WIFE No. 19, 
 
 OR 
 
 THE STORY OF 
 
 A LIFE IN BONDAGE, 
 
 BEING A 
 
 Complete Expos6 of Mormonism, 
 
 AND REVEALING THE 
 
 SORROWS, SACRIFICES AND SUFFERINGS OF 
 WOMEN IN POLYGAMY, 
 
 BY 
 
 ANN ELIZA )TOUNG, 
 
 BRIGHAM YOUNG'S APOSTATE WIFE. 
 
 WITH INTRODUCTORY NOTES BY 
 
 JOHN.B. GOUGH AND MARY A. LIVERMORE. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY. 
 
 DUSTIN, OILMAN & CO. 
 PUBLICATION OFFICE: HARTFORD, CONN, 
 
 BRANCH OFFICES: CHICAGO, ILL., CINCINNATI, OHIO. 
 
 1 876. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, 
 
 BY DUSTIN, OILMAN & CO., 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
TO THE 
 
 MORMON WIVES OF UTAH. 
 
 I Dedicate this Book to you, as I consecrate my life to your cause. 
 
 As long as God gives me life I shall pray and plead for your deliver- 
 ance from the worse than Egyptian bondage in which you are held. 
 
 Despised, maligned, and wronged; kept in gross ignorance of the 
 great world, its pure creeds, its high aims, its generous motives, you 
 have been made to believe that the noblest nation of the earth was truly 
 represented by the horde of miscreants who drove you from State to State, 
 in early years, murdering your sons and assassinating your leaders. 
 
 Hence, you shrink from those whom God will soon lead to your 
 deliverance, from those to whom I daily present your claims to a 
 hearing and liberation, and who listen with responsive and sympathetic 
 hearts. 
 
 But He will not long permit you to be so wickedly deceived; nor 
 will the People permit you to be so cruelly enslaved. 
 
 Hope and pray ! Come out of the house of bondage ! Kind hearts 
 beat for you ! Open hands will welcome you ! Do not fear that while 
 God lives you shall suffer uncared for in the wilderness ! This Christian 
 realm is not " Babylon," but THE PROMISED LAND ! 
 
 Courage ! The night of oppression is nearly ended, and the sun 
 of liberty is rising in the heavens for you. 
 
 ANN-ELIZA YOUNG. 
 
 510196 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE, 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN B. GOUGH. 
 
 SINCE Mrs. Young's pleasant visit to us, I have thought 
 much of the important mission to which she has devoted 
 herself, and I wish to say, and I do it most cordially, that 
 having been reared and educated in Mormonism, from her 
 experience and the sufferings she has endured, she is fully 
 competent to expose the whole system, and show to the 
 public the true side of it, as no other person can or will. I 
 need not assure her of my entire confidence in her sincerity 
 and ability to carry out the work to which she has devoted 
 herself, and the talents God has given her. I believe she 
 has been called to this mission, and by her experience and 
 intense sympathy with the sufferings of her sex, has been 
 wonderfully qualified, and prepared for the work. 
 
 The sympathy of our entire household is with her, and 
 we earnestly pray that she may be enabled to overcome all 
 opposition, and that God may give her abundant success, 
 and that the blessing of many ready to perish may rest 
 upon her. 
 
 'JOHN B. GOUGH. 
 WORCESTER, MASS., July, 1875. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE, 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. MARY A. LIVERMORE. 
 
 I HAVE read the advance sheets of Mrs. Ann-Eliza 
 Young's book with painful interest, which has deepened 
 into disgust and pity. Disgust at the hypocrisy, brutality, 
 and diabolism of the Mormon leaders ; pity for the 
 wasted, joyless, sacrificial lives of the poor women who 
 immolate themselves on the shrine of Mormonism, in the 
 holy name of Religion. 
 
 Born and reared in the midst of these deluded people, 
 removed from all counteracting influences, it was inevitable 
 that Mrs. Young should accept their beliefs, and be drawn 
 into their practices. And it must have required heroic res- 
 olution in her to break away from the Mormon Church, 
 even when her vision was unsealed to its rottenness, know- 
 ing as she did that she would be compelled to flee from 
 home, leaving a beloved mother and precious children in 
 the hands of the enemy. I congratulate her on her com- 
 plete emancipation, on her reunion with her beloved, 
 whose obvious peril weighed so heavily on her filial and 
 maternal heart, and on the possession of ability to give to 
 the world an expos6 of the Mormon horror, such as it has 
 
IO INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 never before received. My sympathies are entirely with 
 her in the work to which she has consecrated herself. 
 With her awakened conscience, she could not do other- 
 wise than seek the disintegration of the Utah community, 
 whose foundations are laid in the degradation of woman. 
 May she have the largest success compatible with human 
 effort. 
 
 MARY A. LIVERMORE. 
 MELROSE, MASS., Oct. 1875. 
 
TO THE WIVES OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 SHOULD this book meet your eyes, I wish you most distinctly to 
 understand that my quarrel is not with you. On the contrary, the 
 warmest and tenderest feelings of my heart are strongly enlisted in 
 your favor. As a rule, you have been uniformly kind to me. 
 Some of you I have dearly loved. I have respected and honored 
 you all. My love and respect have never failed, but have rather 
 increased with separation. I think of you often with the sincerest 
 sympathy for your helpless condition, bound to a false religion, 
 and fettered by a despotic system ; and I wish from the depths of 
 my heart that I could bring you, body and soul, out from the cruel 
 bondage, and help you to find the freedom, rest, and peace which 
 have become so sweet to me since my eyes have been opened to 
 the light of a true and comforting faith. 
 
 Since I have left Utah, I know that some of you have censured 
 me severely, and have joined in personal denunciations. But I 
 know that you are actuated by a mistaken zeal for the cause which 
 you feel yourselves bound to sustain. You, no doubt, regard my 
 course with horror. I look upon your lives with pity. 
 
 I have taken the liberty of describing your characters and situ- 
 ations. I was not prompted by the slightest animosity toward 
 you, but because the public are interested in you, and curious con- 
 cerning you, and I felt that I could give to the world a true story 
 of your lives, and, at the same time, do you justice, and let you be 
 seen as you are in my eyes, which are not dimmed by prejudice. 
 
12 TO THE WIVES OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 I was driven to the course I am pursuing by sheer desperation, 
 as some of you, with whom I have exchanged confidences, well 
 know. The motives which have been attributed to me, and the 
 charges that have been made against me, are as utterly false and 
 foreign to my nature as darkness is to light. You, at least, should 
 not misjudge me. You should know me better, and you do. 
 Even your bitter prejudice, and your disapprobation of the step I 
 have taken, cannot make you believe me other than I am. You 
 know that apostasy from Mormonism does not necessarily degrade 
 a person, and sink them at once to the lowest depths of infamy. 
 
 If, as is taught, and as I suppose you believe, I have lost the 
 light of the gospel, and departed from " the faith once delivered 
 to the saints," am I not rather deserving your compassion than 
 your censure? Your own hearts and consciences must answer 
 that. 
 
 The women of Utah should know that I shall vindicate their 
 rights, and defend their characters, at all times and in all places. 
 Their sorrow has been my sorrow ; their cause is my cause still. 
 My heart goes out to them all, but more especially to yon. You 
 have been my companions and my sisters in tribulation. Now 
 our paths diverge. I go on the way that I have chosen alone, 
 while you stay sorrowing together. I wish I had the power to 
 influence you to throw off the fetters which bind you, and to walk 
 triumphantly forth into the glories of a faith, whose foundation is 
 in God the compassionate Father, whose principles are those of a 
 tender mercy, whose ruling spirit is love. Alas ! I cannot do it ; 
 but I pray that the good Father in His infinite mercy may open 
 your eyes to His glory, and lead you forth His children to do His 
 
 blessed will. 
 
 ANN-ELIZA YOUNG. 
 
.CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE DAYS OF MY CHILDHOOD. WHY I EVER WAS A 
 
 MORMON. 
 
 An Important Question. Born in Mormonism. Telling my own Story. 
 Joseph Smith's Mission. He preaches a New Dispensation. Mj 
 Parents Introduced to the Reader. The Days before Polygamy. My 
 Mother's Childhood. Learning under Difficulties. First Thoughts 
 of Mormonism. Received into the Church. Persecution for the 
 Faith. Forsaking all for the New Religion. First Acquaintance with 
 the Apostle Brigham. His Ambitious Intrigues. His Poverty. His 
 Mission-work. Deceptive Appearances. My Mother's Marriage. 
 A Brief Dream of Happiness. That Sweet Word " Home." The 
 Prophet Smith turns Banker. The " Kirtland Safety Society Bank." 
 The Prophet and Sidney Rigdon Flee. A Moment of Hesitation. 
 Another " Zion " Appointed. Losing All for the Church. Privation 
 and Distress. Sidney Rigdon and his "Declaration of Independence." 
 He Excites an Immense Sensation. Mobs Assemble and Fights 
 Ensue. Lively Times among the Saints. The Outrages of the 
 Danites 31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FOUNDING THE NEW RELIGION. ASSASSINATION OF 
 JOSEPH SMITH. 
 
 The Saints expelled from Missouri. They cross the Mississippi into Illi- 
 nois. Forming a New Settlement. Arrival in Quincy. A Kind 
 Reception. The City of "Nauvoo" Founded. A New Temple Be- 
 gun. Great Success of the Foreign Missions. The Saints flock from 
 Europe. Thousands assemble in Nauvoo. The Prophet Joseph ap- 
 
 * plies for a City Charter. Nauvoo Incorporated. The Saints Petition 
 the National Government. The Prophet visits Washington. His 
 Interview with President Van Buren He Coquets with Politics. He 
 Stands on the Edge of the Precipice. The Saints in Danger. The 
 Prophet Smith nominated for President. He tries to find the " Golden 
 Way." Mormon Missionaries preach Politics. The Prophet looks 
 towards the Pacific Coast The Blind Obedience of the Saints. The 
 Real Devotion of their Faith. Gentile Opinions. How Boggs was 
 Shot in the Head. The Spiritual- Wife Doctrine. Dr. William Law 
 Protests. Terrible Charges against the Prophet. The "Nauvoo Ex- 
 positor" The Prophet Surrenders. He is Murdered in Jail. . . 49 
 
14 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE " REVELATION ON CELESTIAL MARRIAGE." TROUBLE 
 AMONG THE SAINTS. 
 
 The Announcement of Polygamy. ''Celestial Marriage." Joseph 
 "sets himself Right." Mrs. Smith is very Rebellious. Mrs. Smith's 
 Adopted Daughter. The Prophet too fond of Fanny. Mrs. Smith 
 takes her in Hand. Marital Storms. Oliver Cowdery called In. He 
 goes and " Does Likewise." Joseph first Preaches Polygamy. The 
 Saints Rebel. The Revelation given in Secret. Eleven "Adopted 
 Daughters " sealed to the Prophet. A Domestic Squall in the Prophet's 
 House. Nancy Rigdon Insulted by Joseph. Sidney's Zeal Grows 
 Cold. How Celestial Marriage was Introduced. Mr. Noble begins to 
 Build Up his Kingdom. The first Plural Marriage. False Position of 
 the Second Wife. John C.Bennett. His Profligacy and Crimes. 
 He Apostatizes and Writes a Book. Joseph Defends Himself. Apos- 
 tasy of an Apostle's Wife. The Prophet in Difficulties. The Revela- 
 tion on " Celestial Marriage." 65 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AFTER JOSEPH'S DEATH. BRIGHAM YOUNG ELECTED 
 
 PROPHET. 
 
 Kindness of the Gentiles. Strangers in a Strange Land. My Parents 
 join the Saints in Nauvoo. They Purchase Land in the City. Are 
 shamefully Defrauded. Joseph's Unfaithful Friends. My Parents left 
 almost Destitute. I am Born in the Midst of Troubles. The Saints 
 Bewildered. Who should Succeed Joseph? Sidney Rigdon's Claims 
 to the Presidency. He returns to Nauvoo. Has Dreams and Visions. 
 He Promises to " Pull Little Vic's Nose." The Apostles hear of the 
 Prophet's Murder. They hasten to Nauvoo. Brigham begins his 
 Successful Intrigues. He Settles Sidney Rigdon. An Extraordinary 
 Trial. Brigham's Idea of Free Voting. Women's Suffrage in Utah. 
 Why Brigham gave the Franchise to the Women. My own Experience 
 as a Voter. Brigham Dictates what I'm to Do. I obey Quietly. How 
 Sidney Rigdon was Deposed. Brigham Rules the Church. ... 87 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MY FATHER'S PLURAL-WIFE. CHILDHOOD IN POLYGAMY. 
 
 Childhood in Mormondom. A striking Contrast. The Sorrows of my 
 Earliest Years. How my Mother received Polygamy. Submitting to 
 the Rod. Clinging to Love and Home. Resigning all for Religion. 
 Strange ways of glorifying God. The Reward of Faithfulness. 
 The Prophet Joseph imparts a New Religious Mystery. The Breaking- 
 up of a Home. Fears of Rebellion. The Struggle of Faith against 
 Nature. Seeking Rest, but finding None. Brigham's " Counsels." 
 A New Wife Selected. My Parents enter into Polygamy. The New 
 Bride, Elizabeth. The Marriage Ceremony. My Mother Sealed. 
 She is to become a Queen. Domeetic Arrangements in Polygamy. 
 Bearing the Cross. A First Wife's Sorrows. " Where does Polygamy 
 Hurt?" The Mormon Husband j his Position and Privileges. . . 98 
 
CONTENTS. 15 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FORSAKING DEAR ZION. WE FIND A NEW HOME IN THE 
 
 FAR WEST. 
 
 A New Home in the Far West. Dangerous Neighbors. Some very Un- 
 pleasant Stories. Seeking a New Home. Preparing to Depart. Life 
 at Winter-Quarters. A Lively Time in the Temple. " Little Dancin' 
 Missy." Bound for Salt Lake Valley. Life by the Way. - - Songs of 
 the Saints. A False Prophecy. " The Upper California." Saintly 
 Profanity. A Soul-stirring Melody. The Saints Excited. Beside 
 the Camp-Fires. The Journey Ending. Entering Zion. The Val- 
 ley of the Great Salt Lake no 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OUR WELCOME TO "ZION." UTAH IN EARLY DAYS. 
 
 Our Welcome to Zion. Housekeeping under Difficulties. Our First 
 Home in Utah. The Second Wife's Baby. The Young Mother. A 
 very Delicate Position. Doctors at a Discount. Brigham's Wife 
 turns Midwife. An Obedient Woman. Taking Care of the Baby. 
 Practising Economy. The Path of the Crickets. Too much Cracked 
 Wheat. Building the First Mill. Brother Brigham Speechifies. 
 Tea at Five Dollars per Pound. Californian Gold Discovered. Build- 
 ing up Zion. Brigham's "Dress Reform." A Rather Queer Cos- 
 tume. The Women " Assert " Themselves. Clara Decker Rebels. 
 How the Prophet treats his Wives. I ask for some Furs, and am 
 Snubbed. How the Prophet doled out his Silk. Eliza Snow and 
 Fanny's Finery. The Prophet Snubs Eliza. He Combats the " Gre- 
 cian Bend." Dancing among the Saints. Polygamy Denied. How 
 the Saints received It. A Nice Little Family Arrangement. . . . 123 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TROUBLES UNDER THE NEW SYSTEM. 
 
 The Sorrows of My Uncle. " It's a Hopeless Fix." A Woman's Argu- 
 ment about Polygamy. My Mother "labors" with a First Wife. 
 Wife No. 2 " Walks Off." Marrying a Widow and her Two Daughters. 
 
 Mrs. Webb becomes a Wife No. 2. Wife No. i throws Brickbats 
 into the Nuptial Chamber. She clears the Field of Extra Wives. 
 "Building up the Kingdom." The Atrocious Villanies of Orson Pratt. 
 
 How he has Seduced Innocent Girls. Brigham's Nephew Rebels. 
 Trouble in the Prophet's Family. Forgetting a Wife's Face. A 
 Woman who liked Polygamy 142 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE HARDSHIPS AND PERILS OF LIFE IN A NEW COUNTRY. 
 
 "Killed by the Indians." How Apostates Disappeared. A Suspicious 
 Fact. How Brigham "took care" of the People's Property. The 
 Mormon Battalion. Brigham Pockets the Soldiers' Pay. How Pros- 
 elytes were Made. Scapegraces sent on Mission. My Father goes to 
 
1 6 CONTENTS. 
 
 Europe. How Missionaries' wives are Left. Collecting funds for the 
 Missionaries. Brigham Embezzles the Money. The " Church Train." 
 
 Joseph A. Young as a Missionary. His Misdoings in St. Louis. 
 What Brother Brown said of Him. The Perpetual Emigration Fund. 
 
 How the Money was Raised. Cheating the Confiding Saints. 
 How Brigham Manages the Missionaries' Property. The "Church" 
 makes Whiskey for the Saints. The Missionaries bring home new 
 Wives. How English Girls are Deceived. My First Baptism. . 160 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE UTAH "REFORMATION." "A REIGN OF TERROR." 
 THE BLOOD-ATONEMENT PREACHED. 
 
 The Beginning of the Reformation. The Payson Saints Stirred Up. 
 What the Wicked " Saints" had been Doing Secretly. The Old Lady 
 who stole a Radish. Confessing the sins of Others. A System of 
 Espionnage. Brigham bids them "Go Ahead!" The Story of 
 Brother Jeddy's Mule. The Saints receive a terrible Drubbing. 
 Great Excitement in Mormondom. How the Saints were Catechized. 
 Indelicate Questions are put to Everybody. My Mother and Myself 
 Confess. The Labors of the Home Missionaries. Making Restitu- 
 tion. Everybody is Re-baptized. "Cut off Below their Ears." The 
 "Blood-Atonement" Preached. Murder recommended in the Tab- 
 ernacle. Cutting their Neighbors' throats for Love. A "Reign of 
 Terror" in Utah. Fearful Outrages Committed. Murdered " by the 
 Indians"? Brigham advises the Assassination of Hatten. Murder 
 of Almon Babbitt, Dr. Robinson, the Parrishes, and Others. Blood- 
 shed the Order of the Day 181 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "DIVINE EMIGRATION." THE PROPHET AND THE HAND- 
 CART SCHEME. 
 
 Early Emigration to Utah. The Prophet Meditates Economy. The 
 " Divine Plan " Invented. How it was Revealed to the Saints. They 
 Prepare to " Gather to Zion." How the Hand-Carts were Built. The 
 Sufferings of the Emigrants. On Board Ship. An Apostolic Quar- 
 rel. Base Conduct of the Apostle Taylor. The Saints arrive in Iowa 
 City. How the Summer-time was Wasted.. Beginning a Terrible 
 Journey. Suffering by the Way. "Going Cheap." -- They reach 
 Council Bluffs. Levi Savage Behaves Bravely. Lying Prophecy of 
 the Apostle Richards. How the Emigrants were Deceived. Brigham 
 Young sends Help to Them. Two Apostles are Denounced. The 
 Prophet in a Fix. He lays His own Sins on the Backs of Others. 
 Preparing to Receive the Emigrants 200 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BRIGHAM'S HAND-CART SCHEME, CONTINUED. - FAILURE 
 OF THE "DIVINE PLAN." 
 
 Arrival of the First Train. Fearful Sufferings of the Emigrants. 
 Women and Girls toiling at the Carts. The Prophet's "Experiment." 
 Burying the Dead. Greater Mortality among the Men. Arrival of 
 
CONTENTS. 17 
 
 Assistance. Hand-Cart Songs. Scenes in the Camp of the Emi- 
 grants. How every Prophecy of the Elders was Falsified. I low the 
 Tennant Family were Shamelessly Robbed. One of the Vilest Swin- 
 dles of the Prophet. Mr. Tennant's Unhappy Death. His Wife 
 Views the "Splendid Property" Bought from Brigham. Brigham 
 Cheats her out of her Last Dollar. She is reduced to Abject Poverty. 
 The Apostle Taylor Hastens to Zion. Richards and Spencer are 
 made Scape-goats. Brigham evades all Responsibility. Utter Failure 
 of the "Divine Plan." 213 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS' MASSACRE. - VENGEANCE IS 
 MINE: I WILL REPAY." 
 
 The Results of the Reformation. The Story of a Fiendish Deed. The 
 People's Mouths Closed. How the Dreadful Crime was Hushed Up. 
 Judge Cradlebaugh's Efforts to Unravel the Mystery. Who were the 
 Guilty Ones? The Emigrants on the Way to Utah. The People For- 
 bidden to sell them Food. They Arrive at Salt Lake City. Ordered 
 to Break Camp. In need of Supplies. Who was Accountable ? Why 
 the Mormons hated the Emigrants. The Story of Parley P. Pratt. 
 How he Seduced McLean's Wife. Their Journey to Cedar City. 
 Hungry and Weary, but still Pressing On. They Reach the Mountain 
 Meadows. Attacked by "the Indians." The Emigrants Besieged. 
 Dying of Thirst. Two little Girls shot by the Mormons. An Appeal 
 for Help. The Last Hope of the Besieged. Waiting for Death. . 228 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BETRAYED AND MURDERED. TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 The "White Flag of Peace." Friends in the Distance. A Cruel De- 
 ception. Mormon Fiends plan their Destruction. John D. Lee's 
 Crocodile Tears. " Lay down your Arms, and Depart in Peace." A 
 Horrible Suspicion. The Massacre. The Scene of Blood. No Mercy 
 for Women and Children. Robbed and Outraged. Murdered by 
 Lee's Own Hand. The Field of Slaughter. Dividing the Property 
 of the Murdered Ones. Brigham Young Demands his Share. 
 Haunted by Spectres. John D. Lee's Trial. Instigated by Brigham. 
 No Justice in Utah. Lee's Confession made to Shield the False 
 Prophet. Eight Mormon and Four Gentile Jurors. What was to be 
 Expected? 245 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE BLOOD-ATONEMENT. THE DESTROYING ANGELS. - 
 DANITES AND THEIR DEEDS. 
 
 Sweet, Saintly Sentiments. " He ought to have his Throat cut." Too 
 many Gentiles About. The Spirit of " Blood-Atonement" Still Cher- 
 ished. Present Position of Apostates. How they used to be "Cut 
 Off." " Cutting Men of below the Ears" How "Accidents" hap- 
 
1 8 CONTENTS. 
 
 pened to People who "Knew too Much." How Mr. Langford ex- 
 pressed his Opinion too Freely. Mormon Friends kindly advise him 
 to "Shut Up." "Be on your Guard!" Poetry among the Saints: 
 a Popular Song. Human Sacrifices Proposed I How Saints were 
 taught to Atone for their Sins. " Somebody " ready to shed their 
 Blood. " The Destroying Angels:" who they were, and what they 
 did. Saints told to do their own " Dirty Work." People who " ought 
 to be Used up" Murdering by Proxy! Brigham Young proved to 
 be the Vilest of Assassins. Hideous Crimes of Porter Rockwell and 
 Bill Hickman. How Rockwell tried to Murder Governor Boggs. 
 Hickman Confesses his Atrocious Crimes. Six Men Robbed of 
 $25,000, and then "Used Up." Another Frightful Assassination. A 
 Council of Mormon Murderers. The "Church " orders the Assassina- 
 tion of the Aikin Party 262 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FRIGHTFUL DEEDS OF BLOOD. MORMONISM IN ITS TRUE 
 
 LIGHT. 
 
 The Yates Murder. Brigham and the Leading Mormons Arrested for the 
 Crime. Mr. Yates accused of being a Spy. He is Arrested, and his 
 Goods Seized. Bill Hickman takes possession of the Prisoner's Body. 
 Brigham Embezzles his Gold. Another Saint steals his Watch. 
 Hickman carries him to Jones's Camp. He is Murdered there while 
 Asleep. Hickman asks Brigham for a Share of the Spoil. The 
 Prophet refuses; sticks to every Cent. Hickman's "faith"' in Mor- 
 monism is Shaken. His fellow-murderer Apostatizes Outright. How 
 Bill was finally "paid in Wives." He tries a little matter of Seven- 
 teen. Fiendish Outrage at San Pete. Bishop Snow contrives the 
 Damnable Deed The fate of his Victims. A Mysterious Marriage. 
 The Feather-beds and the Prophet. Mrs. Lewis comes to Live 
 with Me 277 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 TROUBLES IN OUR OWN FAMILY. LOUISE COMES UPON 
 
 THE SCENE. 
 
 Increase of Polygamy. Marrying going on Day and Night. " Taking 
 a Wife and Buying a Cow." A Faithful Husband in a Fix. How 
 Men get "Married on the Sly." How Wives were Driven Crazy by 
 their Wrongs. My Father Marries Considerably. He " Goes in " for 
 the Hand-Cart Girls. Marries a Couple to Begin with. Takes a 
 Third the same Month. Rapid Increase of his "Kingdom." How 
 
 . the Girls Chose Husbands. Instructing the New Wives in our Family. 
 Louise doesn't want to Work. My Father goes on Mission Again. 
 Louise Flirts and Rebels. She is Scolded and Repents. Goes to Bed 
 and Weeps. Bestows her Goods on the Family. "Lizzie" Inter- 
 views Her. She Poisons Herself. Is a " Long Time Dying." She 
 gets a Strong Dose of Cayenne. Is sent on her Travels. The Last 
 we Heard of Her 290 
 
CONTENTS. 19 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 INCREASE OF POLYGAMY. MIXED-UP CONDITION OF 
 MATRIMONIAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 Christ alleged to be a Polygamist. The Men to save the Women. Mak- 
 ing "Tabernacles " for little Spirits. The Story of certain Ladies who 
 were Deceived. They Discover a Mystery. Their Fate. Orson 
 Hyde's False Prophecy. Throwing Mud at Apostates. Death pre- 
 ferred to Polygamy. Frightful Intermarriages. Married his Mother- 
 in-law. A Man who Married his Wife's Grandmother, Mother, and 
 All. Marrying a Half-Sister, -r- Marrying Nieces and Sisters. How 
 Emigrant Girls were Married Off. Frightful Story of a Poor Young 
 Girl. Polygamy and Madness. One Woman's Love too Little. 
 How English Girls were Deceived. How Claude Spenser committed a 
 Damnable Wrong. A Girl who was Martyred for her Religion. How 
 the Bereaved Husband Acted. A Man with thirty-three Children. 
 "They never ^cost him a Cent." A Many-Wived Saint. Mixed-up 
 Condition of Marital Affairs 306 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE MYSTERIES OF POLYGAMY. WHAT THE WIVES 
 COULD TELL. 
 
 Incestuous Intermarriages. A Widow and her Daughters married to the 
 same Man. "Marrying my Pa." The " U. S." Government Con- 
 niving at Mormon Iniquities. Beastly Conduct of Delegate George Q^ 
 Cannon. Polygamists legislating for Bigamists. Mother and Daugh- 
 ter fighting for the same Man ! it is Wicked to Live with an Old Wife. 
 A Toting lover Ninety Years Old! A Bride Eleven Years Old. 
 Brides of Thirteen and Fourteen Years ! I receive an "Offer" when 
 Twelve Years Old! Old Ladies at a Discount: Young Women at a 
 Premium. Respect for the Silver Crown of Age. Heber gives his 
 Opinion. " Why is She making such a Fuss?" Seeing One's Hus- 
 band Once a Year. The Rascality of Orson Hyde towards his Wife. 
 When Rival Wives make Friends. A Very Funny Story about an 
 Apostle and his Wife. Rights of the First Wife : Brigham Young in a 
 Fix. He treats an Early Wife to a Dance. Amelia in the Shade. 
 The Prophet becomes Frisky. Poor, neglected Emmeline. How Po- 
 lygamy was once Denied. A Mistake which a French Lady Made. 
 M'ilk for Babes 320 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 BRIGHAM BUILDS WAGONS BY " INSPIRATION." THE 
 CHURCH SETS UP A WHISKEY-STORE. 
 
 faying "Yes" under Difficulties. A Woman who Meant to have her 
 Way. Two Company: Three None. Building Wagons by Inspira- 
 tion. My Father despatched to Chicago. He gets rid of his New 
 Wives. My Brother sent to the Sandwich Islands. My Mother tells 
 her own Story. She Returns to Salt Lake City to see my Father. 
 Wifely Considerations. She finds two other Ladies at her Husband's 
 Bedside. He likes a good deal of Wives about Him! A Heart dead 
 
2O CONTENTS. 
 
 to Love. Brigham "asks no odds of Uncle Sam or the Devil." He 
 proclaims Martial Law. Fiery Speeches in the Tabernacle. Prepar- 
 ing for War. Government Troops Arrive. The Saints quit Salt Lake 
 City. The Church Distillery. Brigham shamelessly Robs my Father. 
 
 He fills his own Pockets. My Father, being without Funds, takes 
 his Sixth Wife 333 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 GOING THROUGH THE "ENDOWMENT-HOUSE." ! TAKE 
 THE MYSTERIOUS BATHS. 
 
 No Physic among the Saints. I am taken Sick. Heber C. Kimball 
 recommends "Endowments." How Brigham Murdered his little 
 Granddaughter. The Prophet wants a Doctor. Being " administered " 
 To. I am Re-baptized. Receive my Endowments. How Saintly 
 Sins are Washed Away. Undignified Conduct of Elders. The Order 
 of Melchisedec. How I was " Confirmed." To become a Celestial 
 Queen. I go down to the Endowment-House. The Mysterious Cer- 
 emonies Described. The Veil at last Lifted. The Secrets of the 
 Endowment-House Exposed. I enter the Bath. Miss Snow Washes 
 Me. She Anoints Me All Over. I dress in a Bed-gown. The " Pe- 
 culiar Garment" of the Saints. What the Mormon Girls do about It. 
 
 "Going through" without a Husband. "A Great Shouting for 
 Sarah ! " 349 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 WE CARRY ON THE ENDOWMENT DRAMA. I AM FULLY 
 
 INITIATED. 
 
 In the Endowment-House. How the " Kings and Priests" appeared in 
 their Shirts. The Poor Fellows "feel Bad!" The "Gods" hold a 
 Conversaziotte. Michael is sent down to Earth. The " Tree of Life." 
 
 How Raisins grew instead of Apples. Not good to be Alone. The 
 Rib abstracted and little Eve made. The Devil dressed in "Tights." 
 John D. Lee once a Devil. Eve's Flirtation. She eats Forbidden 
 Fruit. Tempts her Husband. Fig-leaves come into Fashion. We 
 hide in Holes and Corners. The Devil is Cursed and we are Lectured. 
 
 The Second Degree. Story of a Pugnacious Woman. The Terri- 
 ble Oaths of the Endowment-House. Pains and Penalties. Signs 
 and Grips. " Good-bye ! " Brother Heber gives me Advice. . . . 362 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE PROPHET MAKES LOVE TO ME. I HAVE OTHER 
 
 VIEWS. 
 
 The Prophet Casts his Eye on Me. He Objects to my Beaux. " A Low 
 Set Anyway." I Didn't Want to Marry the Prophet. He Considers 
 Himself an Irresistible Lover. My First Drive with the Prophet. I 
 Join the Theatrical Corps. How We "Got Up" our Parts. How 
 " Fun Hall " was Built. The Prophet Erects a Theatre out of Temple 
 Funds. How Julia Deane, the Actress, Fascinated the Prophet. How 
 Brigham Cheated the Actors in his Theatre. The Girls Grumble over 
 their Scanty Fare. They want Something Good to Eat. My New 
 Beau. Love at First Sight. I am Engaged to My First Husband. 373 
 
CONTENTS. 21 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 MY FIRST MARRIAGE. A LIFE'S MISTAKE. 
 
 My First Marriage. Wedded to James Dee. Marriage Rites in the En- 
 dowment-House. The way in which Plural Wives are Taken. Brig- 
 ham sends for Me to help in the Theatre. Repenting of Matrimony. 
 I get tired of it in a Month. Cruel Conduct of my Husband. He 
 flirts considerably with the Young Girls. I am greatly Disgusted and 
 furiously Jealous. He threatens to take another Wife. The Owner- 
 ship of Women in Utah. How Newspaper Reporters are humbugged 
 by Brigham. How Visitors to Salt Lake are Watched. The Proph- 
 et's Spies. How People are misled about Utah Affairs. The Miseries 
 of the Women Overlooked 387 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 EARLY MARRIED LIFE. MY HUSBAND AND MY MOTHER. 
 
 My early married Life. We go to live with my Mother. Incompatibility 
 of Temper. How my Mother had opposed our Marriage. My Hus- 
 band does not Admire Her. He goes after the Girls. I don't like it 
 at All. I become extremely angry with Him. He is advised to " in- 
 crease hjs Kingdom." How Promises to Wives are broken by Mormon 
 Men. How Women are Snubbed and Undervalued. I become anxious 
 and Watchful. How Heber comforted his Wives. My Husband sub- 
 jects me to personal Violence. He is afraid of Results. My first 
 Baby is Born. Zina Young marries into Polygamy. Contrast be- 
 tween Mormon and Gentile Husbands. " The Bull never cares for the 
 Calves." My Husband nearly strangles Me. I leave him, and go to 
 my Parents. Brigham gives me some good Advice. I obtain a 
 Divorce. I rejoice at being free Again 398 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 AFTER MY DIVORCE. AFFAIRS AT HOME. 
 
 After my Divorce from Dee. "Is Polygamy good to Eat?" Curious 
 Experiences among the Saints. A Man who thought his Heart was 
 Broken. How Two Wives Rebelled. The Husband in a Fix. He 
 Runs Away from Home. Dismisses his Plural Wife. Being "Sealed " 
 to Old Women for Eternity. Nancy Chamberlain's Story. Who is to 
 be Brigham's Queen in Heaven? An Old Wife Dresses up as a Ghost. 
 How Brother Shaw Replenished his Exchequer. The Battles be- 
 tween my Father's Wives. My Mother Enjoys his Troubles. The 
 Story of a Turkey. A First Wife Asserts Her Rights. My Life at 
 South Cottonwood. I Receive Offers of Marriage 412 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 A WALK WITH THE PROPHET. HE MAKES LOVE TO ME. 
 
 How Brigham Travels through the Territory. Triumphant Receptions 
 Everywhere. Trying to Establish the "Order of Enoch." How the 
 Prophet Insulted his Faithful Followers. " Rheumatism" in the Tern- 
 
22 CONTENTS. 
 
 per. Grand Doings in the Settlements. We go to meet the Prophet. 
 
 How the Saints were Lectured in the Bowery. How Brigham gave 
 Howard a Piece of Land. Howard Insulted by the Prophet. Over- 
 looking the Prophet's Lies. Van Etten becomes Brigham's "Friend." 
 
 He Helps Him to Steal a Hundred Sheep. He makes a Big Haul, 
 and Escapes to Canada. The Prophet Ogles Me during Service-Time. 
 
 We Take a Walk Home Together. He Compliments My Good 
 Looks. Makes Love to Me. Matrimonial Advice. Brigham Wishes 
 Me to Become His Wife 426 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 HOW BRIGHAM YOUNG FORCED ME TO MARRY HIM. 
 
 Brigham's Offer of Marriage. I think the Prophet too Old. My Parents 
 are Delighted with the Honor. They Try to Persuade Me. I am 
 Very Obstinate. Arguing the Matter. How Brigham Found Means 
 to Influence Me. My Brothers get into Trouble. The Prophet and 
 the Telegraph-Poles. He takes a Nice Little Contract. Then Sells it 
 to his Son. Bishop Sharp makes a Few Dollars out of It. My 
 Brother Engages in the Work. He Becomes Involved in Debts and 
 Difficulties. Brigham Threatens to Cut Him Off for Dishonesty. 
 My Mother Tries to Excuse Him. Hemmed In on All Sides, I Deter- 
 mine to Make One Last Appeal. I fail, and Consent to Marry Him. 440 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 MY MARRIAGE WITH BRIGHAM YOUNG. HOW THE OTHER 
 WIVES RECEIVED ME. 
 
 The Prophet Rejoices at my Yielding. My Family Restored to Favor. 
 The Webbs Reconstructed. My Prophet-Lover Comes to See Me. 
 He Goes Courting " on the Sly," for Fear of Amelia. We are Married 
 Secretly in the Endowment-House. I am Sent Home Again. Brig- 
 ham Establishes me in the City. Limited Plates and Dishes. \Ve 
 Want a Little More Food. The Prophet's " Ration-Day."^ How the 
 Other Wives Received Me. Mrs. Amelia Doesn't Like Me. How the 
 Wives of the Prophet Worry and Scold Him. The Prophet Breaks his 
 Word. My Father Remembers the Thousand Dollars 455 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE PROPHET'S FAMILY CIRCLE. HIS WIVES AND 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 The Prophet Marries his First and Legal Wife. How she lives, and how 
 Brigham has treated Her. The Prophet's Eldest Son. The Story of 
 his Life. His Wives and Families. Mary and Maggie. The Favor- 
 ite Wife, Clara. Young " Briggy " and his Expectations. What the 
 Saints think of Him. His Domestic Joys. How he visited me when 
 Sick, and Scolded the old Gentleman. Brigham and "Briggy "make 
 love to Lizzie. Briggy Wins. "John W." He neglects his " King- 
 dom." " Won by the Third Wife." The Story of Lucy C. The 
 Prophet's Daughters. Alice and Luna. Miss Alice's Flirtations. 
 Sweet Language between Father and Daughter. Tragic Death of 
 Alice Clawson 468 
 
CONTENTS. 23 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. BROTHER BRIGHAM'S 
 DOMESTIC TROUBLES. 
 
 The Wives of the Prophet. Lucy Decker. A Mysterious Disappear- 
 ance. Lucy's Boys. Brigham's Wife, Clara. Her Busy Household 
 Work. About the Girls. Harriet Cook. She Expresses Unpleasant 
 Opinions. Brigham is frightened of Her. He Keeps out of the Way. 
 
 Amelia and the Sweetmeats. How one of Brigham's Daughters 
 Scandalized the Saints. How Mrs. Twiss Manages the Prophet's House. 
 
 The Work a Woman can Do. Martha Bowker and her silent Work. 
 
 Sweet and saintly Doings of the Prophet. Concerning Harriet Bar- 
 ney. The Wife who k ' Served Seven Years " for a Husband. Another 
 English Wife of the Prophet. The " Young Widow of Nauvoo." . 484 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE PROPHET'S FAVORITE WIFE. HOW HE CONDUCTED 
 HIS LOVE AFFAIRS. 
 
 The Prophet's Favorite Wife, Amelia. How Brigham made Love in the 
 Name of the Lord. How he won an Unwilling Bride. A Lady with 
 a Sweet Temper. How she Kicked a Sewing-Machine down the 
 Prophet's Stairs. She has a new House built for Her. Rather Ex- 
 pensiVe Habits. Her Pleasant Chances for the Future. Mary Van 
 Cott Cobb. A Former Love of the Prophet's. Miss Eliza-Roxy 
 Snow. The Mormon Poetess. Joseph Smith's Poetic Widow. Ver- 
 sification of the Saints. Mrs. Augusta Cobb. Emily Partridge. . 497 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE DEAD WIVES OF THE PROPHET. HE NEVER WAS 
 KNOWN TO SHED A TEAR. 
 
 The Discarded Favorite. The Story of Emmeline Free. A Stupendous 
 Humbug. A " Free" Opinion of Mormonism. Amelia comes upon 
 the Scene. How Brigham Insulted Emmeline Free. Brigham is 
 Ashamed of his Cowardice. I tell him a little of my Mind. Joseph 
 A. Expresses his Opinion. Apologizes for his Father. Death of 
 Emmeline Free. The Story of Clara Chase. The Prophet's Maniac 
 Wife. Ellen Rockwood, and the Cause of her Neglect. A Wife who 
 was visited once in Six Months. Margaret Alley. How the Prophet 
 treated his Dead Wife. He steals her Children's Property. How he 
 Scandalized another Wife, and sent her Home. He "Never shed a 
 tear at a Wife's Death." 506 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE PROPHET AT HOME. HOW HE LOOKS, LIVES, AND 
 ACTS. MORMON PHILANTHROPY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 Brigham at Forty-five and at Seventy-five. Slipping the Yoke. The 
 Salt Lake Tribune. Books on Mormonism. Prophetic Philanthropy. 
 The New Temple. Paying the Workmen. The Tabernacle. Ad- 
 
24 CONTENTS. 
 
 vantages of the Presidency. Free Schools and Liberal Education. 
 Sharp Practice. The Rich and the Poor. Unconscious Sarcasm. 
 Looking into the Future. The Spectacles of Ignorance. Personal 
 Habits. The Prophet's Barber. Dinner at the Lion House. The 
 Good Provider. Helping Herself. Prophetic Cunning. Evening 
 Devotions. A Gift in Prayer. Advice to the Deity. Fatherless 
 Children. The Bee Hive. Monogamist vs. Polygamist 517 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 BRIGHAM AS A FARMER. MY NEW HOUSE. TAKING 
 BOARDERS. 
 
 One Year after Marriage. Life at the Farm. House-keeping Extraordi- 
 nary. Bread and Milk Dinners. Brigham Tries to Catch us Nap- 
 ping. Hours of Labor. Dejection. My New House. Parlor 
 Stairs. " Wells Wanted." My Mother receives Notice to Quit. My 
 Elder Brother Pays her Board. Failing Faith. Taking Boarders. 
 The Prophet's Contemptible Meanness. Brigham's Neglect. Rev. 
 Mr. Stratton. I open my Heart. The New Religion. Woman's 
 Sphere. First Glimpses of the Outer World. Forming Resolu- 
 tions 532 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 BREAKING THE YOKE. I LEAVE MY HOME. 
 
 The Workings of Destiny. A Noble Lawyer. A Small Stove and a 
 Large Family. Last Interview with Brigham. A Startling Proposal. 
 
 Sickness and Gentile Care. Brigham's Police. A Moral Thunder- 
 bolt. My Third Baptism. A Religious Farce. I Decide to Escape. 
 
 A Memorable Day. Removing in Forty Minutes. The Walker 
 House. Among the Gentiles. A Perilous Situation. New Hopes. 
 Interviewed by Reporters. Unwelcome Notoriety. A Touching Let- 
 ter. A Visit from my Father. The Paper War. Overshooting the 
 Mark. Sueing for a Divorce. A Tempting Offer, $15,000 and my 
 Freedom. The Prophet Astonished 542 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE DIVORCE SUIT. PROCEEDINGS IN COURT. BRIG- 
 HAM'S AFFIDAVIT. 
 
 I bring an Action against the Prophet. My " Complaint" against Him. 
 
 What the "Complaint" Stated. My Birth and Early Life. My 
 Marriage with the Prophet. Exile to Brigham's Farm. Cause of 
 Action for Divorce. The Question of Alimony. My Own Affidavit. 
 
 Corroborative Testimony. Opinion of Judge McKean. Brigham 
 Young's Reply and Affidavit. The Prophet states the Value of his 
 Property. Wonderful Difference of Opinion. Proceedings in Court. 
 
 Judge McKean Sums Up. Order for Allowance and Alimony. -- 
 Judge McKean Removed. His Order Quashed by the New Judge. --- 
 The latest Proceedings 553 
 
CONTENTS. 25 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 MY ESCAPE FROM SALT LAKE CITY. MY PUBLIC CAREER. 
 
 Thoughts of the Future. The Gentile Papers. A Private Audience at the 
 Walker House. Hopes and Fears. I Resolve to Take the Platform. 
 Sneers and Ridicule. Brigham is made Acquainted with my Plans. 
 Packing under Difficulties. My Perilous Escape from Utah. A Noble 
 Woman. Arrival at Laramie. Denver. My First Public Lecture. 
 A Grand Success. Brigham at Work. A Scandalous Article in the 
 Chicago Times. A Mean Lawyer. Lecture at Boston. Kindness 
 of the Members of Boston Press. Opposed by George Q^ Cannon. 
 Washington Lecture a Success. First Glimpses of the True Faith. 
 Conversion to Christianity 566 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. MORMON APOSTLES. - THE OR- 
 DER OF ENOCH. 
 
 Mormon Administration. The Earthly Trinity. Filling Vacancies. 
 Mormon Apostles. Polygamy made Profitable. The Seventy. Two- 
 Dollar Blessings. Astounding Promises. Bishops and Spies. The 
 Order of Enoch. All things in Common.- An Apostolic Row. 
 How Enoch Works. A Stupid Telegram. Logic Extraordinary. A 
 Gigantic Swindle. Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution. Brig- 
 hatn's Revelations. The Saints Laugh in their Sleeves. "It pays to 
 be a Mormon." Beginning to see through It. The Apostate Pres- 
 ident 577 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE CONDITION OF MORMON WOMEN. HIGH AND LOW 
 LIFE IN POLYGAMY. 
 
 Increasing Light. The Equality of the Sexes. Exaggeration Impossi- 
 ble. Likely Saviours. The Present Condition of Mormon Women. 
 The Prospects for the Future. Polygamy Bad for Rich and Poor. A 
 Happy Family. The Happiness Marred. Sealed for Time Only. 
 Building on Another Man's Foundation. The New Wife. How the Old 
 One Fared. The Husband's Death a Relief. Asa Calkins's English 
 Mission. What Came of It. How to Get Rich. Two Sermons from 
 One Text. Dividing the Spoil. No Woman Happy in Polygamy. 589 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 MY RETURN TO UTAH. SECRET OF BRIGHAM'S POWER. 
 UTAH'S FUTURE. 
 
 I Return to Utah. Reception at the Walker House. Greeting old 
 Friends. My Love for the Place. Six Lectures in the Territory. 
 Brigham's Daughters make Faces at me. My Father and Mother in 
 the Audience. The Half not told. Multitudes Pleading for Freedom. 
 Eastern Newspaper Reports. Indiscretion. The Poland Bill. 
 Increase of Polygamy. The Secrets of Brigham's Power. The Pulpit 
 and Press on Mormonism. The Salt Lake City Tribune. A Word to 
 the Sufferers. Calls for Help. The Future of Utah 598 
 
PAGE 
 
 Portrait of Ann Eliza Young (SV^e/), Frontispiece. 
 
 Turned out of Doors, 31 
 
 Preaching the New Religion, 37 
 
 Joseph Smith, the Founder of Mormonism, 40 
 
 The Night of Terror, 46 
 
 Nauvoo Temple, 49 
 
 Burning of the Newspaper Office, 62 
 
 Assassination of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, 64 
 
 Emma Smith, " The Elect Lady," 65 
 
 The Indignant Wife, 69 
 
 The First Plural Marriage, 72 
 
 Arrival at Quincy, Illinois, 87 
 
 Sidney Rigdon, 90 
 
 My First Vote, 95 
 
 My Father's First Plural Marriage, 98 
 
 " Do you think /have no Trials?" 107 
 
 Winter Quarters, no 
 
 A Blessing from Brigham, 115 
 
 Singing the Rallying Song, 120 
 
 The Journey to Zion. Crossing the Plains, 121 
 
 Brigham Imitating the " Grecian Bend," 123 
 
 Anointing the Sick with Oil, 125 
 
 The Deseret Costume, 130 
 
 Brigham Refuses my Request, 133 
 
 The Ball in the Bowery, 137 
 
 The Dissatisfied Wife, . . . 142 
 
 The Apostle Orson Pratt, "The Champion of Polygamy," 150 
 
 Joseph Young, Brother of Brigham, and President of the Seventies, 15,1 
 
28 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Brigham's Brotherly Love, 153 
 
 Discouraging Apostasy, 160 
 
 Brigham Seizing Cattle for the Church, 163 
 
 Apostle Lorenzo Snow, 166 
 
 Apostle C. C. Rich, 166 
 
 Apostle A. Carrington, 166 
 
 Apostle Joseph F. Smith, 166 
 
 Apostle Erastus Snow, 166 
 
 Joseph A. Young Preparing for Missionary Work, 171 
 
 E. Hunter, Presiding Bishop Mormon Church, 172 
 
 Doing Missionary Work, 178 
 
 Awakening the Saints, 181 
 
 " Scene during Reformation," 185 
 
 Dealing with a Weak Brother, 191 
 
 Brutal Assault upon Mrs. Jarvis, 193 
 
 Blood Atonement. Scene during Reformation, 198 
 
 The Emigrants' Landing-Place, " Castle Gardens, New York," . . . 200 
 
 Apostle Franklin D. Richards, " Husband of Ten Wives," 202 
 
 Mormon Emigrants on Shipboard, 205 
 
 The Hand-Cart Train, 210 
 
 " Some will Push, and some will Pull," 213 
 
 Relief in Sight, 215 
 
 Arrival of " Hand-Cart Companies" at Salt Lake City, 221 
 
 "Vengeance is Mine." 228 
 
 Parley P. Pratt, . . 235 
 
 Assassination of Parley P. Pratt, 237 
 
 John D. Lee (Has nineteen wives and sixty-four children), 238 
 
 The Murder of Two Little Girls, 241 
 
 Murdered by Lee's Own Hand, 245 
 
 Murdering the Women and Children, 247 
 
 The Mountain Meadows Massacre, 248 
 
 Scene after the Massacre, 249 
 
 Using up an Apostate, 262 
 
 Brigham's " Destroying Angel," " Port " Rockwell, 269 
 
 Murder of the Aiken Party, 272 
 
 Brigham Young's Farm-House, 277 
 
 Bill Hickman, Brigham's "Destroying Angel," 279 
 
 Brigham Wooing Widow Lewis, 284 
 
 Only a Wife out of the Way, 290 
 
 Life a Burden 293 
 
 Bird's-Eye View of Salt Lake City, 295 
 
 The New Addition, 297 
 
 Scene in Polygamy. Greeting the Favorite, 305 
 
 The Maniac Wife, 306 
 
 The Happy Home of a Polygamist, 313 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 2p 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Broken-Hearted, 317 
 
 Orson Hyde and Forgotten Wife, 320 
 
 Apostle George Q Cannon, Member of Congress (Has four Wives 
 
 and thirteen Children), 322 
 
 Apostle Orson Hyde, 324 
 
 Brigham in a Quandary, 327 
 
 Apostle John Taylor (Husband of Six Wives), 330 
 
 Mormons Burning a Government Train, 333 
 
 A Good Deal of Wives. Too much Attention, 339 
 
 Remains of Adobe Defences, 341 
 
 Mormons Selling Provisions to United States Troops, 343 
 
 Brigham's Folly, " The Prairie Schooner," 347 
 
 Taking my Endowments Behind the Curtain, 349 
 
 Mormon Baptism, 352 
 
 Mormon Confirmation, 354 
 
 The Endowment House, 356 
 
 The Devil of the Endowment House, 362 
 
 Apostle Willard Woodruff ("Timothy Broadbrim"), 364 
 
 Receiving the Endowments, 366 
 
 Apostle Heber C. Kimball, 371 
 
 My First Appearance in Brigham's Theatre 373 
 
 My First Ride with Brigham, 376 
 
 Brigham's Theatre, 379 
 
 A Life of Unhappiness, 387 
 
 Family Jars, 398 
 
 My Baby Boy, 403 
 
 Strangled by my Husband, 407 
 
 " Grandma, what is Polygamy?" 412 
 
 No Peace with Polygamy, 415 
 
 Old Farm-House at Cottonwood, 422 
 
 Brigham on his Travels, 426 
 
 Brigham Preaching at South Cottonwood, 430 
 
 Breaking the News, 440 
 
 Chauncey G. Webb ("My Father"), 444 
 
 Eliza C. Webb ("My Mother"), 445 
 
 Brigham's Stormy Interview with my Mother, 452 
 
 Amelia tries to Keep Me Out, 455 
 
 Amelia's Display of Temper, 463 
 
 Insulted by her Father, 468 
 
 Joseph A. .Young, 47 1 
 
 Maggie Young (Joseph A.'s Discarded Wife), 47 3 
 
 "Briggy" (The Prophet's Successor), 474 
 
 John W. Young, 477 
 
 Lucy Rebellious, 479 
 
 Kissing Libbie Good Night, 4&> 
 
3O ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mrs. Alice Young Clawson (Brigham's Eldest Daughter), 482 
 
 Emmeline Serving Brigham and Amelia, 484 
 
 Clara Decker (Wife of Brigham), 486 
 
 The Lion House (Brigham Young's Residence), 490 
 
 The Lion House and Brigham's Offices, 493 
 
 Brigham Looks Amazed, 497 
 
 Amelia Folsom (Brigham's Favorite Wife), 498 
 
 Miss Eliza R. Snow (Mormon Poetess), 501 
 
 Zina D. Huntington (Wife of Brigham), 502 
 
 Zina Williams (Brigham's Daughter), 503 
 
 A Little Conversation with Brigham, 506 
 
 Waiting for Brigham to Keep his Promise, 509 
 
 The Disgraced Wife, 515 
 
 Dinner at the Lion House, 517 
 
 Brigham Young (Full Page Portrait), . 520 
 
 Mormon Temple (now Building), 523 
 
 Interior of Tabernacle on Sundays, 524 
 
 Family Prayers at Bee Hive House, 529 
 
 Toiling for Brigham, 532 
 
 Relating my Story to Mr. and Mrs. Stratton, 540 
 
 Alone at the Hotel, 542 
 
 Carrying my Furniture to the Auction Room, 546 
 
 Excitement in Salt Lake City, 548 
 
 Brigham Fined and Imprisoned for Contempt of Court, 553 
 
 Flight at Night, 566 
 
 Escape from Salt Lake City, 570 
 
 View of Salt Lake City, showing Tabernacle, 571 
 
 The Co-operative Store, 577 
 
 George A. Smith, First Counsellor, 578 
 
 Daniel H. Wells, Second Counsellor, 579 
 
 The Old Mormon Tabernacle, 580 
 
 Mormon Tithing Store, and Office of Deseret News, 585 
 
 View of Brigham's Canal, 587 
 
 Polygamy in High and Low Life, 589 
 
 Driven from Home, 594 
 
 Receiving my Friends at the Walker House, 59 
 
 Reception at Salt Lake City, 599 
 
 "Not Afraid of the Poland Bill," 603 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE DAYS OF MY CHILDHOOD. WHY I EVER WAS A 
 
 MORMON. 
 
