
to speculate on the weakness and folly of women, in a manner that would have gained me no credit among the strongminded sisterhood, when my meditations were disturbed by
a little Frenchwoman, who came in and seated herself very
unceremoniously beside me.
Mademoiselle was not timid. It made no difference to
her that we had not been introduced; and my gallantry
would not permit me to treat a lady with rudeness, under
any circumstances. With the utmost familiarity she began
a conversation, and my curiosity impelled me to listen and
reply.
"How do you know that she was a Frenchwoman, if
you were strangers?" says one.
I knew it by her appearance; by the becoming taste
manifested in her dress; by the knots and bows of ribbon,
the sprigs of flowers, and pearl ornaments, conspicuously
displayed on her person, to say nothing of the thousand
little graces and arts, which others may imitate artificially,
but which seem natural only to them. All the world over,
you can tell a Frenchwoman; and,. before she had spoken,
I knew, intuitively, that she was such.
"Do  you see dat beautiful lady, yonder?" she asked,
with the most charming confidence.
"Where?"
"Dat one setting next Brigham, de prophet."
Mademoiselle spoke with sufficient foreign accent to ren
,l1I
197 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
der her conversation interesting, but she was much too artful
to disgust a fastidious English ear by an ungrammatic or
idiomatic style.
"I see her."
I did, indeed. I had rested my eyes, for some moments.
on her sylph-like form-her fair neck, bosom, and arms,
veiled, not covered, by a thin scarf of gauze lace-her
bright hair, her patrician features, their damask bloom, and
the flash of conscious triumph that lighted her eye.  Why
had she come here to practise her fascinations I
Mademoiselle recalled my wandering thoughts.
" Dat lady be forty years old."
"Impossible!"
"Fact!  I know.  We  came to California, in de same
steamer, from la belle France-cher Paris.  Den we come
here."
"What for?"
"Oui; Monsieur mustn't be curus I  Ver good reason
ver good, indeed."
I assured her there was no necessity for telling, and
turned my attention to the play.  The Frenchwoman, however, was not to be put off.  She touched my elbow.   I
looked around.
"Dat lady-would Monsieur like to hear her history?"
she asked.
Perhaps so, at some other time."
"Oui; Monsieur wishes to see de play."
"I do."
111
198 
MANNERS AT THE THEATRE.
"Ver well, not hinder," and she turned away. After
sitting a few minutes in silence, she arose, flirted away, and
sat down by another gentleman, with whom she was soon
deeply engaged in conversation. He evidently admired her,
and was not bashful about making it known, while a woman,
probably his wife, sat on the other side of him, and manifested great uneasiness.
The utmost latitude in manners prevails at the theatre.
The  private drawing-room  of Rosanna Townsend would
never have tolerated such scenes as are publicly enacted
there; and the worst of it is, there is no distinction.   In
our theatres, the disreputable characters occupy certain
places-here they are mixed up with the rest.
The acting was on a stage, raised three or four feet above
the floor of the room occupied by the spectators. The play
was the Lady of Lyons, of which the Mormons are excessively fond.   It ran season after season, with little variation, and they were dissatisfied when another was substituted
in its stead.
On this occasion, the performance was good, and might
be relished by one able to divert his mind from other scenes
passing around him.  Some of the chief actors exhibited
decided ability.  Among these, Mrs. Canfield, as the mother
of Claude, performed her part admirably, and Mrs. Wheelock,
who represented Pauline, to the life.
The latter is very beautiful. Her face beams with intelligence, and her voice is thrillingly melodious. Her husband
having been absent in Australia nearly two years, a multi
192
wl — 
THE HIUSBAND IN'UTAH.
tude of saints, prophets, and apostles are in full chase after
her.  According to Mormon theology, the absence of a husband releases the wife from all obligation, and she is at perfect liberty to form a union, at pleasure, with another man.
One of the most eager in this pursuit, is the  man who
enacted the part of Claude, and whose passionate protestations had an air of the sincerest reality.  Neither were the
other actors indifferent to her charms.  Indeed, their manifestations of gallantry seriously interfered with the performance intended for the public amusement.
MRS. CANFIELD
Is an English woman, from Bath, who, having been deserted
by her husband, has been obliged to resort to the stage, to
obtain bread for her children.  I called on Frederick, at her
hliouse, to-day.  She received me with great affability, and
related, for my entertainment, many interesting incidents
connected with her travels and adventures. The room was
garnished with pictures and  ememltoes of her native city,
and her eyes filledl with tears, while explaining the l)a,ti(ular
points of interest, or relating the associations that gave to
each its relative value.  She was not a believer in MAlormonism, as she assured me, but necessity impelled her stay
among them.  At first, she tried to obtain a livelihood by
sewling, and found plenty of employment,  but little pay.
Then she resorted to school-teaching, with even worse success; and finally, as a last experiment, attempted the stage.
200
F — 
MRS. CANFIELD.
Here her fine talent for music procured her notoriety, and
she might have found it profitable had it not been for the
unusual number of free-.tickets, which admit the elders and
their families.
I could not but be aware that one so good, beautiful, and
intelligent, could not remain long in MAormondom without a
train of suitors, and I subsequently learned that her hand
had been sought by several men, some of whom were
already husbands. But their offers were firmly, though
respectfully, declined. Her conscience would not permit
her to form a second marriage, until she was assured of
her husband's death; but, under no consideration, would
she ever be united with a sensual polygamist.
201 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER XI.
THE TABERNACLE-FORM OF MORMON WORSHIP-SPECIMEN
OF PREACHING, ETC.
EAR the Mormon theatre, and somewhat resembling it
in appearance and capaciousness, is the Tabernaclenot the first one that was built, though it occupies the same
situation. The first building was large on the ground, and
presented the appearance of an immense oblong box. In
1854, this was taken down and removed, to make way for
the magnificent temple that stands there now. It is handsomely built of stone, and makes some pretensions to architectural beauty, though chiefly remarkable for its immense
size. It is said to be capable of accommodating five thousand persons, with ease; and is surrounded by a high wall,
reared with immense cost and labor. You enter by large
folding-doors in the east end, which face the platform occupied by the priests and elders in the west. The seats are
arranged in the form of an amphitheatre, and all are enabled
to gratify their devotion and curiosity, by a plain view of
those who conduct the worship. I attended once, and but
olice, there being little in the service that could interest the
202 
ASSEMBLAGE AT THE TABERNACLE.
sympathies, and still less that could affect the understanding. Wanting in the plain, severe simplicity of the Protestant worship, it has none of the pomp and gorgeousness of
the Catholic ceremonial. Yet Mormonism is in its infancy.
It wants the prestige of age, to render it venerable; it
requires the combined efforts of literature and art, of good
taste, sound sense, and elegant ideas, to perfect its form of
worship. Centuries of toil, study, and the most approved
methods of art, combined with unbounded wealth, have
given to the Catholic Church its perfection in appliances to
captivate the senses.
What may not the Mormons in eighteen centuries become?
I could not help thinking this, as, under the guidance of
Elder Snow, (g.) I went up to the Tabernacle, one Sunday
morning, and saw the immense assemblage gathered there
from the four quarters of the globe. Unlike the Eastern
polygamists, the MAorinons do not attempt to confine their
wives, or keep them secreted from the gaze of others. All
entered the church promiscuously, and sat just as it happened, though, generally, the husband placed himself in the
midst of his wives. It was a strange assemblage, yet, who
could expect anything better? And think you the followers
of Christianity, in the first century of its existence, appeared much more respectable to the votaries of the fashionable religions of the day? How would they have char acterized its professors as low, debauched, stupid, ignorant,
and even deficient in the common attributes of humanity I
How would they have scoffed, and jeered, and mocked them,
203 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
prophesying their utter extinction in a few short years I
There was an extinction, it is true; but who were the
victims.  The old faith disappeared-the new triumphed.
The rites of the Mormon worship open with singing and
a full band of music.  Many of the females had good voices,
and the strain was solemn and impressive. When this was
concluded, Brigham Young offered a prayer, for "Zion in
the tops of the mountains" in particular, and for the saints
all over the world in general. The Gentiles, of course,
were excluded from the benefits of this petition. His discourse was short, yet pertinent.   He exhorted them  to
obedience and union, and reminded them that many females
were yet unprovided with husbands, who ought to be married, and giving children to the church. "I think," he continued, "that I have set you a good example.   My wives
outnumber those of David, and children, like olive-plants,
gather about my table."
He finished, and sat down, when the music struck up
"Bruce's Address," followed by " Old Lang Syne." It
ceased, and Elder Cumming arose. He is tall, and remarkably strong-built.  While surveying his athletic form and
sinewy limbs, joined to a countenance  not particularly
expressive of intelligence, I thought how much better he
was adapted to agriculture, or some useful mechanic art,
than in dealing out harangues on subjects of which his
audience were quite as well qualified to judge as himself.
His discourse abounded in anecdote, all relating to what
seemed of chief interest to them-taking new wives. He
204 
THE DUTY OF MEN.
rated those women soundly, who, having the opportunity,
neglect to get married; and said that a brother was
deserving of "hell-fire" if he permitted a woman to remain
single without making her an offer.  "Who cares if she is
old, and ugly, and deformed?-her child will be young, and
probably beautiful.   If she has no  child, why, God has
ordained it, and you have done your duty. When walking
along the streets, I make it a practice to inquire of every
stranger woman I meet, whose wife she is. To this, many
of my sisters here can testify.  If she tells the name of her
husband, I bless her, and say,'Go on your way rejoicing;
have children, and rear them up for Zion!'  If she has no
husband, I bid her begone, and get one."
There was  no evidence of a devotional spirit, though
much that was said elicited the boisterous mirth of the
audience. WVhile listening to these discourses, I could not
help thinking that the Mormons seemed to regard marriage
not as a means for promoting social happiness, but solely as
a method for the most convenient propagation of the race.
Yet this view is not novel, and has been frequently entertained by restless and aspiring spirits. Augustus, after
devastating the earth to promote his schemes of ambition,
sought to replenish it again, by recommending, and even in
some cases enforcing, marriage; and complained-bitterly of
the dancing-girls, and other women, who refused to "give
children to the republic." Yet, why did he wish this? To
increase the sum of human happiness, or promote the welfare of the race?  No such thing; but that his empire
205 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
might be replenished with taxable subjects, and his armies
filled with new soldiers.
Bonaparte had the same idea in view, when he said that
the greatest woman was the one who had borne the most
chlildren-which is certainly a great scandal on the sex, as
it must be better, nobler, greater, to bear, bring up, and
suitably educate two children, than to simply give birth to
a dozen poor, miserable, little outcasts, who ultimately come
to the state-prison, poor-house, or gallows.
The great desire of the Mormons to have children, and
increase in population, displays, to us, some ulterior motive.
They are looking forward, down the long vista of the future,
to wealth and power-to independence, rank, and distinction, among the nations of the earth. The examples of
Moses and Mohammed are before them, and the lessons of
ages have not been lost.
But the service was yet unfinished, and another speaker
was on the floor. His words were nearly as follows:
"Now, my dear friends, what a dreadful thing it would
be, if, after all your trials and afflictions, your perils in
crossing the'deep (for many before me have come from
countries beyond the sea)-after all this, and your difficulties and dangers in the howling wilderness, what a dreadful
thing it would be to lose your inheritance among the saints I
"Other sins are venal, other transgressions may be forgiven, but there is no hope for him who, having once known
the good way, has turned back. And, my sisters, I hear
strange reports of you, which it grieves me to mention. I
206 
A PLEA FOR MARRIAGE.
hear that some of you have become dissatisfied with the
institutions of our'holy religion, and have dared to refuse a
brother in marriage, because he had already a wife. My
sisters, it is nothing to me-vyou must not imagine that it
makes a particle of difference with me-whether you are
married or not; but it does make a difference to you, and
that a very great one. WVhy, know you not that unless a
woman is sealed or married to a man, and that man a true
disciple, there can be no hope of her salvation?
"Consider well, then, that if you lose your souls-your
precious, immortal souls-by remaining single, you have
nobody but yourselves to blame. I have told you. You
know that. And the good brothers are ready and willing
to assist you, if you will only let them. Let them! Why, a
woman, rather than remain unmarried, should ask some elder
or saintly brother to bestow on her the seal of salvation.
"And, my dear sisters, there are other subjects on which
I wish to speak. I have been informed that some of you
have laid stumbling-blocks in the way of your husbands
when they have proposed to seal other females. You have
tried, by tears, and protestations, and rebellion, to hinder
them from performing such duties. Know ye not that these
things are deserving of damnation? Know ye not that, in
all thiings, your husbands are your superiors; that they
stand to you in the place of God; and that obedienceunqualified, unquestioning obedience-is your first, I had
almost said your only, duty, as in that all others are comprised.
207 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"Now, my sisters, an important thing for you to remember is this: If your husbands want more wives, you must
help to get them; and then you must be peaceable, and not
quarrel, and lie, and filch from each other, but live in harmony, with all loving-kindness and charity. What a dreadful thing it would be if the soul of one woman, through
your opposition to her union with your husband, should be
lost! And, being in torments unspeakable, would she not
forever cry out against you?"
There was much more in a similar strain and to the same
purpose, though, as literary efforts, they were beneath criticism.
I returned home for dinner, and, while we were at table,
Mr. Inkley inquired my opinion of the last discourse, declaring that it met his unqualified approbation.
"Then you will be on the lookout for another wife, I
suppose," was my reply, glancing towards Sarah, who sat at
the table. She tossed her head, with an expression of the
deepest scorn.
"That such is my duty, I own," he said, with affected
gravity; "though it sorely taxes my energies to provide for
those I now have."
"Well thought of I" ejaculated Sarah.
It would be a pity," I said, "for any woman to lose her
immortal soul, because no man could afford to find her in
bread and butter. She might be sealed, to secure her salvation, and then left to take care of herself."
"That is the way with many of them," said Sarah.
208
I r. I,,, 
A CURIOUS GUARANTEE TO SALVATION.
"Of who?"
"Why,  these women  that work about  as nurses and
assistants in families. You saw that very old lady who sat
just before you, I suppose?"
"That one dressed in black, who seemed so deeply inter
ested in the services?" I asked.
"The same," she answered.   "Well, that old woman is
eighty-five next September, and she has been sealed to
Brigham Young just one month. She came on here with
her children, though  an unbeliever.   But, recently, she
became a convert, and the next thing war to be sealed. In
consequence of her age and infirmities, the brothers hesitated to perform the duty, until the first and best one of
all, touched by the consideration of her necessities, consented to become her husband, on the condition that she
should remain with her children, and not be dependent on
him for support or a home."
"Then I suppose that the prophet has many such wives,
or sealed ones?"
" He has, indeed, more than any one knows of-probably
more than he remembers himself."
"And this is considered a certain guarantee of salvation?"
It is; and hence young girls and maidens are often
sealed long before the age of puberty. I have witnessed
the sealing of children not more than eight years old."
"I have never heard of this before."
"Very likely. There are many things among us that you
209
N_ — 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAI{.
have never heard of; many rites and ceremonies known only
to the initiated; many plans and purposes you could never
guess."
"But this sealing of young girls is against nature and
religion."
"Not more so than betrothals among the Jews, and yet
this people had a warrant direct from heaven for all they did."
"The examples of the Jews have been frequently quoted
to furnish props for bad and mistaken conduct or ideas, by
bad or mistaken men," I replied.  " It is not for me  to
define or limit how far such practices were expedient under
their laws, and the circumstances of their society.  It is
enough for us that here, and in this age, the marriage relation is thereby degraded, and the happiness of thousands
unrelentingly sacrificed.   What  sensations must the betrothal of a child to a man old enough to be her father
excite! How can she ever regard him with those feelings
of affection which are indispensably necessary to render the
marriage state one of happiness?"
"She can at least be obedient."
"Seriously and candidly, Mrs. Inkley," I replied, " can
you find it in your heart to approve of these things? If
you had a young and beautiful daughter, would not all the
better feelings of your nature revolt against her forming
such an unnatural connection? Could you in silence behold
the sacrifice of all her prospects of happiness, and know
and feel that nothing in this wide world was left for her but
obedience to the caprices and whims of a tyrant?"
,I, I 0 
MARTHA INKLEY S OPINIONS.
"Really, sir, I cannot argue this question with you," she
replied. "Yet the Scriptures require obedience in the wife,
you know, and make the husband stand in the same relation
to her that Christ does to the church."
"And again I must say that how far such passages are
to be received in an unqualified sense, I shall not pretend to
decide, but that they were ever meant to compel any woman,
immortal and accountable, under any circumstances whatever, to submit to polygamy, and practices so detestable as
these'sealings,' I venture to discredit."
"And so do I," said Martha Inkley, who had entered the
room unnoticed, and seemed glad of an opportunity to disagree with her rival.   "These'sealings' of children are-I
will not say what."
She had caught the expression of her husband's eye, but
it could not silence her.
"There was brother Haywood's daughter," she continued,
"a beautiful little girl, in short skirts and pantalets, who
came into the room, to be sealed to a man four times her
age, while crying for her doll and baby things; and when
the new-made husband attempted to embrace her, she fled,
screaming that he was big and ugly, and she did not like
himn.  Is it likely that, as years advance, she will grow
fonder of him, or more reconciled to her lot?"
"Aul extreme case," said Inkley, blandly.
"Not exactly an extreme case, either," replied Martha.
"You know very well that Hannah May had to be held by
211 
THE HUISBAND IN UTAH.
main force while the ceremony of her sealing was going on.
Hlow she shrieked, and screamed, and protested against it,
declaring that if she couldn't have Frederick Barnes, her
youthful playmate, she wouldn't be married at all I"
"But she hadn't arrived at the years of discretion," said
the husband.
"Years of discretion or not, it was a shame and an
abomination to force her into such a connection I"
I thought as much.
"Why," continued Martha, "a man will marry two or
three sisters, as brother Warner did.  He married one, and
then, to please his wife, he took her sister, and, finally, the
mother of both, and they all had children by him. I asked
sister Warner what relationship the children held to each
other. She only laughed."
During our conversation, the people were gathering for
the afternoon service. Their singular appearance attracted
my attention. One man passed along with his six wives,
three on eithor side of him, lovingly locking arms. Another company passed, the man ahead, and his four wives
following in single file.  There was no established rule or
fashion, but all were at perfect liberty to walk single,
double, or treble, as suited them best. Suddenly, my attention was arrested by a female walking alone, and without
any apparent connection with the passing crowd. She
looked towards the window where I sat, and I had a very
distinct view of her features. She was beautiful, though
somewhat faded.
212
I I 
SEARCH FOR MISS SCOTT. 
"That  lady-who  is she?" I asked, addressing Mrs.
Inkley.
"What her name may now be, I cannot say," she replied.
"Hier maiden name was Scott."
"Miss Scott! I have known her. Where does she live?"
"I cannot say. I know nothing about her, though I have
heard that-that "  "That what?"
"That she had been the mistress of a soldier who had
deserted her, and that now she was picking up a living as
she best could."
The remembrance of her father's anxiety, and my promise to him, flashed into my mind.
"I must see her," I said, seizing my hat.
"You have just seen her," said Sarah, laughing.
"But I wish to talk with her."
The women glanced at each other.
"I was acquainted with her father," I said.  "He was
very anxious about her."
"That was perfectly natural," said Sarah, with something like a sneer. I said no more, but walked out at the
door. Miss Scott, however, was nowhere to be seen. I walked
up one street-and down another, all to no purpose. Inquiring would have been useless, and I thought that possibly
she might have gone to the Tabernacle. So thither I went,
but the immense concourse, even greater than that in the
forenoon, effectually precluded individual recognition, and I
was glad to get away long before the service closed.
213 
THE HUISBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER XII.
THE COUNCIL OF HEALTH-MIRACLES-DREAMS, AND SOME OTHR
THINGS.
HREE  months among the Mormons, and thus far treat     ed with consideration and respect.
Oh, I pity you," says one, " shut up in the seclusion of
the Great Basin for three long months."
But my good friend, there is no occasion for your pity
my time has passed pleasantly, I might say happily. I have
found, and I trust made, friends.
Long ago I learned that if only one spot of sunshine
appeared, to monopolize it; if only one flower grew in my
path, to be sure and notice that; to scrutinize ugly faces for
the one handsome feature, and to look for something cheering in all dismal prospects. I confess that sometimes my
resolution has almost vanished, and that while looking at
the Mormons my faith in human nature has been sorely
tested.   I have  grown  weary  of  describing unpleasant
scenes. I would much rather write of virtues than vices; of
good, and pure, and honest men, than wicked and dishonest
ones. Byron said that he described men as they were, not
214 
MORMON MIRACLB.
as they should be, and that nothing in his descriptions or
characters had ever equalled the reality.
In the propagation of a new faith it usually happens that
dreams, visions, miracles, and supernatural appearances and
occurrences are the stock in trade.  It is comparatively
much easier to influence the imagination than convince the
judgment, hence credulity rather than reason is addressed.
The Mormons will tell you of great cures wrought by
their priests. They will tell you of instances where'the sick
have recovered beneath their magic touch; they will point
out on the necks and limbs of their children the scars of
great sores that have been healed; they will tell you of the
blind having recovered their eye-sight, and the deaf their
hearing.   Shall we  dispute that such things sometimes
occur after the recent experiments in electromagnetism,
especially when we consider the powerful influence of imagination over a certain class of diseases.
The question arises, are the priests impostors, or are they
the dupes of their own credulity? I am inclined to think
the latter.   Few  of them  have  any knowledge  of the
natural sciences, or the philosophy that traces effects to
their cause.
"There can be nothing supernatural," I remarked, to
Mr. Inkley.  "Your  people should be too enlightened to
believe in miracles, in the general acceptation of that
term."
"The most enlightened men in your Gentile Churches
believe in them," he replied, gravely.
215 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
" Not as you," I answered.
"And yet, you must know that had not your church
inculcated the belief that miracles were of common occur rence eighteen centuries ago, the Mormons in this age would
never have dreamed of promulgating such an idea. But
the possibility of supernatural events being granted, the
cavil all rests on a question of time, which is nothing. (h.)
In conclusion, Mr. Inkley invited me to attend with him a
meeting of the Council of Health, at Social Hall. To my
inquiries, if I would not be considered in the light of an
intruder, hlie replied in the negative, and said that the sisters
were always pleased with  the attendance  of gentlemen,
Particularly strangers, for whom a seat was left empty.
" Is it then a meeting of the sisters?" I asked.
"Certainly."
"Then you have your strong-minded women here. I
thought that class peculiar to the North."
With this slight difference, your strong-minded females
are generally old maids, in whose bosoms the milk of human
kindness has become sour, whereas ours are-are "   "Married women," I suggested, "whose lives are embittered by the neglect and indifference of their husbands; a
fate to which that of the old maid is ten times preferable."
I found, on further inquiry, that the sisters assembled at
this meeting to talk over their various aches and complaints,
and discuss the most approved methods of cure.  All phy-.
sicians are entitled to a seat among them, with a voice in
216
W 
THE COUNCIL OF HEALTH.
their deliberations; so are the priests and elders, while
strangers are admitted to see and be seen.  We went early
and obtained good seats. At least sixty-five females were
in attendance, who, so far as I could discover, presented
nothing remarkable in appearance. They looked exactly
like any other promiscuous gathering of women, old and
young, gay and sad, pretty and ugly; coarse and vulgar ill
some cases, but intelligent and refined in others.
The meeting was called to order by Dr. High, who made
some appropriate remarks on the blessings of health, and
the violation of physical laws, to which all diseases must be
attrilbullted.
Ile was followed by Dr. Speight, who begged leave to
di.s(nt from his worthy brother in many important particulair.  It was very plain to him  that sickness was often
suierinduced by- a direct interposition of Divine Providence.
I:'e tilcnce fell on the Israelites as a judgment from Ileaven,
b cause of the sin of David; Job was smitten with a hoiril)le disease to try his faith, and even in our own age, he
c n'elecl, that similar events had happened, and might
hlappen again.
It was easy to see that the last speaker was a particular
favorite with the sisters, especially those whose countenance,
a)pcarance, and manner indicated the lower class of ignorance. The female mind is naturally prone to superstition
in its uncultivated state. Sister Newman, one of this
Fti-ipe, was evidently aching to get the floor. She manifested gre uneasiness, wringing, twisting, and rocking to and
217
W — 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
fro. The moment he sat down she bounded up, and began
a tirade against such infidel teachers as Dr. High. She
knowed, indeed she did, that sickness went just where it
was sent-that God was pleased to afflict some people more
than he did others, and that the best ones generally were
most afflicted.
"You know I am nearly always sick, but then I feel that
it does me good. Last winter in that spell I had I could
almost touch the hem of His garment "  "Because I gave her so much opium," whispered Dr.
High.
"Could touch the hem of His garment," she continued,
"and that's just the way, when I am well, if the heavenly
dew descends, I am so much like a cake of tallow, that it
rolls off and leaves no impression, but when I am sick, why
then, my dear friends, I am just like a muslin sheet, one
drop wets me all over."
The absurdity of these comparisons excited a slight titter
at her expense, when she dropped spitefully into her seat,
and sister Harris arose. She was a little vulgar-looking
woman, with a countenance expressive of dissipation and
sensuality, and her speech was a strange compound of
superstition and absurdity. She commenced by expressing
her belief that the devil was let loose, and that Mormon
women were the especial objects of his wrath and hatred.
This she declared to be all wrong-said that they ought not
to be subject to pain in any case, but that disease and even
death, must be banished from among them, and go to the
fq!
218 
SISTER LIPPINCOTT'S REMEDY.
Gentiles to whom they belonged-that  God was about to
glorify his name by cutting off the rotten nations of the
earth, when all would be Mormons, and in a state of felicity
somewhat resembling the denizens of Mohammed's Paradise.
She was succeeded by sister Lippincott, who seemed to
think that all their difficulties and troubles were occasioned
by their not loving their husbands enough, and being as
obedient to them as they ought. It was a rambling tirade,
and as often happens at female meetings, those least capable
of speaking monopolized the floor. She concluded by recommending catnip tea as a remedy in certain complaints,
at which sister Gibbs started up, declaring that catnip tea
was good for nothing, but that enough lobelia would drive
all the devils out. The quantity necessary to perform this
wonder she did not prescribe.  At length she began jumping up and down, clapping her hands, and crying out, "The
spirit is upon me, the spirit is upon me, even now as it descended on the Apostles at the day of Pentecost."  Then she
broke forth into a strain that they called speaking in an
unknown tongue. She was certainly phrenzied or intoxi-,
cated. I am inclined to think the latter. Her language
and gestures were actually indescribable, but soon ended in
complete exhaustion, when she fell to the floor. The sisters
crowded around her, raised her up, and laid her at full
length on one of the seats.  One of the elders then arose
and attempted to interpret what she said, but the noise and
confusion had become so great that it was impossible for. me
to hear what he said.
219 
THE HIUS8BAND IN UTAH.
Inkley, who seemed amazed, and I fancied felt disgusted at
the scene, proposed to go away. Several of the more re spectable and intelligent women actually departed. I wished
however, to see the end. The inspired sister soon fell asleep,
and order was restored. Sister Sanders then arose, and
expressed her firm belief that all diseases, acute or chronic
might be cured by the exercise of faith and the laying on of
hands, and dealt largely in her own miraculous powers.
She could ease the most violent toothache, she said, by
simply rubbing her hands over the part affected, and com manding the pain to depart. She could stop hemorrhages
of the most extravagant character, and last, though by no
means least, a word from her would restore a dislocated
joint, or mend a broken bone. Her sister's arm had been
badly injured by some unlucky accident, and she roundly
asserted that it had been instantaneously recovered by the
exercise of her power.  One woman had a daughter present
who was afflicted with some cutaneous disease, and  who
desired to have the remedy applied. The sisters, with the
priests and elders, crowded around her, laid their hands on
her head and person, when one of the most eminent was
moved to bless her in an unknown tongue. The oracular
utterances were interpreted to mean the invocation of great
blessings, both temporal and spiritual; she was to possess
all necessary good, all that the heart or sense could desire;
her seed was to outnumber the stars, and thence kings and
priests were to arise. She looked, however, as if some
guarantee for the comforts and necessaries of life would be
220 
AN AILING PARTY.
much more acceptable. She was scarcely sixteen, and yet
had been married for some time. One child held to her
clothes, another was in her lap, and there was evidently the
prospect of a third. There were unmistakable indications
of poverty in her general appearance. She was poorly clad,
and, I doubt not, ill-fed.
After this others came forward; some had aches in one
part, others had pains in another. One was bruised, another wounded, a third was sick, a fourth had the fever; in
short, I was strongly reminded of an excellent old lady, who
was great for visiting among her neighbors, and whose
enumeration of the complaints incident to her family was
summed up in the following amusing style: "Jemmy has a
boil on his hip, and Jerry a cut on his leg; my husband is
very poorly, and so much ails me that I really don't know
what to complain of." It really seemed that there was not
a sound person in the community, at least in the house.
All were full to overflowing of the troubles and afflictions
which had  befallen their neighbors or themselves.   Yet
this trait of humanity is not peculiar to the Mormons. For
a grievous list of ailments and sicknesses, commend me at
any time to a party of old women in the lower classes of
life. I was once greatly amused by a woman of ordinary
intelligence, who,  accordiug to her phraseology, "never
saw a well day," who always kept a dish of "systic," or
some other kind of herb tea in the corner, and who was
exceedingly angry if the physician did not call at least
221 
THE HUS8BAND IN UTAH.
twice a week to inquire after her health, though he could
never find her at home.
This interesting part of the business being finished, it
was proposed to adjourn.  Sister Petit, however, objected,
as she had  a remarkable vision to narrate.   This was
neither more nor less than a tremendous conflict between
the Lord and the devil, which closely resembled in its
minute particulars the famous fight between Apollyoni and
Christian, recorded by Bunyan, in the Pilgrim's Progress.
For a long time the battle raged with equal spirit on both
sides, but the Lord triumphed in the end, and his sooty
majesty was driven away. There was much more of similar
absurdity.   In review of these things, we find ourselves
involuntarily asking how it could be possible for a system
of religious faith, like Mormonism, to arise and flourish as
that has done, unless some equally superstitious tendencies
of education were at work on the public mind?
Looking at Mormonism philosophically, we shall find little
in it that is original. It is an offshoot of Judaism, with a
little borrowed from Christianity to make it palatable to the
present age. Thus, if you deprecate to a Mormon the idea
of paying tithes, he will refer you at once to Abraham, who
gave tithes of all he possessed to Melchisedek. If you complain of polygamy, he will tell you of Jacob, and David, and
Solomon, and thus to the end of the chapter. Think you if
priestcraft had not so flourished in other countries, it ever
would have abounded as it does in Utah? It is not difficult
for a believer in spirits to believe in the spirit rappings.
222
a 
SINS OF OMISSION.
Yet it argues little for the progress of the age that this
spurious and prurient birth should belong to the afternoon
of the nineteenth century.   We  might have hoped  and
looked for better things.  Is it not significant of an unpa-i
latable truth? Does it not prove conclusively that the
advancement in moral and religious ideas has not kept pace
with that of the physical sciences; that, notwithstanding
railroads, steamboats, and telegraphs, we are yet hanging
to the skirts of the past, fettered by its superstitions, and
imitating its vices.
Let no one think that I am attempting to excuse or
palliate the vices of the Mormons. I quarrel with no man's
creed except so far as it tends to make him vicious and dangerous to the community. Many things are simply absurd,
and an assembly of old women, like those attending the
Council of Health, could scarcely have deserved a passing
notice, only as tending to show how human hearts, even in
this enlightened age, may be darkened by superstition. In
any other view, it was probably one of the most harmless
assemblages that ever convened in Utah.
But there are things for which we must and do blame the
Mormons, more even than for polygamy and kindred vices.
Great as may be their sins of commission, those of omission
are certainly greater. They will meet you on all sides with
Scripture quotations, and bring the examples of patriarchs
and prophets to sanction their adoption of old customs and
ancient usages, but it is only on the side which tends to
blacken and deform humanity.   The great and eminent
223 
THE HIUSBAND IN UTAH.
virtues of these same men are never set up as examples for
imitation.  Their honesty, their truth, their moral integrity
their unflinching adherence to the right, is made of little or
to  account; but the  one fault into which  they were
betrayed by the age, or the circumstances in which they
lived, oh! that is something to copy and applaud. TWe
must blame the Mormons for reading our Bible as they do.
You cannot open this book without finding on its eldest or
newest leaves the purest and holiest lessons of truth and
virtue, given in words that burn after the lapse of ages, yet
all this they pass over with neglect and indifference.
We blame them that they have retarded the progress of
the age, and blackened the development of great and good
ideas in the womb of time.  The world; mankind, the nineteenth century all demanded a teacher not to instruct them
in the doctrines of a new faith, but to diffuse vitality into
the old. They demanded a knowledge of the Infinite God,
of the real man, not the fabulous, of actual divine Scriptures, not pregnant with dead forms and meaningless ceremonies, but filled with love, charity, and good-will to men.
They wanted a live religion that should manifest itself in all
the daily walk and conversation, as well on the broad highway of letters, business, science, politics, or morals, as in
the quiet seclusion of the cloister or the domestic shade.
Tiiey asked a leader ia a great religious movement, a progressive enterprise.  All things betoken this.  Never before
has the world witnessed such a grand conflict between the
powers of light and darkness, between science and igno
224 
FALSITY OF THE MORMON SYSTEM.
rance, between the crumbling systems of the past, and the
rising phoenix of the present. We must blame the Mormons
for rising up at such a time to deceive mankind with an
egregious system of folly that copies the past in its vices,
and looks for its future to the worst passions of men.  We
must blame them, that with such opportunities for doing
good, they failed to do it, that in such a vast field of culture
they only planted the old, dry, unprofitable weeds, which
civilization and Christianity bad thrown away as vile and
noxious, though superstition and barbarism had preserved
the seeds.
What if their followers are the poor, the lowly, even the
stupidly ignorant, or the vile. Publicans and sinners were
the companions of our Lord at table; it was to babes in
knowledge that the glorious tidings of the Gospel were
revealed.  Does it not show a remissness in our churches
that these weak ones, whose souls, however, are as precious:
and whose happiness is as much worth caring for, as that of
the monarch on his throne-that these weak ones, I say,
should be left to herd with impostors, and swell the number
of their dupes. Does it not prove that Christianity is no
longer the glad tidings of great joy to all people, but rather
to the rich and great.
225
.q 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CIIAPTER XIII.
REMOVAL-MY NEW LANDLADY-MISS SCOTT, ETC.
R. INKLEY came to my room one morning before I
had arisen.  There had never been any lock to the
door, and entrance was readily effected. Greatly surprised,
I bade him " Good morning," while he seated himself with
equal composure on the side of the bed.
"Your sojourn with me has been pleasant, sir, very pleasant," he began.   "I have striven to make it so.  I believe
I have succeeded."
Yes," I replied, in rather a stereotyped phrase.  " I
have been quite as happy as could be expected."
"And more so," he answered.  "You could not certainly
have expected to find such friends as you have found.
Haven't I administered to your comfort in every way?
Haven't I gratified your curiosity, even at the expense of
disgracing the church of which I am a leader? And this
roomn -what a beautiful room it is-so apt and fit for lodging."
226 
FAMILY PEACE!
I replied that the apartment was quite satisfactory.
"Then you will feel regret at leaving us, if only on that
account."''
"Leave you, when?  I had not thought of leaving you
till I left the country," I said, with some surprise, " unless,
indeed, you desired it."
"I have not desired it, no sir, not I; but a husband,
though, presumed by the law of the States to be one with
wife, is rather overshadowed when the number expands to
three or four. Family peace, sir, is a great thing-a very
great thing; a man must make sacrifices to secure thatsacrifices, too, that are sometimes very trying to his feelings."
"Am I then to understand, sir, that your wives desire my
departure?"
"Exactly so, sir; at least Sarah does."
"In what have I been so unfortunate as to offend that
lady?"
"Women are captious, sir-very captious, capricious, and
whimsical, of course you know that. Domestic peace, sir,
is a great thing. Sorry that it is so, but can't help it
spoiled children must be humored."
"I understand; if my presence has become obnoxious to
Mrs. Inkley, I can only express sorrow for the fact, without
the least idea of the cause."
"Nothing, sir, just nothing. I believe it all originated
in that conversation the other day, in which you rather
favored the opinion of Martha."
227
Ii 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"But Mrs. Inkley certainly cannot blame a man for the
free expression of his opinions."
"Oh, she don't know herself. She's whimsical, that's all
— but domestic peace"
Yes, domestic peace, and the idea that even my absence
would secure that in a family with three wives, had some thing in it strangely in contrast with the nature of thlings.
I was not disposed, however, to make ill-natured remarks,
especially as he offered me a letter of introduction to Mrs.
Farrow, an amiable Mormon lady, who lived at the eastern
end of the city.
After breakfast I started out, soon made my way to that
part of the town, found the good woman, presented my
letter, and was well received. I was much pleased with the
situation of her adobe cottage, and her own mild, intelligent countenance, and we soon struck a bargain. I removed
thither immediately, and was accommodated with an agreeable, well-ventilated chamber, the windows of which looked
out on some-grounds, well laid out, and planted with beautiful flowers, native and exotic. The prospect is extensive,
and stretches away on the south to a great distance; north
and east the mountains appear, through which the emigrant
trains find their way into the valley.  Mountains likewise
appear on the western side, their summits tipped with snow
the greater part of the year. Antelope Island, in the Salt
Lake, is distinctly visible, though at a distance of twentytwo miles. Thus, the sublime and the beautiful of nature
are wonderfully and harmoniously blended.
228 
MISS SNOW) TIE POE'ESS.