 An Important Question. Born in Mormonism. Telling my own Story. 
 Joseph Smith's Mission. He Preaches a New Dispensation. 
 My Parents Introduced to the Reader. The Days before Polygamy. 
 My Mother's Childhood. Learning under Difficulties. First 
 Thoughts of Mormonism. Received into the Church. Persecution 
 for the Faith. Forsaking All for the New Religion. First Acquaint- 
 ance with the Apostle Brigham. His Ambitious Intrigues. His 
 Poverty. His Mission-work. Deceptive Appearances. My Moth- 
 er's Marriage. A Brief Dream of Happiness. That sweet word 
 Home." -- The Prophet Smith turns Banker. The " Kirtland Safety 
 Society Bank." The Prophet and Sidney Rigdon Flee. A Moment 
 of Hesitation. Another " Zion " Appointed. Losing All for the 
 Church. Privation and Distress. Sidney Rigdon and his " Declara- 
 tion of Independence." He Excites an Immense Sensation. Mobs 
 Assemble, and Fights Ensue. Lively Times among the Saints. 
 The Outrages of the Danites. 
 
 URING the somewhat 
 public career which I 
 have led since my apostasy 
 from the Mormon Church, 
 I have often been asked 
 why I ever became a 
 Mormon. Indeed, I have 
 scarcely entered a town 
 where this question has 
 not been put by some one, 
 almost on the instant of 
 my arrival. It is the first 
 query of the newspaper 
 reporter, and the anxious inquiry of the clergymen, who 
 with one accord, without regard to creed or sect, have bid- 
 
32 AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. 
 
 den me welcome into the light of Christian faith, from out 
 the dark bondage of fanaticism and bigotry ; and I have 
 often answered it at the hospitable table of some enter- 
 tainer, who has kindly given me shelter during a lecture 
 engagement. 
 
 Curiosity, interest, desire to gratify a wondering public 
 by some personal items concerning me, are the different 
 motives which prompt the question ; but surprise is almost 
 without exception betrayed when I tell them that I was born 
 in the faith. Sometimes I think that the people of the out- 
 side world consider it impossible that a person can be born 
 in Mormonism ; they regard every Mormon as a deluded 
 proselyte to a false faith. 
 
 It is with a desire to impress upon the world what Mor- 
 monism really is ; to show the pitiable condition of its wo- 
 men, held in a system of bondage that is more cruel than 
 African slavery ever was, since it claims to hold body and 
 soul alike ; to arouse compassion for its children and youth, 
 born and growing up in an atmosphere of social impurity ; 
 and, above all, to awaken an interest in the hearts of the 
 American people that shall at length deepen into indigna- 
 tion, that I venture to undertake the task of writing this 
 book. I have consecrated myself to the work, not merely 
 for my own sake, but for the sake of all the unhappy wo- 
 men of Utah, who, unlike myself, are either too powerless 
 or too timid to break the fetters which bind them. 
 
 I intend to give a truthful picture of Mormon life ; to veil 
 nothing which should be revealed, even though the recital 
 should be painful to me at times, coming so close, as it neces- 
 sarily must, to my inmost life, awakening memories which 
 I would fain permit to remain slumbering, and opening old 
 wounds which I had fondly hoped were healed. Neither 
 shall I intentionally tinge any occurrence with the slightest 
 coloring of romance ; the real is so vivid and so strange 
 that I need have no recourse to the imaginary. 
 
 All the events which I shall relate will be some of my 
 
BORN IN MORMONISM. 33 
 
 own personal experiences, or the experience of those so 
 closely connected with me that they have fallen directly 
 under my observation, and for whose truth I can vouch 
 without hesitation. To tell the story as it ought to be told, 
 I must begin at the very beginning of my life ; for I have 
 always been so closely connected with these people that I 
 could not easily take up the narrative at any intermediate 
 point. 
 
 I was born at Nauvoo, Illinois, on the I3th of Septem- 
 ber, 1844, and was the youngest child and only surviving 
 daughter of a family of five children. 
 
 My father and mother were most devout Mormons, and 
 were among the very earliest of Joseph Smith's converts. 
 They have, indeed, been closely identified with the Church 
 of the Latter-Day Saints almost from its first establish- 
 ment. They have followed it in all its wanderings, have 
 been identified with its every movement, and their fortunes 
 have risen or fallen as the Church has been prosperous or 
 distressed. They were enthusiastic adherents of Joseph 
 Smith, and devoted personal friends of Brigham Young, 
 until he, by his own treacherous acts, betrayed their friend- 
 ship, and himself broke every link that had united them 
 to him, even that of religious sympathy, which among this 
 people is the most difficult to sunder. 
 
 My father, Chauncey G. Webb, was born in 1812, in 
 Hanover, Chatauqua County, N. Y. He first heard the 
 Mormon doctrine preached in 1833, only a very short time 
 after Joseph Smith had given the Book of Mormon to the 
 world, and had announced himself as another Messiah, 
 chosen by " the Lord " to restore true religion to the world, 
 to whom also had been revealed all the glories of "the 
 kingdom " that should yet be established on the earth, and 
 over which he was to be, by command from the Lord, both 
 temporal and spiritual ruler. 
 
 They the old folks embraced the new faith imme- 
 diately, and prepared for removal to Kirtland, Ohio, which 
 3 
 

 34 THE FIRST RELIGION OF THE SAINTS. 
 
 was to be the nucleus of the new church, the "Zion" given 
 by revelation to Joseph Smith as the gathering-place of the 
 Saints. They were naturally anxious to gather all their chil- 
 dren into the fold, and they urged my father, with tearful, 
 prayerful entreaties, to accompany them to the city of refuge 
 prepared for the faithful followers of the Lord and His 
 prophet Smith. 
 
 Like many young people, he had at that time but little 
 sympathy with religion. He had given but very little 
 thought to the peculiar beliefs of the different churches. 
 This world held so much of interest to him, that he had 
 considered but very little the mysteries of the future, and 
 the world to come. Of a practical, and even to some ex- 
 tent sceptical turn of mind, he was inclined to take things 
 as they came to him, and was not easily influenced by the 
 marvellous or supernatural. If left to himself, he might, 
 probably, never have embraced Mormonism ; but he yielded 
 to the entreaties of his parents, and joined the Mormon 
 Church more as an expression of filial regard than of deep 
 religious conviction. The Saints were at that time an 
 humble, spiritual-minded, God-fearing, law-abiding people, 
 holding their new belief with sincerity and enthusiasm, 
 and proving their position, to their own satisfaction at least, 
 from the Bible. They had not then developed the spirit 
 of intolerance which has since characterized them, and 
 though they were touched with religious fanaticism, they 
 were honest in their very bigotry. The Mormon Church, 
 in its earliest days, cannot be fairly judged by the Mormon 
 Church of the present time, which retains none of its early 
 simplicity, and which seems to have lost sight entirely of 
 the fundamental principles on which it was built. My 
 father, although not entering fully into the spirit of his 
 new religion at that early period of his saintly experience, 
 yet found nothing of the insincerity which he claimed to 
 have met in other beliefs ; and having embraced the new 
 faith, he was prepared to hold to it, and to cast his lot with 
 
MY MOTHERS CONVERSION. 35 
 
 it. So he went with his parents to Kirtland, in 1834, where 
 he found the first romance of his life in the person of Eliza 
 Churchill, my mother, then a young girl of seventeen, just 
 blossoming into fairest womanhood. 
 
 Never was there a greater mental or spiritual contrast 
 between two persons. My mother was a religious enthu- 
 siast, almost a mystic. She believed implicitly in personal 
 revelation, and never doubted but that the Mormon faith 
 came directly from "the Lord." She "saw visions and 
 dreamed dreams," and at times it would have taken but 
 little persuasion to have made her believe herself inspired. 
 It was a religious nature like hers, dreamy, devoted, and 
 mystical, that, in other conditions and amid other sur- 
 roundings, had given to France a Joan of Arc. It must 
 have been the attraction of opposite natures that brought 
 together in so close a relationship the practical, shrewd, 
 somewhat sceptical man, and the devoted, enthusiastic, 
 religious girl. It was probably the very contrast that made 
 the young man feel such tenderness and care for the home- 
 less orphan girl, and made her cling to him, trusting her 
 helplessness to his strength. 
 
 Her early life had by no means been so sheltered as his, 
 and to her the thought of tender care and protecting watch- 
 fulness, through all the rest of her days, was unutterably 
 sweet and restful. If her dream could only have been 
 realized ! But polygamy cursed her life, as it has that of 
 every Mormon woman, and shattered her hopes before she 
 had but a taste of their realization. 
 
 She was born at Union Springs, Cayuga County, N. Y., 
 on the 4th of May, 1817, but only lived there until she was 
 two years old, when her parents removed to Livingston 
 County, in the same state. When she was four years old 
 her mother died, leaving three little children, the youngest 
 a mere baby. Her father, finding it impossible to obtain 
 any one to take care of the three as they should be cared 
 for, was obliged, much against his will, to separate them, 
 
36 HOW THE FIRST CONVERTS WERE MADE. 
 
 and put them in the charge of different persons, until such 
 time as he was in a situation to make a home for them 
 together. But that was destined never to be, and these 
 children were never reunited, although they have never 
 lost sight of one another ; and to this day the hearts of the 
 Gentile and Mormon sisters yearn towards each other, and 
 the more fortunate one suffers in sympathy with her sister's 
 sufferings. 
 
 My mother was given into the care of a family of the 
 name of Brown, with whom she staid twelve years. Her 
 life with them was rendered most unhappy by the treat- 
 ment which she received, and from lack of sympathy. 
 Ambitious, and craving knowledge most ardently, she was 
 denied all means of procuring a proper education, and was 
 reduced to the position of a mere drudge. But her percep- 
 tions were keen, her memory retentive, and in spite of all 
 drawbacks she managed to learn something; enough, in- 
 deed, to lay the foundation for the knowledge which she 
 aftenvards acquired, and which stood her in good stead as 
 a means of support for herself and her children, after the 
 arrival of the Saints in Utah. Whatever came in her way 
 in the shape of reading-matter she eagerly devoured, 
 whether it was the torn bit of an old newspaper, the inev- 
 itable "Farmer's Almanac," or some odd volume of histo- 
 ry, biography, or fiction, which had found its way mysteri- 
 ously to the New York farm-house of other days; but 
 above all, the Bible and Methodist hymn-books. These 
 she had read and re-read until she could repeat large por- 
 tions of them from memory. Wesley's beautiful hymns, 
 with their earnest, fervid tone, were her special favorites 
 among these religious songs, and her young heart glowed 
 as she listened to the poetic inspirations of Isaiah and 
 those other prophecies, which she believed, although she 
 could not understand. 
 
 When she was fifteen years of age, she united with the 
 Methodist Church ; and it was while she was in the first 
 
PREACHING THE NEW RELIGION. 37 
 
 flush of her religious experience that the Mormon mis- 
 sionaries came to Avon, the town in which she lived, 
 preaching their new doctrines. My mother had very nat- 
 urally a great deal of curiosity concerning this new reli- 
 gion, which was railed at as a delusion, and its prophet 
 and founder, Joseph Smith, who was called a hypocrite, a 
 false teacher, a blasphemer, and every other opprobrious 
 name that could be heaped upon him, in the bitterness of 
 religious persecution. But she was forbidden to attend 
 their meetings, and it was many months before she was 
 able to listen to one of the sermons. During this time she 
 had grown somewhat into sympathy with these people, and 
 had come to feel an interest in them greater than she 
 would have felt had she not met with such persistent, and, 
 what seemed to her, unreasonable opposition to her often 
 expressed wish to hear them and judge of their sincerity 
 and truth for herself. 
 
 PREACHING THE NEW RELIGION. 
 
 After a time, however, she found an opportunity of attend- 
 ing a two days' meeting, without the knowledge of her 
 friends ; and she listened eagerly to Joseph Young as he 
 expounded the new doctrine and dwelt upon the glories 
 of the " kingdom " which was to be speedily set up upon 
 the earth. Predisposed as she already was in its favor, it 
 
38 SUFFERING FOR THE FAITH. 
 
 is not strange that she was readily convinced of its divine 
 origin, and accepted it at once as the true religion. Before 
 the meeting was over, she was numbered among Elder Jo- 
 seph Young's converts, and was received into the Mormon 
 Church, being baptized by the apostolic hands of his brother 
 Brigham. 
 
 When it became known that she had become a convert 
 to the obnoxious faith, she was the object of bitter persecu- 
 tion. The family with whom she lived were especially 
 intolerant, and in their anger resorted to every expedient 
 to force her to give up her new faith. They confined her 
 in a cellar for several days, kept her upon bread and water, 
 and subjected her to other severities of a like nature. All 
 this opposition did not move her one particle. She remained 
 firm in her chosen faith, and was steadfast and true to her 
 convictions of right. All this severity of treatment she 
 rather gloried in. Was it not worth while to suffer perse- 
 cution, and be treated with contumely and contempt, for 
 the sake of the church that had been specially called by the 
 Lord to " build up the waste places of Zion " ? Would not 
 her reward be the greater by and by ? So filled was she 
 with the new enthusiasm that nothing had power even to 
 render her unhappy ; as she says, she triumphed in perse- 
 cution and rejoiced in suffering. 
 
 When her persecutors found that neither arguments nor 
 threats could move her, they turned her out of doors, con- 
 sidering that they were doing only their duty, since it would 
 be a sin to harbor a Mormon. The thought of her extreme 
 youth and her unprotected situation did not move them in 
 the slightest degree. Their doors were shut against her, 
 as their hearts had always been. 
 
 Instinctively she turned towards the people with whom 
 she had so lately connected herself, and for whose sake 
 she had left home and friends ; they received her kindly 
 and hospitably, and she went with them to Kirtland, where 
 my father found her when he arrived a few months later. 
 
WHAT BRIGHAM YOUNG ONCE WAS. 39 
 
 It was at this time that the friendship began between my 
 mother and Brigham Young, which lasted so many years 
 a faithful friendship on her part, met, as a matter of course, 
 by unkindness and treachery on his side. At that time he 
 was young and zealous, and seemingly sincere. He was 
 one of the most successful of the early Mormon mission- 
 aries, and was considered specially gifted. He was an 
 ardent supporter and personal friend of Joseph Smith, and 
 young as he was, had attained a high position in the Church 
 of the Saints, being the second of the twelve apostles, all 
 of whom were chosen by the Prophet Smith himself. 
 
 Some have considered that his zeal was assumed, and 
 that beyond the ambition of attaining a high position he 
 had no personal regard for Mormonism. It is believed by 
 many of the old Mormons that he always entertained the 
 hope of becoming Joseph's successor, and standing at the 
 head of the church. He has no natural religious nature ; 
 indeed, he is at times a positive sceptic. He has made the 
 church a stepping-stone to temporal prosperity, and the 
 Mormon people have been the pliant tools with which he 
 has carved his fortune. 
 
 In those days he was struggling with poverty, going on 
 missions, as the apostles of old were commanded to do, and 
 as all these new apostles did, in their first days of apostle- 
 ship, " without purse or scrip ; " and to my mother the 
 "Apostle" Brigham was invested with all the attributes 
 which belong to an earnest nature, intensified by deep reli- 
 gious faith. In short, he was, as she regarded him, a 
 creature of her imagination, and utterly unlike his real self 
 as she came at length to know him. 
 
 The year following my father's arrival in Kirtland, and 
 his first meeting with my mother, they were married. The 
 first few months of their married life were peculiarly happy, 
 and they prospered beyond their most sanguine expecta- 
 tions. My father was a wheelwright by trade, and directly 
 on reaching Kirtland built a wagon manufactory, and 
 
40 JOSEPH SMITH: "PROPHET, SEER, AND REVELATOR." 
 
 started in business for himself. He was eminently suc- 
 cessful in his undertaking, and made money sufficiently 
 fast to suit his own ideas and ambitions. He built a cosy 
 little house, and carried my mother to it ; and there, for 
 the first time since she was a little child, she knew what 
 it was to have a home a genuine home ! not a mere rest- 
 ing-place, where she felt herself an intruder, but a place in 
 which she was mistress, over which love and she held 
 absolute and undisputed sway. 
 
 It was during that happy period, the only happy time in 
 her whole life, that she fitted herself to teach. She was 
 an indefatigable student, and she made the most and the 
 best of her time. At that time she studied to satisfy 
 her intense craving for knowledge, and as a pleasant recre- 
 ation, with no thought that she might some day have to 
 turn her studies to practical account. She had not then 
 been introduced to the doctrine of " plural wives," and its 
 attendant "glories," which, being defined, meant miseries 
 and torture. And the definition has never been altered, 
 and never will be, until women's natures are most rad- 
 ically changed. 
 
 As I said before, my father 
 was prospering in worldly af- 
 fairs, and when it was "re- 
 vealed " to Joseph Smith that 
 in addition to the profession 
 of " Prophet," he should add 
 that of banker, he assisted 
 Smith in founding the " Kirt- 
 land Safety Society Bank/* 
 by promising to deposit all 
 his money therein ; in short, 
 
 sessed outside of his house 
 and shop towards completing the amount necessary for a 
 capital on which to start the new enterprise. When the 
 
THE BANK FAILS, AND THE PROPHET FLEES. 4! 
 
 bank failed, which it did very shortly after its estab- 
 lishment, my father, of course, lost every cent which he 
 had invested. He was intensely disgusted with the whole 
 proceeding, which, if it had happened in the Gentile 
 world, would have been termed swindling, and Smith 
 would not have been easily let off by the mere calling of 
 names. Many Gentiles, who had suffered by the failure, 
 were not so lenient as Smith's followers, and demanded 
 that the Prophet should answer to the complaint of swin- 
 dling before the United States court. But, as usual, he 
 eluded the officers of justice, and all attempts to arrest him 
 were unavailing. 
 
 The poor Saints, although losing, many of them, all 
 their hard-earned savings, were still loyal to their leader, 
 and excused him on the ground that " he had lost the Spirit " 
 for the time, and the revelation was not of divine origin ; 
 although he was unconscious of that fact, and received it 
 in good faith. My father, however, not so ready to excuse 
 what seemed to him an act of premeditated dishonesty, and 
 having very little faith in "revelation" at any time, was 
 very bitter in his denunciations ; and it was only by my moth- 
 er's influence, who still clung fondly to her faith, that he 
 did not then renounce Mormonism. Although she has 
 never openly acknowledged it, I think that my mother has 
 since often regretted her steadfast adherence to the church 
 at that time. Her loyalty and persistence brought upon her 
 the unhappiness of her life, and finally plunged her into 
 such utter misery as only polygamous wives can experi- 
 ence. Her religion, that was to be so much to her, brought 
 her not one ray of comfort, but in after years blighted her 
 domestic life, and laid upon her a cross almost too heavy 
 to be borne. But I must do her the justice to say, that 
 through it all she has never complained, but has endured 
 her sufferings in silence, and met her woes with patience. 
 
 This unfortunate revelation of the Prophet's, together with 
 other somewhat questionable business transactions, and the 
 
consequent growing prejudice of the people of Ohio against 
 him and his followers, made it necessary for the Saints to 
 seek some other place, where they might build their " Zion." 
 It was certain that the Lord did not favor Ohio ; and about 
 that time he " revealed " to Joseph that the place he had 
 selected in which to establish His temporal kingdom was 
 Missouri. This was to be the Mormon Canaan, the land 
 which they the chosen people of the Lord should enter 
 and possess. To be sure, He had revealed the very same 
 thing concerning Kirtland ; it was there that he declared 
 " He had established His name for the salvation of the na- 
 tions." But according to the Prophet's later explanation, 
 Satan was striving to break up the kingdom, and the spirit 
 of " apostate mobocracy " raged and grew hotter, until 
 Smith and his confederate, Sidney Rigdon, were obliged 
 "to flee from its deadly influence, as did the apostles and 
 prophets of old ; " and " as Jesus had commanded his fol- 
 lowers, when persecuted in one city, to flee to another," so 
 these two worthies left the " chosen city of the Lord " most 
 unceremoniously, under cover of darkness, pursued by of- 
 ficers of the law, and never returned to it again. But from 
 Missouri Smith sent messages and exhortations to those of 
 the Saints who still remained faithful, "to gather quickly 
 to Zion." 
 
 Very many members of the church apostatized at that 
 time, and the numbers of the faithful "chosen" were decid- 
 edly lessened. Among those who remained unshaken was 
 my mother, who in her almost fanatical blindness, accepted 
 the Prophet's explanations, and was still willing to be led 
 by his revelations. My father was held by his affection for 
 her rather than by any conviction of the " divine leading " 
 of Smith, whom, indeed, he distrusted almost entirely ; and it 
 was in compliance with my mother's ardent wish to follow 
 her prophet, and to establish herself and family in Zion 
 amidst the Saints, that my father finally decided to em- 
 igrate with the remnant of the church to Missouri. 
 
SUFFERINGS OF THE PERSECUED SAINTS. 43 
 
 He settled in Daviess County, about thirty miles from Far- 
 West, where the body of the Saints were located, and was 
 again tasting the sweets of prosperity and domestic comfort, 
 when the Missouri war broke out, and he was obliged to 
 remove his family, in the greatest haste, to Far- West for 
 their safety, leaving house and property to be confiscated 
 by an angry mob. 
 
 This was the second time, since casting his lot with the 
 Saints, that all my father's possessions had been suddenly 
 swept away, and this last would have discourged him sadly 
 had it not made him so indignant to see the injustice which 
 was shown by Gentiles to the Mormons ; and he assisted 
 in guarding the lives of the Mormon people, and the remant 
 of property which was left to them, until such time as 
 they could find another home. 
 
 During this time my mother's sufferings were intense. 
 Many of the houses had been burned by mobs, and she, 
 and many other women in as severe straits as herself, were 
 compelled to live as best they could, exposed to the wind 
 and rain, and without any proper shelter, during almost the 
 entire winter, with two little children, one a baby only a 
 few months old, the other about two years old. In addition 
 to all the discomforts of the situation, she was always in 
 constant terror of an attack by the infuriated mobs, who 
 were waging a genuine war of extermination with the suf- 
 fering Saints. As is always the case with a religious war, 
 the feeling was intensely bitter. The Gentiles had no char- 
 ity for the Mormons, and would neither tolerate their faith 
 nor them. The Mormons returned the hatred of the Gen- 
 tiles with interest, and considering themselves the chosen 
 of the Lord, selected by Him to the exclusion of all the rest 
 of the world, of course argued that whatever they did could 
 by no possibility be wrong, and they returned their ill-treat- 
 ment with interest. 
 
 Although there had been, always, a strong prejudice 
 against the Mormons in Missouri, as in other states where 
 
44 
 
 they had lived, it was not until after Sidney Rigdon made 
 his famous incendiary speech, at the commencement of the 
 foundation of the new Temple at Far-West, on the 4th of 
 July, 1838, that the feeling broke into anything like aggres- 
 sive hostilities. 
 
 Rigdon had embraced Mormonism in 1830, and had 
 been ever since that time an ardent Saint. He was a 
 Campbellite preacher in Ohio at the time of his conversion, 
 which was accomplished under the teachings of Parley P. 
 Pratt, a man who played quite an important part in the 
 early Mormon history. Rigdon was a very fluent speaker, 
 much revered by the Saints on account of his eloquence, 
 which, it must be confessed, was decidedly of the "bun- 
 combe " order. For a long time he was the intimate friend 
 and chief counsellor of Joseph Smith, was connected with 
 him in the Kirtland Bank swindle, and escaped with him 
 to Missouri. 
 
 It had been revealed to the Prophet Smith that another 
 temple must be built to the Lord in the new Zion, since the 
 one at Kirtland had been desecrated by falling into Gentile 
 hands, and Rigdon was chosen to make the speech on the 
 occasion of laying the first foundation-stone of this sacred 
 edifice. 
 
 The " Champion of Liberty," as Rigdon was called by 
 his admirers, was more bombastic and more denunciatory 
 than usual. He surpassed himself in invective, and mad- 
 dened the already prejudiced Missourians, who were only 
 waiting for some excuse to quarrel with their unwelcome 
 neighbors. Among other absurd things, he said : 
 
 "We take God and all the holy angels to witness, that 
 we warn all men to come on us no more for ever. The 
 man or set of men that attempts it, does so at the expense 
 of their lives. The mob that comes to disturb us we will 
 follow until the last drop of their blood is spilled, or else 
 they will have to exterminate us. We will carry the war 
 into their own homes and families. No man shall come into 
 
GREAT EXCITEMENT AMONG THE SAINTS. 45 
 
 our streets to threaten us with mobs ; if he does, he shall 
 atone for it before he leaves the place. We this day pro- 
 claim ourselves free, with a purpose and determination that 
 can never be broken. No, never ! No, never ! ! No, 
 never ! ! ! " 
 
 This speech fired the excitable nature of the Saints, and 
 they were aroused to a high pitch of warlike enthusiasm. 
 Already, in imagination, they saw Missouri conquered, and 
 the church in possession of the entire state. There could 
 be no doubt of the final result, for this was the Promised 
 Land into which they had been led by the hand of the 
 Lord. 
 
 With the superstition which characterizes this people, 
 they turned every accident or occurrence into some sign 
 from Heaven, and it was always interpreted to promise suc- 
 cess to them and confusion to their enemies. On this day 
 of celebration the Mormons had erected a liberty-pole in 
 honor of the occasion ; in the afternoon it was struck by 
 lightning, shivered to atoms, and fell, its flag trailing in the 
 dust. There was rejoicing among the Mormons ; that was 
 certainly an omen of the speedy downfall of their enemies. 
 It seems now as though if it must be considered an omen 
 of anything that it was prophetic of the uprooting and 
 scattering of this people, so soon was it followed by their 
 expulsion from the state. 
 
 The feeling of bitterness between the two contending 
 factions grew more intense daily, and each party was 
 eagerly watching for some acts of violence from the other. 
 The next month, at the election, the war commenced in 
 earnest. A man named William Peniston was candidate 
 for the legislature. The Mormons objected to him on the 
 ground that he had headed a mob against them in Clay 
 County. The Missourians, aware of this objection, en- 
 deavored to prevent the Mormons from voting, and a fight 
 ensued, in which the latter proclaimed themselves victo- 
 rious. Gallatin, the court town of Daviess County, was soon 
 
4 6 
 
 THE NIGHT OF TERROR. 
 
 after burned by the Mormons. Then commenced robbing, 
 plundering, and outrages of every kind by both parties. It 
 was a season of the wildest confusion, and both sides were, 
 blinded with passion, and lost sight of reason, toleration, 
 and, above all, Christian forbearance. It was a positive 
 reign of terror. Houses, barns, and haystacks were burned, 
 men shot, and all manner of depredations committed. 
 
 THK NIGHT OF TERROR. 
 
 It is impossible for me to say which party was the prin- 
 cipal aggressor ; probably there was equal blame on both 
 sides ; but I have been informed that Joseph taught his fol- 
 lowers that it was right, and " commanded of the Lord," for 
 them to take anything they could find which belonged 
 to their enemies, in retaliation for the wrongs which they 
 had suffered at their hands. I can the more easily believe 
 this to be true, because the spirit of the Mormon Church 
 has always been that of retaliation. The stern old Mosaic 
 law, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," is in full 
 force among them, and is not only advised by the leaders, 
 but insisted upon by them. Indeed, they have added to its 
 seventy, until now it stands, "A life for an offence, real or 
 
THE DANITE BAND ORGANIZED. 47 
 
 suspected, of any kind." In support of this they refer to 
 the Israelites " borrowing " jewelry from the Egyptians be- 
 fore they took their flight from Egypt ; and they quote, 
 "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; " and as 
 they claim to be the Lord's particularly favored children, 
 in fact, his only acknowledged ones, they seem to con- 
 sider this text peculiarly applicable to the situation, and all 
 the excuse they need to give for any irregularities in the 
 way of appropriating other people's property. They are 
 merely coming into their inheritance. 
 
 At all events, the people were not slow to obey the com- 
 mand of the Lord and the counsel of Joseph, and they dis- 
 played their spirit of obedience by laying hold of every kind 
 of property which came within their reach. In the midst 
 of these troubles, Joseph came out to Daviess County to a 
 town called " Adam-ondi-Ahman" named, of course, by 
 revelation, and meaning, when translated, "The valley of 
 God in which Adam blessed his children ; " said to be the 
 identical spot where Adam and Eve first sought refuge after 
 their expulsion from Eden. Upon his arrival, he called the 
 people together, and harangued them after this mild and 
 conciliatory fashion : " Go ahead ! Do all you can to harass 
 the enemy. I never felt more of the spirit of God at any 
 time than since we commenced this stealing and house- 
 burning." My parents were living at Adam-ondi-Ahman at 
 that time, and were present when Joseph delivered this 
 peculiarly saint-like address. 
 
 About this time the Danite bands were first organized, 
 for the purpose of plundering and harassing the people of 
 the surrounding country. I have been told this by a person 
 who heard the oaths administered at a meeting of the band 
 in Daviess County. They were instructed to go out on the 
 borders of the Settlements, and take the spoils from the 
 "ungodly Gentiles ; " for was it not written, "The riches of 
 the Gentiles shall be consecrated to the people of the house 
 of Israel?" 
 
48 THE PROPHET SMITH TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 Joseph Smith always denied that he had in any way au- 
 thorized the formation of the Danite bands ; and, in fact, in 
 public he repeatedly repudiated both them and their deeds 
 of violence. At the time of which I speak, however, 
 Thomas B. Marsh, who was then the president of the 
 "twelve apostles," together with Orson Hyde, who now 
 occupies that post, apostatized. Both subsequently returned 
 to the bosom of the church, making the most abject sub- 
 mission. Poor Marsh died, crushed and broken-hearted. 
 Hyde's heart was of tougher composition, and he still lives ; 
 but Brigham will never forget or forgive his apostasy. 
 
 While both Marsh and Hyde were separated from the 
 church, they made solemn affidavits against Joseph and the 
 Mormons in general, accusing them of the grossest crimes 
 and outrages, as well as of abetting the Danites and their 
 deeds. The cowardly Apostles afterwards declared that 
 these affidavits were made under the influence of fear. 
 That is very probable, but at the same time there can be no 
 real doubt that there was a larger amount of truth in what 
 they affirmed than jealous Mormons would be disposed to 
 admit. 
 
 The outrages committed by these Danites, and others 
 like them, caused the expulsion of the Saints from Missouri. 
 Joseph and about fifty of his followers were taken prisoners, 
 and between his arrest and imprisonment, and the final 
 exodus from the state, there was great suffering among the 
 Mormon people. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 FOUNDING THE NEW RELIGION. ASSASSINATION OF 
 JOSEPH SMITH. 
 
 The Saints expelled from Missouri. They cross the Mississippi into 
 Illinois. Forming a New Settlement. Arrival in Quincy. A Kind 
 Reception. The City of " Nauvoo " Founded. A New Temple Be- 
 gun. Great Success of the Foreign Missions. The Saints flock 
 from. Europe. Thousands assemble in Nauvoo. The Prophet Jo- 
 seph applies for a City Charter. Nauvoo Incorporated. The Saints 
 Petition the National Government. The Prophet visits Washington. 
 His Interview with President Van Buren. He coquets with Poli- 
 tics. He Stands on the Edge of the Precipice. The Saints in Dan- 
 ger. The Prophet Smith Nominated for President. He tries to find 
 the " Golden Way." Mormon Missionaries preach Politics. The 
 Prophet looks towards the Pacific Coast. The Blind Obedience of 
 the Saints. The Real Devotion of their Faith. Gentile Opinions. 
 How Boggs was shot in the Head. The Spiritual Wife-Doctrine. 
 Dr. William Law Protests. Terrible Charges against the Prophet. 
 The " Nauvoo Expositor" The Prophet Surrenders. He is Mur- 
 dered in Jail. 
 
 FTER this, crime succeeded 
 crime, and the state of affairs 
 grew worse daily. The Mor- 
 mons were getting decidedly the 
 worst of the warfare, and their 
 opponents showed them no 
 mercy. At the massacre at 
 Haun's Mills, for instance, men, 
 women, and children were shot 
 down in cold blood by a com- 
 pany of the Missouri militia, 
 the houses plundered and 
 burned, and the clothing even 
 stripped from the dead bodies. 
 
 There had been inhuman murders in other places, men 
 4 
 
 NAUVOO TEMPLE. 
 
5O THE SAINTS EXPELLED FROM MISSOURI. 
 
 and women alike falling victims to the fury of the mobs ; 
 there had been a battle fought at Crooked River, and sev- 
 eral skirmishes between the Mormons and Missourians, 
 exaggerated reports of which had spread through the coun- 
 try like wildfire. The whole state was in arms against the 
 Mormons. The governor issued an order of expulsion, 
 thinking it the surest way to quell the disturbance, which 
 had almost grown beyond him, and gave the Saints three 
 months in which to leave the state. Every Mormon was 
 to be out of the state at the end of that time, except those 
 who were in prison. Of them the governor said, "Their 
 fate is fixed ; the die is cast ; their doom is sealed." 
 
 As on the occasion of the removal from Ohio, there was 
 considerable apostasy in the church. Many persons grew 
 discouraged, and their faith wavered. In following Smith 
 they had been led from difficulty into danger, had suffered 
 persecution and poverty, and were now driven from their 
 homes to seek refuge in some more hospitable spot. Every 
 man's hand seemed turned against them, and they had 
 grown tired of perpetual warfare. If God had ever, called, 
 He had surely deserted them now, and there was no use in 
 their longer undergoing trial and suffering. 
 
 Those who remained firm were still strong in the faith ; 
 stronger, if possible, than ever. Joseph was their Prophet, 
 and they clung to him and his revelations with unshaken 
 confidence. "Blessed are they who are persecuted for 
 righteousness' sake," was a favorite and comforting quota- 
 tion at that time. They were cheered by frequent letters 
 from Joseph, written in prison, as they journeyed towards 
 Illinois, which was the next point towards which they turned 
 their feet, already weary with wandering. On receiving 
 the order of expulsion, the Saints pledged themselves never 
 to cease their exertions until every one of their faith was 
 out of the state ; and to accomplish this within the time 
 required, they worked unceasingly, through sickness, pov- 
 erty, and privation. 
 
CRUEL PERSECUTION OF THE HELPLESS. 51 
 
 My mother has often described to me this enforced jour- 
 ney. She was always deeply moved, and never spoke of 
 it that the hot tears did not rush to her eyes, and her voice 
 quiver with indignation. The journey was taken in the 
 dead of winter. Many of the women and children were 
 already ill from exposure, yet they were obliged to leave 
 the state with the rest ; and although everything was done 
 for their comfort that could well be done, yet their suffer- 
 ings were most intense. They were robbed of their horses, 
 and were obliged to make their escape with ox-teams, cross- 
 ing those twenty-mile prairies, facing cold, wintry winds 
 without even a cover to the wagons. My mother held her 
 two infants close in her arms during all the long, tedious 
 journey, to keep them from perishing. She had but one 
 dress to wear, as she had to leave Daviess County in great 
 haste, taking only her children with her ; and on her arrival 
 in Illinois she was entirely destitute, her clothing being lit- 
 erally torn in pieces. In the spring of 1839 a ^ were safely 
 landed across the Mississippi River, where they were joined 
 in April, soon after their arrival, by Joseph and his fellow- 
 prisoners, who had * miraculously," as Joseph said, made 
 their escape from their enemies. 
 
 The joy of the Saints was very great at his arrival. The 
 waning courage was restored, wavering faith was strength- 
 ened, and they were all ready to enter the next scheme 
 which his prophetic soul should propose, and to follow 
 blindly and unquestioningly the next "revelation." 
 
 The feeling of the Mormon people towards the Missou- 
 rians is very bitter to this day, and they have never lost an 
 opportunity in all these years of injuring them whenever it 
 became possible. The memory of the indignities heaped 
 upon them, and the sufferings to which they were subjected, 
 is still most vivid. Even my mother, notwithstanding the 
 fact of her having apostatized, and having now no interest 
 or faith in the Mormon Church, can never forgive the Mis- 
 sourians. She says, " If the Mormons were the greatest 
 
52 STEALING WOOD TO MAKE COFFINS ! 
 
 fanatics on the earth, the Missourians cannot be justified in 
 the course which they pursued. There is no doubt they 
 were exasperated by the actions of the Mormons, and suf- 
 fered loss of property, and even life, at the hands of the 
 Danite bands ; but they need not, in the cruel spirit of re- 
 venge, punish the innocent women and children, for it was 
 on these that the blow fell the hardest. It was they, who 
 had no part in bringing on the trouble, who were to suffer 
 in retribution for the misdeeds of others." 
 
 Notwithstanding all that had taken place in Missouri, 
 some of the more enthusiastic Saints believed that it was the 
 promised land, and that some time they should come in and 
 possess it. Indeed, that belief has prevailed among some 
 of the older Mormons until within a very short time. Brig- 
 ham has preached it and promised it ; but now he says very 
 little about it, and when he does he is wise to add, " if the 
 Lord shall will it so." The present indications are, that the 
 Lord will not " will it so," and all the Saints have content- 
 edly accepted Utah as "Zion," in the face of "revelation." 
 
 In giving, thus briefly, a sketch of the "Missouri war," I 
 tell the story as I have always heard it, since I was a child, 
 from my parents, who were in the midst of it, and who 
 were rendered homeless and poor by it. Although always 
 hearing it from the Mormon side, I must, to do the narra- 
 tors justice, say they have never attempted to hide any part 
 of the provocation which the Saints gave ; and they now 
 hold Joseph responsible for it, by his, to say the least, unwise 
 teachings. 
 
 It is not very long since I was talking with a person who 
 was with the Mormons in Missouri and Illinois. He said 
 that Joseph not only advised his people publicly to plunder 
 from the Gentiles, but privately ordered them to do so. At 
 one time he was himself sent by the Prophet to steal lum- 
 ber for coffins. He went with a party of men down the 
 river, loaded a raft with lumber from a Gentile saw-mill, 
 and brought it up to the " City of the Saints." Another man, 
 
STEAL FIRST AND PRAY AFTER ! 53 
 
 now a bishop in the Mormon Church, told my mother that 
 he was deputed by Joseph to go and take some cattle, and 
 ^drive them to the city. As he was entering the town on 
 his return from his successful marauding trip, he was called 
 into a house, where there were sick persons, to anoint and 
 pray for them in connection with another elder. On meet- 
 ing this elder afterwards, he remarked, "I have often won- 
 dered that the Lord listened to our prayers in behalf of the 
 sick under such circumstances. The elder replied, quietly, 
 " / had not been stealing." 
 
 Had such teachings been given by the Gentiles, and fol- 
 lowed by their people, it would have been sin. But with the 
 Mormons it was always " the will of the Lord," and in His 
 name they committed the crimes that produced disaster and 
 disgrace among the people of Missouri, and finally resulted 
 in their own expulsion from that state. Thus it was that 
 at length we find them driven out by violence from among 
 a people who at first had received them with the utmost 
 friendliness, and forced to seek refuge on the farther shore 
 of the Mississippi, despite the promise which Joseph had so 
 often given them, " in the name of the Lord," that Missouri 
 should be the abiding-place of the Saints. 
 
 Joseph, however, still continued to assert that the Saints 
 * should return again and build up the waste places of 
 Zion," and pointed out Missouri as the spot which was to 
 be the " central stake " from which he was eventually to 
 rule all America ; but the fact remained that the people 
 must have homes until such good time as they might be 
 allowed to "come again to their own." 
 
 They had landed at Quincy, Illinois, and had been very 
 kindly received by the residents. On their arrival they at 
 once commenced searching for a place to settle, and build 
 another " stake ; " and the place finally selected by the 
 Prophet was situated on the Mississippi River, about forty 
 miles from Qiiincy. It was first called Commerce ; but this 
 name being considered altogether too matter-of-fact and 
 
54 HOW NAUVOO, THE NEW ZION, WAS BUILT. 
 
 practical, it was named, by inspiration, NAUVOO, which, 
 being translated from the "Reformed Egyptian, " the lan- 
 guage in which all revelations were first given, means 
 "The Beautiful." 
 
 The new city grew rapidly ; another Temple was com- 
 menced by command of the Lord, and the people were 
 adjured not to cease work upon it until it was finished ; all 
 the Saints were commanded to gather there as soon as it 
 was practicable. Missionaries were sent to Europe, and 
 converts flocked from thence to Zion. Never were missions 
 crowned with greater success than those that were estab- 
 lished in Europe by the Mormon Church. The elders went 
 first to England, from there to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, 
 Switzerland, France, and they even attempted Italy, but 
 with so little success that the mission there was speedily 
 abandoned. Indeed, the southern countries of Europe did 
 not seem to have taken kindly to the new doctrine of the 
 Saints, and evinced but slight interest in the establishment 
 of a "spiritual kingdom on the earth," and paid no heed 
 whatever to Joseph's revelations. But hundreds of con- 
 verts were made among the English and Scandinavian 
 people, and they all evinced a strong desire to "gather to 
 Zion," and considered no sacrifice too great to be made to 
 facilitate their emigration. Most of them were from the 
 poorer classes, but some among them were persons of 
 considerable wealth, and many were from the comfortable 
 middle class of farmers and trades people. 
 
 The people of Illinois were inclined to be very friendly 
 with the Mormon people, and to make up by sympathy and 
 kindness for the treatment which the Saints had received in 
 Missouri. But, as has invariably been the case, the Mor- 
 mons, by their own acts, managed to turn these friends into 
 enemies, and to embroil themselves in more quarrels. 
 
 The people in the surrounding towns found them trouble- 
 some, and most undesirable neighbors ; for in spite of their 
 kindly reception, Joseph did not cease his injunctions to 
 
HARD-HEARTED FOLKS AT WASHINGTON. 55 
 
 "get all you can from the wicked Gentiles," and the conse- 
 quence was perpetual trouble and constant complaint. 
 
 Early on his arrival at Nauvoo, Joseph applied to the 
 Illinois legislature for a city charter, which was granted at 
 once. This charter was extremely liberal, and by its am- 
 biguous wording deceived the legislature, they considering 
 it straightforward and honorable, while really it gave Joseph 
 unlimited power in the government of the city, without regard 
 to state or national laws, and rendered it impossible that he 
 could be held prisoner, even if arrested. He had the right 
 to release himself: the charter provided for that. 
 
 Before the establishment of the city it was " revealed " to 
 Joseph that his people must importune at the feet of all in 
 authority for a redress of their wrongs in Missouri. They 
 commenced with the justices of the peace ; from them they 
 went to the state officers ; finally to the President himself. 
 They prepared very carefully, and, as far as possible, very 
 accurately, a statement of the losses of the Saints in Mis- 
 souri, and Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Elias Higbee 
 went to Washington with it, to endeavor to seek redress 
 through the agency of Congress. 
 
 Martin Van Buren, who was President at that time, re- 
 ceived them with that peculiar suavity of manner for which 
 he was specially noted, that impressiveness which expressed 
 so much and meant so little, and listened to them with the 
 most courteous patience. But his answer was : " Gentlemen, 
 your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." The 
 party returned to Nauvoo disappointed, but in no wise dis- 
 couraged, and exceedingly indignant with the government 
 and the entire American people, whom they considered 
 their enemies from that moment. From the lowest officer 
 to the highest, they considered that they had failed to meet 
 with the slightest sympathy, and there was no desire shown 
 to make any amends to these people. Joseph and the elders 
 indulged in more incendiary talk than ever ; but this was 
 now devoted entirely against the government. 
 
" In the name of the Lord God of Israel," prophesied 
 Joseph, "unless the United States redress the wrongs com- 
 mitted upon the Saints in Missouri, in a few years the gov- 
 ernment will be entirely overthrown." And again : "They 
 all turned a deaf ear to our entreaties, and now the Lord 
 will come out in swift fury and vex the nation." 
 
 The troubles in Illinois culminated, as they had in Mis- 
 souri, in political difficulties. The people of Illinois were 
 growing exceedingly tired of their new citizens, whom they 
 had welcomed so warmly, since their kindness had been 
 returned with so much ingratitude by the Mormons ; but 
 the political leaders of the state endeavored to curry favor 
 with Joseph, and obtain his influence, since it had been dis- 
 covered that the Mormon vote was solid. Whigs and Dem- 
 ocrats had each tried to secure them, but Smith had his 
 own purpose to serve, and he used either Whigs or Demo- 
 crats as best suited him. Neither party could rely on him 
 or his promises, and consequently both became exceedingly 
 hostile towards him, and were equally zealous in endeavor- 
 ing to limit his power. He was, indeed, rendered perfectly 
 independent of the state laws by the charter which the gov- 
 ernor so readily signed, without being aware what a blun- 
 der he was committing ; and the exertions of the Illinoi- 
 sians were directed towards getting this charter repealed. 
 Anti-Mormon organizations were formed for the purpose 
 of inducing the legislature to cancel the charter, disband 
 the Nauvoo Legion, a military organization, of which Jo- 
 seph was commander-in-chief, and, if possible, to eventually 
 get rid of the Mormons altogether. The feeling ran quite as 
 high as it had done in Missouri, although there were no such 
 deeds of violence as that state witnessed. It remained, for 
 some time at least, a political rather than a personal warfare, 
 and Joseph seemed for many months to maintain his position 
 in spite of every exertion of his enemies ; and, in fact, got 
 decidedly the best of them in every way. 
 
 Joseph's political career was, to say the least, an intricate 
 
THE PROPHET NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT. 57 
 
 and an ambitious one. He aimed at the very highest posi- 
 tion which the country could give him. He inaugurated a 
 legislature at Nauvoo, in opposition to that of the state ; but 
 he took good care that it should be kept from the know- 
 ledge of all persons outside of the city, and this same legis- 
 lature did, in its way, the most remarkable work. One of 
 its acts was to nominate Joseph for the Presidency of the 
 United States. 
 
 Clay and Calhoun were at that time rival candidates for 
 the Presidency, and Joseph wrote to both of them, asking 
 them what course they would pursue towards tho Mormons 
 in case they were elected. Neither of them answered in a 
 manner to please him ; they were altogether too indefinite, 
 refusing in any way to commit themselves to the Mormon 
 cause ; and he gave them both a severe castigation, and 
 withdrew his support and countenance from both parties ; 
 and with him, of course, went the whole body of the Mor- 
 mons. 
 
 He published his own views on the national policy in a 
 pamphlet, and announced himself as Presidential Candidate. 
 His followers confidently believed that he would be elected. 
 They had no idea that he could fail to attain whatever he 
 attempted. Missionaries were sent all over the United 
 States, proselyting and electioneering, and the Saints cer- 
 tainly worked faithfully to further their Prophet's ambition. 
 
 In the legislative assembly he had those friends and allies 
 in training who were to form his cabinet when he should 
 reach the White House. Of this assembly, Brigham Young 
 was an important, active, and favorite member, and Joseph 
 prophesied wonderful things of him. It is said that he even 
 named him as his successor as leader of the Mormon 
 people. But I think that that story is a little more than 
 doubtful. 
 
 In the midst of all this seeking after political influence, 
 Joseph Smith must, I think, have had some idea of the 
 hopelessness of it all, and some presentiment at least that his 
 
58 "THE LORD'S FINGER" POINTS WEST! 
 
 failure must be followed by another exodus of the Mormon 
 people, for as early as 1842 he began to talk of the superior 
 advantages of the Pacific valley as a settlement, and the 
 " Lord's finger " seemed turning slowly but surely in that 
 direction, and it was not long before the Prophet sent a 
 company of men to explore that, then, almost unknown 
 country, and not long after he began prophesying that in 
 five years' time the Saints would be located " away from the 
 influence of mobs." 
 
 The Saints, as usual, received the prediction in good 
 faith, and were ready to follow him wherever he should 
 lead, notwithstanding that doing so meant giving up home, 
 and property, and becoming poor, exiled wanderers. The 
 devotion of this deluded, persecuted people to their false 
 Prophet was almost sublime.. In answer to his "Leave all 
 and follow me," came the self-sacrificing words, " Whither 
 thou goest we will go ; thy God shall be our God." 
 
 Mistaken, deceived, deluded as they were, the great body 
 of this people deserve some charitable regard, since they 
 obeyed the dictates of their consciences, and were willing to 
 suffer martyrdom for their religion. The great body of 
 them are not answerable for most of the crimes committed by 
 the command of the leaders, since they were ignorant of 
 them, and their hatred of the Gentiles is not so greatly to be 
 wondered at, since they suffered the persecution without 
 even knowing that there was the slightest cause for it, ex- 
 cept their objectionable belief. I feel that I must pay this 
 tribute to the Mormon people. Naturally, they were a law- 
 abiding, peace-loving, intensely religious people ; their 
 peculiar natures, touched a little with fanaticism, having 
 that mental organization that not only accepts the super- 
 natural, but demands it, made it the more easy for them to 
 become the victims of a man like Joseph Smith. 
 
 The belief that they were the very chosen of God ; that 
 He revealed Himself to them through their Prophet ; that He 
 took special note of their in-comings and out-goings ; that He 
 
THE REAL INNER LIFE OF THE SAINTS. 59 
 
 led their way in ah their wanderings, sometimes in thorny 
 paths, sometimes through pleasant places, made them pos- 
 itively heroic in their devotion. I hold that their earnestness 
 and singleness of purpose ought to win them a certain de- 
 gree of respect, mingled with the intensest pity that they 
 could become the dupes of such unscrupulous, overbearing, 
 unprincipled men as their leaders have proved themselves 
 to be. They have been blinded by fanaticism, and led by 
 false representations. Kept in a community by themselves, 
 forbidden any intercourse with the outside world, they 
 have known nothing outside of Mormonism except what 
 their rulers have chosen to tell them, and that has never 
 been the truth. They have believed that every man's hand 
 was against them ; that they were literally " persecuted for 
 righteousness' sake ; " and they have been taught that the 
 Lord commanded them to hate all persons not of their belief, 
 and that it was an act pleasing to Him whenever a Gentile 
 was put out of the way. Without being murderers at heart, 
 they have been taught that murder is a part of their religion, 
 a vital portion of their worship. I shall explain that belief 
 more fully presently, when I come to speak of the " Blood- 
 Atonement." 
 
 The Gentiles have had very little opportunity, until lately, 
 of mingling at all with this people ; and they have, quite as 
 naturally on their part, judged the Mormons to be a blood- 
 thirsty, cruel, dishonest, and licentious people, who not only 
 did not merit toleration, even, but ought, indeed, to be ut- 
 terly exterminated. No good could possibly come out of 
 Nazareth, they thought; and a person avowing himself a 
 Mormon has not been so much an object of hatred as of 
 loathing and contempt. 
 
 Mind you, I am not upholding the Mormon faith ; I con- 
 sider it the falsest, most hypocritical, and most cruel belief 
 under the sun. Although its founder arrogated to it the 
 title of the " Church of Jesus Christ," there is nothing Christ- 
 like in its teachings or in its practice. Its leaders always 
 
60 POOR BOGGS IS SHOT IN THE HEAD. 
 
 have been, and still are, supremely selfish, caring only for 
 their personal aggrandizement, disloyal to the government 
 under which they live, treacherous to their friends, revenge- 
 ful to their foes ; insincere, believing nothing which they 
 teach, and tyrannical and grasping in the extreme, taking 
 everything that their lustful eyes may desire, and greedy, 
 grasping hands can clutch, no matter at whose expense it 
 may be taken, or what suffering the appropriation may 
 cause. But the people themselves have no part in the 
 treachery, revengefulness, hypocrisy, or cupidity of their 
 leaders, and should be judged from an entirely different 
 standpoint. 
 
 In 1842 Governor Boggs, of Missouri, was shot at and 
 wounded severely in the head. This act was suspected to 
 have been done at the instigation of Joseph, and the feeling 
 against him grew stronger than ever. It was with consid- 
 erable difficulty that his followers prevented his seizure and 
 forcible abduction into Missouri. He was very nearly in 
 the power of his enemies several times ; but the devices of 
 the Missourians were nothing compared to the wiles and 
 cunning of the crafty Prophet and his officers. The gov- 
 ernor of Illinois attempted to arrest him, but found the 
 warrant of apprehension set aside by the charter which he 
 himself had signed. In fact, it was found that the law was 
 powerless to touch the Prophet, and he could afford to set it 
 at defiance. With that charter to uphold him, and the 
 "Nauvoo Legion " to defend him, he, for a time, completely 
 baffled his enemies. 
 
 About this time an added reason was found for hating and 
 dreading the Mormon people and their influence. The 
 " Spiritual-Wife " doctrine was hinted at just at this juncture, 
 and this created even a greater disturbance than the political 
 difficulties had done, since this caused a large apostasy, and 
 divided the church against itself. The accusations that 
 some of the apostates brought against Smith were dam- 
 aging in the extreme. 
 
THE DOCTOR'S WIFE MAKES AN UGLY " REVELATION." 61 
 
 One of his chief accusers was a man named William 
 Law, who had been his earnest friend and one of his coun- 
 sellors. The Prophet had had no stancher friend or 
 warmer defender than Law, and he was also highly es- 
 teemed by all the Mormon people, as well as by Smith him- 
 self. He strongly disapproved of some of Joseph's acts, 
 and finally felt obliged to withdraw from him altogether. 
 
 After his apostasy, he, with some other disaffected Mor- 
 mons, among whom were his brother, Wilson Law, Dr. 
 Forster, William Marks, and the Higbee brothers, all men of 
 standing and influence among the Saints, commenced to hold 
 meetings in a grove on Sundays. This grove was a mile 
 from the place where the Mormons held their regular ser- 
 vices ; yet parties of the Saints were accustomed to go to the 
 other meeting to hear what was said and report to the 
 Prophet. So he was kept well informed of the movements of 
 the apostates, and their attitude towards him and the church. 
 
 At one of these meetings, William Law electrified and al- 
 most stunned his listeners by testifying that the Prophet had 
 made dishonorable proposals to his wife, Mrs. Law, making 
 the request under cover of his asserted " Revelation," that the 
 Lord had commanded that he should take spiritual wives, 
 to add to his glory. He also stated that Smith made his 
 visit to his wife in the middle of the night, when he knew 
 her husband to be absent. Mrs. Law was present, and her 
 husband called upon her to testify as to whether he had 
 made the statement correctly. She corroborated all that 
 he had said, and added that Joseph had asked her to give 
 him half her love ; she was at liberty to keep the other half 
 for her husband. 
 
 The Higbees testified, at the same meeting, to having 
 frequently seen Joseph's horse standing for a long time be- 
 fore the door of certain improper resorts. This statement 
 was certainly untrue, and was probably made under a mis- 
 take. The greatest excitement prevailed after this meeting, 
 and the feeling ran very high between the contending fac- 
 
62 
 
 THE 
 
 COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 tions of the church. Joseph and his adherents, on their 
 part, charged some of the apostates with gross immorality, 
 and they retaliated by saying they had only followed the 
 teachings of Smith. Criminations and recriminations were" 
 hurled furiously at each other by the two parties. 
 
 BURNING OF THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE. 
 
 Law and some of his associates started a paper called 
 the "Nauvoo Expositor," which they intended to devote to 
 the criticism of Smith's policy, and the denunciation of his 
 character. As may be imagined, it was not a very long- 
 lived sheet, only one number being issued. Enraged by its 
 plain speech, Joseph and some of his followers destroyed 
 the building, broke the machinery, and threw away the 
 type, in their strenuous endeavors to suppress "the freedom 
 of the press." 
 
 Affairs had reached such a crisis, that to allay the ex- 
 citement and to explain some of his "peculiar" moral weak- 
 nesses, the Prophet found it necessary to produce the famous 
 "Revelation," giving the most unbridled license to all the 
 worst passions of their nature. This " Revelation " was in- 
 tended to silence the noisy clamorings of the Saints ; for who 
 
HOW "CELESTIAL MARRIAGE" WAS INVENTED. 63 
 
 of them would venture to question the convincing " Thus 
 saith the Lord." 
 
 It was only given to the faithful in Zion. Its existence 
 was denied loudly, if in any way a whisper of it reached 
 the outside world, and the missionaries were cautioned to 
 keep utter silence upon the subject. Among the Saints it 
 was received most reluctantly. The women, especially, 
 felt that a cross was being laid upon them greater than they 
 could bear, and many openly rebelled. They felt that some 
 great trouble was come upon them, but they did not 
 then know the intense bitterness of it, nor what the moral 
 results would be. The majority of them did not believe 
 that they would suffer personally from it ; but, alas ! they 
 little knew how easy it would be to convince a man that 
 positive wrong would become moral right, when all legal 
 restrictions were removed, or when the conscience could be 
 so easily soothed by the opiate of " Revelation." 
 
 Joseph's career, after producing his " Celestial Marriage " 
 cheat, and palming it off on his followers with the blas- 
 phemous "Thus saith the Lord," was very short. He was 
 induced to surrender himself to the authorities, and with his 
 brother Hyrum, the Apostle John Taylor, and the Apostle 
 Willard Richards, was placed in the Carthage jail. 
 
 It was feared by the Mormons, and by some of the Gen- 
 tiles, that attempts would be made to massacre him in prison ; 
 but Governor Ford, under whose protection he was, seemed 
 to apprehend no danger, and placed no extra guards about 
 the prison. He himself went from Carthage to Nauvoo, to 
 see personally into the condition of affairs there, and also to 
 assert his authority, but took no measures for a redoubled 
 care and watch over the prisoners. While he was away the 
 jail was attacked, and the Prophet and his brother Hyrum 
 assassinated. Their companions escaped with wounds. 
 
 The history of Joseph Smith is one of the most remarka- 
 ble on record. From an ignorant, superstitious farmer's 
 boy, he became M Prophet, Seer, and Revelator," founder 
 
6 4 
 
 DEATH OF THE PROPHET SMITH. 
 
 of a new religion, which was to make his name known, not 
 only in his own country, but over the world ; made by " Di- 
 vine appointment" " God's Vicegerent upon the earth, and 
 Religious Dictator to the whole world." So much for his 
 spiritual titles. He was no less fortunate in earthly honors ; 
 being President of the " Council of Fifty," chief of the legis- 
 lature of Nauvoo, and Mayor of the city ; and at last he 
 aspired to the Presidency of the United States a position, 
 it is needless to say, which he did not attain. 
 
 ASSASSINATION OF JOSEPH SMITH AND HIS BROTHER HYRUM. 
 
 It is safe to believe that no one man can wear all these 
 w honors " without growing somewhat dizzy under them ; and 
 it is no wonder that the Prophet Smith overreached himself 
 at last, and fell a victim to his overweening ambition and 
 stupendous self-esteem, which probably made him believe 
 that he could accomplish impossibilities. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE " REVELATION ON CELESTIAL MARRIAGE." TROU- 
 BLE AMONG THE SAINTS. 
 
 The Announcement of Polygamy. " Celestial Marriage." Joseph " sets 
 himself Right." Mrs. Smith is very Rebellious. Mrs. Smith's 
 Adopted Daughter. The Prophet too fond of Fanny. Mrs. Smith 
 takes her in Hand. Marital Storms. Oliver Cowdery called In. 
 He goes and "Does Likewise." Joseph first Preaches Polygamy. 
 The Saints Rebel. The Revelation given in Secret. Eleven " Adopt- 
 ed Daughters" sealed to the Prophet. A Domestic Squall in the 
 Prophet's House. Nancy Rigdon Insulted by Joseph. Sidney's 
 Zeal Grows Cold. How Celestial Marriage was Introduced. Mr. 
 Noble begins to Build Up his Kingdom. The first Plural Marriage. 
 False Position of the Second Wife. John C. Bennett. His Profligacy 
 and Crimes. He Apostatizes and Writes a Book. Joseph Defends 
 Himself. Apostasy of an Apostle's Wife. The Prophet in Diffi- 
 culties. The Revelation on " Celestial Marriage." 
 
 FTER the Revelation on 
 Celestial Marriage was 
 publicly announced, in 
 1852, it was stated that 
 Joseph Smith first pro- 
 duced it in 1843 ; but there 
 were, no doubt, hints of 
 this new doctrine at a 
 much earlier date. It is 
 generally believed, and in 
 fact well known by many 
 of the old Nauvoo Mor- 
 mons, that he had it in 
 contemplation at a much 
 earlier date ; certain in- 
 discretions rendering it necessary that he should find an 
 excuse of some kind for acts that were scarcely consistent 
 5 
 
 EMMA SMITH, *' THE ELECT LADY. 
 
66 THE PROPHET'S " PATERNAL " AFFECTION ! 
 
 with his position as " Vicegerent upon earth," and set him- 
 self right, not only with his followers, but with Mrs. Emma 
 Smith, his wife, who objected very decidedly to some of his 
 prophetic eccentricities. 
 
 Mrs. Smith had an adopted daughter, a very pretty, 
 pleasing young girl, about seventeen years old. She was 
 extremely fond of her ; no own mother could be more de- 
 voted, and their affection for each other was a constant 
 object of remark, so absorbing and genuine did it seem. 
 Consequently it was with a shocked surprise that the people 
 heard that sister Emma had turned Fanny out of the house 
 in the night. 
 
 This sudden movement was incomprehensible, since 
 Emma was known to be a just woman, not given to freaks 
 or caprices, and it was felt that she certainly must have had 
 some very good reason for her action. By degrees it be- 
 came whispered about that Joseph's love for his . adopted 
 daughter was by no means a paternal affection, and his 
 wife, discovering the fact, at once took measures to place 
 the girl beyond his reach. Angered at finding the two per- 
 sons whom most she loved playing such a treacherous part 
 towards her, she by no means spared her reproaches, and, 
 finally, the storm became so furious, that Joseph was obliged 
 to send, at midnight, for Oliver Cowdery, his scribe, to come 
 and endeavor to settle matters between them. For once he 
 was at his wits' end ; he could face an angry mob, but a 
 wronged woman made a coward of him at once. 
 
 The scribe was a worthy servant of his master. He was 
 at that time residing with a certain young woman, and at 
 the same time he had a wife living. He had taken kindly 
 to Joseph's teachings, although he by no means coveted 
 publicity in the affair ; and after seeing Mrs. Smith's indig- 
 nation he dreaded exceedingly lest Mrs. Cowdery should 
 discover that he was practising his new religious duties 
 with another woman. 
 
 The worthy couple the Prophet and his scribe were 
 
REBELS. 67 
 
 sorely perplexed what to do with the girl, since Emma re- 
 fused decidedly to allow her to remain in her house ; but 
 after some consultation, my mother offered to take her until 
 she could be sent to her relatives. Although her parents 
 were living, they considered it the highest honor to have 
 their daughter adopted into the Prophet's family, and her 
 mother has always claimed that she was sealed to Joseph at 
 that time. 
 
 ^The_firsJt .public announcement Joseph ever made of his 
 belief in the plurality of wives was at Nauvoo, in 1840. In 
 a sermon one Sunday he declared that it was perfectly right 
 in the sight of the Lord for a man to have as many wives 
 as he pleased, if he could evade the laws of the land. 
 Said he : 
 
 " People of polygamous nations will be converted to the 
 church, and will desire to gather with the Saints to Zion ; 
 and what will they do with their wives? We must have 
 polygamy among us as an established institution, and then 
 they can bring all their wives with them." 
 
 He referred to the Bible to sustain his position, and grew 
 very eloquent on the subject. He seemed determined not 
 only to maintain the doctrine to his own satisfaction, but to 
 convince his people of its truth and its desirability. 
 
 As may readily be imagined, it caused the greatest excite- 
 ment and indignation in the church ; and many threatened 
 to abandon the faith. The women most especially were 
 aroused, and they declared they never would accept a doc- 
 trine so hateful. It was the first open rebellion against any 
 of the Prophet's teachings by his most devoted followers, 
 and he was wise enough to see his mistake, and to rectify 
 it. Evidently, as he said to certain followers, it was " too 
 soon for the Lord to reveal Himself upon this subject." 
 
 The following Sabbath he arose, and said he wished to 
 retract what he had said the Sabbath before; he was at 
 that time only trying the Saints, to see what they could bear. 
 
 The Revelation at first was made known only to a few of 
 
68 ELEVEN " ADOPTED DAUGHTERS " OF THE PROPHET. 
 
 Joseph's most intimate friends, and they were solemnly 
 bound to keep its existence a secret ; but in some way it 
 became known very generally that there was such a Revela- 
 tion, although it was not given to the world until 1852. It 
 is on this ground that Smith's sons endeavor to palm the 
 Revelation on to Brigham, and deny that their father ever 
 intended to have polygamy become a church institution. 
 The elder Mormons, who were at Nauvoo, among whom 
 are my parents, know better than this, however, and also 
 know the exact time when the " Revelation " was first talked 
 of. If Smith was not a polygamist, his sons must allow that 
 he was a libertine, or an advocate of free-love principles. 
 It makes little difference which ; the results are the same. 
 
 The wife of the Prophet took no more kindly to this new 
 doctrine of Celestial Marriage than did the rest of the 
 Mormon women, and no woman of them all allowed her 
 objections to become so widely known as Mrs. Smith. She 
 knew her husband's nature too well to believe in the Divine 
 origin of the system, and she fought it persistently during 
 his lifetime. 
 
 At one time he had eleven young ladies living in his 
 family as adopted daughters, to whom he had been sealed 
 without the knowledge of his wife. She for some time sup- 
 posed that his object in having them there was purely a 
 charitable one. To be sure, some of them had parents liv- 
 ing ; yet there was some plausible reason always given for 
 having them under his roof, which none of the Saints dared 
 to question, although many of them, especially those who 
 were growing disaffected, were dissatisfied with his reasons, 
 and suspicious of his motives. Very little was said about 
 it openly, until his wife saw something which aroused her 
 suspicions, and she remonstrated with Joseph for having 
 the girls there ; but with no effect. The girls should remain 
 on that point he was decided. 
 
 Unlike many of the Mormon women, Mrs. Smith was not 
 one to accept a cross of this kind submissively. She by no 
 
MRS. EMMA HAS A WILL OF HER OWN. 
 
 means bowed her head, broke her heart, and silenced her 
 lips, and allowed her husband to pursue his licentious course 
 without opposition. When Joseph would not send away 
 the girls, she said very quietly, but with a determination 
 which showed she was making no idle threat, 
 
 w Either those girls leave 
 this house to-night, or I 
 do." 
 
 "Very well," replied her 
 husband, in a passion at 
 having his authority ques- 
 tioned ; w you may go, then, 
 for I intend them to stay." 
 
 Without another word 
 she left the house. No 
 sooner had she gone than 
 he began to consider the 
 consequences of her de- 
 parture directly it should 
 be known, and she would 
 keep neither it nor the 
 
 cause which provoked her to the step a secret. The pub- 
 licity of the affair was more than he dared meet. He was 
 not yet ready to encounter the storm it would raise. Great 
 as was his influence over his people, he did not dare risk 
 his popularity by such a bold movement as this. Conse- 
 quently he followed his wife, and prevailed upon her to re- 
 turn, by promising to dismiss the girls, which he did the 
 next morning. JThis was her second triumph over his 
 practice of the divine ordinance. 
 
 Emma Smith was, as may be supposed from the above- 
 narrated incidents, an energetic, strong-minded woman, 
 possessing a great influence over Joseph, whose superior 
 she was, both mentally and socially, when he married her. 
 She was fond and proud of her husband during the first 
 years of his success ; but when there was any disagreement 
 
 THE INDIGNANT WIFE. 
 
70 THE PROPHET'S LIKING FOR NANCY. 
 
 between them, she generalty got the better of him, being 
 less passionate in temper, and more quietly decided in man- 
 ner. She forced her husband to respect her and her opin- 
 ions, although he was notoriously unfaithful to her during 
 all their married life. 
 
 Several young girls left the church in consequence of the 
 dishonorable proposals which the Prophet made to them. 
 One of these was a daughter of William Marks, another a 
 daughter of Sidney Rigdon. Both these men Rigdon 
 especially had been his warm friends and supporters ; but 
 this insult offered to their daughters exasperated them be- 
 yond measure, and both withdrew from him. Marks joined 
 William Law and his apostate circle, and was as bitter in 
 his denunciation as Law himself. Rigdon removed from 
 Nauvoo, but still avowed himself a " true Mormon," while 
 he repudiated Joseph and his teachings. Other young girls 
 made affidavits to his offers of" Celestial Marriage," and their 
 statements were published in many of the leading papers all 
 over the country, creating the most intense excitement. 
 
 Joseph not only paid his addresses to the young and un- 
 married women, but he sought "spiritual alliance" with 
 many married ladies who happened to strike his fancy. He 
 taught them that all former marriages were null and void, 
 and that they were at perfect liberty to make another choice 
 of a husband. The marriage covenants were not binding, 
 because they were ratified only by Gentile laws. These 
 laws the Lord did not recognize ; consequently all the 
 women were free. 
 
 Again, he would appeal to their religious sentiments, and 
 their strong desire to enter into the celestial kingdom. He 
 used often to argue in this manner while endeavoring to 
 convince some wavering or unwilling victim: "Now, my 
 dear sister, it is true that your husband is a good man, a 
 very good man, but you and he are by no means kindred 
 spirits, and he will never be able to save you in the celes- 
 tial kingdom ; it has been revealed by the Spirit that you 
 ought to belong to me" 
 
HOW THE WOMEN RECEIVED POLYGAMY. 7 1 
 
 This sophistry, strange as it may seem, had its weight, 
 and scarcely ever failed of its desired results. Many a wo- 
 man, with a kind, good husband, who loved her and trusted 
 her, and a family of children, would suffer herself to be 
 sealed to Joseph, at the same time living with the husband 
 whom she was wronging so deeply, he believing fondly 
 that her love was all his own. 
 
 One woman said to me not very long since, while giving j 
 me some of her experiences in polygamy : " The greatest 
 trial I ever endured in my life was living with my husband 
 and deceiving him, by receiving Joseph's attentions when- 
 ever he chose to come to me." 
 
 This woman, and others, whose experience has been very 
 similar, are among the very best women in the church ; 
 they are as pure-minded and virtuous women as any in the 
 world. They were seduced under the guise of religion, 
 taught that the Lord commanded it, and they submittecf as 
 to a cross laid upon them by the divine will. Believing 
 implicitly in the Prophet, they never dreamed of questioning 
 the truth of his revelations, and would have considered 
 themselves on the verge of apostasy, which to a Mormon 
 is a most dangerous and horrible state, from which there is 
 no possible salvation, had they refused to submit to him and 
 to receive his " divine " doctrines. 
 
 Some of these women have since said they did not know 
 who was the father of their children ; this is not to be won- 
 dered at, for after Joseph's declaration annulling all Gentile 
 marriages, the greatest promiscuity was practised ; and, 
 indeed, all sense of morality seemed to have been lost by a 
 portion at least of the church. Shocking as all this may 
 appear, women that were sealed to Joseph at that time are 
 more highly respected than any others. It is said, as the 
 highest meed of praise which can be given, that they never 
 repudiated any of the Prophet's teachings, but submitted to 
 all his requirements without a murmur, and eventually they 
 will be exalted to a high position in the celestial kingdom. 
 
72 THE FIRST 
 
 Among the earliest converts to the doctrine of plural 
 wives was a Mr. Noble, who, more impressible, or, accord- 
 ing to Joseph, "more faithful" than any others, opened his 
 heart very readily to receive the teachings of the Prophet, 
 and was willing to reduce the teachings to practice. Joseph 
 had paid his addresses to Mr. Noble's sister-in-law, a very 
 worthy woman, and had succeeded in overcoming her scru- 
 ples so far that she had consented to be sealed to him. 
 
 THE FIRST PLURAL MARRIAGE. 
 
 He then advised Noble to seek a second wife for him- 
 self, and to commence at once to "build up his kingdom." 
 He was not slow in following his Prophet's advice, and 
 together the two men, with their chosen celestial brides, 
 repaired one night to the banks of the Mississippi River, 
 where Joseph sealed Noble to his first plural wife, and in 
 return Noble performed the same office for the Prophet and 
 his sister. These were the first plural marriages that ever 
 took place in the Mormon Church, and they were obliged 
 to be very secretly performed, and kept hidden afterwards. 
 
 The young girl that Mr. Noble married went to live with 
 his first wife, and, as a matter of course, this arrangement 
 
HEART-BROKEN AT HER DAUGHTER'S SHAME. 73 
 
 produced the greatest misery to both. Outwardly they 
 were compelled to keep a semblance of regard ; but they 
 hated each other with an intensity of hatred that cannot 
 possibly be felt outside of polygamy. The first wife pined 
 gradually away, until she was a mere shadow of her former 
 self. Life for her was utterly wrecked. Compelled to 
 share her home, her husband's affections, and his attentions 
 with another woman, and to keep the strictest silence 
 through it all, it is no wonder that the poor woman longed 
 eagerly for death as a release from all her woes. 
 
 The condition of the second wife was, if possible, less 
 enviable. A son having been born to her after her mar- 
 riage to Noble, she was compelled to see herself pointed 
 out as an object of pity, and her child branded as illegiti- 
 mate. She was in a cruelly false position before the world, 
 and she was powerless to justify herself; her lips were 
 sealed, and she, too, must suffer in silence. Her parents 
 were heart-broken at their daughter's shame. They were 
 living in one of the eastern states, but they came instantly to 
 Nauvoo to take their child home. She was compelled to turn 
 a deaf ear to all their entreaties to return with them, and she 
 could not tell them her secret. Her mother was nearly dis- 
 tracted when she was obliged to return home without her 
 daughter, heart-broken and disconsolate, and bowed down 
 with shame at her supposed dishonor. She remained at 
 Nauvoo, and the burden of her life becoming greater than 
 she could bear, she became insane, a common fate of po- 
 lygamous wives, by the way, and remained a maniac until 
 her death. Her son, now a man grown, and living in 
 Utah, was the first child born in polygamy. She was an 
 innocent, engaging young girl, and a great favorite until 
 this sad affair occurred ; her sensitive spirit could not en- 
 dure the torture of existence, and she died the first martyr 
 to polygamy. 
 
 The first wife died soon after, literally broken-hearted. 
 The husband has had many wives since then ; indeed, he 
 
74 VILLANIES OF JOHN C. BENNETT. 
 
 has been an indefatigable disciple of the Celestial Marriage 
 system ; but his many wives have died one by one, until he 
 has been left alone. He is living still, and is pointed out 
 and referred to with praise as the first man brave enough 
 to respond to the call of Joseph Smith and become a polyg- 
 amist. 
 
 One of the first persons to be initiated into the plural-wife 
 doctrine, if not indeed Joseph's confederate in producing it, 
 was Dr. John C. Bennett, at that time Mayor of the city, 
 Major-General of the Nauvoo Legion, and a very great 
 friend of Joseph. It is said that the pupil fairly outran the 
 teacher, and his success as special pleader for the system of 
 Celestial Marriage was so decided that he incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of the Prophet, and they quarrelled violently. He 
 taught the doctrine to some ladies whom Smith had intended 
 to convert himself, and thus coming directly in contact with 
 the Prophet and his schemes, a rupture was caused between 
 the worthy co-workers. 
 
 Bennett apostatized, left Nauvoo, and wrote a book called 
 "Mormonism Exposed," in which he fully ventilated the 
 doctrine of spiritual wives which Joseph was about to intro- 
 duce into the church, and accused the Prophet of the 
 grossest immoralities. This expose created a wide-spread 
 feeling of indignation, and, to save himself and his people, 
 Joseph was obliged to deny all Bennett's statements; and 
 several of the leading men and women denied them also, 
 although they knew perfectly well that the greater portion 
 of them was true. It is probable that the book would have 
 had a much wider influence had not Bennett's character 
 been so well known. He was a notorious profligate, and 
 was pronounced by Gentiles who had known him before he 
 embraced Mormonism to be "the greatest villain unhung." 
 
 Joseph's onl} r method of defending himself from Ben- 
 nett's attacks was to assail him in return. The raven was 
 taunting the crow for feeing a blackamoor. He coupled 
 Bennett's name with that of a lady of high standing in the 
 
AN INNOCENT WOMAN ACCUSED. 75 
 
 Mormon community, in the -most disgraceful manner, and 
 published the scandal to a large congregation of the Saints, 
 causing the utmost consternation and dismay. The lady in 
 question had always been considered above reproach ; never 
 before had suspicion touched her name by even a breath, 
 and the accusation which Joseph brought against her seemed 
 too horrible to believe. But the Saints could more easily 
 credit the scandal than they could believe for one instant 
 that their Prophet could be guilty of misrepresentation ; and 
 the general conclusion was, that the lady had fallen from her 
 virtuous estate, broken her marriage vows, and become a 
 creature unworthy of countenance or sympathy. 
 
 Her husband was away from home when the trouble first 
 commenced, but returning while the excitement was at its 
 height, his indignation and rage at the position in which his 
 wife was placed knew no bounds. He realized the situation 
 at once, and saw that his wife was suffering from the 
 Prophet's jealous anger, and was simply being used as a 
 means of revenge and retaliation on his enemy Bennett. 
 This has been the Mormon leaders' manner of doing things 
 from the beginning ; they believe most implicitly in vicarious 
 suffering, and it is with them always the innocent and help- 
 less who are punished for the wrong-doings of the more 
 powerful. 
 
 The husband of this unfortunate lady came at once to the 
 rescue of his injured wife's reputation. He w bearded the 
 lion in his den," and defended his wife's character in public, 
 hurling the lie at his leader's head, and incurring anathemas 
 in return. He did not mind them, however, but still main- 
 tained his wife's honor in the face of everything. He was 
 nearly insane with grief and rage, but he behaved nobly 
 through the whole affair. He was greatly attached to the 
 church, and could not make up his mind to forsake it, and he 
 grieved over this action of his Prophet, but yet found an ex- 
 cuse for him on the ground that he had " lost the Spirit," and 
 had been taken possession of by evil influences for a while. 
 
76 AN ANGRY HUSBAND ATTACKS THE PROPHET. 
 
 He loved his wife, and considered her terribly wronged and 
 sinned against, and he tried by all the tenderness in his 
 power to heal the cruel hurt which she had received. His 
 own regard for and belief in her turned the tide of public 
 opinion again in her favor, and she has been, if possible, 
 more highly esteemed than ever since that unfortunate 
 accusation. In course of time her husband, who is none 
 other than Orson Pratt, one of the twelve apostles, took 
 several plural wives, and became so warm in his advocacy 
 of the system that he is called " the defender of polygamy." 
 Mrs. Pratt has since apostatized, and is working nobly 
 against Mormonism and its peculiar system. No woman is 
 more highly regarded by Gentiles and Mormons than she. 
 Her husband even, although she has steadfastly refused to 
 live in polygamy with him, and has fought it from its first 
 introduction, still has a high regard for her, although he 
 looks upon her as lost beyond redemption. She is now 
 an elderly woman, but her energy has not abated one 
 whit, and she declares she will never relax her exertions 
 towards putting down polygamy while she lives. If her 
 husband is its " defender," she may be called its " de- 
 nouncer ; " and her work is the most certain of being 
 crowned with ultimate success. 
 
 The days that preceded the Revelation were exciting ones 
 in the church. Apostasy prevailed to an alarming extent, 
 and the numbers of the faithful were sadly depleted, and 
 many more threatened to leave the church, who were finally 
 prevailed upon to remain. So intense was the feeling that 
 in the summer of 1843 the Prophet, moved by pressure on 
 every side, dissatisfaction within the church and hatred and 
 indignation without, heightened by Bennett's exposd and 
 the corroborating accounts given by apostates, was com- 
 pelled to intrench himself behind a divine " revelation " to 
 shield himself from public odium and restore the wavering 
 confidence of his people. 
 
 It had always been a practice of Joseph, whenever he 
 
THE "REVELATION ON CELESTIAL MARRIAGE." 77 
 
 met with any difficulty, to receive a "Revelation," which 
 immediately put everything straight. On the present occa- 
 sion he was equal to the emergency, and received that 
 celebrated " Revelation " which then and since has consti- 
 tuted the sole authority in the Mormon Church for the 
 practice of polygamy. It was at first only communicated 
 to a chosen few, and it was not until long after polygamy 
 had been practised more or less openly in Utah that Brigham 
 Young delivered it to the world in 1852. It was then pub- 
 lished in the " Seer" and also in the "Millennial Star? 
 under the title of 
 
 CELESTIAL MARRIAGE. 
 
 A REVELATION ON THE PATRIARCHAL ORDER OF MATRIMONY, OR 
 PLURALITY OF WIVES. 
 
 Given to Joseph Smith, the Seer, in Nauvoo, July 12th, 1843. 
 
 Of all the extraordinary " revelations " given by Joseph 
 Smith during his eventful career, this is, perhaps, the most 
 remarkable. It certainly produced a deeper and more 
 lasting influence upon his deluded followers than all his 
 other effusions put together, although its language is as 
 ungrammatical as its tendency is immoral. The opening 
 clause is peculiarly absurd. The Book of Mormon, the 
 Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and countless " revela- 
 tions " had denounced polygamy, and stated how offensive 
 the conduct of some of the patriarchs in this respect had 
 been to "the Lord." Yet here Joseph is made to ask that 
 same "Lord" how he "justified" the very principle that 
 Joseph had all along proclaimed that " the Lord " held to 
 be " an abomination " ! The Prophet's sons of course point 
 to this fact, and say that it was impossible for their father to 
 be guilty of such an unparalleled contradiction. The clause 
 reads thus : 
 
 " Verily, thus saith the Lord, unto you, my servant Joseph, 
 that, inasmuch as you have enquired of my hand to know and 
 understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants as touching 
 
78 GENTILE MARRIAGE ANNULLED. 
 
 the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and conciN 
 bines : 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 that have this law revealed unto them must 
 obey the same ; for, behold, I reveal unto you a new and everlast- 
 ing 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 cove- 
 nant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory ; and he that 
 receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he 
 shall be damned, saith the Lord God." 
 
 Having made this very pleasant announcement, the Rev- 
 elation goes on to declare that all contracts matrimonial 
 or other were null and void unless ratified by the Proph- 
 et: 
 
 2d. " And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law 
 are these : All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, 
 vows, performances, connections, associations, 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 command- 
 ment, through 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 from the dead ; for all 
 contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men 
 are dead." 
 
 The third clause is simply a reiteration of the sentiments 
 contained in the preceding ; but the fourth announces one 
 of the most peculiar tenets of Mormon theology. The 
 reader will see that in it the assertion is distinctly made that 
 if a man and woman are married by civil contract or accord- 
 
GIVEN TO JOSEPH. 79 
 
 ing to the usage of any of the ordinary sects, although they 
 may be among the most faithful members of the Mormon 
 Church in every other respect, yet, after death, they shall 
 not enjoy exaltation in heaven, they shall not become gods, 
 shall not marry or have children, shall have no kingdom or 
 priesthood, but shall simply be as the angels servants and 
 messengers of the Saints. It reads thus : 
 
 4th. " Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and 
 he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with 
 her so long as he is in the world, and she with him, their covenant 
 and marriage is not of force when 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 ministering servants 
 to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an ex- 
 ceeding and an eternal weight of glory ; for these angels did not 
 abide my law, therefore they cannot be enlarged, but remain 
 separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, 
 to all eternity, and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of 
 God for ever and ever." 
 
 Thus far the Revelation sets forth the uncomfortable fate 
 of those who do not strictly conform to the teachings of the 
 Prophet in matrimonial affairs. We now come to the other 
 side of the question the rewards which are to crown the 
 faithful. The reader will observe that the strictest obe- 
 dience is required to be paid to "him who is anointed," and 
 who carries the keys. 
 
 6th. "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 this 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 
 
80 THE REWARD OF THE FAITHFUL. 
 
 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 fulness 
 and a continuation of the seeds for ever and ever. 
 
 ^th. " 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 all things are 
 subject unto them ; then shall they be gods, because they have 
 all power, and the angels are subject unto them." 
 
 This is the reward of the faithful. The Revelation, how- 
 ever, was intended to be comprehensive and final ; it was to 
 meet every case, and there was to be no appeal from its 
 decisions. The married couple being united in strict ac- 
 cordance with the Revelation, they are now assured of 
 salvation and exaltation in the world to come, provided they 
 commit no unpardonable sin. In the following paragraph 
 that sin is defined, but the reader must bear in mind that 
 the blood of Gentiles is not w innocent " blood ; the shedding 
 of it, therefore, is no crime : 
 
 9th. " 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 com- 
 mit 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. 
 
 loth. " 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 
 
EXAMPLES FOR THE SAINTS TO FOLLOW. 8l 
 
 my death after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant, 
 saith the Lord God ; and he that abideth not this law can in 
 no wise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord." 
 
 In the italicized words, "but they shall be destroyed in 
 the flesh," is foreshadowed that terrible doctrine the 
 Blood- Atonement ; of which I shall presently speak more. 
 It was not long before the Saints were taught openly that it 
 was their duty to w destroy in the flesh " all upon whom the 
 leaders of the church frowned. 
 
 We come now to the examples which were held up for 
 the Saints to follow : 
 
 1 2th. "Abraham received promises concerning his seed and 
 of the fruit of his loins, from whose loins ye are, namely, my 
 servant Joseph, which were to continue so long as they were in 
 the world ; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the 
 world they should continue ; 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 not number 
 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 he 
 made unto Abraham. 
 
 1 3th. " God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to 
 Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was 
 the law, and from Hagar 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 him 
 for righteousness. 
 
 1 4th. " Abraham received concubines, and they bare him 
 children, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because 
 they were given unto him and he abode in my law. As Isaac 
 6 
 
82 THE AUDACITY OF JOSEPH SMITH. 
 
 also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were 
 commanded, and because they did none other things than that 
 which they were commanded, they have entered into their exalta- 
 tion, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones ; and are not 
 angels, but Gods. David also received many wives and concubines, 
 as also Solomon, and Moses 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. 
 
 I5th. " David's wives and concubines were given unto him of 
 me, by the hand of Nathan my servant, and others of the proph- 
 ets, who had the keys of this power ; and in none of these things 
 did he sin against me, save in the case of Uriah and his wife ; and 
 therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his por- 
 tion ; and he shall not inherit them out of the world ; for I gave 
 them unto another, saith the Lord." 
 
 The audacity of Joseph Smith in stating as a Revelation 
 from God, that "David's wives and concubines wzxz given 
 him of me by the hand of Nathan . . . in none of these 
 things did he sin against me" is scarcely conceivable, when 
 it is remembered that in the "divinely inspired" Book of Mor- 
 mon it is written, "David and Solomon truly had many 
 wives and concubines, -which thing was abominable before 
 me, saith the Lord.' 1 '' "The Lord," however, whom Joseph 
 served, seems to have been as inconsistent in this as in many 
 other matters. But in case of difficulty, Joseph was spe- 
 cially commissioned " to restore all things." Celestial Mar- 
 riage was more exactly defined, and that the whole concern 
 should run more smoothly, the keys of the kingdom on 
 earth and in heaven were handed over to the Prophet. 
 
 i6th. "I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee my ser- 
 vant 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 man, and I have not appointed unto her by 
 the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery, and shall be de- 
 
RECEIVES ADVICE. 83 
 
 stroyed. If she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and 
 she be with another man, she has committed adultery ; and if her 
 husband be with another, woman, and he was under a vow, he 
 hath broken his vow, and hath committed adultery ; and if she 
 hath not committed adultery, but is innocent, and Thath not broken 
 her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, my ser- 
 vant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my Holy 
 Priesthood, to take her, and give her unto him that hath not com- 
 mitted adultery, but hath 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. 
 
 1 7th. " And verily, verily I say unto you, that whatsoever you 
 seal on earth, shall be sealed in heaven ; and whatsoever you bind 
 on earth, in my name, and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall 
 be eternally bound in the heavens ; and whosesoever sins you remit 
 on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens ; and whoseso- 
 ever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven. 
 
 iSth. " 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." 
 
 After all this preamble, the keys committed to Joseph, 
 the relation of husbands and wives under the new dispensa- 
 tion defined, " Celestial Marriage " instituted, and a great 
 many other matters discussed, we come to what was, no 
 doubt, prominent in the Prophet's mind all the while he was 
 dictating the Revelation to Elder Clayton, namely, how to 
 manage "the Elect Lady," Mrs. Emma Smith. Accord- 
 ingly she is made the subject of a special address. She 
 is told to " receive all that have been given to my servant 
 Joseph." She is forbidden to leave the Prophet, as she had 
 threatened to do if he carried out his "celestial" system, 
 and certain other very useful hints are given for her guid- 
 ance if she would remain in peace. One particular passage 
 is said to refer to a matrimonial scene in which a threat was 
 held out that the life of the Elect Lady should be terminated 
 
84 A LITTLE MORE "REVELATION." 
 
 by poison. She is here commanded to "stay herself, and 
 partake not" of that which Joseph had offered her. It is, 
 however, only right to add that the Mormon exponents of 
 the Revelation say that this passage refers to an offer which 
 Joseph had made to sacrifice his own personal feelings, and 
 to accede to a divorce between Emma and himself. In 
 these few lines more is disclosed of the Prophet's domestic 
 life and difficulties than he probably was aware of. I give 
 these paragraphs in full, that the reader may judge for 
 himself. 
 
 2Oth. " Verily I say unto you, a commandment I give unto 
 mine handmaid Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto 
 you, that she stay herself, and partake not of that which I com- 
 manded you to offer unto her ; 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 handmaid 
 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, and have said they were 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 I will strengthen him. 
 
 2ist. " And I command mine handmaid Emma Smith to 
 abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But 
 if she will not abide this commandment, 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 com- 
 mandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, 
 even as he has said ; and I will bless him and multiply him, and 
 give unto him an hundred fold in this world, of fathers and moth- 
 ers, 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 tres- 
 passes, 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 heart to rejoice." 
 
PRIVILEGES OF THE MORMON MEN. 85 
 
 The concluding clauses speak for themselves. The 
 reader will see that in the twenty-third the Prophet is com- 
 pletely set free from all responsibility, and left at liberty, 
 without let or hinderance, to follow the dictates of his own 
 sweet will. In the two concluding paragraphs the wildest 
 licentiousness is permitted, in the name of "the Lord," to 
 the masculine portion of humanity, if believers in Joseph, 
 and the weaker sex are sternly warned of the penalties 
 of doubt and disobedience. 
 
 23d. " 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 my 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. 
 
 24th. " 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 which 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 
 are 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 committed adultery, and shall be destroyed ; for 
 they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, ac- 
 cording to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which 
 was given by my Father before the foundation 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. 
 
 25th. " And again, verily, verily I say unto you, if any man have 
 
86 
 
 a wife who holds the keys of this power, and 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 mag- 
 nify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my 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 Hagar to wife. And now, as pertaining to this law ; verily, 
 verily I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you hereafter ; there- 
 fore let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and 
 Omega. Amen." 
 
 When Joseph released all other wives from their marriage 
 contracts, of course Emma was also released. It is said she 
 thought of making another choice, and would have done so, 
 but the Revelation came in time to prevent it. Joseph offered 
 to make the sacrifice, but the Lord told Emma to w abide and 
 cleave to my servant Joseph," who had been cunning enough 
 to insert these clauses in his "Revelation," so as to hold her 
 more closely. It is said that she was shown the first copy 
 of it, and burned it; if so, there must have been another in 
 existence, for the one that Brigham Young gave in 1852 as 
 Joseph's revelation was identical with that given a few of 
 the chosen Saints in 1843. 
 
 I have entered somewhat more into detail regarding the 
 early history of Mormonism than I intended in the begin- 
 ning ; but I have considered it necessary to do so, in order 
 to show to my readers more fully the doctrines I have been 
 taught from my infancy, and to give them some idea of the 
 Mormon stand-point. They can easily see how things may 
 become distorted when looked at from such a one-sided 
 position. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AFTER JOSEPH'S DEATH. BRIGHAM YOUNG ELECTED 
 
 PROPHET. 
 
 Kindness of the Gentiles. Strangers in a Strange Land. My Parents 
 join the Saints in Nauvoo. They Purchase Land in the City. Are 
 shamefully Defrauded. Joseph's Unfaithful Friends. My Parents 
 left almost Destitute. I am Born in the Midst of Troubles. The 
 Saints Bewildered. Who should succeed Joseph? Sidney Rigdon's 
 Claims to the Presidency. He returns to Nauvoo. Has Dreams 
 and Visions. He Promises to "Pull Little Vic's Nose." The Apos- 
 tles hear of the Prophet's Murder. They hasten to Nauvoo. 
 Brigham begins his Successful Intrigues. He Settles Sidney Rigdon. 
 An Extraordinary Trial. Brigham's Idea of Free Voting. Wo- 
 men's Suffrage in Utah. Why Brigham gave the Franchise to the 
 Women. My own Experience as a Voter. Brigham dictates what 
 I'm to Do. I obey Quietly. How Sidney Rigdon was Deposed. 
 Brigham Rules the Church. 
 
 PON the arrival of the Saints 
 in Illinois they made Quincy 
 their first stopping-place, and 
 thence the majority of them 
 went at once to Nauvoo, the 
 new gathering-place. 
 
 My parents did not accom- 
 pany them, but remained in 
 Quincy two months. They 
 reached that city in a state of 
 almost utter destitution, with 
 barely clothing enough to ren- 
 der them decent, certainly not 
 enough to make them com- 
 fortable. Their reception by 
 
 the residents of the city, indeed by the people of Illinois 
 generally, was very cordial, and my mother often says she 
 
88 THE PROPHET'S FRIENDS STEAL A LAND-GRANT. 
 
 shall never forget the kindness she received at their hands. 
 Literally, she " was a stranger and they took her in, hun- 
 gry and they fed her, naked and they clothed her." And 
 not only her, but her little ones. 
 
 My mother was energetic and willing, and she found work 
 in plenty, and managed to get together some of the com- 
 forts and necessaries of life, when, after a two months' 
 sojourn amid these hospitable people, they removed to Pay- 
 son, where my father built a carriage manufactory and once 
 more commenced business. After three years of remunera- 
 tive labor, during which time he had got his business fairly 
 established, he concluded to leave it and join the Saints at 
 Nauvoo ; he and my mother both the latter more especially 
 desiring to be once more in Zion with the "chosen peo- 
 ple." My father had purchased five acre-lots in the City of 
 Nauvoo, and felt that he had a material as well as a spirit- 
 ual hold upon Zion. The deeds were properly executed, 
 and after making sure that everything was right during a 
 visit to the city, he made instant preparations to move his 
 family thither. 
 
 When he returned with his family and prepared to take 
 possession of his property, he found it claimed by Dr. Fos- 
 ter, a friend and favorite of Joseph Smith, who pretended 
 to have made a verbal contract for the land two years be- 
 fore. This, of course, brought the property into a dispute 
 which could only be settled by the church authorities, Joseph 
 himself presiding. As a matter of course, there was but one 
 decision, and what that would be my father knew very 
 nearly as well before it was given as he did afterwards. 
 Joseph would not decide against his friend ; the rest, seeing 
 how his mind was made up, dared not; and the land was 
 declared to belong to Foster, who, by the way, such were 
 his regard and gratitude for his leader, apostatized not very 
 long afterwards, attached himself to Law and his party, 
 and finally removed from Nauvoo, denouncing the religion 
 and its Prophet, and, indeed, carried his enmity so far that 
 
CONTEST FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH. 89 
 
 he joined those miscreants to whose violence may be attrib- 
 uted the death of Joseph Smith. 
 
 My father was again stripped of his property, by the 
 treachery and unjust ruling of the very man whom he had 
 so faithfully served. He had enough money remaining, 
 however, to purchase other lots, and on the land thus ob- 
 tained he built two very comfortable houses, in one of which 
 I was born, as I before said, on the I3th of September, 
 1844, at tne most tempestuous and most critical period in all 
 Mormon history. 
 
 Joseph Smith had been assassinated the previous July, 
 and his death, sudden and violent as it was, had almost 
 paralyzed the people, who were thus left without a leader, 
 and who were ill fitted to govern themselves, since they had 
 for so long a time given up their wills to the Prophet, fol- 
 lowing his instructions as obediently as the most tractable 
 children do their parents' behests. They had for so many 
 years depended upon him to guide them that they were un- 
 fitted almost to think for themselves. Life was a hopeless 
 muddle, and they saw no way of making it clearer. Then 
 their former friends had turned to enemies, and they began 
 to fear that they should be driven from their pleasant homes 
 in Illinois, as they had been from Missouri. And with all 
 the disturbance outside the church, there were heresy and 
 schism among themselves. 
 
 The question who should be the leader in Joseph's place 
 was exercising the church. The "First Presidency" was 
 composed of Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum, and Sidney 
 Rigdon. Hyrum Smith was killed in prison with his 
 brother, and Rigdon, although he had not apostatized, had 
 grown cool in the faith, left Nauvoo, and was living at 
 Pittsburg, Pa., enjoying life outside of Mormondom, and 
 seemingly finding much pleasure in Gentile society. After 
 the Missouri episode his enthusiasm was very much chilled, 
 and he indulged in fewer rhodomontades against the gov- 
 ernment. When Joseph made his advances to his daughter 
 
9 
 
 PULLING 
 
 Nancy, Rigdon was very much offended, and left Nauvoo at 
 once v As soon, however, as he heard of Joseph's death he 
 made all haste to return and secure for himself the " office " 
 of "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator," to which he claimed he 
 had been ordained. He was not received with enthusiasm 
 by the Saints, and he very soon discovered that whoever 
 might step into the dead Prophet's shoes, he, for a certainty, 
 would not be allowed to wear them. There was nothing then 
 remaining for him to do but to assume that Joseph's mantle 
 
 of prophecy had fallen upon 
 his shoulders ; consequent- 
 ly, he revelled in visions 
 and dreams of the wildest 
 and most fanatical kind. 
 His prophecies were the 
 most wonderful that ever 
 were heard, and were so 
 very incoherent and incon- 
 sistent that serious doubts 
 of his sanity were enter- 
 tained. There were to be 
 tremendous battles ; blood 
 was to flow until the horses 
 waded in it up to their very 
 
 bridles. All the powers of the earth were to assail the 
 Saints, but Rigdon was to lead the faithful to certain vic- 
 tory. All the strength of earth was to bow before this little 
 band of people and their consecrated leader, and he was, 
 as a final act of triumph as he returned from the battle of 
 Armageddon, to call in England and "pull the nose of 
 little Vic." 
 
 What the young queen, then in the full flush of popular- 
 ity, had done to raise this modern Bombastes' ire, remains to 
 this day a mystery. It is needless to say that the battles 
 have never been fought, nor has her majesty's nose been 
 maltreated by Rigdon or any other crazy Mormon fanatic. 
 
 SIDNEY RIGDON. 
 
BRIGHAM SHOWS THE CLOVEN HOOF ! pi 
 
 At the time of the assassination of Joseph Smith nearly 
 all the apostles were away on a mission. On hearing^the 
 evil tidings from Zion, they hastened there without delay, 
 and Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Hyde, and 
 Heber C. Kimball arrived soon after Rigdon made his ap- 
 pearance, and while he was in the midst of his " revelations." 
 From the moment of their arrival his chances were smaller 
 than ever, although he still maintained, but in not so public 
 a manner as at first, that he held "the keys of David," and 
 that he intended to persist in the maintenance of his claims, 
 even if obliged to do so forcibly. 
 
 The man for the situation appeared at this juncture in 
 Brigham Young. Ambitious himself for the position which 
 Rigdon so earnestly coveted, fortune seemed to have placed 
 him exactly in the situation to attain it. He was so it hap- 
 pened by the merest chance the senior apostle, and that 
 gave him authority. Thomas Marsh, who was at one time 
 the senior, had apostatized ; Patten, the second apostle, had 
 been killed by the mob, and this made the third apostle the 
 first or senior of the "twelve." The third happened to be 
 Brigham Young ; so that, after all, it was a mere chance 
 that placed him where he is. Both the Pratts were far 
 superior to him in intellect ; and they and Orson Hyde were 
 far ahead of him in mental attainments, such as they were. 
 He was a very plain man, entirely uneducated, and had 
 been noted for nothing except his fidelity to the Prophet and 
 the church and his hard-working disposition. But he was 
 shrewd enough to see his opportunity and to seize it, and 
 yet to do it in such a manner that neither his associates nor 
 the church itself had the least suspicion of his real plan. 
 
 The first move was to have Rigdon's case settled. He 
 was summoned for public trial before the High Council, 
 and eight of the apostles appeared as witnesses. Brigham 
 Young played a very important part in this trial ; he opened 
 proceedings by accusing Rigdon of a determination to rule 
 the church or ruin it, and followed up the accusation by 
 
p2 SIDNEY HANDED OVER TO THE DEVIL. 
 
 declaring that he should do neither. All the events of his 
 life were passed in review, and although he was not present, 
 being detained, it was said, by illness, the case was by no 
 means deferred, and he was tried without an opportunity of 
 defending himself. At the motion of Brigham, he was 
 " cut off from the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and deliv- 
 ered over to the buffetings of Satan, in the name of the 
 Lord ; and all the people said, Amen." 
 
 There were about ten persons who ventured to vote in 
 favor of Rigdon, and they were immediately "suspended" 
 from the church for their temerity. This is the way in 
 which persons are served even now who venture to disagree 
 with Brigham Young. There is absolutely no such thing 
 known among the Mormons as a free expression of opinion. 
 Whether it be on religious or political subjects, the decision 
 of the people is governed by the wishes of the President. 
 The manner of voting in public assemblies is never varied. 
 Brigham prefaces all ceremonies of the kind by an address, 
 in which he manages to let the people know exactly how he 
 feels upon the subject under discussion, and they understand 
 that they are to feel exactly the same way ; and as there is no 
 question of choice, they make themselves fancy they do be- 
 lieve exactly as he does. If they have any question of doubt, 
 they stifle it very quickly, and, if they are very good Mor- 
 mons, take themselves to task for their wickedness in enter- 
 taining a thought contrary to the opinion of their Prophet. 
 After the address, Brigham calls for a show of uplifted 
 hands, and requests every one to vote. The " contrary 
 minds " are then called ; but such is the singular unity of 
 this people that there is never a " contrary " mind among 
 them. To make this ceremony of voting more humorous, 
 the Prophet, in requesting all the people to vote, wittily 
 adds, "in one way or the other." This piece of pleasantry 
 on Brigham's part is quite appreciated by the Mormons, and 
 the "oneway" receives all the saintly votes, to the utter 
 exclusion of "the other." Let any one attempt to take the 
 
THE PROPHET BRIGHAM S LITTLE TRICKS. 93 
 
 Presidential joke au serieux, and it becomes anything but 
 pleasant for him. He is looked upon with suspicion, re- 
 garded as an enemy of the church and its ruler, and if he 
 escape serious persecution he may be considered especially 
 fortunate. 
 