Mrs. Farrow was an active, kind, and lady-like New
Englander; a rigid Mormon on all points except polygamy,
which she seemed to thoroughly detest. She held a prominent position in society, and her house was the frequent
resort of visitors. Among these Eliza Snow shone conspicuously. She is a pale, mild-eyed, silly-looking girl, though she
aspires to poetic honors, and many of her productions have
received the unqualified approbation of the immaculate
Mormon leader; yet, considered as literary efforts, they are
beneath criticism. Her conversation is not more delectable
than her poetry, and for conceited egotism was really
unmatchiable.
"I am not appreciated here," she said.  "I cannot associate with kindred spirits; there is no one to sympathize
with my feelings.  I must have a field of labor.  I must go
where I can spread myself." This she repeated several
times, to my infinite amusement, while Mrs. Farrow's fat
sides fairly shook with suppressed laughter. Miss Snow,
however, did not seem in the least offended, and her excessive vanity is rendered pardonable by her great good nature.
She came one day, and brought a poem in manuscript, from
which she read extracts for our entertainment. There were
words without ideas, and ideas struggling through a redundancy of words; figures, metaphors, and similes without
order or arrangement. When she finished, not a word was
spoken, though she evidently expected the homage of flattery. The sincerest admirers of good poetry are always
most deeply disgusted with bad, and I really had theimnper
229 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
tinence, on a subsequent occasion, to say that young damsels
could be much better employed in household labors than in
stringing together unmeaning rhyme. The poetess looked
at her white and dimpled hand, which she boastingly
asserted had never been soiled by dish-water.
Her father is a man of considerable property, and the
brother of Judge Snow, mentioned in a former part of this
work.   He evidently desires to make a fine lady of his
daughter, and for that end has had her taught certain
accomplishments, which here seem rather out of place.
Mrs. Farrow grows facetious over the fact of her continual
visiting here, and the repeated invitations I receive to dine
at her father's house. This gentleman, who bears the title
of elder, called on me one day with his daughter. He was
a little bustling man, with an affected consequential air.
We conversed for some time on general topics, when suddenly, and without any preamble or apparent confusion, he
introduced the subject of his business by making some inquiries regarding mine.
"You design to stay some time in our country?" he said,
inquiringly.
"That depends on circumstances."
"How would you like to make it your permanent residence?"
I wished to be guarded, and returned an equivocal answer
"It is a very fine country; great chances for men of
enterprise and talent. Large families can be supported
with ease."
230 
ANGLING FOR A HUSBAND.
"But I have no family."
"I suppose not, just now, but will have probably."
"Rather doubtful."
"I should think otherwise.  You must be in pursuit of a
wife, what else could have brought you here?"
The idea of going to Salt Lake city for a wife was decidedly new, and excited a broad smile. The young lady
tossed her head, tried to blush, and simpered, " Oh, papa I"
"Yes," he continued. "I've hit the nail on the headthat must be it. Very well, it's all right. There must be
marrying and giving in marriage till the day when we
become like the angels."
"I am afraid there is no such good luck in store for me."
"Afraid I why man, how silly you be. The finest belles
in Utah would consider themselves honored by your preference. Just try."
I shook my head.
"I know it; ask my daughter there, she has a strong
predilection for Gentiles."
Again came the shrug and the simper, "Oh, papa I"
"I declare she has," he continued with a loud laugh,
she told me so herself."
Here the young lady. really blushed in earnest, and I was
half tempted to kick the old fellow out of the room.
"But you don't permit your girls to marry among the
Gentiles, do you?"
He twisted his mouth and features into the most ludicrous
and extraordinary grimace imaginable, as much as to say
231 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
what a great spoony you must be to take professions for
more than they intend.
"It is contrary to the rules of our church," he said, pre sently, "but girls will be headstrong, and parents easy,
sometimes; indeed I know of fathers, and mothers, too, as
to that matter, who would rejoice to give their daughters to
Gentile husbands, provided, in all cases, that their personal
connivance to the affair could be kept concealed."
"I thought that according to your creed a Mormon hus band was essential to the salvation of the wife."
"Yes, according to our creed, and there are many things
in the creeds of certain sectaries, which in their hearts they
know to be false.  At any rate, speaking for myself, I would
risk that for my daughter, if she could thereby obtain an
advantageous settlement for life."
He spoke seriously, and with great deliberation.
"Are there no such chances for a young and beautiful
woman, among the people of your church?" I inquired,
doubtingly.
He scanned my countenance with an eager yet curious
expression, and said:
"What I want for my daughter, and what some other
parents wish for their daughters, is a home, and a true,
faithful, loving heart, solely and unquestionably hers-that
will bear with her weaknesses, and strengthen her virtues.
Ask your own knowledge of us, if such prospects as these
open before a woman in matrimony, where custom, public
opinion, and even religion, sanctions the espousal by the
232 
A DIRECT PROPOSAL.
husband of so many wives. Polygamy never looked hateful
to me till my daughter had nearly become its victim."
"Your daughter!"
"Yes, sir, my daughter.  One of our neighbors, a great
burly Briton, with seven wives, is a candidate for Eliza's
hand, and Brother Brigham recommends the match. But
she hates and despises him, and we cannot find it in our
hearts to force her inclinations. And yet, according to our
creed, disobedience to the prophet is a mortal sin."
All this was said with a smiling countenance and affected
good nature, yet it was easy to see how deeply the parent's
heart was touched.
"Is your daughter's suitor a man of property and intelligence?" I inquired.
" Ie is not," replied the unhappy father.   "Last winter
his -family were in a state actually bordering on starvation.
He will not work at his trade, which he pretends is degrading, and his only ostensible means of livelihood is that of a
comic actor at the theatre. I could not describe the huts
in which his wives are kept, and though on the boards he is
all fun, frolic, mirth and glee, his private life is whispered to
be quite another thing. And now, to come to the point,
could not you prevent the marriage between him and my
daughter ever taking place."
I was surprised beyond measure, and the young lady
arose and left the room.
"I prevent the marriage I how, pray?"
233
i 
ITHE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
"By marrying her yourself. I speak plain, necessity
impels it."
"Sir, I could not do that," I replied. "I respect the
lady, but never thought of her as a wife; you may command my services in any way that will not compromise my
personal freedom and honor."
I really sympathized with the father, who seemed pained
and disappointed.
"I fear then, that my poor girl must go to the altar of
sacrifice," he said, "Persecution will be brought to bear
upon us, and ultimately we shall be forced to yield."
" Has she no relations to whom you could send her?"
"She has relatives to be sure, but how could she ever
reach them? I could not think of exposing her to the difficulties and dangers of such a journey."
"You  are an elder in this Church," I said, "why not
have its iniquitous practices and laws abolished?"
"They are too deeply interwoven in our social system,"
he replied; "too many are interested in perpetuating them;
polygamy, like slavery, may be regarded as an evil by the
very ones who practise it. Then, too, the real power of
the church, all exists in its acknowledged head. The elder
comparatively is little more than the meanest member."
"But, sir, you must have sensible and honest men among
you, who once convinced that polygamy is an evil, would
unite their energies to extirpate it. Whether or not they
regarded it objectionable as husbands, if appealed to as
fathers, their hearts would respond."'
234 
EXCHAINGE OF GIFTS.
He shook his head doubtingly.
"You have sensible and honest men in the South, who
question the policy, justice, and humanity of the peculiar
institution which flourishes there, yet who are utterly impotent to remove it."
After some more desultory conversation, the elder took
his leave, his daughter having previously gone, when curiositv led me to make some inquiries of Mrs. Farrow.
She informed me that Elder Snow had six wives, who
resided together in one large house-that Eliza was the
daughter of his first wife, a woman of some intelligence who
evidently abhorred polygamy, and whose matronly intstructions had not fallen on barren ground. She laughed heartily
at the elder's absurd proposal, and said she had been expecting it, though she gave little credit to his expressions of
paternal feelings, and declared that other and sinister
motives were at work in his mind.
" Mormon fathers," she continued, "make  no scruple of
offering the hands of their daughters to marriageable men,
and when the girls are beautiful or wealthy, they always
require a consideration. They are not yet so lost to all feelings of shame or decency as to call it by its proper name, a
bona fide sale."
"What, then, do they call it?"
"Oh, an exchange of gifts,-or the son makes a present
to his new father, or lends some valuable article or animal
to him, with the understanding that it shall not be reclaimed."
235
l II 
THE HUSBAND  IN UTAH.
"Do you think such things right or honorable?"
"No;" she replied with emphasis.
"Yet they are distinctive features of your Church."
"I know that very well, I know that doctrine was propagated as a Revelation from Heaven, by the immaculate
Joseph, yet I can tell how, in my opinion, the prophet was
deceived."
"I should like to hear."
"Why, Satan came to him in the form of an angel, and
not being sufficiently fortified by faith and prayer, he was
not able to detect the cheat, but received the devil's instructions regarding polygamy, and kindred customs, as the
veritable truth."
" Well, that is saddling more on the Prince of Darkness
than I should think him guilty of. There is no worse devil
than a wicked man."
Mrs. Farrow, however, said that she was careful not to
talk loud, as she should hardly feel safe if the elders knew
of her heresy.
"Yet vou do not suppose that they would injure you?"
"No, but they would probably expel me from the church
with a curse, and then I should be overtaken by all sorts of
calamities."
"None the more for that you wouldn't," I said.
"Oh, but I should," she replied, " I well know that.
One man whom they cursed and expelled from the church,
was struck by lightning the very next day. Another was
bit by a serpent, swelled and died in the greatest agony,
236 
MRS. FARROWS HUMANI.
and Sally iarman, whom I knew much better than I do
you, became insane, and wandered among the mountains
where she was eaten by a wolf."
"But, Mrs. Farrow," I said, "all this is superstition.  Such
accidents always occur in the regular course of nature.
The lightning strikes indiscriminately, the serpent bites an
intruder, and insanity comes as the result of disease or the
violation of a physical law, but in no case can it be superinduced as the result of such agencies as you suppose."
The worthy dame, however, persisted that one fact was
better than a thousand theories, that she had experienced
in her own person the potent influences of the blessing of
the church, and that nothing should induce her to try the
experiment of daring its curse. Of course I was silenced,
though not conquered.
Notwithstanding her superstitious motives, Mrs. Farrow
was a woman  of decided intelligence, shrewd, ingenious,
and keen as a brier in driving a bargain, when opposed to a
wealthy or speculating character, though no one would
more readily melt at a tale of woe, or respond with more
heartiness to calls of charity. She kept a small shop or
variety store, which was tended by one of her daughters,
and was altogether a profitable concern. The sale of ready
made clothing was not, perhaps, the least thriving branch of
her trade, and the assistance it enabled her to give poor
women, was  one of its most satisfactory  results.   She
bought grain, flour, pork, beef, anything eatable, which she
retailed in small quantities, to such housekeepers as worked
237 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
for her, or if they preferred money, it was readily given. It
was not in her nature to grind the poor for the increase of
riches, and many a blessing have I heard invoked on her
head, by the miserable recipients of her kindness and
charity.
One day, while sitting in her snug little parlor, which
was a model of neatness and comfort, I caught the glimpse
of a woman just entering the store. It was but a glimpse,
yet something in her carriage and appearance forcibly reminded me of Miss Scott. The door between the two
apartments being partly open, I could hear the plaintive
tones of a melodious voice, without being able to distinguish
the words. When she retired, I observed that she carried
with her a small bundle, probably of sewing, and a basket
that contained something covered by a paper.  Mrs. Farrow
soon came into the parlor, and her eyes were red, as if with
recent tears. I was reading a novel, which observing, she
remarked, with a sad smile, " How many scenes in real life
exceed in misery and despair the most high-wrought creations of fancy."
"And yet," I answered, "misery of that description is
mostly self-made."
"So much the worse for the sufferer; for then to his or
her other tortures are added those of remorse. A young
woman just left me, whose whole appearance was so indicative of sorrow and destitution, that without asking her name
or requiring a reference, as usual, I gave her the work she
des-ired, and added thereto a small quantity of provisions.
238
a 
CLEARING UP MY CHARACTER.
Poor thing! her expressions of gratitude really overcame
me."
"Then you did not know her?"
"I did not."
"I wish you had."
"Why?"
"Because I half suspect that she is a girl in whom I am
deeply interested."
A blank look of amazement settled on the countenance of
the worthy dame.
"Oh, I hope not, indeed, I really hope not," she re
plied.
" Can you tell me where she lives?"
"I cannot," she answered, gravely.   "But why should
you wish to know?"
I had sunk immeasurably in her opinion, and deemed it
necessary to exculpate myself from the rumor the unworthy
suspicion aroused in her mind. So, without further parley,
I related all that I knew about Miss Scott, with her father's
deep anxiety, and the interest which, for his sake, I had
taken in her fate.
Mrs. Farrow listened attentively, and when I had finished,
expressed her conviction that Miss Scott and the person
with whom she so deeply sympathized were identical. She
would make further inquiries, she said, and if the supposition proved correct, we would take measures for restoring
her to her father.
I was not kept long in suspense. The next day she
239 
THE ]IUSBAD IN UTAH.
returned with the work, and Mrs. Farrow at once introduced the subject, by inquiring if her name was Scott.
She replied, with some little hesitation, that it was.
"And you came hither in an emigrant train for California?" continued the matron.
Her auditor assented.
"And would you be willing to return to your father
should an opportunity present?"
" But would it be possible for my father to forgive and
receive me?" she said, bursting into a passion of tears.
Mrs. Farrow assured her that there could be no doubt
of it, and concluded by recommending her departure in the
first emigrant train, declaring that she would supply the
funds for all necessary expenses. Miss Scott expressed her
readiness to go, and gave a general outline history of her
trials in Mormondom.
She had never ceased to regret the first false step in her
life; her carelessness and neglect of parental teaching and
advice. Disobedience, she said, led her to form an acquaintance, and ultimately a more intimate connection with the
young lieutenant.  Disobedience  led her to fly with him
from her best and truest friend, and then, as the meed of
her folly, she had met shame, desertion, and disgrace.
Before she had lived a month with Fitzgerald, her seducer,
he became weary of her, left her for days, and even weeks,
without fuel or food, at which times she would be obliged to
go out and beg a scanty supply from her neighbors. These
generally were most ungracious, and'Lever failed to express
240 
MISS SCOTT'S SUFFERINGS.
their abhorrence of her degraded condition; for, strange as
it may appear, the sixth wife of a Mormon holds in supreme
contempt the unfortunate female who may become a mother
without the sacred name of wife, or one whose connection
with a lover has not been sanctioned by the marriage tie.
She could have borne all this, she said, as a merited
punishment, but the Mormon libertines taking advantage of
her unprotected condition, began to insult her with disgusting proposals, of which even Fitzgerald urged her acceptanice.  This aroused her temper.   She reproached him with
her betrayal and ruin; he retorted. Words changed to
blows. He struck her with the flat side of his sword, and
left the house. She never saw him afterwards.
Dependent on her own exertions, without relatives or
friends, she drank deeply the cup of b)itterness and humniliation. IHer first efforts were at nursing, but she soon becameo
disgusted.  There was plenty of employment, but little pay.
Then she was cheated by one, swindled by another, while a
third would accuse her of laziness, and refuse her remuneration on the plea that she earned nothing. What was almost
equally as bad, many families were so crowded in small inconvenient rooms, that the recovery of the patient was almost
impossible, when the blame, instead of resting where it
ought, would be thrown on the nurse. In one family there
were three wives, eight children, and one old grandmother,
with the husband and grandfather, besides a table, chairs,
one bed, two benches, a cupboard, and cook-stove, all in on(
small apartment, eig,litceiil bv sixteen.  Tlhe  )ed c:-)laain'd
11
241 
TIE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
the sick woman, whose recovery, for a long time, was
doubtful, though the only wonder was, how, amid so much
noise and heat, pestiferous vapor, and suffocating smells, she
could have ever recovered at all.
But Miss Scott had other difficulties. The husbands in
whose families she found employment, almost invariably
solicited her to become a member of their seraglios, and
sometimes she found it extremely difficult to escape their
importunities. For this she had been persecuted in various
ways, and it was extremely difficult for her to supply herself
with bread.
The next day I sought the commander of an emigrant
train, about to depart for California, and gained permission
for her to accompany it.  Frederick B          also departed
with them.
242 
ELIZA SNOW MARRIES BROTHER BRIGHAM.  243
CHAPTER XIV.
CONVERSATIONS WITH AN ELDER ON POLYGAMY, AND THE FUTURE
OF THE MORMONS-THEIR NATIONAL AND SOCIAL POLICY, ETC.
HIOUGH a rigid Mormon, Mrs. Farrow was too much
of a woman not to delight in speaking her mind, and
her natural ideas of right and wrong were much too clear
and perspicuous to be readily confused by the chaos of Mormon opinions and practices. Then, too, as not a particle
of deceit harbored in her heart, she could not bear to see it
in others.
"It's just as I thought," she said, one day at breakfast,
"Eliza Snow has become the wife of Brother Brigham."
"I thought the governor favored her marriage with
another man."
" Well, I suppose he did at first, but she was averse to
marrying him, and declared her determination to take a
Gentile husband."
"And to prevent this he concluded to marry her him
s uppose   so."
" I suppose so."
I > 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
" Rather unprofitable business," I said, and taking up my
hat, went out for a walk. Sauntering along the streets, I
came to a beautiful garden, the property of a man by the
name of Sayres. His wife is a rigid Mormon, though he
denounces the whole system as an abomination. He came
here to gratify her absurd notions, and, for the sake of
family peace, tolerates her ridiculous absurdities. Gardening is his ruling passion. He is an extravagant lover of
flowers, and many a floral curiosity has he found in this
region. He contemplates making a collection of all the
plants native to the Basin, which will be a valuable addition
to botany. A large plot of ground is thus most tastefully
arranged, and clumps of beautiful and ornamental shade
trees, stationed at regular intervals, with garden-chairs and
benches for the accommodation of visitors. Several ladies,
some bright little girls, and two or three of the elders, were
promenading the walks. One of them came up, and courteously addressed me. He seemed an agreeable man, and
we soon entered into conversation. Hie was decidedly intelligent, and appeared to anticipate all the objections that
could be raised against the peculiarities of their social system.   He seemed candid, sincere, and tolerant, though
whether with reality or not I cannot pretend to say.
In reply to some remarks of his, I said that it seemed to
me that the elders and leaders of the church were permitted
to exercise a permanent influence upon the character of the
people, through their legislative and social power; and that
such influence could scarcely fail to be undemocratic, unjust,
244 
CONVERSATION WITH A MORMON ELDER.   245.
and unsuitable to the jurisdiction and general principles of
the federal government, though not unpardonable, and probably not incapable of salutary change.
"It must be evident to the most casual observer, that the
exercise of power by one part of the people over the remainder will affect unfavorably the character of the whole," I
continued, "and the more readily the poorer and weaker
class submit to the tyranny of the richer and mightier, the
greater will be the injury to their true interests, and the
deeper their moral and political degradation."
He replied, with perfect good humor, by referring to differences in opinions, feelings, and sentiments, and expressed
his firm belief that polygamy had been, and would be, a
great blessing to both male and female, individually and
socially, though, if I understood him rightly, the advantages
were prospective rather than otherwise, after all.  He said
that polygamy would be much more salutary and effective
than law, public opinion, and religion, or all combined, to
eradicate certain evils, which always had, and always would
flourish under a system of monogamy, to say nothing of
the fearful diseases and such crimes as infanticide, which
almost invariably attend illicit connections, though rarely
if ever occurring under a system of marriage so extensive
and complicated as that of the Mormons.
"Your Eastern cities," he said, "point the finger of
scorn at us in their true pharisaic spirit, yet how well might
we retort by referring to the courtesans that throng their
streets, to the innocent infants, mutilated, drowned, or left 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
to the tender mercies of strangers, that swell their criminal
reports, of deaths occasioned by nameless hideous ways; all
of which prove that in their midst is a vice stalking at
noonday that their most stringent laws have no power to
remove or obliterate. And of all these crimes we are clear,
thank God I" (i.)
"You mean that in name these crimes do not exist among
you; in fact, they certainly do," I replied.
"As how?   There  is no  such  thing as concubinage,
because all are married; there can be no illegitimate children, because all are born in wedlock; mothers are never
induced by shame or the sternness of public opinion, to
sacrifice their offspring; how then can you say that the
crimes which I have instanced as part of your system belong
to ours?" (j.)
Our conversation was long, and his defense of polygamy
sophistical and eloquent. Gradually I led him on to speak
of the future of his people-of their hopes and aspirations.
Yet few Mormons are idealists. With the single exception of the Jews, no sectaries are more truly practical.
Their sermons and conversations relate particularly to prosperity in this world. Only a part of the females, the
stupidly ignorant, and the half-insane, are visionaries. The
remainder are much more ambitious of honor and wealth in
this world, than desirous of the treasure that neither moth
nor rust can corrupt. The Mormon leaders, as a general
thing, are cautious and discreet in the expression of their
views or plans for the future. It is against their purpose
246 
PROSPECTS OF MORMONISM.
to excite suspicion, or arouse the jealousy of a government
which they secretly hate. Only on extraordinary occasions
they wax eloquent, and you can gather from cautiouslyworded phrases, a sufficient insight into the boldness and
originality of their schemes.
" Mormonism," said the elder, "has escaped the serpents
that would have destroyed it in its cradle-the Protestant
and the Catholic church. Great events which it will take
centuries to ripen, are in embryo. The beginning of the end
is at hand. The miserable intrigues and subterfuges that
deny to us the right of self-government, cannot always be
tamely endured. -We have yearly accessions of wealth and
strength, and shall soon be in a position to command respect
before the nations of the world."
"Do the Mormons, then, desire to establish an independent nation?" I inquired, coming at once to the point.
Such may be their destiny in the nature of things.
We  have all the elements of a distinct nationality.  Our
country is peculiarly fitted for self-reliance and defense.
The Great Basin, with its own system of lakes and rivers, its
fertile soil, mild climate, and mineral productions; above all
its central position on the great line of travel from east to
west, from north to south, could easily support millions of
people, whose mountain passes would be as capable of stern
defence as Thermopyle, and whose warriors in the cause
of freedom and religion:ight defy the world."
"But will your people have the temerity to rebel against
the Federal Government?"
247 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
Nothing can be further from their thoughts than rebel
lion in the present state of things, or while the Federal
Government continues the liberal and enlightened policy
which mostly distinguishes it; but secret agencies are at work,
the seeds of revolution have beeCn l)lhted.  In less than a
century, two distinct and separate confederacies will arise,
phcenix-like, from the ruins of your present government.
Then it will remain for us, on the western border, to assert
our rights, our dignity, and our independence, with a prospect of success."
"If you wait till then, it will be a long, a very long time,"
I said.
"But what matters that?" he continued.  "We  can
afford to wait for great events, or the acquisition of some
abounding good; and compared to eternity, or the long
lapse of future ages, how a century dwindles into insignificance! Yes," he continued, clasping his hands with fervor,
"we can afford to wait for that which will surely come."
"But suppose it ccmes not?"
"That were impossible from the very nature of things.
The clouds have already gathered on the horizon, there is
the deep mutter of the earthquake which precedes the shock,
the hollow moan of the volcano that indicates an explosion.
Look at your Congress, wasting their time in silly intrigues
anid worthless cabals, while the real business of the administration, and the true interests of the people are neglected.
And does not every year witness a further dereliction from
ditv, a more wasteful expenditure of the public money, a
248 
MANIFEST DESTINY.
more shameful and shameless disposition to discord, and the
subjugation of public business to private animosity. As the
states expand and the population increases, the nature of
your government requires the increase of the representa tives in exact ratio. This accession of numbers will aug ment rather than diminish the difficulty. It is idle to suppose that a country so vast, with such separate interests,
and clashing institutions, can be held together by the bands
of a government so complicated in its machinery, and so
defective in all that constitutes the true muscle of administrative power. Your laws are much better adapted to
secure the happiness of a small state than consolidate the
provinces of a Continent in one huge Empire."
"And do you believe all this?"
"Most certainly I do, and your people believe it, too,
however loth to confess the fact. Very few have faith in
the perpetuity of your institutions. Some openly prophesy
the rupture; others fear, yet deprecate the idea, but it has
found a place in the minds of all."
"That is certainly too much the case."
"Manifest destiny has a meaning with us," he continued
"The Mormon church has been denounced as a humbug,
and compared with Millerism, and other sects of ephemeral
existence, but such is not the case. It is not a sect, but a
faith, and the only faith at present in the world, that has a
fuiture before it."
"I do not understand you," I said.
"I mean,"  he resmed, "that  as past religious history
11*
249 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
belongs to the East, the future depends on the West.
Christianity has had its day. It arose in Asia, passed steadily over Europe, and gained the Continent of America,
reflecting in its passage some scattering rays over the
northern parts of Africa. But the Catholic church can
never be more powerful than it is.  Protestantismn has
reached its culminating point. Mohammedanism is without
either prestige or power, and the future is ours."
I smiled at his enthusiasm.
"You think me an enthusiast; very well," he went on.
"But great effects spring from little causes. We know that
the Genoese navigator never dreamed of discovering a new
world when he set sail for Cipango and the distant regions
of India.  When the Apostle of Mecca explained his first
Revelation to a jeering, hooting crowd, what stretch of
imagination would have reached the vast empires to be subjugated in his name. In the earliest days of Christianity,
who would have thought it possible that the instrument of
torture to a malefactor would become the symbol of rank
and honors-that warriors would carry it on their standards,
and kings on their bosoms. Yet Christianity progressed
with slower steps than Mormonism has done; at the end of
three years Mohammed had made one convert, and that
one his wife; Joseph Smith had as many thousand followers in that length of time. Has the world ever witnessed
a parallel to our success?"
"Seldom, I believe."
"Yet our mission is only begun, our destiny, instead of
250 
CONSCIOUS SECURITY.
being accomplished is only commenced. We have a vast
interior and almost impregnable country, stretching away
to the north and the south, the east and the west; and all
this country is to be filled up with people of one faith,
actuated by the same designs and desires."
"But you forget that this country is already inhabited
and occupied."
"By whom?" he inquired, with some surprise.
"The natives, of course."
"Oh, that is nothing," he replied with contempt.   "The
Indians are doomed to extirpation, or extermination.
That is their future, quite as certain as the other is ours."
"And the Mormons, you think, will remain peaceful
members of our Confederacy until there comes a general
rupture between the North and the South."
"Probably, if our social and domestic institutions are not
meddled with-if we are not required to abolish polygamy,
or the union of church and state; but under other circumstances our allegiance would be doubtful."
"Yet, what could you promise yourselves by rebellion
against a power so much stronger than yours?"
Not so much stronger, either, when all is considered.
Our mountains and deserts would supply the place of fortresses and armies, and our triumph would be secure because
defeat would be impossible."
"There might be something in that," I said, wishing by a
seeming harmony in views to lead him on.
"You must know, and your government must know, that
251
.,;    M 
THE EHUSBAND IN UTAH.
our dependence on it is by a very precarious tenure. We
have laws with their administration, regulations with their
prescribed forms, social institutions with their ceremonies,
and a religious faith with its priesthood and ordinancesand all of our own. We are necessary to them, not they
to us."
" How will you make that appear?"
"How will I make it appear?" he replied. "I should
think it would be obvious to the most casual observer.
What would be the fate of your emigrants if they had to
traverse a hostile country, or if refused the necessary rest
and refreshment after their long travel. Might not a descent
on the Gold Region be tempting on one side to human cupidity, and extremely dangerous and detrimental on the other.
Your government can well afford sacrifices to conciliate us.
We ask nothing of it only to be left alone."
There can be no doubt but that this man spoke the truth.
The Mormons desire no affiliation with us, our faith, or
social institutions; all they ask is to be left alone. It is the
wish of their leaders, it is in the hearts of the people. You
will hear it verbally, and tacitly expressed in a thousand
ways. "We can take care of ourselves," is their constant
and oft-recurring sentiment-" We want nothing of them,"
"Why do they follow us?"  These, and similar expressions
are common with all.
In no country have I ever heard such frequent reference
made to spies. If a beggar comes to the door and solicits
charity, he is instantly suspected of being a spy. If a
252
VI 
A BRIGHT FUTURE.
stranger passes along the streets he is supposed to be of the
same character. Such constant suspicion argues to my
mind anything but the consciousness of innocence, or the
firm rectitude that never shrinks from observation.
"And you consider this country capable of supporting a
dense population!" I said, addressing the Elder.
"I do not know of one whose capabilities are greater,"
he replied, "or whose resources for undeveloped wealth are
more vast and complicated.  Extensive territories wait for
men to come and possess them. A soil never broken by
the plow only asks tillage and cultivation to rival the
famous fertility of the East. Hidden ores and metals sleep
uncared for in the bowels of the earth. We might supply
the world with salt for centuries, without exhausting the
abundance  of that indispensable article.   Our hills are
richer in pasture than the famed and famous Land of Goshen.
Think of the time when all these facilities for exhaustless
wealth shall be in progress of development, when telegraphs shall. span our mountains, and railroads traverse the
valleys, while every ship wings to us from all quarters of
the globe the glory and honor of the Gentiles, and the
devotees of our faith pour out their treasures in offerings
on its shrines."
Whether or not the Mormons are destined to occupy the
distinguished position in the world to which they aspire, is
at present problematical. That stranger things have happened, is undeniable; that weaker beginnings have astounded
the world with mighty results is equally certain, and no one
253 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
who has sufficiently examined their prospects and character,
will be surprised if long before the vexed question of slavery
is laid aside, another should arise in connection with them
quite as intricate and complicated.
It seems to me that few have looked on them or their
creed in the philosophical light they deserve. The one is
considered a humbug; the others dupes  and impostors.
Yet similar humbugs have been of vigorous growth and
long continuance, and what finds favor among men in the
present age will probably be quite as readily received by
the next. But whether these speculations have a founda tion in fact or in fancy, the future must decide, and another
generation will probably be able to judge with cer tainty.
Our long colloquy ended, and I bade my friend farewell
with a feeling of regret. He was a graduate of Old Harvard, and was closely connected with some of the most
distinguished families in Massachusetts. We parted near
the Tithing office, and I never saw him more. Two days
after, I received intimation that he had been dispatched on
a secret and highly important mission to a foreign land.
Yet this man, according to Mrs. Farrow's statement, had
three wives, one of them old enough to be his mother, ano
ther middle-aged, and the third a mere child. I know very
well that such things appear incredible, but they are no
less facts, nor was he a solitary example of misdirected
intelligence. Elder Snow had made the tour of Europe, and
conversed with ease and elegance of the beauties of art in
254: 
INTELLIGENT ELDERS.
Paris and Italy, while the companion of his travels, Elder
Smith, was a graduate of Yale, and possessed an extensive
acquaintance with ancient and modern languages, and general and classical literature.
255 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER XV.
THE MARKETS OF SALT LAKE  CITY-SHOP-KEEPERS-STREET  VENDERS OF MIERCHANDISE-MANUFACTURES AND MECHANIC
ARTS.
N a city of twenty-five or thirty thousand stationary
inhabitants, with an almost equal number of transient
visitors, the markets cannot be an insignificant feature,
though not connected with the most pleasant associations,
or suggestive of the most refined ideas.
But the markets are capital places to study the varieties
of life. The work-shops and small stores present at every
step subjects for characteristic sketches, and set forth the
every-day aspect of the common people. The piety of the
Mormon does not at all prevent his being extremely fond of
a good bargain, and, ten chances to one, if it stands in the
way of his committing a regular, downright swindle, should
an opportunity occur.
The markets are well supplied with the usual comestibles
of civilized life; -fish, flesh, and fowl abound, with all sorts
of vegetables, butter, and cheese. Little tab!es are usually
256 
SHOP-KEEPERS.
set out in conspicuous places, with cakes, candies, and confectionaries, around which gather gay groups of soldiers,
women, and children, laughing and chatting with all possible
familiarity. You are surprised at the quantities of foreign
wares conspicuously displayed in the windows. You had
scarcely expected to find French gloves or Wellington boots.
You think, perhaps, that the display of silks, costly shawls,
and velvets, must be rather out of place. You begin to
question in what manner they could ever have come here,
forgetful that gold possesses a magic power that attracts
everything which can be exchanged for it.
But there are many shops of less pretention, devoted to
the sale of second-hand or inferior articles, with clothes,
hose, and similar goods of home-made manufacture. You
soon discover that the keepers of these establishments possess a peculiar aptitude for trade. In dexterity and cunning they seem  even  to surpass the- Jews.   You  are
surrounded in a moment by a dozen eager traders, all
intent on selling you something, and each seeming to vie
with the others in setting forth the value and utility of his
wares. You cannot help feeling amused at the strange
mixture of barbarous English, guttural German, and idiomatic French that reaches your ears; for these shopkeepers are nearly all foreigners, and by them almost every
nation in Europe is represented. You are attracted by a
little Frenchman, whose use of his tongue seems most dextrous, and enter his door with the fixed determination that
you will not purchase anything, because just then there is
257 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
nothing you want. The Frenchman is all assiduity and
attention.
"What will you have, sir?  Boots, stocks;" and he runs
over a long list of articles with a glibness of tongue perfectly astonishing, meanwhile watching your eye to discover
on what article it fastens. As yet you are unacquainted
with his art, and look carelessly and indifferently around, till
a beautifully embroidered buffalo-robe meets your gaze. Of
course you have no use for that; it is in the midst of summer, and you are thousands of miles away from home. It
would be preposterous to swell your baggage with useless
articles, but you can ask the price. The Frenchman, however, anticipates you.
"Monsieur has well chosen," he says.  "This is the most
beautiful article of the kind in the market. Lord George
Gordon, I think it was, won't be sure about the name, but
at any rate he was an English lord, bought three of them
from an Indian princess. One he designed as a present to
Queen Victoria, the other he wished to keep for his lady,
and the third I obtained as a reward for doing his lordship
a very great service."
"Indeed!"
"Just look, what soft, long, exquisite fur.  I have been
in the fur trade these many years, and never yet saw its
equal."
After much chaffering and bargaining, more for amusement than anything else, you are induced to name a price,
though not a fourth of the sum that he has named as the
258 
SECOND-HAND SHOPS.
lowest he can take. The words have scarcely escaped your
lips, when he flings it over your shoulders, and the only
course left for you is to count the gold.
The shops devoted to the sale of second-hand goods are
quite as characteristic and interesting.  Surely such a collection of worn-out dilapidated merchandise was never before
seen. The people are as singular as the wares offered for
sale. Here are two women holding a solemn council over a
superannuated frock, which one would think entirely worthless. Close by is another, driving a hard bargain for a
battered bonnet of Parisian make, which has served as an
ornament and protection to probably a dozen heads, and has
finally found its way into this repository of antiquities.
Here is one of the few places in which you will find a crowd.
In general the streets are so broad, and the houses cover so
small a portion of the ground, that you might almost fancy
yourself in a town deserted by its inhabitants.  But here
the crowd, and throng, and press, are sufficient to make it
all up. You look around, and wish yourself away, and the
wish preludes the attempt to get away. In this you are
obstructed by some venders of street merchandise, who cry
their wares in your ears with downright effrontery, or blockade the passage, so that you must either stop or run over
them; of course you prefer the former.  It is amusing to
see how the a.sociations of polygamy have entered into all
their ideas of life. They do not seem to think it possible
that a man can have one wife without more, and they take
it for granted that he has one. If you deny it, they will
lb
259
I 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
not believe you, but persist in urging you to buy combs,
needles, pins, tapes, and similar articles indispensable to the
female toilet, though of no possible use to a bachelor.
"Buy this for your wife, sir, and this, and this-all alike,
or one just as good as the other; can't be no quarrelling
then."
"But I have no wife, never had."
"Never had a wife; that can't be.  You are joking; you
look like a sensible man, and sensible men always marry."
"Do they, indeed?"
"Ah, yes."
"But I am too young."
"Too young! That's a good one. Ha I ha I ha! But
a man who wears a moustache is always old enough to have
a wife."
"That may be; but age does not always decide these
things."
"Well, one thing is certain, if you have no wife, you are
no Mormon."
"No, I am not."
"Well, let that go then, but you must buy something."
You shake your head.
"Yes, you must; these things were made to sell and to
use. By not buying, you defeat the intention of the originator; you take bread from the mouths of my wives. Buy
them, for charity's sake."
"Wives "-you catch at the word, if only for the sake of
relieving yourself of his importunities.
260 
MANUFACTURES.
"How many wives have you?" you inquire, dubiously.
To suggest that he had only one would probably be considered an insult, as some of the Mormons rate their respectability by the number of their wives.
He tells you three, four, or probably six or seven, not
unfrequently representing them more numerous than they
really are.
"Do you not find it difficult to get along peaceably with
so many women?"
"I pay no attention to their squabbles.   I find that much
the best plan. If they get to quarrelling, I let them take it
out over the face and eyes, and I tell you what, they have
pretty warm work sometimes."
You perhaps tell him that the whole system is an abomination, when he laughs in your face, refers you to great
examples, and persists in teasing you to buy. Finally, to
escape the persecution, you purchase something, a trinket,
perhaps, or fine-tooth comb, but be sure it is something you
do not want, and for which you have no use.
Manufactures are rarely carried on in youthful communities, with the approved appliances of machinery driven by
steam or water power. Flour is indispensable to human life
and comfort, consequently we find that mills are among the
first appendages to all civilized societies. Next come the
manufacture of cotton and woollen cloths, and the simpler
mechanic trades of shoemaking, tailoring, and the like.
Both wool and flax of very good quality abound in Utah,
and many of the more extensive farmers take infinite pains
261 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
to improve their breeds of sheep. There can be no doubt
that when the increase of population demands it, and suffi cient inducements are offered, extensive manufactories
rivalling those of the East will be put in operation. At pre sent, the females card, spin, and weave much after the
fashion of our grandmothers, and some of thle most beautiful
blankets and the finest linen I ever beheld, was shown to me,
with commendable pride, as being the work of their skillful
fingers. It must not be supposed that the Mormons are all
concentrated in Salt Lake City. A vast extent of territory
is being rapidly filled up with them. In the country, too,
that is, on the farms, where the women have constant and
regular employment-where one weaves, and another spins,
the third attends to the dairy, and the fourth is housekeeper-where there is plenty of the comforts, and many of
the luxuries of life, polygamy seems to be attended by fewer
evils, and to be the occasion of much less discomfort than in
more confined situations, though of course the immorality of
the practice is the same.
The attention of the Mormons seems to have been early
attracted to the manufacture of sugar from the beet-root.
In 1852, a complete set of machinery for that purpose was
imported thither at immense cost, and, after some delay, put
in operation. The raising of beets excited a furore for the
time in Mormondom, almost equal to the Multicaulis mania
in the Eastern States. Gardens, fields, and even houseyards were planted with the saccharine vegetable. But the
want of sufficiently experienced and competent workmen was
262 
AVERSION TO OUTTrDERS.
severely felt. The cost of sugar production was found to
greatly exceed that of importation, to say nothing of the
superior quality of the latter. The experiment, though not
a success, could not be considered an absolute failure. The
practicability was tested, and probably some future age may
reap the benefits of it.
The Mormons are exceedingly adverse to dependence on
outsiders, characterized by them as Gentiles. This disposition might tend to facilitate their progress in the mechanic
arts, but they are almost equally opposed to profiting by the
superior skill, knowledge, and attainments of those who,
from education or principle, are opposed to their domestic
institutions and their church.
-20
263
Z7 
0
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER XVI.
SCHOOLS-LITERATURE-INTRODUCTION TO  ELDER  KIMBALL,
ETC.
S  might be supposed, the Mormon schools have nothing
to boast of, being little more than an appanage of the
church, where the children and youth may be trained in its
doctrines, and brought up in habits of unlimited obedience
to its requirements.  The elders appoint the teachers, select
the books, and superintend the general affairs of all connected with them. The Catholic Church in its palmy days
never manifested more jealousy of heretical doctrines, or
was more vigorous in the expulsion of all works considered
of that tendency.
"What sciences do they teach, then?" you question.
"What principles of political or domestic economy are
instilled into the tender minds of their youth?"
Mly dear. friends, I cannot tell you; but of one thing you
may be sure; it is nothing of a democratic tendency, it is
nothing that can be presupposed to give them an independence of thought or feeling, but directly the reverse.
264 
A SCHOOL-TEACfrER.
The school teachers are generally old, decrepit persons,
who would be objects of charity if not thus provided for.
One of these ladies, females are all ladies in this age, came
one day to the house of Mrs. Farrow to purchase necessaries, as she termed it. These consisted of half a pint of
molasses, half a pound of coffee, three candles, and an ounce
of tea. I thought she must he well qqualified to give the
children lessons in economy. She was altogether one of
the most remarkable specimens of womanhood I had seen
in Utah-tall, though much bent, stout, bony, square-cornered-with cold, yet eager grey eyes, grim aspect, and
great volubility. A paralytic attack had deprived her of
the use of one side, her arm was useless, and she was obliged
to walk with a crutch. Indeed, she was down on the list as
a pauper, till Brigham Young, actuated either by motives
of charity or the desire to relieve the church of a burden,
gave her the appointment of school-teacher, with the understanding that in such a situation she must take care of herself.
Yet this singular woman had seen better days. Som(where in the states she had a husband and children, but
their hearts having proved too hard to be softened by
the new revelation, she abandoned them in the company of
the first Great Prophet's family. She had one thousand
dollars in her own right, and after managing to get hold of
this the rogue, by the power of a special revelation, delivered her over to the keeping of another. She remained with
him a year, when he died, and she was left without friends
12
265
-!'I) 
THE HUSBAND  N UTAH.
or means. But she had great industry, and having cast her
lot with the saints, would not be separated from them. So
she floated along in the current of emigration to Salt Lake
City, working all the time like a slave.
" How many scholars, have you?" I inquired, when informed of her profession.
"No  particular number, sometimes near forty, and at
others not over ten."
"Then the children are not regular in attendance."
"I don't think it makes much difference," she replied.
"They do little besides knitting, sewing, and saying their
catechism."
"Manual labor, and theology," I suggested. "Do you
not teach grammar?"
"Grammar, no; what's the use of grammar?  I never
could see any sense in it, and very much doubt if any body
else can. I wish my scholars to understand what pertains
to their salvation, rather than the wisdom of this world,
which fadeth away."
"But, madam, life and its trials are here."
She turned curtly away and made no answer.
Yet so far as I could learn, she was a tolerably fair
example of the class of school-teachers; but priestcraft, all
the world over, has been afraid of knowledge. The spirit
of the age demands a school of some kind. It might be
dangerous to refuse, hence the school is established, but is
contrived to be only an accessory of superstition.
The Mormons have what they call a Library, though it
266
r- - 
INTRODUCTION TO ELDER KIMBALL.
is not very well supplied with books. To make up the
deficiency, however, the works, as a general thing, were well
selected. Hume and Paine found a place side by side with
Robertson and Volney. The most approved histories of
ancient and modern times were conspicuously displayed, but
there was little poetry, and less light literature, though a
few standard novels were there, among which I particularly
noticed the works of Dickens and Alarryatt.
While conversing with the librarian, Elder Kimball was
seen approaching.  I knew him to be one of the first men
in the place, and when he entered we were introduced. He
was very sociable, expressed great pleasure at seeing me,
though I doubted his sincerity, and even went so far as to
insinuate a desire that I would make his country my permianent home, declaring that it was one of the finest places on
the earth, that the beauty of the climate, the magnificence
of the scenery, and the fertility of the soil were altogether
unsurpassed. He then expatiated largely on the unity and
brotherly love that prevailed-the obedience and fecundity
of the wives-with the wealth and generous tempers of the
husbands.
I was not disposed to controvert his position, but made
some inquiries about the general appreciation of literature,
and whether or not the use of the library were permitted to
all indiscriminately.
The librarian looked at the elder, and for a moment his
countenance changed.
267
I q 
THE HIIUSBAND IN UTAH.
"To all indiscriminately," he replied, "with certain reservations and exceptions, that mean nothing."
"But meaning nothing, why are they made?"
He laughed lightly, and turning to the librarian, inquired
if I had seen "those choice manuscripts."
As I had not; they were immediately produced.
The one was a volume of poems by Eliza Snow, of which
the principal ones have been published in the Deseret News.
They were written in a fine, though legible running hand, and
were much more interesting as a specimen of chirography
than as poetry. The other was on the subject of theology,
by Parley Pratt.
"These works have never been published?" I said.
"They have not," he answered.   "We  prize them very
highly, and that is probably the reason why they have
never been published."
"Indeed."
"Certainly; there can be no doubt that if given to the
world there would be a diversity of sentiment about them
at present there can be but one."
"An original reason, truly."
"You must remember," continued the elder, "that the
Mormon church is yet in its infancy. Under the pressure
of persecution, misrepresentations, and false doctrines from
without, there could be little encouragement for the exercise
of original genius. We value these works rather for what
they portend than for what they are. The Mormon people
268 
THE FUTURE FORETOLD BY THE PAST.
are yet in a Chaos; every part of the globe has contributed
a quota to swell our numbers. They come with dissimilarity
of tastes, feelings, sympathies, and views. When these
discordant elements are blended into one, will be the time
for us to produce great things in art, and make striking
discoveries in physical science-and not tinll then."
"You design to monopolize the future?"
"In part, and to speak in common parlance, who has a
better right? Our people are now accomplishing the first
part of their mission-the conquest of material nature.
Long ages antecedent to Homer, the Greeks produced
nothing in literature worthy of the name, but they were
preparing the way for that lord of song. What generations
succeeded the advent of Plato and Demosthenes, of Phidias
and Praxiteles! The eternal city was in the bloom of its
matured strength before the birth of Cicero and Virgil, and
the Italian people did not at once burst out into Dante and
Michael Angelo. What felling of forests, maraudings, and
piracies preceded in Germany the appearance of Goethe,
Schiller, and Jean Paul, with wars of the Roses, Crusades,
and martyrdoms in England, before a Shakespeare or Milton
could see the light 1"
"Heaven grant that the Mormon people may be spared
such an ordeal," I said, half involuntarily.
"Amen," he responded. "But do you then cherish a
fraternal feeling with them?"
As belonging to the great brotherhood of mankind, I
must, and do."
269 
THE HUSBAND IN UIJTAH.
"I honor your sincerity," he replied.  "Few come here
with any other purpose in view than to turn us, and all we
possess, into disgrace.  They determine to be dissatisfied
from the first, and with the utmost want of politeness and
good breeding themselves, demand the most rigid courtesy
of us. In their sight, we are no longer men, but beasts. I
suppose they would deny us the privilege of living or breathing if they could. One woman who stopped here on her
way to California, made great complaints that she was not
treated with proper deference, because some men on the
other side of a bridge preferred to walk over previous to
her. Yet this same woman, lady I will not call her, never
hesitated to quiz any one and everybody who came in her
way, demanding of women how many wives their husbands
might  have, and  questioning little children about  their
father's families."
"Disagreeable, certainly."
"Outrageous, scandalous," he persisted.   "If they do
not like us, all they have to do is to let us alone; it is all
we ask; our protection and dependence is all of ourselves.
We ask no assistance from an arm of flesh."
I have reason to believe, indeed I know, that similar feelings are generally cherished. They only wish to hold communication with the " Gentiles" when  such intercourse can
be made beneficial to themselves, and contribute to forward
their impious designs.
After much more desultory conversation, the elder invited
me to attend a cotillion party at his house, which was to
2O
- "7, 
AN INVITATION ACCEPTED.'
come off in a few days, and to which the principal dignitaries of the church had been invited.
In reply, I informed him that I had made arrangements
for departure from that place, but would postpone my journey for a few days, and should be happy to attend.
271 ~ 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER XVII.
DECEPTIONS-RASCALITIES-DUPES-IMPOSTORS-PARLEY  PRATT
-HIS SCHEMES TO RAISE MONEY-A BEREAVED HUSBAND AND
FATHER, ETC.
ORMONISM, from first to last, is a system of delusion
and imposition, consequently the votaries of that faith
can only be regarded in the light of impostors. Yet we
cannot for a moment doubt that many of the weak-minded
and ignorant men, and still more of the women, are actually
sincere in their belief, and would probably endure martyrdom rather than renounce their faith. The elders, many of
whom are men of decided talent and intelligence, seem to
have brought deception to au art, and to practise it systematically.  Foreign countries present, of course, the most
eligible theatre for their operations, and hundreds of missionaries are constantly employed.   These expatiate on the
wonderful facilities to acquire wealth, and possess happiness,
i the MAlormon country-on the beauty and healthfulness of
the climate, the exuberant fruitfulness of the soil, the dowry
of land and stock, with the great demand for mechanic
272 
AN OPPOSER OF POLYGAMY.
labor. Sometimes they mention polygamy incidentally,
though it is but too evident that many come here without
the least suspicion of being brought into contact with such
an institution, but whose disgust and horror, when informed
of it, cannot  shake their faith in the seductive imposture.
I was much pleased with the appearance of a beautiful
little girl, who came on errands to Mrs. Farrow's store.
She belonged to an English family of the better class, was
very talkative and intelligent, and so prettily dressed that
with her large, limpid blue eyes and floating curls, she looked
like a fairy.
"Is that lovely creature's home contaminated by the plurality system?" I queried of my good landlady.
"No, indeed. I should as soon expect to see the summer
turn to barrenness as Edward Cunningham with a second
wife."
"Is he then an opposer of polygamy?"
"I should think that he was."
"And his wife?"
"It would kill her, at lea t she says that it would, and I
cannot doubt it. Never was a woman more devoted to a
man. Yet they do say," continued Mrs. Farrow, "that
some of the elders have exerted all their influence to induce
him to take another wife."
"I cannot see why they should have so much interest in
the matter."
"They say such examples are bad for the women whose
12*
273 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
husbands have polygamous tendencies-that it makes them
jealous, discontented, dissatisfied."
" I presume they will conquer in the end. If he believes
their creed, it is scarcely possible that he can escape the
contaminating influences brought to bear upon him."
"He not only believes their creed, but is one of them,"
she answered, "or, perhaps I should say, one of us; for
though I am opposed to some things the elders do and
teach, I am professedly a rigid Mormon."
I could not refrain from smiling.
"Well, as I was saying, Mr. Cunningham is a man of business capacity, holds a subordinate position in the Legislative
Assembly, and is much honored and sought after, though
Mrs. Cunningham declares that had she known of polygamy
and some other things, she would never have come here."
"Then they did not know of it."
"They never dreamed of it till somebody in St. Louis
told them. But Mr. Cunningham asserted that it could not
be, and persisted in his belief that the whole story was a
scandal, got up by the malice of their enemies, till he
received ocular demonstration of the fact.   Heighho, our
elders are but men."
Subsequently I had the pleasure of making Mrs. Cunningham's acquaintance, and learning further items in their history.   She had a family of beautiful daughters, and her
maternal apprehensions with regard to their future fate were
easily excited.  Lascivious eyes had already been cast upon
them, and John Taylor, an old man, deformed and crippled,
274 
MRS. CUNNINGHAM'S EXPERIENCE.
who had been wounded when Joe Smith was killed, and who
was the husband of six half-starved wives, had actually pre
sumed to solicit that one of the blooming creatures might be
sealed to him.
"Why," said the passionate woman,  her face flushing
with excitement, "I would rather see my child dying at my
feet, than know that such a doom  awaited her.   The
hideous old ogre!"
She went on to tell how they had been cheated and
deceived in various ways, prefacing her account, however,
with a hope that I would not betray her confidence, and
saying that it was a relief to have the privilege of unbosoming her troubles to some one whose mind was not warped
with the infatuation that had been their ruin.
She had an elegant piano, sofa, and other furniture usual
with people in their station of life. The boxes in which
they were packed arrived safely at St. Louis, when the Mormon agent, into whose hands they passed, took the liberty
of opening and inspecting them.  He was delighted with
the prospect of plunder, and succeeded in convincing Mrs.
C      that she had better leave the things with him, as the
dry air of the plains, and other emergencies, would render
them worthless, and that he would give her a draft for their
value, to be drawn on the governor. She complied with
this proposition, though with great reluctance, but her
surprise was greater when arriving at Utah, and presenting
her draft, the dignitary protested it, saying that it " wasn't
worth the first red cent."
275
p 
r " 
THE HESBAND IN UTA4H.
"I wouldn't have minded it so much," she said, "but we
really needed the money. We were poor enough I can
assure you. I had never before known what poverty was.
When we started to cross the plains, a number of wagons
drawn by cattle were loaded with our goods, but my hus band had not been accustomed to such travelling, or to
taking care of cattle. His hired men were brutal. Over exertion and the want of necessary nutriment reduced the
animals to skeletons.   They  soon  gave  out, and  their
bleaching )ones mark the path for the future traveller.
Worn out with suffering, and destitute, we arrived in the
vicinity of the Salt Lake."
It is customary with the Mormon leader, to go out a
day's journey to meet an emigrating party, entertaining
them with music, and fresh provisions, as a foretaste of the
good things in store for them.  It enables him  to make  a
show, and gives a certain air of triumph on the acquisition
of numbers to his church.
"We were struggling through the mountain passes, weary
and despondent," said Mrs. Cunningham, "when our ears
were suddenly delighted with the sound of music, breathing
and dying away among the hills, or rolling out in waves of
harmony, that reverberated from rock to rock. We listened
with beating hearts when a courier rode up, and informed
us that the Leader was approaching with an escort to conduct us to the city."
"A token of welcome, I suppose."
"And our hearts were gladdened by it; but, oh, sir, it
276 
DISMAL PROSPECTS.
did not last long. A few days found us living in this little
house, so destitute of comfort, that for my children's sake, I
know not what to do. For myself, I could bear it, but
where are the advantages and accomplishments that I had
promised my daughters.  What is their prospective future?
it makes me shudder to think of it."
This, I am satisfied is the case with many mothers, even
of those who sit down quietly themselves under the curse of
polygamy. They can bear it, but their hearts bleed for
their daughters. And many a father who practises it
unhesitatingly himself, shrinks with horror and despair from
the immolation of a favorite child.
"My husband," continued Mrs. Cunningham, "is very
industrious; yet, not being accustomed to manual labor, he
could do little that way. The property he invested in the
church has never returned him a cent, and probably never
will.  A situation was offered him in the theatre, and absolute necessity induced him to accept it. His days are spent
copying laws, and his nights are devoted to those dissolute
scenes. Oh, sir, my heart aches and my brain is maddened,
when I think of it."
The infatuation of this woman was effectually cured, but
too late-too late-for all practical purposes.  Her hand
was fairly in the lion's mouth, and she could not remove it,
nor break his teeth.
I subsequently beheld  her husband.   He looked pale,
discouraged,  and  worn  out,  though  evidently  pleased
with the attention and respect his presence always corn
27'T 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
manded. But more substantial comforts were needed to
render his life happy, and of these he found few enough.
Few people are more to be pitied than those dupes of
Mormon  duplicity, who, belonging to the better class of
foreigners, and unable from ignorance and the want of habit
to obtain a living by manual labor, embark their property
as a speculation in the hands of the church, and are then
left with their families in a beggarly state of wretchedness.
Utah is rife with such examples; yet the Mormon  elders
are really kind and generous to such poor emigrants as can
work, and thereby increase the productive industry, and
consequently the wealth of the country. They are much
too politic and observant not to understand the value to
any community of a sturdy, hard-working yeomanry.
I was much interested in the story of a rich German
family, who had been converted to Mormonism, and the
idea of emigration. It is really strange to me how people
can be so easily induced to leave their homes, and the sweet
associations of their childhood and riper years. But it is the
old story of the dog and the bone. Though well off, they
concluded that their circumstances might be improved.
They'saw the shadow in the water, leaped for it, and lost
their all,  When the various items of their property was
collected together, it amounted to the snug sum of 15 or
20,000 dollars in gold, silver, plate, and jewelry. And of
all this the silly man was induced to resign possession in
favor of the elder to whom he attributed his conversion,
that worthy promising, of course, to make all right at a sub
278 
MISPLACED CONFIDENCE.
sequent day, to secure state-rooms for the family on board
the ship in which they were to emigrate, and to provide
them necessary and respectable accommodations on the
entire route.
Imagine, therefore, the surprise and indignation of this
husband and father, when he found himself, his family, and
all their baggage crowded into the steerage, amid filth,
fever, noisome smells, and inidescribable indecency.   He
remonstrated with the captain, but in vain. That dignitary
plainly told him that it was too late to make alterations in
the arrangements of the ship, and that if he confided his
affairs to the discretion of a Mormon priest, there was no
alternative but to abide the consequences.   The  elder,
meanwhile, was accommodated with two state-rooms, and
every convenience and luxury.
Compelled to submit, but extremely dissatisfied with their
treatment, they were landed at New York, and being utter
strangers to the language and customs of our country,
without means or friends, nothing remained for them, but
to float along in the current of emigration to Salt Lake.
Here they were lodged in a wretched hut, without even
the commonest necessaries of life, or any prospect of a better condition. They have made some disagreeable discoveries. They have ascertained that the property deposited
by the husband in the hands of the elder belongs to the
church, that if he wants a house, one can be built for
him, for which he will be indebted to the church; and
worse than all, that their daughters are approaching a
279 
THE HUSB13AND IN UTAH.
marriageable age, and will soon be wanted  to swell the
number of victims to the institution of the church. They
knew nothing of polygamy before coming here, and were
filled with disgust and terror at the prospect before them.
Yet it should not be supposed that these particular cases of
individual suffering and discontent are general throughout
the community, or that all, without exceptions, are utterly
vile and depraved. Many, doubtless, are pure in their feel ings, and sincere in their desires to serve God, however
mistaken and unfounded the views they have learned to
entertain. Many would be glad to be freed from their
bonds, and like a liberated bird, exult at their release; but
others are infatuated with their lot, and no inducement
could tempt them to abandon it. In the language of the
Scriptures, "they are joined to their idols."
What an awful weight of responsibility rests on the heads
of the reverend guides and directors of the Mormon people,
and what a fearful reckoning will be theirs in the great day
of accounts. As usual with their class in all ages and
countries, these men are inveterate worshipers of the
golden calf. They bow before it, it fills their imaginations,
and concentrates their desires.  Their cry for gold is iiicessant, and when this necessary article is not to be had at
home in sufficient quantities, they generally start out on a
mission, and thus it rarely fails that their pockets are replenished.  It is rumored, though whether with truth or not
I cannot pretend to say, that some of the elders, who have
been best supplied with wives, have disposed of the super
280 
PARLEY PRATT.
fluous to Indian chiefs, or half-breeds in the neighborhood;
in all cases for a valuable consideration in horses, furs, or
other articles of ready merchandise.   Incredible  as this
might appear, if related of any other enlightened community,
I see no reason for disputing its occurrence here.   The
slavery and merchandise of women is the usual attendant
of polygamy. Both are parts of one system, and in all
countries where the former is tolerated, the latter comes in
as coeval and co-existent.  I cannot see why the example of
the patriarchs might not be quoted to support the one as
well as the other, and with equal propriety.
Parley Pratt, a noted saint in this region, an elder, and
the husband of a multitude-of wives, is accused of being the
originator of this scheme to "raise the wind." At any
rate, one or two of the Mrs. Pratts mysteriously disappeared, and the elder immediately came out with a fine stud of
horses, known to have belonged to Walker, the Utah Chief.
As report goes, a trapper, who visited Walker's lodge sometime afterwards, found it inhabited by two or three white
women, and, to his great amazement, learned the particulairs of the  affair.  Parley, however,  mate  a handsome
speculation, sold the horses to some California emigrants,
and employed the money in furnishing himself with an outfit for a mission to Chili.
The  Mormon  Missionaries make  great pretensions to
humility, and of going without purse or scrip, but this is
only an excuse for the mendicity they affect and practise.
The initiated know very well, that large private resources
281 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
are at their command, though it is only in cases of emer gency that they can be induced to resort to them.
Parley is likewise an inveterate borrower.   Mrs. Farrow
informed me of several sisters, who having inherited money
from Eastern quarters, were immediately assailed by the
necessitated priest, whose exceedingly bland and courteous
manner is seldom without its influence on the female
mind.
But it seems that men sometimes  are quite as easily
deluded as women, and this redcubtable elder seems to
drive a brisk trade at wheedling and swindling them. A
poor man at San Bernardina, was induced by the wily
hypocrite to trust two or three hundred dollars of hard
earnings in his hands.   Repayment, though promised at
the time, was never performed, and never will be.
This man has a very even flow of language, converses
with great ease, has the most perfect suavity of manner,
and looks altogether as if he never did and never could do
wrong. He has great command of his countenance, never
gets angry, though at times you can catch the lurking devil
in his eye. Indeed he is a perfect specimen of the class of
sanctimonious rascals.
There seems a positive cruelty in the disposition of this
man, which manifests itself in the sundering of family-ties
and connections. He has persuaded daughters to abandon
their homes, wives to forsake their husbands, and mothers
their children. HIe has carried blight and desolation to
many a fireside, and caused pangs fiercer than those of
I.
Itr
282 
DETESTABLE PRACTICES.
death to many a human heart.  Mlany a history of wrong
and shame, in which he has been chief actor, might be
related. MAlany a tale of moral delinquency, and mental
anguish and bereavement, is connected with his endeavors
and success in proselyting unbelievers.  Of course, many of
the others are equally wicked, and the distress they occasion
by the separation of friends and families is actually incalculable. I saw a beautiful young woman, who had abandoned
her mother's dying bed, and left her grey-haired father to
descend in sorrowful loneliness to the grave, to follow one
of these impostors, and become his tenth or twentieth wife.
This was vaunted as a great act of heroism on her part, and
her praises were sung in all their churches. Another had
deserted her lover and prospective husband, who was well
nigh distracted; and a third was forcibly plucked from
their clutches by her brother, who invoked the aid of the
law (k). Yet so great was her infatuation, that all his prayers
and entreaties were of no avail.  In the night she arose,
tore the sheets of her bed into strips, let herself down by
them from the chamber window, and escaped to them.
When sought again, she was not to be found; they had
secreted her. Sometimes women, sometimes men, (1.) and
sometimes children, fall victims to their arts.  Their presence
in the family circle is the sure prelude of misery and sin.
The tale of MAr. Hays, an English cattle-trader, is only one
amongst a thousand that might be told of the fanaticism
and diabolism  that ever attends the hideous  and slimy
course of Mormonism in its progress over the world.
283 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
This gentleman was wealthy and respectable. Hle had a
beautiful cottage, situated on a small stream in the north of
England; grounds tastefully laid out, surrounded it, and
peace, plenty, and domestic happiness, abode within. The
wife was loving and beloved; the daughters beautiful and
obedient; the son honorable and intelligent. One stormy
night, in the autumn of 1854, two mounted strangers came
to the gate, and implored, for the sake of human brotherhood, that shelter and protection might be afforded them for
the night. Mr. Hays, who could never find it in his heart
to refuse the shelter of his roof even to the wandering mendicant, readily granted their request.  His servants were
directed to take care of their horses; they were invited to
his parlor, and made welcome at his board. The suavity of
their manners, their intelligence and apparent respectability
won largely on the heart of the good man, and when it
came out that they were Americans, and designed to stay
some days in the neighborhood, he invited them to consider
his house their home. For several days the subject of Mormonism was not broached, indeed their first endeavors
seemed to be to gain the good will of the family. In this
they fully succeeded, when their designs were gradually
unfolded.
However, the strong good sense of Mr. Hays preserved
him from falling a victim to the delusion, but the son was
easily dazzled with their glowing pictures of Mormon life
and libertinism. He deserted his parents, went to Utah,
was, it seems, highly delighted, was elevated to posts of
9,84
,PI 
A TRAITOROUS SON.
dignity and importance, and with each step became more
and more in love with the institutions of MAormondom.
When his faith was  sufficiently established,  and  it was
deemed expedient, he was returned to England as a missionary.  His first efforts were against his father's house, but
the good man, though receiving his son affectionately,
utterly forbade all mention of his heretical doctrines.
Opportunities, however, were not wanting; the mother and
sisters were duped, and consented to elope and go to Utah,
without letting the husband and father into the secret of
their designs.  Such is the effect of fanaticism; it sears the
heart, and renders it insensible to sympathy or natural
affection.  One Monday, after the arrival of his son, Mr.
Hays started on one of his usual expeditions to purchase
cattle, leaving a large sum in money, a gold watch, and
other valuables in the charge of his wife.  He left his home
just as years of domestic quiet and happiness had endeared
it to him, without a thought or misgiving of the fearful
destruction awaiting his treasures. He returned on Saturday, eager to greet his loved ones, and receive their aiffectionate welcome; but how great was  his surprise, how
unspeakable his horror! His habitation was stripped and
deserted. There was no affectionate greeting, no provision
for his comfort. He called, but there was no answer, and
to describe his consternation and distress would be impossible.  The wife had not only deserted, but robbed her husband, and the son had proved the betrayer of his father.
They had likewise induced all the children to accompany
285 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
them; the money, the jewels, the plate, everything portable,
even to the bed-linen, had been removed.
The poor man applied to the police in a state actually
bordering on distraction, and without suspecting that Mormonism had wrought his ruin. By careful inquiries, and
previous knowledge of the  Mormon character, the officers
were induced to believe that such might be the case. They
hastened to Liverpool, and learning that a large emigrating
party of that people had just departed in the ship Good
Hope, Captain Sanders, for the New World, it was thought
his family might be on board.  A steamtug, moored at the
dock, with the fires up, was put in requisition, and the pursuit commenced.  But the morning was far advanced, and
the little party of pursuers were not mnch encouraged by
the captain to hope that they would have any chance of
overhauling the Good Hope, for she had been taken out to
sea by a strong tug, and had all her sails set to a favoring
breeze.  After crossing the bar at the mouth of the MAersey,
a dark object like a speck was discovered on the horizon,
which the captain of the steamtug made out with his glass,
and pronounced to be the ship. For two or three hours the
chase continued, when it became evident that they were fast
gaining on the big ship.  When within hailing distance, the
captain of the Good HIope slackened sail, supposing that his
pursuers were the custom-house officers, and had seneted
something wrong.   Cooing  aloingside, the  party jumped
aboard, and when they announced their errand, the excitement  among  the  Mormons  was  intense.   The  captain
286 
& HEARTLESS WIFE.
received them courteously, invited them into his cabin, and
asked to see the warrants under which they were acting.
They had none, but that a husband should be so basely
deceived and robbed of his household gods and goods at
once, was pronounced and felt by the captain, who declared
himself no Mormon, and ignorant of the whole affair, an
unendurable rascality, and he was evidently anxious to
render the bereaved and nearly distracted man all the
assistance in his power. The women and children, however,
were kept carefully out of sight between decks.
As the search went on, the excitement increased. The
poor husband became almost a raving maniac; alternately
praying, coaxing, and threatening, sometimes actually kneeling at the feet of the Mormon leaders, and beseeching them
with words and gestures that should have melted a heart of
stone, to restore his family.  His entreaties were seconded
by those of the captain and officers; but all were in vain.
For two hours this scene continued,  the ship all the time
'being carried further and further out to sea. Finally the
officers declared that rather than fail in their mission, they
would accompany the vessel to Boston, and denounce the
whole gang of Mormon impostors to the British authorities
in that city.  The firmness of the officers had its effect, and
the elders consented to produce the woman, and let her have
an interview with her husband.   The  heartless creature
manifested the utmost indifference to his distress, refused
even to accept his proffered hand as a token of friendship,
and turned a deaf ear to all his remorstrances, until the
~  e..... I... e.
287 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
officers interposed, telling her that if she persisted in her
determination, she would be denounced to the Boston
authorities, and probably imprisoned.   This information
shook her resolution; with streaming tears and accents of
woe, she bade farewell to her deceivers, and was handed
into the tug with the youngest child. The husband still
knelt on the bulwarks, the very picture of paternal distress,
praying and entreating that yet more of his children might
be restored to him.  Even some of the Mormons were
moved at his anguish; they began to murmur, and say that
it was a shame and unnatural to separate a father from his
children.  At this juncture, the Mormon elders peremptorily
ordered their subordinates to go below, but the captain,
finding that numbers were on his side, ordered the two little
girls of seven and nine years to be handed to their delighted
parent.
Two other daughters, seventeen and nineteen years of
age, absolutely refused to return. Finding it impossible to
break the spell of their infatuation, the tug cast off, and
returned to Liverpool, where a large number of people were
collected on the docks, anxiously waiting to learn the suecess of the expedition.
Mr. flays returned home with a remnant of his famuily, but
scarcely a tithe of his missing property.  But his happiness
is destroyed for life
"For sharper than a serpent's tooth It Is
To have a thankless child."
ii I
288
I.... 
DETERMINATION OF MRS. HAYS.
The charms of his home have been deranged by the
filial ingratitude of his son, the worse than death of his
daughters, and the loss of affection and confidence on
the part of his wife.   She publicly avows her inflexible
determination to join the Mormons in Utah with the first
opportunity.   Her mind, her affections, are all set on them.
Oh, the folly, the wickedness, the depravity of human
nature, when unpurified and unsupported by grace divine!
289 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE MORMON PARTY-MORMON  BELLES-INCIDENTAL  NOTICE
OF BRIGHAM YOUNG AND HIS FAMLY, ETC.
I ATTENDED the Mormon party, to which Elder Kimball
had been so polite as to extend me an invitation. It
was sufficiently unique, and the first thing that surprised
me was the great disparity between the numbers of women
and the men. In my boyish days I had been accustomed
to attend parties of pleasure in country places, where the
invitations having been extended almost inidiscriminately,
resulted in raising three or four young men to every lady.
In more select assemblies they were always duly paired, but
here each gentleman came attended by two, three, four, or
even a greater number of the opposite sex. Ladies were on
the sofas, in the chairs, and there was an abundance of wall
flowers.  Surely the Mormons have not to complain of a
scarcity of women, as is usual with many newly-settled States.
Cotillions were the order of the day, and the figures were so
arranged, that each geitleman danced with two ladies.  A
raised platform, well furnished with seats, accommodated
9
290 
THE MORMON PARTY.
the band of music, and more distinguished spectators, whose
habits or disinclination forbade their taking part in the
dance.
Several of the elders countenanced the proceedings with
their presence, attended by their wives, both old and young.
A number of Gentiles were present, among whom I noticed
some young ladies who were attached to a California caravan, and whose beauty it was evident made a decided
impression on the susceptible Mormon elders, and their subjects.
Several Mormon belles were pointed out to me, and constant flirtations and coquetries were carried on in the intervals of the dance. These young ladies, however, either
were or appeared decidedly partial to outsiders, and some
dashing Californians were evidently made happy by the
tokens of their partiality.
One young fellow, ferociously bearded, and dressed in
the extreme of Parisian style, attracted much attention.
One ungloved hand was literally bespangled with rings, a
large gold chain attached to a watch of the same metal,
crossed his vest, and a diamond pin glittered on his bosom.
He was evidently a gentleman loafer or gambler, and his
attentions to the ladies seemed particularly displeasing in
certain quarters.
"These girls seem partial to the Gentiles," I observed to
one of the bystanders.
"IPshaw,"  he replied,  "that fellow has gold in  his
pockets, as well as on his person, they are after that."
p'l,
291 
THE IHUSBAND IN UTAH.
"Think so?"
"Nothing can be more certain. There will be a row soon.
These Mormons are jealous fellows."
Before I had time to reply, supper was announced, and
there was a general scramble.
The Californian gave his arm to one of the ladies, the
most beautiful in the company. She accepted it with apparent pleasure. He seated himself by her side at table, and
helped her to the daintiest viands, receiving the brightest
smiles and most beaming glances in return.   The feast
would have charmed an epicure, and both the elder who
gave the party, and his numerous wives, seemed pleased
with the hilarity and enjoyment of their guests.
After supper, the dancing was resumned; the Californian
meantime monopolizing the beauty, and regarding those
around him with a sneer and grin, that showed his white
teeth glittering through his moustache, exactly as a wolf
might be supposed to regard his compeers, should they
approach too near some dainty morsel reserved for himself.
"He'll haul in his horns, when Sam Sloan gets sight of
him," said some one at my elbow. "I'll stake my salvation
on that, any timrue."
"Who is Sam Sloan?"
"A young Mormon, who's a match for any Californian,"
was the answer.
I had before heard of this worthy, and waited with some
impatience for his appearance.
92
I
i!; I 
A ROW.
I was doomed to disappointment. He did not come, but
another young fellow, flush and fiery, walked up to the lady,
and asked her hand for the dance. She was engaged for
the evening. He turned away, regarding the moustached
Californian with a scowl of defiance, quite as black as his
own. The fellow clapped his hand to his side, as if to draw
thence a concealed weapon, when the Mormon deliberately
trod on his toes. There was a low growl of rage, followed
by a heavy blow. The Mormon staggered, but recovered
in a moment, and returned it with interest. Others rushed
in, not to separate, but take part with the combatants.
"As I told you," whispered one beside me.
The dancing ceased; there was a halt in the music
ladies screamed, the elders rose. At length, when the
tumult was fast becoming general, a voice rang out above
the din in clear, authoritative tones.
"Put those fellows out in an instant," it said, "and proceed with the amusement."
Fifty stout men sprang in a moment to obey the orders,
while I turned to look at the speaker, and recognized
Brigham Young. IHe had sat silent and unnoticed, crouched
in a dark corner, with his hat on, though the others were
uncovered. Whether this was accidental or the result of
design, I am unable to say. Certain it is, that his Mormon
majesty never removes his hat in public. There he stood,
the most conspicuous person in the room, gazing calhily
over the scene.  In a very few minutes order was restored,
and the dancing re-commenced, as if nothing had happened.
293
0
I'i -1 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
Brigham Young is a remarkable man, second to the
Mohammed of the Western Continent, and like Abubeker
and Ali, abundantly qualified to carry out and perpetuate
his scheme of imposture and fanaticism.  He can enact the
part of chief magistrate and supreme pontiff, or, with equal
facility, hlie turns mountebank and astonishes the world by
such antics as few civil and religious functionaries would
dare to attempt. He supports by precept and example a
domestic institution never before admitted among enlightened people, yet his community receives monthly accessions of
strength by the arrival of emigrant converts from the different European nations.   Young, beautiful, and accomplished women; men of property and intelligence lay their
offerings on the shrine of his faith, solicitous of his benedictions, and obedient to his mandates.   Some of his messages
from the pulpit are perfect gems in their way, witty,
original, in many respects decidedly laughable, and utterly
unlike anything of the kind ever heard before. He chooses
texts from a Bible, a newspaper, or an almanac. He
quaintly touches on every conceivable topic —war, commerce, peace, industry, art, and love. These comprehensive addresses generally include a pretty sharp dig at the
President, and rather severe criticism on governmental affairs
at Washington. Indeed, it is evident that indistinct visions
of future greatness, and supreme independent power, sometimes float through the brain of the distinguished hierarch;
yet his strong good sense prevents any undue display of
vanity or self-importance. At this time it is impossible to
294
a 
BRIGHAM YOUNG.
balance his faults and virtues, or to decide whether the
title of enthusiast or impostor more properly belongs to
him and his predecessor. There is but a step between the
two. The warm suggestions of fancy might be mistaken for
particular inspirations from heaven; the labor of thought
may expire in rapture and vision, and the inward sensation
take, to the deluded understanding, the form and attributes
of an angel of God.