 In politics there is about the same freedom of opinion, or 
 of its expression, rather. Although a semblance of inde- 
 pendent action is kept up, since the people are not publicly 
 told which way they must vote, yet the bishops and ward- 
 teachers manage to make it understood very decidedly what 
 is expected of " the Faithful " at the elections. The expecta- 
 tions, it is perhaps needless to state, are always realized. 
 
 I have often heard ladies in the East say that they con- 
 sidered Utah way in advance of the age in one respect at 
 least ; that there the equality of the sexes was so far re- 
 garded that the ballot was in the women's hands, and that 
 there they had received the right of suffrage. And I know 
 that for this one act Brigham Young is commended by 
 some of the leaders of the Woman Suffrage party, and he is 
 viewed by them with a lenient eye, in spite of all his other 
 acts of gross injustice. If these same radical reformers 
 only understood the reason that the franchise was extended 
 to Utah women, and the peculiar "freedom" and intelli- 
 gence with which they are allowed to exercise this privilege, 
 I think they would not be so scathing in their denunciations 
 of the Poland bill. To the men and women engaged in this 
 reform there seems to be no possibility that there can be 
 cases where positive harm would ensue when the ballot was 
 given to women ; they evidently believe that with universal 
 suffrage will be ushered in the millennium. 
 
 It may have that effect in other portions of the States, but 
 in polygamous Utah, ruled over by a treacherous tyrant, 
 this very right, which they claim will loosen the legal and 
 political shackles by which women are bound, and render 
 them absolutely free, only binds the chains the tighter and 
 makes them greater slaves than ever. And the most hate- 
 
94 HOW BRIGHAM MAKES THE WOMEN VOTE. 
 
 ful part is, that they are helping to tighten their own bonds, 
 and are doing it, too, under compulsion. 
 
 The reason of this wonderful act of "justice" on Brigham 
 Young's part can easily be given. When the Union Pacific 
 Railroad was completed, and the influx of miners and 
 other outsiders from the Gentile world began to flood the 
 Territory and make homes for themselves in the very midst 
 of Mormondom, the chiefs of the Mormon hierarchy grew 
 very fearful and apprehensive lest the power should pass 
 from their grasp into Gentile hands by the gradual change 
 of population. By adopting female suffrage they would 
 treble their voting power at once. There was no longer 
 any hesitation ; the measure was adopted, and so general 
 and generous was it, that in Utah to-day every person of the 
 female sex, from the babe in the arms to the oldest, bed- 
 ridden, imbecile crone, has the right of elective franchise, 
 and is compelled to use it. 
 
 To illustrate the intelligence with which women vote, and 
 the freedom of opinion in political matters which is allowed 
 them, I think I can do no better than give my own first 
 experience in exercising the prerogative of a free woman. 
 
 It was the first election-day that occurred after the right 
 of suffrage had been, not granted, but commanded. I was 
 standing in front of my husband's office, talking with a 
 friend, when he came out. His first question, put before he 
 had offered either myself or my friend any greeting, was, 
 
 " Have you voted to-day ? " 
 
 "No, Brother Young, I have not." 
 
 " Then I suppose you intend doing so at once." 
 
 "Not at all," I replied ; " I have no intention of voting at 
 all." 
 
 "And why not?" he asked, somewhat angrily. 
 
 " Because I have not yet become sufficiently acquainted 
 with the political situation to understand what it is best to 
 do, and I prefer not to vote ignorantly." 
 
 " But I wish you to vote," was his peremptory reply. 
 
HOW BRIGHAM S WIVES ENJOY THE FRANCHISE, 
 
 95 
 
 "Excuse me, please, Brother Young," pleaded I; "I 
 don't know who or what to vote for, and I really had much 
 rather not." I was quite in earnest. I did not know any- 
 thing then of politics, and I must confess I had no interest 
 in them. 
 
 " Get into the carriage," com- 
 manded he, so sternly that I 
 knew I must obey, and further 
 parley would be useless. "I 
 want you to vote, and at once. 
 Mr. Rossitur will take you to 
 the polls and tell you how to 
 vote." 
 
 Mr. Rossitur, to whose care 
 I was committed, was Brig- 
 ham's coachman, and was to 
 be my political instructor. All 
 the information I gained will 
 never harm nor help me very 
 materially. I was driven to the polls, a ticket was handed 
 me, and hustled along without the opportunity of examining 
 it, and to this day I am in blissful ignorance of what or who 
 I cast my only vote for. I know, however, that among 
 other officers they were electing a delegate to Congress, and 
 I suppose I must have voted for George Q^ Cannon. There 
 is an encouraging and inspiring picture for the advocates of 
 female suffrage, who are jubilant over the triumph of their 
 cause in Utah. A polygamous wife of the President of the 
 church conveyed to the polls by her husband's coachman, 
 and compelled to cast the vote he gives her without an 
 opportunity of exercising her judgment or her choice, and 
 ignorant even of what she is doing. By all means let us 
 have the suffrage in Utah, in spite of Judge Poland. 
 
 After the Council had disposed of Sidney Rigdon to its 
 satisfaction, and "all the people" had signified theirs by 
 saying "Amen," he turned about and prepared to fight 
 
 MY FIRST VOTE. 
 
96 HOW THE "PROFIT" OF THE CHURCH BEGAN HIS REIGN. 
 
 them. His resistance, however, was short and feeble, He 
 returned to Pittsburg, and attempted to resurrect the " Lat- 
 ter- Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate" a Mormon 
 publication that had died some years before. His attempt 
 was futile, and he gave up the contest with his failure to 
 revive that sheet, and Mormonism has known little or noth- 
 ing of him since. 
 
 In the mean time the Twelve Apostles were to rule over 
 the church until such time as a change in the Presidency 
 should seem necessary. This was Brigham's first step, and 
 the rest came easily and naturally enough. To all intents 
 and purposes he was as much the ruler of the Mormons as 
 he is now, although he did not then arrogate so much to 
 himself. He knew very well that it would not do to de- 
 clare himself too suddenly ; so he quietly worked and 
 waited until he found himself in the position which he now 
 holds a position which has never been contested by his 
 followers. 
 
 He was always a hard worker, quite successful in making 
 converts, and the steady determination of his character, 
 which amounted to decided obstinacy, united with a schem- 
 ing cunning, helped him very much at this period of his 
 life. 
 
 He was shrewd enough not to attempt, as Rigdon had 
 done, to play the prophet ; he knew very well that in that 
 rOle he would not meet success. He announced that no one 
 should take Joseph's place, and to this day he maintains to 
 those who remember what he said then, and contrast his 
 past assertions with his present position as head of the 
 church " No one can take the place of Joseph ; he is 
 in his place as the spiritual head of the church, and will 
 always be there, through time and eternity." 
 
 " I am no prophet and revelator, as Joseph was," he used 
 to say to the Saints : " but Joseph left revelations enough for 
 you to follow for twenty years ; in the mean time, the Lord 
 will reveal Himself to those among you whom He may 
 
HE HAS AN EYE TO THE CASH I 97 
 
 choose so to honor, and there is no reason why you should 
 not all have revelations." 
 
 But, revelations or not, one thing he insisted upon : that 
 was, that the Saints were to "build the kingdom up for 
 Joseph," and that he kept constantly before them. He next 
 proceeded to make the church self-sustaining in a pecuniary 
 sense. Each member was to tithe himself or herself one 
 tenth of all their property, and place it in the hands of the 
 * Twelve " for the use of the church. This tithing fund Brig- 
 ham had absolute control of a control that he has taken 
 pains never to lose. He instituted other w reforms " in the 
 church, and everything he proposed the people acquiesced 
 in with a surprising readiness. They yielded to him, 
 seemingly, without being aware that they were yielding, 
 and he had his own way without opposition, while the poor 
 deluded Saints thought he was carrying out their ideas, in 
 part at least. They came under Brigham's yoke without 
 knowing when they bent their necks to receive it, and in less 
 than six months after the Prophet's death his mastery over 
 the church was as assured as it is to-day. 
 
 7 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 MY FATHER'S PLURAL WIFE. CHILDHOOD IN 
 POLYGAMY. 
 
 Childhood in Mormondom. A striking Contrast. The Sorrows of my 
 Earliest Years. How my Mother received Polygamy. Submitting to 
 the Rod. Clinging to Love and Home. Resigning all for Religion. 
 Strange ways of glorifying God. The Reward of Faithfulness. 
 The Prophet Joseph imparts a New Religious Mystery. The Break- 
 ing-up of a Home. Feais of Rebellion. The Struggle of Faith 
 against Nature. Seeking Rest, but finding None. Brigham's " Coun- 
 sels." A New Wife Selected. My Parents enter into Polygamy. 
 The New Bride, Elizabeth. The Marriage Ceremony. My Mother 
 Sealed. She is to become a Queen. Domestic Arrangements in 
 Polygamy. Bearing the Cross. A First Wife's Sorrows. " Where 
 does Polygamy Hurt?" The Mormon Husband; his Position and 
 Privileges. 
 
 OFTEN wonder if there 
 is a child in Mormon- 
 dom, born under the 
 blight of polygamy, who 
 knows what it is to have 
 a happy, joyous child- 
 hood, rendered more 
 happy and more joyous 
 by the smiling, calm con- 
 tent of the mother in 
 whose arms its tiny infant 
 form lies cradled. I fear 
 the cases are as rare as 
 happy women are. 
 True, childhood always has a certain careless happiness of 
 its own, that even the saddest surroundings cannot wholly 
 repress ; but even this happiness is embittered by the tearful 
 eyes that gaze into trustful baby ones, and the lips that 
 
RECEIVING THE FIRST PLURAL WIFE. 99 
 
 quiver with pain, as they try to smile back into laughing 
 baby faces. 
 
 In the happy homes which I have visited since I broke 
 the chains that bound me, and came forth a free woman, 
 unshackled in thought and untrammelled in action, although 
 a wanderer on the face of the earth, with no abiding-place 
 where to stay my weary feet, I have been compelled to con- 
 trast the difference between childhood in a monogamic 
 country and in a polygamous one ; and when I have seen 
 the mother's face grow almost divine in its radiant con- 
 tent as she smiled down into the face of the little one 
 sheltered so closely in her heart, I have felt my heart throb 
 and ache with jealous anguish for the liftle ones in Utah, 
 and above all for their weary-hearted mothers, to whom 
 maternity brings no such joy, and added love, and tender 
 care. 
 
 I was consecrated to sorrow by the baptism of my moth- 
 er's tears upon my baby brow. I never remember on her 
 face one such look as I see daily upon mothers' faces now. 
 My baby hands wiped away tears, my baby fingers stroked 
 a cheek furrowed by them, and my baby eyes never saw 
 beyond the mist in hers. I came to her when the greatest 
 misery of her life was about to fall upon her ; and that 
 misery came to her, as it came to all the women then, un- 
 der the guise of religion something that must be endured 
 "for Christ's sake." And as her religion had brought her 
 nothing but persecution and sacrifice, she submitted to this 
 new trial as to everything that had preceded it, and re- 
 ceived polygamy as a cross laid upon her, but which 
 strength would be given her to bear. 
 
 She had never questioned any of Joseph Smith's "reve- 
 lations," and she did not dare do so now, although this one 
 came to her like a sudden and heavy blow, hurting heart and 
 soul, and rendering the thought of life unendurable. Hith- 
 erto, although her sufferings had been severe, and her pri- 
 vations many, yet through them all she had been sustained 
 
100 LIVING UP TO HIS PRIVILEGES. 
 
 by her husband's love. That was hers, and together they 
 had shared poverty and tasted plenty. Their sufferings 
 had brought them closer together, and whether in plenty 
 or poverty, they had been happy in each other and in their 
 children, and had made a home, and a cheerful one, 
 wherever they had been, one in which the spirit of love 
 ruled supreme. Now, her religion told her that she was 
 selfish and wicked to try and keep this home and husband. 
 The one must be broken and desolated, the other shared 
 with some one else. "The Lord commanded it." What a 
 blasphemy and satire on Him who is the God of Love, 
 that He should make His children unhappy, and wreck 
 all hopes of peace and content, for His glory ! It seems as 
 though this one act of Smith's alone should have opened 
 the eyes of this deluded people, and shown them that their 
 false Prophet was not taught of God, as he pretended, and 
 they so fondly believed, but that he was impelled by the 
 demons of covetousness and lust. But their eyes were 
 blinded, and they could not see ; their reason was inthralled, 
 and they did not know it was bound ; their wills were obe- 
 dient to his, and he held them soul and body, and played 
 with them as though they were so many puppets, helpless 
 and lifeless out of his hands. 
 
 Being accounted among the specially " faithful," my par- 
 ents were among the first to whom polygamy was taught 
 by Joseph Smith himself, and my father was commanded 
 by him to " live up to his privileges," and to take another 
 
 At first, the thought of taking a second wife to share his 
 home with the one whom he had first loved, who had been 
 the object of his youthful dreams and of his manhood's 
 devotion ; who had stood by him, through every reverse, 
 with the courage, and consideration, and love which only a 
 strong-natured, tender-hearted, earnest-souled woman could 
 show under such circumstances ; who was, in every sense, 
 a helpmeet, and, above all, the mother of his children, was 
 
hateful to him. It took a long time, too, to overcome his 
 aversion to the new system. He and my mother had many 
 a long, tearful talk over it ; and although they received the 
 doctrine, believing that it must be right, they could not for 
 some time make up their minds to put it in practice. In 
 the mean time Joseph was assassinated, and for a little time 
 they were left to each other in peace. But Brigham Young 
 was bound to carry out Joseph's revelations, and this one 
 relating to the plural wife system was strongly, though se- 
 cretly, urged upon the Saints. Both my father and mother 
 were visited by Brigham, and " counselled " in regard to 
 the matter. My mother has often said that the " Revelation " 
 was the most hateful thing in the world to her, and she 
 dreaded and abhorred it, but she was afraid to oppose it, 
 lest she should be found " righting against the Lord." The 
 thought that she might be obliged to live in a polygamous 
 relation with another woman rilled her with horror and fear ; 
 but she was assured by her religious leader, that the feel- 
 ing was merely the effect of her early training, which she 
 would soon outgrow under the benign influences of the 
 gospel. For several months she struggled with herself over 
 this subject, before she could think patiently of it for even a 
 minute. She wanted to have it made easy and plain to 
 her, for she could not bear to repudiate any of her beloved 
 Prophet's teachings. She agonized over it day and night; 
 she prayed incessantly to be given the true " spirit " of sub- 
 mission ; if it was God's will, she wanted strength to endure 
 it ; and she believed she should have it, for surely the kind 
 and loving Father would not impose upon his children bur- 
 dens greater than they could bear. She had not learned, 
 as she has since, that the God of the Mormon belief was 
 not the heavenly Father whose love the Saviour taught, but 
 a jealous God, a cruel, avenging Spirit, who demanded 
 blood-offerings to appease his awakened wrath. He was 
 not the tender Parent, all-wise, all-powerful, and all-lov- 
 ing, whom she reverenced and adored. There was little 
 
IO2 ELIZABETH. 
 
 use in looking towards her people's God for help or com- 
 fort. Retribution, and justice untempered by mercy, were 
 all He had for His subjects, not children. 
 
 During all these months of wavering doubt and untold 
 misery, my father never attempted to influence my mother's 
 decision in the least ; she had .her battle to fight, and he 
 his ; the end was inevitable for both ; but for all this the 
 contest was no less severe. Brigham's "counselling" be- 
 gan to assume the form of commands, which at last grew 
 so imperative that they were obliged to be obeyed. My 
 mother did not rebel ; she looked upon it as duty, and she 
 was determined to do it silently and uncomplainingly, if 
 not willingly and cheerfully. My parents consulted to- 
 gether regarding the choice of the new wife, and fixed 
 upon the person with surprising unanimity. They were 
 each anxious to help and comfort the other in this as they 
 had been in every other emergency of their lives. My 
 father wished, if he must take another wife, to choose one 
 who should be agreeable to my mother, or rather as agree- 
 able as one woman could be to another under such circum- 
 stances ; and my mother was, for her part, equally deter- 
 mined not to oppose him in his selection. But opposition 
 was not necessary, as his choice fell upon the very person 
 whom my mother would have selected, had the task 
 rested with her alone. 
 
 A short time after my birth, a Miss Elizabeth Taft came, 
 with a younger sister, to live in our house. She was a 
 very pleasant, cheery, affectionate person, and all the fam- 
 ily became very much attached to her. Father, mother, 
 children, all quoted "Elizabeth," and she became almost 
 a part of our very selves. She was thoughtful of my 
 mother, and tender to us little ones, petting us and indul- 
 ging us in our childish whims, and we, in return, loved 
 her very dearly. She was a good woman in its highest 
 interpretation, and devotedly religious. Naturally enough, 
 seeing her so constantly, both my parents thought of her 
 
FOR TIME AND ETERNITY. 103 
 
 as the new wife. If they must enter polygamy, they knew 
 they could do no better than to take her into the family, if 
 she could be induced to consider the subject in the same 
 light. My father made proposals to her, and my mother 
 seconded them. The thought of living in a polygamic rela- 
 tion with any one was very unpleasant to her, as indeed it 
 is to every true woman ; but she desired to live her religion, 
 and believing this to be a part of it, accepted my father's 
 proposal, and became his first plural wife when I was about 
 a year old. 
 
 Her parents were in Michigan at the time, 'and Elizabeth 
 wished to wait until their arrival ; but Brigham, who, as a 
 matter of course, was interested in the affair, counselled 
 the marriage to proceed, and of course it was considered 
 right and prudent to obey his counsel ; and as he was hur- 
 rying forward the endowments in the Nauvoo Temple, pre- 
 paratory to leaving for the West, the parties most nearly 
 concerned in the matter thought it best to hasten the nup- 
 tials. 
 
 My mother was to be "sealed" at the same time, as, ac- 
 cording to Joseph's Revelation, her former marriage, having 
 been performed in the Gentile form, was not binding. The 
 place of sealing was the Temple ; and there, one midwin- 
 ter day, in the beginning of the year 1846, my mother was 
 sealed to my father for "time and for all eternity," after which 
 she gave him Elizabeth as his wife according to the Mor- 
 mon marriage formula. It was with a steady voice and 
 calm composure that she pronounced the words that gave 
 another woman a share in her husband's love ; but it was 
 none the less with a heavy, breaking heart. Think of it, 
 wives, who are happy in undivided homes, and in your 
 husbands' unshared love ! What if your religion com- 
 manded you to give another woman to your husband as a 
 wife ; who was to have an equal right with you to his at- 
 tention and his love ; who should bear his name, and be a 
 mother to his children ; that all this should be done " in the 
 
104 BEAUTIES OF THE 
 
 name of the Lord," and without shrinking or complaint on 
 your part. Take this home to yourself, and you will be 
 able to appreciate as never before the horrors of Mor- 
 monism: 
 
 It was in January that my father obeyed the " counsel " of 
 his Prophet and leader, and in March his new wife's par- 
 ents returned, and were shocked and grieved beyond meas- 
 ure to find their daughter married into polygamy ; yet, being 
 strong in the faith, and much attached to their church and 
 their religion, submitted without a murmur, like the good 
 Saints they were. 
 
 My mother was so quiet and uncomplaining in the posi- 
 tion which she had voluntarily assumed, that she was praised 
 by the officious brethren and sisters for submitting with 
 such good grace, and was told by them that great glory 
 awaited her as a reward, and also, as she had so readily 
 made the great sacrifice, she would always be recognized 
 as the first wife, which, among the Mormons, is considered 
 an exceeding great honor. One of the sisters, who was a 
 strong advocate of the new " Celestial " system, said to her : 
 
 " You will stand at the head of your husband's kingdom 
 as a queen ; no one can ever take your place from you, but 
 you will be honored to stand by his side through the endless 
 ages of eternity." It was by such nonsensical talk and 
 absurd promises as these that the Mormon leaders tried 
 to make polygamy attractive to the women who were al- 
 ready married, and render them more willing to enter it. 
 Such absurdities may have weight with some women, but 
 they did not affect my mother, nor render the cross she had 
 assumed any more easy to bear. Her husband's undivided 
 love during time was better than royal honors in eternity. 
 
 The new wife lived in the family, and to outward appear- 
 ance everything was unchanged. Only a few of the "very 
 faithful " knew of the new arrangement ; it was deemed 
 best to keep it a secret from the majority of the people, to 
 whom polygamy was not a fixed fact, and who were waver- 
 
"DON'T you BELIEVE IN POLYGAMY?" 105 
 
 ing slightly in the faith on account of it. The time had 
 not yet come to promulgate the doctrine freely, and many 
 left Nauvoo for the West quite ignorant that the system 
 really existed in their midst. I think many of them never 
 would have crossed those endless plains, and sought shelter 
 under the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, had they known 
 what unhappiness awaited them. But unchanged as our 
 family circle was to those outside it, within was unhappi- 
 ness and bitterness of spirit. It was much harder to endure, 
 even, than my mother had anticipated. Terrible as was 
 the thought, the 'reality was much more horrible. She 
 thought she had counted the cost ; she found she had, in 
 her ignorance, been unable to estimate it. Every hour of 
 her life her heart was torn by some new agony. She was 
 compelled to see many of the tender, wifely little offices, 
 trifles in themselves, that she had been accustomed to per- 
 form, done by other hands, and she herself always turned 
 off with the excuse, "You see, dear, you have the children 
 to attend to, and I did not wish to give you trouble." 
 Trouble ! as though anything done for him, with a heart 
 full of love, could be accounted as such ! That hurt her 
 almost as much as to see another doing what it had always 
 been her delight to do. 
 
 As is the custom of men in polygamy, my father fell more 
 easily into the new arrangement, and even found a certain 
 comfort and content in it, and he wondered very much that 
 my mother could not be happy as well. Indeed, he was a 
 little impatient, after a while, that she would not say she 
 was content and satisfied in the new relation. 
 
 " I don't understand it," he would say ; "you were willing 
 at first. What is the difficulty now? Don't you think Eliza- 
 beth a good, true girl?" 
 
 "Yes, indeed," was always the reply ; for my mother was 
 too just a woman to do even a rival a wrong. 
 
 "Don't you believe in polygamy, then?" he would ask, 
 determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. 
 
IO6 THE MORMON MOTHER AND HER BABY GIRL. 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so. I wish to live my religion," was the 
 dreary reply. 
 
 " Well, what is to be done about it? " was the next anxious 
 question. 
 
 " O, I don't know," my mother would say, in bitter de- 
 spair ; "but I can't endure this life." 
 
 "And yet you entered it voluntarily. I don't understand 
 you ; you are strangely inconsistent." 
 
 Her remonstrance and his comfort never went beyond 
 this point. There was nothing more to be said. She had 
 protested with unutterable anguish against the life that she 
 felt was false and in direct contradiction to every law of 
 moral right, although she was told to look upon it as " di- 
 vine ; " and the only answer she could get was, "You are 
 inconsistent ; you entered the relation voluntarily." The 
 very truth of this reply silenced her, but it did not make 
 her burdens any lighter or easier to bear. 
 
 She saw that patient endurance was all that was required 
 of her, and all she could give. Her husband was hers no 
 longer ; she herself had given another woman the same 
 right to his care that she had ; and now she turned to all that 
 was left her in life that she could call her own her chil- 
 dren. Had it not been for us she would have prayed to 
 die. I was the baby, and she has said that at that time I 
 was the strongest tie which held her to life. If it had not 
 been for me, lying helpless in her arms, she would have 
 taken her life into her own hands, and put an end to it then 
 and there. But she could not endure the thought of leaving 
 me, her only daughter, her baby girl, alone and un- 
 shielded by a mother's care. My brothers, who were quite 
 large boys at that time, she thought would not miss her, nor 
 need her so much ; and many a time she has knelt with me 
 clasped fast in her arms, the tears falling on my wondering 
 face, and prayed frantically that we both might die. The 
 thought that she had brought a girl into the world to suffer 
 as she was now suffering, to find her whole life's happiness 
 
W DO YOU THINK I HAVE NO TRIALS? 
 
 107 
 
 made a wreck by the religion which should be a stay and 
 a comfort, drove her almost wild. She had buried one 
 little girl, and I have often heard her thank God that He 
 had taken her to Himself before life became a terrible bit- 
 terness and burden. She often says, in referring to her 
 sufferings at that time, and the desperate state she was in, 
 she wonders she did not commit suicide ; what kept her 
 from it she cannot tell to this day, unless the thought that 
 these polygamous relations did not end with time, but were 
 carried on through all eternity. 
 
 She had to keep a double guard on her tongue and on 
 her actions. She did not like to vex her husband, and 
 neither did she wish to grieve the young wife, whose position 
 was no pleasanter than her own. Besides, a husband in 
 polygamy is very sensitive regarding the treatment of the 
 last wife by those who have preceded her, and she knew 
 that no act of hers would escape her husband's notice, even 
 had she been inclined to ill-treat her rival. 
 
 DO YOU THINK / HAVE NO TRIALS? 
 
 Once, very mildly and kindly, she tried to tell some of 
 her troubles to Elizabeth, and begged her not to add to her 
 sorrow by bestowing so many marks of affection on my 
 father in her presence. The young wife turned on her 
 quickly, and demanded, bitterly, 
 
108 EVEN WORSE THAN I THOUGHT. 
 
 " Do you think / have no trials ? " 
 
 "God forgive me, and help us both ; I know you have? 
 was my mother's quick and sympathetic answer. 
 
 -After all, what could she say or do? She had influenced 
 the girl quite as much as my father had, believing she was 
 only doing what was right, and that the act, hard as it was, 
 would bring its own blessing with it. Instead, it brought 
 what polygamy always does bring the curse of a wrecked 
 home and a life's unhappiness. 
 
 A gentleman visiting Salt Lake City for the first time 
 once asked me where polygamy hurt the most. 
 
 "It hurts all over, body and soul, mind and heart," was 
 my reply. "I can't tell a spot that it does not hurt." 
 
 "It is even worse than I thought," he replied, with a 
 shudder. 
 
 The reply which I gave then I would give again. Never, 
 until a woman ceases to love her husband, can polygamy 
 cease to be anything but a series of cruel stings, alike to 
 pride and conscience. 
 
 I have tried to portray a little something of the misery 
 that fell upon our family by the introduction of polygamy 
 into it, but I have utterly failed to give an adequate idea of 
 it. No pen can possibly depict the heart-breaking suffer- 
 ings that are endured by women in this relation, and no one 
 can imagine or understand them who has not experienced 
 them. And yet, in spite of all this unhappiness, we were 
 accounted a model family, and were pointed out as the best 
 exponents of the system. "They are so united ! " was the 
 admiring verdict. This was due a great deal to my moth- 
 er's exertions and her conscientiousness. Having taken 
 this new mode of life as a religious duty, she was deter- 
 mined not to be found wanting in readiness to perform 
 whatever it required of her. A happy, contented spirit 
 she could not give ; but she could show patience, long-suf- 
 fering, and a calm, though by no means cheerful, face and 
 manner. 
 
MEN GET THE BEST OF IT. 
 
 Then, my father was very just in^he treatment of his 
 wives. One did not fare better than the other in any re- 
 respect. If he purchased an article of wearing apparel for 
 one, he got its counterpart for the other; in every par- 
 ticular they shared alike. His position was by no means 
 an enviable one ; still it was preferable to that of either of 
 his wives. Men, as I said before, always get the best of it 
 in polygamy, and always become more easily reconciled to 
 it than do the women. At meetings and all social assem- 
 blies, my father appeared with both wives, and they de- 
 ferred to each other in the most charming way, both of them 
 being too sensible and too proud to show the slightest feeling 
 where it might be commented on. Then, too, in spite of 
 the natural bitterness of feeling between them, there was a 
 mutual respect and regard between them, and each was too 
 just to lay her troubles at the door of the other. Had these 
 two women, with their generous natures and firm princi- 
 ples, met on any other ground, they would not only have 
 " got along " amiably and quietly as they did, but they 
 would have been warm, earnest friends, and the respectful 
 regard would have grown into positive affection. As it 
 was, they had nothing but kind words for each other, my 
 mother, especially, pitying the young wife as she did her- 
 self. Elizabeth was still kind to us children, and gained 
 the love which she has held ever since, and which she fully 
 deserved. Still the introduction of polygamy into our 
 midst was not a pleasant thing, and we little ones, even, 
 felt instinctively its baleful influence. 
 
 But we were to be diverted from the contemplation of its 
 miseries by a new and absorbing excitement. The Mor- 
 mon people were again compelled to move, leaving their 
 beautiful new city in the " defiled hands " of the Gentiles ; 
 and in the very midst of our first family trouble and unhap- 
 piness came the command to seek another Zion, since this 
 could no longer be a shelter for the Saints. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FORSAKING DEAR ZION. WE FIND A NEW HOME IN 
 THE FAR WEST. 
 
 A New Home in the West. Dangerous Neighbors. Some very Un- 
 pleasant Stories. Seeking a New Home. Preparing to Depart. 
 Life at Winter-Quarters. A Lively Time in the Temple. "Little 
 Dancin' Missy." Bound for Salt Lake Valley. Life by the Way. 
 Songs of the Saints. A False Prophecy. " The Upper California." 
 Saintly Profanity. A Soul-stirring Melody. The Saints Excited. 
 Beside the Camp-Fires. The Journey Ending. Entering Zion. 
 The Valley of the Great Salt Lake. 
 
 N the spring of 1846 our 
 family left Nauvoo, with 
 the large body of the 
 Saints, to find a new home 
 in the West. The Mor- 
 mon people had become 
 quite as unpopular in Illi- 
 nois as they had been in 
 u Missouri ; and collisions 
 between them and the 
 Gentiles were very fre- 
 quent. 
 
 Sometimes it was one 
 side that was the aggressor, sometimes the other. The 
 Saints were indignant at the treachery which resulted in 
 Joseph Smith's death. They held the United States gov- 
 ernment responsible for it, as well as for the troubles in 
 Missouri, and taught disloyalty to the government, and per- 
 sonal revenge on all who molested them. 
 
 The people of Illinois, in their turn, regarded the Mor- 
 mons as dangerous neighbors, and getting a hint of the 
 new doctrine of polygamy, looked upon them as grossly 
 
FLIGHT TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Ill 
 
 immoral, and accused them of much greater crimes than 
 they really committed. All sorts of horrible rumors were 
 rife, and the indignation of the people outside knew no 
 bounds. 
 
 The Mormon people realized, very soon after Joseph's 
 death, that they must seek a new home, and they looked 
 with a feeling of positive relief to the unexplored region be- 
 yond the Rocky Mountains. They believed that there they 
 would find a realization of all that had been promised them 
 by their murdered Prophet. At least they would be be- 
 yond all interference and molestation, and after all they 
 had suffered, they did not care how much space they put 
 between themselves and the Gentile world. 
 
 All through the winter of 1845 and '46, my father was 
 very busy building wagons for the purpose of transporting 
 the Saints and their property to their new and yet unknown 
 home ; for their destination was not definitely known to any 
 of them at that time. The Apostle Taylor advocated Cali- 
 fornia, and, indeed, announced that it would be the Saints' 
 objective point when they should leave Nauvoo. He wrote 
 an emigration song about it, and all the way from Nauvoo 
 to Winter-Quarters, some of the emigrating party were 
 tunefully averring, 
 
 " The Upper California, O, that's the land for me ! " 
 
 Yet, in spite of Taylor's prophecy and the saintly singing 
 of it, they never reached California. 
 
 It mattered little to me, at that period of my existence, 
 where we went. Home was home wherever my mother 
 was, whether it was east, west, or camping on the prairies 
 between. Of course I remember but little respecting the 
 exodus of the Saints from Nauvoo ; still there are indis- 
 tinct recollections of things that happened as early as that 
 which sometimes cross my mind, although they are very 
 dim. My first distinct remembrance was of Winter-Quar- 
 ters, which were then where Council Bluffs now stands. 
 
H2 "LITTLE DANCIN' MISSY." 
 
 My father built a log-house there, and we were compar- 
 atively comfortable. Our family consisted of my father, 
 mother, two brothers, myself, and Elizabeth, the new wife. 
 We were together nearly all the time, but when my father 
 went into Missouri to work a while at his business, and get 
 a little money ahead to take us to" our new home, and set- 
 tle us, he took my mother, my younger brother, and my- 
 self, leaving Elizabeth the new wife and my oldest 
 brother at Winter-Quarters. 
 
 Notwithstanding the facts of the enforced emigration, 
 the uncertainty of their future, and sacrifices they had been 
 compelled to make, the migrating Mormons were not an 
 unhappy party, and they managed to make their stay in 
 Winter-Quarters lively, if not merry. As a people, they 
 have always mixed amusement with their religion in the 
 most amusing manner. Dancing was a favorite recrea- 
 tion with them, and all their balls were commenced with 
 prayer. That custom, by the way, is still continued, and 
 the blessing of ft the Lord " invoked at every dancing party 
 which takes place in Mormondom. The Temple at Nau- 
 voo (I have heard) was used for dancing parties, and 
 it was then given out that the exercise was a religious 
 one. It was taught to the Saints that recreation was 
 positively necessary. Everybody dances among the Saints 
 president, counsellors, apostles, elders, and all; and 
 they dance with an unction, too, that is very amusing, and 
 frequently ridiculous. 
 
 It was while on the way to Salt Lake, when I was only 
 about three years old, that I learned to dance. It was 
 when I was living in Missouri that I had my first lessons. 
 Dancing was the common amusement there, and I re- 
 member the negroes used to play. I was active and 
 lithe, and very ready at imitations, and had, besides, a 
 quick ear for music. I was petted by everybody, and the 
 negro musicians took a special fancy to "little dancin' 
 
A BRIGHT GLEAM IN NIGHTS DARKNESS. 113 
 
 missy," and they taught me several negro dances, which I 
 used to execute to the intense delight of my sable instruct- 
 ors, and the amusement of my friends. 
 
 That winter, in Missouri, is one of the bright spots in 
 my childhood, to which I am especially fond of looking 
 back. It is, indeed, the only really happy time I can recol- 
 lect. My father was busy most of the time, and we lived 
 very pleasantly and comfortably, for that section of the 
 country at that early day ; my mother was more cheerful 
 than I had ever known her to be, and the atmosphere of 
 our home was peaceful. The second wife had been left at 
 Council Bluffs, and my mother had her husband's sole care 
 and attention, as she had had it in the old days before the 
 curse of polygamy was thrust upon her to embitter her whole 
 life, and rob her of all that a woman holds most dear, and 
 guards most jealously. Its shadow was over her still, and 
 she knew she could not escape from it; but she would take 
 what comfort she could, and think no more of past or future 
 sufferings than she could possibly help. 
 
 In 1847 a party of the Saints left Winter-Quarters for 
 the Salt Lake Valley. My parents had intended to accom- 
 pany them, but my father was obliged to remain on account 
 of business, and to assist in the final departure of the main 
 body of the church. Brigham Young and his family went, 
 necessarily, with the first party. Brigham was now absolute 
 in authority, and he managed the affairs of the Saints so 
 arbitrarily that no one dreamed of interfering with him, or 
 gainsaying him in the least. He decreed that my father 
 should remain at Winter-Quarters, and as a matter of 
 course he obeyed. We were there another winter, and 
 all the while my mother's heart was setting most strongly 
 Ziomvard. 
 
 It was the 4th of May, 1848, when at last we were fairly 
 
 started for our Rocky-Mountain home. The hearts of all 
 
 the people were filled with eager anticipation, and they said 
 
 "good-bye" cheerfully and heartily to the civilized world, 
 
 8 
 
PICKING FLOWERS BY THE WAY. 
 
 in which were centred all the memories of their past, and 
 turned gladly towards that unknown country beyond the 
 wild plains and pathless deserts in which were all the hopes 
 of their future. 
 
 My father took provisions that would last a year, by 
 practising economy, and we had two wagons and three 
 yoke of oxen ; there were six of us in the family our own 
 selves and Elizabeth. We joined with a train of two hun- 
 dred wagons, which was afterwards divided into compa- 
 nies of fifties. I suppose the journey must have been a 
 tiresome one to the older members of the party, but I en- 
 joyed it extremely. I ran along, during a portion of the 
 day, by the side of the wagons, picking the flowers by the 
 way, and talking to the different members of the train, for 
 I knew everybody, and was petted almost as much by my 
 fellow-travellers as I had been by my negro friends in Mis- 
 souri. It is a wonder that I was not completely spoiled ; I 
 daresay I should have been, had it not been for my moth- 
 er's sensible and judicious training. I was her idol, the 
 one object for which she cared the most in the world ; but 
 for all that, she ruled me wonderfully, and I yielded her the 
 most implicit obedience, while giving her the most passion- 
 ate childish love and devotion. 
 
 I remember her so distinctly on this journey ! She occu- 
 pied herself a great deal with writing, keeping a literal 
 transcript of all that befell us on our journey, mingled with 
 the deepest religious meditation and poetic fancies. She 
 always wrote in a large book, which she afterwards de- 
 stroyed, when we arrived at Salt Lake City. I have always 
 regretted the destruction of that book, as I should have 
 liked it as a souvenir of that journey to the rt Promised 
 Land." But she was so shy of having her feelings known, 
 and so fearful lest it might fall into some person's hands 
 who would not understand her, but who would jeer at her 
 for a sentimentalist, that she put it out of the way at the 
 very earliest opportunity. Among other things, she wrote 
 
MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 a song, which used to be sung in camp, and was a great 
 favorite ; but even that is lost. I cannot recall it to mem- 
 ory, and my mother will not, as she says it is much better 
 forgotten. 
 
 We rested every Sabbath, and always held services. 
 Sometimes we staid a week in camp, resting our tired 
 oxen, and recruiting our own strength. It was a pleasant 
 season of the year, and we could afford to travel leisurely, 
 
 A BLESSING FROM BRIGHAM. 
 
 as we had left Winter-Quarters so early that we had ample 
 time to reach Salt Lake Valley before the weather became 
 disagreeable, even if we made frequent stops. We had 
 plenty of provisions, too, and there was no fear of their be- 
 coming exhausted. 
 
 Brigham Young had returned from the new settlement to 
 accompany the emigrants and show them the way. We 
 travelled in company with him, and I attracted a great deal 
 
Il6 SONGS OF THE SAINTS. 
 
 of his attention. The two families, Brigham's and our own, 
 had lived in adjoining houses in Nauvoo, and I had known 
 " Brother Young " from my birth ; he blessed me in my 
 infancy, and I was at one time as great a favorite of his as 
 any child ever could be ; which isn't speaking very enthu- 
 siastically of his affection, to be sure, since he is not noted 
 for fondness for children, even his own. I little thought 
 then what relation I should one day hold to this man, who 
 was older than my father. My future was not foreshadowed 
 in that summer journey in search of a home. 
 
 The Saints used to cheer their tedious journey by singing 
 from some point or other in the train. I could always catch 
 snatches of song ; and on Sunday, while we were encamped, 
 the whole body of the Saints would sing their hymns and 
 local songs together. Some of these I recollect very dis- 
 tinctly, and, even now, find myself humming snatches of 
 them, having taken them up quite unconsciously. One of 
 them I referred to before, by the Apostle Taylor, who at 
 that time was a famous hymn-writer for the Saints. This 
 one especially was a great favorite of the younger men in 
 the company, and if one voice began it while we were 
 journeying on, it would be taken up the whole length of the 
 train and sung with great unction. I give it as a specimen 
 of the style of hymns that was popular in the church. 
 
 "The Upper California, O, that's the land for me ! 
 It lies between the mountains and the great Pacific Sea , 
 
 The Saints can be supported there, 
 
 And taste the sweets of liberty, 
 In Upper California O, that's the land for me ! 
 
 We'll go and lift our standard, we'll go there and be free, 
 We'll go to California, and have our jubilee ; 
 
 A land that blooms with endless spring, 
 
 A land of life and liberty, 
 With flocks and herds abounding O, that's the land for me ! 
 
LIGHTENING A WEARY WAY. 
 
 We'll burst off all our fetters, and break the Gentile yoke, 
 For long it has beset us, but now it shall be broke ; 
 
 No more shall Jacob bow his neck ; 
 
 Henceforth he shall be great and free 
 In Upper California O, that's the land for me ! 
 
 We'll reign,we'll rule and triumph, and God shall be our King ; 
 The plains, the hills, the valleys shall with hosannas ring ; 
 
 Our towers and temples there shall rise 
 
 Along the great Pacific Sea, 
 In Upper California O, that's the land for me! 
 
 We'll ask our cousin Lemuel to join us heart and hand, 
 And spread abroad our curtains throughout fair Zion's land. 
 
 Till this is done, we'll pitch our tents 
 
 Along the great Pacific Sea, 
 In Upper California O, that's the land for me ! 
 
 Then join with me, my brethren, and let us hasten there ; 
 We'll lift our glorious standard, and raise our house of prayer ; 
 
 We'll call on all the nations round 
 
 To join our standard and be free 
 In Upper California O, that's the land for me ! " 
 
 Another one that the Saints used to sing a great deal 
 and one that was composed in Nauvoo, to be sung in the 
 Temple before the exodus was set to the pathetic air of 
 " Old Dan Tucker." I give what I can remember of it. 
 
 " In '46 we leave Nauvoo, 
 And on our journey we'll pursue ; 
 We'll bid the mobbers all farewell, 
 And let them go to heaven or hell. 
 
 Old Governor Ford, he is so small 
 There is no room for soul at all ; 
 He neither can be damned nor blest, 
 Though heaven or hell should do their best." 
 
 This song, profane as it may seem, was sung, not once, 
 but many times, in Nauvoo Temple, and religious exer- 
 
Il8 GLORY OF THE LATTER DAY. 
 
 cises in camp were never considered complete without it. 
 Why these two songs stand out more prominently in my 
 memory than any others with one exception, which I 
 shall presently mention I do not know, unless it was be- 
 cause the airs pleased me ; the first was bright, stirring, and 
 very easily caught ; the other was familiar to me in Missouri. 
 When I think of it now, two scenes always come to my 
 mind : one, of a little blue-eyed girl, dancing merrily under 
 the trees while a band of delighted negroes sang the gay tune 
 which the tiny feet were beating out; another, of the same 
 little girl, running along by the side of a covered emigrant- 
 wagon, with her hands full of half-withered flowers which 
 she had picked by the wayside, listening to the old song 
 with the new words, which she only half comprehended, 
 and involuntarily making her steps keep time to the music. 
 The other hymn which I remember was a great favorite 
 with the Saints, and whenever they sang it, it had the power 
 of awakening the wildest enthusiasm. It is of a style en- 
 tirely different from either of the other two. I can't help 
 quoting here a verse or two, it is so much a part of the 
 memory of this portion of my life. 
 
 " The Spirit of God, like a fire is burning ! 
 
 The latter-day glory begins to come forth ; 
 
 The visions and blessings of old are returning ; 
 
 The angels are coming to visit the earth ; 
 
 We'll sing and we'll shout, with the armies of heaven ; 
 
 Hosanna ! hosanna to God and the Lamb ! 
 Let glory to them in the highest be given, 
 Henceforth and for ever. Amen and Amen ! 
 
 The Lord is extending the Saints' understanding, 
 
 Restoring their judges and all as at first ; 
 The knowledge and power of God are expanding; 
 The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst. 
 
 We'll call in our solemn assemblies in spirit, 
 To spread forth the kingdom of heaven abroad, 
 
THE SAINTS AROUND THE CAMP-FIRE. 
 
 That we through our faith may begin to inherit 
 The visions, and blessings, and glories of God. 
 
 We'll wash and be washed, and with oil be anointed, 
 
 Withal not omitting the washing of feet, 
 For he that receiveth his penny appointed 
 
 Must surely be clean at the harvest of wheat. 
 
 Old Israel that fled from the world for his freedom, 
 Must come with the cloud and the pillar amain ; 
 
 A Moses, and Aaron, and Joshua lead him, 
 And feed him on manna from heaven again. 
 
 How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion 
 
 Shall lie down together without any ire, 
 And Ephraim be crowned with his blessing in Zion, 
 As Jesus descends with his chariots of fire. 
 
 We'll sing and we'll shout, with the armies of heaven : 
 
 Hosanna ! hosanna to God and the Lamb ! 
 Let glory to them in the highest be given, 
 For ever and ever. Amen and Amen." 
 
 This hymn always stirred the Saints to the very depths 
 of their natures. It was as appealing and sonorous as a 
 battle-cry, as exultant as a trumpet-note of victory. Without 
 understanding it, I was powerfully affected by it ; my cheeks 
 would glow, my eyes flush with tears, and my little heart 
 grow so large that I would almost suffocate. The sublime 
 exaltation of the Saints, as they sung this, was felt by me, 
 child as I was, though I could not comprehend it. I shut 
 my eyes now, and see a large company gathered together, 
 in a fast-falling twilight, on a wide plain, that seems as end- 
 less as the ocean ; the blue of the star-studded sky is the 
 only covering for the heads of this company. In the dusk 
 the white-covered wagons look weird and ghostly. Camp- 
 fires are burning; men, women, and children are clustered 
 together, and the talk goes back to the old days and the trials 
 and persecutions which these people have borne, and forward 
 
I2O 
 
 THAT SOUL-STIRRING SONG. 
 
 SINGING THE RALLYING-SONG. 
 
 to an independent and happy future, blessed of God and 
 unmolested by man. In the glow of anticipation, some one 
 strikes up this fervid hymn, the rallying-song of the Mor- 
 mons, and the wide plains 
 echo back the stirring strains. 
 I nestle by my mother's side, 
 awed and subdued, but con- 
 tent to feel the clasp of her 
 hand and meet the loving light 
 of her eyes. The song is over, 
 and " hosannas " and " amens " 
 resound on every side, and out 
 of the blue sky the stars smile 
 down on the wanderers with a 
 calm, hopeful light. 
 
 Never, to the very last, up to 
 the time of my abandoning Mor- 
 monism and leaving Utah, could 
 I hear this hymn unmoved ; and even now the very thought 
 of it thrills me strangely. I have heard it sung again and 
 again since then ; but it is, nevertheless, indissolubly con- 
 nected with that journey across the plains and over the 
 mountains. 
 
 Towards the last of the journey some of the Saints began 
 to be somewhat impatient, and begged to hasten onward. 
 We had occupied nearly the whole summer with the journey, 
 and probably crossed the plains more comfortably and with 
 less trouble or loss than any train which followed us. Start- 
 ing as early as we did, we could move as slowly as we liked, 
 with no dread of winter storms overtaking us. The last 
 stop we made of any length was at Weber River, where we 
 remained a week in camp, fishing, and getting ready for 
 the final part of our journey. Our wanderings were nearly 
 at an end ; only a few days more and we should reach our 
 new home the "Zion" of the promises, the resting-place 
 for God's people. Brigham, who did not often indulge in 
 
AGAIN ON THE WAY. 121 
 
 w revelations," said the place had been pointed out to him in 
 a vision, and in the shadow of the mountains the Saints 
 should hold their own against the entire world. The pic- 
 tures of the mountain-fastnesses which he drew for the 
 wandering people, and his assurances of their future safety 
 and constantly increasing power, filled them with anticipa- 
 tion and exultation. Already they saw the masses of the 
 converted from the Gentile world knocking at their doors 
 for admission ; this yet unbuilt city in the wilderness was to 
 be the Lord's dwelling-place on earth, and to Him here, 
 from every nation on the globe, sinners were to come flock- 
 ing, whose future glory would add to the brightness of His 
 kingdom here and swell His kingdom in heaven. 
 
 From their stronghold in the mountains they were to reach 
 out and grasp the whole world. "The fulness of the earth" 
 was to be the Lord's through them. Like the Covenanters 
 of old, they might have sung, 
 
 " For the strength of the hills we bless Thee, 
 
 Our God, our fathers' God ! 
 Thou hast made Thy children mighty 
 
 By the touch of the mountain sod. 
 Thou hast placed the Ark of Refuge 
 
 Where the spoiler's foot ne'er trod ; 
 For the strength of the hills we bless Thee, 
 
 Our God, our fathers' God." 
 
 In spite of all that this devoted people had passed through, 
 they still believed they were the " Chosen of God," to whom 
 it was given to "build the waste places of Zion, and make 
 the desert blossom as the rose." 
 
 There was general rejoicing when at last the camp at 
 Weber's River was broken, and we were again on our way. 
 The spirit of prophecy broke loose and fairly run riot among 
 the leaders. The " Promised Land " was near, the " City of 
 Refuge " for the weary-footed Saints was nearly reached, 
 where God Himself would cheer his people. The rest of 
 
122 THE REST AT LAST. 
 
 the journey was accomplished quickly ; lagging footsteps 
 hastened and heavy hearts grew light as they neared the 
 Mormon Canaan. It was destined not to be a land over- 
 flowing with milk and honey, but they had little care for 
 that, when, on the 2Oth of September, 1848, they reached 
 the Salt Lake Valley, and were welcomed to the Fort by 
 the little band who had preceded them into the wilderness. 
 They were travel-stained and weary ; but here was home 
 at last the " Zion " of their hopes. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OUR WELCOME TO "ZION." UTAH IN EARLY DAYS. 
 
 Our Welcome to Zion. Housekeeping under Difficulties. Our First 
 Home in Utah. The Second Wife's Baby. The Young Mother. 
 A Very Delicate Position. Doctors at a Discount. Brigham's Wife 
 turns Midwife. An Obedient Woman. Taking care of the Baby. 
 Practising Economy. The Path of the Crickets. Too much Cracked 
 Wheat. Building the First Mill. Brother Brigham Speechifies. 
 Tea at Five Dollars per Pound. Californian Gold Discovered. Build- 
 ing up Zion. Brigham's " Dress Reform." A Rather Queer Cos- 
 tume. The Women " Assert" Themselves . Clara Decker Rebels. 
 How the Prophet treats his Wives. I ask for some Furs, and am 
 Snubbed. How the Prophet doled out his Silk. Eliza Snow and Fan- 
 ny's Finery. The Prophet Snubs Eliza. He Combats the " Grecian 
 Bend." Dancing among the Saints. Polygamy Denied. How the 
 Saints received It. A Nice Little Family Arrangement. 
 
 UR own imme- 
 diate family were 
 welcomed by 
 Elizabeth's par- 
 ents, who had 
 gone on with the 
 first body of the 
 Saints, and were 
 living as com- 
 fortably as they 
 could under the 
 circumstances, in 
 the Fort. We 
 were their guests 
 but a short time ; 
 then we moved 
 into a tent and our covered travelling-wagon, which consti- 
 tuted our first housekeeping establishment in Utah. 
 
 ^GRECIAN BEND.* 
 
124 TAKING CARE OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 We were quite in the fashion, however, as nearly all our 
 friends were living in the same way. My father commenced 
 immediately to build an adobe house, hoping to get us into 
 it before the winter set in. When it was finished it was re- 
 garded with admiration, and ourselves with envy, since no 
 one else had so fine a place. The reason of its superiority 
 was, that it was the second house in the place, and the 
 other was a miserable affair of a log-cabin, in contrast with 
 which our adobe structure was quite a palatial affair. 
 