History is filled with such instances. Numa, the beloved
citizen, good king, and wise legislator, believed in his
Egeria, and the demon of Socrates is a memorable example
of how a wise man may deceive himself, how a good man
may delude others, and how quietly the conscience may
slumber in a middle state between self-illusion and voluntary fraud.
It is said that a prophet never has honor in his owit
counts, and with equal propriety might have been added
nor in his own time and age. The judgment of contem.poraries is generally inflamed by passion and prejudice, and
it is a trait of human nature to despise the day of small
things. Yet
"Large streams from little fountains flowTall oaks from little acorns grow."
As an evidence of the talent and ability of the Mormon
leader, I would let facts speak for themselves. They will
reverberate through future ages, and influence the decisions
of posterity. Whether famous or infamous, the name of
Brigham Young is inseparably connected with the origin
295 
THE HIUSBAND IN UTAH.
and history of a numerous and remarkable sect. When
strong enthusiasm impelled from within, and a fiery persecution pressed firom without, he led them, then numbering
many thousands, to seek a safe home in the distant and
almost impenetrable wilderness. Could it have been mere
chance or accident, or was it an extraordinary foresight
that led them thither to build a city, that, like Tadmor in
the Wilderness, should be a half-way house-a grand caravansera, to gather wealth and importance from the hundreds of thousands soon to be on their way to the Pacific
shores.   Peace with the Mormons was  not necessary iu
Illinois; it is at the great Salt Lake.
This man likewise has managed to acquire and retain an
almost unbounded influence over the minds of his followers.
Neither envy, malice, nor rival leaders have succeeded in
dethroning him. Even the worthy President seems to have
considered the experiment of forcibly ejecting hism from
authority as an act of dangerous tendency. Why else was
the appointment of Colonel Steptoe to the territorial government of Utah and Mormondom suffered to quietly fall to
the ground, when it was ascertained that Brigham would
not willingly resign. This step affords a dangerous precedent.   Either the appointment  should never have been
made, or else carried out at all hazards. If the general
government cannot or does not make them respect its
authority now, what are we to.expect when the population
of Utah has increased sevenfold?
Yet it must be confessed that Brigham Young has shown
296
I 
BRIGHAM YOUNG.
much discretion in the exercise of the one man power, and
has maintained a creditable city government at little
expense. Setting himself above the laws of his country,
and scorning the wisdom of others, his own mother wit
readily served as a substitute for both. Yet like many
other great men, the Mormon leader is not eminently distinguished for the moral virtues. In fact, he affects no
superior sanctity, but is rather all things to all men. To
the man of business, he is a man of business; to the man of
pleasure, a man of pleasure; to that class who, above all
others, obtain the first place in the affections of a hero, he
is most devoted in his attentions, and liberal of his giftshere a brooch, and there a ring; here a collar, and there a
muff. To those who have property to sell, he is a liberal
buyer, and, to his credit be it spoken, he always pays hid
debts.  He is the munificent patron of artists and mechanics,
especially those of his owji people, and either employs them
himself, or obtains employment for them. Yet Brigham
Young would be a dangerous enemny, and many fearful
though secret crimes have been imputed to him, with what
justice it is impossible to say. Perhaps the greatest
evidence that these reports are not without foundation is
afforded by the fact, that he is so afraid of assassination, as
to be unpleasantly suspicious of strangers. Is this mere
frailty of mental constitution, or is there another cause in
the promptings of a guilty conscience?
It is not only in the civil government of a people, or the
rise and establishment of a new faith, that the chief of Mor
297 
THE tIUSBAND IN UTAH.
mondom is distinguished. In his domestic relations he is
equally remarkable. The conjugal ties of Mohammed sink
into utter insignificance, when compared with those of the
Mormon  leader.  The Commander  of the Faithful, could
only boast a daughter, while Brigham can point to his scores
of children with the exultation of a Jewish Patriarch.
It is evident, however, that motives of affection have not
always governed in his choice of wives; many of these
dames being old, ill-formed, and ugly, but it frequently hap pens in matrimonial affairs, that the solid charms of gold
and silver are more highly prized than mental or physical
accomplishments.  It is said, too, that some of his younger
brides have been exceedingly reluctant, and that once or
twice a rival disappeared in a remarkable manner. But
such reports are speedily hushed up without investigation,
and the rumor left to itself soon dies.
The polygamistic tendencies of the Mormon leader have
been  the occasion of several tragic occurrences.   Hlow
could it be otherwise when his insatiable appetite seems to
increase with what it feeds on, and he is continually looking
abroad for beautiful or wealthy women, whose physical or
substantial charms can contribute to embellish still farther
his domestic establishment. What is worse, the opposition
of the female is never suffered to interfere with his arrangements.   By fair means or by foul, by harsh or gentle
measures, the reluctance of the maiden must be overcome. He never abandons an object of pursuit or desire.
As a general thing, however, the believing sisters con
298 
FANATICISM OF THE SISTERS.
sider it a great object to be "sealed" to him, by which, as
they suppose, their salvation is ensured; an absurdity
worthy of the dark ages, and a slight advance on the doctrine of Mohammedanism, that women have no souls to be
saved.
299 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
CHAPTER XIX.
EXTERIOR  INFLUENCES —YOUNG  MEN-DISSATISFACTION WITH
POLYGAMY-CHANGES TO BE WROUGHT IN THE SYSTEM OF
MORMONISM, AND HOW.
i    AITH, hope, and charity; and the greatest of these
is charity," saith the apostle.  Faith in the abiding
truths of Christianity, and the Rock of Ages; Hope in the
strong good sense and principle of the Anglo-Saxon people
and Charity that covereth a multitude of sins, would lead us
not to despair even of the Mormons.   Influences, both
exterior and internal, are at work among them that can
scarcely fail to soften and modify the more peculiar doctrines
of their faith, and their most obnoxious practices. Could
people of other persuasions, with enlarged and benevolent
views and motives, be induced to settle among them, establish schools, and erect churches, there can be little doubt
that in process of time a radical change might be effected
in their peculiar tenets. Already the influence of the emigrants and occasional visitors to the country, has not been
lost, and we may confidently anticipate that as travel
300
I1 
THE YOUNG MEN.
increases, and facilities for communication with other parts
of the world are opened, while other communities and States
spring up around them, the Mormons, for the sake of public
opinion, and to conciliate the good will of mankind, if for no
other purpose, will grow ashamed of their excesses, and lop
off such excrescences as must, when known, retard the progress of their faith. Customs now tolerated for mere expedience and the increase of numbers, will be left to become
unfashionable, and finally grow obsolete, when the supposed
necessity no longer exists.
The younger portions of the community are evidently
disaffected to the existing state of things. With the considerate, the thoughtful, and the intelligent, it could scarcely
be otherwise. They know it to be an occasion of reproach,
and naturally shrink before the contumely and maledictions
Df the civilized world. Thus far polygamy and its kindred
vices have been indebted to the power of priestcraft for
their support. When priestcraft falls, as it surely must, in
the lapse of generations, we may expect the prohibition of
its attendant vice.
There is one class of the community whom hitherto I
have not noticed, yet who are destined to act an important
part in the future. I allude to the young men, flush, fiery
fellows, characterized by a defiant air and independent
spirit. Between these and the elders feuds and jealousies
have already arisen, in many cases, and we cannot doubt
that similar causes will produce the same effects, with still
more gratifying results, in the time to come. That the
301 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
elders should monopolize the youngest, most beautiful, and
wealthy women, must of itself be sufficiently displeasing to
the young men, without further aggravation from the fact,
that as brothers they must witness the humiliation and
unhappiness of their sisters, added to'the dishonor and
* domestic annoyances of their mothers. I have heard young
fellows anathematize the whole Mormon  system on this
account; while others would run off to California with their
sweethearts, and there abide, in order to preserve the
. objects of their love'from falling beneath the libidinous
influence of those they hated. Brothers frequently urge
their sisters to depart for California, and escape the conta  mination of living in a Mormon harem. A young man by
the name of Bryce, a Mormon in sentiment, yet independent
and, for a backwoodsman, uncommonly intelligent, said that
he had a sister whom Elder John Taylor had married for
his sixth wife. That he considered such connections abomi nable, and no marriage at all; that he told his sister so,
and offered to bear her expenses wherever she wished to go,
if she would only abandon the paramour.
"And did she accept your offer?" I inquired.
"No; she said that here she was as good as the best;"
he answered, "but anywhere else she would certainly be
despised, and her child called by an opprobrious epithet,
which she could not bear."
A young man, whose parents were from Oneida County,
in the State of New York, expressed a bitter aversion
to polygamy. He had been wounded in the tenderest point.
302 
POLYGAMY AN EVIL.
His affianced bride, within one week of the time appointed
for their marriage, jilted him in favor of one of the elders,
ad old man of forty years, whose house was already shared
by four wives. In consideration of her youth and beauty
he promised the fifth a separate establishment, which, however, she never obtained.
Another young man with whom I conversed, had suffered
severely when a child, from the persecutions of his father's
second wife.  These women, it seems, are even more cruel
and selfish than step-mothers are reported to be, and the
helpless children of their rivals are made the subjects of
their concentrated jealousy and rage. This, however, must
materially depend on the natural dispositions of the females,
and would, by the Mormons at least, be referred to the
faults of the individual rather than the system.
A highly intelligent young man, a member of the Legislative Assembly, thus expressed himself on the subject of
polygamy:
"Polygamy, it must be admitted, is an evil. It is an
institution that presses heavily against the best interests of
our people.   It banishes  the best women;  it operates
against the increase of our population, instead of assisting
it, as has been supposed. It prevents the establishment of
families, obstructs the proper education of children, and is
the fruitful source of a vast amount of vice and misery.
Being thus injurious, have the priests and elders any right
to fasten it on our community? Shall the free Mormon
people have their best interests subverted, that these men,
303 
THE HUSBAND IN UTAH.
fallible and erring like ourselves, may have a better chance
to gratify their libidinous desires? What is their sensual
gratification compared with the great interests of the cammon weal? Polygamy was first practised by the priesthood-by the priesthood it has been supported. They have
rendered it fashionable, and if its existence be prolonged to
futurity, it will be through their influence."
Another one remarked, in language almost equally
strong:
"Our females can never take the rank and position
among us that properly belong to them, while polygamy is
tolerated. Deprived of their legitimate influence as wives
and mothers of families, they lose that self-respect which is
one of the strongest safe-guards of female virtue, become
indolent, careless, and reckless, and it is needless to say
that the consequences to the whole community are most
disastrous."';
And again:
"The experience of ages may be trusted. Polygamy is a
curse, a mildew that has blighted every region it has
touched since the creation of the world. It presents no new
phase, but from the first to the latest periods it has been
destructive of the happiness of individuals, the peace of
families, and the welfare of communities."
It cannot be believed that many women sit down satisfied
under the existing state of things. Womanly nature must
rise at times superior to the influence of priestcraft, and
304 
A PROPHECY FOR THE FUTURE.
though powerless in themselves to effect the change, they,
will be useful and efficient auxiliaries of reform.
Hence, we may confidently expect that the Mormons of a
hundred years hence will be very different from those to-day,
and that future generations will redeem, in some degree, the
errors of the past and the present.
305  
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
(a.) There may be instances of such perverted feelings, though we
must hope, for the honor of human nature, that they are of rare
occurrence. Married life has its sorrows and evils, but nothing that
equals the immorality and crime where a shameless system of poly
gamy prevails.
(b.) This refers to the general external appearance, and every one
knows what a vast amount of domestic misery, or social dissatisfaction, may be hidden under a smiling exterior.
(c.) These old people had never belonged to the Mormon Church,
consequently no Mormon elders attended at their funerals, and they
were refused a place in the Mormon cemetery.
(d.) This egotism is a peculiar trait of the Mormons; they are
excessively fond of talking of themselves, and the questions, What
dc you think of us? How do you like our country? What do you
think of our institutions? are incessantly asked of a stranger.
(e.) In Mormondom the murder of wives is not made a subject of
newspaper comment, but the silence of the newspaper is no proof
*' ~ ~807 
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
that such crimes do not actually exist. Was there ever a despotic
country where the press even hinted at the actually existing state of
things? and Mormondom, in its domestic institutions, is a despotism
of the very blackest kind, and will probably remain so for some time
to come, the efforts of the Federal Government to the contrary
notwithstanding.
(f.) The better class of English emigrant Mormons should not be
confounded with the inhabitants of Brickville. Some of the former
are quite as allliable men as it is possible for Mormons to be; whil( I
the latter, even in their own country, belonged to the class of loafers
and vagabonds.
(g.) There are two elders bearing the name of Snow; the one
numbered among the Twelve Apostles bears the sobriquet of Lorenzo;
the other's name is Erastus.
(h.) The Mormons are extremely fond of recommending their practices and opinions by the history of Christianity; and they dwell with
great stress on the fact that one or two chapters, and many of the
sentences and sentiments, contained in their bible, are faithful copies,
word for word, of the Bible of the Christians. I was once somewhat
amused while listening to a conversation between a Mormon elder
and a Baptist clergyman. The Baptist boldly declared that there was
not a word of truth in the Mormon bible.
"Not a word of truth," repeated the Mormon. " Have you ever
read it?"
"Never."
The Mormon turned over the leaves cf his hook to a chapter the
exact counterpart of one contained in the Bible of Moses, and prescented it to his opponent, inquiring what he thought of that.
308 
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
(i.) It would indeed be a matter for which to thank God were
these assertions strictly true; but such is not the fact. They have
restored courtesanism to its old Roman dignity, and its female victims, instead of thronging their streets, surround their firesides.
This, however, is a subject much too delicate to be enlarged upon;
but unfaithfulness in wives is so common, that long ago it ceased to
be a disgrace.
(j.) Mothers may not sacrifice their offspring, through shame or the
sternness of public opinion, but other motives may be quite as potent.
Among the poor, want prevails, and the necessity of having so many
mouths to fill and backs to clothe is sometimes felt as a serious evil.
More than one case of infanticide came beneath my knowledge in
Utah, though the affair was never made a subject of public scandal,
because this of all things is most carefully avoided.
(k.) A similar occurrence happened at Buffalo a short time since,
-nd was widely chronicled by the newspapers of that period.
(1.) Mr. Garrison, a resident of Cumberland county, in the State
of New Jersey, became infected with the Mormon delusion some
years since. He was married, was the father of several children, and
the owner of a handsome property. In common with the others, he
wished to emigrate, but Mrs. Garrison bitterly opposed the scheme;
thus their fiamily peace was destroyed, and their hitherto happy
household became the scene of misery and strife.
After a time, the husband commenced turning all his available
property into money, besides mortgaging his farm to the fidl extent
of its value. With the proceeds in his pocket, he left the house one
night, saying that he was going to call on a neighbor. Time elapsed,
still he came not. Mrs. Garrison became alarmed at his prolonged
absence, and went in search of him. The neighbor's family had
III
309 
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
retired, and her husband, they told her, had not been to their house
A search was instituted, but the delinquent could nowhere be found.
Why prolong the story? It was subsequently ascertained that lihe
had gone with the Mormons, leaving his family to shift for themn
selves. This is only one instance among a thousand of equally heart
less desertion.
310 
MORMONISM.
SPIRITUAL WIFE SYSTEM.
A REVELATION ON THE PATRIARCHAL ORDER OF MATRIMONY,
OR PLURALITY OF WIVES.
Given to Joseph Smnith, the Seer, in.Nauvoo, July 12th, 1843.
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant
Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand,
to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified
my servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; as also Moses,
David, and Solomon, my servants, as touching the
principle and doctrine of their having many wives and
concubines: Behold! and lo, I am the Lord thy God,
and will answer thee as touching this matter: Therefore,
prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions
which I am about to give unto you; for all those who
have his law revealed unto them, must obey the same;
for behold! I reveal unto you a new and everlasting
covenant, and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye
damned; for no one can reject this covenant, and be
permitted to enter into my glory; for all who will have
a blessing at my hands, shall abide the law which was
appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof,
as was instituted from before the foundations of the
world: and as pertaining to the new and everlasting
covenant, it was instituted for the fullness of my glory;
and he that receiveth a fullness thereof, must and shall 
MORMONISM.
abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord
God.
2. And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of
this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds,
obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associatioIns, or expectations,  that  are  not  made  and
entered into, and sealed, by the Holy Spirit of promise,
of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for
all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and
courmnandment, thlrough the medium of mine anointed,
whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power
(and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold
this power in the last days, and there is never but one
on the earth at a time, on whom this power and the
keys of the priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy,
virtue, or force, in and after the resurrection fromn the
dead: for all contracts that are not made unto this end,
have an end when men are dead.
3. Behold! mine house is a house of order, saith the
Lord God, and not a house of confusion.  Will I accept
of an offering, saithli the Lord, that is not made  in my
name?  Or, will I receive at your hands, that whlich I
have not appointed?  And  will I appoint unto you,
saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and mny
Fathler ordained unto you, before the world was?  I am
the Lord tlhy God, and I give unto you this commandment, that no man shall come unto the Father, but by
me, or by my word which is my law, saith the Lord;
and everything that is in the world, whether it be
ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers,
or thlings of name, whatsoever they nmay be, that are
not by me, or by my  word, saith the Lord, shall be
thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead,
2 
SPIRITUAL WIFE SYSTEM. 
neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your
God: for whatsoever things remaineth, are by nme; and
whatsoever things are not by me, shall be shaken and
destroyed.
4. Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world,
and hlie marry her not by me, nor by my word; and lihe
covenant with her so long as he is in the world, and she
with him, their covenant and marriage is not of force
whlen they are dead, and when they are out of the
world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when
they are out of the world; therefore, when they are out
of the world, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels
are iiinisteiing servants, to minister for those who are
worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal
weight of glory; for these angels did not abide by law,
therefore they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately
and singly, without examination, in their saved condition, to all eternity, and from henceforth are not Gods,
but are angels of God for ever and ever.
5. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry
a wife, and make a covenant with her for time, and for
all eternity, if that covenant is not by me, or by my
wor'd, which is my   lawv,  and  is not  sealed  the
Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom  I have
anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not
valid, neither of force, when they are out of the world,
because they are not joined by me, saith the L6rd,
neither by my word; when they are out of the world,
it cainnot be received there, because the angels and the
Gods are appointed there, by whom  they cannot pass;
they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory,, for liiy house
is a house of order, saithl tihe LO1(1 (,()(l.
3
li 
MORMONISM.
6. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry
a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new
and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by
the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed,
unto whom I have appointed tiris power, and the keys
of this priesthood, and it shall be said unto them, ye
shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be
after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and
shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths, then shall it be
written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit
no murder whereby to shed innocent blood; and if ye
abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby
to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all
things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in
time, and through all eternity, and shall be of full force
when they are out of the world; and they shall pass
by the angels, and the Gods, which are set there, to
their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been
sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness
and continuation of the seeds for ever and ever.
7. Then shall they be Gods, because they have no
end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above
all, because things are subject unto them. Then shall
they be gods, because they have all power, and the
angels are subject unto them.
8. Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye abide my
law, ye cannot attain to this glory; for straight is tie
gate, and narrow the way that leadethl unto the exaltation
and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find
it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye
know me.   But if ye receive ime in the world, then
4
p 
SPIRITUAL WIFE SYSTEM.
shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation,
that where I am, ye shall be also. This is eternal life,
to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ
whom he hath sent. I am lIe. Receive ye, therefore,
my law.  Broad is the gate, and wide the way that
leadeth to the death; and many there are that go in
thereat; because they receive me not, neither do they
abide in my law.
9. Verily, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a
wife according to my word, and they are sealed by the
Holy Spirit of promise, according to mine appointment,
and he or she shall commit any sin or transgression of
the new and everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner of blasphemies, and if they commit no murder,
wherein they shed innocent blood,-yet they shall come
forth in the first resurrection, and enter into their exaltation, but they shall be destroyed in the flesh, and shall
be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan, unto the day
of redemption, saith the Lord God.
10. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall
not be forgiven in the world, nor out of the world, is in
that ye commit murder, wherein ye shed innocent blood,
and assent unto my death, after ye have received my
new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God; and
he that abideth not this law, can in nowise enter into
glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord.
11. I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee
the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me,
and miy Father, before the world was. Abraham received
all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and
commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath
entered into his exaltation, and sitteth upon his throne.
12. Abraham received promises concerning his seed,
5 
MORAMONISM.
and of the fruit of his loins, -fiom whose loins ye are,
viz.: my servant Joseph-which were to continue, so
long as they were in the world; and as touchiig, Abra ham and his seed, out of the world, they should con tinue; both in the world and out of the world should
they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were
to count the sand upon the sea-shore, ye could Inot num ber them. This promise is yours also, because ye are of
Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham;
and by this law are the continuation of the works of my
Father, wherein he glorifieth himself. Go ye, therefore,
and do the works of Abraham: enter ye into my law,
and ye shall be saved. But if ye enter not into my law,
ye cannot receive the promises of my Father, which lihe
made unto Abraham.
13. God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hiagar to Abraham, to wife. And why did she do it?
Because this was the law, and from Ilagar sprang many
people.   This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other
things, the promises. Was Abraham therefore, under
condemnation?   Verily, I say unto you, Nay; for I
the Lord, commanded it.  Abraham was commanded to
offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written, Thou
shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and
it was accounted unto himin for righteousness.
14. Abraham received concubines, and they bare him
children, and it was accounted unto him  for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he albode
in my law: as Isaac also and Jacob did none other
things than that which they were  coimmuuanded; and
because they did none other things than that which
they were commanded, they have entered into their
exaltation, according to the promises and sit upon
6 
SPIRITUAL WFE SYSTEM.
thrones, and are not angels, but are Gods. David
also received many wives and concubines, as also
SolomoIn, and M,oses my servant; as also many others
of my servants, from the  beginning of creation until
this time; and in nothing did they sin, save in those
things which they received not of me.
15. David's wives and concubines were given unto
him, of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and
others of the prophets who had the keys of this power;
and in none of these things did he sin against me, save
in the case of Uriahl and his wife; and therefore, he hath
fallen ifromi his exaltation, and received his portion
and hlie shall not inherit them out of the world; for.I
gave them unto another, saith the Lord.
16. I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee, my
servant Joseph, an appointment, and restore all things;
ask what ye will, and it shall be given unto you, according to my word; and as ye have asked concerning
adultery, verily, verily I say unto you, if a man receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and
if she be with another mai, and I have not appointed unto
her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery,
and shall be destroyed. If she be not in the new and
everlasting covenant, and she be with anotherman, she has
committed adultery; and if her husband be with another
woman, and hlie was under a vow, he hath broken his
vow, and hath committed adultery; and if she hatli not
conmmitted adultery, but is innocent, and hath not brokenii her vow, and stle knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you,
my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the
power of mya Holy Priesthood, to take her, and give her
unto him that hath not committed adultery, but hath
7 
MORMONISM.
been faithful, for he shall be made ruler over many; for
I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the
priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and make known
unto you, all things in due time.
17. And verily, verily I say unto you, that whatsoever
you seal on earth, shall be sealed in heaven; and what soever you bind on earth, in my name, and by my word,
saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the hea vens; and whatsoever sins you remit on earth, shall be
remitted eternally in the heavens; and whoseever sins
you retain on earth, shall be retained in heaven.
18. And again; verily I say, whomsoever you bless, I
will bless; and whomsoever you curse, I will curse, saith
the Lord; for I, the Lord, am thy God.
19. And again, verily I say unto you, my servant
Joseph, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to
whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word,
and according to my law, it shall be visited with bless ings, and not cursings, and with my power, saith the
Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth, and
in heaven; for I am the Lord thy God, and will be with
thee even'uiunto the end of the world, and through all
eternity: for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and
prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father,
with Abraham, your father. Behold, I have seen your
sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen
your sacrifices, in obedience to that which I have told
you: go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape,
as I accepted the offering of Abralham, of his son Isaac.
20. Verily, I say unto you, a commandment I give
unto mine handmai, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I
have given unto you, that she stay herself, and partake
not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her;
8
I I 
SPIRITUAL WIFE SYSTEM.
for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did
Abraham; and that I might require an offering at your
hand, by covenant and sacrifice; and let mine hand  maid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been
given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous
and pure before me; and those who are not pure, shall
be destroyed, saith the Lord God! for I am the Lord thy
God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my
servant Joseph, that he shall be made ruler over many
things, for he hath been faithful over a few things, and
from henceforth 1 will strengthen him.
21. And 1 command mine handmaid, Emma Smith,
to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none
else.  But if she will not abide this commandTnent, she
shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord
thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my
law; but if she will not abide this commandment, then
shall my servant Joseph do all these things for her, even
as he hath said; and I will bless him, and multiply him,
and give unto him an hundred fold in this world, of
fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and
lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives
in the eternal worlds. And again, verily I say, let mine
handmaid forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses, and
then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she
has trespassed against me; and I the Lord thy God will
bless her, and multiply her, and make her to rejoice.
22. And again, I say, let not my servant Joseph put
his property out of his hands, lest an enemy come and
destroy him, for Satan seeketh to destroy; for I am the
Lord thy God, and he is my servant; and behold! and
lo, I am with him, as I was with Abraham thy father,
even unto his exaltation and glory.
9 
MORMONISM.
23. Now as touching the law of the priesthood, there
are many things pertaining thereunto. Verily, if a
man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine
own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I
have endowed him with the keys of the power of this
priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law, and by my word, he will not commit
sin, and I will justify him. Let no one, therefore, set
on niy servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he
shall do the sacrifice which I require at his hands, for
his transgressions, saith the Lord your God.
24. And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood: If any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse
another, and the first give her consent; and if he espouse
the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no
other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery, for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit
adultery with that that belongeth unto him, and to none
else; and if he have ten virgins given unto him by this
law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him;
and they ace given unto him-therefore is he justified.
But if one, or either of the ten virgins, after she is
espoused, shall be with another man, she has com mitted adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are
given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth,
according to my commandment, and to fulfill the pro mise which was given by my Father before the founda tion of the world; and for their exaltation in the eternal
worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein
is the work of my father continued, that he may be
glorified.
25. And again, verily, verily I say unto you, if any
man have a wife who holds the keys of this power, and
10
p 
SPIRITUAL WIFE SYSTEM.
he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things;  then shall she believe, and
administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the
Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magiifI
imy name upon all those who receive and abide in ivny
law. Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive
not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I
the Lord his God, will give unto him, because she did
not believe and administer unto him, according to my
word; and she then becomes the transgressor, and he is
exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto
Abraham according to the law, when I commanded
Abraham to take Hiagar to wife. And now, as pertailling to this law: Verily, verily, I say unto you, I
will reveal more unto you,.hereafter; therefore, let this
suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega.
Amen.
11 
MORMONISM.
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
A DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY ELDER ORSON PRATT, IN THE
TABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY.
IT is quite unexpected to me, brethren and sisters, to be
called upon to address you this forenoon; and still more
so, to address you upon the principle which has been
named, namely, a plurality of wives.
It is rather new ground for me; that is, I have not
been in the habit of publicly speaking upon this subject;
and it is rather new ground to the inhabitants of the
United States, and not only to themn, but to a portion of
the inhabitants of Europe; a portion of them  have
not been in the habit of preaching a doctrine of this
description; consequently, we shall have to break up
new ground.
It is well known, however, to the congregation before
me, that the latter-day saints have embraced the doctrine of a plurality of wives, as a part of their religious
faith. It is not, as many have supposed, a doctrine
embraced by them to gratify the carnal lusts and feelings
of man; that is not the object of the doctrine.
We shall endeavor to set forth before this enlightened
assembly, some of the causes why the Almighty has
revealed such a doctrine, and why it is considered a part
and portion of our religious faith. And I believe that they
12 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
will not, under our present form of government (I mean
thle government of the United States), try us for treason for
believing and practising our religious notions and ideas.
I think, if I am not mistaken, that the Constitution gives
the privilege to all the inhabitants of this country, of
the free exercise of their religious notions, and the freedom of their faith, and the practice of it. Then, if it
can be proven to a demonstration, that the latter-day
saints have actually embraced, as a portion of theii,
religion, the doctrine of a plurality of wives, it is constitutionial. And should there ever be laws enacted by
this government to restrict them from the free exercise
of this part of their religion, such laws must be unconstitutional.
But, says the objector, we cannot see how this doctrine can be embraced as a matter of religion and faith;
we can hardly conceive how it can be embraced only as
a kind of domestic concern, something that pertains to
domestic pleasures, in no way connected with religion.
In reply, we will show you that it is incorporated as a
part of our religion, and necessary for our exaltation to
the fullness of the Lord's glory in the eternal world.
Would you like to know the reasons? Before we get
through, we vill endeavor to tell you why we consider
it an essential doctrine to glory and exaltation, to our
fullness of happiness in the world to come.
We will first make a few preliminary remarks in
regard to the existence of man, to his first existence in
his first estate; and then say something in relation to
his present state, and the bearing which it has upon his
next or future state.
The " Mormons" have a peculiar doctrine in regar(
to our pre-existence, different from the views of the
13
illl II 
MORMONISM.
Christian world. so called, who do not believe that man
had a pre-existence.   It is believed, by the religious
world, that man, boti body and spirit, begins to live
al)out the time that he is born into this world, or a little
before; that then is the beginning of life. They believe
that the Lord, by a direct act of creation, formed, in the
first place, man out of the dust of the ground; and they
believe that man is possessed of both body and spirit, by
the union of which he became a living creature. Sup pose we admit this doctrine concerning the formation of
the body from the dust, then how was the spirit formed?
-Why, says one, we suppose it was made by a direct act
of creation, by the Almighty Himself; that He moulded
the spirit of man, formed and finished it in a proper likeness to inhabit the tabernacle He had made out of the
dust.
Have you any account of this in the Bible?  Do the
Scriptures declare that the spirit was formed at the time
the tabernacle was made?  No.  All the tabernacles of
the children of men that were ever formed, from remote
generations, from the days of Adam to this time, have
been formed out of the earth. We are of the earth,
earthy. The tabernacle has been organized according
to certain principles and laws of organization, with
bones, and flesh, and sinews, and skin. Now, where do
you suppose all these tabernacles got their spirits?
Does the Lord make a new spirit every time a tabernacle
is made? If so, the work of creation, according to the
belief of Christendom, did not cease on the seventh day.
If we admit their views, the Lord must be continually
making spirits to inhabit all the tabernacles of the
children of men; He must make something like one
thousand millions of spirits every century; He must be
14
A 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
working at it every day, for there are many hundreds
of individuals being born into the world every day.
Does the Lord create a new spirit every time a new
tabernacle comes into the world? That does not look
reasonable, nor God-like.
But how is it, you inquire? Why the fact is, that
being that animates this body, that gives life and energy, and power to move, to act, and to think: that being that dwells within this tabernacle is much older
than what the tabernacle is. That spirit that now
dwells within each man, and each woman, of this vast
assembly of people, is more than a thousand'years old,
and I would venture to say, that it is more than five
thousand years old.
But how was it made? when was it made? and by
whom was it made?  If our spirits existed thousands of
years ago-if they began to exist-if there were a be ginning to their organization, by what process was this
organization carried on? Through what medium, and
by what system of laws?   Was it by a direct creation
of the Almighty? Or were we framined according to
a certain system of laws, in the same manner as our
tabernacles?  If we were to reason from analogy-if we
admit analogical reasoning in the question, what would
we say? We should say, that our spirits were formed by
generation, the same as the body or tabernacle of flesh
and bones. But what says revelation upon the subject?
We will see whether revelation and analogy will agree.
We read of a certain time when the corner stones of
the earth were laid, and the foundations thereof were
made sure-of a certain time when the Lord began to
erect this beautiful and glorious habitation, the earth;
then they had a time of joy. I do not know whether
15 
MORMONISM.
they had instruments of music, or whether they were
engaged in the dance; but one thing is certain, they
had great joy, and the heavens resounded with their
shouts; yea, the Lord told Job, that all the sons of God
shouted for joy, and the morning stars sang together,
when the foundations of this globe were laid.
The SONS of God, recollect, shouted for joy, because
there was a beautiful habitation being built, so that
they could get tabernacles, and dwell thereon; they ex  pected the time-they looked forward to the period;
and it was joyful to them to reflect, that the creation
was about being formed, the corner stone of it was
laid, on which they might, in their times, and in their
seasons, and in their generations, go forth and receive
tabernacles for their spirits to dwell in. Do you bring
it home  to  yourselves,  brethret and sisters?   Do
you realize that you and I were there?  Can  you
bring it to your minds that you and I were among that
happy number that shouted for joy when this creation
was made? Says one, I don't recollect it. No wonder!
for your recollection is taken from you, because you are
in a tabernacle that is earthly; and all this is right and
necessary. The same is written of Jesus Christ himself,
who had to descend below all things. Though he had
wisdom to assist in the organization of this world;
though it was through him, as the great leader of all
these sons of God, the earth was framed, and framed too,
by the assistance of all his younger brethren-yet we
find, with all that great and mighty power he possessed,
and the great and superior wisdomn that was in his
bosomn, that after all his judgment had to be taken
away; in his humiliation, his reason, his intelligence, his knowledge, and the power that he was for
16 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
merly in possession of, vanished from him as he entered
into the infant tabernacle.   He was obliged to begin
down at the lowest principles of knowledge, and ascend
upward by degrees, receiving grace for grace, truth for
truth, knowledge for knowledge, until he was filled with
all the fullness of the Father, and was capable of ruling,
governing, and controlling all things, having ascended
above all things. Just so with us; we that once lifted
up our united voices as sons and daughters of God, and
shouted for joy at the laying of the foundation of this
earth, have come here and taken tabernacles, after the
pattern of our elder brother: and in our humiliationfor it is humiliation to be deprived of knowledge we
once had, and the power we once enjoyed-in our humiliation, just like our elder brother, our judgment is
taken away.   Do we not read also in the Bible, that
God is the Father of our spirits?
We have ascertained that we have had a previous existence. We find that Solomon, that wise man, says
that when the body returns to the dust, the spirit returns to God who gave it. Now all of this congregation very well know, that if we never existed there, we
could not return there.   I could not return to California.  Why?   Because I never have been there.  If
vyou never were with the Father, the same as Jesus was
before the foundation of the world, you never could
return there, any more than I could to the West Indies,
where I have never been. But if we have once been
there, then we can see the force of the saying of the
wise man, that the spirit returns to God who gave it
-it goes back where it once was.
Much more evidence mnight be derived in relation to
this subject, even from the English translation of the
17 
is
Bible; but I do not feel disposed to dwell too long upon
any particular testimony; suffice it to say, that the
Prophet Joseph Sujitli's translation of the iore part of
the book of Genesis is illnpriiit, and is exceedingly plain
upon this matter.  In this inspired translation iwe find
the pre-existence of man clearly laid down, and that the
spirits of all men, male and female, did have an existence, before man was formed out of the dust of the
ground.  But who was their Father?  I have already
quoted a saying that God is the Father of our spirits.
In one sense of the word, there are more Gods than
one; and in another sense there is but one God.  Tihe
scrip)tures speak of more Gods than one. Moses was
called a God to Aaron, in plain terms; and our Saviour,
when speaking upon this subject, says, "If the Scriptures called them Gods unto whom the word of God
caine, why is it that you should seek to persecute me,
and kill me, because I testify that I am the son of God?"
This in substance was the word of our Saviour; those to
whom the word of God came, are called Gods, according to his testimony. All these beings of course are
one, the same as the Father and the Son are one.   The
Son is called God, and so is the Father, and in some
places the Holy Ghost is called God. They are one in
power, in wisdom, ill knowledge, and in the inheritance
of celestial glory; they are one in their works; they
possess all things, and all things are subject to them;
thley act in unison; and if one has power to -)ecoine the
Father of spirits, so has another; if one God can prol)agate his species, and raise up spirits after his own
imaoge and likeness, and call them his sons and daugliters, so can all other Gods that become like him, do the
same thing; consequently, there will be many Fathers,
IIORMONISM. 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
and there will be many families, and many sons and
dauglhters; and they will be the children of those glorified celestial beings that are counted  worthy to -be
Gods.
Hlere let me bring for the satisfaction of the saints,
the testimony of the vision given to our Prophet and
Revelator Joseph Smith, and Sidney Rigdon, on the
'25th day of February, 1832. They were engaged in
translating the New Testament, by inspiration; and
while engaged in this great work, they came to the
29th verse of the 5th chapter of John, which was given
to them in these words-" they who have done good, in
the resurrection of the just; and they who have done
evil in the resurrection of the unljust."  This being
given in different words from the English translation,
caused them to marvel and wonder; and they lifted up
their hearts in prayer to God, that IIe would show them
why it was that this should be given to them in a different manner; and behold, the visions of heaven opened
before them.  They gazed upon the eternal Wlorlds, and
saw things before this world was made.  They saw the
spiritual creation who were to coue forth and take upon
themselves bodies; and they saw things as they are to
be in the future; they saw the celestial, terrestrial, and
telestial worlds, as well as the sufferings of the ungodly;
all passed before him in this great and glorious vision.
And while they were yet gazing upon things as they
were before the world was made, they were commanded
to write, saying, "1this is the testimony, last of all,
which we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him,
even on the right hand of God; and we heard the
voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the
Father; that by him, and through him, and of him, the
19 
MORMONISM.
worlds are and were created; and the inhabitants
thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."
Notice this last expression, " the inhabitants thereof are
begotten sons and daughters unto God," (meaning the
different worlds that have been created and made).
Notice, this does not say, that God, whom we serve and
worship, was actually the Father Himself, in His own
person, of all these sons and daughters of the different
worlds; but they" are begotten sons and daughters unto
God;" that is, begotten by those who are made like
Him, after His image, and in IHis likeness; they begat
sons and daughters, and begat them  unto God,  to
inhabit these different worlds we have been speaking of.
IBut more of this, if we  have time, before we get
through.
We now come to the second division of our subject,
or the entrance of these spirits upon their second
estate, or their birth and existence in mortal tabernacles. We are told that among this great family of
spirits, some were more noble and great than others,
having more intelligence.
Where do you read that? says one. Out of the Book
of Abraham, translated from the Egyptian papyrus by
the Prophet Joseph Smith.   Among  the great and
numerous family of spirits-" the begotten sons and
daughters of God "-there are some more  intelligent
than others; and the Lord showed unto Abraham "the
intelligences that were organized before the world was;
and among all these there were many of the noble and
great ones."  And God said to AI)rallham, "thou art one
of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born."
Abraham was chosen before he was born. Here then,
is knowledge, if we had time to notice it, upon the doc
20
I 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
trine of election. However, I may just remark, it does
not mean unconditional election to eternal life of a certain class, and the rest doomed to eternal damnation.
Suffice it to say, that Abraham and. many others of the
great and noble ones in the family of spirits, were chosen before they were born, for certain purposes, to
bring about certain works, to have the privilege of
coming upon the stage of action, among the host of men,
in favorable circumstances. Some camne through good
and holy parentages, to fulfill certain things the Lord
decreed should come to pass, from before the foundations
of the world.
The Lord has ordained that these spirits should come
here and take tabernacles by a certain law, through a
certain channel; and that law is the law of marriage.
There are a great many things that I will pass by; I
perceive that if I were to touch upon all these principles, the time allotted for this discourse would be too
short, therefore I am under the necessity of passing by
mnany things in relation to these spirits in their first
estate, and the laws that governed them there, and come
to their second estate.
The Lord ordained marriage between male and female
as a law through which spirits should come here and
take tabernacles, and enter into the second state of existence. The Lord Himself solemnized the first marriage
pertaining to this globe, and pertaining to flesh and
bones here upon this earth. I do not say pertaining to
mortality; for when the first marriage was celebrated,
no mortality was there. The first marriage that we
have any account of, was between two immortal beings
-old father Adam  and old mother E+-e; they were
immortal beings; death had no dominion, no power
21 
MORMONISM.
over them; they were capable of enduring for ever and
ever, in their organization. Had thiey fulfilled the law,
and kept within certain conditions and bounds, their
tabernacles would never have been seized by death;
death entered entirely by sin, and sin alone. This marriage was celebrated between two immortal beings.
For how long?  Until death?  No.  That was entirely
out of the question; there could have been no such
thing in the ceremony.
What would you consider, my hearers, if a marriage
was to be celebrated between two beings not subject to
death? WVould you consider them joined together for a
certain number of years, and that then all their covenants were to cease for ever, and the marriiage contract
be dissolved? Would it look reasonable and consistent?
No.  Every heart would say that the work of Goal is
perfect in and of itself, and inasmuch as sin had not
brought imperfection upon the globe, what God joined
together could not be dissolved, and destroyed, and torn
asunder by any power beneath the celestial world, consequently it was eternal; the ordinance of union was
eternal; the sealing of the great Jehovah upon Adamn
and Eve was eternal in its nature, and was never instituted for the purpose of being overthrown and brought
to an end.  It is known that the " Mormons" are a
peculiar people about marriage; we believe ill marryiiig, not only for a time, but for all eternity.  This is a
curious idea, says one, to be married for all eternity. It
is not curious at all; for when we come to examine the
Scriptures, we find that the very first example set for
the whole human family, as a pattern instituted for us
to follow, was not instituted until death, for death had
no dominion at that time; but it was an eternal bless
22 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
ing pronounced upon our first parents. I have not time
to explain further the marriage of Adam and Eve, but
will pass on to their posterity.
It is true, that they became fallen, but there is a
redemption.  But some may consider that the redemnp tion only redeemed us in part, that is, merely fi-om some
of the effects of the fall.  But this is not the case; every
man and woman must see at once that a redemption
must include a complete restoration of all the privileges
lost by the fall.
Suppose, then, that the fail was of such a nature as to
dissolve the marriage covenant, by death-which is not
necessariy to admit, for the covenant was sealed previous
to the fall, and we have no account that it was dissolved
-but suppose this was the case, would not the redemiption be equally broad as the fall, to restore the posterity
of Adamn back to that which they lost? And if Adam
and Eve were married for all eternity, the ceremony
was an everlasting ordinance, that they twain should be
one flesh for ever.  If you and I should ever be accounted worthy to be restored back from  our fallen and
degraded condition to the privileges enjoyed before the
fall, slhould we not have an everlasting marriage seal, as
it was with our first progenitors? If we had no other
reasons in all the Bible, this would be sufficient to settle
the case at once in the mind of every reflectiing man and
woman, that inasmuch as the fall of man has taken away
any privileges in regard to the union of male and female,
these privileges must be restored in the redemption of
man, or else it-is not complete.
What is the o'ject of this union? is the next question.
We are told the object of it: it is clearly expressed;
for, says the Lord unto the male and female, I coxnmand
23 
MORMONISM.
you to multiply and replenish the earth. And, inasmuch
as we have proved that the marriage ordinance was
eternal in its nature, previous to the fall, if we are
restored back to what was lost by the fall, we are restored for the purpose of carrying out the commandment
given before the fall, namely, to multiply and replenish
the earth. Does it say, continue to multiply for a few
years, and then the marriage contract must cease, and
there shall be no further opportunity of carrying out
this command, but it shall have an end? No, there is
nothing specified of this kind; but the fall has brought
in disunion through death; it is not a part of the original
plan; consequently, when male and female are restored
from the fall, by virtue of the everlasting and eternal
covenant of marriage, they will continue to increase and
multiply to all ages of eternity, to raise up beings after
their own order, and in their own likeness and inmage,
germs of intelligence, that are destined, in their times
and seasons, to become not only sons of God, but gods
themselves.
This accounts for the many worlds we heard Elder Grant
speaking  about yesterday  afternloon.  The  peopling
of worlds, or an endless increase, even of one family,
would require an endless increase of worlds; and if one
family were to be united in the eternal covenant of
marriage, to fulfill that great commandment, to multiply
his species, and propagate them, and if there be no end
to the increase of his posterity, it would call for an endless increase of new worlds. And if one family calls for
this, what would innumerable millions of families call
for'?  They  would call for -as many worlds  as have
already been discovered by the telescope; yea, the
number must be multiplied to infinity in order that
21 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
there may be room for the inheritance of the sons and
daughters of the Gods.
Do you begin to understand how these worlds get
their inhabitants  Hiave you learned that the sons and
daughters of God before me this day, are His offspring
-made after His own image; that they are to multiply
their species until they become innumerable.
Let us say a few words, before we leave this part of
the subject, on the promises made to Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. The promises were, Lift up your eyes, and
behold the stars; so thy seed shall be, as numberless as
the stars.  What else did Hie promise?  Go to the sea~sloioe, and look at the ocean of sand, and behold the
smallness of the particles thereof, and then realize that
your seed shall be as numberless as the sands.  Now let
us take this into consideration.  Hiow large a bulk of
sand would it take to make as many inhabitants as there
are now upon the earth? In about one cubic foot of
sand, reckoning the grains of a certain size, there would
lbe a thousand million particles.  Now that is about the
estimated population of our globe. If our earth were to
continue 8,000 years, or eighty centuries, with an averag,e population of one thousand millions per century,
then three cubic yards of sand would contain a greater
number of particles than the whole population of the
globe, from  thle beginning, until the measure of the
inhabitants of this creation is complete.  If men then
cease to multiply, where is the promise made to Abrahamn?  Is it fulfilled?  No.  If that is the end of his
increase, behold, the Lord's promise is not fulfilled.
For the amount of sand representing his seed, might all
be drawn in a one-horse cart; and yet the Lord said to
Abraham, thy seed shall be as numerous as the sand
25 
MORMONISM.
upon the sea-shor-e; that is, to carry out the idea in full,
it was to be endless; and therefore, there must be an
infinity of worlds for their residence.   We  cannot
comprehend infinity.  But suffice it to say, if all the
sands on the sea-shore were numbered, says the Prophet
Enoch, and then all the particles of the earth besides,
and then the particles of millions of earths like this, it
would not be a beg,inning to all thy creations; and yet
thou art the,e, and thy bosorh is there; and thy curtains
are stretched out still.  This gives plenty of room for
the fulfillment of the protnise made to Abraham, and
enoughi to spare for the fulfillment of similar promises
to all] his seed.
We read that those who do the works of Abraham,
are to be blessed with the blessing of Abraham.  I-Iave
you not, in the ordinances of this last dispensation, had
the blessings of Abrllahan pronounced upon your lheads?
O yes, you say, I well recollect, since God has restored
the everlasting Priesthood, that by a certain ordinance
these blessings were placed upon our heads-thle blessing, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Why, says one, I
never thought of it in this light before. Why did you
not think of it? Why not look upon Abraham's blessings as your own, for the Lord blessed him with a
promise of seed as numerous as the sand upon the seashore; so will you be blessed, or else you will not
inherit the blessings of Abraham.
How did Abraham manage to get a foundation laid
for this mighty kingdom?  Was he to accomplish it all
through onie wife? No. Sarah gave a certain womaii
to him whose name was Hiagar, and by her a seed was
to be raised up unto him.  Is this all?  No.   We read
Df his wife Ketnriah, and also of a plurality of wives and
26 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
*
concubines, which he had, from whom he raised up
many sons. Here, then, was a foundation laid for the
fulfillment of the great and grand promise concerning
the multiplicity of his seed.  It would have been rather
a slow process, if Abraham had been confined to one
wite, like some of those narrow, contracted nations of
modern Christianity.
I think there is only about one-fifth of the population
of the globe, that believe in the one-wife system; the other
four-fifths believe in the doctrine of a plurality of wives.
They have had it handed down from time immemorial,
and are not half so narrow and contracted in their minds
as some of the nations of Europe and America, who
have done away with the promises, and deprived themselves o' the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The nations do not know anything about the blessings
of Abraham; and even those who have only one wife,
cannot get rid of their covetousness, and get their little
hearts large enough to share their property with a
numnerous family; they are so penurious, and so narrow
and contracted in their feelings, that they take every
possible care not to have their families large; they do
not know what is in the future, nor what blessings they
are depriving themselves of, because of the traditions of
their fathers; they do not know that a man's posterity,
in the eternal worlds, are to constitute his glory, his
kingdom, and dominion.
Here, then, we perceive, just from this one principle,
reasoning from the blessings of Abraham alone, the
necessity-if we would partake of the blessings of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-of doing their works; and
he that will not do the works of Abraham, and walk in
his footsteps, will be deprived of hiii blessings.
27 
MORMNIONISM.
Again, let us look at Sarah's peculiar position in
regard to Abraham.  She understood the whole matter;
she knew that, unless seed was raised up to Abraham,
he would come short of his glory; and she understood
the promise of the Lord, and longed for Abraham to
have seed. And when she saw that she was old, and
fearing that she should not have the privilege of raising
up seed, she gave to Abraham, Hagar. Would Gentile
Christendom do such things now-a-days?  0 no; they
would consider it enough to send a man" to an endless
hell of fire and brimstone. Why? Because tradition
has instilled this in their minds as a dreadful, awful
thing.
It matters not to them how corrupt they are in female
prostitution, if they are lawfully married to only one
wife; but it would be considered an awful thing by
them to raise up a posterity from more than one wife;
this would be wrong indeed; but to. go into a brothel,
and there debauch themselves in the lowest haunts of
degradation all the days of their lives, they consider
only a trifling thing; nay, they can even license such
institutions in Christian nations, and it all passes off
very well.
That is tradition; and their posterity have been fostered and brought up in the footsteps of wickedness.
This is death, as it stalks abroad amnong the great and
popular cities of Europe and America.
Do you find such haunts of prostitution, degradation,
and misery here, in the cities of the mountains? No.
Were such things in our midst, we should feel indignant
enough to see that such persons be blotted out of the
page of existence. These would be the feelings of this
community.
28 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
Look upon those who committed such iniquity in
Israel, in ancient days; every man and woman who
committed adultery were put to death. I do not say
that this people are going to do this; but I will tell you
whlat we believe-we believe it ought to be done.
Whloredom, adultery, and fornication, have cursed
the nations of the earth for many generations, and are
increasing fearfully upon the community; but they must
be entirely done away from those who call themselves
the people of God; if they are not, woe! woe! be unto
them, also; for "thus saith the Lord God Almighty,"
in the Book of Mormons, "Woe unto them that commit
whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell!"
There is no getting away from it.  Such things will not
be allowed in this community; and such characters will
find that the time will come, that God, whose eyes are
upon all the children of men, and who discerneth the
things that are done in secret, will bring their acts to
liglit; and they will be nmade an example before. the
people; and shame and infamy will cleave to their posterity after them, unto the third and fourth generation
of them that repent not.
How is this to be prevented? for we have got a fallen
nature to grapple with. It is to be prevented in the
way the Lord devised in ancient times; that is, by
giving to His faithful servants a plurality of wives, by
whichl a numerous and faithful posterity can be raised
up, and taought in the principles of righteousness and
truth; and then, after they fully understand those principles that were given to the ancient Patriarchs, if they
keep not the law of God, but commnit adultery, and
transgressions of this kind, let their names be blotted
29 
MORMONISM.
out from under heaven, that they may have no place
among the people of God.
But again, there is another reason why this plurality
should  exist among  the  latter-day saints.   I have
already given you one reason, and that is, that you
might inherit the blessings and promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and receive a continuation of
your posterity, that they may become as numerous as
the sand upon the sea-shore. There is another reason,
and a good one, too. What do you suppose it is? I
will tell you; and it will appear reasonable to every
man and woman of a reflecting mind. Do we not believe, as the Scriptures have told us, that the wicked
nations of the earth are doomed to destruction? Yes,
we believe it. Do we not also believe, as the Prophets
have foretold, concerning the last days, as well as what
the new revelations have said upon the subject, that
darkness prevails upon th4 earth, and gross darkness
upon the minds of the people; and not only this, but
that all flesh has corrupted its way upon the face of the
earth; that is, that all nations, speaking of them as nations, have corrupted themselves before the Most High
God, by their wickedness, whoredoms, idolatries, abomninations, adulteries, and all other kind of wickedness?
And we furthermore believe, that according to the Jewish
prophets, as well as the book of Mormon, and modern
revelations given in the book of doctrine and covenants, that the sword of the vengeance of the Almighty
is already unsheathed, and stretched out, and will no
more be put back into the scabbard until it falls upon
the head of the nations until they are destroyed, except
they repent. Wlhat else do we believe? We believe
that God is gathering out from among these nations
30 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
those who will hearken to his voice, and receive the
proclamation of the Gospel, to establish them as a people alone by themselves, where they can be instructed
in the right way, and brought to a knowledge of the
truth. Very well: if this be the case, that the righteous are gathering out, and are still being gathered from
among the nations, and being planted by themselves,
one thing is certain-that that people are better calculated to bring up their children in the right way, than
any other under the whole heavens. Oh yes, says one,
if that is the case-if you are the people the ancient
Prophets have spoken of, if you are the people that are
guided by the Lord, if you are under the influence,
power, and guidance of the Almighty, you must be the
best people under heaven, to dictate the young mind:
but what has that to do with the plurality of wives?  I
will tell you. I have already told you that the spirits
of men and women, all had a previous existence, thousands of years ago, in the heavens, in the presence of
God; and I have already told you that among them are
many spirits that are more noble, more intelligent than
others, that were called the great and mighty ones, reserved until the dispensation of the fullness of times, to
come forth upon the face of the earth, through a noble
parentage that shall train their young and tender minds
in the truths of eternity, that they may grow up in the
Lord, and be strong in the power of His might, be
clothed upon with His glory, be filled with exceeding
great faith; that the visions of eternity may be opene(l
to their minds; that they may be prophets, priests, a(nd
kings to the Mlost High God.   Do you believe, says
one, tI)at they are reserved until the last dispensation,
for such a noble purpose? Yes; and among the Saints
31 
MORMONIS,t.
is the most likely place for these spirits to take their
tabernacles, through a just and righteous parentage.
They are to be sent to that people that are the most
righteous of any other people upon the earth; there to
be trained up properly, according to their nobility and
intelligence, and according to the laws which the Lord
ordained before they were born. This is the reason why
the Lord is sending them here, br'ethren and sisters;
they are appointed to come and take their bodies here,
that in their generations they may be raised up among
the righteous.  The Lord has not kept them in store for
five or six thousand years past, and kept them waiting
for their bodies all this time, to send them among the
liottentots, the African negroes, the idolatrous Ilindoos,
or any other of the fallen nations that dwell upon the
face of this earth. They are not kept in reserve in
order to come forth to receive such a degraded parentage upon the earth; no, the Lord is not such a being;
His justice, goodness, and mercy will be magnified
towards those who were chosen before they were born;
and they long to come, and they will coime, among the
Saints of the living God; this would be their highest
pleasure and joy, to know that they could  have the
privilege of being born of such noble parentage.
Then is it not reasonable, and consistent that the
Lord should say unto His faithful and chosen servants,
that had proved themselves before Jiin all the day
loing, that had been ready and willing to do whatsoe-eer His will required them to perfoibin;-take unto
yourselves iiiore wives, like unto the patriarchs, Abiraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of old-like those who lived in
ancient times, who walked in my footsteps, and kept
my commands?  Why should they not do this?  Sup
32
I o, 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
pose the Lord should answer this question, would He
not say, I have here in reserve, noble spirits, that ha-ve
been waiting for thousands of years, to come forth iii
the fullness of times, and which I designed should conme
forth through these my faithful and chosen servants, for
I know they will do my will, and they will teach their
children after them to do it? Would not this be the
substance of the language, if the Lord should give us an
answer upon this subject?
But then another question will arise; how are these
things to be conducted? Are they to be left at random? Is every servant of God at liberty to run here
and there, seeking out the daughters of men as wives
unto themselves without any restriction, law, or condition?  No.  We  find these things were restricted in
ancient times. Do you not recollect the circumstance
of the Prophet Nathan's coming to David?  He came
to reprove him for certain disobedience, and told him
about the wives he had lost through it; that the Lord
would give them to another; and he told him, if he had
been faithful, that the Lord would have given him still
more, if he had only asked for them.  Nathan the
Prophet, in relation to David, was the man that held
the keys concerning this matter in ancient days; and it
was governed by the strictest laws.
So in these days; let me announce to this congregation, that there is but one man in all the world, at the
same time, who can hold the keys of this matter; but
one man has power to turn the key to inquire of the
Lord, and to say whether I, or these my brethren, or
any of the rest of this congregation, or the Saints upon
the face of the whole earth, may have this blessing of
33 
MORMONISM.
Abraham conferred upon them; he holds the keys of
these matters now, the same as Nathan, in his day.
But, says one, how have you obtained this information? By new revelation. When was it given, and to
whom? It was given to our Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, Joseph Smith, on the 12th day of July, 1843;
only about eleven months before he was martyred for
the testimony of Jesus.
He held the keys of these matters; he had the right
to inquire of the Lord; and the Lord has set bounds
and restrictions to these things; He has told us in that
revelation, that only one man can hold these keys upon
the earth at the same time; and they belong to that
man who stands at the head to preside over all the
affairs of the church and kingdom of God in the last
days. They are the sealing keys of power, or in other
words, of Elijah, having been committed and restored
to the earth by Elijah, the prophet, who held many
keys, among which were the keys of sealing, to bind
the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers; together with all the other sealing
keys and powers, pertaining to the last dispensation.
They were committed by that angel who administered
in the Kirtland Temple, and spoke unto Joseph the
prophet, at the time of the endowments in that house.
Now, let us enquire, what will become of those individuals who have this law taught unto them in plainness,
if they reject it? [A voice in the stand, "they will be
damned."] I will tell you: they will be damned, saith
the Lord God Almighty, in the revelation he has given.
Why? Because where much is given, much is required;
where there is great knowledge unfolded for the exalta
34 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
tion, glory, and happiness of the sons and daughters of
God, if they close up their hearts, if they reject the
testimony of His word, and will not give heed to the
principles he has ordained for their good, they aile
worthy of damnation, aud the Lord has said they shall
be damned. This was the word of the Lord to His
servant Joseph the prophet himself.   With all the
knowledge and light he had, he must comply with it,
or, says the Lord unto him, you shall be damned; and
the same is true in regard to all those who reject these
things.
What else have we heard from our President? He
has related to us that there are some damnations that
are eternal in their nature; while others are but for a
certain period, they will have an end, they will not
receive a restoration to their former privileges, but a
deliverance from certain punishments: and instead of
being restored to all the privileges pertaining to man
previous to the fall, they will only be permitted to
enjoy a certain grade of happiness, not a full restoration. Let us inquire after those who are to be damned,
admitting they will be redeemed, which they will be,
unless they have sinned against the Holy Ghost. They
will be redeemed, but what will it be to? Will it be to
exaltation, and to a fullness of glory? Will it be to
become sons of God, or Gods to reign upon thrones, and
multiply their posterity, and reign over them as kings?
No, it will not.  They have lost that exalted privilege
for ever; though they may, after having been punished
for long periods, escape by the skin of their teeth; but
no kingdom will be conferred upon them?  What will
be their condition? I will tell you what revelation
says, not only concerning them that reject these things,
35 
MOIrM()NISAI.
but concerning those that through their carelessness, or
want of ftiith, or something else, have failed to have their
marriages sealed for time and for all eternity; those that
do not do these things, so as to have the same ordinances
sealed upon their heads by divine authority, as was
upon the head of old Father Adam-if they fail to do it
thrloug,h wickedness, thiough  their ungodliness, they
also will never have the privilege of possessing that
wlich is possessed by the Gods that hold the keys
of power, of coming up to the thrones of their exaltatioii, and receiving their kingdoms.  Why?  Because,
saith the Lord, all oathls, all covenants, and all agreements, etc., that have been made by mnan, and not by
me, and by the authority I have established, shall cease
when death shall separate the parties; that is the end;
that is the cessation; they go no further; and such a
person cannot come up in the morning of the resurrection, and say, Behold, I claim you as my wife; you are
mine; I married you in the other world before death;
therefore you are mine: hle cannot say this. Why?
Because he never married that person for eternity.
Suppose they should enter into covenant and agreement, and conclude between themselves to live together
to all eternity, and never have it sealed by the Lord's
sealing power, by the holy priesthood, would they have
anv claim on each other in the morning of the resiurrection? No; it would not be valid nor legal, and the
Lord would say, It was not by me; your covenants
were not sealed on the earth, and therefore they are not
sealed in the heavens; they are not recorded on my
book; they are not to be found in the records that are
in the archives of eternity; therefore, the blessings you
might have had, are not for you to enjoy. What will
36 
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE.
be their condition? The Lord has told us. He says
these are angels; because they keep not this law, they
sltill be ministering servants unto those who are worthy
,,f obtaining a more exceeding and eternal weight of
,glory; wherefore, saith the Lord, they shall remain
singly and separately in their saved condition, and shall
not have power to enlarge themselves, and thus shall
they remain forever and ever.
Here, then, you can read their history; they are not
Gods, btt they are angels or servants to the Gods. There
is a difference between the two classes; the Gods are
exalted; they hold keys of power; are made kings and
priests; and this power is conferred upon them in time,
by the everlasting priesthood, to hold a kingdom in
eternity that shall never be taken from them worlds
without end; and they will propagate their species.
They are not servants; for one God is not to be a servant to another God; they are not angels; and this is
the reason why Paul said, know ye not, brethren, that
we shall judge angels?  Angels are inferior to the saints
who are exalted as kings. These angels who are to be
judged, and to become servants to the Gods, did not
keep the law, therefore, though they are saved, they are
to be servants to those who are in a higher condition.
What does the Lord intend to do with this people?
He intends to make them a kingdom of kings and
priests, a kingdom unto Himself, or in other words, a
kingdom of Gods, if they will hearken to His law.
There will lbe inany who will not hearken; there will be
the foolish among the wise, ivho will not receive the new
and everlasting covenant in its fullness; and they never
will attain to their exaltation; they never will be
counted worthy to hold the sceptre of power over a
37 
MOEMONISM.
numerous progeny, that shall multiply themselves without end, like the sand upon the sea shore.
We can only touch here and there upon this great
subject, we can only offer a few words with regard to
this great, sublime, beautiful and glorious doctrine,
which has been revealed by the Prophet, Seer, and
Revelator, Joseph Smith, who sealed his testimony with
his blood, and thus revealed to the nations, things
that were in ancient times, as well as things that are tc
come.
But while I talk, the vision of my mind is opened;
the subject spreads forth and branches out like the
branches of a thrifty tree; and as for the glory of God,
how great it is! I feel to say, Hallelujah to his great
and holy name; for He reigns in the heavens, and He
will exalt His people to sit with Him upon thrones of
power, to reign forever and ever.
38 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACIE.Y.
INDIANI HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY-MOR        MON POLICY TOWARDS THEM.
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, IN
THE TABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY.
I wish to say a few words to the latter-day saints this
morning, as there seems to be considerable excitement
in the feelings of the people, and many inquiring what
will be the result of the present Indian difficulties.
I will give you my testimony, as far as I have one on
the subject, concerning these difficulties in this territory,
north and south, pertaining to our brethren, the Lamanites.  My testimony to all iS-IT IS RIGHT, and perfectly
calculated, like all other providences of the Lord, of the
like nature, to chasten this people until they are willing
to take counsel. They will purify and sanctify the
Saints, and prepare the wicked for their doom.
There has nothing strange and uncommon to man, yet
occurred; nothing has yet happened out of the ordinary
providences of the Lord. These common dealings of our
great Head with His people have been manifested from
days of old, in blessings and chastisements Wars, commotions, tumults, strife, nation contending against nation, and people against people, have all been governed
and controlled by Him whose right it is to control such
matters.
39
11 
MORMONISM.
Among wicked nations, or among Saints, among the
ancient Israelites, Philistines and Romans, the hand of
the Lord was felt; in short, all the powers that have been
upon the earth, have been dictated, governed, controlled,
and the final issue of their existence has been brought to
pass, according to the wisdom of the Almighty. Then
my testimony is, IT IS ALL RIGHT.
There seems to be some excitement among the people,
and fears are arising in the breasts of many, as to the
general safety. Some person has been shot at by the Indians, or some Indians were seen in a hostile condition.
And away go messengers to report to head quarters,
saying, " Bhat shall we do? for we cannot tell, but we
shall all be killed by them; they have stolen our horses
and driven off some cattle, which has created a great excitement in our settlement," etc; when, perhaps to-morrow, the very Indians who have committed these depredations will come and say, How  do you do?  We are
fi'iendly, cannot you give us some " Chitcup?" * They
will shake hands, and appear as though it were impossible for them to be guilty of another hostility. And
what is the next move? Why, our wise men, the elders
of Israel, are either so fluctuating in their feelings, so
unstable in their ways, or so ignorant of'the Indian
character, that the least mark of friendship manifested
by these treacherous red men, will lull all their fears,
throw them entirely off their guard, saying, "It is all
right; wife, take care of the stock, for I am  going to
the canon for a load of wood."
Away he goes, without a gun or a pistol to defend
himself in case of an attack from some Indian or In
* Indian language for something to eat.
40 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
dians, to rob him of his cattle and perhaps his life.
leirds of cattle are driven upon the range, the feelings
of the people are divested of all fear by tlhis little show
of Indian friendship, and their hearts are at peace with
all mankind.  They lie down to sleep at night with the
doors of their houses open, and in many instances
with no way to close them if they were willing, onily by
means of hanging up a blanket.  Thus they go to sleep
with their guns unloaded, and entirely without any
means of defence, in case they should be attacked in the
night.  On the other hand, they no sooner discover an
Indian in an hostile attitude, than the hue and cry is
"     I 8e shall all be murdered imtnmediately."  That is the
kind of stability, the kind of unshaken self-command,
the style of generalship and wisdomn manifested by elders in Israel. To-day all are in arms, war is on hand;
"we are going to be destroyed, or to fight our way
througlh," is in every mouth.  To-morrow  all is peace,
and every man turns to his own way, wherever the common avocations of life call him.  No  concern is felt as
to protection in the future, but " all is riglht, all is safety,
there is no fear of any further trouble," is the language
of people's thoughts, and they lie down to sleep in a
false security, to be murdered in the night by their enemies, if they are disposed to murder them.
I can tell you one thing with regard to excitement and
war.  You maay take Isi'rael here, as a community, with
all their experience, and with all they have passed
tlhrliglh in the shape of war, and difficulties of various
kinds, and these wild Indians are actually wiser in their
generation in the art of war than this people are. They
lay better plans, display greater skill, and are steadier
in their feelings. They are not so easily excited, and
41 
MORMONISM.
when excited, are not so easily allayed, as the men who
have come, to inhabit these mountains, from where they
have been trained and educated in the civilization of
modern nations. You may not believe thisassertion; it,
is, however, no matter whether you do or do not, the
fact remains unaltered, as well as the conviction of my
own mind regarding it.
I have been frequently asked, what is going to be the
result of these troubles?  I answer-the result will be
good. What did you hear, you who have come to these
valleys within the last few years, previous to your leaving your native country? You heard that all was
peace and safety among the Saints in these regions; that
the earth yielded in her strength, giving an abundance
of food; and that this was a splendid country to raise
stock. Your determination was then formed to go up
to the valleys of the mountains, where you could enjoy
peace and quiet, and follow the avocations of life undisturbed. When the people arrive here, many of them
come to me and say, "Brother Brigham, can we go
here or there to get us farms?  Shall we enter into this
or that speculation? We have been very poor, and we
want to make some money, or we want the privilege of
taking with us a few families to make a settlement in
this or that distant valley." If I inquire why they cannot stay here, their answer is, "because there is no
room, the land is chiefly taken up, and we have a considerable stock of cattle, we want to go where we can have
plenty of range for our stock, where we can mount our
horses, and ride over the prairies, and say, I am lord of
all I survey. We do not wish to be disturbed, in any
way, nor to be asked to pay tithing, to work upon the
roads, nor pay territorial tax, but we wish all the time to
42 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
ourselves, to appropriate to our own use. I want you,
brother Brigham, to give us counsel that we can get the
whole world in a string after us, and have it all in our
own possession by and by." If there is light enough
in Israel, let it shine in your consciences, and illuminate
your understandings, and give you to know that I tell you
the truth.  This is the object many have, in wishing to
settle and take in land that is far distant from the main
body of the people. I have not given you the language
of their lips to me, but the language of their hearts.
Elders of Israel are greedy after the things of this
world. If you ask them if they are ready to build up
the kingdom of God, their answer is prompt-" Why, to
be sure we are, with our whole souls; but we want first
to get so much gold, speculate and get rich, and then we
can help the Church considerably.  We will go to California and get gold, go and buy goods and get rich, trade
with the emigrants, build a mill, make a farm, get a
large herd of cattle, and then we can do a great deal for
Israel."  When will you be ready to do it?  "In a few
years, brother Brigham, if you do not disturb us. We
do not believe in the necessity of doing military duty, in
giving over our surplus property for tithling; we never
could see into it; but we want to go and get rich, to accumulate and amass wealth, by securing all the land adjoining us, and all we have knowledge of." If that is
not the spirit of this people, then I do not know what
the truth is concerning the matter.
Now I wish to say to you who are fearing and tremling, do not be afraid at all, for it is certain if we should
be killed off by the Indians, we could not die any
younger; this is, about as good a time as can be for us
to die, and if we all go together, why, you know, we
43 
MORMONISM.
shall have a good company along with us; it will not be
lonesome passing through the valley, which is said to
have a vail drawn over it. If we all go together, the
dark valley of the shadow of death will be lighted up
by us, so do not be scared.  But there will not be enough
slain by the Indians at this time to make the company
very conspicuous in that dark valley. Do you begin to
secretly wish you had stayed in the States or in England
a little longer, until this Indian war had come to an end?
There is a mighty fearing and trembling in the hearts of
many. I know what men have done heretofore; wheni
they have seen' the enemy advancing, they have skulked,
they were sure to be somewhere else than on hand when
there was fighting to do, although, uponl the whole, I
have no fault to find witl the latter-day saints, or with
the Elders of Israel upon that subject, for they love to
fight a little too well. If I were to have fears concerning them, it would not be that they would make war,
but in the case of war being made on them, I should
have more fear in consequence of the ignorant and foolish audacity of the elders, than of their being afraid.
I should fear they would rush into danger like ani unthinking horse into battle.  So I will not find fault with
regard to their courage. On that point I am a coward
myself, and if people would do as I tell them, I would
not only save my own life, but theirs likewise.
Suppose, now, that we should say to this congregation,
and to all the wards of this city, the tite kan8 comtefo.
us to j)o-t vp; do you not think a great many persons
would comie immediately to nie, and inquire if I did not
think their houses quite safe enough, with'out being put
to that trouble and expense? Yes, my office would be
crowded with such persons, wanting to know if they
44 
INDIAN Ho()SrILITIES AND TREACHERY.
mighlt not live where they were now living, " for," they
would say, "we have got good houses, and well finished
off, besides, such a course will ruin them, and our
gardens will go to destruction; we really cannot fort
up. "  Would there not be a great amount of hard feelings upon the subject?  I think so, whether you do or
not. I think I should want as many as a legion of
angels to assist me  to convince every family it was
necessary, if it actually,was so.
I do not know but that the time may come, and that
speedily, when I shall build a fort myself in this city,
and those who are disposed can go into it with me, while
the rest can stay out. When I see it is absolutely necessary to do this, I shall do it. It the people of Utah
Territory would do as they were told, thliey woutild always
be safe. If the people in San Pete county had done as
they were told, from the beginning of that settlement,
they would have been safe at this time, and would not
hlave  lost their  cattle.  The day before yesterday,
Friday, July 29th, the Indians came firom the mountains,
to Father Allred's settlement, and drove off all the
stock, amounting to two hundred head. If the people
had done as they were told, they would not have suffered
this severe loss, which is a just chastisement.
I recollect when we were down at Father Allred's
settlement last April, they had previously been to me
not only to know if they might settle in San Pete, but
if they might separate widely from each other, over a
piece of land about two miles square, each having a five
acre lot for their garden, near their tfa!ims. They were
told to build a good subs antial fort, until the settlement
became sufficiently strong, and not live so far apart, and
expose themselves and their property to danger. Father
45 
MORMONISM.
Allred told me they were then so nigh together, they
did not know how to live! I told him they had better
make up their minds to be baptized into the Chulrchl
again, and get the Spirit of God, that each one might
be able to live in peace with his neighbor in close quarters, and not think himself infringed upon. They
wanted to know if they were to build a fort.  "Why,
yes," I said, "build a strong fort, and a corral to put
your cattle, that the Indians cannot get them away fiomn
you."  "Do you think, brother  Brigham, the Indians
will trouble us here " they inquired.  I said, "It is
none of your business whether they will or not, but you
will see the time that you will need such preparatiolns."'
But I did not think it would come so quickly.  There
will more come upon this people to destroy them than
they at present think of, unless they are prepared to defend themselves, which I shall not take time, this imloining, to dwell upon. I said also to the brethren at Utah,
Do you make a fort, and let it be strong enough, that
Indians cannot break into it." They commnenced, and
did not make even the shadow of a fort, for in some
places there was nothing more than a line to miark where
the approaching shadow would be.  They began to settle round upon the various creeks and streaiilets, and
the part of a fort that existed was finally pulled up, and
carried away somewhere else. I have told you, firom
the beginning, you would need forts, where to build
them, and how strong. I told you six years ago, to
build a fort that the Devil co?rld not get into, unless you
were disposed to let him in, and that would keep out
the Indians.   Excuse me for saying devil; I do not
often use the old gentleman's name in vain, and if I do
it, it is always in the pulpit, where I do all my swearing.
46 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
I make this apology because it is considered a sin to say
devil, and it grates on refined ears. -
I told the settlement in San Pete, at the first, to build
a fort. They did not do it, but huddled together beside
a stone quarry, without a place of common shelter where
they could defend themselves, in case of an Indian
difficulty. They had faith they could keep the Indians
off. Well, now is the time to call it into exercise.
They did, after a while, build a temporary fort at San
Pete, which now shields them in a time of trouble.
When the brethren went to Salt Creek, they wanted
to make a settlement there, and inquired of me if they
might do so.  I told them, no, unless they first built an
efficient fort. I forbade them taking their women and
children there, until that preparatory work was fully
accomplished.  Hias it ever been done? lNo, but families
went there and lived in wagons and brush houses, perfectly exposed to be killed. If they have faith enough
to keep the Indians off, it is all right.
From the time these distant valleys began to be settled, until now, there has scarcely been a day but what
I have felt twenty-five ton weight, as it were, upon me,
ini exercising faith to keep this people from destroying
themselves; but if any of them can exercise faith
enough for themselves, and wish to excuse me, I will
take my faith back.
The word has gone out now, to the different settlements, in the time of harvest, requiring them to build
forts. Could it not have been done last winter, better
than now?  Yes.  Do you not suppose people will now
wish they had built forts when they were told? If they
do not, it proves what they have been all the time, shall
I say fools? If that is too harsh a term, I will say they
47 
MorlMoNI,M.
have been foolish. It is better for me to labor in building a house or a fort, to get out fencing timber, and
wood to consume  through the winter, when  I have
nothing else to do, and not be under the necessity of
leaving my grain on the ground to do those things.
HIarvest is no time to build forts, neither is it the time
to do it when we should be plowing and sowing.