 Shortly after our arrival at Salt Lake, Elizabeth added a 
 son to the family. This was a time and an occurrence to try 
 my mother's spirit ; but she bore it bravely, and showed her- 
 self a true Christian, and a brave and sympathetic woman. 
 She took all the care of the mother and child, and was as 
 devoted to the former as though she had been a daughter. 
 \ If there was any bitterness in her heart towards her, she 
 <f certainly did not show it at this crisis of her life. It was a 
 trying position for her to be placed in, as any woman can 
 realize who will give a thought to the circumstances, a 
 woman caring for another during the birth of a child whose 
 father is her own husband. 
 
 For many years the Mormons rejected the aid of physi- 
 cians altogether. They applied oil, and "laid hands" on 
 all sick persons, without regard to their ailments. If a 
 person was ill, the elders were called, and they anointed him 
 with consecrated oil ; then they rubbed or manipulated him, 
 much after the manner of the modern " magnetic treatment," 
 the elders praying audibly all the time. In cases of child- 
 birth, women used to officiate, and Brigham Young com- 
 pelled one of his wives, Zina Huntington, to learn mid- 
 wifery, in order that she might attend her husband's other 
 wives during their accouchemcnts. The task was extremely 
 distasteful to her, as she was not particularly fond of nurs- 
 ing ; and as those to be cared for were her own rivals, she, 
 of course, relished the work still less. But she was a good, 
 conscientious woman, and her reverence for her husband 
 
ANOINTING WITH OIL. 125 
 
 for, strange as it may seem, she did reverence him 
 would not allow her to resist any commands he might place 
 upon her ; and her generous nature and strict sense of 
 justice would not allow her to neglect any one under her 
 care, no matter how distasteful the person might be to her. 
 She never carried her personal feelings into a sick room, 
 and always gave her patient the tenderest, most watchful, 
 and motherly care. The world, Mormon or Gentile, does 
 not hold a nobler, truer woman than Zina Huntington 
 Young. 
 
 ANOINTING THE SICK WITH OIL. 
 
 In the absence of physicians, almost the entire responsi- 
 bility and care of Elizabeth and the boy, my half brother, 
 fell upon my mother. She has often said that in the care 
 she gave her at that time, she tried to make amends for 
 some of the bitterness of feeling she had shown before. 
 She never expected to be reconciled to the family arrange- 
 ment; but as it was inevitable, she was determined to do 
 everything in her power to help everyone concerned in it, 
 and to make the new home in Zion as peaceful and har- 
 monious as possible. It was a difficult task ; but then po- 
 
126 
 
 lygamy is made up of difficult tasks and trying situations. 
 There is nothing else in it, no one palliation for all the 
 woe. My mother grew very much attached to the child, 
 and he clung to her with loving affection. He is twenty- 
 six years old now, but he has always kept his love for 
 "Auntie," as he calls my mother, and she has an unflagging 
 interest in him. Indeed, all Elizabeth's children are fond 
 of my mother, and our two families have been more united 
 than polygamous families usually are. This has been due 
 to the common-sense of the two mothers, who, the dupes of 
 a false system and a still falser religion, nevertheless knew 
 each that the other was not to blame for the mutual suffer- 
 ing. For twelve years they lived together under one roof, 
 eating at the same table, with not an unkind word passing 
 between them. It was a matter of conscience with both ; 
 they were neither of them resigned to the situation, but 
 they believed that it was right, and they must endure it. 
 
 When we arrived at " the Valley " we found the people 
 practising the most rigid economy. The crickets had been 
 very numerous, and had almost entirely destroyed the 
 crops, devastating whole fields, until they looked as though 
 they had been scorched by fire. A few had managed, by 
 most desperate exertions, to save some of their wheat ; but 
 as there was only an apology for a mill, with no bolting 
 apparatus, this wheat was obliged to be eaten without being 
 sifted. When I have seen persons eating cracked wheat 
 as a delicacy, and heard them speaking of it with the sub- 
 dued enthusiasm which some people manifest when talking 
 of food, I have thought of the time when this delicacy was 
 the only thing that was seen on the tables at Utah for break- 
 fast, dinner, or supper, and I have come to the conclusion 
 that "delicacies" may, in time, grow monotonous. 
 
 To be sure, we brought flour and other necessaries from 
 the"" Missouri River in considerable quantity, enough to 
 have lasted us a long time, had we kept them exclusively 
 for our own use ; but on our arrival we divided with those 
 
OUR FIRST WINTER IN UTAH. 127 
 
 who had none, and ate our share of the coarse bread. As 
 soon as possible a good mill was built, and the year after 
 we arrived we had our wheaten flour again. Of course 
 when once our small store of groceries was exhausted, it 
 was quite impossible to procure more in the Territory, 
 Everything was used most sparingly, and what had, in the 
 States, been looked upon as actual necessaries, were now 
 positive luxuries. Jit was a year of deprivation and self- 
 denial, but the Saints bore every cross with patience, and 
 were brave to the end. During the time no word of com- 
 plaint was heard, and not one seemed to regret the step he 
 had taken. There was an exultation and a spirit of free- 
 dom that amounted to bravado. Brigham added to this 
 spirit by his Sunday discourses in the Bowery, by such 
 language as the following : 
 
 "We are now out of reach of our enemies, away from 
 civilization, and we will do as we please, with none to mo- 
 lest. The Gentiles cannot reach us now. If they try it 
 they will find themselves in trouble." 
 
 During the first year we had only the groceries we 
 brought with us ; but the following year some kinds were 
 brought in from the States, and although the prices demanded 
 were fearfully high, yet buyers were found for all the arti- 
 cles. Tea sold for five dollars a pound, sugar for one dol- 
 lar and fifty cents a pound ; potatoes brought their weight in 
 silver, and potato-balls were brought from California, at a 
 great expense, to be used for seed. 
 
 It was at this time that the California mines were discov- 
 ered, and the gold-dust actually was more plentiful than 
 food or clothing, for a while. 
 
 The first winter was filled with a variety of occupations, 
 the men going to the canons for timber, building houses, 
 and taking care of stock ; the women knitted, repaired the 
 dilapidated clothing, and attended to the household duties, 
 necessarily in a very primitive fashion.. There wasn't a 
 pair of idle hands in the entire settlement. The yarn which 
 
128 DISAGREEMENTS AMONG THE SAINTS. 
 
 the women used for knitting was made from buffalo wool, 
 which we picked from the sage-bush on the journey. The 
 carding and spinning were also done by the sisters. 
 
 Our principal food, the first winter, was dried buffalo- 
 meat, very poor beef, and the coarse bread of which I have 
 spoken, made from the unbolted wheat. Occasionally, as 
 a very great luxury, we had dried fruit and a cup of tea ; 
 but this was only on state occasions, and at very long in- 
 tervals. 
 
 I am sorry to say that bickerings among this Saintly 
 people were no more infrequent than among the Gentiles, 
 and that there were as many disputes over land and other 
 claims in "Zion," as ever there had been in "Babylon." 
 They were not above jealousies, either, this " chosen peo- 
 ple ;" and, indeed, on our arrival at Salt Lake we found 
 trouble between the Apostle John Taylor and Bishop Smart, 
 the two men whom Brigham Young had left in authority 
 when he left Utah for the States to fetch the remainder of 
 the Saints. Each had become jealous of the other, and 
 envious of his authority, and it required considerable skill 
 and tact to settle the apostolic quarrel and make matters 
 smooth again. Jedediah M. Grant was presiding, and 
 holding the two factions apart when Brigham arrived ; and 
 so well did he manage this most difficult task, that, as a re- 
 ward for his faithfulness and patience, Brigham made him 
 his second counsellor. It took some time to settle this and 
 other disputes, and often the entire Sunday service was de- 
 voted to the adjustment of difficulties between the brethren. 
 
 The Fort was by no means large enough to hold all the 
 people who had already arrived, and tents would be com- 
 fortable for only a few weeks. The work of building went 
 on as rapidly as possible, those who were able having log 
 or adobe houses, while others of less extensive means were 
 obliged to content themselves with " dugouts," which were 
 nothing more or less than holes dug in the ground and 
 covered with willow boughs and earth. 
 
THE PROPHET INVENTS DRESSES FOR THE GIRLS ! 
 
 When the clothing wore out, as there was no cloth there, 
 and no wool to make it from, the men wore clothes made of 
 deer and antelope skins. It was at this time that Brigham 
 undertook to inaugurate a "dress reform " among the women, 
 and introduce a most unique style of dress of his own inven- 
 tion. If the dress reformers of the East are likely to fail in 
 their attempts to present a sufficient quantity of novelties to 
 meet the demands of their patrons, I would most respect- 
 fully recommend to their most favorable notice President 
 Young's " inspired " dress, which was called the " Deseret 
 costume." 
 
 It is a marked peculiarity of the Mormon Mogul, that he 
 is extremely fond of interfering. No matter is too trivial for 
 his mind to dwell upon and consider. Nothing is of too 
 private or personal a nature for him to refrain from meddling 
 with it. From the cuisine of the poorest family in the Ter- 
 ritory to the wardrobe of the richest, nothing escapes him, 
 and whatever he may say or do, no one dares resent his in- 
 terference. 
 
 Not long after the arrival of the Saints in Utah, Brigham 
 conceived the idea of a uniform dress, by which the sister 
 Saints should be distinguished from the rest of the world, 
 and for a while he was enthusiastic on the subject of this 
 " dress reform." He not only introduced the idea of this 
 dress, but he planned it himself, and was as proud of his 
 costume as Worth is of any one of the most gorgeous gowns 
 which he sends out from his world-famed establishment. 
 Several of the sisters had adopted the Bloomer costume in 
 Illinois, and President Young had warmly approved of it. 
 He now wanted something more pronounced, and he held 
 meetings with the leading ladies who favored his plan, for 
 the purpose of deciding in what manner to introduce the 
 new costume. There was much excitement over it, and 
 most of the sisters were intensely curious concerning the 
 proposed style of it, when suddenly it was revealed to them 
 in all its beauty. 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 CUTTING OFF THE PETTICOATS ! 
 
 The costume consisted of a short dress, which did not fit 
 the figure at all, but resembled very closely the modern gored 
 wrapper, such as is worn at the present time. .It reached 
 about half way between the knee and ankle, and was worn 
 with long pantalets, made of the same material as the dress 
 itself. Over this was worn a long, loose sacque, of antelope 
 skin. This costume was certainly peculiar and distinctive 
 enough ; but it did not quite suit the Mormon Worth ; it was 
 
 not complete enough ; 
 so he added a hat 
 eight inches high, 
 with a straight, narrow 
 brim ; and then he 
 viewed his achievement 
 with complacent admi- 
 ration. 
 
 It must be confessed, 
 however, that the large 
 majority of the sisters 
 did not share his ad 
 miration ; and even he, 
 although he strenuous- 
 ly urged the general 
 adoption of this cos- 
 tume, could induce but 
 very few of the sisters 
 to wear it. Even Mor- 
 mon women will assert 
 themselves in matters of the toilette, and they refused, 
 most persistently, to make perfect guys of themselves. It 
 was a very unbecoming dress, both to face and figure ; there 
 was nothing graceful or beautiful about it, and probably the 
 female Mormons have never, in all their lives, come so 
 nearly being actually indignant with their Prophet as they 
 were when he endeavored to induce them to disfigure them- 
 selves by wearing this hideous costume. 
 
 THE DESEKET COSTUME. 
 
Some of the sisters, however, were quite energetic in 
 their efforts to bring about the desired dress reform, and 
 they cut their silk dresses and other expensive materials 
 after this pattern. It is true, silk was not very common 
 in Utah at that time, but a few of the more wealthy had 
 brought materials with them for future use ; and the first use 
 they made of them was to sacrifice them to one of President 
 Young's whims. They did it with an earnestness, and 
 even eagerness, that was beautiful to behold or would 
 have been, had not one been pained at their delusion. 
 
 But the " Deseret Costume " was not a success. The high 
 hat killed it at its birth. It is possible that without this 
 addition the rest of the dress might have been tolerated ; 
 but as every one who wore it was expected to don the hat 
 also, the short-dress mania was of brief existence. Of 
 course the material that was used for one of these dresses 
 was utterly worthless after that, as nothing could be done 
 with it. The dress was in so many pieces that the cut-up 
 cloth was good for nothing. 
 
 One or two of the Prophet's wives who wished to serve 
 the Lord and glorify Brigham, and who were determined 
 to live by "every word that proceeded out of his mouth" 
 persevered in wearing the dress, hat, pantalets and all, 
 long after every one else had abandoned it ; until at last 
 they were compelled to succumb to popular opinion and a 
 more prevailing fashion. . That was the first and last at- 
 tempt of Brigham Young to institute a " dress reform," 
 although he has never ceased inveighing in the strongest 
 terms against the follies and vanities of the feminine world, 
 and assailing the women who followed the fashions. It is, 
 indeed, a pet occupation of his when he is in exceedingly 
 bad temper ; and the Saints can easily tell when anything 
 has gone wrong with him during the week by the ferocity 
 with which he attacks the sisters on the subject of dress, in 
 the Tabernacle on Sunday. Jie.does not seem to make a 
 very decided impression on his listeners, however ; even his 
 
132 THE GRUMBLING PROPHET AND THE FURS. 
 
 wives and daughters following their own inclinations rather 
 than his teachings. The truth is, he says so much about it 
 that it is altogether an old story, and has lost all its impres- 
 siveness from its frequent repetition. 
 
 His chief topic is retrenchment in dress, and he pleads for 
 it as earnestly as though it were a vital matter with him. 
 And he not only preaches economy in the Tabernacle to his 
 people, but he practices the most rigid parsimony at home 
 with his wives. Except by Amelia, a request for any article 
 of wearing apparel is the signal for all sorts of grumbling. 
 Once in a while, however, some of his wives will turn sud- 
 denly and give him an answer ; though, I must confess, the 
 occasions are rare. 
 
 Clara Decker, one of his numerous wives, was sadly in 
 want of some furs, and she did not hesitate to ask Brother 
 Young to supply her needs. He became positively furious, 
 and declared that her extravagance was beyond all endu- 
 rance ; she wanted to ruin him ; she was determined to ruin 
 him ; all his wives were banded together for his financial 
 downfall ; and so on, with endless abuse. She listened to 
 him patiently for a few minutes ; then getting tired of all 
 this abuse, she interrupted him : 
 
 "If you think, Brigham Young, that I care anything for 
 you, except for your money and what little I can get from 
 you, you are mistaken. I might have cared more once; 
 but that was a long time ago." 
 
 She then turned and left the room, leaving him petrified 
 with amazement. A few hours after a set of furs was sent 
 to her room. She quietly took them, and the subject was 
 never referred to again. 
 
 The winter after my marriage with the Prophet, I myself 
 preferred a similar request, and was met by a similar torrent 
 of abuse. Not knowing that this was his usual manner of 
 meeting a request from his wives, and not having Clara 
 Decker's experience, I was perfectly overcome, and felt as 
 though I had committed the unpardonable sin in daring even 
 
CLARA DECKER SPEAKS HER MIND. 
 
 133 
 
 to think of a set of furs, which, by the way, are actual neces- 
 sities in a Utah winter. I burst into tears, and sobbed out, 
 
 " O, don't, Brother Young ! " 
 
 I left the office and went home, puzzled and astonished 
 at this new revelation of my Prophet-husband's meanness 
 and coarseness. The next time he came to see me he 
 brought me my furs. I used them two seasons, when the 
 muff needed re-lining, and I ventured to ask him for silk for 
 
 BRIGHAM REFUSES MY REQUEST. 
 
 the purpose, thinking, of course, he could find no fault 
 with so modest a request as that. But it seems I had not 
 even then tested his full capacity for fault-finding. He 
 treated me to a tirade, longer and more abusive than ever. 
 He had got my furs for me, and yet I was not satisfied, but I 
 must come bothering him again. I knew that he had several 
 trunks full of silks, velvets, and laces, that he was keeping 
 for some purpose or other, and consequently the material 
 
134 ELIZA SNOW IS SHOCKED I 
 
 for re-lining my muff would cost him nothing ; so I did 
 not feel that I merited the lecture I was receiving. I said 
 nothing, however, beyond making my request, and when he 
 had finished he cut off a quarter of a yard of narrow silk 
 from an entire piece which he had in one of the trunks, and 
 gave it to me with as many airs and as much flourish as 
 though he were presenting me with a whole dress pattern. 
 It is needless to say that my muff was not lined with that 
 piece of silk. 
 
 The trimming of dresses also comes in for a full share of 
 Brother Brigham's condemnation ; but he likes to have all 
 the scolding and fault-finding to himself. If any one else ven- 
 tures to express a like opinion, he is more than likely to dis- 
 agree with them, probably from pure contrariness. I re- 
 member an incident that illustrates this, which took place at 
 family prayers at the Lion-house one evening. One of the 
 Prophet's daughters , Fanny, a very pretty, stylish girl, 
 came into the parlor wearing a black wrapper trimmed with 
 rows of red braid. The sight of this seemed very greatly 
 to exercise Eliza Snow, a proxy wife of Brother Brigham, 
 and she exclaimed in a shocked tone, 
 
 " Is it possible that I see one of Brigham Young's daughters 
 in a dress trimmed with red? I am more surprised than I 
 can tell." 
 
 Brother Brigham couldn't stand this invasion of his prov- 
 ince, and called out peremptorily, 
 
 " That dress is well enough. Let the girl alone ; she 
 shall wear whatever she chooses. I've seen you in more 
 ridiculous finery than that." And this to the woman who 
 was the first to adopt, and the last to relinquish, the hat, 
 pantalets and short gown of the " Deseret Costume ! " 
 Such is Prophetic gratitude ! 
 
 On one occasion he was holding forth on the subject of 
 long dresses ; reviling them, of course, and holding up to 
 ridicule and contempt the women who wore them. 
 
 " The very next time," said he, growing warm with his 
 
BRIGHAM DECLARES AGAINST THE " GRECIAN BEND." 135 
 
 subject, " that I see one of my wives with a dress on sweep- 
 ing the ground, I will take the scissors and cut it off." 
 
 The very next day, I was passing through a door in front 
 of him, when he accidentally stepped upon my train, which 
 was a very long one. Of course I expected my dress 
 to be sacrificed to the Prophet's promise, but to my great 
 surprise, he not only refrained from the threatened applica- 
 tion of the scissors, but from any comment, even so much 
 as an apology for his awkwardness. 
 
 One of his favorite amusements has been imitating the 
 Grecian bend for the benefit of the congregation, and it 
 pleased him so much, and seemed so highly entertaining, 
 that he kept up the practice long after " the bend " was out 
 of fashion. He indulges in the coarsest witticisms, and is 
 not above positive vulgarity and profanity, both in language 
 and manner, often making himself very offensive to the 
 more refined portion of his audience. 
 
 His own practice is entirely at variance with his teach- 
 ings, since he wears the finest broadcloth of the most fash- 
 ionable cut, drives the fastest horses, and rides in the most 
 elegant carriages in the Territory, and his favorite wife is 
 indulged in all the extravagances of the age. And yet a 
 large portion of the Saints seem to take no notice of these 
 inconsistencies, but receive all that he says as the strictest 
 law and the most unimpeachable gospel. 
 
 In place of a distinctive costume, which he hoped to make 
 the women adopt, the daughters of Zion fairly rival their 
 Babylonian sisters in gaiety and fineness of attire, and the 
 remotest allusion to the " Deseret Costume " is never heard 
 now in the City of the Saints. It was the last attempt at 
 dress reform in Utah. 
 
 Immediately on the arrival of the church in Utah, poly- 
 gamy was urged upon the people. Having no fear of the 
 outside world, since they were so far removed from it, they 
 laid aside all caution, and preached and practiced it openly. 
 The plural-wives taken in Nauvoo were acknowledged for 
 
136 LOOKING OUT FOR MORE WIVES. 
 
 the first time, and others were added. The men were con- 
 stantly urged to "build up the kingdom," and in order to do 
 that they were counselled to " take advantage of their privi- 
 leges." If they did not hasten to obey counsel, they drew 
 down Prophetic and Apostolic wrath onto their heads, and 
 were accused of not " living up to the privileges." It soon 
 became very unpopular for a man to have but one wife, ano\ 
 he quickly found himself looking out for another. In fact, 
 the somewhat coarse song, which was much affected by the 
 Mormon men, described the state of affairs at the intro- 
 duction of polygamy : 
 
 " Some men have a dozen wives, 
 And some men have a score ; 
 The man that has but one wife 
 Is looking out for more." 
 
 Of course dancing-parties were frequent then, even when 
 there was nothing but the "Bowery" for a ball-room, with 
 the earth for a floor. Joseph Smith had told them that it 
 was the will of the Lord that they should " make them- 
 selves merry in the dance," and, like the consistent Chris- 
 tians they were, they determined that the Lord's will, in 
 this matter at least, should be done. They had danced in 
 the Temple at Nauvoo, they had danced while crossing the 
 plains, and now they commenced again, in the only place 
 of worship which the city boasted, which was an open 
 space, overarched by boughs of trees. This served as 
 tabernacle and dancing-room while the weather permitted ; 
 after which the religious services were held at Brigham's 
 own house, the dances at the different houses. 
 
 Polygamy became so much the fashion, that if a man 
 attended a party with only one wife, he felt ashamed and 
 humiliated, and would instantly select some unappropriated 
 young woman, and commence paying her " particular and 
 peculiar" attentions. He would dance with her, and in the 
 intervals of the dance talk matrimony to his, usually, not 
 
FOUR WIVES LIVING IN ONE ROOM ! 137 
 
 uninterested nor unwilling listener ; the poor wife sitting 
 by, watching the progress of the courtship with heavy heart 
 and a consciousness of what the result would be. A lady- 
 friend, who had lived that experience, once said to me, 
 w I could write volumes on the misery I endured that first 
 winter in Utah." Another one, referring to the same 
 period, said, "I have divided my last crust with poly- 
 gamy." 
 
 THE BALL IN THE BOWERY. 
 
 It was horrible, the makeshifts that were obliged to be 
 resorted to, in order to start the system. A neighbor of 
 ours had four wives, and only one room to live in during 
 the entire winter. It was used for sitting-room, kitchen, 
 bedroom and parlor, and the interior arrangements defy all 
 description. No pen can portray the many ingenious ex- 
 pedients adopted to preserve appearances. Modesty and 
 decency forbid my throwing too strong a light on that habi- 
 tation. 
 
 This was only one of many, and was by no means excep- 
 tional. The command had gone forth to take more wives, 
 and it did not matter at all whether there was a place to put 
 them in ; they must be taken into polygamy. It was kept 
 quiet from the outside world, and the elders who were sent 
 out on missions were commanded to keep utter silence on 
 
138 THE "EXTRA" WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 
 
 the subject. Rumors did get out after a while, especially 
 after the California miners began to pass through Utah. 
 There were no hotels at Salt Lake City at that time, and 
 the emigrants who stopped there to rest, before finishing 
 their journey, were compelled to become temporary in- 
 mates of Mormon families, where they found polygamous 
 wives and children as a matter of course. Naturally they 
 would grow curious after a time concerning these extra 
 women and children, and as the inquiries were sometimes 
 quite embarrassing, every subterfuge had to be resorted to 
 to keep the guests in ignorance of the system. 
 
 But, try the best they might, they could not prevent sus- 
 picions of the truth ; and it was not long before the mis- 
 sionaries, both in the States and in Europe, found themselves 
 terribly perplexed by all sorts of questions concerning the 
 truth of the reports that were coming thicker and faster 
 from Utah. They were ordered to deny the rumors, and 
 they all did so in the most emphatic manner, up to the very 
 time of the publication of Joseph's "Revelation," in 1852. 
 
 In Nauvoo it had been represented to those who had 
 been told of the new doctrine that it was optional ; that no 
 one need enter the relation unless he chose ; and, conse- 
 quently, although they felt it was a cruel doctrine, yet most 
 of the women flattered themselves that their husbands, 
 while they might receive it as a religious truth, would never 
 practice it. But when the church was located in Utah, 
 away from everybody, where help could never reach the 
 oppressed and miserable, and from whence there was no 
 possibility of escape, then polygamy was no longer option- 
 al, but every man was compelled to enter it, under pain 
 of Brigham's displeasure, and its results. 
 
 That was a miserable winter for the Mormon women ; 
 they felt that they had in some way been the victims of false 
 pretences, but they did not dare to blame anyone, for fear 
 of displeasing "the Lord." It was represented to them that 
 this was God's will, and they must submit, else they would 
 
VICTIMS OF FALSE PRETENCES. 139 
 
 never see salvation. Many of them were exceedingly re- 
 bellious, and would have returned to the States had it been 
 possible ; but they had no means, and no prospect of getting 
 any, and they could only stay on and endure in sullen 
 silence and inward rebellion, which, after a while, when 
 they found there was no escape, became a sort of hopeless 
 apathy, which was by no means resignation. 
 
 Others, actuated by true religious fervor, like my 
 mother, accepted the situation because they really be- 
 lieved it was commanded by God ; and while they were 
 always unhappy in it, and considered it the greatest cross 
 that could possibly be put upon them to bear, still made the 
 best of it, and made it a matter of conscience to be as pa- 
 tient, forbearing, and charitable as it was possible for human 
 nature to be under such circumstances. 
 
 Most of the men took kindly to the new state of affairs, 
 and did not seem at all backward about availing themselves 
 of their privileges. They had a good example set them by 
 their Prophet and his counsellors, and the Apostles fulfilled 
 their duty to the utmost by setting an example to their peo- 
 ple in this respect. 
 
 The few Saints who had practiced polygamy in Nauvoo 
 had done so very secretly ; consequently, when we came to 
 Utah, and were beyond the reach of the government, and, 
 as the leaders taught us, no longer amenable to the laws of 
 the United States, there were some very strange family rev- 
 elations made. I will instance one, in the case of Lorenzo 
 Young an elder in the church and a brother of Brigham 
 -and Mrs. Decker. Mr. Young, who had a wife and six 
 children all living, met Mrs. Decker, a very charming and 
 fascinating woman, who did not seem to think that the fact 
 of her having one husband, in the person of Mr. Decker, 
 prevented her from taking Mr. Young for another ; and he 
 seemed to find Mrs. Young no obstacle to his union with his 
 new love. Each of them had children married, yet both 
 declared they had never before met their affinity. 
 
140 MEETING "AFFINITIES LATE IN LIFE. 
 
 Mr. Young laid the case before Joseph Smith, and the 
 Prophet informed him that no doubt they were kindred 
 spirits, intended for each other from the beginning of the 
 world, and that the day would come when they would be 
 united by the bonds of celestial marriage. This was in 
 1837? which showed that the idea was in his mind as early 
 as that, although it was not reduced to a form and shown to 
 anyone until 1843. 
 
 Joseph having given them this much consolation, they 
 arranged matters to suit themselves, and seemed quite en- 
 chanted with one another. The only difficulty in the way 
 was Mr. Decker. It was a puzzle to know how to dispose 
 of him. But he and the world must both be deceived, and 
 appearances must be kept up. So the wife remained with 
 her lawful husband until the Revelation of 1843 cut the 
 perplexing knot for them, and unravelled the intricate 
 affairs. 
 
 Mrs. Decker was sealed to Brother Young, and Mrs. 
 Young to Mr. Decker, who by this means had two wives 
 given him in place of the one who was leaving him. 
 
 These mixed families were compelled to live in one house 
 until they left the States. They then separated. Their 
 children scattered everywhere, not knowing to whom they 
 belonged ; and, altogether disgusted and dissatisfied, felt 
 more at home with strangers than they did with their par- 
 ents, especially as they did not know, positively, what 
 name they were entitled to bear. They were by no means 
 the only ones who were perplexed in the same way. There 
 had been a queer and intricate mixing up in Nauvoo ; it is 
 not at all strange if the attempt at straightening out was a 
 difficult one. 
 
 Joseph Smith's sons contend that he was not a polygamist ; 
 yet, with all the facts concerning his own life, and his en- 
 couragement of what would be considered in most commu- 
 nities the broadest kind of license, he either must have been 
 a polygamist or something infinitely worse. Certainly the 
 
DIDN'T KNOW WHO THEIR FATHERS WERE ! 141 
 
 wildest doctrines of promiscuity, as taught by certain 
 socialists of the present day, are no more startling than 
 those taught by Joseph Smith, and have been forced upon 
 the people by his successor, under the guise of polygamy, 
 or, " Celestial Marriage." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TROUBLES UNDER THE NEW SYSTEM. 
 
 The Sorrows of My Uncle. " It's a Hopeless Fix." A Woman's Ar- 
 gument about Polygamy. My Mother " labors " with a First Wife. 
 Wife No. 2 " Walks Off." Marrying a Widow and her Two Daugh- 
 ters. Mrs. Webb becomes a Wife No. 2. Wife No. I throws Brick- 
 bats into the Nuptial Chamber. She clears the Field of Extra Wives. 
 " Building up the Kingdom." The Atrocious Villanies of Orson 
 Pratt. How he has Seduced Innocent Girls. Brigham's Nephew 
 Rebels. Trouble in the Prophet's Family. Forgetting a Wife's 
 Face. A Woman who liked Polygamy. 
 
 HERE was literally no end 
 to the muddles in which 
 the Mormon people found 
 themselves while trying 
 to adjust their polygamous 
 affairs. 
 
 In our own family it was 
 very smooth sailing, as 
 there were no superfluous 
 members to be accounted 
 for, and the two wives 
 made the best of their un- 
 fortunate situation. But 
 the same peace did not 
 
 prevail in all families. I remember one family quite well 
 
 where affairs were strangely mixed, and in which the wife 
 
 exhibited a most amusing inconsistency. 
 
 A brother of my father, Milo Webb, had married a very 
 
 pretty and agreeable woman in Illinois, who was perfectly 
 
THE SORROWS OF MY UNCLE. 143 
 
 devoted to him, and he returned her love ardently. They 
 were both members of the Mormon Church, and had lived in 
 the greatest harmony, with not the slightest shadow of dis- 
 cord, until 1846, when the " Endowments" were given in 
 Nauvoo Temple. 
 
 To those men who were considered worthy to be called 
 to that holy edifice to receive the sacred rite of the Endow- 
 ments, polygamy was quietly taught as one of the require- 
 ments of religion, and these faithful brethren were counselled 
 not to appear with but one wife ; and of course after this 
 many felt ashamed to present themselves with only the wife 
 of their first and unbiassed choice, the mother of their chil- 
 dren, the sharer of their fortunes, the consoler in trouble, 
 the faithful, loving soul who had made her husband's people 
 her people, his home her home, his God her God; who 
 had considered no sacrifice too great to bear for his sake, 
 no suffering too intense to be endured ; who had literally 
 taken him " for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer ; " had 
 clung to him in sickness and health, in poverty and distress, 
 as well as in plenty and comfort, and who fondly believed 
 that only death should part them. 
 
 If a man dared be true to his better nature, and present 
 himself for his Endowments with this wife alone, he was 
 ridiculed by the authorities for being so poorly provided for, 
 especially by Brigham and Heber C. Kimball, who seemed 
 always to supply the buffoonery for the occasions, and 
 warned that he need never expect to be received into the 
 celestial kingdom until he had entered polygamy, as it was 
 quite impossible for him to do so. 
 
 My uncle was a conscientious man and a devoted Mor- 
 mon, and, like my father, believing the command to be 
 from God, dared not disregard it. He made proposals of 
 marriage to a young girl named Jane Matthews, and she, 
 being taught by the leaders of the church, whom she con- 
 sulted in the matter, that, except as a polygamous wife, she 
 could not attain to exaltation in the future state, accepted 
 
144 A FAMILY MIXTURE. 
 
 the proposal as the only means within her power of securing 
 salvation ; and the two, together with the wife, received 
 their Endowments, and were united in the "indissoluble" 
 bonds of " Celestial Marriage." 
 
 The wife had given only a reluctant consent to the ar- 
 rangement, impelled to this solely by a sense of religious 
 duty, and not because she approved of or liked it. It was 
 the first bitter experience of her married life, and she did 
 not accept it with the slightest spirit of resignation, but as 
 something inevitable. Neither she nor her husband real- 
 ized, in any degree, the magnitude of the undertaking, and 
 the young girl was still more ignorant of the situation. 
 Had they known how utterly wretched the future was to be, 
 I believe they would have hesitated a long time before they 
 assumed such relations with each other, even if they thought 
 they were perilling their salvation by the delay. 
 
 The new wife was brought to the home where so entire 
 happiness had reigned, and lived there until the church left 
 Nauvoo ; but what a changed home it was ! The spirits 
 of Peace and Love that had brooded over it so long, folded 
 their white wings and fled, leaving the demons of Discord 
 and Hate in their places. 
 
 It was not long before the first wife discovered that po- 
 lygamy was a much more serious matter even than she had 
 supposed it to be, and that it grew constantly worse and 
 more unendurable, instead of better and more easily to be 
 borne, as she had been taught it would become. She grew 
 to cordially hate the young wife, and although they were 
 compelled to live under one roof, she could not even make 
 herself feel like speaking to her ; so they lived without ad- 
 dressing one word to each other. She grew nearly insane 
 under this trouble, and was wrought up to such a frenzy by 
 jealousy and despair that she committed the most flagrant 
 acts of violence. 
 
 The poor husband found himself in a dilemma from which 
 he saw no way of extricating himself. He could not under- 
 
HOW DO YOU MANAGE AFFAIRS? 145 
 
 stand how such really good women could behave so much 
 like fiends. Neither of them had bad dispositions natu- 
 rally, yet both were perfect termagants under the new family 
 system. The house was in inextricable confusion, and he 
 saw no way of setting matters right; so he applied to my 
 father for advice, he having taken his second wife but a 
 short time before. I do not know what advice he gave, 
 but I think he must have referred him to my mother, for he 
 came to her, begging her to assist him in bringing order out 
 of the domestic chaos. 
 
 "How do you manage these polygamous affairs?" he 
 asked, anxiously: "you do not appear to be very un- 
 happy." 
 
 " I cannot tell you how I manage," was my mother's re- 
 ply. " I am a riddle to myself; but I do assure you that it is 
 no easy matter to live in polygamy. Its ways are not r ways 
 of pleasantness,' nor are its paths ' peace.' Trials of every 
 description grow constantly more numerous." 
 
 " Yet y^ou manage to preserve an outward appearance of 
 serenity, which is more than we do. I wish you would see 
 my wife and reason with her ; I believe she would listen to 
 you. Affairs are horrible with us : my wife hates Jane, and 
 it seems impossible to keep them together, since she will not 
 even try to conceal her aversion towards her. I don't see 
 how I am to keep them together, and yet I cannot afford to 
 build another house. It is a most hopeless fix, and I don't 
 see the way out." 
 
 My mother promised him that she would see his wife, 
 and try to induce her to bear her cross more patiently. But 
 what ? hypocritical task it seemed to her ! While her own 
 heart was breaking with the weight of sorrow and care, 
 she had to counsel patience and resignation to another wo- 
 man who was suffering from precisely the same cause. It 
 seemed heartless and awry, but it was placed upon her as 
 a duty, and she could not shirk it. She upbraided herself 
 for her reluctance, and prayed for more of the ?f Spirit." It 
 10 
 
146 SHE WOULDN'T ENDURE IT ANY LONGER. 
 
 never occurred to her that the system was false and horrible 
 in the extreme ; she only felt that she was lacking in grace 
 and the true spirit of the Lord. 
 
 Very shortly after my uncle's appeal to her, she visited his 
 wife, and found her weeping as though her heart would 
 break. Her first impulse was to put her arms about her 
 and weep with her. She felt every throb of that poor lacer- 
 ated heart, for her own was torn with the same anguish ; 
 and for a little while she forgot her mission, and her wo- 
 man's instinct predominated, while she indulged in a pas- 
 sionate burst of tears. 
 
 But horrified at what she feared was a rebellion against 
 her God, she soon quieted herself, although her heart still 
 ached with a pain which she could not banish or control, 
 and as delicately and tenderly as possible introduced the 
 object of her call. This brought forth a wild outburst of 
 indignant protest from my aunt ; and my mother listened, 
 not daring to show her sympathy with the passionate utter- 
 ances. There was quiet between them for a while after 
 this ; then my mother, having regained control of her voice, 
 said, 
 
 " But can you not see that it is your duty to submit to 
 the " Order " and be patient. You know very well that when 
 we cannot cure an ill, the only thing that remains to be 
 done is to endure it ; and we must not rebel against any 
 doctrine taught by our leaders, no matter how hard it may 
 be to live it." 
 
 "I don't believe ! I can't believe ! I won't believe ! that it is 
 my duty to submit to anything of the kind," was the quick 
 answer, made through stormy gusts of weeping. " I can- 
 not live with that woman in the house ; I had rather die at 
 once. O, I wish I could ! I wish I could ! Do you know," 
 continued she, turning round with such suddenness that my 
 mother was fairly startled, " I shall take measures to rid 
 myself of that nuisance if somebody doesn't take her away I 
 I can't endure it ! I won't endure it any longer ! " 
 
I WILL NOT LIVE IN POLYGAMY. 147 
 
 Mother tried to reason with her, but she interrupted her : 
 
 " If any woman pretends that she is satisfied with polyga- 
 my, she is a hypocrite. I don't believe her ; and she knows 
 she is not speaking the truth." 
 
 My mother knew that she designed this remark for her, 
 and that she resented her interference ; but she did not let 
 her see that she understood her, and determined to make 
 one more effort, though she felt that it was absolutely hope- 
 less. 
 
 "We none of us love the doctrine now," she replied ; "but 
 yet we must submit to it as a part of our religion a duty 
 which that religion lays upon us ; and we may grow to like 
 it better by and by." 
 
 "Well," was the sharp retort, "it will be soon enough for 
 me to comply with its requirements when I know it to be a 
 duty. But at present I do not believe it to be such, and I 
 cannot, nor will not, live in polygamy ; on that point I am 
 determined, and there is no use arguing with me, for I shall 
 not change my mind, I am sure, and I will not consent to 
 live in a state against which both conscience and common 
 sense rebel." 
 
 This ended my mother's only attempt as missionary in the 
 interests of polygamy. She had not been at all successful, 
 and she was only too glad to drop the subject ; for her heart 
 was not in it, and it must be confessed that in this case she 
 was a very unskilful special pleader. 
 
 There was no help for it ; the young wife could not hold out 
 against all the opposition that was shown her, even though 
 her husband made some pretence of standing by her, and 
 she was finally compelled to leave the house. She saw no 
 prospect of ever being able to live with her husband again, 
 and she concluded that the best thing for her to do was to 
 put as great a distance as possible between herself and him ; 
 so she went to Salt Lake with the first body of Saints. 
 
 As Brigham had taught the women, if they could not live 
 happily with a man, to " walk off," and leave him without a 
 
148 SAVAGE AFFAIRS ! 
 
 divorce, she, of course, felt freed from her former marriage, 
 and after a year or more she married Mr. Levi Savage, a 
 single man, with whom she lived very happily for about two 
 years, when she died, leaving one child, who is now grown 
 to manhood. Soon after Mrs. Savage's death, Mr. Webb 
 and his wife left the Missouri for Salt Lake. The husband 
 died on the way, and his wife came on into the valley with 
 her children. 
 
 Mr. Savage was at that time feeling very much grieved 
 over the death of his wife, and was exceedingly pained 
 because she had never been sealed to him by the proper 
 authorities. He said, "I know she ought to belong to me, 
 and I will contend for her throughout all eternity." He 
 applied to the priesthood to have the sealing in the Temple 
 to my uncle revoked, that she might be sealed to himself. 
 He was told by the man who " holds the keys of life and 
 death," that he must wait until the Temple in Salt Lake was 
 completed. 
 
 Mrs. Webb, however, with wonderful inconsistency, con- 
 sidering her former feeling, opposed Mr. Savage's wish by 
 every means in her power, and contended that this woman, 
 whom she could not and would not live with, ought, now she 
 was dead, to belong to her husband ; and she said it was 
 very wrong indeed for Mr. Savage to try and rob her dead 
 husband of his rights and privileges. She evidently felt 
 that there was not the slightest doubt of her ability to endure 
 polygamy in a future state, although it was impossible to do 
 so in this life. 
 
 After a few years Mr. Savage married a widow and her 
 two daughters, and is still living with them, waiting, mean- 
 while, for the Temple to be built, when he hopes to have 
 this " spiritual controversy " decided in his favor ; for he has 
 not given up his first wife, though he has taken three others 
 to solace him temporarily until she can be given to him 
 spiritually. Judging from present appearances, he will have 
 to wait some time, as there seems no prospect of the Temple 
 being finished during this generation. 
 
WIFE NO. I. THROWS BRICKBATS I 149 
 
 Mrs. Webb found it a most difficult task to provide for 
 herself and her children, and becoming discouraged in her 
 attempts, listened with more patience to the doctrines of po- 
 lygamy than she had done in Illinois. She was instructed 
 that it was her duty to marry someone for time, that she 
 might raise up more children to her dead husband, to swell 
 his "kingdom." She took the instruction with a properly 
 meek spirit, and very shortly accepted the proposal of Bishop 
 McRae, a distinguished and prominent Mormon, and be- 
 came Mrs. McRae number two. 
 
 As may be imagined, Mrs. McRae number one did not 
 take kindly to the interloper, and, having a decided objec- 
 tion to polygamy, emphasized her objection by throwing 
 bricks into Mrs. McRae number two's window, when their 
 mutual husband was her guest. She varied her expressions 
 of opposition and protest by occasionally sending a pistol 
 shot, instead of a brickbat, through the window. 
 
 It may not be out of the way to mention, just here, that 
 the heroine of the brickbat and pistol was, and still is, the 
 President of the Female Relief Society in her ward, and 
 that one of her chief duties is to instruct the young sisters 
 in polygamy. I have never heard whether she had a 
 shooting gallery attached to the society rooms. 
 
 Her plan of action was quite successful, and she soon had 
 the field again to herself; for Mrs. McRae number two, 
 after adding two children to her husband's kingdom, de- 
 clined any longer to act as a target for Mrs. McRae num- 
 ber one, and left her husband voluntarily, and has since 
 lived in a state of widowhood. I have often wondered 
 whether she had any sympathy for Jane Matthews while 
 she was herself the object of persecution. 
 
 I have known all the actors in this polygamic drama, 
 except the two who died. I was too young to have any 
 but the most indistinct recollection of my uncle, and Mrs. 
 Savage, I, of course, could not remember at all. But the 
 rest I knew very well, all being intimate visitors at my 
 father's house. 
 
w BUILD UP THE KINGDOM ! " 
 
 "Build up the kingdom, build up the kingdom," has al- 
 ways been the watchword of polygamy. At Nauvoo it was 
 whispered into the ears of those who were considered strong 
 enough in the faith to receive it unquestioningly, but in Utah 
 it is hurled indiscriminately at all alike. " Build up the 
 kingdom, whether you can support it or not," is the almost 
 literal teaching. The pecuniary condition of a man is 
 never taken into consideration. He is expected to take as 
 many wives as he can support, then take a few more to 
 support themselves and their children. 
 
 The Apostle Orson Pratt is one of the most persistent po- 
 lygamists in Utah, and he has nothing to give his wives for 
 their maintenance. They struggle on as best they may, 
 striving in every way to earn a scanty sustenance for them- 
 selves and their children. Some of them live in the most 
 wretched squalor and degrading poverty. He, in the mean 
 while, goes on foreign and home missions, and gathers 
 thousands of unsuspecting victims to " Zion." Polygamy 
 is his favorite subject, and he grows very eloquent while 
 discoursing upon it, quoting Scripture freely in support of 
 
 the glorious system, which, 
 by the way, is the only sup- 
 port he does give it, or that 
 he feels it his duty to afford. 
 After he has once converted 
 and married a girl, she is left 
 to shift for herself, or to 
 starve and die of neglect. 
 Two, at least, have met this 
 fate, one a very pretty 
 English girl, who was 
 starved, body and heart, and 
 who, with her little children, 
 died from exposure, while her 
 husband was at Salt Lake, being w entertained " by some 
 of his rich brothers in the church. 
 
 THE APOSTLE ORSON PRATT, 
 "The Champion of Polygamy." 
 
He is still the recognized defender of the gospel of poly- 
 gamy, and is quoted by every one as an authority ; his numer- 
 ous and more pressing duties prevent his caring for his family, 
 and nowhere in Utah are the wives more wretched or neg- 
 lected, or children more ignorant and uncared for, than the 
 wives and children of Orson Pratt, the eloquent expounder 
 of the beauties and glories of a polygamous life, and the 
 best educated and most able man, intellectually, in Utah. 
 
 Another polygamist of the same stamp is Joseph Young, 
 brother to Brigham, and President of the Seventies. He 
 has busied himself in " building up his kingdom " ever since 
 Joseph Smith gave him that precious piece of counsel in 
 Nauvoo. When he was a young man, he married a girl, 
 and lived very happily with her until he learned from the 
 Prophet Joseph that it was not only his privilege, but his 
 duty, to enlarge his kingdom more speedily by marrying 
 more wives. 
 
 His first acquisition was a young widow, who listened 
 assentingly to his proposals of a " celestial marriage," and 
 soon after entered his family as a second wife. However, 
 the marriage with her did not avail him much, as she could 
 bnly be his for time. Her former husband died a Mormon, 
 knd she and her children 
 would belong to him in eter- 
 nity. 
 
 He was past the prirne of 
 life , feeble in health , and com- 
 pelled to accept the support 
 of his brethren ; yet all this 
 did not deter him from doing 
 what was required of him 
 by his Prophet. About the 
 time that he married the 
 widow, he took a young girl 
 for his third wife, who was 
 
 JOSEPH YOUNG, BROTHER OF BRIGHAM, AND 
 Supposed tO be hlS, and hlS PRESIDENT OF THE SEVENTIES. 
 
152 BRIGHAMS APOSTATE NEPHEW. 
 
 only, with no former husband "behind the veil " to come 
 up "in the morning of the resurrection" and lay claim to 
 herself and her children. All his wives lived in one house, 
 which had been built for him by the " Seventies," in return 
 for his spiritual ministrations in their behalf. 
 
 His first wife did not like the new family arrangement 
 any better than other Mormon women who were first wives ; 
 but as a matter of course, her liking or disliking was not of 
 the least consequence. She fretted herself ill over it, how- 
 ever, and was prostrated for months. She had toiled and 
 suffered with her husband for many long years, while they 
 were journeying about with the Mormons, and she could 
 not bear to have the dark shadow of polygamy cast over 
 the hitherto unclouded happiness of their domestic life. It 
 seemed a terrible injustice. Yet, knowing her husband's 
 devotion to the faith, she would not openly rebel, although 
 she complied with his demands, that she should receive his 
 other wives, with a feeling of intense bitterness, and lived 
 in this unnatural relationship with her husband and his other 
 wives. 
 
 It is impossible to depict her sufferings ; they can never 
 be known or realized outside of Mormonism. It is the very 
 refinement of cruelty, this polygamy, and its hurts are 
 deeper and more poisonous than any other wounds can be. 
 They never heal, but grow constantly more painful, until it 
 makes life unendurable. She was prostrated for months 
 with nervous debility, seeing all the time her family need- 
 ing her constant care, the care that only a mother ca^n give, 
 and her husband all the while devoting his energies to 
 "building up his kingdom." Jt is only just to say that he 
 was as kind to her as the circumstances would permit. 
 
 After a few years the invalid wife recovered her health, 
 and has been permitted to assist in rearing her children to 
 respectable men and women who do not believe in poly- 
 gamy. One of her sons has apostatized, and once pub- 
 lished a paper in Salt Lake City, called "The Daily Press" 
 
BROTHER BRIGHAM WAXES WROTH. 
 
 153 
 
 This paper was of course offensive to Brigham, containing, 
 as it did, some unpleasant truths regarding himself and 
 other authorities in the church, and he determined to put a 
 stop to its publication. Accordingly he sent for his brother 
 Joseph, and said, on his arrival, 
 
 " I want that * Daily Press* suppressed." 
 Joseph " did not know how it was to be done." 
 " I want you to use your influence with your son to ac- 
 complish my wish," demanded Brigham. 
 
 w I cannot do it," said his brother ; " my son will do as 
 he likes." 
 
 Brother Brigham grew angry. t? You must put a stop to 
 the printing of that paper ; I will not endure the annoy- 
 ance from it any longer." 
 
 BRIGHAM'S BROTHERLY LOVE. 
 
 Joseph's spirit rose to the occasion. If Brigham was his 
 superior in the church, he was also a younger brother, and 
 he didn't like his peremptoriness of manner ; so he quietly 
 answered, 
 
 " I shall do nothing more about it than I have done. I 
 have said all to my son that is necessary, and if he does 
 not wish to follow my advice, he can go his own way, and 
 act according to his own judgment ; I most certainly shall 
 not interfere." 
 
154 A YOUNG BRIDEGROOM OF EIGHTY I 
 
 Brigham was terribly angry, and he raved and stormed, 
 while Joseph listened quietly, and then walked out, making 
 no answer to his threats and railings. The Prophet evi- 
 dently did not succeed in influencing or terrifying either 
 brother or nephew, as the "Press" was still published, and 
 continued to win popularity. I was glad of its success, for the 
 sake of the brave young editor, and the mother who reared 
 him. She, at least, should find comfort and support in her 
 children, although everything else in life has failed her, 
 even her religion proving false and fatal to her happiness. 
 
 During his first wife's illness, Joseph added another widow 
 to his establishment. Her husband having been killed at 
 Nauvoo, she wished to assist him to build up a kingdom, 
 and so married Joseph for time. Shortly after another wo- 
 man applied for " salvation " at his hands, and " conscience " 
 would not allow him to reject her. When he was about 
 seventy years of age he added still another to his family, 
 being united to her the same day that I was married to his 
 brother Brigham, and is still, although over eighty years 
 of age, considered in the matrimonial market. 
 
 Joseph had a real romance in his youth, which connects 
 him, in memory and feeling at least, somewhat with my 
 mother's family. His first love, when he was very young, 
 was an aunt of my mother, for whom I was named. He 
 was passionately attached to her, but something occurred 
 to part them, and she died. Her memory has always re- 
 mained with him, and he has always loved her, in spite of 
 his extensive matrimonial experience. He told my mother 
 that he had had Jane, his first wife, baptized for her, and 
 sealed to him for her ; so she is to be his in eternity. 
 
 This venerable polygamist has nothing to support his 
 wives upon, or himself, for that matter, except what is 
 given him by the " Seventies." In most respects he is a 
 very good man, much more conscientious and honest than 
 his brother Brigham, of whose conduct towards the people 
 he does not approve ; but he has gone mad in his desire to 
 
w I MARRIED YOU TEN YEARS AGO ! " 155 
 
 "build up his kingdom," and he considers it a duty to con- 
 tinue to raise up a young family, who must necessarily have 
 to " shift for themselves," both in childhood and later life. 
 They can have no father's care or attention, no matter how 
 much they may need it, and he evidently does not consider 
 how much misery he is entailing on these children. 
 
 Besides the wives I have mentioned, I do not know how 
 many he has been sealed to, whom he does not pretend to 
 look after in the flesh, but whom he expects to "resurrect," 
 to swell his heavenly kingdom. 
 
 It is possible that, like Heber C. Kimball, he may have 
 " fifty or more scattered over the earth," whom he has not 
 seen for years, and whom he hopes he never may see again 
 in this world. 
 
 A very amusing story was told me of Brigham, by a lady 
 who vouches for its truth ; and although I cannot, of course, 
 corroborate it, I am quite ready to give it credence enough 
 to publish it. Brigham met a lady in the streets of Salt 
 Lake City, several years since, who recognized him, and 
 addressed him as Brother Young, greeting him quite cor- 
 dially. 
 
 He scrutinized her closely, with a puzzled expression* 
 " I know I have seen you somewhere," he said ; "your face 
 is very familiar, but I cannot recall you." 
 
 " You are right," replied she ; " you have most certainly 
 seen me before; I was married to you ten years ago. I 
 have never seen you since," she continued, "but my mem- 
 ory is more retentive than yours, for I knew you the moment 
 I saw you." 
 
 Very few, even of the most enthusiastic Mormon women, 
 were ready to listen with any degree of patience to the first 
 teachings of the doctrine of polygamy. They rebelled 
 against it in their hearts, even if they dared say nothing of 
 their dislike and disgust of the system. Still less were they 
 willing to advise or urge their husbands to introduce it ; and 
 never was a woman, with one exception, heard to say she 
 
156 A WOMAN WHO LIKED POLYGAMY. 
 
 was happy in it, even if they endured it with any degree 
 of patience. 
 
 The one exception of which I have spoken was an old 
 neighbor of ours, and quite a friend of my mother's, Mrs. 
 Delia Dorr Curtis. Both she and her husband were faithful 
 Mormons, but he had, for some time after polygamy was 
 taught, continued living " beneath his privileges." He was 
 constantly reminded of his remissness by the priesthood, 
 until at length he felt obliged to yield to their teachings, 
 and " obey counsel." When he mentioned the matter to his 
 wife, she made no objections, but, on the contrary, she en- 
 couraged him in his decision, and proposed their niece, Miss 
 Van Orden, for his consideration. 
 
 Her husband was exceedingly pleased with her sugges- 
 tion. " She is the very one I should have chosen," he said 
 in reply. He instantly made proposals for his niece, and 
 she, being quite willing to marry her uncle, accepted the 
 proposals, and was sealed to him at once, Mrs. Curtis giv- 
 ing the bride to her husband with an alacrity and willing- 
 ness which were rarely seen in similar circumstances. 
 
 About three months after the celebration of the nuptials, 
 the first wife of this good elder came to visit my mother, and, 
 as is always the case when two Mormon women meet, and 
 are together for any length of time, the talk turned on to 
 polygamy, and during the conversation Mrs. Curtis re- 
 marked, 
 
 " Well, as far as I am concerned, I never have felt any 
 of the stings of polygamy." 
 
 " Do you wish me to believe," questioned my mother, in 
 surprise, * that you have seen your husband going through 
 a courtship and marriage with a young wife, have seen 
 him lavish attentions on her that have heretofore belonged 
 alone to you, and have never felt the pangs of jealousy?" 
 
 " Yes ; I wish you to believe all that." 
 
 " Well," said my mother, somewhat incredulously, " I 
 cannot comprehend it, and if I did not know you to be a 
 
SHE DEFENDS THE SYSTEM. 157 
 
 most truthful woman, I should certainly say I did not be- 
 lieve you." 
 
 Mrs. Curtis grew quite eloquent on the subject ; she and 
 the other wife lived in one house, not a large one either, 
 and the relation between them was amicable in the extreme. 
 She had always been fond of Sarah ; she was fonder than 
 ever of her now. 
 
 "Why should there be so much trouble in it?" continued 
 she, waxing earnest; "the Revelation on Celestial Mar- 
 riage is from the Lord ; I know it, and every person might 
 have a testimony for themselves if they would cultivate the 
 Spirit ; it is wrong and absurd in us to rebel." 
 
 "Yes, to be sure it is," returned my mother, " if one 
 knows it to be true. I do not know it ; I merely believe it, 
 and I am not sure that I quite do that even. I try to be^ 
 lieve it, and try to practice it, but I must confess to many 
 anxious days and sleepless nights on account of it." 
 
 Mrs. Curtis was horrified at my mother's lack of belief, 
 "Why," said she, "if I did not have a perfect knowledge 
 of the truth of polygamy, I should lose all faith in the other 
 principles of Mormonism, I fear." 
 
 "Not necessarily so," replied mother. "I still cling to 
 the faith ; I must not relinquish that ; but polygamy is a 
 hard cross to bear." 
 
 "Not at all! not at all!" asseverated Mrs. Curtis; "if 
 you only have the Spirit of the Lord to enlighten your mind, 
 you will find no difficulty." 
 
 " Well, you certainly are an exception to the general rule," 
 said mother, " and you are far in advance of me, though 
 I have struggled hard to inure myself to the system." 
 
 "Now let me tell you how we manage," persisted the 
 enthusiastic defender of plurality. " When my husband 
 intends going to Sarah's apartment, we first kneel down 
 and have prayers ; then he takes me in his arms and blesses 
 me, and after our usual good-night kiss we part, happy in 
 each other's love ; and why should there be any trouble? " 
 
158 
 
 " The story you are telling me seems incredible," said my 
 mother ; " if it is true, you are really enjoying a very pleas- 
 ant dream, from which I pray you may never awaken." 
 
 " O, no fear of that," was the quick reply. " I love Sarah 
 too well to ever regret giving her to my husband ; and you 
 might be just as happy, if you would take the right view of 
 the subject. I am sure, if Sarah had children, I should love 
 them as well as my own, and I really cannot see what there 
 is in polygamy to cause so much annoyance." 
 
 "Well," said my mother, as the conversation ended, "let 
 me give you this bit of advice keep your eyes shut." 
 
 My mother did not see her friend again, or even hear 
 from her, for a very long time ; but she used often to refer 
 to her, and wonder whether " the stings of polygamy " had 
 reached her in all that time, or whether she was still as en- 
 thusiastic a devotee to the system as she was at the time of 
 her memorable visit. 
 
 Some years after Mrs. Curtis's visit, the mother of the 
 young wife became our guest. My mother, of course, 
 made instant and interested inquiries regarding the welfare 
 of the family. She was quite surprised when, in answer to 
 them, the lady replied, 
 
 " I do not know what to say or to think about Delia. She 
 behaves in the most peculiar manner ; we all think she may 
 be insane, and I am very certain she is, for no woman in 
 her right mind would conduct herself in the way she does." 
 
 "Why, what is the matter?" 
 
 " You know what a disciple of polygamy she professed to 
 be, and how earnest she was that Sarah should join the 
 family. She has turned completely about ; you would not 
 recognize in her the same person she was before we went 
 south to live. She raves wildly about polygamy, and says 
 as many things against it as she used to say for it. I never 
 heard anyone more bitter in my life. She abuses Sarah in 
 every possible way, you know how fond she used to be of 
 her, and whips her children shamefully. She has become 
 
SHE YIELDED AT LAST TO NATURE. 159 
 
 so violent that Sarah cannot live with her any longer, even 
 if she dared to, and she does not, for Delia absolutely ter- 
 rifies her in some of her rages ; so she is going to move 
 away. I never saw a person so entirely changed in my 
 life. It is terrible." 
 
 " What has happened to cause such a change ? " asked 
 my mother. 
 
 w I do not know, I am sure," was the sad reply ; fr we 
 none of us know ; it is a perfect mystery to us ; but of one 
 thing I am quite assured : if she goes on in the way she is 
 going now, she cannot live long ; she will literally wear 
 herself out." 
 
 It was less than a year from this time that we heard of 
 her death. It was evident she had not been so strong as 
 she imagined, or else the " Spirit " had deserted her. The 
 end of this " happy " woman's life was not so different, 
 after all, from that of hundreds of her " unhappy " sisters. 
 She was another victim to polygamy, that horrible system 
 which crushes women's hearts, kills their bodies, and de- 
 stroys their souls. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE HARDSHIPS AND PERILS OF LIFE IN A NEW 
 
 COUNTRY. 
 
 " Killed by the Indians." How Apostates Disappeared. A Suspicious 
 Fact. How Brigham "took care" of the People's Property. The 
 Mormon Battalion. Brigham Pockets the Soldiers' Pay. How Prose- 
 lytes were Made. Scapegraces sent on Mission. My Father goes to 
 Europe. How Missionaries' wives are Left. Collecting funcjs for 
 the Missionaries. Brigham Embezzles the Money. The "Church 
 Train." Joseph A. Young as a Missionary. His Misdoings in St. 
 Louis. What Brother Brown said of Him. The Perpetual Emigration 
 Fund. How the Money was Raised. Cheating the Confiding Saints. 
 How Brigham Manages the Missionaries' Property. The " Church " 
 makes Whiskey for the Saints. The Missionaries bring home new 
 Wives. How English Girls are Deceived. My First Baptism. 
 
 HE first years of life in a 
 new country are full of 
 hardships, peril, and ad- 
 venture, and all these the 
 Mormon people met. 
 
 I can remember listening 
 in round-eyed wonder and 
 terror at recitals of Indian 
 atrocities, for we were sur- 
 rounded by the wandering 
 Southern tribes, and they 
 were constantly thieving 
 from us, and a murder was 
 by no means an uncom- 
 mon thing. When a man 
 left home and failed to return, the general verdict, as a 
 matter of course, was, "killed by the Indians." Did an 
 
HOW APOSTATES WERE " KILLED BY THE INDIANS ! " l6l 
 
 exploring party visit the Territory, and fail to leave it 
 again, their fate, if it was ever alluded to at all, was re- 
 garded as " massacred by Indians." 
 
 It is a significant fact that most of the persons who thus 
 perished were Gentiles, apostates, or people who, for some 
 reason or other, were suspected by, or disagreeable to, 
 Brigham Young ; and it came presently to be noticed that 
 if anyone became tired of Mormonism, or impatient of the 
 increasing despotism of the leader, and returned to the 
 East, or started to do so, he invariably was met by the In- 
 dians and killed before he had gone very far. 
 
 The effect was to discourage apostasy, and there was no- 
 one but knew that the moment he announced his intention 
 of leaving Zion and returning to " Babylon," he pronounced 
 his death sentence. He was never discouraged from his plans, 
 nor was any disapprobation of his course expressed. The 
 faces were as friendly that he met every day, the voices 
 just as kind ; his hand was shaken at parting, and there 
 was not a touch either of warning or sarcasm in the " God 
 speed " and bon voyage. But he knew he was a lucky man 
 if, in less than twenty-four hours after leaving Salt Lake 
 City, he was not lying face downward on the cold earth, 
 shot to death by an unerring rifle ball, while the stars 
 looked sorrowfully down, silent witnesses, on this deed of 
 inhuman butchery, and a man rode swiftly cityward, carry- 
 ing the news of the midnight murder to his master, who had 
 commanded him in the name of his religion to commit this 
 deed, and send an innocent soul before its Maker. " Ah, 
 poor fellow ; killed by the Indians," said all his friends ; but 
 Brigham Young and Bill Hickman or " Port " Rockwell 
 knew better. 
 
 The Indians have been convenient scapegoats and alter- 
 nate allies and enemies to Brigham Young. But he has 
 managed to make warfare, even with them, a profitable 
 thing for himself. 
 
 The Indians are notoriously thievish ; they will steal from 
 ii 
 
l62 BRIGHAM "TAKES CARE" OF THE PEOPLE'S MONEY. 
 
 each other, and from their very best friends. Civilization, 
 even, doesn't seem to take the taint from their characters ; 
 they positively can't keep their hands off what doesn't be- 
 long to them. 
 
 As a matter of course, the Mormons, being their near 
 neighbors, suffered very much from their depredations. 
 They would often steal an ox, or, indeed, a large number of 
 cattle, when they could do so with comparative safety ; the 
 owners would soon be on their trail, and would pursue them 
 until they reached them ; and sometimes both Mormons and 
 Indians would be killed. 
 
 On occasions like these a proclamation would be issued, 
 by the " authorities," for the brethren to fit themselves out 
 for a campaign of indefinite length for the purpose of quell- 
 ing the " Indian disturbances," and suppressing the trouble ; 
 and Brigham, who always has an eye to the main chance, 
 generally managed in some mysterious manner to make 
 large sums of money out of these " wars," as they were 
 called. 
 
 Sometimes the manner of the money-making was not at 
 all mysterious. There is one case in particular which I 
 have often heard spoken of by my mother and other Mor- 
 mons, who would have disapproved of the proceedings, and 
 even called them dishonest, had they dared ; but none of 
 them ventured to connect such an adjective as that to the 
 Prophetic name. 
 
 At this particular time he became so very anxious for his 
 people's welfare, and so earnest in his endeavors to " pro- 
 tect " their property, that he sent Captain William Walls, of 
 Provo, with a company, to collect all the surplus stock from 
 the settlements south of Salt Lake, and drive them into the 
 city for safe-keeping, reserving only the necessary teams 
 and the milch cows. The orders were very absolute to 
 " drive every hoof that could be spared." 
 
 At Cedar City, Iron County, there were three men who 
 as absolutely refused to give up their stock, as that was all 
 
BRIGHAM STEALS THE CATTLE OF THREE SAINTS. 163 
 
 they had to depend upon ; for, being poor men, with large 
 families, they naturally preferred to keep what property 
 they had where they could look after it themselves, feeling 
 certain that they would take quite as careful an interest in 
 it as a stranger would. 
 
 The names of these rebellious men were Hunter, Kcer, 
 and Hadshead. They insisted upon defending their prop- 
 erty, and the captain commanded them to be arrested and 
 put in irons, and then he started with them for Salt Lake 
 City, having previously secured all their stock. When they 
 
 BRIGHAM " TAKES CAKE " OF THE PEOPLE'S CATTLE 1 
 
 arrived at Parowan, they were chained together and confined 
 in the school-house, there being no prison or jail in the 
 place. 
 
 They were met by George A. Smith, who at that time 
 was on a visit to the southern settlements ; and he, thinking 
 the men were treated with unnecessary harshness, or- 
 dered their irons taken off, and them set at liberty and 
 allowed to return to their families without their stock, 
 however. These men, after suffering such indignities, 
 could live among the Mormons no longer, and they left for 
 California. 
 
164 THE PROPHET ROBS THE HELPLESS WOMEN. 
 
 Their stock, with a large herd of cattle collected in that 
 vicinity, was driven to Salt Lake City, where they remained 
 until they were in proper order for sale, when Brigham sold 
 every one of them to pay a large debt which he owed to 
 Livingston and Kincade, Salt Lake merchants. 
 
 This was his somewhat novel method of " protection." 
 The cattle, to be sure, were out of the reach of the Indians, 
 but they were equally out of the reach of their lawful own- 
 ers, who neither saw them again nor any money which 
 accrued from the sale of them. 
 
 Some of the owners ventured to ask if they might be 
 turned in for tithing, but the inspired Prophet of the Lord 
 replied, "No ; if you had kept them, the Indians would have 
 stolen them, and you are as well off as you would have 
 been if I had not taken them." So was he, and several 
 hundred dollars better off, too. 
 
 This reminds me of another instance of Brigham's faculty 
 for " turning things to account," or, as a young Mormon 
 quite wittily said, "taking advantage of his opportunities ; " 
 although it has nothing to do with the Indians, yet it oc- 
 curred at an even earlier date, and was among the first of 
 his notoriously dishonest transactions. 
 
 At Council Bluffs, as early as 1846, he counselled five 
 hundred of his followers to enlist in the service of the United 
 States ; recruits being wanted at that time for the war in 
 Mexico. They went without a question, on being assured 
 that their families should be cared for. The church at that 
 time was camped on the Missouri River, on its way from 
 Nauvoo to Salt Lake. 
 
 The Mormon soldiers commonly called "The Battalion" 
 sent all their pay to their families, to the care of Brigham 
 Young, and he cared for it so well that the poor families 
 never received it. John D. Lee brought the money which 
 was collected from the soldiers, amounting to several thousand 
 dollars, and gave it to Brigham. The families of these sol- 
 diers were, many of them, nearly starving, and all of them 
 
HE DEFRAUDS THE SOLDIERS OF THEIR PAY. 165 
 
 were very poor, needing sadly the money that their hus- 
 bands had sent them ; and in the face of all this destitution 
 and suffering Brigham Young bought goods in Missouri to 
 take out to the Valley, and if a soldier's wife ventured to 
 ask him for anything, no matter how trifling it might be, 
 she was rudely repulsed, usually without the slightest ex- 
 cuse for not giving her what was rightfully her own. 
 
 The men served in the army two years, receiving pay all 
 the time, which Brigham pocketed, and all the time their 
 families lived on the banks of the Missouri in the most 
 squalid poverty, while Brigham came to Salt Lake in the 
 most comfortable manner possible at that early day, and 
 lived on the provisions that he had brought with him, 
 bought with the money that was not his. He lived in what 
 would be called luxury for the time and the place, by liter- 
 ally taking the bread out of the mouths of hundreds of 
 needy women and children. 
 
 When these men came to Utah, after having been honorably 
 discharged, they, of course, expected to find their families 
 there. What was their surprise on learning that they were 
 still at Winter-Quarters, and that no arrangements had been 
 made for bringing them to the Valley ! The President of 
 the church would not allow them to go for them until the 
 next spring, and when they did find them in such a wretched, 
 helpless condition, it is no wonder that so many of them 
 apostatized, and refused to believe in a religion whose chief 
 teacher could be capable of such heartless cruelty and mean 
 dishonesty. 
 
 It is asserted, by those who have the best means of know- 
 ing, that this war put twenty thousand dollars in Brigham 
 Young's pocket ; and yet he is very fond of talking about the 
 cruelty and tyranny of the United States government in 
 forcing five hundred of the ablest Mormon men into its 
 service at a time when they were the most needed, and leav- 
 ing the weak and helpless to cross the plains without suf- 
 ficient protection. 
 
l66 BRIGHAM YOUNG AS A MISSIONARY. 
 
 The Mormons have always been very enthusiastic on the 
 subject of missions. Probably no other church has done 
 so much both home and foreign missionary work as the 
 Church of Latter-Day Saints. They began by travelling 
 about the country, making converts wherever they could, in 
 the days when the entire church could easily be numbered : 
 as they increased in numbers they extended their work 
 across the ocean, and now nearly all the work is done in 
 England, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. 
 
 It is a very rare thing nowadays to hear of an American 
 convert, and the southern European nations never did take 
 kindly to the faith. 
 
 Brigham Young was among the very earliest of mis- 
 sionaries, and he was very successful at proselyting. He 
 was very different then from the haughty, arrogant blusterer 
 of to-day. He and his brother Joseph were the first Mor- 
 mons that my mother ever saw, and I have very often heard 
 her describe the peculiar influence they exerted over her, 
 and the manner in which they impressed her. 
 
 To her they seemed very humble men, of the most ear- 
 nest, devoted piety and intense religious zeal, travelling about 
 "without purse or scrip," meeting with ridicule, derision, and 
 persecution, while they preached "the gospel as taught by 
 Christ and his Apostles." They came to a house where 
 she chanced to be visiting, and, after seating themselves, 
 commenced singing one of those earnest, stirring hymns for 
 which the Mormons were at that time celebrated. 
 
 " Hark ! listen to the trumpeters, 
 
 They call for volunteers. 
 On Zion's bright and flowery mount, 
 
 Behold their officers. 
 Their horses white, their armor bright, 
 
 With courage bold they stand ; 
 Enlisting soldiers for their king, 
 
 To march to Zion's land. 
 
ERASTUS SNOW. 
 
 JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
 LORENZO SNOW. 
 
 A. CARRINGTON. 
 
 C. C. RICH. 
 
 MORMON APOSTLES. 
 
THE FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE MORMONS. 167 
 
 " We want no cowards in our bands, 
 
 That will our colors fly ; 
 We call for valiant-hearted men, 
 
 Who're not afraid to die ; 
 Sinners, enlist with Jesus Christ, 
 
 Th' eternal Son of God, 
 And march with us to Zion's land, 
 
 Beyond the swelling flood." 
 
 They were fine singers, both of them, and they threw so 
 much fire and fervor into this song that my mother young, 
 enthusiastic girl of sixteen made up her mind on the spot 
 to enlist and follow this new army to Zion. 
 
 She was baptized and confirmed by Brigham Young 
 almost immediately, and to use her own language, "There 
 was nothing arrogant, haughty, or tyrannical, either in his 
 (Brigham Young's) or Heber Kimball's appearance, as they 
 pronounced, in the most fervent manner, such glorious 
 blessings upon me, a poor ignorant girl, with no one to 
 guide me, but who had given up my little all in this world 
 to follow their teachings, which to me at that time meant 
 the teachings of Christ." 
 
 No sooner had the Saints become fairly settled in Utah 
 than Brigham Young commenced sending the brethren off 
 on missions. He had, and still has, a peculiar way of man- 
 aging, quite original with himself. A few of the leading 
 members of the church were sent ; indeed, at that time one 
 or more of the apostles was kept in England all the while, 
 and different elders were sent to relieve each other, and to 
 assist the apostle in taking charge of the "Branches," and 
 starting mission churches, which were afterwards held in 
 charge by some resident brother, who was appointed elder. 
 In addition to these elders, any one who displeased the 
 Prophet was " sent on a mission " as a punishment. Did 
 the polygamous Prophet fancy a man's wife, he was sent to 
 the farthest possible point from Zion, to "enlist" souls for 
 the Mormon Church. If any young man is suddenly started 
 
l68 A NEW DODGE OF THE PROPHET. 
 
 "on a mission" to preach the gospel and win souls to 
 Christ, it is safe to argue that " he has been a little wild,' 
 and is accordingly exiled for a while. 
 
 My father was sent to England not very long after our 
 arrival in the Valley, and he had charge while there of the 
 Sheffield branch of the church. My mother and myself 
 lived part of the time in Salt Lake City with Elizabeth and 
 her family, and the remainder of the time in Payson. As 
 the missionaries are all expected to give their services, and 
 as they are obliged to go when ordered, whether they wish 
 to or not, the wives have to take care of themselves as best 
 they may. They certainly can expect no aid from their 
 husbands, and they never receive it from the church ; so, un- 
 less they can do something to support themselves while they 
 are left in this way, they are pretty sure to suffer discomfort, 
 and many times actual want. My mother was equal to the 
 occasion, however, and we got on better than most Mormon 
 families do whose "head" has gone on a mission. My 
 mother taught school most of the time, either in the city or in 
 Payson, and during all the time I studied with her. 
 
 Before sending his missionaries to England, Brigham one 
 Sunday addressed the people in the Tabernacle very much 
 after this fashion : 
 
 "Brethren and sisters, the time has been when we were 
 compelled to travel without purse or scrip, and preach the 
 gospel. We have had to beg our way of an ungodly world, 
 and have gone, like the Apostles of old, trusting the Lord to 
 provide for us. And," continued he, waxing excited over 
 his subject, " I have travelled on foot the length and breadth 
 of the United States with my shoes full of blood. Foot-sore 
 and weary, I have often arrived at a house and asked for a 
 night's lodging. I was hungry and cold ; yet I was turned 
 away ; and many a time I have shaken the dust off my feet 
 as a testimony against those people. But now I want the 
 elders to travel independent of the Gentile world." Then, 
 after reading the names of those whom he had selected to 
 go, he proceeded with his address : 
 
ROBBING HIS OWN MISSIONARIES. 169 
 
 " Brethren and sisters, the missionaries must be supplied 
 with the necessary funds to defray their expenses. And I 
 want this whole people to come forward and donate freely 
 for this purpose. I do not suppose you are all prepared 
 to-day, but you can call at the office to-morrow and leave 
 the money with my clerk ; or we will have another meeting 
 for the purpose of receiving donations, and so give all the 
 opportunity of assisting in the noble work of sending mis- 
 sionaries to a foreign land." 
 
 As an answer to this appeal there was a large sum raised, 
 the people responding generously to this call for assistance, 
 and there was sufficient to carry all the laborers to their ap- 
 pointed fields. What was the surprise, then, of these men, 
 when calling on the Prophet previous to their departure, and 
 referring to the subject, they were coolly told by Brother 
 Brigham that there was no money for them "not one 
 cent"! 
 
 " But what are we to do?" said the bewildered and dis- 
 appointed men, who had relied on this money to assist 
 them. 
 
 "You must go to Bishop Hunter ; I have nothing for you," 
 was the careless and heartless reply. 
 
 Accordingly they went to the Presiding Bishop, and after 
 telling him their errand, and that they had been sent by 
 President Young, he informed them that there was a "church 
 train " of three hundred wagons going East,, which would 
 take them to the frontiers for forty dollars apiece ; " and after 
 that," said the bishop, "you must get to your fields of labor 
 as best you can." 
 
 Now, the Mormon elders in those days were poor, and 
 could barely support their families when they were at home. 
 And to be informed, just at the last moment, when they had 
 supposed they were well provided for, that they must defray 
 their own expenses to England, was really a hard blow for 
 all of them. And yet such was their devotion to their 
 religion, that each one paid his forty dollars to ride to the 
 
170 SCANDALOUS DOINGS OF THE PROPHET'S SONS. 
 
 frontier in the " church " wagons, and then made their way 
 to England at their own expense. 
 
 The Saints supposed that these wagons were sent out for 
 the purpose of bringing emigrants from the Missouri River ; 
 but on their return they were loaded with freight, for which 
 Brigham received twenty-five dollars a hundred. Between 
 the amount paid for the passage of 1 the missionaries and the 
 loads of freight on the return, this "church train" certainly 
 paid the head of the church very handsomely for that one trip. 
 
 Among the missionaries to England, during my father's 
 residence there, was Joseph A., the Prophet's eldest son, who 
 has recently died. He has always had the reputation among 
 the Saints of being a very " fast" young man. In order, if 
 possible, to cure him of some of his propensities for evil-doing, 
 his father decided to send him on a mission, to carry the light 
 of the everlasting gospel to the benighted nations of the earth. 
 When men of family are sent, it is generally because Brig- 
 ham wants something belonging to them which he cannot 
 get if they are allowed to stay at home ; and single men are 
 often sent to convert the world, who are not capable of 
 writing their own names in a legible manner. 
 
 But Joseph A. was sent because his father did not know 
 what else to do with him ; he had become so dissipated and 
 caused so much trouble at home. 
 
 On his way Joseph stopped a few days in St. Louis, after 
 which he went immediately to England. He was appointed 
 in my father's pastorate, he being at that time pastor over 
 several conferences. Everything was moving on harmoni- 
 ously, when another Mormon elder, named Brown, arrived 
 from America, telling some hard stories about Joseph's con- 
 duct while in St. Louis. 
 
 Mr. Brown circulated the reports that Joseph had drank 
 immoderately, several times had been beastly drunk, and 
 had constantly and habitually visited most disreputable re- 
 sorts ; in fact, that his conduct while in that city had been 
 marked by the most profligate excesses, and that it had also 
 
MY FATHER " MAKES IT RIGHT FOR JOE ! " 
 
 171 
 
 been notoriously open, very little attempt being made on his 
 part to hide it. He seemed to fancy that his personality was 
 sufficient protection from scandal, and that the gossips would 
 not wag their tongues over the misconduct of a son of Brig- 
 ham Young. 
 
 These reports shocked the English Saints very much, and 
 many of them were on the point of apostasy on account of 
 it. My father did not doubt that there was some foundation 
 for these stories, although he did not think the fellow could 
 
 JOSEPH A. YOUNG PREPARING FOR MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 be so bad as he was represented ; and he considered it his 
 duty to take immediate steps to suppress the scandal, since 
 it was doing very great injury to the cause of Mormonism. 
 He accordingly represented this view of the case to Mr. 
 Brown, who listened earnestly, and seemed quite convinced 
 of the truth and justice of what my father had said. He 
 took his leave, agreeing to " make it all right for Joe." 
 
172 
 
 YOUNG " BRIGGY " GETS INTO A FIX ! 
 
 The following Sabbath, at the close of the services, my 
 father said, "Mr. Brown will now have the opportunity 
 to retract the scandal which he has put in circulation con- 
 cerning Joseph A. Young." 
 
 Mr. Brown arose before the thousands of people assem- 
 bled there, and acknowledged that he had misrepresented 
 the character of the Prophet's " beloved " son, and, in the 
 blandest manner possible, made it appear that Joseph was 
 perfectly pure, upright, and moral, and entirely above re- 
 proach. 
 
 The chief object of this farce was to prevent apostasy ; 
 another was to save the Prophet's son from infamy and dis- 
 grace. My father, on his return to America, learned that 
 Mr. Brown's reports were all true, and were not exagger- 
 ated in the least. Yet this dissipated libertine was consid- 
 ered sufficiently good to preach the truths of the Mormon 
 religion to " a world lying in darkness." 
 
 Brigham Young's sons 
 usually distinguish them- 
 selves while on their mis- 
 sions, rather by their aptitude 
 at getting into scrapes than 
 by the number of converts 
 which they make. Brigham 
 Jr. " the probable succes- 
 sor," or, as he is familiarly 
 called, "Briggy" succeed- 
 ed in distinguishing himself 
 in England. The story pop- 
 
 E. HUNTER, PRESIDING BISHOP. lllarly told among the SailltS 
 
 is, that regarding himself, 
 
 without doubt, as a "scion of royalty," and with the egotisti- 
 cal assumption and the assurance which characterize his 
 father, and which he honestly inherited, he actually ven- 
 tured, in spite of the law, to drive the same number of 
 white horses before his carriage that the queen had on her 
 
HE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF IN ENGLAND. 173 
 
 carriage, and that he was arrested and fined a hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars for the offence. The true account of 
 the matter is, that when driving in one of the London parks, 
 in a state of inebriety, he committed a trespass, for which 
 he was arrested and mulcted in the ordinary fine a few 
 shillings, I believe. Brigham, however, is said to have 
 profited by the exaggerated story, and to have made capital 
 out of it. 
 
 The donations that year had been unusually large, for 
 Brigham had announced his intention of " emigrating " a 
 larger number than ever before, and, as a consequence, the 
 " Perpetual Emigration Fund " must be correspondingly 
 increased. 
 
 " Brethren and sisters," he commenced one day, in his 
 most delicate and refined style, "you must retrench your 
 expenses. You have been travelling in a direct line towards 
 eternal damnation for a long time ; now you must turn 
 about, and show to the Lord and His holy angels that you 
 still desire to be numbered among His people. I intend, 
 this year, to bring over every Saint from the Old Country, 
 and you must take hold and help me. I want the sisters to 
 leave off their ribbons and finery, and stop running to the 
 stores. I want you, one and all, to stop using tea, coffee, 
 tobacco, and whiskey, and the money you would spend for 
 those things you must donate for the emigration of the poor 
 in Europe. Now is the time to manifest your faith by your 
 works." 
 
 All the Saints in the Territory were personally called 
 upon to assist in the work, and responded generously, if 
 not willingly. Poor women contributed their mites, and 
 poor men gave of their hardly-won earnings, that could ill 
 be spared, as they could barely support their families at the 
 best. In England, also, they were made to contribute, and 
 many a working man was compelled to donate an entire 
 week's wages. The English Saints gave willingly, and 
 suffered the privations caused by their generosity cheerfully, 
 
174 THE PROPHET SETS UP A WHISKEY STILL. 
 
 as they confidently expected to be gathered to Zion that 
 year. But their suffering availed them nothing, and their 
 generosity was but ill repaid. It was years before many 
 of these patient, long-enduring Saints saw the Zion of 
 their hopes. 
 
 As the Prophet has a most decided objection to seeing any 
 of his followers becoming independent in worldly affairs, 
 either because he is afraid they will be able to act without 
 counsel or advice from him, and so get beyond his power 
 to manage them, or because he is jealous of their pecuniary 
 success, since he has often said that he was the only man in 
 the Territory who knew how to make money or how to use 
 it, he always finds some way to put a stop to their growing 
 prosperity. His usual method of doing this is by sending 
 them on a mission. Of course their business is at a stand- 
 still altogether as soon as the heads of it are away ; and it 
 either remains quiet ever after, or, if it is sufficiently lucra- 
 tive to make it worth while, Brigham manages to get it into 
 his own hands, and it is as completely lost to its rightful 
 owners as though they never had possessed it. 
 
 For a number of years, two men named Badley and 
 Hugh Moon worked a whiskey distillery in Salt Lake 
 City, and appeared to be becoming rapidly wealthy. They 
 were good Mormons, staunch defenders of Brigham Young, 
 ready in every good work with open purses and generous 
 deeds, and they were highly respected by the entire body 
 of Saints. 
 
 What was the consternation of the church, when, during 
 the delivery of a temperance sermon on Sunday, the Presi- 
 dent, waxing more personal, more eloquent, and conse- 
 quently more abusive, "cursed, in the name of the Lord," 
 the men that ran the distillery ! 
 
 They knew very well that these men paid their tithing 
 promptly, the greatest virtue a Mormon can possess, by the 
 way, and that they were foremost in all charitable works, 
 and they marvelled very much that the Prophet should deal 
 
HE ADULTERATES THE WHISKEY TOO MUCH ! 
 
 so hardly with them. His language was so abusive that 
 Badley , who was especially attached to the President Young, 
 shed tears during the denunciation. He finally finished his 
 anathemas by ordering them to take their families and go 
 on a mission to an unsettled portion' of the Territory, leaving 
 their homes to "the church," which, of course, meant Brig- 
 ham Young. 
 
 As soon as they had gone, the Prophet removed the 
 apparatus for distilling a few miles from the city, and com- 
 menced making whiskey for the church. But, unfortu- 
 nately, the church whiskey did not prove to be so good as 
 that made by Moon and Badley, and the church distillery 
 was short-lived. 
 
 The men who were thus heartlessly ruined and unjustly 
 exiled never returned. Their homes were broken up, 
 their property taken from them, and themselves and their 
 families banished to the wilderness, to gratify the covet- 
 ousness and grasping of an avaricious tyrant, who com- 
 mitted this outrage, as he has all others, with a "Thus saith 
 the Lord." 
 
 Brigham's missions may be considered moral "Botany 
 Bays," where he sends those persons who in any way incur 
 his sovereign displeasure. It is an easy way of punishing 
 offenders ; and so common has it become, that lately, when- 
 ever a man is sent away on this errand, the spontaneous 
 question which arises to every lip is, " What has he done? " 
 This is specially true of the younger men. 
 
 In case of a certain trial which took place some years 
 since, Brigham had given his wishes to a portion of the jury 
 as to how the case should be decided. After retiring, those 
 of the jury who had received instructions from the Prophet 
 came to a decision very readily, while those who had not 
 been " interviewed " by him could see no justice in the 
 way they had decided, and consequently refused to agree 
 with the others. 
 
 Brigham was exceedingly angry at this, and took them 
 
176 
 
 very severely to task for their disregard of his known 
 wishes. 
 
 "Well, Brother Brigham," said one of the obstinate jury- 
 men, "the law will sustain us." 
 
 " The law ! " said the Prophet. " What do you suppose 
 I care for the law? My word is law here. I wish you dis- 
 tinctly to understand that ; and," he continued, " those men 
 who decided against my view of the case shall pay the 
 penalty." 
 
 Very soon after that, one of these men, whose only fault 
 had been that he would not be coerced into committing 
 what he knew would be a gross injustice, was sent on a 
 mission to China ; another was ordered to Japan, a third to 
 the Sandwich Islands, and one quite old gentleman was 
 appointed to Las Vegas. This man having grown gray 
 in the service of the church, Heber C. Kimball ventured to 
 propose that, in consideration of his age, he be allowed to 
 remain at home, and his son sent on the mission in his 
 stead. The father was actually too feeble to be of any 
 service in building up a new place, and Las Vegas was 
 considered an important point to secure ; so, after much 
 deliberation, it was decided that the son should go in his 
 father's stead. Seventy-five families were ordered to aban- 
 don their homes, and take their departure for a new and 
 almost unknown portion of the Territory. 
 
 They expended thousands of dollars in building, fencing, 
 and every way beautifying and improving their new homes ; 
 and just as they were getting nicely settled, and had made 
 their new homes habitable and comfortable, the Prophet 
 pronounced it an utterly unsuitable place for a " Stake of 
 Zion," and ordered them all back again ; so that the years 
 passed there, and all the expenditures, were a total toss. 
 
 After the son of the aged juryman had paid the penalty of 
 his father's sin, he returned to Salt Lake. He has ever 
 since fearlessly expressed his opinion of the Las Vegas 
 mission, in terms not very flattering to its originator, and 
 
MISSIONARIES "ENLARGING THEIR KINGDOMS." 177 
 
 Brigham has been obliged to withdraw the hand of fellow- 
 ship from him, very reluctantly indeed, as he had been 
 a faithful servant to the President's interest for several 
 years. 
 
 As a comment on his often expressed contempt of the law 
 and of lawyers, I wish to say just here that his son Alphilus 
 Young is at this present time a law student at the Univer- 
 sity of Michigan, sent there by his father to carry out his 
 own ambitious plans for his son's future, and also to have a 
 lawyer in the family, since he has been forced to have so 
 much to do with the law in late years. 
 
 It must not be supposed that none others are sent on mis- 
 sions except those who are to be punished, or got out of 
 the way for a while. Brigham Young is shrewd, and so 
 with these he sends every year prominent members of the 
 church. All the apostles, and most of the leading elders, 
 have been in the mission work, both in the States and in 
 Europe, and it is in response to their efforts that so many 
 converts have been made. 
 
 The period of my father's stay in England was one spe- 
 cially marked for success in mission work. Very many of 
 the leaders of the church were there then, and mighty ef- 
 forts were made to secure converts. They worked day and 
 night with unabated zeal, and so great was their success, 
 the whole world marvelled at the number of converts who 
 came yearly to Zion. 
 
 In the mean time, the families of the missionaries were 
 
 getting on as best they could at home, deprived not only of 
 
 I their husbands' society, but of the support which they gave 
 
 \ them when at home, scanty enough in some cases, I 
 
 assure you, and yet just as much missed as though it had 
 
 been larger, since it was the all ; and above all, there was 
 
 the horrible shadow of polygamy hanging over them ; for 
 
 no wife ever knew how much her husband may have been 
 
 moved to "enlarge his kingdom," and the young English 
 
 girls were apt to be very much taken with the American 
 
 12 
 
ON POLYGAMY PUBLISHED. 
 
 
 
 elders, and they in turn submitted without much struggle 
 to the fascinations of their youthful converts. Very few of 
 the missionaries failed to bring home an English wife, or 
 at least to induce some young girl to emigrate to Zion, with 
 the prospect of becoming his wife on her arrival. 
 
 At first polygamy was not preached. Indeed, so very 
 careful were the elders not to mention the subject, or else 
 to deny polygamy altogether, that many of the girls sup- 
 posed themselves to be the first and only wives of the men 
 whom they married ; and it was not until they reached 
 Utah, and were introduced to their husbands' " other wives," 
 that they were undeceived. 
 
 So strong was the feeling in England, that for some time 
 
 after polygamy was 
 openly practiced in 
 Utah, the missiona- 
 ries denied it, and 
 men who had four 
 and five wives liv- 
 ing quoted largely 
 from the Book of 
 Mormon, and other 
 church works, to 
 prove the impossi- 
 bility of the existence 
 of such a system. 
 At length, however, 
 they were obliged to 
 confess to the truth, 
 which they did by 
 causing the "Reve- 
 lation " to be pub- 
 
 in the "Millennial Star? the church organ pub- 
 at Liverpool. For a while it seemed almost as 
 
 DOING MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 lished 
 lished 
 
 though all the labors of the missionaries would go for 
 nothing, so many apostatized. By strenuous effort and 
 redoubled endeavor, however, many were still held in the 
 
SAKE . 179 
 
 church. They were told that polygamy was optional ; that 
 while the leaders of the church, many of them, practiced it, 
 "for conscience' sake" since the Lord willed it, yet many 
 more had not entered the system, and probably never would, 
 and that no one need enter it, unless they felt themselves 
 especially " called by the Lord." 
 
 In England, as in America, the men became much more 
 easily reconciled to the doctrine than the women. The 
 latter had many bitter hours over it; and yet each one, as 
 all their American sisters before them had done, thought 
 her husband would not take a polygamous wife, .although 
 he might believe in the theory, and uphold those of his 
 brethren who converted the theory into practice. They 
 had to learn, in the intensest bitterness of suffering, what 
 other women had learned before them that their hus- 
 bands were like the majority of men, who had temptation 
 so persistently thrust in their way. 
 
 Even now the men who go on missions are very guarded 
 in preaching the doctrine, and advocate it only where they 
 are very certain that it will be received. They admit its 
 existence, but they by no means are willing to confess to 
 what an extent it is practiced ; and to this day many of them 
 win wives under false pretences. 
 
 It was only a few weeks since, a gentleman living in the 
 British Provinces, on a visit to some friends in New Eng- 
 land, spoke of a visit he had received quite recently from 
 a lady friend from England, a relative, I think, who had 
 become converted to Mormonism, and married one of the 
 elders of the church, and was on her way to Utah with 
 him. She was a very lovely person, and in talking of her 
 new religion, concerning which she was very enthusiastic, 
 deplored the existence of polygamy as its only drawback 
 to a perfect faith. Yet she said her husband had told her 
 that it was only a doctrine of the church that was rarely 
 practiced, except by the older Saints, who had received the 
 Revelation directly from Joseph, and had considered the 
 
l8o I AM DIPPED IN A POND BY BROTHER TAFT. 
 
 adoption of the system a duty ; that in time it would be 
 entirely done away with, except in theory, and that at all 
 events she need have no fear. 
 
 Great was the surprise of the gentleman on learning that 
 she, who so fondly believed herself the only wife of her 
 husband, made Number 5 or 6 of his plural wives. The 
 poor girl had, without doubt, learned the truth long before, 
 although her pride, no doubt, would prevent her from in- 
 forming her friends how cruelly she had been duped. 
 
 The Mormon mode of managing missions troubled me 
 very little during those early days. I missed my father, 
 and wished President Young would let him come back.; 
 beyond that I had little thought or care. I was busy study- 
 ing with my mother, and I of course was taught the ele- 
 ments of the religion in which she so firmly believed, and 
 on which she so greatly depended ; and, like all children 
 of Mormon parents, I was baptized when I was eight 
 years old. 
 
 The Mormon people do not baptize or "christen " their 
 infant children. When they are eight days old they are 
 "blessed," and they are baptized at eight years of age. I 
 was baptized by Bishop Taft, my father's second wife's 
 father ; and I was exceedingly terrified. I was taken to a 
 pond, and the bishop carried me in his arms, and plunged 
 me into the water ; and so great was the nervous shock that 
 I could not think of it without a shudder for years after. 
 
 My mother was glad when it was over, for I was made a 
 child of the church, and by this rite she consecrated me to 
 God and the Mormon faith. To God I still hold loving, 
 trustful allegiance ; as for the Mormon faith, I can never 
 be too thankful that I have so entirely freed myself from 
 its tyrannical fetters, that held me, soul and body, in such 
 a long and cruel bondage. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE UTAH " REFORMATION." "A REIGN OF TERROR." 
 THE BLOOD-ATONEMENT PREACHED. 
 
 The Beginning of the Reformation. The Payson Saints Stirred Up. 
 What the Wicked " Saints " had been Doing Secretly. The Old Lady 
 who stole a Radish. Confessing the sins of Others. A System of 
 Espionnage. Brigham bids them " Go Ahead ! " The Story of Brother 
 Jeddy's Mule. The Saints receive a terrible Drubbing. Great Ex- 
 citement in Mormondom. How the Saints were Catechized. Indeli- 
 cate Questions are put to Everybody. My Mother and Myself Con- 
 fess. The Labors of the Home Missionaries. Making Restitution. 
 Everybody is Re-baptized. "Cut off Below their Ears." The 
 " Blood-Atonement " Preached. Murder recommended in the Tab- 
 ernacle. Cutting their Neighbors' throats for Love. A " Reign of 
 Terror " in Utah. Fearful Outrages Committed. Murdered " by the 
 Indians " / Brigham advises the Assassination of Hatten. Murder 
 of Almon Babbitt, Dr. Robinson, the Parrishes, and Others. Blood- 
 shed the Order of the Dav. 
 
 HILE my father was in 
 England on mission, my 
 mother was urged very 
 strongly to go to Payson, 
 a town about seventy 
 miles south of Salt Lake 
 City, and start a school 
 there. 
 
 She had taught in Kirt- 
 land, and in Salt Lake 
 City, and was considered 
 a person of superior at- 
 
 AWAKENING THE SAINTS. i ,1 o * j. 
 
 tamments by the Saints. 
 
 Her reputation as a teacher was quite extended among 
 them, and since her arrival in Utah she had often been 
 solicited to resume her profession. She had always hith- 
 
l82 STIRRING UP THE WICKED SAINTS ! 
 
 erto refused persistently ; but now, finding her time some- 
 what unemployed during my father's absence, and wishing 
 to add to the family funds, which were running somewhat 
 low, she decided to accept the situation, which was fairly 
 thrust upon her. Of course I accompanied her to the 
 scene of her labors. I had never been separated from her, 
 and neither she nor I could endure the thought of being 
 parted. 
 
 It was, I think, in January, 1855, that a Mormon, named 
 Joseph Hovey, came to Payson to preach. He was a man 
 of an excitable temperament, a fanatic in religion, and he 
 succeeded in stirring the people up to a state of the most 
 intense religious enthusiasm. He held a series of meet- 
 ings, which were very largely attended, and such was his 
 peculiar magnetism, that he swayed and held the multi- 
 tudes who thronged to hear him, notwithstanding he was a 
 man of unprepossessing manner, little education, and no 
 culture. He commenced by accusing the people of all 
 sorts of misdeeds and crimes, and he denounced them in 
 the most scathing and the rudest fashion, and they trem- 
 bled under his fierce denunciations, and cowered before 
 him as before the face of an accusing angel. He accused 
 them of theft, of licentiousness, of blackguardism, of lying, 
 of swindling and cheating, of hypocrisy and lukewarm- 
 ness in their religion, and of every other sin, of omission 
 or commission, of which he could think. He represented 
 himself as the Lord's messenger, called by Him, and sent 
 to warn the people of Southern Utah of the horrors of their 
 situation ; their souls were in imminent peril, so weighted 
 were they with a load of guilt. " Repent, confess, and be 
 re-baptized," was his urgent call, " and all your sins shall 
 be forgiven you ; yea, verily, for so hath the Lord prom- 
 ised." 
 
 The excitement grew daily, and his work of " Reforma- 
 tion," as he styled it, went bravely on. 'Meetings were 
 held, lasting all day and late into the night. It was reli- 
 
THE OLD LADY WHO STOLE A RADISH ! 183 
 
 gious madness run riot. There seemed to be a sort of 
 competition as to who should confess the most and the 
 oftenest. The people of Payson had been considered as 
 good as average communities, but this "Reformation"' 
 revealed the most astonishing amount of dishonesty and 
 depravity among them. 
 
 I was at one of the meetings, and I remember how 
 shocked I was as one after another arose and confessed the 
 crimes of which they were guilty. It made a very vivid 
 impression on my childish mind, and to this day I can recall 
 the very expression of the faces and tones of the voices as 
 the owners professed their criminality. Many of them 
 confessed to stealing flour from a mill ; this, indeed, seemed 
 a common peccadillo ; others had stolen lumber for various 
 purposes ; and one man said he had stolen a sheep. I re- 
 member this man very distinctly ; there happened to be a 
 bit of wool sticking to his clothes, on the shoulder, and I 
 know I wondered if that was from the sheep he had stolen. 
 
 Some had taken potatoes, some turnips, some others 
 parsnips, others had taken all three ; one conscience- 
 stricken old lady, who felt impelled to confess, and could 
 think of nothing that she had done wrong, was immensely 
 relieved when she remembered that she had taken a radish 
 without permission ; she seemed, too, to derive much con- 
 solation from the fact that " it had burned in her stomach 
 ever since." 
 
 Taking it all in all, it was a time of the wildest confu- 
 sion and the intensest ill-feeling. If there were any per- 
 sons who did not come forward readily, and acknowledge 
 their faults, some one would do it for them, telling their 
 brothers' and sisters' sins in the public congregation. 
 
 My mother did not approve of the state of affairs, and 
 would not countenance them any farther than she was posi- 
 tively compelled to do. It was dangerous to express any 
 disapproval of the proceedings ; so she was obliged to keep' 
 quiet, although she would not take active part in the excite- 
 
104 THAT TROUBLESOME MULE OF JEDDYS. 
 
 ment. The most fanatical of these blinded enthusiasts did 
 not hesitate to threaten the lives of all who dared dissent 
 from them, and the person who failed to confess was looked 
 upon with suspicion. A close watch was kept upon the 
 actions of these persons, and every word that dropped 
 from their lips was noted. In fact, the entire church, with 
 few exceptions, was converted into a detective force, to 
 keep vigilant watch over those few exceptions who were 
 found to be " cool in the faith." 
 
 While the excitement was at its height, Brigham Young 
 was informed of Hovey's movements, and their results in 
 Pay son. The few who were not in sympathy with the ex- 
 citement waited anxiously for the Prophet to speak, expect- 
 ing, of course, that when he heard the state of affairs, 
 there would be a summary stop put to all these fanatical 
 proceedings. Many of the surrounding settlements were 
 very much exercised over the conduct of the Payson peo- 
 ple, thinking they were all going mad together ; and they 
 also waited curiously to see what action Brigham would 
 take. He was at Fillmore, attending the legislature, when 
 he was told of the excitement at Payson, and his repty 
 was, " Let them go ahead ; they won't confess to more than 
 they are guilty of." 
 
 As may be supposed, this cavalier manner of treating 
 the matter surprised the more thoughtful of the Saints, 
 who had counted confidently on his interference ; but their 
 surprise increased tenfold, when, the very next winter, 
 1856, Brigham and his counsellors instituted a similar re- 
 form throughout the entire territory. It is said that this 
 latter Reformation was caused by President Jedediah M. 
 Grant losing his temper over a mule. 
 
 It seems that Brother Grant was to hold a meeting at Kays- 
 ville, and had invited several elders to accompany him. 
 To one of these elders he lent a mule, which should bear 
 him to the appointed place. When he arrived, the sharp 
 eyes of Brother Grant discovered that his mule was heated 
 
THE BEAST CREATES A SENSATION. 185 
 
 and somewhat jaded ; and although he made no remarks at 
 the time, but, on the contrary, was suavity itself, yet he 
 did not let the brother go unrebuked. After every one had 
 spoken at the meeting, testifying to the utmost good feel- 
 ing themselves, and exhorting faithfulness on the part of 
 their hearers, Brother Grant arose for the last word. He 
 accused the speakers who had preceded him of inconsist- 
 ency and hypocrisy ; charged the bishop with inefficiency, 
 
 " SCENE DURING REFORMATION." 
 
 and his people with all manner of crimes, and then per- 
 sonally attacked the unfortunate brother for ill-treating his 
 mule. He called upon everybody to repent, and " do their 
 first works over again," or the judgment of God would 
 speedily overtake them. This was the beginning of the 
 famous Utah " Reformation," of which the local movement 
 at Payson was the immediate forerunner. It was the same 
 thing on a much larger scale ; confessions were the order 
 of the day, and accusation was as prevalent as confession. 
 
l86 A FEW DELICATE QUESTIONS. 
 
 It was a horrible time, and one that never will be forgot- 
 ten b'y those who were living in the midst of the excite- 
 ment. An impressionable twelve-years-old girl, I remem- 
 ber every detail with wonderful distinctness. 
 
 This " Reformation" was more systematically conducted 
 than Hovey's revival ; a catechism was compiled by the 
 leading spirits of the church, and printed by their order, 
 and elders were appointed to go from house to house with 
 a copy of it, questioning the people. This catechism con- 
 tained a list of singular questions, many of which I dis- 
 tinctly remember. I dare only mention a few. They were 
 after this style : 
 
 " Have you ever committed a murder ? " 
 
 " Have you ever stolen anything ? " 
 
 " Have you ever been drunk? " 
 
 "Do you believe in polygamy? " 
 
 Many were grossly indelicate, others laughably absurd ; 
 yet every question was obliged to be answered on pain of 
 expulsion from the church. Men, women, and children 
 alike were catechized ; many of the little ones did not know 
 the meaning of some of the questions which were put to 
 them ; but they were obliged to answer them ; whether 
 understandingly, or not, it made no difference. 
 
 It was customary to catechize each member of a family 
 separately ; but an exception was made in our case, and 
 my mother and myself were examined together. There 
 was a great part of the catechism that I did not under- 
 stand, but I always answered as my mother did, feeling 
 sure that what she said must of a necessity be right. When 
 the questioning was over, I was exhorted by the visiting 
 elder to obey my parents, and to marry into polygamy 
 when a little older. 
 