Now the harvest is upon us, I wish to say a few words
concerning it.  I desire you to tell your neighbors, and
wish them to tell their neighbors, and thus let it go to
the several counties around-now is the time for women
and children to assist in the harvest fields, the same as
they do in other countries. I never asked this of them
before; I do not now ask it as a general thing, but those
employed in the expedition south, in the work of defendimg their brethern from Indian depredations, who have
heavy harvests on hand, rather than suffer the graini to
waste, let the women get in the harvest, and put it
where the Indians cannot steal it.  And when you go
into the harvest field, carry a good butcher knife in vour
belt, that if an Indian should come upon you, supposing
you to be unarmed, you would be sure to kill him.
Tell your neighbors of this, and go to work, men,
women, and children, and gather in your grain, and
gather it clean, leave none to waste, and put it where
the Indians cannot destroy it.
Does this language intimate anything terrific to you?
It need not. If you will do as you are told, you will be
sate continually. Secure your bread stuff, your wheat,
and your corn, when it is ripe, and let every particle of
grain raised in these valleys be put where it will be
safe, and as much as possible from vermin, and especially from the Indians, and then build forts.
48 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
Let every man and woman who has a house make
that house a fort, from which you can kill ten where
you now only kill one, if the Indians come upon you.
Brother Bri,gham, do you really expect Indians to
come uponi us in this city?"  This inquiry, I have no
doubt, is at this moment in the hearts of a few, almost
breathless with fear.  Were I to answer such inquirers
as I feel, I should say, it is none of your business; but
I will say, you are so instructed, to see if you will do
as you are told. Let your dwelling house be a perfect
folrt.  From the day I lived where  brother Joseph
Smith lived, I have been fortified all the time so as to
resist twenty men, if they should come to my house in
the nighlit, with an intent to molest my family, assault
my person, or destroy my property; and I have always
been in the habit of sleeping with one eye open, and if
I cannot then sufficiently watch, I will get my wife to
help Liie.  Let an hostile band of Indians come round
my house, and I am good for quite a number of them.
If one hundred should come, I calculate that only fifty
would be able to go to the next house, and if the Saints
there used up the other fifty, the third house would be
safe.
But instead of the people taking this course, almost
every good rifle in the Territory has been traded away
to the Indians, with quantities of powder and lead,
though they waste it in various ways when they have
got it. The whites would sell the title to their lives, for
the sake of trading with the Indians.
Tlhey will learn better, I expect, by and by, for the
people have never received such strict orders as they
have got now. I will give you the pith of the last
orders issued-" That man or family who will not do as
49 
MORMONIS1.
they are told in the orders, are to be treated as strangei's, yea, even as enemies, and not as friends."  And
it' theie should be such a co,test, if we should be called
upon to defend oilr lives, our liberty, and our p)ossessioIns, we would cut suchl off the first, and walk over
their dead bodies to conquer the fbe outside.
Martial law is not enforced yet, altlhough the whole
Territory is in a state cf war, apparently, but it is only
the Utah [Itidians] whlo have declared war on Utah
[Te,ritoiy].  Deseret has not yet declared war; how
soon it will be declared is not for me  to say; but we
have a right, and it is our duty, to put ourselves in a
state of self-defence.
The few families that settled in Cedar Valley, at the
point of thle n(-)ounrtains, were instructed to leave there,
last spring. They lhave gone back again, upon their
own respoisibility, and now want to know what tliey
must do.  They have been told to do just as they have
a mind to.
Those who have taken their wives and clildren in
the canons to live, have been told to remove them into
the city; and ift you wanlt to make slingles, or do any
other work that requires you to remaia  there, have your
gun in a situation that an Indian cannot creep up and
steal it firom you before you are aware, that you can be
good for a few Indians if they should chance to come
upon you.
If I wished to live away from the body of the people,
miy first effort should be directed towards building a
good and efficient fort.  When new settlements were
made in the eastern countries, they built them of timber, and they were called " block-houses."  I would
odvise that every house iu a new settlement should be
50 
INDIAN HIOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
made good for all the Indians that could approach it,
withl an intention to tear it down.  If I did not do that,
I would go to where I could be safe, I would take lup my
abode with the body of the people. I would take my
family there at least.  By taking this course, every person wsill be safe fiom the depredations of the Indians,
Awhichl are generally committed upon the def'enceless
and unprotected portions of the community.
I know what the feelings of the generality of the
people are, at this time-they think all the Indians in
the mountains are coming to kill off the latter-day
saints. I have no more fear of that, than I have of the
sun ceasing to give light upon the earth.  I have studied
the Indian character sufficiently to know  what the
Indians are in war, I have been with them more or less
firom my youth upward, where they have often had wars
among themselves.  Let every man, woman, and child,
that can handle a butcher knife, be good for one Indian,
and you are safe.
I am aware that the people want to ask me a thousand and one questions, whether they have done it or
not, touching the present Indian difficulties. I have
tried to answer them all, in my own mind, by saying, it
will be just as the Iord will.
Hiow many times have I been asked in the past week,
what I intend to do with Walker. I say, LET HIM ALONE,
severely. I have not made war on the Indians, nor
am I calculating to do it. My policy is to give them
presents, and be kind to them. Instead of being
WAValker's enemy, I have sent him a great pile of tobacco
to smoke when he is lonely in the mountains.  He is
now at war with the only friends he has upon this earth,
and I want him to have some tobacco to smoke.
51 
MORMONISM.
I calculate to pursue just such a course with the
Indians, and when I am dictated to by existing circumstances, and the Spirit of the Lord, to change my course,
I will do it, and not until then.
If you were to see Walker, do yon think you would
kill him?  You that want to kill him, I will give you a
mission to that effect. A great many appear very bold,
and desire to go and bring me Walker's head, but they
want all the people in Utah to go with them. 1 could
point out thousands in this Territory who would follow
these Indians, and continue to follow them, and leave
the cattle to be driven off by the emigrants, and the
grain to perish, and thus subject the whole community
to the ravages of famine, and its consequent evils. I
have been teased and teased by men who will come to
me and say, "Just give me twenty-five, fifty, or a hund,ed men, and I will go and fetch you Walker's head."
I do npt want his head, but I wish him to do all the
devil wants him to do, so far as the Lord will suffer
him, and the devil to chastise this people for their good.
I say to the Indians, as I have often said to the mob,
go your length.  You say you are going to kill us all
off, you say you are going to obliterate the latter-day
saints, and wipe them from the earth, why don't you
do it, you poor miserable curses? The mob only had
power to drive the Saints to their duty, and to remember
the Lord their God, and that is all the Indians can do.
This people are worldly-minded, they want to get rich
in earthly substance, and are apt to forget their God, the
pit from which they were dug, and the rock from which
they were hewn, every man turning to his own way.
Seemingly the Lord is chastening us until we turn and do
His will. What are you willing to do? Would you be
52 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
willing to build a fort, and all go in there to live?  I
tell you, you would have a hell of your own, and devils
enot,ughl to carry it on. Do you suppose you will ever
see the time you would do that, and live at peace with
each other, and have the spirit of the Lord enough to
look each other in the face, and say, with a heart full of
kindness, "Good morning, Mary," or " How do you do,
Maria?"  You will be whipped until you have the Spirit
of the Lord Jesus Christ sufficiently to love your brethren and sisters freely, men, women, and children; until
you can live at peace with yourselves, and with every
fatnily around you; until you can treat every child. as
thlioul it were the tender offspring of your own body,
every man as your brother, and every woman as your
sister; and until the young persons treat the old withl
that respect due to parents, and all learn to shake hands,
with a warm heart, and a friendly grip, and say, "God
bless vou!" firom morning until evening; until each personl can say, "I love you all, I have no evil in my heart
to any individual, I can send my children to school with
yours, and can correct your children when  they do
wrongi, as though they were my own, and I am willing
you should correct mine, and let us live together until
we are a holy and sanctified society."  There will always
be Indians or somebody else to chastise you, until you
come to that spot; so amen to the present Indian trouble,
for it is all right. I am just as willing the rebellions of
this people should be kicked, and cuffed, and mobbed,
and hunted by the Indians, as not, for I have preached
to them until I am tired.  I will give no more counsel
to any person upon the duties of self-preservation; you
can do as you please; if you will not preserve yourselves,
I may reason with you until my tongue cleaves to the
63 
MORMONISlM.
roof of my mouth, to no avail. Let the Lord extend
the hand of benevolence to brother Walker, and he will
make you do it by other means than exhortations given
in mildness.
This very same Indian Walker has a mission uponI
him, and I do not blame him for what he is now doing;
he is helping me do the will of the Lord to this people,
he is doing with a chastening rod what I have failed to
accomplish with soft words, while I have been handing
out my substance, feeding the hungry, comforting the
sick. But this has no effect upon this people, at all, my
counsel has not been heeded, so the Loid is making
brother Walker an instrument to help me, and perhaps
the means that lie will use will have their due effect.
Do you suppose I want to kill him?  No.  I should
be killing the very means that will make this people do
what we wanted them to do years ago.
There are hundreds of witnesses to bear testimony
that I have counselled this people, fr6m the beginning,
what to do to save themselves, both temporally and
spiritually.
In one of our orders issued lately, the southern settlements were advised to send their surplus cattle to this
valley. No quicker had the news reached them, tlaii
our ears were greeted with one continued whine, which
meant, "We are afrtaid you want them."  So we did, to
take care of them for you.
When Father Allred was advised to adopt measures
to secure themselves and their property, he replied, " Oh,
I do not think there is the least danger in the woild
we are perfectly able to take care of our stock, and protect ourselves against the Indians."  All right, I thought,
let circumstances prove that.
54 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
Now, as difficulties surround them, they say to me,
"Why, brother Brigham, if you had only told us what
to do, we would have done it. Were we not always
willing to take your counsel?"  Yes, you are a great
deal more willing to take it, than to obey it. If people
are willing to carry out good counsel, they will secure
themselves accordingly.
I have thought of setting a pattern, by securing myself; but were I to build a fort for myself and family, I
should want about a legion of angels from the throne of
God, to stay nine months with me, to get my folks willing to. go into it.  But I am so independent about it, I
care not the snap of my finger for one of them. If my
wives will not go into a place of security with me, it is
all right, they call stay out, and I will go in and take
my cllildiren with me.  I say, I do not know but I may
take a notion to set a pattern by building a fort; if I do,
some one in in this city may follow fay example, and
then somebody else, etc., until we have a perfect city of
forts.
"Brother Brigham, do you really think we slall ever
need them?"  YeLs, I DO.  All the difficulties there is in
the coInmmunity this year, is not a drop in comparison to
the heavy shower that will come.  "Well, and where is
it coming from?"  From hell, where every other trouble
comes from.  " And  who do you think will be the
actors?.'  Why, the Devil and his imnps. [W. W. Phelps
in the stald.  We could not do very well without a
Devil.]  No, sir, you aire quite aware of that; you k);'ow
we colIl(l not do witllout him.  If tlieie had been io,
devil to tempt Eve, she never vwould leave got her eyes
opened. We need a devil to stir up the wicked on the
56 
MORMONISM.
earth to purify the saints.  Therefore, let the devils
howl, let them rage, and thus exhibit themselves in the
form of those poor, foolish Lamanites. Let them go on
in their work, and do you not desire to kill them, until
they ought to be killed, and then we will extinguish the
Indian title, if it is required.
Did you never feel to pity them, on viewing their
wretched condition? Walker, with a small balid, has
succeeded in making all the Indian bands in these moun tains fear him.  He has been in the habit of stealing
from the Californians, and of making every train of emi grants that passed along the Spanish trail to California
pay tithing to him. He finally began to steal children
form those bands to sell to the Spaniards; and through
fear of him, he has managed to bring in subjection
almost all the Utah tribes.
I will relate one action of Walker's life, which will
serve to illustrate his character. iHe, with his band,
about last February, fell ill with a small band of Payedes,
and killed off the whole of the men, took the squaws prisoners, and sold the children to the Mexi(cans, and some
few were disposed of in this Territory. This transaction
was told by Arapeen, Walker's brother, though he was
not at the affray himself.
The Indians in these mountains are continually on
the decrease; bands that numbered 150 warriors when
we first came here, number not more than 35 now; and
some of the little tribes ill the southern parts of thlis
Territory, towards New Mexico, have not a single squaw
amongst them, for they have traded them of for lhorses,
etc. This practice will soon make the race extinct.
Besides, Walker is continually, whenever an opportu
56 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
nity presents itself, killing and stealing children from
the wandering bands that he has any powei over, which
also has its tendency to extinguish the race.
Walker is hemmed in, he dare not go into California
again.  Dare he go east to the Snakes?  No.  Dare he
go north? No, for they would rejoice to kill him.  Here
lie is, penned up in a small compass, surrounded by his
enemies; and now the elders of Israel long to cat up,
as it were, him and his little band.  What  are they?
They are a set of cursed fools. Do you not rather pity
them?  They dare not move over a certain boundary,
on any of the four points of the compass, for fear of
being killed; then they are killing one another, and
making war upon this people that could use them up,
and they not be a breakfast spell for them if they felt
so disposed.  See their condition, and I ask you, do you
not pity them? From all appearance, there will not be
an Indian left, in a short time, to steal a horse. Are
they not fools, under these circumstances, to make war
with their best friends?
Do you want to run after them to kill them? I say,
let them alone, for peradventure God may pour out His
Spirit upon them, and show them the error of their ways.
We may yet have to fight them, though they are of the
house of Israel to whom the message of salvation is
sent; for their wickedness is so great, that the Lord Almighty cannot get at the hearts of the older ones to
teach them saving principles. Joseph Smith said we
should have to fight them.  lie said, "When this peol)lt
mingle among the Lamanites, if they do not bow down
in obedience to the Gospel, they will hunt them until
there is but a small remnant of them left upon this coiitinent." They have either got to bow down to the Gos
57 
MORMONIS M.
pel or be slain. Shall we slay them simply because
they will not obey the Gospel?  No.   But  they will
come to us and try to kill us, and we shall be under the
necessity of killing them to save our own lives.
I wished to lay these things before the people this
morning, to answer a great many questions, and allay
their fears. Yesterday, brother Kimball heard at his
mill, ten miles north, that I had sent word to him, that
the mountains were full of Indians, and he and the
families with him were to move into the city; so they
immediately obeyed this report. Brother Kimball camne
to me and inquired if I had sent such orders. I said,
no. But it is all right, for I wanted the women and
children from there. This shows the excited state of
the people.
One thing more. I ask you men who have been
with Joseph in the wars he passed through, and who
were with him at the time of his death, what was it that
preserved us, to all outward appearances?  It is true,
in reality, God did it. But by what means did He keep
the mob from destroying us?  It was by means of being
well arned with the weapons of death to send  them  to
hell cross lots: Just so you have got to do.
And for this people fostering to themselves that the
day has come for them to sell their guns and ammutnition to their enemies, and sit down to sleep in peace,
they will find themselves deceived, and before they
know, they will sleep until they are slain.  They have
got to carry weapons with them, to be ready to send their
enemies to hell cross lots, whether they be Lamanites,
or mobs who may come to take their lives, or destroy
their property. We must be so prepared that they dare
not come to us in a hostile manner without being assured
58
10, 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES AND TREACHERY.
they will meet a vigorous resistance, and ten to one they
will meet their grave.
The Lord will suffer no more trouble to come upon ui
than is necessary to bring this people to their sense.
Yout need not go to sleep under the impression that it i:
the north and south only that is in danger, and we aire
all safe here.   Now mind, let this people here lie (lowli
to sleep, and be entirely off their watch, anrid the fir'st
thing they know, they are in the greatest daiicer.  You
must not desert the watch tower, but do as I do-keep
some person awake in your house all night long, and be
ready, at the least tap of the foot, to offer a stout resistance, if it is required.  Be ready at any moment to kill
twenty of your enemies at least. Let every house be
a fort.
After the cattle were stolen at San Pete, a TineJsenger
arrived here il about thirty hours to report the affair,
and obtain advice.  I told brother Wells, "you can
write to them, and say,' Iniasmilch as you have no cows
and oxen to troulble you, you can go to harvesting, and
take care of yourselves.'"  If you do not take care of
yourselves, brethren, you will not be taken care of. I
take care of them that help themselves. I will help
you that try to help yourselves, and carry out the maxim
of Doctor Dick-" God helps them that help themselves."
I am my own policeman, and have slept, scores of
nights, with my gunl and sword by my side, that is, if I
slept at all.  I am still a policeman.  Now is the day to
watch. It is as important for me to watchl now, as well
as pray, as it ever has been since I came into this kingdom. It requires watching, as well as praying men;
take turns at it, let some watch while others pray, and
59
Is 
MORMONTrSM.
then change round, but never let any time pass without
a watcher, lest you be overtaken in an hour when you
think not; it will come as a thief in the night. Look
)ut for your enemies, for we know not how they will
come, and what enemy it will be.   Take care of
yourselves.
Again, let me reiterate to the sisters, do not be afraid
of going into the harvest field. If you are found there
helping your, sons, your husbands and your brethren, to
gather in the harvest, I say, God bless you, and I will
also.
Take care of your grain, and take care of yourselves,
that no enemy come to slay you. Be always on hand
to meet them with death, and send them to hell, if they
come to you.  May God bless you all.  Amen.
60
11 1) 
USE AND  ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT B. YOUNG, IN THE
TABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE CITY.
I FEEL disposed to say a few words on the present
occasion.  It is said, that "at the sight of the eyes the
heart is made to rejoice."  This is truly the case with
me this afternoon, when I look upon the congregation
to see this spacious hall filled with the Saints of the Most
Hiigh, for the purpose of partaking of the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper. It is a sight which I have not had
the privilege of seeing before, only on Conference days.
This morning I looked round to see how the house was
crowded, which was packed to that extent, that scores
could not be seated. I looked if peradventure I could
designate any person that did not belong to the Church,
that did not profess to be a Saint; but I could not see
a single person of that description, that I knew of. I
thought, why not be as diligent to attend the afternoon
meetings, to partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper, as to attend the morning meetings?  Hitherto
it has not been the case, but my heart rejoices to see the
house so well filled this afternoon. I feel in my heart
to bless you: it is full of blessings and not cursings. It
is something that does not occupy my feelings to curse
any individual, but I will modify this by saying those
61
is  
1MORMONISM.
who ought not to be cursed.  Who ought to be?  Those
celio know their master's will, and do it not; they are
worthy of many stripes; it is not those who do not know,
and do not do, but those who know it, and do not do itthey are the ones to be chstised.
While the brethren have been speaking upon the
blessings the Lord bestows upon this people,' my mind
has reflected upon many of the circumstances of life, and
upon certain principles. I will ask you a question-Do you think persons can be blessed too much?  I will
answer it myself. Yes, they can, they can be blessed to
their injury. For instance, suppose a pei'son should be
blessed with the knowledge of the holy Gospel, whose
heart is set in him to do evil. We esteem this as a
blessing, and would not the Lord consider it a blessing
to bestow His favors and mercies upon any individual,
by giving him a knowledge of life and salvation?  But
suppose Hie bestowed it upon persons whose hearts were
set in them to do evil, who would by their wickedness
turn these blessings into curses, they would be blessed
too much. It is possible to bless people to death, you
can bless them to everlasting misery by heaping too
many blessings upon them.  Perhaps this is what is
meant by the saying-It is like heaping coals of fire
upon their heads; it will injure them, consume them,
burn them, destroy them. Suffice it to say, that people
can be blessed too much. Can you bless a wise man too
much? a man who knows what to do with his blessings
when they are bestowed upou him?  No, vou cannot.
Can you bless a wise people too much? No, it is iimpossible, when they know how to improve upon all
blessings that are bestowed upon them. But the Lord
does and will bless the inhabitants of the earth with
62 
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
such great and inestimable blessings, in the proclamation
of the Gospel, that they will be damned who reject
them, for light brings condemnation to men who love
darkness rather than light.
Have this people been blessed too much?  I will not
positively say, but I think they have, inasmuch as their
blessings in some instances have been to their injury.
Why'? Because they have not known what to do with
their blessings.
While the brethren were speaking of the liberal hand
of Providence in bestowing abundantly the products of
the earth, it occurred to me, that this people, to my
certain knowledge, had felt that they had too much, and
they esteemed it as good for nothing. It is true what
brother Jedediah Grant said with regard to wheat, and
other grains, for I have seen it myself. I have seen
hundreds, and thousands, and scores of thousands of
bushels of grain lying to waste and rot, when it has not
brought a great price.   Many of this people have
thought, and expressed themselves in language like this
-" I can go to California, and get so much gold, or I
can trade and make so much gold, I cannot therefore
spend time to take care of wheat, nor to raise it; let it
lie there and rot while I go and accumulate riches,"
They were then wealthy, for their granaries and barns
were full of the blessings of the Lord, but now they are
empty, because they did not know what to do with their
blessings.
I can tell this people how to dispose of all their blessings, if they will only allow me time enough; and if I
cannot tell them how, I can show them.  For instance,
you who have fields of wheat, beyond the limits of grasshoppers. will have considerable crops when it is harvest
63 
MORMONISM.
ed and perhaps so much that you will not know what to
with it. I know what you ought to do with it; you
ought to say to your poor brethren-"' Come and help
take care of my grain, and share with me, and fecd
yourselves and your families." If you have so much
that you cannot take care of it, and your neighbor is
not without bread, tell Bishop Hunter that you have got
so many hundred bushels to lay over in the store, and
you will have the benefit of it on your tithing. That is
what I recommend you to do with your blessings, when
you have more than you can take care of yourselves.  I
say, hand it over and let your neighbors take care of it
for you.
This makes me think of what 1 saw the first year I
came into this valley, the same year I moved my family,
which was the next season after the pioneers arrived
here. It was late in the season when I arrived, but from
the ground where this house now stands, there had been
two crops of wheat. They had harvested the first crop
very early, and the water being flooded over, it again
started from the roots, and produced a fair crop, say
from ten to twelve bushels to the acre. That was harvested, and it was coming up again. I said to the
brethren, "' Let these my brethren who have come with
me gather up this wheat, " but they would not suffer
them to do it. Some of the brethren had gathered their
crops of grain, and left a great deal wasting on the fields,
I said, "Let the poor brethren, who have come in from
abroad, glean in your fields." You can bear me witness that a great many widows and poor men came here,
and brought but very little with them, and there never
was a man, to my knowledge, ever expressed a desire to
let them glean in his field. " All right, " I said, " we
64 
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
can live on greens," while at the same time there was
more wasted that season than to make up the deficiency,
that all might have been comfortable. Late in the faill
I saw one man working among his corn; he had a large
crop, more than a single man could take care of.  I saw
he was going to let it go to waste; I said to him, "Brothller, let the brethren and sisters help you to husk your
corn, to gather it and put it safely away, for so muchl it
will benefit them and help you.   "0," he replied,
"I have nothing to spare, I can take care of it myself."
I saw it wasting, and said to him, " Brother, get your
corn husked immediately, and let the brethren do it,
and pay them with a portion of it."  ie replied, "I
cannot spare a bit of it." I have no question of it at
all in my mind, but three-fourths of his corn went into
the mud, and was trampled down by the cattle; and
women and children went without bread in consequence
of it.  That man had no judgment, he knew not what
to do with his blessings the Lord had bestowed upon
hiim.
Were I to ask the question, how much wheat or anything else a man must have to justify him in letting it
go to waste, it would be hard to answer; figures are
inadequate to give the amount. Never let anytAting go
to waste. Be prudent, save everything, and what you
get more than you can take care of yourselves, ask your
neighlbors to help you.  There are scores and hundreds
of mnen in this house, if the question were asked themn
if thley considered their grain a burthen and a drudge to
them, when they had plenty last year and the year
before, that would answer in the affirmative, and were
ready to part with it for next to nothing. How do they
feel now, when their granaries are empty? If they had
65
lh 
MORMONISM.
a few thousand bushels to spare now, would'they i,o'
consider it a blessing?  They would.  Why?   Because
it would bring the gold and silver. But pause for a mnoment, and suppose you had millions of bushels to sell,
and could sell it for twenty dollars per bushel, or for l
million of dollars per bushel, no matter what amount,
so that you sell all your wheat, and transport it out of
the country, and you are left with nothing more than a
pile of gold, what good would it do you?  You could
not eat it, drink it, wear it, or carry it off where you
could have something to eat. The time will come that
gold will hold no comparison in value to a bushel of
wheat. Gold is not to be compared with it in value.
Why would it be precious to you now? Simply because
you could get gold for it?  Gold is good for nothiug,
only as men value it. It is no better than a piece of
iron, a piece of limestone, or a piece of sandstone, and
it is not half so good as the soil from which we raise our
wheat, and other necessaries of life. The children of
meii love it, they lust after it, are greedy for it, and are
ready to destroy themselves and those around them,
over whom they have any influence, to gain it.
When this people are blessed so much that they consider their blessings a burden and a drudge to them, you
iiay always calculate on a cricket war, a grasshopper
war, a drought, too much rain, or something else to
make the scales preponderate the other way. This peoI)le have been blessed too much, so that they have not
l, iown what to do with their blessings.
AVlat do we hear from the inhabitants of the different
trlements? The cry is-" I do not wish to live out
,Iler, for there is no chance to speculate and trade
'i  the emigrants."  Have you plenty to eat?  Have
66 
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
you plenty of wheat, fowls, butter, cheese, and calves?
Are you not raising stock in abundance for flesh meat
of different kinds?  What use is gold if you get enough
to eat, drink, and wear without it?  What is the matter?
"Why, we are away off, and cannot get rich all at
once." You are lusting after that which you do not
know what to do with, for few men know what to do
with riches when they possess them. The inhabitants
of this valley have proved it.  They have proved it.
by their reckless waste of the products of the earth, by
their undervaluing the blessings conferred upon them
by the emigration, which has administered clothing and
other necessaries to them. We can see men who can
clothe themselves and their families easily, go into the
canons in their broad cloth pantaloons to get wood, or
you may see them take a horse, and ride bare-backed
until they tare them to pieces, that they are not fit to
come to meeting in. They do not know how to take
care of good clothing. Again, if we were digging in a
water-ditch to-morrow, that required all hands, in consequence of the rising of the water, I have no doubt
but you would see what I saw the other day-one of our
young dandies, who was perhaps not worth the shirt on
his back, came to work in a water-ditch, dressed in his
fine broad-cloth pantaloons, and a fine bosomed shirt, and
I have no doubt he would have worn gloves too if he
had been worth a pair. You would see men of this
description, who are without understanding, whole
hearted, good fellows, and ready to do anything for the
advancement of the public good, commence to dig in
the muid and wet, in their fine clothes, and go into the
water, up to their knees, with their fine calfskin boots.
This is a wanton waste of the blessings of God, that can
67 
MORMONISM.
not be justifiable in His eyes, and in the eyes of prudent,
thinking men, under ordinary circumstances. If prudence and economy are necessary at one time more than
another, it is when a family or a nation are thrown upon
its own resourses, as we are. But you may trace the
whole lives of some men, and it will be impossible for
you to point out a single portion of time, when they
knew how to appreciate and how to use even the common comforts of life, when they had them, to say nothing
of an abundance of wealth.
Again, there have been more contention and trouble
between neighbors, in these valleys, with regard to surplus property, which was not needed by this people,
than any other thing. For instance, a widow woman
comes in here from the United States, and turns out on
the range beyond Jordan, three yoke of oxen and a few
cows, for she considers she is too poor to have them
herded. Again, a man comes in with ten yoke of oxen;
he also turns them out to wander where they please.
If                              he is asked why he does not put them in a lh e id, he
w       i       l       l tell                                you, "I do not want to pay the herding fee."
Another comes on with three or four span of horses, and
twenty or thirty yoke of cattle. hHas he any for sale?
No, but he turns them all out upon the range and they
ale gone. By and by he sends a boy on horseback to
hunt  them,  who is unsuccessful in finding them aft   er  a
w eek's                            toil. The owner turns out  himself, and all
hand s, to hunt up his stock, but they also fftil i  n finding
them, they are all lost except a very few. lie was not
-ll)e to have them herdled, he thought, though hlie post.essed                           so much property, and knew nothing mor e th an
to                              turn them out  to run at large. Thus he  consumes his
time, running after his lost property. ItIe frets his feel
III 
68 
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
ings, for his mind is continually upon it; he is in such
a hurry in the morning to go out to hunt his stock, that
he has no time to pray; when he returns home late at
night, worn out with toil and anxiety of mind, hlie is
unfit to pray; his cattle are lost, his mind is nnhinged
and darkened  through the neglect of his duty, and
apostacy stares him in the face, for hle is not satisfied
with himself, and murmurs against his brethren, and
against his God. By and by some of his cattle turn up
with a strange brand upon them; they have been taken
up, and sold to this person or that one. This brings contention and dissatisfaction between neighbor and neighbor. Such a person has too much property, more than
he knows what to do with.  It would be much better
for a man who is a mechanic, and intends to follow his
business, to give one out of two cattle which he may
possess, to some person, for taking care of the other. It
would be better for those who possess a great quintity
of stock, to sell half of them to fence in a piece of
land, to secure the other half, than to drive them all out
to run at large, and lose three-fourths of them. If there
are half-a-dozen men round me, and I can put a cow in
their way or anytliiig, else that will do tlhen any good,
for fencing up a lot for me, the proFerty I thus pay is
not out of the world, bult is turned over to those men
who had not a mouthful of meat, butter, or milk; it is
doing them good, and I am reaping the profit and benefit of their labors in exchange. If I did not do this, I
nmust either see them sufferI, or make a free distribution
of a part of what I have amnopg them.
It is impossible for me to tell you how much a man
must possess to entitle him to the liberty of wasting anything, or of letting it be stolen and run away with by
69 
MORMONISM.
the Indians. The surplus property of this community,
as poor as we are, has done more real mischief than
everything else besides.
I will propose a plan to stop the stealing of cattle in
coming time, and it is this-let those who have cattle
on hand join in a company, and fence in about fifty
thousand acres of land, make a dividend of their cattle,
and appropriate what they can spare, to fence in a large
field, and this will give employment to immigrants who
are comining in. When you have done this, then get up
another company, and so keep on fencing until all the
vacant land is substantially enclosed.
Some persons will perhaps sav-" I do not know how
good and how ligh a fence it will be necessary to build
to keep) thieves out. I do not know eithler, except ryou
build one that will keep out the devil.  Build a fence
-whichl the boys and the cattle cannot pull down, and I
will ensure you will keep your stock.  Let every mian
lay his plans so as to secure for his present necessities,
and hand over the rest to the laboring man; keep making improvements, building, and  making  farms, and
that will not only advance his own wealth, but the
wealth of the community.
A man has no right with property, which, according
to the laws of the land, legally belongs to him, if he
does not want to use it; hlie ought to possess no more
than he can put to usury, and cause to do good to him
self and his fellow-man.  When will a mall accLumulate
money enough to justify him in salting it down, or, in
other words, laying it away in the chest, to lock it up,
there to lie, doing no manner of good either to himself
or his neighbor? It is impossible for a man ever to do
it.  No man should keep money or property by him
70 
ISE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
that he cannot put to usury for the advancement of that
property in value or amount, and for the good of the
conmmnunity in which he lives; if he does, it becomes a
dead weight upon him, it will rust, canker, and gnaw
his soul, and finally work his destruction, for his heart
is set upon it. Every man who has got cattle, money,
or wealth of any description, bone and sinew, should
put it out to usury. If a man has the arm, body, head,
the component parts of a system to constitute him a
laboring man, and has nothing in the world to depend
upon but his hands, let him put themn to usury. Never
hide up anything in a napkin, but put it forth to bring
an increase. If you have got property of any kind,
that you do not know what to do with, lay it out in
making a farm, or building a saw mill or a woollen factoIryv, and go to with your mights to put all your property to usury.
If you have more oxen and other cattle than you
need, put them in the hands of other men, and receive
their tlabor in return, and put that labor where it will
increase your property in value.
I hope you will now lay your plans to set men to
work who will be in here by and by, for there will be a
host of them, and they will all want employment, who
trust to their labor for a subsistence; they will all want
something to eat, and calculate to work for it.  In the
first place keep the ground in good order to produce
you plentiful crops of grain, and vegetables, and then
take care of them.
Let me say to the sisters, those who have children,
never consider that you have bread enough around you
to suffer your children to waste a crust or a crumb of it.
If a man is worth millions of bushels of wheat and corn,
Ei iI
71 
MORMONISM.
he is not wealthy enough to suffer his servant girl to
sweep a single kernel of it into the fire; let it be eaten
by something, and pass again into the earth, and thus
fulfill the purpose for which it grew.  Some mothers
would fill a basket full of bread to make a plaything for
their children, but I have not had flour enough in the
time of my greatest abundance, to let my children waste
one morsel of bread with my consent. No, I would
rather feed the greatest enemy I have on the earth
with  it, than have it go into the fire.   Remnermber
it, do not waste anything, but take care of everything; save your grain, and make your calculations, so
that when the brethren come in fiom the United States,
fiornom England, and other places, you can give them
some potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, parsnips, watermelons, or anything else which you have, to comfort
them, and cheer uI, their hearts, and if you have wheat,
dispose of it to them, and receive their labor in return.
Raise enough and to spare of all the staple necessaries
of life, and lay your plans to hire your brethren who
will come in this fall to fence your farms, improve your
gardens, and make your city lots beautiful.  Lay your
plans to secure enough to feed yourselves, and one or
two of the brethren that are coining to dwell with us.
When we first came into the valley, the question was
asked me, if men would ever be allowed to come into
this Church, and  emain in it and hoard up their property.  I say, NO.  That is a short answer, and it is a
poiiited one. The man who lays up his gold and silver
who caches it away in a bank, or in his iron safe, or
buries it up in the earth, and comes here, and professes
to l)e a Saint, would tie up the hands of every individual in this kingdomn, and make them his servants if he
72 
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
could. It is an unrighteous, unhallowed, unholy, covetons principle; it is of the devil, and is from beneath.
Let every person who has capital, put it to usury. Is
he required to bring his purse to me, to any of the
twelve, or to any person whatever, and lay it at theirfeet?  No, not by me.  But I will tell you what to do
with your meais.  If a man comes in the mnidst of this
people with money, let him use it in making improveinents, in building, in beautifying his inheritance in
Zion, and in increasing his capital by thus putting out
his mon'ey to usury. Let him go and make a great farm,
and stock it well, and fortify it all around with a good
and efficient fence.  What for?  Why for the purpose
of spending his money. Then let himn cut it up into
fields, and adorn it with trees, and build a fine house
upon it.  What for?  Why for the purpose of spending
his monev.  What will he do when his money is gone?
The money thus spent with a wise and prudent hand, is in
a situation to accumulate and increase a hundred fold.
WI)en he has done making his farm, and his means still
increase by his diligent use of it, he can then commence
ant build a woollen factory, for instance, he can send and
buy the sheep and have them brought here, have them
herded here, and shear them here, and take care of them,
then set the boy's and girls to cleaninig, carding, spinning
and weaving the wool into cloth, and thus employ hundi-eds and thousands of the brethren and sisters who have
come from the manufacturing districts of the old coiuntry, and have not been accustomed to dig in the earth
for their livelihood, who have not learned anything else
but to work in the factory.  This would feed themn, and
clothe them, and put within their reach the comforts of
life; it would also create at home a steady market for
73 
MORMONI8M.
the produce of the agriculturist, and the labor of the
miechaniic.  When  he has spent his lhundred and fifty
tlhousand dollars, which hle began business with, and fed
five hundred persons, from five to ten.years, besides
realizing a handsome profit firom the labor of the hands
employed, by the increased population, and consequent
ilncreased demand for manutactured goods, at the end
of ten years his factory would  be  worth five hundred
thousand dollars.  Suppose hle had wrapped up his hutndred and fifty thousand in a napkin, foi fear of losing it,
it would have sent him down to perdition, for tlhe principle is from beneath.  But when lie puts tortli his mnoney
to usury, not to me or any otlier lpeison, but wheie it
will redouble itself, by making farins, building factories
for the manufacture of every kind of material necessary
for home consumption, establ)lishling b)]lacksmiths' sllops
and other mechanical establishments, making extensive
il,provements to beautify tlle whole face of tlhe earth,
until it shall become like the garden of Eden, it l)ecomes a saving blessilng to him and those around lIiim.
And when the kings, princes, aild rulers of tlle caitl
shall comne to Zion, brillnging their g()ld, and silve, (1n(l
precious stones with them, they will adinire and desire
your possessions, your fine faiins, beautiful viceyards,
and splendid mantsions.  They will say-'-"  WVe Aavw? got
plenty of money, but we are destitute of s8uc  pvossessions as  these."  Their monev loses its value in their
eyes when compared with the comnfortable possessions
of the Saints, and they will want to purchase your plo1)crty. The industrious capitalist inquires of one of
tliem-" Do  you want to purchase this property.?   I
have obtained it by my economy and judgment, and by
the labor of my bretllren, and in exchange for their
74 
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
labor I have been feeding and clothing them, until they
also have comfortable situations, and means to live. I
have this farm, which I am willing to sell to enable me
to advance my other improvements."  "Well," says the
riclhi man, " how much must I give you for it?"  " Five
hundred thousand dollars," and perhaps it has not cost
him more than one hundred thousand. He takes the
money and builds up three or four such farms, and employs hundreds of his brethren who are poor.
Mfoney is not real capital, it bears the title only. True
capital is labor, and is confined to the laboring classes.
They only possess it.  It is the bone, sinew, nerve, and
muscle of man that subdue the earth-, make it yield its
strength  and administer to his varied wants.  This
power tears down mountains and fills up valleys, builds
cities and temples, and paves the streets.  In short,
what is there that yields shelter and comfort to civilized
man, that is not produced by the strength of his arm
the making elements bend to his will?
I will not ask the question again-I-Tow  muc/& must
a man possess to 0authorize him  to waste  anything?
Three or four years ago money was of little value in
this country; you might go round exhibiting a back
load of gold, and hold out a large piece to a man, I was
going to say, almost as big as this Bible, and ask him to
work for you, but he would laugh at your offer, and tell
you he was looking for some one to work for him. He
would then hail another man who had been in Nauvoo,
and passed through the pinches there, and had scarcely
a shirt to his back, but he would reply-" I was looking
for some man to work for me." Gold could not purchase labor, it was no temptation whatever, but those
times are p)assed.  It is not now as it wse  th,n.  I coin
7 
MORMONISM.
sequently alter my counsel to the brethlren. I used to
command you to hand over your surplus property, or
that which you could not take care of, to me, and I
A ould apply it to a good purpose, but now I counsel
you to put it into the hands of men who have notting
at all, and let them pay you for it in labor.
I have never been troubled with thieves stealing my
property.  If I am not smart enough to take care of
what the Lord lends me, I am smart enough to hold my
tongue about it, until I come across the thief myself, and
then I am ready to tie a string round his neck.
I have not the least hesitation in saying that the loose
conduct, and calculations, and manner of doing business, which have characterized men who have had property in their hands, have laid the foundation to bring
our boys into the spirit of stealing.  You have caused
them to do it, you have laid before them every indcicement possible, to learn their hands, and train their minds
to take that which is not their own.  Those young Eien
who have been taken uip the past season and condemned
to ignominious punishment, may trace the cause of their
shame to that foundation.  I)strib?te your property.
The man that thinks he requires ten yoke (<f cattle, and
can only use one yoke, is laboring under a mistake, lihe
ought to let nine yoke go to the laboring community. If
every man would do this with the property which he is
not using, all would be employed and have sufficient.
This would be the most effectual means of bringing the
vile practice of stealing cattle and other property to:
termination, which, as I have already said, has been encouraged by covetous, selfish men, who have refused to
use their property for their own good, or the community'$.
16 
USE AND ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
Let us hold before our mind the miser. If the people
of this community feel as though they wanted the whole
world to themselves, hate any other person to possess
anything, and would hoard up their property, and place
it in a situation wtere it would not benefit eitlher themselves (i the commnunity, they are just as guilty as the
inan who steals my property. You may inquire"Whlat should be done with such a character?"  Why,
CUT IIIM OFF FROM THE CHuIcC.   I wo,tld di,fellowship
a man lwho had received.iberally from the Lord, and refused topitt it out to usury.  We know this is right.
I recollect well the days brother Grant was telling of,
wleu it was so hard to raise fifty dollars for brother Joselph. I also remember we had a man for trial before the
ligi,li council, a muan who had plenty of money, and refused to loan it, or use it for the advancement of lthe
cause of truth.  Ile would not put his money out to
iusury. I was going into the council when hle was niaking
his plea, and he wept and sobbed.  His name was Isaac
3icWithly, a man about fifty-three years of age.  I knew
himn when hlie lived on his farm in York State. He told
them, in his plea, what he had done for the cause, that
he had always been a Christian, and had doiie so mnuchl
for the churches, and for the priests, and been so liberal
since he had been in this church, which was between
three and four years.   Some of the brethren said"Brother MAcWithy, how much do you suppose you
]lave ever given for the support of the Gospel?"  Tlhe
tears rolled down his cheeks, and hlie said, " Brethren, I
believe I have given away in my lifetime two hundred
and fifty dollars." I spake out and said, " If I could not
preach as many months each year in this kingdom us
you have been years in this Church, and give no more
77 
MORMONISM.
than two hundred and fifty dollars, I should be aslianied
of myself."
On one occasion, brother Joseph Young and myself
had travelled more than two hours among snow, and in
a piercing cold, to preach in his neighiborhood one evening.  Having had no dinner or supper, we went home
with him, and he never asked us to eat a mouthful of
sulpper, though he did muster courage enough to go into
the cellar with a little basket, hlie camine up with the tears
almost running down his chleeks, and said with some
difficulty —" Brethren, have some apples."  I-e held out
the basket to us, and when we were about to help ourselves, his niggardly soul made him draw it back again,
for fear we should take any. I saw hlie d(id not initeld
us to have any apples, so I put my hand on the basket,
and drew it out of his hand, saying —" Coihe here."  I
took it on my knees, and invited brother Joseph to eat
soime apples.   IlIe did make out to give us so,iie breakfast in the morning, and even then hlie got up fi'om the
table before wre had time to half finish our breakfast, to
see if we would not give over eating.  Said I-" Never
mind, I shall eat what I want before I stop."
I amt happy to say, through your trustee in trust, that
the latter-day saints, in the capacity of a church and
kingdom, do not owe near as much money as they have
on hand.   A year ago last April conference, we owed
over sixty thousand dollars, but we do not now owe a
single red cent.
May God bless us, that we may always have entough,,
and know what to do with what we have, and how to
use it for the good of all, for I would not give much for
property unless I did know what to do with it.
78 
MORMONISM.
"MORMONISM."
A DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY PARLEY P. PRATT, IN THE
TABERNACLE, GREAT SALT LAKE P CITY.
I HOPE the congregation will lend us their undivided
attention, and exercise their faith and prayers for those
that speak, that the truth may be drawn out to the edification of all.
I always feel diffident to address the assemblies of the
people of God, at the seat of the government of the
Church, knowing that there are maiy that can edify
and enlighten oui minds better than I can.  I always
feel that I would sooner hear than speakl.  But nevertheless, I feel it my duty to iilnl)art my testimony, and
exercise my gift among my brethren, according to my
calling; I therefore shall address you for awhile this
rmo', Ii,lg.
There may be many strangers assembled with us at
this season of the year; many are passing through this
city from different parts of the world. The members
of the Cllhu,cl need not complain, if I should address
my self to the people as if tlhey wei'e all stra,iglers, on thle
principles that aie sometimes desig,taited " AIoRM.IoNI'.N;"
and confine myself to some of the plain, simple, ill i'ductory principles of that system.  It will refresh  the
mninds of those acquainted with  them,  and  perhaps
edify them, and at the same time edify others.
7i) 
MORMONISM.
Suppose I were to ask a question this morning, as a
stranger, "What is Mormonism?" I suppose it is known
to most men at all conversant with principles classed
under that name, that it is a nicklnamne, or a name
applied to the public, and not used officially by the
Church so called.  Mlormon was a man, a prophlet, an
author, a compiler, and a writer of a book. AlMormon
was a teacher of righteousness, holding certain doctrines.
The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints are
agreed with Mormon, as well as with many other
tncienit writers, and hold to the same p,inciples; therefore their neighbors have seen fit to call those principles
they hold(, " IMORIONISm."  They might as well  have
called them, Abrahamism,  Enochism, or saiahsm;
because the ancient prophets, patriarchs, and apostles,
held to the same truths in general terms, only differing
in circumstances, in distant countries and ages of the
world, and acted upon  the same  general principles,
accordiIng to the particular circumstances that surrounded
them.  But the world, out of all the ancients, lave
selected one  called  Jormoon, and  all the principles
held by all good inspired men of all ages and countries
they have seen fit to sum up, and call "Mormonismn."
Well, it is as well as anything else, for aught I know;
name does not affect the principles.
The word of God, as written in the good old Book,
designates the people of God by the name  of Sai,,ts
wNhich name is almost or quite  as ancient, as any
w\ritilngs extant.  Saint was spoken of by Enoch long
be+fore the flood.  The same term  was  npplied to the
people of God by the prophets, the psalmist, and by
the writers of the New Testament.
Not only was this term applied to saints in ancient
so 
MORMONISM.
days, but the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles applied
it prophetically, speaking of the people of God in the
latter days, when the kingdom should be given to the
people of God, and the principles of God  should bear
ruile over all the earth. Daniel and the other prophets,
in speaking of this subject, always call them the saints
of the Most High.  They do not call them "Mormonites," Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists,
Jews, Pagans, or Mohammedans, nor yet Catholics; but
the language of the apostles and prophets is, that the
SAINTS of the Most high shall prevail-prevail over the
world, establish a true order of government, and, in
short, rule the lower world; and that all the nations shall
bow to himn who is at their head, and to the principles
held by them.
Why not this be continued and sustained, Oh ye people of Christendom, and, letting these party names go
by the boaxd, and be classed among  the thirngs that
were in the darker ages, come to the proper and correct
Scripture language, and when we speak of the people
of God, call themi SAINTS OF TiHE MOST HIGH?
Well, then, such is the name that the Church which
I represent, do their business in. As such, they are
known on their own records, and on the records of hleaven, inasmuch as they are recognized there. But we
know what the world mean when they say "Mormonism," and "M ormon."  What are the principles called
"Mormonism?"  You may ask those who profess to be
instructors of thle people abroad in the States, and elsewhelie-and very few of them will give you one cor'rect
idea in regard to the doctrines of the latter-day sailots.
Indeed, they have not informed themselves, but remain
In ignorance on the subject; and when they would
81 
8MORMONISM.
show others, of course, they cannot inform them correctly
on that subject. But you will generally be informed,
that " Mormonism" is a new religion, that it is something new under the sun, and of course is an innovation
-a kind of trespass on Christianity, on the Bible, or on
the good old way.  " Oh," say some of the editors that
ought to be the most enlightened, and that profess to be,
" if Mormonism prevails, Christianity will come down."
Now suppose that we examine, principle by principle,
some of the fundamental principles of "Mormnonism,"
and see whether there is one item that is new, or that is
in any way an innovation on Christianity.
What is the first start towards an introduction of these
principles ill this age, and the organization of a people?
What is it that first disturbed the world, or any part of
it, or called the attention of the people towards it, giving rise to the system now called " Mormonism?"  It
was the ministration of angels to certain individuals; or
in other words, certain individuals in this age enjoyed
open visions.
Now we will stop, right at this point; it is called
"Mormonism."  Let us dwell on it.  Is that a new principle? Is it adding something to Christianity, or taking
something from it?   Do  not let our modern notions
weigh anything, but come right to the fact of the matter.  If Peter the apostle were here to-day, and a person were to relate to him a vision wherein an angel
appeared to him and said something to himn, would Peter
call together the rest of the apostles, and sit in council
on that nian's head for error?  Would they say to that
man, "Sir, you have introduced soinetlitng here in your
experience that is derogatory to Christianity, and contrary to the system of religion we have taught, and in
82 
MORMONISM.
troduced into the world?" I need not answer this
question, neither need I bring Scripture to show what
were the teachings and experience of Peter and the riest
of the apostles on this subject.   The Bible is too co,mon a book, too widely circulated in the world, and t c
people of the United States, especially, are too well r(l
in its contents to suppose, for a moment, that Peter or
the rest of the apostles would condemn a man because
he believed in the ministration of angels, because lihe related an experience wherein he had had a vision of an
angel.
Now that was the principle that disturbed this generation, in the commencement of the introduction of that
which is now called'" Mormoniism"-a principle as commnon in the ancient church as the doctrine of repentance.  I will say more-it is a principle that hlas been
common in all dispensations; it is a principle which was
had before the flood, and fully enjoyed by the ancient
saints, or at least held to by them; a principle that was
common among them; not that every man attained to
it.
But where can we read, under the government of the
patriarchs, before the flood or after it; before Moses or
after him; before Christ or after Christ-where can we
read in sacred history of a people of God by whom the
doctrine of visions and ministering of angels would be
discarded, or be considered erroneous? It was common
to all dispensations, it was enjoyed by the patriarchs and
prophets under the law of Moses, before it and after it,
and by the people of God among the ten tribes, and
among the Jews. We will carry it still fuirther. It was
enjoyed among the Gentiles, before there was a people
of God fully organized among them in the days of
83
4 - 
MORMONISM.
Christ. Cornelius had the ministering of angels before
lie became a member of the Christian Church, or understood there was a crucified and risen Redeemer.  lie
prayed to the living God, and gave alms of such tliings
al he had.   He was a good man, and an angel came to
himn and told himn his prayers were heard, and his alms
had come up as a memorial before God.
It is astonishing then, to me, that the modern Christian world consider this a new doctrine, an innovationa trespass on Christianity.  No! it is as old as the world,
and as common among the true people of God, as His
every day dealings with man. We will leave that point,
and say, it is the Christian world, and not thle latter-day
saints, that have a new doctrine, provided they discard
that principle.
What next?  Why, that man, by vision, the ministering of angels, and by revelation, should be called with
a high and holv calling —conimissioned with a holy mission to preach, and teach, and warn, and prophesy, and
call men to repentance.  That was one of the first principles introductory to what is now called "Mormonism"
in this age.
Is there anything new about that, anything strange,
anything that differs from the patriarchal ages, from
the Jewish economy, the Mosaic dispensation, or from
the dispensation called Christian?  Similar things hap1)eJIed before:loses, in his day, and after his day; and
aitiong, the prophets, and in different ages.  Were not
suchl things common in the days of Jesus Christ, and
after that in the days of the apostles?  Was  not John
the Bapl)tist thus commissioned?  Was not Jesus thus
commissioned. And were not His apostles, elders, and
seventies?   After his resurrection and ascension into
84 
MORMON'I8M.
heaven, were not others called, and ordained under the
hands of those who were thus commissioned, and called
sometimes by visions and revelations directing them to
those who were thus commissioned in order to be ordainied? That was no new doctrine, no innovation on
Christianity, no perversion of the Scriptural system, nor
was it anything new, unless you call the old principle
new.
Well, then, that the man thus commissioned should
call upon others to turn from their sins; and that an individual, a government, a house, a city, a nation, or a
world of people should perish unless they did turn from
their sins-is that anything new? No. Every one conversant with the Bible will say, that such things took
place frequently under all the different dispensations.
The heathen were warned in this way.   Individutals,
households, cities, nations, and the world have to be
warned in this way, and especially under the Christian
dispensation.  So there was a special commission given
to the servants of God, to go to all the world, and call
upon everybody to repent, or whole nations should become disfranchised, scattered, and millions be destroyed,
as for instance the Jews at Jerusalem, because they
would not hearken to it.  It is nothing new, to cry to
all men to repent, and warn different cities and nations
of wars coming upon them, or that they will be damned
if they do not repent. This is one of the early principles called "Mormonism."   Is there anything new in
this?  Is there anything strange or unscriptural?  No;
no sensible professing Christian will maintain such a
point for a moment.
Suppose that some people should hearken, when the
ministering of angels takes place.  Among many me
85 
MORkMON IS-q.
one certain man is commissioned by revelation to preach
the Gospel, and cry repentance. Suppose that some per sons should hearken and repent, and he should take thlem
and walk down to the water, and bury them in the water
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of tlhe
Iloly Ghost, and raise them again out of the water, to
represent the death and burial of Jesus Christ, and his
resurrection from the dead; and to represent the fPtith
of the individual thus ministered to, that he does believe
iii Jesus Christ, that he died, and that he did rise firom
the dead, and that he, the individual, does put his trust
and confidence in him for the remission of sills and eter nal life-is that anything new?  Would that be new to
Peter? Suppose some person was to relate before Peter
and Paul to-day, and the Christians with them, that lived
when they lived-suppose they were all present, and
this person told them that a man came along preaching
repentance, and he called upon us to believe in Jesus
Christ, and we did so, believing their testimoinyl, and
they took us and buried us in water, and raised us again
out the water unto newness of life-would Peter or John
blame him?  Would Paul say, "It is something new?"
Or would he say, " Brother, thousands of us received the
very same thing in ancient days?"
The Catholic Church profess to be the true churchthe ground and pillar of the truth, handed down  by
regular succession from the ancient church, of which
they are still members; and their priesthood and al)osties are now of the very same church whichl the Newv
Testament  calls the  true Church at Rtome.  These
Roman Catholics of modern times profess to be members
of that very samne church that Paul wrote that epistle
to. If they are, I will show you to demonstration, if the
86 
MORMONISM.
Scriptures be true, that this doctrine called " Mormonism" is not a new doctrine, Paul, writing to that church,
of whichl they profess to be members, says, Know ye
not, brethren, ye Romans, that as many of yoa as have
been baptized into Chlist have been baptized into his
death, being buried with him by baptism into death,
that like as Christ rose from the dead, even so ye may
walk in newness of life? Now this epistle containing
this doctrine was written by Paul to the Church at
Rome, and which these modern people called Roinan
Catholics profess to be members of. If they are what
they profess to be, every one of them have been buried
with Christ in baptism. and have risen again to newness
of life. WVe will, however, leave them to describe
whether that is really the case, or' whether they are con tented to sprinkle a few drops of water on an infant's
face and call that a burial! Paul said that was a prin ciple of the true Church of Rome that had been buried
with Christ by b)aptismn into death, and had risen to new ness of life. Ilave these modern Roinan Catholics gone
forward repenting of their sins, and been buried in
water, in the likeness of Jesus Christ according to this
pattern? If they have not, they are a spurious Church
of Rome, and not real. Therefore, if they be the real
Church of Rome, it will be no new thing to them when
the latter-day saints inform them upon being buried
with Christ in the likeness of his death, etc. If this is
a new doctrine to them, they had better be looking
about them to see if they have not got up a counterfeit
Churc(h of PRome, for Paul knew of only one, and the
members of it were all buried with Clrist in baptism.
If 500 persons here were to say they came repenting
of their sins, and went down and were buried in the
S7 
MORMONISM.
waters of baptism, and had risen agtain to walk in new ness of lifb, Paul would say, if he were here, " It is just
what we used to do in ancient times; and I wrote to the
Clurchi of Rome, telling them  that as many as were
baiptized into Christ were baptized into his death, buried
with him by baptism into death," etc.
Now if this doctrine is new to the Church of Rome,
then that is that church, that priesthood, and those
members that have introduced something new, wvho are
departing from the old Christian religion, and not the
" Mormons."
This reasoning applies just the same to the Church of
England. They have just as good a right to have a
Clhurch in England as anywhere else-to have a national
Church of England by law established, but if they are
a true Church of God, all of them have been buried
with Christ in baptism, etc., or the apostle must have
been mistaken, or there are two different kinds of Gospel.
Now if I were speaking to the state Church of Eng land, or the state churches of the Catholic world, I
would tell them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
to repent of their new doctrine, and come back to the
old standard spoken of by the Apostle, when he says,
"though we or an angel from heaven preach any other
Gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed," etc.
I need not go through with this same application
upon the Lutherans, upon the Presbyterians, upon the
Methodists, and others, for all these people sprinkle
infants; for the principle once carried out will apply to
the whole. If they are Christians according to the doctrine of the ancient church, they hold the doctrine of
88 
MORMONISM.
the apostles, they have repented of their sins, after
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and have been
BURII,D with Christ by baptism  into death, etc  If
not, they may judge themselves, for I will not judge
t iem.  If they have got a new doctrine, different friom
that believed by the apostles, and the latter-day saints
have got the old one, why not say, then, "If sectarianismn prevails, Christianity, as held by the Mormons will
be in danger," instead of saying the opposite? Why
not turn the thing right about?  If we have no one new
principle in our religion, why are we considered innovators, and opposed to Christianity? And why is Christianity in the world in danger if" Mormonism" prevails?
It is because that floating Christianity, called so by the
world, is a spurious one; they have departed from  the
doctrine of thl)e apostles. Then, I ask again, why say,
"If AMormoniisin prevails, Christianity is in danger?" for
if it is a false Chiistianity, the quicker it falls the better.
We have examined three general principles, to see if
there is anytlhing new in "Mormonism."   First, the
mninistering of angels. Second, the commission of ininisters, apostles, prophets, and elders to administer in
holy things, by revelation and the authority of heaven.
Third, that all those that hear them, believe their words,
and repent of their sins, shall go down into the waters
of baptism, and be immersed or buried in the nanie of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and
tliis shlow that they do believe in a crucified an(l risen
Redeemer,  and in the remission of sins through His
naRIe.  So far, I think, we have fairly stated somne of
the first principles of what the world calls " Morlnonism;" and every one who has heard us, must decide that
there is nothing new in these principles, but rather, that
89 
XOtaMONISM.
those who have departed from them, are justly charge able withl introducing new things, and innovations on
Christianity.
Nowv suppose that one, two, or a dozen, or a hundred
thousand, or even millions of individuals thus baptized,
should all come together, in their several congregations,
and should unite in earnest piayer, and a man commis sioned in the ministry of Jesus Christ should rise and
lay his hands on them, praying the Almighty God to
give the Iloly Spirit, and it be given as in days of
old, and he confirms that promise upon them according
to the pattern in the New Testamiient-would that be
something new?  Would it be an  innovation  upon
Christianity?  Would it be right to say "this is Mor monisiri, come to do away with Christianity."  Why,
no!  Every sensible man at all acquainted with the
Violy Scriptures, would  laugh  at the  idea.  If the
ancient saints were here, they would tell you it was
their ancient manner; they would ask you if you had
not read over their history, which describes how the
l[I,ly Spirit was administered in days of old. Every
mana  who has read the Bible, knows it.
Well, then, the different sections of what is called
Christianity, never do this, and call it something new.
When the i' Mormons " do it, they are at once charged
with innovation; and yet we have not got anything
new in that respect, but simply a restoration of that
wlCicli was.  They are the persons chargeable with new
doct'ine, and not the latter-day saints.
Well, then, suppose that after this ordinance, the IIoly
Spirit falls upon these congregations, or upon these individuals thus baptized and confirmed, and fills them,
and enlightens their minds, and bears testimony to them
90 
MORMONISM.
of the truth which they have received, and confirms
them in the faith of it, and fills them with the spirit of
utterance and prayer, and with gifts whereby they prophl(sy, or speak in tongues, lay hands on the sick and
tliey recover, in fhe name of Jesus, or awhereby tle. are
filled with the spirit of any gift, renewed in tlieiir utteranee, strengthened in their powers of intellect, so as to be
able to speak with eloquence to the edification of others by
the'word of wisdom, knowledge and prophecy; or peradventure some one, two, or three of them have a )heavenly
vision, and happen to relate it-is this something new?
Are these things an innovation on Christianity?
Let the apostles of the ancient church come up now,
and be judges, not these innovators.  Oh yes, saints of
ancient days, are these thiings new to you?  "' No,
they reply, " but just exactly what we used to have
among us; and you who have read the New Testament
know it is so. "  If this, then, is Mtormonism, it is nothing new, but simply that which should have been in
the world in order to constitute true Christianity.
Now suppose, after all these have been established,
the people organize on them; and that in the enjoyment
and cultivation of them, this people unite their efforts,
both temporally and spiritually, to build up themselves
as a people, and each other as individuals, in righteousness upon the earth; and the Spirit of the Lord God
into which they were all baptized, should make them
vely great in union-in union of effect, in counsel, in
operation, in fellowship, in temiporal things in a great
measure, and in spiritual things, by which they are all
of one heart and mind to a great degree, and growing
in it every day-is this something new, because it is
"' Mormonism?"  Or is this the very doctrine which
91 
MORMONIBM.
was inculcated in days of old by the apostles of Jesus
Christ?
It was the main object for which'the Holy Spirit was
given, that they might all grow up in union, in fellow  sltip, in co-operation, in holiness in the Lord.  No Iain
v-1-o has read the New Testament, will say this is aEW,
when we say that the great object of the Gospel is, that
we may all become one in Christ Jesus-one in know ledge, and in the love and practice of the peaceable
things of God.  Is it anything new?  No.  Well, it is
a part of what the world calls "MORIONISM;" and I
would to God it was more perfected among this people
than it is.
If any one of these principles in practice, should pre vail over the whole world, it would be notlhing new;
but the world only hold this last as a theory; as to the
practice of it, they are strangers.
We  have examined five or six general principles,
called "M Aormonism," and found nothing new in tlhem.
"B ut," says one, "I heard you had got a new Bible;
that is certainly an innovation." But stop; suppose, on
inquiry, you become as much surprised and disappointed
as many have who have asked for a "M Mormnon Bible,"
ard when we have presented themn with one, behold it
is King, James' translation of the Scriptures, the standard we read, containing the covenants, predictions, and
lhopes of the ancients, and the doctrines of Jesus Christ,
just as we believe them, and hope for their fulfillment.
Is that anything new?
'Well, if you have not a new  Bible, you have
cturtainly got a new book." Is that any thing strange?
Hlave not other societies got new books?  The Church
of England have not only the Scriptures, but the book
J1,I)
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MORMONISM.
of Conimnon Prayer, and the time was when they did
not have such a book, therefore when they made that, it
was something new.  They are not alone in that, however, for the Methodists have a new book called the
"MAlethodist's Discipline."  One hundred  and twenty
years ago there was no such thing in existence.  If
having a new book be an innovation, then all are guilty
of it as wvell as the "Mormons."
"But those other people do not profess that their
books are inspired, and we have learned that you have
a book that you believe is inspired. What is it, any
how? "  Thlis is all a fact, and if it is wronig we will
cheerfully plead guilty.  We  have got another book
besides the Bible, that was an ancient book, and profess
that it was inspired, and was written by prophets, and
men that enjoyed the ministering of angels, more or less
of them, and had communion with the heavens, and the
spirit of prophecy. And Inoreover, we profess that this
ancient book was restored to the knowledge of the
modern world by inspiration, and the ministering of
angels.  Is that something new?  It may be new to the
world in its history, and in its bearings; in that respect
it may be new to them; but suppose, after all, it should
contain no new doctrine, no new principle, no new prophlecy, that is differing from or doing away that which
is already extant in the Bible? Well, then, I do not
say that it would be a new doctrine. Men had books
revealed in the days of old.
"If it is no new doctrine, and if its predictions do not
differ from those contained in the old and new Testaments,
what is the use of it? " The same question was investigated in ancient times. A great conqueror had taken
possession of an ancient library, when there were no
93
l 
MORMONISM.
printing presses, containing one hundred thousand
volumes, all in manuscript, comprising mnore history
than was in any library extant in the ancient world.
The conqueror was a Mahalominedan.   lie wrote to the
head of' thie department to know what hlie would do with
this library. It was invaluable in its cost and intrinsic
worth.  " What shall I do with it? "  The reply was,
" If it agrees withl the Koran, we have no10 use for it; and
if it does not agree with the Koran, it is false anyhow;
so in either case burn it."
":Now if these latter-day saints have  a book extant
among themn, and it agrees with the Bible, there is no kind
of use for it," says the opposer, " for the Bible contains all
that is necessary; if it does not agr ee with the Bible, it is
false anyhow; so in either case burn it."  This was a
principle of Mahommedanism, and niay be a principle of
what is called modern Christianity. I hope not, however.
', What is the use of the book in question, ainylow? "
Why, in the first place, it differs in its history firom the
Bible. The Bible is a history of things that took place
ill Asia principally, and a little of what took place in
Europe and Africa.  The book of Mormon is a history
of things in another hemisphere.  The one book is the
ancient history of the eastern hemisphere, in part; and
the other is a history of the western hemisphere, in
part.  Shall we say, because we have the history of one
part of the world, that the history of the other part of
the world is good for nothing?  Could the rulers of nations realize that fact, and could they only have a copy
in their libraries at the cost of $10()0,00, tlhey would
appropriate it for this history of the western hemisphere.
Discredit it as you will, we have it in genuineness
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MORMONISM.
and in truth, written by the ancient prophets that lived
upon this land, and revealed in modern times by the
ministering of angels, and inspiration fromn the Almighlty.
It is in the world, and the world cannot get it out of the
swoild.  It is in the world in six or seven languages of
IEurope.  It is as important in its history as tihe Bible,
and it is just as interesting and as necessary for men to
get an understanding of thie ancient history of America,
as it is for them to get an understanding of the history
of Asia.
"But are the merits of history all that it is good for?"
It is good in doctrine also.  If two or more writers, one
living in Asia, and the other in America, and cotempor-ary, have the same doctrine revealed to them, and
both bear record of the same plan of salvation, who
is he that shall say that the record of one is of no
worth?
Is it not a satisfaction to sit down and read that a
count,'y far removed from Bible scenes, from that part
of the stage on which figured the patriarchs of old,
Aditli Moses and the Jewish prophets, John the Baptist,
,Tesus Christ, and the apostles, was also the tlheatre of
irevelation, prol-)hecy, visions, angels, of the ministration
of the doctrine of Chlrist, of tlhe orlganization and government of his true church? that there too were angels,
that there too were  apostles, that there too was the
word of God, that there too faith came by hearitig, atd
salvation by faith?  Shall we say that such thiigs and
such good news are worth nothing, when that very news
corroborates the song of the heavenly hosts, when they
declared to the shepherds of Judea, in joyful songs, that
they brought glad tidings of great joy, that should be
to all people! And here comes a book informing us
95
I 
MORMONISM.
that these glad tidings were also to another hemisphere
at the same time.
Now, stop a moment, and let us reason.  Suppose
yourself an angel of God at that time, full of benevolence, full of joy, full of a soul-inspiring hope, full of
chlarity for poor, ignorant, perishing mortals, and you
felt so full of poetry, and song, and gladness, that you
could scarcely hold your peace.   Suppose you had a
bird's eye view of our little, dark, benighted world, by
soaring above it, and in a moment you could light
down upon any part of it.  You come to Palestine, in
Asia; that part of the globe is rolling under your feet;
you visit it, and sing to the shepherds the glorious
tidings of great joy, whtich shall be to all people: "for
unto youl is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour
which is Christ the Lord."  The earth rolls on about
half way round, you look down again with a bird's eye
view, and you discover the western hemisphere, and it
is full of people; I wonder whether your soul would
still swell with the same glad tidings-or would your
charity have become exhausted?   Would  you not fly
and declare these glad tidings to them also, and sing
theri a song of joy, and tell them what day the Saviour
was born, that would reach their case as well as the
case of those who dwelt upon the continent of Asia?
"Yes," you reply, "if I were an angel, and had liberty
to tell these glad tidings, I would never tell them to one
part of the earth and go to sleep there, while the other
part rolled under my feet unnoticed."
Were those angels commissioned and endowed to bear
glad tidings to ALL PEOPIE, that the Saviour was born?
I say that the choir of angels which sang that song, had
full liberty, not only to tell the plan of salvation to
96 
MORMONISM.
chosen vessels of the Lord in one country, but also to
another country-not only that the Saviour was borr., in
general terms, but the place where, and the time when,
he was boi'n.  These were the tidings, " Go to all peo ple." An aingel must be a limited being, or be very
ignorant in geographical knowledge, or partake largely
of sectarian feelings of heart, to bear such tidings to one
half of the globe, and not to the other.
I knew an infidel once, that did not believe in the
Christian religion, nor in the New Testament, nor in the
Saviour of the world. I asked him why he did not belies e this.  " Because," says lie, " according to the New
Testament the manifestation of such an important affair
was so limited.  IHerie was halt' of the world, according
to the New Testament, that never heard of it. A Ines.sa.ge so ilaportant should have been made more public.'
; Well," said I, "if I will produce you a record, and
a histo,ry, as well authenticated as the New Testament,
shlowing that angels, the risen Saviour, holy inspired
propllets and apostles, ministered in the western hemisphlere, and preached the gospel to every creature, and
handed it down, to ages, will you then believe "
"Yes," he answered, "I will."  I presented him the
Book of Mormon, which he perused.   I inquired if he
now believed.  "Yes." he said, "I do;" and he has
lived a Christian until now, for ought I know. I have
seen him in this congregation, and he may be here today. His name is Alger.
What objection have you to the hope of eternal life
being as widely developed as the ravages of death, sorrow, and mourning,? What objection have you to the
angels of God, apostles of God, the Son of God, or to
the Holy Spirit of prophecy being poured out in more
97 
MORMONISM.
countries than one?  You may say the keys of the Gospel were given to the Jewish apostles, but they were
so far off as not to be able to reach the western  heinispheie, even if they had had a knowledge of it.  Were
there ships and steam vessels to bear them to this country?  No.  Was there any communication kept up, or
was this country known to them?  No.  But the waves,
and winds, and elements, and the great depths that inter'vened, even the unexplored ocean, said to the ancient
apostles, "Thus far shall ye go, and no further."  This
ocean, however, was no barrier to the fieet-footed angel of
God, to the risen Jesus, and to immortal man.   They
could come to this hemisphere, and reveal the things of
heaven to the people, and could rejoice in the same
gl,d tidings, whetlier it was here or in Jerusalem, or
if it were in the uttermost parts of the earth.
Thoug,h Peter was crucified at R-ome, and Paul suffered in the same manner; thouglh saints )f the Most
high were sliaughtered by thousands and tens of thousani(ls, and bled at the feet of Roman altars; yet a crucified and risen Redeei-er,, angels of God, and the Ioly
Spirit of truth that fills all things, were not thus cnrtailed and limited, but could minister truth to the uttermost bounds of the universe of God, where iiitelligences
werie mourningio in darkness; wherever the ravages of
deatlh liad spread sorrow, whe'ever there was a broken
heart to be bound up, or wvlerever there was a despairili(r mortal to be inspired with hope, they coul(l go and
tell the glad tidings of life and salvation.  The Book ot
,[or'non says tliey did come to this continent.  It is a
' tooy  ()f their c(-.ming, and contains the  doctrine
i.,glit to the people hei'e by the risen Jesus, and by his
l)iedecessors.  In short, the doctrine taught and prac
98 
MORMONISM.
tised in ancient America is there,portrayed, together
with the history of the people.
Again, is this book of no interest with regard to the
l)rol)hetic value?  It reveals many things not noticed
by the Jewish prophets.  Did the old p,ophets touch
upon every item that pertains to man in other countries?
No, they did not, only in general terms together with
the rest of the world. These other prophets portrayed
many th-ings not inI their book, thloughl agreeing with it
as far as it goes, but touching events on which their
book is silent.
Hias any person any cause to say that there has not
beeii a multip]licity of revelations, testimony, prophecy,
history and doctrine, developed in various countries by
the same Spirit of God, and by angels?  And is not all
this of great worth, to compare, in order to blend it together, that we may see more clearly the principles of
the doctrines of salvation, and understand prophecy
more extensively, especially in an age when the mind
has been obscured by priestcraft.
If these are the principles of "Mormonism," where
can you point out an innovation on Christianity?  But is
this all?  No, this is not all, and I shall not tell it all today.  I do not know it all yet.   I have been twentytltree years learning "Mormonism," and I know but
little of it. If any one expects to learn all the doctrines
of " Mormonism," he must learn more than twenty-three
vears. For be it known unto you all, that " Mormonism," instead of being confined to a few dogmas or general tiruths, opens the flood-gates of all truth and knowled,e, and teaches mankind to retain all the truth they
can already comprehend, and comprehend as much more
as they can all the time.
99 
MORMONISM.
" Have you not other books?"  Yes, we have histories and compilations of the dealings of God with us as
a people. We keep a record, if you must know, not
only iiidividually some of us, but as a church, as a body,
or community. We have revelation penned, revelatioins
and visions penned, we have revelation and prophecy
penned, we have knowledge penned, we have knowledge
and principle penned, we have principle and history
penned; the history comprising but a small portion, such
as can be written, revealed to us latter-day saints, and
practised upon; so that our modern books are like the
ancient books-a mixture of revelation, prophecy, history, and doctrine.  Has any person any objections to
this?  I ask, should an angel administer to this or that
man, or suppose an open vision was manifested to him,
revealing many precious truths, would he not be a simpleton not to write it? If the power of God, and the
ministering of God, and the visions of the Almighty are
extant in the world, these will be written.  The practical part of history will be written, for if all were written, the world would not contain the books. The ancient apostles and prophets wrote a few of the items revealed to them, and a history of the practical workings
of the svstem over which they presided.   Do we differ
from them?  No.
" Well," says one, " to be plain with you, Mr. Speaker,
we have been taught to believe that the one book, called
the Bible, contains all the revelations that God ever revealed to man, therefore it is an innovation to offer anything else to the world as a revelation."  This is a tradition of your own, so I have nothing to do with it. The
Bible never taught that to you, nor angels, neither did
any minister of God ever teach it to you; and if it is a
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MORMONISM.
modern sectarian tradition, it is calculated to bind men
into a cast iron creed, and the sooner you break the fetters the better; burst theIn asunder, and comie out into
liberty and freedom, and know and understand that
there is no such doctrine in the broad principles of eternial truth, that heaven is full of knowledge, and the earth
ought to be full of prophets, heaven and earth full of
angels, and both full of inspiration; and if the inhabitants of all the worlds of the universe were scribes,
every blade of grass a pen, and every ocean ink, they
could not write all the doings of the Almighty, of HIis
servants, and of His angels.   If I were to live for millions of years to come, and then millions of millions
more, I expect there would always be some being ready
to reveal something new, and somebody would write it.
The art of writing will never cease. We may not have
pens and ink, but we may have something better.  Suffice it to say, that the arts and sciences will not come to
an end, yet man may have been traditionated to believe
that one small book contains all that God ever said or
did. Such persons are to be pitied, and not to be reasoned with.
What is'"Mormonism?"  It is a restoration by new
revelation, by the authorities of heaven, by the ministration of angels, by the ordination of prophets and
apostles, and ministers or elders, by their testimony
and ministry on the earth, by the organization of saints,
by the administration of ordinances, by the operations
of the Holy Spirit; it is a restoration of these ancient
principles revealed from heaven, for the government of
Ilan.
Says one, " You have said you are not going to tell
the whole system to-day."  I do not know it all, and I
ill)l 
MORMONISM.
shall not state the half I do know.   What I have said
are a few every day items, a few of the first principles
of the Gospel of Christ, as believed and practised by the
- IO1'riIons."  
I will tell one more before I close. " Your marriages," says the objector, "are founded upon principles
entirely new, and different from the Christian world."