 The elders that acted as "Home Missionaries," whose 
 duty it was to catechize the people, were astonished at the 
 grossness of some of the immoralities which were brought 
 to light. The private history and secret acts of all were 
 
" CUT OFF BELOW THEIR EARS ! " 187 
 
 unfolded. People were accused of sins which they never 
 had committed, and yet they were afraid to deny them. 
 Some of the elders were shocked beyond measure at the 
 sickening details revealed, and begged that a stop be put to 
 this mania for confession ; but the poor fanatics were urged 
 forward by their leaders, and they firmly believed that in the 
 fullest and freest confession lay their only hope of salvation. 
 They were goaded to the very verge of frenzy. Every 
 person throughout the Territory was commanded to be re- 
 baptized, even if their sins had not been very grave. It was 
 commanded, too, that every, person who had committed a 
 theft should make good what he had taken ; and I recollect 
 a man returning some property to my father which he had 
 taken from the family while my father was in England : 
 some others confessed to having stolen the fence from the 
 farm ; so, it seems, we had suffered from the dishonesty of our 
 before presumedly honest neighbors. Throughout the whole 
 church there was a general time of accusation, confession, 
 restitution, and re-baptism. 
 
 There were many of the Mormon people who did not 
 approve of all this unhealthy excitement, and who foresaw 
 exactly what results would follow, yet not one of them dared 
 venture a protest. It would have been at the risk of their 
 lives, as it was publicly advised, not only by Hovey in Pay- 
 son, but by men in much more prominent places, to punish 
 such persons as ventured a disapproval by w cutting them off 
 from the church, below their ears" 
 
 It was during this excitement that the terrible doctrine of 
 the Blood-Atonement was first preached. So high did the 
 feeling run that people who were guilty of certain crimes 
 were counselled to shed their blood to save their souls. 
 Said the arch-fanatic Jedediah M. Grant, in the Tabernacle, 
 speaking of those who had apostatized or were in danger of 
 apostasy, 
 
 " What ought this meek people, who keep the command- 
 ments of the Lord, to do unto them ? c Why,' says some one, 
 
188 THE 
 
 'they ought to pray to the Lord to kill them/ I want to 
 know if you would wish the Lord to come down and do all 
 your dirty work? Many of the Latter-Day Saints will pray, 
 and petition, and supplicate the Lord to do a thousand things 
 they themselves would be ashamed to do. When a man prays 
 for a thing, he ought to be willing to perform it himself." 
 
 In the same sermon he said, 
 
 " What ! do you believe that people would do right and 
 keep the law of God by actually putting to death the trans- 
 gressors? Putting to death the transgressors would exhibit 
 the law of God, no matter by whom it was done. That is 
 my opinion." 
 
 Following the expression of his belief, he uttered the fol- 
 lowing fervent wish : 
 
 " I wish we were in a situation favorable to our doing that 
 which is justifiable before God, without any contaminating 
 influence of Gentile amalgamation, laws, and traditions, that 
 the people of God might lay the axe to the root of the tree, 
 and that every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit might 
 be hewn down." 
 
 He was so in earnest that he would have the atonement 
 by blood commence at once. Listen to his disinterested 
 counsel : 
 
 w I say there are men and women here that I would advise 
 to go to the President immediately, and ask him to appoint a 
 committee to attend to their case ; and then let a place be 
 selected, and let that committee shed their blood." 
 
 On another occasion he said, speaking in his wild, fanati- 
 cal manner, 
 
 " We have been trying long enough with this people ; and 
 I go in for letting the sword of the Almighty to be un- 
 sheathed, not only in word, but in deed." 
 
 Brigham Young, not to be behind his counsellor, assured 
 the Saints that this doctrine of throat-cutting and blood- 
 shedding was pleasing to the Lord, and that it was a glorious 
 and soul-saving belief. He says, 
 
HUMAN BLOOD TO BE SHED ! 189 
 
 w There are sins that can be atoned for by an offering on 
 the altar, as in ancient days ; and there are sins that the 
 blood of a lamb or calf, or of turtle-doves, cannot remit, but 
 they must be atoned for by the blood of the man" 
 
 Another choice bit from one of his Tabernacle discourses 
 is as follows : 
 
 " The time is coming when justice will be laid to the line 
 and righteousness to the plummet : when we shall take the 
 old broadsword, and ask, * Are you for God?' and if you are 
 not heartily on the Lord's side, you will be hewn down." 
 
 In a sermon preached from the text, the sweetest and 
 tenderest of all the commandments given by Christ, "Love 
 thy neighbor as thyself," Brigham Young put this peculiarly 
 Christ-like construction on the words : 
 
 " When will we love our neighbor as ourselves ? Any of 
 you who understand the principles of eternity, if you have 
 sinned a sin requiring the shedding of blood, except the sin 
 unto death, should not be satisfied or rest until your blood 
 should be spilled, that you might gain that salvation you 
 desire. That is the way to love mankind. Now, brethren 
 and sisters, will you live your religion? How many hun- 
 dreds of times have I asked that question? Will the Latter- 
 Day Saints live their religion?" 
 
 He also asked in the same sermon, 
 
 " Will you love your brothers and sisters when they have 
 a sin that cannot be atoned for without the shedding of their 
 blood ? Will you love that man or that woman well enough 
 to shed their blood ? That is what Jesus meant. 
 
 " The time will come when the law of God will be in full 
 force. This is loving our neighbor as ourself : if he needs 
 help, help him ; if he wants salvation, and it is necessary 
 to spill his blood upon the earth in order that he may be 
 saved, spill it" 
 
 It is no wonder that such language as this, poured into the 
 ears of the already half-crazed Saints, should incite them to 
 deeds of violence. For a while bloodshed and murder were 
 
I 9 
 
 the order of the day. If any person or family were supposed 
 to be lacking in the faith, and failing to exhibit the usual 
 blind submission to the teachings of the priesthood, that 
 person or family was sure to be visited by some disaster 
 whipped, mobbed, or murdered, and their property de- 
 stroyed or confiscated to the use of the church. Some in- 
 stances came under my own observation, and I tell the inci- 
 dents from actual knowledge, and not from mere hearsay. 
 
 A merchant of Salt Lake City, an Englishman, named 
 Jarvis, was suspected of being cool in the faith, and to have 
 little or no sympathy with the fanatical proceedings which 
 attended the Reformation and formed its chief feature. His 
 store was entered one evening by Saints in disguise, he was 
 pulled over the counter by the hair of his head, dragged 
 into the street and thrown into the snow, his store plundered, 
 all the money taken away, his house set on fire, and his two 
 wives barely given time to escape with their children. As an 
 excuse for all this he was accused of having " spoken against 
 the authorities, and had entertained Gentiles at supper." 
 
 One of the wives of Mr. Jarvis wrote quite a thrilling 
 account to some of her English friends respecting their treat- 
 ment ; and as her story is so simply and yet plainly told, I 
 shall insert it here, as being the best description I can give 
 of it and similar scenes. It is dated from " Weston, Mis- 
 souri," the August following the year of the Reformation. 
 
 " After Mr. Grimshaw left Salt Lake, Mr. Jarvis made known 
 to Brigham Young his intention to leave the Territory and return 
 to the States, with his reasons for so doing ; but his letter was 
 never answered. Brigham made some allusion to it in public, 
 which seemed to convey the idea that he approved of the course 
 Mr. Jarvis had taken, rather than try to leave clandestinely. From 
 that time we began to dispose of our property, and draw everything 
 into as small a compass as possible. As the winter drew on, 
 various reports were circulated ; such as, that we intended to dis- 
 pose of our large house to the soldiers, and were buying grain to 
 store it for them. This is a 'capital' offence in the Salt Lake 
 Valley, for the Mormons protest that no soldier shall sleep in Salt 
 
Lake City one night. It was also said that Mr. Jarvis had sworn 
 to take the life of President Young ; that he was boarding States 
 officers at his house ; and many more such stones, as strange and 
 unlikely as they were untrue ; for when Mr. Jarvis wrote to Presi- 
 dent Young, he made the offer of all or any part of his property to 
 him first, if he chose to purchase it, and told him that he would 
 rather sell it to the church than to any one else. Time passed on, 
 and we heard some whispers that something dreadful was going 
 to happen to us ; but we thought little about it, and felt perfectly 
 safe, until the I3th of January, 1857, when, at half past six in trie 
 evening, a man knocked at the fronf door, which was locked, and 
 
 DEALING WITH A WEAK BROTHER. 
 
 asked for some trifling article out of the shop. While Mr. Jarvis 
 was attending to him, two men walked in and hastily stepped 
 up to him. One of them caught him by the hair and by the 
 collar, and pulled him across the counter, saying, 'You are 
 my prisoner.' Mr. Jarvis said, 'For what? If you have any 
 charge against me, I will go where you wish/ To this no answer 
 was returned but oaths and curses. They dragged him on the 
 ground some distance, and then brought him back into the door- 
 way, all the time trying to strangle him, and threatening to 
 shaot him if he made any noise. One of them made a des- 
 perate kick at him but missed his aim. 
 
A LADY TELLS HER STORY. 
 
 " In the mean time Betsey and I were undressing the children ; 
 and hearing sounds of heavy footsteps and muttering under- 
 tones of strange voices and persons struggling in the passage, we 
 looked at each other, and* rushed to the door, each with a child in 
 our arms. I succeeded in pulling open the room door in the pas- 
 sage, but I had no sooner done so than a man who was holding 
 the door knocked me back into the room, flat upon the floor, with 
 the baby in my arms, and, shutting the door again, held it fast. 
 Instantly I laid the baby on the carpet, and, with all my strength, 
 forced open the door, and found myself surrounded by a number 
 of ruffians, I believe five or six, who were all in the dark, for 
 they had extinguished the candle, and I calling aloud for Mr. 
 Jarvis several minutes. In the end he, gasping for breath, an- 
 swered me. 
 
 " When I found where he was, I made a desperate rush at the 
 man who w r as holding him, and the fellow, lifting up his hand, let 
 go his hold of him, and he darted out of the open door like light- 
 ning, across the street, and round the corner to a neighbor's house 
 to obtain assistance. He got to the door almost exhausted, and 
 begged for help ; but no one dared come until the master of the 
 house, who was absent, returned. They fetched him, and when 
 he heard the particulars of the attack made upon us, he said, ' Sir, 
 you must leave my house instantly. I have no sympathy for you. 
 I would not protect my own father under the same circumstances.' 
 Mr. Jarvis said, 'What have I done?' The man replied, ' You 
 have done plenty ; you covenanted to serve the Lord, and you 
 are serving the devil, and I should not be surprised to see you with 
 your throat cut.' 
 
 " After Mr. Jarvis had made his escape from the fiends, I turned 
 to enter the house again, firmly believing that some of them were in 
 pursuit of him, and begged to know of the men on the spot what 
 they wanted. On stepping forward to enter the door, I found it 
 guarded by a man on each side, who pushed me backward into 
 the snow. I rose and again attempted to enter the house, but was 
 prevented in like manner, when I saw Mrs. M. coming out with 
 the babies in their night-gowns, one under each arm, to carry them 
 to a place of safety. When I found I could not, after several such 
 attempts, force an entrance, I ran round to the back door and got 
 in, but no sooner was I in than out again. I was tossed by the 
 same ruthless hands as before. Many a time I was knocked down 
 
TERRIBLE STORY OF TWO WOMEN. 
 
 193 
 
 in the way I have described ; and one of my front teeth was 
 loosened, and my limbs most mercilessly bruised. 
 
 44 Finding I could not enter to ascertain the state of affairs in the 
 house, I determined to let the neighborhood know, and for many 
 minutes stood shouting for help, until I was exhausted. I could 
 hear that the windows were all being broken, and the furniture 
 destroyed ; when I was appalled by hearing Mrs. M. shriek out, 
 4 O, Mrs. Jarvis, the house is on fire ! ' I instantly ran in des- 
 peration, and got in at the back part of the shop, and O, my 
 dear sister, what a scene ! Flames and smoke up to the ceiling; 
 
 BRUTAL ASSAULT UPON MRS. JARVIS. 
 
 the goods in the store, or shop, burning ; and two men, almost 
 suffocated, still intent upon the work of destruction carrying 
 lighted paper, and setting fire to everything that would burn ! 
 
 44 The thoughts of my three boys sleeping up stairs ; my hus- 
 band, I knew not where, perhaps murdered, and seeing 
 no hope of saving the house for three rooms were then burn- 
 ing; the thought that to-morrow I and my children would 
 have no home, no shelter, and be penniless, with the snow two 
 feet deep, and not a friend that dare open the door to us, they 
 dare not do it, however much disposed they might be ; for they 
 were threatened with the same, and were told that if they heard 
 the cry of fire they were to take no notice ; all these things rush- 
 
 13 
 
194 DOINGS IN THE DARK. 
 
 ing into my mind at once, I grew desperate, and forced my way 
 in at the front door, and implored the ruffians to let me fetch my 
 children clown stairs. They muttered, ' There's none of them 
 there.' I said, 'Yes, they are asleep in bed/ Then he said, 
 'Go/ On passing up stairs, I saw on one side the shop in 
 flames, and the room, the furniture and windows broken, and our 
 clothes scattered about, on fire. I shrieked out, when a man 
 caught me by the throat, and I had to gasp for breath. I saved 
 my children in their night-dresses, and the oldest had to run out 
 with the snow up to his hips. 
 
 "When we found that the villains were gone, we put out the fire, 
 throwing water upon it ; and on one shelf was a large canister of 
 gunpowder, within six inches of the flame, of which I did not 
 know. I saved the house from being blown up, but I got my 
 hands severely burned. Four large windows were broken out, 
 one dozen chairs and a table destroyed ; a stove and three tables 
 broken ; carpets, clothes, and goods burned in the store ; and 
 many silver watches and other substantial things stolen, making 
 the damage sustained amount to nearly eight hundred dollars. 
 Every clay after was a living death, a dying daily. We were 
 never safe for an hour. When we appealed to the authorities, 
 they advised us to be quiet about it, and c let it slide/ And so 
 we did ; for we could obtain no redress. 
 
 " The outrage upon us was never mentioned in the newspaper. 
 We had to pocket the insult, and bear the loss ; apd now we are 
 thankful we are out of it. We exchanged our property for land 
 in the States, hired conveyances, and left on the 22d of April. 
 We are now at Weston, eight miles from Leaven worth, where we 
 arrived without any interruption ; but we suffered greatly from 
 the heat. We shall remain here till Mr. Jarvis makes arrange- 
 ments for our future abode." 
 
 My father knew these people well in England ; they 
 were from Leeds, where they were highly respected. I 
 have met them quite recently in Burlington, Iowa, where 
 they are living in very comfortable circumstances. They 
 have outgrown all tendencies towards Mormonism, and are 
 now among its bitterest opponents. 
 
 This outrage is somewhat remarkable, because it was 
 
THE PROPHET COUNSELS MURDER. 195 
 
 unattended by bloodshed, a most extraordinary circum- 
 stance, when so many were killed outright who had sinned 
 as Mr. Jarvis had. Innocent people suffered, and at that 
 time, no Gentile was safe in the Mormon territory. 
 
 A cousin of mine, whose parents lived in Utah, married 
 a man named Hatten, in Illinois. When her mother emi- 
 grated with the Saints, she, of course, remained behind 
 with her husband, to her mother's great distress. After a 
 few years, Mr. Hatten decided to remove to California, and 
 he came by the way of Utah, so as to give his wife an op- 
 portunity of visiting her relatives, whom she had not seen 
 since the exodus from Nauvoo. 
 
 At that time it was considered a dishonor to have a 
 friend married to a Gentile she was regarded as lost. 
 And for a girl to be taken to California was a still deeper 
 disgrace. 
 
 My aunt and her husband were devout Mormons, and 
 the} 7 grieved over their daughter as over one dead. My 
 aunt prayed and wept for her and over her; and my 
 uncle the girl's father even grew desperate in his de- 
 spair. He consulted Brigham as to the best course which 
 he should pursue, and the Prophet's ready reply was, "Put 
 Hatten out of the way. It is a sin and a shame to have so 
 good a woman dragged around the world by a Gentile.*' 
 
 That was sufficient. In a few days came the startling 
 news that Hatten had been "killed by the Indians." He 
 had gone to Fillmore on a visit, from which he was destined 
 never to return. The young wife was almost heart-broken 
 at the sudden loss of her husband, but she did not dream 
 what was his real fate until long afterwards. She sup- 
 posed he had fallen a victim to Indian cruelty, as the re- 
 ports told her; but when, after many years, she learned 
 the bitter truth, she fairly hated the religion that had made 
 a martyr of her husband, and brought sorrow and affliction 
 to her. She could not get away from it, however ; there 
 was no place to which she could go ; she had no friends 
 
196 " NOTHING TO DO BUT ENDURE I " 
 
 elsewhere ; all the years that had intervened between her 
 husband's death and her knowledge of his real fate had 
 been passed in Utah, and she had severed herself in that 
 time most effectually from her former friends. There was 
 nothing to do but to endure ; and that she did, as patiently 
 as possible. A few years after her husband's death, she 
 married again, but not happily. However, she was speed- 
 ily released from this unhappy bondage. Heber C. Kim- 
 ball had seen and fancied her, and he went to Brigham 
 with the story of her unhappiness, and added, as he fin- 
 ished his recital, " She ought never to have married that 
 man. I designed her for myself." 
 
 "It is not too late," replied his friend, the Prophet; "you 
 can have her yet." And he made good his word by 
 divorcing her from her uncongenial husband, and bestow- 
 ing her on Heber. She was too indifferent to care what 
 became of her, and she became a Mrs. Kimball without a 
 protest. She and her two children are living in Utah now. 
 
 Another victim to the Blood-Atonement was a young 
 man named Jesse Earl, a musician of rare talent and great 
 promise. He was a very intimate friend of the Prophet's 
 oldest son, Joseph, and had lived a great deal in the Proph- 
 et's family. The reason of his death has never been given ; 
 it was only said that his sins were past forgiveness, except 
 his blood should atone for them. 
 
 Apostates were even more hardly dealt with than the 
 Gentiles. One of the old Mormons, named Almon Bab- 
 bitt, was "killed by the Indians," on his way to the States. 
 Mr. Babbitt was among the first seventy apostles appointed 
 by Joseph Smith ; he had been among those who went up 
 to Missouri, to "Zion's Camp," and was an eloquent 
 preacher and advocate of Mormon doctrines. After Brig- 
 ham came into power, Babbitt became quite disaffected 
 towards the authorities, and left Utah to return to the 
 States, when he was overtaken by his doom. 
 
 Once in a while some person would become so con- 
 
FRIGHTFUL MURDERS IN UTAH. 
 
 science-stricken for some sin he had committed, that he 
 would voluntarily seek to make the " Atonement ; " but those 
 were rare cases. I remember hearing of one at the time 
 of its occurrence. A Mormon named John Evan had shot 
 a man in Council Bluffs. He came at once to Salt Lake, 
 visited Brigham, and begged to atone for his crime in the 
 usual way. 
 
 Not long after that, he was on his way home one night, 
 when suddenly the report of a pistol was heard ; Mr. Evan 
 was found dead, and although it was currently reported 
 that he had committed suicide, it was well known by the 
 better informed that " he had only paid the debt," and given 
 his life for another that he had taken by violence. 
 
 The Potter and Parrish murders at Springville, and the 
 assassination of Dr. Robinson at Salt Lake, are notorious. 
 The Parrish brothers were murdered for apostasy, Dr. 
 Robinson because he was a Gentile whose influence was 
 extending in the Territory, so popular was he, and conse- 
 quently the authorities considered him dangerous. 
 
 More viyidly stamped upon my memory than any other 
 of the horrible occurrences, is the murder of a woman 
 named^ Jones, and her son, in Payson. They were sus- 
 pected of falling away in the faith, and other grave charges 
 were brought against them, for which it was deemed neces- 
 sary that they should die. One night there was a great 
 commotion in the streets of the town ; pistol-shots were 
 heard ; there was a sound of hurrying feet, a murmur of 
 voices, and a subdued excitement, lasting all night. No 
 one dared to venture out to learn the cause, lest their curi- 
 osity should be summarily punished. In those days it was 
 dangerous to seek to know more than the priesthood chose 
 to tell. In fact, everything but a blind following of fanat- 
 ical doctrines was dangerous. Free thought was suicidal. 
 The morning following the night of which I have spoken 
 put an end to the suspense. It was proclaimed everywhere 
 that the Joneses had been killed, and their dead bodies, 
 
198 
 
 FIENDISH DOINGS AT PAYSON. 
 
 shockingly mutilated, were placed in a wagon, and ex- 
 posed to the crowd by being driven through the streets, 
 attended by a jeering, taunting mob, who could not cease 
 their insults though their victims were still in death. I did 
 not see the bodies, nor did my mother, although they were 
 driven past our door ; we both shunned the fearful sight. 
 But there were plenty of women who did look at them, 
 and who gloried in their death as a deed of service to the 
 Lord. Mrs. Jones was mixing bread at the time she was 
 shot, and the dough still remained clinging to her hands 
 after her death. 
 
 BLOOD ATONEMENT. SCBNB DURING REFORMATION. 
 
 This was the way that " the Lord" was "worshipped" in 
 Utah in 1856 and 1857. / have heard men say, "If I 
 apostatize, I hope some of my brethren will love me well 
 enough to slay me." The Saints are by no means a blood- 
 thirsty people, but these are some of the results of the 
 teachings during the Reformation. 
 
 It may be a matter of wonder to many how honest- 
 hearted people could remain in a church that taught and 
 practiced so many and such fearful evils. Concerning the 
 murders, the majority of the people knew nothing, and sup- 
 posed that the Indians were the assassins, as they were 
 always told so. Yet some were sufficiently fanatical to 
 
CAN BRIGHAM EVER ATONE? 199 
 
 believe that, if Brigham was the instigator, it was quite 
 right. " The ancient order of things was being restored." 
 
 I have heard many Mormons declare that they hoped, 
 some time, light would be thrown on these dark deeds, and 
 the murderers made to pay the penalty of their crimes. 
 But those who suspected that the authorities of the church 
 were implicated felt that their only safeguard was silence. 
 Those living in Utah during the Reformation, and seeing it 
 in all its horrors, as I did, know very well the spirit of the 
 teachings in the Tabernacle ; and although many may be 
 slow to impute the commission of crime to Brigham Young, 
 they cannot but admit that his teachings all tended to 
 make crime prevalent. And if they do not acknowledge 
 his direct agency, they must see that his influence all went 
 in the direction of the atonement of sin by blood. As far 
 as I am concerned, I do not hesitate to say that I believe 
 all these murders lie at his door, and that he will have to 
 be personally responsible for them. His hands are red 
 with innocent blood, his garments dyed with it, and no 
 " Atonement " can ever wash out the damning spots. 
 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 "DIVINE EMIGRATION." THE PROPHET AND THE 
 HAND-CART SCHEME. 
 
 Early Emigration to Utah. The Prophet Meditates Economy. The 
 " Divine Plan " Invented. How it was Revealed to the Saints. They 
 Prepare to " Gather to Zion." How the Hand- Carts were Built. The 
 Sufferings of the Emigrants. On Board Ship. An Apostolic Quar- 
 rel. Base Conduct of the Apostle Taylor. The Saints arrive in Iowa 
 City. How the Summer-time was Wasted. Beginning a Terrible 
 Journey. Suffering by the Way. " Going Cheap." They reach 
 Council Bluffs. Levi Savage Behaves Bravely. Lying Prophecy of 
 the Apostle Richards. How the Emigrants were Deceived. Brigham 
 Young sends Help to Them. Two Apostles are Denounced. The 
 Prophet in a Fix. He lays His own Sins on the Backs of Others. 
 Preparing to Receive the Emigrants. 
 
 N the history of any people 
 there has never been re- 
 corded a case of such 
 gross mismanagement as 
 that of gathering the for- 
 eign Saints to Zion in the 
 year 1856. 
 
 Until this disastrous 
 year the emigrants had 
 always made the journey 
 across the plains with ox- 
 teams, under the charge 
 of some of the returning 
 
 THE EMIGRANTS' LANDING PLACE, elders, who were trilim- 
 
 castic Gardens, New York. phantly bringing the fruits 
 
 of their labors in foreign vineyards to garner them in Zion. 
 The able-bodied walked, and those who were too young, too 
 old, or too feeble to perform the journey on foot, went in the 
 
201 
 
 wagons with the baggage. It was in tne same way that the 
 Saints themselves made their first journey across the plains, 
 and in the proper season of the year was a safe and a pleas- 
 ant journey. Tedious and wearisome, to be sure, but in no 
 way perilous, as plenty of provisions, bedding, and clothing 
 could be carried, not only for the journey, but sufficient to 
 last some time after the arrival. 
 
 The cost of emigration in this way was from 10 to 12, 
 English money, or nominally $50 to $60 in gold not 
 very expensive, surely, for a journey from Liverpool to Salt 
 Lake City ; but to Brigham, in one of his fits of economy, it 
 seemed altogether too costly, and he set to work to devise 
 some means for retrenchment. During the entire winter of 
 1855-56, he and his chief supporters were in almost con- 
 stant consultation on the subject of reducing the expenses of 
 emigration, and they finally hit upon the expedient of having 
 them cross the plains with hand-carts, wheeling their own 
 provisions and baggage, and so saving the expense of 
 teams. The more Brigham thought of his plan, the more 
 in love he grew with it, and he sent detailed instructions 
 concerning it to the Apostle Franklin D. Richards, the 
 Mormon agent at Liverpool, who published it in the " Mil- 
 lennial Star '," as the new "divine plan " revealed to Brother 
 Brigham by the Lord, whose will it was that the journey 
 should be made in this manner. 
 
 My father was in England when the " command of the 
 Lord concerning them" was given to the gathering Saints, 
 and their enthusiastic devotion and instant acceptance of the 
 revelation showed how entirely they entrusted themselves to 
 the leadership of their superiors in the church, implicitly 
 believing them to be inspired of God. They were told by 
 Richards, in the magazine, and by their missionaries in 
 their addresses, that they should meet many difficulties, 
 that trials would be strewn along their path, and occasional 
 dangers meet them, but that the Lord's chosen people 
 were to be a tried people, and that they should come out 
 
202 
 
 PREPARING FOR THE PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 APOSTLE FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS, 
 Husband of Ten Wives. 
 
 unscathed, and enter Zion with great triumph and rejoicing, 
 coming out from the world as by great tribulation ; that 
 
 the Lord would hold them in 
 special charge, and they need 
 not fear terror by night nor pes- 
 tilence that walketh at noon- 
 day, for they should not so 
 much as hurt a foot against a 
 stone. 
 
 It was represented to them 
 that they were specially privi- 
 leged and honored in thus 
 being called by the Lord to be 
 the means of showing His 
 power and revealing glory to 
 a world lying in darkness and 
 overwhelmed with guilt, de- 
 serted by God and given over to destruction. Considering 
 the class of people from whom most of the converts were 
 made, it is not at all strange that all this talk should impress 
 their imaginations and arouse their enthusiasm. Emotion, 
 instead of reason, guided them almost entirely, and they 
 grew almost ecstatic over the new way in which they were 
 called to Zion. 
 
 The United States government was beginning to trouble 
 itself a little about Utah ; and in order to make the church 
 as strong as possible, in case of an invasion, Brigham was 
 anxious to increase the number of emigrants, and requested 
 Apostle Richards to send as many as he possibly could. 
 To do this, the elders counselled all the emigrants, who had 
 more money than they needed, to deposit it with the Apostle 
 Richards for the purpose of assisting the poor to Zion. The 
 call was instantly and gladly obeyed, and the number of 
 Saints bound Zion-ward was thereby nearly doubled. In 
 the face of the disaster which attended it, it has been the 
 boast of some of the missionaries and elders that this was 
 
BRIGHAM SUMMONS THE SAINTS. 2O3 
 
 the largest number that ever was sent over at one time. 
 So much greater, then, is the weight of responsibility which 
 rests upon the souls of those who originated and carried out 
 this selfish design, made more selfish, more cruel, and more 
 terribly culpable for the hypocrisy and deceit which attended 
 it from its conception to its disastrous close. 
 
 Great, however, as was the number of emigrants who 
 that year crossed the plains to Utah, as many, if not 
 more, have, during various seasons since then, traversed 
 the same route ; although, of course, for obvious rea- 
 sons, it is difficult to give approximate statistics. During 
 the summer of 1862 the same year in which Eliza Snow 
 and Geo. A. Smith, the fattest of all fat apostles, together 
 with a select company of Saints, wandered off to the 
 Holy Land in order to bring it within the dominions of 
 Brigham it was said that more Mormons were landed at 
 Castle Gardens than during any other previous year. I 
 cannot say whether this is true ; but it is a fact that only 
 a few weeks ago seven or eight hundred were landed in 
 New York, and every few weeks, all through the summer, 
 other ship-loads will arrive. 
 
 On the 1 4th of March, 1856, my father, who was at 
 Sheffield, England, engaged in missionary work, received 
 a telegram from Richards, telling him to come at once to 
 Liverpool for the purpose of taking passage for America in 
 the mail-packet Canada, which was to sail for Boston on the 
 I5th. He had no time to say good-bye to his friends, but 
 made his preparations hurriedly, and left Sheffield as soon as 
 possible. On arriving atLiverpool and consulting with Rich- 
 ards, he learned that he had been sent for to assist in the 
 proposed hand-cart expedition, and that his part of the work 
 was to be performed in the United States. He, being a 
 practical wagon-maker, was to oversee the building of the 
 carts. In twenty-four hours after the receipt of the tele- 
 gram his first intimation that he was to be called home 
 he was on his way. The passage was unusually rough, 
 
204 APOSTLES EMBEZZLE THE FUNDS. 
 
 and he was glad enough to see the shores of America after 
 tossing about on the ocean for fifteen days. He landed in 
 Boston the 3<Dth of March, and went immediately to Iowa 
 City, the gathering-place of the Saints prior to their depart- 
 ure for Utah, arriving there the loth of April. 
 
 He expected, of course, to go to work at once, and was 
 very impatient to do so, as it was very nearly the season 
 when the emigrants should start to cross the plains, and the 
 first vessel filled with them was already due in New York. 
 He knew that it would be a waste both of time and money 
 to keep them in Iowa City any longer than was absolutely 
 necessary ; besides which, after a certain date, every day 
 would increase the perils of crossing the plains. But when 
 he arrived, Daniel Spencer, the principal agent, was east on 
 a visit, and did not make his appearance until an entire 
 month had expired ; and there was all that valuable time 
 wasted in order that one man might indulge in a little pleas- 
 ure. What were a thousand or more human lives in com- 
 parison to his enjoyment? Less than nothing, it would 
 seem, in his estimation. 
 
 Not only were there no materials provided to work with, 
 but no provision had been made for sheltering the poor 
 Saints, who had already commenced to arrive by ship-loads. 
 Their condition was pitiable in the extreme ; they had met 
 nothing but privation from the time they left England. The 
 trials that had been promised them they had already en- 
 countered, but so great was their faith, that they bore it all 
 without a word of complaint, and some even rejoicing that 
 it was their lot to suffer for the cause of their religion ; they 
 were sure they should all be brought to Zion in safety, for 
 had not God promised that through the mouth of His holy 
 Prophet? Their faith was sublime in its exaltation ; and in 
 contrast to it, the cold-blooded, scheming, blasphemous 
 policy of Young and his followers shows out false, and 
 blacker than ever. To have deceived a credulous people 
 by wanton misrepresentation is wicked enough, but to do it 
 
MISERIES OF THE OCEAN-TRANSIT. 205 
 
 w in the name of the Lord " is a sin that can never be atoned 
 for to God or man. It is the height of blasphemy, and I 
 fairly shudder as I endeavor to comprehend, in some slight 
 degree,, the magnitude of such an offence. 
 
 They had been crowded and huddled together on ship- 
 board more like animals than like human beings ; their 
 food had been insufficient and of bad quality ; the sleeping 
 accommodations were limited, and there was not the proper 
 amount of bedding for those who were compelled to sleep in 
 the more exposed places. Some of the persons who saw 
 
 MORMON EMIGRANTS ON SHIPBOARD. 
 
 the emigrants, say that it was like nothing so much as an 
 African slave-ship, filled with its unlawful and ill-gotten 
 freight. The air in the steerage, where most of the emi- 
 grants were, was noxious, and yet these people were com- 
 pelled to breathe it through all the days of the voyage. 
 Many were too ill to leave their beds, and a change of 
 clothing was out of the question. The entire floor was 
 covered with mattresses, and it was impossible to walk about 
 without stepping over some one. Men, women, and children 
 were huddled in together in the most shameless fashion. 
 Affairs were not much bettered when they arrived at New 
 
2O6 STRANGERS PENNILESS AND HELPLESS ! 
 
 York ; the Apostle John Taylor, whose duty it was to pro- 
 vide for them there, was too deeply engaged in a quarrel 
 with Apostle Franklin D. Richards, as to which of the two 
 was higher in authority, to attend to these poor creatures, 
 who were thrown on his protection, penniless and helpless, 
 in a strange country. But everyone must understand that 
 his personal dignity must be attended to and his position 
 maintained, if all the poor Saints that were emigrated, or 
 dreamed of emigrating, should die of starvation and exposure. 
 I think the great body of Saints must have learned before this 
 time that it is by no means safe to trust to the tender mercies 
 of a Mormon Apostle. When, after a while, the Apostle 
 Taylor's imperative personal business allowed him a moment 
 in which to think of the unhappy emigrants, he started them 
 for Iowa City, where they arrived only to experience a 
 repetition of their New York sufferings, and see another 
 illustration of apostolic neglect. Nothing had been prepared 
 for them either in the way of shanties or tents, and they 
 were compelled to camp in the open air, their only roof a 
 sky that was not always blue. While in camp, there were 
 several very severe rain-storms, from which, as they had no 
 shelter, there was no escape ; they got completely drenched, 
 and this caused a great deal of severe illness among them. 
 They were unprotected alike from burning sun and pitiless, 
 chilling rain, and it is no wonder that fevers and dysentery 
 prevailed, and that hundreds of longing eyes closed in death 
 before they beheld the Zion of their hopes. 
 
 It would have been strange if the faith of some had not 
 wavered then ; yet none dared complain. There was noth- 
 ing to do but to go on to the end. They were thousands 
 of miles from home, with no means of returning, and they 
 were taught, too, that it would be a curse upon them to turn 
 their backs on Zion. So there they remained through the 
 long summer days, waiting helplessly until they should be 
 ordered to move onward. 
 
 At length my father saw his way clear to commence his 
 
BUILDING THE HAND-CARTS. 2C>7 
 
 work, and he went to work with a will, pressing everyone 
 who could be of actual assistance into his service. But 
 here the trouble commenced again. He was instructed to 
 make the wagons on as economical a plan as possible, and 
 every step that he took he found himself hedged about by 
 impossibilities. The agents all talked economy, and when 
 one did not raise an objection to a proposal, another did, 
 and difficulties were placed in his way constantly. 
 
 They did not wish to furnish iron for the tires, as it was 
 too expensive ; raw hide, they were sure, would do just 
 as well. My father argued this point with them until at 
 last the agents decided to give up raw hides, and they fur- 
 nished him with hoop iron. He was annoyed and angry, 
 all the while he was making the carts, at the extreme parsi- 
 mony displayed. A thorough workman himself, he wanted 
 good materials to work with ; but every time he asked for 
 anything, no matter how absolutely necessary it was to 
 make the work sufficiently durable to stand the strain of so 
 long a journey, the reply invariably was, " O, Brother Webb, 
 the carts must be made cheap. We can't afford this expen- 
 diture ; you are too extravagant in your outlay ; " forget- 
 ting, in their zeal to follow their Prophet's instructions, what 
 the consequences would be to the poor Saints, if delayed on 
 their way to the Valley, by having to stop to repair their 
 carts. 
 
 As soon as was possible they started companies on the 
 way. My father strongly objected to any of them starting 
 after the last of June ; but he was overruled, and the last 
 company left Iowa City the middle of August, for a journey 
 across arid plains and over snow-clad mountains, which it 
 took twelve weeks of the quickest travelling at that time to 
 accomplish ; and in the manner in which these emigrants 
 were going it would take much longer. He also opposed 
 their being started with such a scanty allowance of provis- 
 ions. He insisted they should have at least double the 
 amount ; but in this attempt, also, he was unsuccessful, and 
 
2O8 GOING CHEAP ! 
 
 one of the survivors of the expedition afterwards said that 
 the rations which were given out to each person for a day 
 could easily be eaten at breakfast. They consisted of ten 
 ounces of flour for each adult, and half that amount for 
 each child under eight years of age.. At rare intervals, a 
 little rice, coffee, sugar, and bacon were doled out to the 
 hungry travellers, but this was not often done. Many of 
 the people begged of the farmers in Iowa, so famished were 
 they, and so inadequate was their food which was sup- 
 plied them by the agents. They were limited, too, in the 
 matter of baggage, and again my father tried to use his 
 influence, but all to no purpose ; so much might go, but not 
 a pound more. 
 
 Almost discouraged, and altogether disgusted with the 
 meanness and heartless carelessness which were exhibited 
 throughout the whole affair, as far, at least, as he had ex- 
 perience with it, he yet made one more attempt to aid the 
 unfortunate travellers, whose trials, great as they had been, 
 had really not fairly begun. His last proposition was, that 
 more teams should be provided, so that the feeble, who 
 were not likely to endure the fatigues of the long march, 
 should have an opportunity of riding ; but he w r as met again 
 with the inevitable reply, " Can't do it, Brother Webb. We 
 tell you we can't afford it ; they must go cheap." It was 
 dear enough in the end, if human lives count for anything. 
 
 My father never speaks of those days of preparation in 
 Iowa City that he does not grow indignant. It might have 
 been averted had not Brigham Young been so parsimoni- 
 ous, and his followers so eager to curry favor with him, by 
 carrying out his instructions more implicitly than there was 
 any need of doing. They were only quarrelled and found 
 fault with, and reprimanded publicly in the Tabernacle 
 for their faithfulness to him, when it became necessary to 
 shield himself from odium in the raatter. Nothing more 
 would have happened if they had obeyed the instincts of 
 humanity, and deferred a little to their consciences, and they 
 
REMONSTRANCES OF NO AVAIL. 
 
 certainly would have been better off, as they would at least 
 have retained their own self-respect, and the regard of their 
 unfortunate charges, which, it is needless to say, they lost 
 most completely. 
 
 When some of the last companies reached Council Bluffs, 
 better known to most Mormons as "Winter-Quarters," 
 there was considerable controversy whether it was best to 
 try and go any farther before spring. Most of the emi- 
 grants knew nothing of the climate and the perils of the 
 undertaking, and were eager to press on to Zion. Four 
 men only in the company had crossed the plains ; those 
 were captains of the trains Willie, Atwood, Savage, and 
 Woodward ; but there were several elders at this place 
 superintending emigration. Of these, Levi Savage was the 
 only one to remonstrate against attempting to reach Salt 
 Lake Valley so late in the season. He declared that it 
 would be utterly impossible to cross the mountains without 
 great suffering, and even death. 
 
 His remonstrances availed about as much my father's had 
 done in regard to their starting. He was defeated and rep- 
 rimanded very sharply for his want of faith. He replied 
 that there were cases where " common sense " was the best 
 guide, and he considered this to be one. " However," said 
 he, "seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you, will 
 help you all I can, will work with you, suffer with you, 
 and, if necessary, die with you." 
 
 Very soon after the departure of the last company of the 
 emigrants from Iowa City, my father, with the other elders, 
 started for the Valley in mule-teams, intending to return, 
 if they found it necessary, to bring succor to the poor wan- 
 dering people. In the company with my father were 
 Apostle Franklin D. Richards, and Elders W. H. Kimball, 
 G. D. Grant, Joseph A. Young, Brigham's oldest son, and 
 several others, all of whom were returning to Utah from 
 foreign missions, and all of whom had been engaged in 
 the expedition. 
 
 H 
 
2IO SHORT SUPPLY OF FOOD AND CLOTHING. 
 
 They overtook the emigrants at their camp on the North 
 Fork of the Platte River, and camped with them over 
 night. Richards was told of the opposition which Savage 
 had made, and he openly rebuked him in the morning. 
 He then informed the Saints that "though it might storm 
 on the right hand and on the left, yet the storms should not 
 reach them. The Lord would keep the way open before 
 them, and they should reach Zion in safety." It may be 
 that he believed all this nonsense himself. It is to be hoped, 
 for charity's sake, that he did. If that were the case, how- 
 ever, it is a pity that he had not been endowed with a 
 little of Levi Savage's common sense. It would have been 
 much better for the Saints than all his vaunted " spirit of 
 prophecy." 
 
 It is a significant fact, that in the very face of his proph- 
 ecy, delivered to the victims of his zeal in the cause of 
 Brigham Young, he was anxious to hasten his arrival in 
 Salt Lake in order to send assistance back to the patient 
 Hand-Cart emigrants, who, he must have seen, would soon 
 be in sore straits for food and clothing. The rations were 
 scanty, and would soon have to be lessened ; the nights 
 were chilly, and fast growing cold ; and already the seven- 
 teen pounds of bedding and clothing allowed to each one 
 were scarcely sufficient protection ; and as the season ad- 
 vanced, and they approached the mountains, it would be 
 totally inadequate. It was fortunate that they did not know 
 the climate of the country, and the terrible hardships to 
 which they were to be exposed, else their hearts \vould 
 have failed them, and they would have had no courage to 
 have recommenced the journey. My father realized it, and 
 so did most of the party with him ; yet they had no idea 
 how horrible it was to be, else they would have insisted 
 upon their remaining in camp until spring. Even the usu- 
 ally indifferent heart of Joseph A. was touched, and he 
 hurried on to impress upon his father the urgent need for 
 immediate assistance for those poor, forlorn creatures whom 
 
BRIGHAM S RESPONSIBILITY. 211 
 
 he left preparing to cross the mountains, where they would 
 of a surety meet the late autumn and early winter storms, 
 and where so many of them must of a certainty perish of 
 exposure and hunger. He had no faith in the apostolic 
 prophecy, which seemed a mockery to all those who knew 
 the hardships of the journey which lay before these faithful 
 souls before they could reach the Zion of their hopes. 
 
 My father had been four years absent from us, yet such 
 was his concern for the poor people whom he so recently 
 left, and who had been his care for so long, that he could 
 only stay to give us the most hurried greetings. His glad- 
 ness at his return, and our responsive joy, were marred by 
 the thought of the sufferings and privations of those ear- 
 nest, simple-hearted Saints, who had literally left all to fol- 
 low the beck of one whom they supposed to be the Prophet 
 of the Lord. After all these years of absence, he only 
 staid two days with us, as short a time as it could pos- 
 sibly take to get the relief-train ready with the supplies. 
 
 I think Brigham Young's heart and conscience must have 
 been touched, for he really seemed for a while to forget 
 himself in the earnestness with which he pushed forward 
 the preparations for relief. He fairly arose to the occasion, 
 and held back nothing which could contribute to the com- 
 fort and welfare of his poor, forlorn followers. Yet he was 
 only acting as both justice and decency commanded that he 
 should act. He was the cause of all this terrible suffering, 
 and he felt that he should be made answerable. Such a 
 transaction as this could by no means remain unknown. It 
 would be spread over America and Europe, and used as a 
 strong weapon against Mormonism and its leader, already 
 unpopular enough. He realized the mistake he had made 
 when too late to rectify it, and, with his usual moral cow- 
 ardice, he set about hunting for somebody on whose shoul- 
 ders to shift the blame from his own. Richards and Spen- 
 cer were the unfortunate victims, and he turned his wrath 
 against them, in private conversation and in public assem- 
 
212 SHIFTING THE BLAME. 
 
 blies, until they were nearly crushed by the weight of op- 
 probrium which he heaped upon them. He was nearly 
 beside himself with fear, of the consequences which would 
 follow, when this crowning act of selfish cupidity and ego- 
 tistical vanity and presumption should be known. Love of 
 approbation is a striking characteristic of this Latter-Day 
 Prophet, and he puffs and swells with self-importance at 
 every word he receives, even of the baldest, most insincere 
 flattery, and he cringes and crouches in as servile a man- 
 ner as a whipped cur, when any adverse criticism is passed 
 upon either his -personnel or his actions. A moral as well 
 as a physical coward, he dares not face a just opinion of 
 himself and his deeds, and he sneaks, and skulks, and 
 hides behind any one he can find who is broad enough to 
 shield him. 
 
 My father's disgust at a religion which submitted to such 
 chicanery, and his distrust of Brigham Young, were so 
 great, that he was very near apostatizing ; but my mother 
 again held him to the church. She argued and explained ; 
 she wept and she entreated, until he said no more about it. 
 But though, for her sake, he took no steps towards leaving 
 the church and renouncing the faith, he felt daily his dis- 
 gust and distrust increasing, and he never again believed 
 so strongly in the Mormon religion, and ever after regarded 
 Brigham with much less awe and respect than formerly. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BRIGHAM'S HAND-CART SCHEME, CONTINUED. FAIL- 
 URE OF THE "DIVINE PLAN." 
 
 Arrival of the First Train. Fearful Sufferings of the Emigrants. 
 Women and Girls toiling at the Carts. The Prophet's " Experi- 
 ment." Burying the Dead. Greater Mortality among the Men. 
 Arrival of Assistance. Hand-Cart Songs. Scenes in the Camp of 
 the Emigrants. How every Prophecy of the Elders was Falsified. 
 How the Tennant Family were Shamelessly Robbed. One of the 
 Vilest Swindles of the Prophet. Mr. Tennant's Unhappy Death. 
 His Wife Views the "Splendid Property " Bought from Brigham. 
 Brigham Cheats her out of her Last Dollar. She is Reduced to Ab- 
 ject Poverty. The Apostle Taylor Hastens to Zion. Richards and 
 Spencer are made Scapegoats. Brigham evades all Responsibility. 
 Utter Failure of the " Divine Plan." 
 
 
 HE first Hand-Cart Com- 
 panies, which had left 
 Iowa City early in the 
 season, arrived in the Salt 
 Lake Valley the last of 
 September. They were 
 very much fatigued, and 
 were greatly rejoiced when 
 their journey was ended. 
 
 The entire company had 
 waded every river on the 
 route to Salt Lake, and, 
 as a consequence, the 
 health of almost every 
 man and woman was com- 
 pletely broken. The married women suffered the least, as 
 they only had to assist their husbands in pulling the hand- 
 
 "SOME MUST PUSH, AND SOME MUST PULL,' 
 
214 THE CAMP OF DEATH. 
 
 carts. The young girls had to pull theirs unassisted, and 
 they were literally worn out with the exertion. The chil- 
 dren were placed on the carts when they became tired, and 
 so added weight to already overburdened wagons. It was 
 wlien the second of these companies came in that Brigham 
 Young was heard to say, as he rubbed his hands and 
 smiled with overflowing complacency, "This experiment is 
 a success." 
 
 Alas for Brother Brigham, this remark was overheard by 
 some of the emigrants, and it is needless to say that their 
 faith in "inspiration," and "revelation," was very much 
 weakened ; and the subsequent adventures of their friends 
 and companions, whose arrival had been delayed, by no 
 means tended to reassure them, or restore their waning be- 
 lief. It was enough to be the victims of a heartless and 
 mercenary experiment ; but to be deluded into the belief 
 that it was by the direct revelation of the will of the Lord 
 made it harder to bear, and there was much bitterness of 
 spirit expressed when the people who had endured so much, 
 and gloried in the endurance, because in so doing they 
 were obeying the commands of God, learned that their suf- 
 ferings were borne merely to help fill the purses of a false 
 prophet and his corrupt followers. 
 
 When the relief train reached Captain Willie's company, 
 they were camped on the Sweetwater, near the Rocky 
 Ridges. They had eaten their last provisions, and death 
 was staring them pitilessly in the face. The camp was 
 filled with dead and dying. There was no help for the 
 latter, and the poor souls had lost all desire to live. They 
 were waiting, with almost apathetic indifference, for release, 
 while those dearest to them were doubly agonized because 
 they must see the loved ones perish, and they were helpless 
 even to bring comforts to them, or make life easier while it 
 lasted. Those who were strong enough, dug one large 
 grave in which all the dead were laid together. It was 
 the best they could do ; but their hands were no less tender 
 
THE LAST, LONG SLEEP. 215 
 
 and loving, their hearts no less sore, than if the last 
 rites had been as imposing as those of royalty itself. The 
 only thing they could do to prepare their dear ones for the 
 grave was to close the eyes, the loving eyes that, to the 
 very last, had turned longingly Zion-ward ; to fold the 
 pulseless hands over the silent hearts that, through all the 
 hardships and toil, had kept their trust firm and their faith 
 bright ; to straighten out the tired feet that, bleeding and 
 
 RELIEF IN SIGHT. 
 
 sore, had yet toiled joyfully along the rugged path that led 
 to the fair Canaan of their dreams ; to smooth the tangled 
 hair away from haggard faces, where the lines of care lay 
 heavily, and yet through which the light of peace divine 
 shone serene and pure ; to arrange as decently as possi- 
 ble the tattered garments, which were their only clothing 
 for the tomb, and to lay them, coffinless, in their cold bed 
 in the Rocky Mountains, in their last, long sleep ; then to 
 
2l6 STARVATION BEATEN AWAY. 
 
 go away and leave them there, with the relentless winter 
 storms beating upon them, and no stone to mark their rest- 
 ing-place. The road from Winter-Quarters to Salt Lake 
 was a via dolor osa indeed. 
 
 Thirteen had died in Willie's camp the day that succor 
 reached them ; two more died the next day ; and all were 
 buried in one grave. The men succumbed to death before 
 the women. The cause, no doubt, was the greater weari- 
 ness on account of their more arduous exertions, and their 
 wonderful self-denial for the sake of their wives and chil- 
 dren. They would work just so long as they could, then 
 fall dead in front of their carts, their hands still holding 
 them tight in the tenacious grasp of death. There \vas no 
 time for mourning or delay. Hurried graves were dug, 
 and the bodies placed therein, hastily covered, then the 
 survivors must press on again. ' Wives left their husbands, 
 husbands their wives, parents their children, and children 
 their parents, under the frozen earth of the desert and 
 mountain ridges. 
 
 When the poor Saints knew that assistance had really 
 reached them, that starvation was beaten away and death 
 held at bay, their joy knew no bounds. They cried like 
 children, men as well as women, and burst forth into prayer 
 and songs of praise. They attacked the food like famished 
 animals, and ate it with a wolfish greed. The scene is one 
 that can never be adequately described. It was full of a 
 terrible pathos. It told of a suffering that never can be 
 comprehended except by those who endured it. The 
 clothing and bedding were then divided between them, and 
 they were made comfortable as they could be under the 
 circumstances. That night, for the first time for many 
 weeks, the sounds of rejoicing were heard through the 
 camp. They were not forgotten of the Lord, nor deserted 
 by his people ; and again they found heart to sing their 
 hand-cart hymns which had been written for them by some 
 enthusiastic members of the train. 
 
THE HAND-CART SONGS. 2 17 
 
 Contrast one of their songs, if you please, with the situa- 
 tion when relief from Salt Lake reached them : 
 
 " We're going to Zion with our carts, 
 And the Spirit of God within our hearts ; 
 The old, decrepit, feeble dame 
 Will lend a hand to pull the same ; 
 
 For some must push and some must pull, 
 As we go marching up the hill, 
 Until we reach the Valley, O ! 
 
 " Our maidens, they will dance and sing, 
 Our young men happier be than kings, 
 Our strength increasing every day, 
 As we go travelling up the way. 
 
 Yes, some must push and some must pull, 
 As we go marching up the hill, 
 Until we reach the Valley, O ! " 
 
 Rough in phraseology, and rude in structure, it yet 
 shows the spirit which animated the converts when they 
 first started on their pilgrimage to the promised land. 
 Another favorite song had a stirring chorus, as follows : 
 
 " Hurrah for the camp of Israel ! 
 
 Hurrah for the Hand-Cart scheme ! 
 Hurrah ! hurrah ! 'tis better far 
 Than the wagon and ox-team." 
 