I say, without any hesitancy, I defy the world to establish that assertion.   I say our marriage relations  are
nothing new at all. There is no man, or set of men, or
nation of men, where the Bible is extant, and they are
readers, but what know that the institutions of mnarriage
contained in the Bible, and the organization of falnilies,
differ widely from modern Christianity.  We differ from
modern Christianity, but not from the Bible. Patiiarchs of the remotest ages, that obeyed the Lord God in
regard to their marriages and family organizations, have
not disagreed with us, nor we withl them, so far as we
and they have obeyed the law of God.  If there is any
difference at all, it was more developed among thiem
than it is among us, we being in our infancy.  If it
should happen to be, that the whole modern world differ fi'oi the Bible-l-have done away with the law of
God, and we have come in contact with them, instead
of with the word of God, then the boot is on the other
foot, and in reality what is said to us applies to them.
It is like the farmer and the lawyer. A certain farmer
came to a neighboring, lawyer, and firankly confessed
that his bull had had the misfortune to kill oile of hlis
(the lawyer's) oxen.   The lawyer replied, "Thlou art a
very honest fellow, and will not think it wrong that I
have one of thy oxen in return."   "But," said the farmer, "I am mistaken, it was thy bull that killed my
102 
MORMONISM.
ox." "IO," replied the lawyer, "that alters thie case,
and if-if-i-f-."
Now, then, if it is the whole Christian worl, from
Catholicism down to the latest of her daughters, that
have made void the law of God, a,nd tranmple(d  under
foot the institutions of heaven, the holy principles of
matrimony and family government, and have made them
void also, by their traditions, and introduced that which
God never did; and " Mormonism" has restored the law
of God, in theory and practice, then it is the so-called
Christian world, and not us, that are wrong. Whether
it regards family organization, the law of God, patriarchal government, ordinances, principles and prophecy,
I know of nothing new, or of nothing wherein we are
innovators.
As I said before, and I am able to maintain it when
called upon, "Morinionism" is a system which was understood and enjoyed by the ancients, and restored unto
us by revelation.   And if carried out, what vi]l it do?
It will simply fulfill the sayings of the prophets, both
ancient and modern, put down all wickedness, abuse,
proscription, misrule, ol)pression, ighioraice, darkness,
and tyranny, and restore mankind to righteousness,
truth, liberty, law and government, in wlich the Lord's
will will be done on the earth as it is in heaven.  That
is whiat " lIorinonisin" will do, when carried out.
May God bless you all.  Amen.
103 
MORMONISM.
LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
A SERMON DELIVERED BY ELDER JOHN TAYLOR, AT THE
GENERAL CONFERENCE, IN THE TABERNACLE, GREAT
SALT LAKE CITY.
IT rejoices my heart to hear the principles that have
been advanced this day by our President, because they
have their foundation in truth, and based upon the principles of equity, and are calculated to promote the happiness, well-being, exaltation and glory of man, in
time, and throughout eternity. They lead us back into
eternity: they existed with us there, and in all the various stages of man's existence they are calculated to elevate and ennoble him, and place hiln ill a proper
position before God, angels and men. They will put
him in possession of his legitimate right, save him from
the grasp of the adversary, from every subtle strategem
of the powers of darkness, and place him in his proper
station in time and in eternity.
I have been much pleased with and edified by the
remarks that have been made upon this stand during the
conference. Wisdom has been displayed in them; from
them  the intelligence of heaven have beamed forth, the
mysteries of eternity have been spread before our minds,
and Are have had a view of heavenly things, that has
fill  -ur hearts with joy and our mouths with praise.
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LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
It has made us feel as though we were upon the threshold of eternity; as though we were eternal beings, and
had to do with eternal things; as though the things of
this world were short,  fleeting  and evanescent, not
worthy of a thou ght when compared with those things
that are calculated to exalt and ennoble us in time and
in eternity.
The principles of justice, righteousness, and truth,
which have an endless duration, can alone satisfy the
capacious desires of the immortal soul.  We may amuse
ourselves like children do at play, or engage in the fiivolities of the dance. We may take our little enjoyments in our social assemblies, but when the man comes
to reflect, when the Saint of God considers, and the
visions of eternity are open to his view, and the unalterable purposes of God are developed to his mindwhen hle contemplates his true position before God,
angels and men, then he soars above the things of time
and sense, and bursts the cords that bind him to earthly
objects; he contemplates God  and his own destiny in
the economy of heaven, and rejoices in a blooming hope
of an immortal glory.
Such have been some of our feelings, while our minds
have been carried away from the things of earth to contemplate the things with which eternal beings are associated, and the glories that await us in the everlasting
mansions of the Gods.
The principles that we have to do with, then, are
eternal, and not simply to play a game upon the checker
of mortality, on which people can win and lose for the
time being. We have to do with that which shall continue
"While life, and thought and being last,
Or immortality endures."
105
p 
MORMONISM.
We seek not to build our hopes upon things that are
evanescent, fleeting and transitory.
It is not he that can play the best game at checkers,
that can take the most advantage of his neighbor, tlhat
can girasp the most earthly good, or that can put Iiimself in possession of anything, his heart desires pertaining, to time, that is the most happy; but it is he who
does to that which will last, live and continute to abide
with him while "i nmortality endures," and still be on
the increase, worlds without end.
If we can possess principles of this kind, then we are
safe, everything else amounts to an illusion or a delusion,
which cannot satisfy the desires of the mind, but, as the
prophet says, it is like a thirsty man who dreams he is
drinking, but when he awakes, he is faint, and his soul
is thirsty; he dreams that hlie is eating, and when he
awakes his soul is empty. This is the true situation of
all men who are without God in the world; and nothing
but a knowledge of eternal principles, of eternal laws,
of eternal governments, of eternal justice and equity,
and of eternal truth, can put us right, and satiate the
appetite of the immortal soul.
If we make not a just estimate of these things, it is in
vain that we attempt to say, " Lord, Lord," because we
do not the things which he says. Every thing associated with the Gospel of salvation is eternal, for it existed
before the'" morning stars sang together for joy," or this
world rolled into existence. It existed then, just as it
exists now with  us, and it will exist the same when
time with us is no moire. It is an eternal principle, and
every thing associated with it is everlasting. It is like
the priesthood of the Son of God, "without beginning
of days or end of years." It lives and abides for ever.
106 
LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
If there is any principle that is not eternal, it is not a
principle of the gospel of life and salvation.
There are many changes and shifting scenes that may
influeilce the position of mankind, under different circumstances, in this state of mortality; but they cannot influence or change the gospel of the Son of God, or the eternaltruthtls of heaven; they remain unchangeable; as it
is said very properly by the Church of England, in one
of their homilies, " as it was in the beginning, is low,
and ever shall be, worlds without end."  If nothing else
they say is true, that is, and I can say amen to it with
all my heart. All true principles are right, and if properly understood and appreciated by the human family,
to them they are a fountain of eternal good.
The principle of "heirship," which President Young
preached about to-day, is a principle that is founded on
eternal justice, equity and truth. It is a principle that
emanated from God.  As was  said by some of our
biethien this morning, there may be circumstances arise
in this world to pervert for a season the order of God,
to change the designs of the AIost Iligh, apparently, for
the time being, yet they will ultimately roll back into
their proper place-justice will have its place, and so
will mercy, and every man and woman will yet stand in
their true position before God. If we understand ourselves correctly, we must look upon ourselves as eternal
beings, and upon God as our Father, for we have been
taught when we prayed to say, " Our Father, which art
in heaven, hallowed be thy naue."  We have fathers in
the flesh, and we do them reverence, how much more
shall we be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and
life. I need not enter into any proof in relation to this,
for it is well understood by the Saints that God is the
107 
MORMONIS M.
Father of oiir spirits, and that whcei  we go back into
Ilis presence, we shall know Him, as we have known
our earthly parents.  We are taught to approach hlim
as we would  an earthly parent, to ask of Ihim such
blessings as we need; and lie has said, "If a son ask
bread of his father shall he give him a stonie, or if lihe
ask for fish, a scorpion?  If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more will your Heavenly Father give His holy Spirit
to them that ask Him."
We have a Father, then, who is in heaven. He has
placed us on this earth for some purpose.  We found ourselves in posession of bodies, mental faculties, and reasoning powers. In a word, we found ourselves intelligent
beilg,s, with minds capable of recalling the past and
launching into the unborn future with lightning speed;
and were it not for this earthly tabernacle, this tenement
of clay, they would soar aloft and contemplate the unveiled purposes of Jehovah in the mansions of the
redeemed. We found ourselves here with minds capable of all this and more.  God, who has ordained all
things from before the foundation of the world, is our
Father.  Hie placed us here to fulfill His wise and unerring counsels, that we mi,ht magnify our calling, honor
our God, obtain an exaltation, ad be placed in a more
glorious, exalted and dignified position than it would
have been possible for us to enjoy if we had never taken
Ul)on us these bodies. This is my faith; it is the faith
o-f this people.
I have no complaints to make about our father Adam
eating the forbidden fruit, as some have, for I do not
know but any of us would have done the same. I find
myself here in the midst of the creatures of God, and
108 
LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
it is for me to make use of the intelligence God has given
me, and not condescend to anything that is low, mean,
grovelling and degrading-to anything that is calcula ted to debase the immortal mind of man, but to follow
after things that are in their nature calculated to exalt,
eniobl)le and dignify, that I may stand in my true positionI before God, angels and men, and arise to take my
seat among the Gods of eternity.
We will now come to the principles of legitimacy,
which was the text given out this morning-to oui
rights, privileges, priesthoods, authorities, powers, dominions, etc., etc.   And  as some of us are Scriptorians,
and all profess to believe the Bible, I feel inclined to
quote a text from it. Paul, when speaking of Jesus
Christ, gives us to understand that he is the first-born of
every creature, for by him were all things made that
were made, and to him pertains all things; he is the
head of all things, he created all things, whether visible
or invisible, whether they be principalities, powers,
thronies, dominions; all things were created by him and
for him, and without him was not anything made that
was made.  If all things were created by him  and for
him, tlhis world on which we stand must have been
created by him and for him; if so, he is its legitimate,
its rightful owner and proprietor; its lawful sovereign
and ruler.  We will begin with him, then, in the flist
place, in treating on the subject of legitimacy.
But has he had the dominion over all nations, kindreds,
peoples and tongues? Have they bowed to his sceptre,
and acknowledged his sway? Have all people rendered
obedience to his laws, and submitted to his guidance!
Echo answers " No!" Hias there ever been a kingdom,
a government, a nation, a power, or a dominion in this
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MORMONISM.
world that has yielded obedience to himn in all things?
Can you point out one?
We read of the Jews who where a nation that subiinitted only in part to his authority,. for they rebelled
against his laws, and were placed under a schoolmaster
until the Messiah should come.  We  read also, in the
Book of Mormon, of some Nephites that dwelt upon
this land, who kept the commandments of God, and
perhaps were more pure than any other nation that history gives an account of.  But, with these exceptions,
the nations, kingdomns, powers, and domninions of the
world have not been subject to the law, dominion, rule
or authority of God; but, as it is expressed by one of
the ancients, the prince and power of the air, the god of
this world has ruled in the hearts of the children of disobedlience, and led them captive at his own will. Where
is the historian, the man acquainted with ancient lore,
who can point ime out one government, nation, power
or dominion, that has been subject to the rule of God,
to the dominion of Jesus Christ, with the exception of
those Jews and Nephites which I have referred to? If
there has been any such nation, the history of it has
escaped my notice. I have never been able to obtain
such information.
What has been the position of the world for generations past? They have been governed by rulers not appointed by God; if they were appointed by Him, it
was merely as a scourge to the people for their wickedness, or for temporary rulers in the absence of those
whose right it was to govern.   They had not the
legitimate rule, priesthood, and authority of God on the
earth, to act as his representatives in regulating and
presiding over the affairs of His kingdom.
110 
LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIIMACY.
Perhaps it may be well, at this stage of my remarks,
to give you a short explanation of my ideas of goverliment, legitimacy, or priesthood, if you please.   The
question,  What is priesthood? " has often been asked
of mne.  I answer, it is the rule and government of God,
whether on earth, or in the heavens; and it is the only
legitimate power, the only authority that is acknowledged by Him to rule and regulate tile affairs of his
kiilgdolu.  When every wrong tiling shall be put right,
and all usurpers shall be put down, when he whose
right it is to reign shall take the dominion, then nothing
but the priesthood will bear rule; it alone will sway
the sceptre of authority in heaven and on earth, fobr
this is the legitimacy of God.
In the absence of this, what has been the positionl of
nations? You have made yourselves acquainted with
the political structure and the political intrigues of
earthly kingdomns; I ask, from whence did they obtain
their power?  Did they get it from God?  Go to the
history of Europe, if you please, and exanine how the
rulers of those nations obtained their authority. Depending upon history for our information, we say those
nations have been founded by the sword. If we trace
the pages of history still further back to the first nation
that existed, still we find that it was founded upon the
same principle.  Then follow the various revolutions
and changes that took place among the subsequent nations and powers, from the Babylonians through the
Medo-Persians, Grecians, Romians, and from that power
to all the other powers of Europe, Asia and Africa, of
which we  have any knowledge: and if we  look to
America from the first discoveries by Columbus to the
present time, where are now the original proprietors of
ill 
MORMONISM.
the soil? Go to any power that has existed upon this
earth, and you will find that earthly government, earthly
rule and dominion, have been obtained by the sword.
It was the sword of men tlhat first put them in possession
of this power.  They have walked up to their thrones
through rivers of blood, through the clotted gore and
the groans of the dying, and through the tears and
lamentations of bereaved widows and helpless orphans;
and hence the common  saying is " thrones won  by
blood, by blood must be maintained." By the same
principle that they have been put in possession of ter ritory, have they thought to sustain themselves-the
same violence, the same fraud and the same oppression have been made use of to sustain their illegitimacy.
Some of these powers, dominions, governments and
rulers, have had in their possession the laws of God, and
the admonitions of Jesus Christ; and what have they
done to his servants in different ages of the world, when
he has sent them unto them?  This question I need not
stop to answer. for you are already made too familiar
with it.  This, then, is the position of the world.   Authority, dominion, rule, government has been obtained
by fraud, and consequently is not legitimate. They say
much about the ordination of kings, and their being
anointed by the grace of God, etc. What think you of a
murderer slaying hundreds and thousands of his fellowcreatures because he has the power, and while his sword
is yet reeking with human blood, having a priest in sacerdotal robes to anoint him to the kingship?   They
have done it.  What think you of the cries of the widows, the tears of the orphans, and the groans of the
-dying, mingling with the prayers and blessings of the
112 
LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
priest upon the head of the murderer of their husbands
and their fathers?
It is impossible that there can be any legitimate rule,
government, power or authority, under the face of the
heavens, except that which is connected with the kingdom of God, which is established by new revelation fiom
heaven.
In a conversation with some of our modern reformers
in France, one of their leaders said, "I think you will
not succeed very well in disseminating the principles of
your religion in France."   I replied, "you have been
seeking to accomplish something, for generations, with
your philosophy, your philanthropic societies, and your
ideas of moral reform, but have failed; while we have
not been seeking to accomplish the thing that you have,
particularly, and yet have accomplished it."  We began
with the power of God, with the government of heaven,
and with acknowledging His hand in all things; and
God has sustained us, blessed and upheld us to the present time; and it is- the only government, rule and dominion under the heavens that will acknowledge His
authority.
Brethren, if any of you doubt it, go into some of those
nations, and get yourself introduced into the presence
of their kings and rulers, and say, "Thus saith the Lord
God." They would at once denounce you as a madman,
and straightway order you into prison. What is the
matter?  They do not acknowledge the legitimacy, the
rule and government of God, nor will they inquire into
them. They receive not their authority from Him. Nations honor their kings, but they do not honor the anthority of their God in any instance, neither have they
from the first man-made government to the present
113
. k.1  
MORMONISM.
time. If there has been such a nation, or if there is at
this time such a government, it is a thing of which I am
ignorant.
Tile kings and potentates of the world profess to be
anointed by the grace of God.   But the priests who
anoint them have no auth/ority to do it. No person has
authority to anoint a king or administer in one of the
least of God's ordinances, except hle is legally called and
ordained of God to that power; and how can a man be
called of God to administer in His name, that does not
acknowledge the gift of prophecy to be the right of the
children of God ill all ages?  It is impossible.   These
men have been grasping after power, and for this they
have laid waste nations and destroyed countries. Some
of them possessed it for awhile, and others were on the
eve of getting it when they were cut off, and down they
went.  What became of them afterwards?  Isaiah in
vision saw the kings of the earth gathered together as
prisoners in a pit, and after many days they were to be
visited.
Having said so much in relation to other governors
and governments, we will now notice the difference between them and Abraham of old.  Abraham was a man
who contended for the true and legitimate authority.
God promised to him, and to his seed after him, the land
of Canaani for their possession.  " The Lord said unto
Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, lift
up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou
art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thorL seest, to thee will I
give it, and to thy seed for ever." What did Steplhen
say generations afterwards?  That God "gave himn none
inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot can;
114 
LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet hlie laId[ no
child."  Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones explains this
seeming contraaiction.  The Lord said to him, "Son of
man, can these bones live?" etc. Who are they? AVWe
are told, in the same chapter, that they are the whole
house of Israel, and that they shall come out of their
graves, bone come to its bone, and sinew to sinew, and
flesh come upon them, and they shall become a living
army before God, and they shall inherit the land which
was given to them and their fathers before them.  The
measuring line shall again go forth upon those lands,
and mark out the possessions belonging to the tribes of
Israel.
Abrahliam was a man who dared fear God, and do
honor to His authority, which was legitimate. God
tried and proved him, the same as HIe has tried many
of us, and felt after his heart-strings, and twisted them
round.   When He had tried him to the utmost, He
swore bv Himself, because IHe could swear by no greater,
saying, "That in blessing I will bless thee, and iii multiplying I will multiply thy seed."  "And in thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Abraham
obtained his dominion by legitimate authority; his
priesthood was obtained fromn God; his authority was
that which is associated with the everlasting Gospel,
which was, and is, and is to come, that liveth and abideth for ever. And the promises made to him will rest
upon him and his posterity, through every subsequent
period of time, until the final winding up scene of all
things. Will he ever obtain them? Yes. For we are
eternal beings, and I am now talking as though we were
in eternity. We shall wake up in the morning of the
115 
MORMONISM.
resurrection, attain to all the blessings which have been
promised to us, and strike hands with Abraham, and see
him inherit the promises. Abraham and all his children
will then inherit the promises, through the principle of
legitimacy.  And there are many of the sons and daughters of Abraham among us at the present time; these
will be baptized for their dead brethren and sisters, and
by this means bring them unto Christ, beginning on the
outside branches of the tree, and so progressing to the
main stock, and from that to the root. And it shall
come to pass that all Israel shall be saved.  Why?  Because it is their legitimate right. And they are Israel
who do the works of Abraham.
Thus it is, then, with Abraham. The old man feels
perfectly easy about the matter; and if he does see
many of his descendants existing as a cursed race on account of their transgressions, many of them enjoying no
higher avocation than crying "1old clothes," still the
time of their redemption will come, and by means of
the eternal Gospel and priesthood, they with us will be
made perfect, and we with them.   While the faithful
are operating in heaven to bring this about, the saints
are operating on earth; and by faith and works we will
accomplish all things, we will redeem the dead and the
living, and all shall come forth, and Abraham will stand
at the head of his seed as their ruler. This is his legitimate position.
We will now notice those men who are contending
for it without any authority, and make a contrast
between the two. We see them gathering their forces,
and using their influence to destroy the poor among
men.  How long will the kings and rulers of the earth
do this? Until they are dead and damned. And what
116 
LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
then?  They will be cast down into a pit.  Isaiah saw
them there, along with many other scoundrels, murderers and scamps. After many days they will be visited,
but they have got to lie in prison a long time for their
transgressions. The one is legitimacy, and the other is
illegitimacy; the one is the order of God, and the other
is the order of the devil.
Such is the position of things in relation to the world,
to legitimacy and illegitimacy, in regard to things that
are rioht, and things that are wrong.  Jesus Christ created all things, and for him were they made, whether it be
principalities, powers, thrones or dominions. Now the
question is, is he going to be dispossessed of his right,
because scoundrels exist in the world, and stand in
power and dominion; because his subjects have rebelled
against him firom time to time, and usurpers have taken
his place, and the dominion is given to another? Verily,
no.  But the time will come when the kingdom and the
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will
be given to the saints of the Most High, and they will
possess it for ever and ever.
We will now notice some of the acts of God, and
some of the acts of those who have been under the
dominion of Satan, those who have had dominion over
the world-the proud and haughty usurpers, and the
shedders of innocent blood. These are they that have
lived in the world, and-possessed all the good things of
it. And what has been the situation of the saints in
every age? All those who dared acknowledge that Go(d
lived, that this kingdom belonged to IIim, that it was
His right, and that He would without doubt possess it,
have been trodden under foot, persecuted, cast out,
hated, killed; "they wandered about in sheep-skins and
117 
MORMONISM.
goat skins; being destitute, afflicted and tormented."
As one of old says, in speaking of the Jews, which of
the prophets have not your fathers killed, who testified
before the coming of the Just One?
This was the case in ancient days, and has been carried on in modern times. I have, with my own eyes,
seen holy prophets expire, who were killed by the hands
of a murderous gang of blood-thirsty assassins, because
they bore the same testimony that the holy prophets did
in days of old. How many more of their brethren who
dared to acknowledge the truth, have fallen beneath the
same influences-have been shot, whipped, imprisoned,
and put to death in a variety of ways, while hundreds
of others, driven from their homes in the winters, have
found their last bed; they were worn out with suffering
and fatigue, the weary wheels of life stood still; they
were obliged to forsake the world, in which they could
no longer remain, because of the persecution heaped
upon them by the enemies of the truth.
The reason of all this vile outrage upon innocent men,
women and children, is because there is no legitimate
rule upon the earth. God's laws and government are
not known, and His servants are despised and cast out.
Legitimacy and right, whether in heaven or on earth,
cannot mix with anything that is not true, just and
equitable; and truth is free firom oppression and injustice, as is the bosom of Jehovah.  Nothing but that will
ultimately stand.  What has been the position of the
world generally, amrnong, themselves?  You see men
marshalling armnies, and making war with one another
to destroy each other, and take possession of their territory and wealth.  One man who is in possession of
wealth, power and authority, sees oppression exercised by
118 
LEGIITMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
kings; so he follows the example, as do rulers who
exercise authority under their sovereign; then others in
a still lower degree do the same; thus oppression treads
upon the heels of oppression, and distress follows distress. You will find this to exist in a great measure
through every grade of society, from the king on his
throne, down  to the  match-maker or the  chimlneysweep.
To ameliorate the condition of Ilan, there are a great
many institutions introduced into the world in the shape
of Tract Societies, Bible Societies, and many more too
numerous for me to name.  lIany of them are founded
by sincere men, but commencing on the wrong foiunrdation, they keep wrong all the time, and fail to accomplish
the object desired. If any one of these different institutionIs vweie to carry out their own  principles, they
would not only fail in accomplishing the object they
have in view, but ultimately destroy themselves.
There  are Peace Societies among  the  rest; their
object is to bring peace into the world, withlout the
Spirit of God. They see plainly that peace is desirable,
but they wish to graft it on to a rotten stock.  In.
Europe they had a "Peace  Congress," and sent their
representatives to all parts of the world; and of course
this " Congress of Peace" wished to regulate the world,
make an end of war, and bring in universal peace.
Talk about peace, when rancorous discord makes its
nest in the councils and cabinets of all nations, and the
hearts of their statesmen are steeped in hatred one to
another!  Jealousy, animosity and strife, like the influence of a deadly contagion, may be found in almost
every family; brother rising up against sister, sister
against brother, the father against the mnother, and the
119 
MORMONISM.
mother against the father, etc. We can find discord
reigning even in the " Peace Society" itself.
Jesus Christ says, "My peace I give unto you; not
as the world giveth, give I unto you," etc. Wherever
this peace exists, it leaves an influence that is comforting and refreshing to the souls of those who partake of
it. It is like the morning dew to the thirsty plant. This
peace is alone the gift. of God, and it can only be
received from Him through obedience to His laws.  If
any man wishes to introduce peace into his family or
among his friends, let him cultivate it in his own bosom;
for sterling peace can only be had according to the legitimate rule and authority of heaven, and obedience to
its laws.
Everything is disordered, and in confusion in the
world. The reason is, because no legitimate authority
has been known or acknowledged on the earth. Others
have been trying to build up and establish what they
supposed to be the kingdom of God. The socialists of
France call themselves religious people, and they also
expect to bring about a reign of glory through a species
of Robespierreismin. I was told by a man well acquainted
with matters of fact in relation to these things, that if
they gained the ascendancy in France, their first object
would be to erect a statue to Robespierre. They were
going to cut off thousands of people, to accomplish their
designs; and had not Napoleon taken active measures
to head them, bands of men were ready on a moinent's
warning to cut off the heads of thousands, and among
these, I was informed, fifty thousand priests were
doomed.
These are some of the principles and ideas that exist in
the world, among the various nations and institutions of
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men, which are framed according to illegitiniate principles. A chalg,e of government changes not the condition
of the people, for all are wrong, and acting without
God.
Our ideas are, that the time has come to favor God's
people; a time about which prophets spoke in pathetic
strains, and poets sung. These men of God looked
thlrotughl the dark vista of future ages, and being wrapped in prophetic vision, behleld the latter day glory-the
time of the dispensation of the fullness of times, spoken
of by all the holy prophets since the world began; for
they all looked forward with joyful anticipations to the
things which have commenced with us; they all had
their eye upon the time when legitimacy would obtain
its proper place upon the earth, in the shape of the
kiingdomn of God established in the world, when all false
rule and dominion would be put down, and the kingdoms of this world would become subject to God and
His Christ. These are the ideas that they had, and
these are the things we are seeking to carry out.
If we look at what illegitimacy has done in former
times, we shall see the absolute necessity of the restitution spoken of by the prophets, for it has filled the earth
with evil, it has caused the world to groan in bondage,
laid millions in the cold embrace of death, and caused
disease to spread its pestiferous breath among the nations, leaving ruin, misery and desolation in its path,
and made this fair earth a howling wilderness.  And
nothing but the wisdom and intelligence of God can
change it. The kingdom of God will establish truth and
correct principles-the principles of truth, equity and
justice; in short, the principles that emanate from God,
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MORMONISM.
principles that are calculated to elevate man in time and
through all eternity.  Hiow shall this be?  It will be by
a legitimate rule, authority and dominion.
Who have we for our ruling power? Where and how
did he obtain his authority? Or how did any of this
Church and kingdom obtain it?  It was first obtained
by a revelation from the Lord of the uni- erse, by the
opening of the heavens, by the voice of God, and by the
ministering of holy angels. It is by the voice of God
and the voice of the people, that our present President
obtained his authority. Many people in the world are
talking about misrule and misgovernment.  If there
is any form of government under the heavens where we
can have legitimate rule and authority, it is among the
Saints. In the first place, we have a man appointed by
God, and, in the second place, by the people. This
man is chosen by yourselves, and every person raises his
hand to sanction the choice. Here is our President,
Brigham Young, whom we made choice of yesterday,
who is he? He is the legitimate ruler among this
people. Can anybody dispossess him? They cannot,
because it is his legitimate right, and he reigns in the
hearts of the people.  HIe obtains his authority first
from God, and secondly from the people; and if a man
possesses five grains of common sense, when he has a
privilege of voting for or against a man, hlie will not
vote for a man that oppresses the people; hlie will vote
according to the dictates of his conscience, for this is the
right and duty of this people in the choice of their President, and other leading officers of the kingdomn of God.
While this is being done here, it is being done in every
part of the world, wherever the Church of Jesus Christ
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LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
of latter-day saints has a footing. Is there a monarch,
potentate or power under the heavens that undergoes a
scruttiny as fine as this?   No, there is not; and yet this
is done twice a year, before all the saints in the world.
Here a.- legitimacy and rule.  You place the power in
their hands to govern, dictate, regulate and put in order,
the affairs of the kingdom of God. This is Vox D)ei
vox populi. God appoints; the people sustain. You do
this by your own act; very well, then, it is legitimate,
and must stand, and every man is bound to abide it if
it takes the hair off his head. I know that there are
things sometimes that are hard, tough and pinching;
but if a man is a man of God, he has his eyes upon
eternal things, and is aiming to accomplish the purposes
of God, and all will be well with him in the end.
What advantage is there, then, between this governnient and others?  Why we have peace, and as eternal
beings we have knowledge of eternal things. While
listening to the remarks made on this stand, what have
we not heard-what have we not known?  The curtains
of heaven have been withdrawn, and we have gazed as
by vision upon eternal realities. While, in the professing world, doubt and uncertainty throw their dark
mantle over every mind.
Let us now notice our political position in the world.
What are we going to do?  We  are going to possess
the earth. Why? Because it belongs to Jesus Christ,
and he belongs to us, and we to him; we are all one,
and will take the kingdom and possess it under the
whole heavens, and reign over it for ever and ever.
Now, ye kings and emperors, help yourselves, if you
can. This is the truth, and it may as well be told at
this time as at any other.
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"There's a good time coming, Saints,
A good time coming,
There's a good time coming, Saints,
Wait a little longer."
HIaviing, said so much on this point, we will return to
the principle of legitimnacy. God is our legitimate Father, and we are His children, and have a claim upon
itim, and Itie has a claim upon us.  We have come into
this world to accomplish a certain purpose, and we have
come in the dispensation of the fullness of times, when
God decreed to gather all things together into one,
whether they be things in heaven or on earth; and
everything that has been in existence in any age of the
world, or that is, or will be, which is calculated to
benefit and exalt men, we shall have; consequently, it
is for us to look after anything and everythling( that ever
has been true, or that ever has been developed in any
period of the history of man, for it all belongs to us, and
has got to be restored, for restitution means bringing
back that which was lost. If the antedceluvians enjoyed anything that was good, true and eternal, which is
not yet made known to us, it has to be restored; or if
anything existed amnong the ancient patriarchs and prophets, that hats been lost, it has to be restored.  I- there
are any people of God upon any detached part of this
world, they with it have got to be restored. God's word
will also be gathered into one, and Ilis people and the
Jews will hear the words of the Nephites, and the ten
tribes must hear the words of the Jews and Nephites,
and God's people be gathered and be one. All things
will be gathered in one, and Zion be redeemed, the
glory of God be revealed, and all flesh see it together.
God's dominion will be established on the earth, the
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I LEGITIMACY AND  ILI,EGITIMACY.
law go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord fromn
Jerusalem, and the kingdoms of this world will become
subject to God and His Christ.
As eternal beings, then, we existed with our Father
in the eternal worlds.  We  came on to this earth, and
obtained tabernacles, that throulgh taking possession of
tliem, and passing through a scene of trial, and tribulation, and suffering, we might be exalted to more glory,
di,gnity and power, than would have been possible for
us to obtain lhad we not been placed in our present
position. If any of you do not believe this, let me refer
you to a passage of Scripture or two.   how was man
created at first?  We are told that God made man a
little lower than the angels; then says Paul, "Know ye
not that we sliall judge angels."   I'hat through? It is
througlh-  the atonement of Jesus Christ, thllrough the
taking of our bodies, the powers of the holy priesthood,
and the resurrection of Jesus  Christ,  that we  shall
obtain a hliglher exaltation than it would  have been
possible for us to enjoy, if we had not fallen.  To do
right in our pr'esent state, then, we must carry out the
principle of legitilmlacv according to a c orrect rule, and,
if we profess to be subjects of the kingdom of God, we
must be subject to the dominion, rule, legitimacy, and
authority of God.  iNo person can escape from this unless he apostatizes, and goes to the devil, like a fool.
lfe must be a fool who would barter away eternal life,
thi-ones, principalities and powers in the eternal world,
tf,r the paltry trash which exists in the shape ot wealth
and worldly honor; to let go his chance of heaven and
of God, of being a king and priest unto Ihim, of living,
and leigning for eve, and standing among the chiefs of
Israel. I cannot help calling such men fools, for they
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MORMONJISM.
are damned now in making such choice, and will be
hereafter.
I will say a little more on legitimnacy and right to
rule. What would be the position of a man who would
ttke a course to rob his neighbor, or take advantage of
him in the case of his legitimacy, which you have heard
of this morning? Such a man must be a greater fool
than the other. For instance, a good man dies, who has
served God in righteousness all his days; the weary
wheels of life stand still, and he goes to the world of
spirits. Hie believed in the principles of justice, equity,
righteousness, and truth, and that his rights would be
held sacred to him by his brethren after he was gone.
But some professed man of God comes to his widow,
and wants to steal her away from him; he would rob
the dead with impunity, under the ostensible garb of
justice to her and her dead husband; he will tell her lie
is doing it out of pure love to them both, and he is going
to exalt them in the kingdom of God. We read of the
kingdom of God suffering violence; if violence is ever
attempted, it is in a case of this kind. It is bad enough
to steal from a man his earthly property; his oxen, his
cow, his horse, his harness, his wagon wheels, and other
paraphernalia; but what think you of a man that would
rob the dead of a treasure which he holds the most dear,
and prized as the most precious thing he possessed onl
earth-his affectionate wife!  Such a person will assuredly miss his figure.
You will find in the ancient laws of Israel, there weie
proper rules in relation to these matters; one was, that
if a man died without a child, his brother or the neat'e-t
relation of the husband should take the widow, and raise
up seed to the husband, that his name might be continued
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LEGITIMACY AND ILLEGITIMACY.
in Israel, and not be blotted out.  Where did these laws
conme from?   We  are told they came from God.   But
instead of doing this, suppose he should try to steal this
woman away, and rob his brother-lhow would lie get
along, I wonder, with such a case against him, at the b,ar
of justice.   The laws and ordinances that exist in the
eternal world have their pattern in the things which are
revealed to the children of men on earth.   The priesthood as it exists on the earth is a pattern of things in
heaven.   As I said in a former part of this discourse,
priesthood is legitimate rule, whether on earth or in
heaven.   When we have the true priesthood on earth,
we take it with us into the heavens; it changes not, but
continues the same in the eternal world.
There is another feature of that ancient law which I
will mention. It was considered an act of injustice for
the nearest relation not to take the wife of the deceased
if he refiused to do it, he was obliged to go before the
elders of "Israel, and his brother's wife shall loose his
shoe fromn off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto the man that will
not build up his brother's house; and his name shall be
called in Israel, The house of him who hath his shoe
loosed."  If the restitution of all things is to be brought
to pass, there must be a restitution of these things
everything will be put right, and in its proper place.
There is another thing which is most grievous, afflictimg and distressing so contemplate.  When a man takes
to himself a woman  that properly belongs to another,
alld defiles her, it interferes with the fountain of life,
and corIrupts the very source of existence.  There is aiii
offspriig comes forth as the fruit of that union, and that
1 2 
:.I 
MORMONISM.
offspring is an eternal being-how can it be looked
upon? To reflect upon it, wounds the finest feelilngs of
hluman nature in time, and will in eternity.  For wto
can gaze upon the degradation of their wife, and the
corruption of their seed, without peculiar sensations?
Ilow much more is this feeling enhanced when the
wbionged man considers that hlie has been robbed by one
wlho professed to be his friend?  This thing is not to be
trifled with, but is of the greatest importance; hence
the necessity of the sealing powers, that all things may
be pure, chastity maintained, and lasciviousness be
rooted out from among the saints.  Why so?  That we
iLay have a holy offspring, that shall be great, and
clothed with the mnighlty power of God, to rule in His
litingdonti, and accomplish the work we propose tHiey
Jlall fulfill; and that when we go to sleep, we may sleep
"n peace, knowing that justice will be administered in
ighlteousness.  We shall kiiow that we have a claim
upon our own in the first resurrection; we shall know
that our wives and our children will be there to joinl us,
justice will be administered, and we shall have a claim
upon them in the eternal world, and that no unprincipled
scoundrel will be permitted to set his foot on aniother, or
lob himn of his just claims.   Why is a woman sealed to
a iian for time and all eternity?  Because there is legitiniate power on earth to do it.  This power will bind
,',l earth a,d in heaven; it can loose on earth, and it is
loosed in heaven; it can seal on earth, and it is sealed in
lHeaven.  There is a legitimate, authorized agent of God
upon earth; this sealing power is regulated by him;
hence what is done by that, is done right, and is recorded. When the books are opened, every one will find
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LEGITIMACY AMD ILLEGITIMACY.
his proper mate, and have those that belong to him, and
every one will be deprived of that which is surreptitiously
obtained.
Let us do righteously, and you who would seek to injuire another, and take advantage of one who was just
and faithful to his God in his day, how would you like,
when you get a few years older and drop into eternity,
for somebody to come and serve you the same? You
could not expect anything else, you could not die without being menaced by this supposition, and your dying
pillow would be made unhappy, you would know you
had done wrong, and would expect somebody to measure to you the same measure pressed down, shook together, and running over.
We have been told to preach confidence; correct
principles and just dealings alone will inspire it. If a
man speaks that which is not true about another, can
you have confidence in him?  No.  If a man defrauds
another, can you have confidence in him?  No.  But if
you would, through a principle of covetousness, seek to
sap the foundation of another's happiness, by trying to
wrench from him those sacred rights which pertain to
his interest in the eternal world, how much greater will
be your condemnation?  Nothing but truth, integrity,
virtue, hionor, and every pure principle, will stand in the
great day of God Almighty. If such a person happens
to get through this world, he will find barriers in the
next, and probably miss a chance of obtaining a place
in the first resurrection. Nothing contrary to the authority, rule, and government of heaven, will stand in
time or in eternity; and if any man wants to be blessed
and honored, and to obtain a high place in the eternal
world, let him pursue a course of honor, righteousness,
129 
MORMONISM.
and virtue before his God; and if he wants to find himself amongst usurpers, defrauders, oppressors, and those
in possession of illegitimate claims, let him take an opposite course. If time would permit, much more might
be said about social, family and individual legitimate
rights; but as time hastens, I forbear for the present.
Well, brethren and sisters, may God bless you. Amen.
THIE END.
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