 In this song the " divine plan " was extolled with all the 
 enthusiastic fervor with which it was first expounded to 
 them by the elders in England. It is needless to say that 
 these songs were written in the first glow of the furor, be- 
 fore any of the hardships even of the sea-voyage had been 
 encountered. They were not sung after the first encounter 
 with a mountain storm ; that took the heart out of them. 
 Even in the rejoicing at their deliverance, they sang only 
 the hymns, making no attempt even to revive the spirit of 
 the hand-cart songs. 
 
2l8 TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS. 
 
 After seeing Captain Willie's company made comforta- 
 ble, the relief train started east again in search of Captain 
 Martin's company. This they found in camp at Grease 
 Wood Creek, twenty miles from Willie's camp. The suf- 
 fering in this company was quite equal to that of the com- 
 pany just relieved, and precisely the same scenes were en- 
 acted. They were wild with joy, and men and women fell 
 on the necks of their deliverers with sobs and kisses, call- 
 ing them their saviours, and invoking blessings of all kinds 
 on their heads. 
 
 The camp was filled with dead and dying, and many had 
 been left behind that day, having fallen exhausted in the 
 way. The storm had been blinding, and their companions 
 could not stop for them ; they could only hasten on while 
 daylight lasted, making their slow, painful progress to- 
 wards the haven of their rest. My father and his com- 
 rades spent the night in searching for those that were left 
 behind, and bringing them into camp, where they were 
 tenderly cared for. Many of them died very soon after 
 being brought in ; others lived, but they were maimed for 
 life, feet and hands, in many cases, having been literally 
 frozen off. This was the people, "the chosen people of 
 God, for whose benefit the Indians, the seasons, nay, the 
 very elements themselves, should be controlled." Their 
 belief in " prophecy " must have been severely tried by 
 this shock. 
 
 Everything had happened to them to make their journey 
 hard. Their carts had broken down repeatedly, as my 
 father had prophesied they would, and a great deal of de- 
 lay had been caused by the frequent stopping for repairs ; 
 their cattle had stampeded, so that their supply of milk and 
 fresh beef was cut off, and only oxen enough left to allow 
 one yoke to a team ; some of the men who dropped behind 
 the others, wearied with the journey, were eaten by wolves ; 
 very many had died, and others were hopelessly crippled ; 
 the winter had set in earlier, and with severer storms than 
 
EATEN BY THE WOLVES. 
 
 have ever been known in all the Utah experience. It seemed 
 as if the Lord were punishing priest and people, the one for 
 the audacious assumption of power, the other for blind belief 
 in, and dependence on, earthly promises, even when pur- 
 porting to come from Him. Blasphemous presumption and 
 foolish ignorance were alike hateful in His sight. 
 
 Richards had promised the people that they should find 
 supplies at Laramie, but he was unable to reach there with 
 them, and on their arrival the Saints found only a message 
 telling them that the supplies would be at South Pass. It 
 was with heavy hearts that they went on their toilsome way, 
 more discouraged than ever they had been before. The 
 swift-falling winter storms made matters worse, and it is 
 only a wonder that so many survived as did, that every 
 one did not perish before aid could reach them. 
 
 The day after reaching Martin's camp, the party from 
 Salt Lake pushed on about thirty miles farther east, walk- 
 ing most of the way, through a blinding snow, to meet 
 Captain Hunt's wagon train. They found the people con- 
 nected with this but very little better off than the Hand-Cart 
 companies ; they were suffering severely from the intense 
 cold, and many had their limbs frozen. Captain Hunt 
 might have hastened and reached Salt Lake City earlier, 
 but he had been expressly forbidden to pass the hand-carts, 
 which shows conclusively enough that those very persons 
 who sent the emigrants off at that unfavorable season feared 
 for the results. This was the last company that was to be 
 relieved, and so my father and his companions remained 
 with the train until it overtook the hand-carts at Devil's 
 Gate. 
 
 At this point the train was unloaded, and all the goods 
 which were going to Salt Lake City, that*could actually be 
 spared, were left there for the winter, and the wagons were 
 filled with the sick and feeble emigrants, who could never 
 have reached the Valley but for this aid. The progress 
 was necessarily slow, but the people were so much more 
 
22O ANOTHER PROPHETIC BLUNDER. 
 
 comfortable that the time did not drag so heavily. There 
 were very few deaths after the mountains were well crossed, 
 and a milder climate reached, and those who were ill grew 
 better, although the majority of them have never been well 
 since. 
 
 At Fort Bridger, one hundred and thirty miles from Salt 
 Lake City, the emigrants were met by an order from Brig- 
 ham Young to winter there and .at Fort Supply. A gen- 
 eral feeling of dismay spread over the camp, in spite of the 
 joy with which the Saints received the added supplies of 
 food and clothing. To be so near their destination, and 
 yet to be kept from it, seemed doubly hard, after all the 
 sorrow and hardships they had met and endured on their 
 way. It did indeed seem as though the way to the land of 
 promise was closed, instead of being opened to them. Were 
 they, like Moses of old, to die in sight of their Canaan? 
 Had they been brought all this way only to perish just out- 
 side the walls of their Zion? 
 
 The places designated by Brigham were totally unfit to 
 winter in. Should the poor Saints, in their feeble and 
 emaciated condition, attempt it, it was more than likely 
 that they would perish before spring. Seeing the utter im- 
 practicability of the plan, and touched by the distress of 
 the poor people, who were again to be made the victims 
 of a prophetic blunder, two or three of the relieving party, 
 among them my father, came at once to the city, travelling 
 day and night, to have arrangements made to bring them 
 to the Valley. 
 
 They were successful in their mission, and an express 
 was at once despatched to bring the waiting Saints home. 
 When at length they arrived, they were met with gladness, 
 and given the warmest welcome. The people in Salt Lake 
 City opened their houses to them, and took them gladly in, 
 giving them the best and the kindest care. Those of 
 the Hand-Cart companies, who had come in first, crowded 
 round them, and met them with tears of rejoicing, in which 
 
MEETING OF HAND-CART COMPANIES. 221 
 
 sorrow mingled. It was then that they began to realize 
 their loss. As one after another of their old companions 
 came up, and missing some familiar face, inquired for the 
 friend so dearly beloved, always the same sad answer came 
 " Died on the Plains." Sixty-seven were left on th^ way 
 from the Missouri River to the Valley, which was about 
 one sixth of the number which started. 
 
 I remember distinctly when these companies came in ; 
 their wretched condition impressed me at the time, and 
 I have seen many of them since, poor crippled crea- 
 tures, stumping about the city, trying to do enough work 
 
 ARRIVAL OF "HAND-CART COMPANIES" AT SALT LAKE CITY. 
 
 to keep soul and body together ; more than that, they were 
 not able to do. I have heard, too, from some of them, the 
 most harrowing stories of their journey, that terrible, fatal 
 journey, which was one of the very worst blunders that the 
 Prince of Blunderers, Brigham Young, ever made. 
 
 The recollection is made more vivid because my young- 
 est brother, Edward, who went out with a team to assist the 
 emigrants, got lost in the snow, and for a week we 
 supposed him to be dead. After wandering for some days 
 in the mountains, with both feet badly frozen, he was 
 found by a mountaineer named Battiste, who kept him, 
 
222 THE PROPHET S DISINTERESTED GENEROSITY. 
 
 and cared for him most kindly, until the arrival of my 
 father, who had heard, while with the train, that he was 
 missing, and had gone at once in search of him. It was a 
 narrow escape, and the terrible expedition came near prov- 
 ing a tragedy to us as well as to so many others. 
 
 Among the emigrants was a very wealthy gentleman of 
 the name of Tennant. He and his wife were among the 
 early converts, and were very earnest Mormons. They had 
 for a long time been resolved to come to Zion, and when 
 the Hand-Cart scheme was introduced they decided to join 
 that company. Humble followers of Christ, they thought 
 they could in no better way show their love for Him and 
 their devotion to their religion, than by such an act of self- 
 sacrifice as this. Possessed of ample means to have crossed 
 the ocean and travelled in the most comfortable and even 
 luxurious manner, they nevertheless chose to go in this 
 way, with the poorest of the Saints, and share with them all 
 the hardships and dangers which should attend this toil- 
 some, perilous journey. 
 
 Mr. Tennant gave liberally to the emigration fund, in 
 order that as many poor Saints as possible might make the 
 long-anticipated pilgrimage to Zion, and both himself and 
 his wife provided liberally for the comfort of their poor fel- 
 low-travellers. A short time before the emigrant company 
 left England, the Apostle Richards, in one of his eloquent 
 dissertations on the "plan " and its divine origin, said that in 
 order to assist the poor to emigrate, President Young had 
 given to the Emigration Fund Society an estate in Salt Lake 
 City, to be sold for its benefit. He dilated largely upon the 
 disinterested generosity of the Prophet, and his desire that 
 as many as possible of his faithful followers should be gath- 
 ered to Zion during that season. Fired by this act of 
 extreme kindness on the part of his revered leader in the 
 church, Mr. Tennant at once bought the property, and paid, 
 it is said, thirty thousand dollars down for it. There is 
 little need, perhaps, of saying that that was immensely more 
 
SAD DEATH OF MR. TENNANT. 223 
 
 than its real value ; but that fact its purchaser was not aware 
 of, as it was glorified by all the apostolic eloquence be- 
 stowed upon it, quite beyond recognition. 
 
 On the voyage, and during the journey across the States, 
 and the tiresome waiting time at Iowa City, no one was 
 more beloved than Mr. Tennant and his gentle, estimable 
 wife. Sharing alike with the poorer Saints, no word of 
 complaint ever passed their lips. They never for a moment 
 seemed to regret their decision to emigrate at this particular 
 time, but accepted every fresh hardship as a trial to their 
 faith, sent by God Himself to test them, and prove their 
 worthiness to enter His glorious kingdom on earth. They 
 moved among their companions with kindly faces and words 
 of cheer and comfort. They encouraged endurance by their 
 example, and made the forced discomforts of some of the 
 party seem easier to bear by their voluntary assumption of 
 them. As far as they could they alleviated the distress 
 which prevailed, and were always ready to perform any 
 deeds of kindness. 
 
 The journey with the hand-carts was doubly hard for 
 them, unused as they were to exertion; and day after day 
 the wife saw the husband slowly succumbing to fatigue and 
 disease, and she powerless to assist him. But, though his 
 strength waned and his health failed him, yet his courage 
 and his faith remained steadfast and fixed. Whatever came 
 he believed would surely be right, and though he struggled 
 manfully to keep up until he should reach Zion, yet he was 
 overcome, and died at O'Fallon's Bluffs, literally of ex- 
 haustion. His last thought was for his sorrowing wife, and 
 his last word was of comfort and consolation to her. He 
 had one thought to make the parting easier he had pro- 
 vided a home for her in Zion ; Brother Brigham held it in 
 trust for her, and she would find the comforts to which she 
 was used, and rest and peace in the Valley with the chosen 
 people. 
 
 The bereaved wife clung wildly to her husband's remains, 
 
224 A VILE SWINDLE BY BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 with the most heart-broken lamentations. To have him die 
 was a misery in itself; but to see the slow, cruel torture 
 which he underwent, and to watch him slowly dying such a 
 horrible death, was almost unbearable. For a time it 
 seemed almost as though she must be left there with him ; 
 that her soul would follow his. Happier would it have been 
 for her had that fate been hers. The cold earth and pitiless 
 winter storms would not be so cold and so pitiless as the 
 world was to her, after this loving protecting arm was taken 
 from her. A woman, unused to toil and hardship, nur- 
 tured in luxury, reared in tenderness and love, she was left 
 alone to battle single-handed with the world. And such a 
 world ! whose ruling passion was avarice, and whose de- 
 light waS another's torture; the world of Mormon Saint- 
 hood ruled over by a grasping, lecherous, heartless tyrant, 
 who laughed at a woman's sorrows and flouted at her 
 
 o 
 
 wrongs. I think if she had known all that was to follow, 
 she would have lain down on the plain by the side of her 
 dead husband, and endured the torture of a horrible, slow 
 death, rather than have gone on to the years of suffering 
 which lay before her. 
 
 It is fortunate, indeed, that the future is so closely veiled 
 to us ; else we should all lose heart and courage in this un- 
 equal struggle called life, and lay down our weapons, con- 
 vinced that it is of no use to struggle longer. Providence 
 deals wisely with us, after all, and we are forced to admit it 
 at every step of our lives. 
 
 The hurried funeral rites were over, and the man who had 
 been so great a benefactor to the people among whom he 
 had cast his lot, was left sleeping his last sleep in a strange 
 land, and the sorrowing party resumed their weary way, 
 saddened by this affliction. On the arrival at Salt Lake 
 Mrs. Tennant at once proceeded to look after her property. 
 The " magnificent estate " for which her husband had paid 
 so fabulous a price, was a small wooden house, inconvenient 
 
DISGRACED FOR LIFE. 225 
 
 and out of repair, and worth not a tenth part of what had 
 been paid for it. 
 
 She was shocked and troubled at what seemed such a 
 piece of swindling on the part of the President and the 
 church authorities, although at first she was inclined to ex- 
 onerate Brigham Young and blame Apostle Richards for 
 misrepresentation ; but an audience with Brigham soon con- 
 vinced her that he was at the bottom of the whole affair, 
 and she felt bitterly enough towards the man who, under the 
 guise of religious benevolence, would be guilty of such a 
 piece of trickery. Even this poor shelter was not left her 
 very long. The place, and, indeed, most of the valuable 
 things which her husband had sent to make their home in 
 Zion more comfortable, were taken for tithing and on other 
 pretences, and in a very few months this woman was com- 
 pelled to go out to daily labor to earn her bread, her rightful 
 property going to fill the already overflowing coffers of the 
 " Prophet of the Lord." Indeed, the entire Hand-Cart expe- 
 dition was a good speculation for the President, and helped 
 replenish the prophetic pocket. 
 
 There is no doubt that Young did repent of this foolish 
 step of his, but it was not at all on account of the suffering 
 and misery which he entailed upon so many innocent per- 
 sons, but because he knew that an act of that kind, becoming 
 public, would make him and his religion more unpopular 
 than ever, and they were already in sufficiently bad odor 
 with the outside world. He could ill afford to make such a 
 blunder. It would also work against his influence with the 
 Saints themselves, and he was always jealous of his author- 
 ity over his people. 
 
 The Apostle John Taylor arrived home before either 
 Apostle Richards or Elder Spenser, and he, as a matter of 
 course, told his own story, throwing all the blame upon his 
 two co-workers, so that when they arrived they found the full 
 torrent of the Presidential wrath turned against them. They 
 were sadly hurt, for, in their zeal to carry out instructions 
 15 
 
226 RICHARDS RESTORED TO FAVOR. 
 
 and gain the approbation of their leader, they had, they 
 affirmed, all through the affair, acted against the dictates 
 of humanity and their own consciences. 
 
 He was loud in his denunciations of them ; he cursed 
 them " in the name of Israel's God ; " he ridiculed them in 
 public until they were compelled to hide their heads in very 
 shame. Their sole fault was, they had been too faithful to 
 him. Spenser never recovered from the disgrace ; he always 
 remained a broken-down, helpless man, seeking no favor, 
 expecting none, not even decent treatment, from his master, 
 until, after lingering for ten years under the prophetic ban, 
 he died heart-broken. Richards has, in a degree, overcome 
 the President's feeling towards him, and is gaining favor 
 all the time, but he will never stand as high as he did before 
 this most unfortunate exhibition. The people will never 
 forget his share in it, and those who came to Zion, influ- 
 enced by his eloquent appeals and encouraged by his 
 prophecies, associate him naturally enough with that unhap- 
 py experience. Then, although Brigham Young has par- 
 tially restored him to favor by certain acts and kindnesses 
 granted to him, yet he has never taken back any of the 
 anathemas which he showered upon him, and they are by 
 no means forgotten by those who heard them, and have a 
 certain influence even now in forming public opinion. 
 
 Notwithstanding the terrible consequences of this " divine 
 plan," its originator did not wish to acknowledge that he 
 had in any way been mistaken. The plan, he argued, was 
 all right ; it only went wrong through mismanagement, and 
 he would prove its feasibility to the satisfaction of every 
 Saint in the Territory. The plan was "divine," and he 
 would "sanctify it to the glory of the Lord." 
 
 So in the April following he sent a company of elders on 
 a mission, compelling them to go with hand-carts. These 
 were properly made, of good material, strongly finished, 
 with iron tires, and everything to make them durable. They 
 had plenty of provisions ; so they would not be reduced to 
 
A MISERABLE FAILURE. 227 
 
 the necessity of eating their own shoes nor biting their own 
 flesh in the mad frenzy of starvation, as many a poor fellow 
 did in the expedition whose " divinity " they were sent out to 
 prove. The season was favorable, and there was no danger 
 of their being overtaken by terrible mountain storms, under- 
 neath which they would be buried. They were all robust 
 young men, too ; better fitted to endure a journey like the 
 one ordained for them by their Prophet, than the feeble old 
 men and women, the young wives, mothers, and maidens, 
 and the tiny, toddling children, who formed a great portion 
 of the other company. Then they started fresh, not wearied 
 already by a rough sea-voyage, a journey thousands of 
 miles across the Continent, to the final starting-point, nor 
 reduced by hunger and exposure. They had the advan- 
 tage in everything, and yet, although their expedition was 
 by no means fatal, it was very far from being a " success," 
 such as Brigham expected it to be. 
 
 On his way to Chicago my father overtook them at Devil's 
 Gate. He found them completely jaded and worn out. In 
 truth, they were almost dead from weariness. They trav- 
 elled slowly, making long stops to rest, and finally they 
 reached the Missouri River in a perfect state of exhaustion. 
 They left their carts there with the utmost willingness, 
 showing wonderful alacrity at abandoning a "divine" 
 scheme. To this day they all aver they cannot bear to hear 
 the word w Hand-cart " mentioned. It was the last time the 
 " experiment " was tried, and after this but little was said 
 regarding the divine origin of the plan ; and it is a signifi- 
 cant fact that no one has preserved more utter silence on 
 the subject than the " Revelator," Brigham Young. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS' MASSACRE. " VENGEANCE 
 IS MINE: I WILL REPAY." 
 
 The Results of the Reformation. The Story of a Fiendish Deed. 
 The People's Mouths Closed. How the Dreadful Crime was Hushed 
 Up. Judge Cradlebaugh's Efforts to Unravel the Mystery. Who 
 weie the Guilty Ones ? The Emigrants on the Way to Utah. The 
 People Forbidden to sell them Food. They Arrive at Salt Lake City. 
 
 Ordered to Break Camp. In need of Supplies. Who was Ac- 
 countable ? Why the Mormons hated the Emigrants. The Story of 
 Parley P. Pratt. How he Seduced McLean's Wife. Their Journey 
 to Cedar City. Hungry and Weary, but still Pressing On. They 
 Reach the Mountain Meadows. Attacked by "the Indians." The 
 Emigrants Besieged. Dying of Thirst. Two little Girls shot by the 
 Mormons. An Appeal for Help. The Last Hope of the Besieged. 
 
 Waiting for Death. 
 
 F all the numberless atroci- 
 ties that succeeded the Utah 
 Reformation, and were the 
 direct outgrowth of the 
 teaching of the revolting 
 doctrine of the "Blood- 
 Atonement," nothing ap- 
 proaches in fiendish bar- 
 barity the Massacre at the 
 Mountain Meadows, where, 
 on the i yth of September, 
 1857, a company of emi- 
 grants from Arkansas and 
 Missouri, on their way to 
 California, were assassinat- 
 ed in the most cruel and treacherous manner, by a band of 
 disguised Mormons and Indians, under the leadership of 
 officers of the Mormon militia. 
 
 Nearly eighteen years have passed, and until within a 
 
A HORRIBLE DEED OF BLOOD. 229 
 
 comparatively short time, little has been definitely known 
 concerning the details of the massacre, either by the Gen- 
 tile world, or by the mass of the Mormon people, who, to 
 give them the justice which they deserve, would have 
 shrunk with horror from the very idea that the commission 
 of the terrible deed could be laid to the charge of their be- 
 loved church. 
 
 I was but a child at the time, but I recollect, perfectly, 
 hearing that an emigrant-train had been attacked by the 
 Indians, and all members of the band, w r ith the exception 
 of a few of the smaller children, killed ; and I remember, 
 also, seeing these children, who were said to have been 
 taken from their Indian captors by Mormon officers, and 
 were to be cared for by the Mormon people. I suppose 
 the remembrance is the more vivid because, before their 
 arrival in Utah, the people were forbidden by Brigham 
 Young and his elders to sell them anything during their 
 journey through the Territory, and this was so unusual a 
 command that it was a matter of wondering conjecture to 
 most of the Mormons, although no one dreamed of ques- 
 tioning the justice of the Prophet's mandate. 
 
 Young as I was, I felt the mystery that shrouded the whole 
 horrible transaction, and I knew instinctively, as did many 
 others, that something was being hidden from the mass of 
 the people, by their leaders, which it was not deemed pru- 
 dent to reveal ; but the terrible truth was not then even 
 suspected by the faithful Saints. I can understand now, 
 as I could not then, why all wonder concerning this whole- 
 sale murder was speedily hushed up ; why any definite 
 mention of it was avoided by the leaders in the church; 
 why, when it was spoken of at all, it was with cautious 
 manner, apprehensive glances, and in whispered tones 
 under the breath. Priests and people alike hesitated to 
 approach the dreaded subject, and there was an almost su- 
 perhuman endeavor on the part of the church authorities 
 to erase all remembrance of it from the minds of their fol- 
 
230 
 
 lowers. But occurrences of this kind are not easily for- 
 gotten, and the memory of that bloody and unprovoked 
 butchery is still fresh in other minds besides my own, re- 
 tained there so distinctly that neither time nor eternity can 
 obliterate it. The very mystery which veiled it made it 
 more awful to me, an imaginative, excitable child; and 
 though I followed the example of my elders, and never 
 spoke of the subject, even to my mother, it haunted me 
 perpetually, and I grew absolutely terrified at the con- 
 stantly recurring fancies which I drew of it. 
 
 Although the people were so quiet, since there was a 
 tacit understanding that they must be so, yet their eyes nor 
 ears were never closed, and thought was by no means idle. 
 Indeed, as the years have rolled on, what was at first a 
 vague suspicion, which it seemed a sin to entertain, has 
 grown to a horrible certainty, until to-day it stands forth, 
 stripped of all its first mystery, fearfully vivid in its mon- 
 strosity, the foulest of all the foul blots upon the unclean 
 page of Mormon history. It was a deed unparalleled in its 
 atrocity ; unapproachable in the treachery employed by its 
 perpetrators ; more horrible in its sickening details than 
 the butcheries by the most barbarous savages ; the work 
 of fiends rather than of men ; and yet so successful has 
 been the "quiet" policy of the Mormon leaders, that I find 
 the extent of its horrors but dimly understood east of the 
 Rocky Mountains. 
 
 Attempts were made by Judge Cradlebaugh to discover 
 the perpetrators, and, above all, the instigators of this deed, 
 and bring them speedily to justice ; but with a Mormon 
 jury, blinded by their bigotry, who were taught from the 
 pulpit that allegiance to the church and Brigham Young 
 was paramount to all their duties and obligations to the 
 government of the United States, whose citizens they 
 claimed to be, that perjury to that government would be 
 forgiven by the priesthood, indeed was counselled by it, 
 and that no Mormon was to be delivered over to Gentile 
 
WHO ORDERED THE MASSACRE? 23! 
 
 justice, no matter what his crime might have been, nor 
 how distinctly it was proved, it followed naturally enough 
 that the efforts, earnest and untiring as they were, were 
 utterly fruitless. 
 
 Judge Cradlebaugh's last attempt to ferret out the affair 
 was made in 1859 ; and since that time no action has been 
 taken by the government until last autumn, when the long- 
 smothered suspicion broke forth into audible accusations, 
 and in this new burst of popular demand for justice, the 
 supposed leaders were arrested. I inadvertently said " sup- 
 posed " leaders ; but it has been shown beyond the possibility 
 of a doubt that John D. Lee, a major in the Mormon mili- 
 tia, and one of the most active and zealous of Brigham 
 Young's devoted adherents, led the attack in person ; that 
 many of the victims fell by his hand ; and that he, assisted 
 by Bishop Haight and the notorious Dame, acted under 
 instructions from "# higher authority" The plans of 
 massacre were fully matured, at a council held at Parowan, 
 by Brigadier-General George A. Smith, first counsellor to 
 Brigham, and a fit servant for such a master, Colonel Wil- 
 liam C. Dame, Bishop of Fillmore, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Haight, President of the Cedar City " Stake of Zion," 
 Bishop Higbee, and John D. Lee. 
 
 Of all these men, Lee, who is now under arrest, has 
 been the most closely identified with the massacre, in the 
 public mind, until he has grown to be an object of popular 
 aversion, shunned and dreaded. It may seem childish, 
 but so strong a hold had this affair taken on my imagina- 
 tion, that I have never been able to shake off the feeling 
 of terror with which it filled me ; and when, last autumn, I 
 was told of his arrest, and knew that he was safe inside 
 prison walls, I positively experienced a feeling of relief 
 and personal safety, as great as though some enemy of my 
 own had been rendered powerless to harm me. I had 
 never even seen the man ; but knowing the record of his 
 crimes, and always hearing of him in connection with 
 
232 THE BEGINNING OF A TERRIBLE STORY. 
 
 some deed of bloody brutality, my horror and fear of him 
 never diminished, and he remained, what he had always 
 been, the ogre of my childish fancies. 
 
 It is a horrible story, sickening in its every detail : but it 
 cannot be told too often, until it shall be known all over the 
 country by every person who is ignorant of it now. 
 
 It was early in September, 1857, when it was first an- 
 nounced in Salt Lake City that a large emigrant party from 
 Missouri and Arkansas had entered the Valley on their way 
 to California. As soon as the announcement was made, a 
 command was issued by the President of the church, that 
 nothing was to be sold to any member of this party, on the 
 pain of death. The command was most arbitrary, and was 
 totally without precedent, showing beyond a doubt the ani- 
 mus of Brigham Young towards this party, and rendering 
 it much easier to believe that the terrible tragedy which fol- 
 lowed was approved, if not instigated, by him. 
 
 Salt Lake had been for a long time the depot for obtain- 
 ing fresh supplies prior to crossing the deserts which sepa- 
 rated Utah and California. Every emigrant train which had 
 crossed the plains for some years, had made this a resting- 
 place, and taken a fresh start from here for the remainder 
 of the tedious journey. Much money was left in this way 
 in the Mormon country, and, as usual, Brigham Young got 
 his, the "lion's share," of all the profits. 
 
 This train, like all that had gone before it, had laid their 
 plans to supply themselves for their journey at Salt Lake 
 City, and had only brought a sufficient quantity of provis- 
 ions to last them until they reached that point. Greatly to 
 their surprise, they found themselves unable to purchase 
 anything, and, in addition, were peremptorily ordered to 
 break their camp at Salt Lake and move on. All through 
 the country of the Saints they were met with sturdy refusals 
 to sell them anything. Men who would gladly have placed 
 a quantity of provisions at their disposal dared not do it, 
 fearing to disobey their Prophet's mandate. In vain the 
 
WHY WAS BRIGHAM YOUNG SILENT? 233 
 
 emigrants offered them money, wagons, personal property 
 of all kinds. Brigham's law was not to be broken, and the 
 person who should venture to disregard it pronounced his 
 own death sentence. Now and then, however, one more 
 humane or more daring than the rest, came to the camp 
 at night with a small amount of provisions all they could 
 bring without danger of detection ; but what was this little 
 to one hundred and fifty hungry men and women, to say 
 nothing of the little children who were to be fed? It might 
 have met a present want, but it did nothing towards pro- 
 viding for future needs. Starvation was staring them in the 
 face while they were journeying in the midst of plenty, for 
 it is a notorious fact that the harvests never were more 
 plentiful in Utah than they were that year. 
 
 Whatever may have been Brigham Young's connection 
 with the massacre itself, whether it was done at his insti- 
 gation or merely with his connivance, he was, to all in- 
 tents and purposes, the murderer of these people, and 
 should be held responsible for their lives. What right had 
 he, the governor of the Territory of Utah, appointed to office 
 by the United States Government, amenable to its laws as a 
 citizen, much more so as an office-holder, bound by an oath 
 of loyalty to protect every person within the limits of his 
 territory, to refuse food to peaceful, law-abiding citizens of 
 the same government, knowing, as he did, that here was 
 their only opportunity to obtain it, and that certain death 
 was their fate if compelled to cross the desert with the scanty 
 rations which remained to them ? 
 
 The treatment of these people from the moment of enter- 
 ing Brigham Young's dominions until the final tragedy, was 
 so barbarous, and attended with so many horrors, that the 
 Mormon people, contrary to their usual custom, feel obliged 
 to offer some excuse in extenuation. But all the reasons 
 which they give, when combined, are entirely insufficient to 
 justify the deed. Yet, such as they are, they shall be 
 given. 
 
234 LONGING FOR THE SPOIL OF THE SLAIN. 
 
 The "Reformation" was over, and the doctrine of the 
 "Blood-Atonement" was still in full force. Young and his 
 confederates were infuriated because United States troops 
 were ordered to Utah. They considered this act of the gov- 
 ernment an open insult, and they revenged it on the first Gen- 
 tiles whom they could reach. The train was one of the 
 largest and richest that had ever crossed the plains. The 
 value of their wagons, horses, and stock alone was said to 
 be $300,000, and the women of the party had rich, full 
 wardrobes and elegant, costly jewelry. Brigham, as you 
 have seen, ignores the tenth commandment, and the sixth 
 is a dead-letter to him ; to covet his neighbors' goods is to 
 possess them in some way or other, either honestly or other- 
 wise, generally otherwise. 
 
 A part of the emigrants were from Missouri, and the 
 Mormon people will never regard the Missourians in any 
 other light than that of the bitterest enemies. They had 
 never, in all the years, forgotten the persecution which they 
 received at their hands, and Joseph Smith's death they con- 
 sidered unavenged. It was reported that in the train was 
 a man who had openly boasted of having been present at 
 the assassination of Smith, and that he as openly threatened 
 to take the life of the present prophet. This story is gener- 
 ally believed to be utterly without foundation, circulated by 
 the Mormon leaders to stir up the wrath of the people 
 against the emigrants, and to exonerate themselves, if their 
 share in the slaughter of these people should ever become 
 known. The Arkansas members of the train, also, were 
 objects of Mormon vengeance. Parley P. Pratt, one of 
 the twelve apostles, and also one of the brightest intellect- 
 ual lights in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, was 
 sent on a mission to California, where he proselyted with 
 such vigor that many converts were made ; among them a 
 Mrs. Eleanor McLean, wife of one Hector McLean, and 
 the mother of three children, who was induced to embrace 
 Mormonism and polygamy as embodied in the person of the 
 
APOSTLE PRATT SEDUCES MRS. McLEAX. 235 
 
 seductive apostle. The command to "leave all and follow 
 me " was readily obeyed, especially as she was personally 
 to add to the missionary's 
 present pleasure and future 
 glory, by becoming one of his 
 numerous plural wives. 
 
 As there was no authority 
 to marry them in a " legal " 
 manner in this Gentile state, 
 they were obliged to defer 
 that ceremony until their ar- 
 rival in " Zion." But in cases 
 like this, which were often 
 occurring to the missionary 
 
 . , ., . j , ., PARLEY P. PRATT. 
 
 oamts, it was considered quite 
 
 proper for the pair, who were in haste to wed, to " covenant 
 together," and thereafter to be regarded as man and wife, 
 without ministerial or judicial aid, until such time as they 
 could celebrate their nuptials in the presence of saintly 
 witnesses, and after the true saintly fashion. This cov- 
 enant the Apostle Pratt and Mrs. McLean were not slow 
 to make. 
 
 The news soon reached the husband that his wife was 
 going to Utah with the Mormon Elder, and intended taking 
 the children with her. This last design McLean frus- 
 trated by sending them to some relatives in one of the 
 Southern States. He then informed his wife that she was 
 at liberty to go where she chose, but that she must go alone, 
 as he had placed the children beyond her reach. 
 
 She came to Utah, and immediately on her arrival was 
 sealed to Parley, after having lived under a covenant with 
 him for months. The mother-heart, however, yearned 
 for her children ; neither her new religion nor the fractional 
 part of an apostle could fill the void left by the separation 
 from them, and she determined to gain possession of them 
 and bring them also to Utah. After much entreating, she 
 
236 THE ADULTERESS STEALS HER CHILDREN. 
 
 succeeded in inducing her new husband to go to the States 
 with her for the purpose of finding them. She went alone 
 to the place where her children were at school, leaving 
 Pratt in Arkansas, which, by the way, was her husband's 
 home. On reaching the town where her children were, 
 she was obliged to assume a disguise, as McLean was 
 there, having followed his children from California. She 
 used every stratagem to obtain them, but only succeeded in 
 cany ing away one. She quickly made her way with him 
 to Arkansas, and joined Parley, who was awaiting her there. 
 Together they started to return to Utah, but were overtaken 
 by McLean, who, maddened by the breaking up of his 
 home, the seduction of his wife, and the abduction of his 
 child, determined to wreak summary vengeance on the man 
 who, under the guise of religion, and in the name of the 
 Lord, whom he constantly blasphemed by taking His holy 
 name upon his polluted lips, had wrecked his whole life's 
 happiness. 
 
 Being examined before a magistrate, Mrs. McLean Pratt 
 assumed all the responsibility of the abduction of the chil- 
 dren, and the Apostle was honorably discharged. His 
 friends, however, apprehended danger, and advised him to 
 escape, if he could, for McLean was a violent man. They 
 also offered him a couple of revolvers for his defence. 
 
 The Apostle fled, but McLean was on his trail. At 
 length the wronged husband came within sight of his ene- 
 my, and pursued him like the avenger of blood. Pratt 
 left the public road, endeavoring to reach a house not far 
 distant; but McLean was too swift for him. Following 
 him closely, with revolver drawn, he fired at the saintly 
 seducer, but failed to touch him. Furious at Pratt's escape, 
 McLean urged forward his horse, and, as he passed his 
 enemy, made a lunge with his bowie-knife, and gave him a 
 fatal thrust in his side. The wounded man fell from his 
 horse instantly, and McLean fired again at the guilty 
 wretch as he lay bleeding on the ground, and the ball pen- 
 etrated his breast. 
 
DEATH OF THE ADULTERER, P. P. PRATT. 
 
 237 
 
 The bloody deed performed, McLean returned to Fort 
 Smith, walked through the town with his friends, and in 
 the evening took the passing steamer for the South. He 
 took his child and left the mother to return to Utah, now 
 
 ASSASSINATION OF PARLEY P. PRATT. 
 
 doubly widowed and childless. The people of Arkansas 
 upheld McLean, and it was considered that he had only 
 done his duty in ridding the world of such a wolf in sheep's 
 clothing. 
 
 But the Mormons were deeply infuriated ; they held every 
 Arkansas man personally responsible for the murder of 
 their Apostle, whom they at once canonized as saint, and 
 worshipped as martyr, and whose name, to this day, is 
 spoken with reverence by them ; and the fact that any of 
 these emigrants were from that state, gave them, as they 
 thought, an opportunity of revenging Pratt's death, at the 
 same time that they avenged the murder of their Prophet. 
 Many of them, too, were from the immediate neighborhood 
 where McLean resided, and where Pratt was killed ; and 
 at least one of the number was said to have been interested 
 in his assassination. The fact that Pratt had brought his 
 death upon himself was not taken into consideration. They 
 
238 " MOUNTAIN MEADOW DOGS " ON THE TRAIL. 
 
 found no palliation for McLean's action in his wrecked 
 home and blighted life ; though no persons in the world are 
 so quick to resent any, even fancied, interference with their 
 families as the Mormons. Yet this is saintly consistency. 
 
 At the Parowan council, of which I have spoken, the 
 mode of action was fully determined upon, and the plan of 
 attack matured to the minutest detail. Meeting with the 
 most inhospitable treatment, and unable to obtain provis- 
 ions, the emigrants were fairly driven from camp to camp, 
 until they reached Cedar City. They camped here only 
 one day ; but during their stay they were allowed to pur- 
 chase fifty bushels of tithing wheat and have it ground at 
 John D. Lee's mill. But this was an insufficient quantity, 
 and would be exhausted several days before they could 
 reach the nearest point in California where food was obtain- 
 able, even if they travelled with the utmost speed, and put 
 themselves on the shortest possible rations. 
 
 From Cedar City they proceeded south-west less than 
 forty miles, and camped at the Mountain Meadows, which 
 they reached after a five days' journey, so exhausted 
 were they. It was a most cheerless and dreary spot, 
 and so hemmed in that if attacked they would be com- 
 pletely at the mercy of their assailants. The Meadows are 
 about a mile and a half long and a mile wide, and are shut 
 in on every side by mountains ; but at the lower end they 
 converge and form a canon. Cane Spring is situated just 
 at the mouth of this canon, and about thirty rods above this 
 spring, a mound, two hundred feet long and one hundred 
 feet wide, shuts out all view. In the midst of this gray des- 
 olation of nature, the emigrants settled themselves down 
 for a few days' rest and final preparation before they re- 
 sumed their perilous journey. 
 
 Beyond the annoyance they had experienced by the 
 withholding of provisions, and their enforced march from 
 camp to camp throughout the Mormon territory, they appre- 
 hended no ill-treatment from the Saints. I do not think the 
 
TOHN D. LEE, BISHOP IN THE MORMON CHURCH, AND LEADER IN 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE 
 
 Has nineteen wives and sixty four children. 
 
THE EMIGRANTS ATTACKED BY MORMON FIENDS. 239 
 
 fear of personal danger had entered their minds at all, and 
 they were resting quietly at the Meadows, when, on the 
 morning of the loth of September, while the women of the 
 party were engaged in preparing breakfast, and the men 
 in caring for their stock, they were suddenly attacked by 
 the Indians. Seven were killed and fifteen wounded at 
 the first fire. 
 
 As unexpected as the attack was, they did not lose for 
 one instant their coolness and presence of mind. Had they 
 done so, the massacre would have been general, and the 
 entire party killed on the spot. But with a promptness 
 unparalleled in the history of any border warfare, these em- 
 igrants wheeled their wagons into an oblong corral, and 
 with almost lightning-like rapidity threw up the earth from 
 the centre of the corral against the wagon wheels, making 
 an excellent and almost impenetrable barricade. 
 
 It had been decided at the Parowan Council to make the 
 attack at Santa Clara Canon, at the point where it is crossed 
 by the California road, and where the perpendicular walls, 
 which it was impossible to scale, and the blockade of their 
 own wagons, would preclude the possibility of the escape 
 of a single soul. But the Indian allies, "The Battle Axes 
 of the Lord," became impatient, and precipitated the attack. 
 The liberal promises made to them by John D. Lee, the 
 Indian-Agent, of blankets, clothing, rifles, ammunition, and 
 trinkets, excited their cupidity ; and so eager were they to 
 obtain the promised spoils, that they could not wait to carry 
 out the original plan. 
 
 As soon as the barricade was finished, the first fire of the 
 Indians was returned, and three of the assailants were 
 wounded. They had crept very close to the train, not 
 dreaming a repulse possible, and lay concealed in the brush 
 along the side of the creek. Two of the Indians died, not- 
 withstanding they were taken to Cedar City, where their 
 wounds were anointed with consecrated oil by Bishop 
 Higbee. For once, at least, the w laying on " of " saintly " 
 
240 LEE INCITES THE INDIANS TO MURDER. 
 
 hands was not efficacious, and the mortal wounds refused to 
 be healed in spite of persistent priestly prayers. 
 
 The leaders of the Mormon militia, at Cedar City, were 
 thrown into a state of excitement by the arrival of an Indian 
 runner, bringing news of the unsuccessful assault, and they 
 at once commenced collecting their forces to go to the 
 Meadows to the assistance of their allies. It is said that 
 Haight told a man that orders had come from headquarters 
 to slay every person in the train. The Cedar City forces 
 being considered inadequate, Lee sent to Washington for 
 re-enforcements. When the troops were within a short dis- 
 tance of the Meadows, they were told that the entire com- 
 pany was to be killed, with the exception of the children 
 who were too young to remember. 
 
 The Mormons were disguised as Indians, and so success- 
 fully that the unfortuate besieged had no idea that their be- 
 siegers were white men. The very knowledge of this would 
 have disheartened them more than all the perils of their 
 situation had power to do, when they supposed they had 
 only a savage foe to meet, whom they hoped speedily to 
 repulse. Safely intrenched behind their barricade, they 
 suffered only for lack of water. The spring was only about 
 forty rods distant, and yet they dared not venture to go 
 to it, and the water was as unattainable as though it had 
 been miles away. Every attempt to obtain a supply was 
 frustrated by the reports of cruel guns, hidden behind 
 mounds of earth. The whole rim of the basin formed by the 
 circling hills was a masked battery sending forth destruc- 
 tion every time a form was seen inside the barricade. At 
 first it was supposed only the men were in danger, and a 
 woman of the party stepped outside the corral to milk a cow. 
 She fell pierced with bullets. At length, their thirst be- 
 coming intolerable, they decided to send two of the little 
 girls to the spring for water. Surely, they reasoned, they 
 will be let to go unharmed; their youth and innocence will 
 be their safeguard ; the most barbarous savage would cer- 
 tainly be touched, and the hand of destruction stayed. 
 
TWO LITTLE GIRLS MURDERED BY MORMON DEVILS. 24! 
 
 It might have been, had it been savages with whom they 
 were contending ; but no feeling of pity for even the chil- 
 dren could enter the hearts of these " civilized " white men 
 who were engaged in the " religious" warfare, and shot 
 down their innocent victims in the name of the Lord. 
 
 Hand in hand the little ones advanced towards the spring, 
 dressed in white, fit robes for such lambs of sacrifice. 
 Suddenly came the crack of scores of rifles, and the tiny 
 
 TB MURDER OF Two LITTLE GIRLS. 
 
 bodies fell, fairly riddled with bullets, in the very sight of 
 the frantic parents. It was deeds of this kind which, ac- 
 cording to John D. Lee, "glorified the name of Israel's 
 God." 
 
 Then the emigrants knew they could not expect mercy ; 
 
 but their courage did not fail them. If aid could only reach 
 
 them! If there was any way in which they could make 
 
 their situation known 1 They might hold out a few days, 
 
 16 
 
242 NO MERCY TO BE SHOWN ! 
 
 though starvation and the slow, keen torture of unallayed 
 thirst stared them in the face. After four days of siege, 
 they drew up a prayer for aid, telling how they had been 
 attacked by the Indians, and how they were then surrounded ; 
 it contained a list of the emigrants' names, their age, place 
 of birth, and residence at the time of the emigration. The 
 number of clergymen, physicians, and other professional 
 men were given ; also the number of Freemasons and Odd- 
 fellows, with the rank of each and the name of the lodge to 
 which they belonged. The letter was addressed to any 
 friend of humanity ; and it was a heart-rending cry of dis- 
 tress from souls in mortal straits. Such a cry as that could 
 not go unheeded ; it must be answered by speedy relief. It 
 was the only expression of despair that ever came from the 
 brave hearts in the corral ; but it told of torture beyond de- 
 scription ; of suffering that exceeds imagination. 
 
 But how should it find its way outside the barricade? 
 How could the world be made to hear this agonized appeal ? 
 No sooner was the petition finished than three men all 
 honor to their bravery ! volunteered to break through the 
 camp, dash past their enemy, and cross the desert to Cali- 
 fornia. They more than suspected by this time that a por- 
 tion of their assailants were white men, and they knew they 
 were in more danger from them than from the Indians. It 
 is said that, before these men started on their perilous and 
 almost hopeless undertaking, the entire party knelt down, 
 and an old, white-haired Methodist pastor prayed for 
 their safety. They left the corral in the night under cover 
 of the darkness, and passed their besiegers in safety. But 
 in some way their flight was discovered, the Indian run- 
 ners were placed on their track, and they were mercilessly 
 murdered. The first one was killed while lying asleep 
 from exhaustion, by an Indian named Jackson, who has 
 since boasted of the deed, and who, in years after, led a 
 person to the spot where he committed the murder ; the 
 body had been burned, but the charred remains of the skull 
 and larger bones marked the spot. 
 
FIEND-LIKE DEEDS OF CERTAIN MORMON WRETCHES. 43 
 
 The appeal was found near the dead body of the man by 
 Jackson, who gave it to a Mormon gentleman ; he kept it 
 for some time without allowing any one to know that it was 
 in his possession ; but one day he showed it to one of the 
 men who was nearly concerned in the massacre, and he 
 deliberately tore it in pieces on the spot. Its first possessor 
 has no sympathy with the deed, and expresses himself 
 ready to come forward at any time and testify to the con- 
 tents of the letter, of which he is perfectly well aware. In 
 speaking of it to a gentleman connected with the western 
 press, he is said to have exclaimed, " I believe that if the 
 Masons and Oddfellows knew how many of their brethren 
 were in the train, they wouldn't let the accursed murderers 
 go unpunished." It must be that in some manner they 
 will be punished. 
 
 " The mills of the gods grind slowly," 
 
 to be sure, but they grind with exactness, and retribution is 
 certain to follow crime sooner or later. 
 
 The other two men were overtaken at Virgin Hills, 
 stripped of their clothing, and told to run for their lives ; a 
 shower of arrows was sent after them, wounding them 
 severely ; one could scarcely crawl, and his captors soon 
 overtook him, and, binding him to a stake, piled fagots 
 about him and set fire to them, and exulted with fiendish 
 glee over the death-agonies of their victim. 
 
 The last one made his way to the camp of the Vagas 
 Indians, who, pitying his condition, gave him clothing and 
 food. He then tried to make his way to California, but was 
 met by Ira Hatch and his band of Mormons and Indians, 
 and was put to death by slow torture. 
 
 In the mean time the condition of the besieged grew worse. 
 Day by day passed, and their sufferings constantly in- 
 creased ; still they kept courageous hearts, and looked for 
 the help that must come. Their food was nearly gone, their 
 increasing thirst was rendered more unendurable, because 
 
244 WITHOUT HOPE ! 
 
 just beyond they could hear the ripple of the water, as the 
 little brook danced on in merry mockery of their sufferings. 
 And yet not a murmur of complaint was heard ; men and 
 women looked calmly into each other's eyes, and parched lips 
 spoke words of cheer and hope, to which, alas ! the heavy 
 hearts did not respond. On one thing they were determined ; 
 they would die, but they would never surrender. Their 
 wives and children should never be given over to such mercy 
 as they would meet at the hands of their brutal enemies. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 BETRAYED AND MURDERED. TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 
 
 The "White Flag of Peace." Friends in the Distance. A Cruel 
 Deception. Mormon Fiends plan their Destruction. John D. Lee's 
 Crocodile Tears. " Lay down your Arms, and Depart in Peace." A 
 Horrible Suspicion. The Massacre. The Scene of Blood. No 
 Mercy for Women and Children. Robbed and Outraged. Mur- 
 dered by Lee's Own Hand. The Field of Slaughter. Dividing the 
 Property of the Murdered Ones. Taken to the Tithing-House. 
 Haunted by Spectres. John D. Lee's Trial. Instigated by Brigham. 
 No Justice in Utah. Lee's Confession made to Shield the False 
 Prophet. Eight Mormon and Four Gentile Jurors. What was to be 
 Expected. 
 
 morning of the i7th of 
 September dawned. The 
 hearts of all the doomed 
 party were sick with de- 
 ferred hope. Suddenly a 
 cry of relief broke from 
 the corral. A wagon, 
 filled with white men, 
 bearing a white flag, was 
 seen coming down the 
 Meadows. Succor was at 
 hand. Their terrible tor- 
 tures were over. Strong 
 men wept like children at 
 the thought that their be- 
 loved ones, for whom they 
 
 had agonized through all those dreary days and nights of 
 
 siege, were safe at last. 
 
 The deliverers were none other than John D. Lee and 
 
 the officers of the Mormon militia. Immediately upon 
 
 MURDERED BY LEE'S OWN HAND. 
 
246 CRUELLY BETRAYED. 
 
 their appearance the "Indians" ceased firing, and, in their 
 fancied security, the besieged emigrants rushed outside the 
 corral to meet their rescuers. How their hearts warmed 
 towards Brigham Young and the Mormon people. All the 
 wrongs they had suffered at their hands dwindled into 
 insignificance before this last crowning act of humanity. 
 Into the sympathizing ears of their saviors they poured the 
 terrible story of their sufferings. Lee is said to have wept 
 while listening to the recital, and, at the end, assured them 
 of his deep sympathy, and promised all the relief in his 
 power. 
 
 How much he would be able to do for them he was una- 
 ble to say until he had consulted with the Indians, and he 
 went back, and pretended to hold a consultation. The 
 people were sure he could save them, since he was Indian 
 agent, and must necessarily have much influence over them, 
 and their joy was unspeakable. He soon returned with the 
 welcome news that they were free, but on condition that 
 they would lay aside their arms. There was no thought 
 of treachery in their hearts, and, without a moment's hesita- 
 tion, they complied with the strange conditions. They laid 
 aside their trusty rifles, that had stood them in such good 
 stead during all the days of the siege ; they gave up re- 
 volvers and bowie-knives, faithful companions on their 
 dreary journey, and came forth from their intrenchments 
 unarmed, and as defenceless as the children themselves. 
 
 As they issued from the. corral a guard of soldiers was 
 drawn up to escort them to a place of safety. The men 
 were separated from the women and children, and were 
 placed in front, while the latter were in the rear. It seems 
 almost strange that no suspicion of their deliverers entered 
 their minds at this. But why should even curiosity be 
 aroused? The white flag was waving over their heads, 
 and they were under the protection of United States militia. 
 Where that flag waved, they were safe and free. 
 
 Notwithstanding their exhaustion, and their weakness 
 
FIENDISH BRUTALITIES. 
 
 2 4 7 
 
 from hunger, they marched joyously along, exulting in 
 their regained freedom, when suddenly the troops halted, 
 and the fatal order to fire was given by Lee, and repeated 
 down the line by all the under officers. In an instant it 
 flashed across the helpless victims how cruelly they had 
 been betrayed, and, with shrieks of the wildest agony, 
 they fell bleeding to the earth. Young and old shared the 
 same fate. Gray-haired men and . beardless boys were 
 alike cut down. The Indians, who were ambushed near 
 by, joined the Mormons in the work of slaughter, until not 
 one of all the men was left. 
 
 And what of the helpless women and children? All the 
 womanhood within revolts at the thought of their horrible 
 
 MURDERING THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 
 
 fate, and my woman's soul cries out in agony at the recital 
 of the sufferings of these helpless ones. Some of them 
 were killed by their husbands, fathers, or brothers, 
 happy souls, who thus escaped the most cruel torture. 
 Death was nothing, compared to the fiendish brutalities 
 which they suffered before they were allowed to die. 
 Some of the women were too ill to walk. They were 
 taken outside the corral, driven up to the scene of the mas- 
 sacre, stripped of their clothing, shot, and their mutilated 
 bodies thrown down in a pile, with the rest. 
 
248 MURDERED BY LEE*S OWN HAND. 
 
 To the honor of many of the men be it said, the 
 younger ones, especially, they refused to join in this hor- 
 rible work, and some of them made efforts to protect these 
 helpless women from their fiend-like tormentors. I used 
 often, while living in Payson, to see a man named Jim 
 Pearce, whose face was deeply scarred by a bullet wound, 
 made by his own father, while the brave young fellow was 
 trying to assist a poor girl, who had appealed to him for 
 succor. Another girl threw herself on her knees before 
 Lee's son, and clinging to him, begged for mercy. His 
 heart was touched, and he promised to spare her, but his 
 father shot her while she knelt. Lee also shot another girl, 
 who had drawn a dagger to defend herself from him. 
 
 Even the children were not spared. They shared the 
 horrible fate of their parents. In vain they begged for 
 mercy. The bloodthirsty brutes to whom they knelt had 
 no feeling of pity or compassion. They laughed at their 
 entreaties, and mocked their terrified cries. Their little 
 throats were cut, and their bodies thrown carelessly in a 
 heap. Only seventeen of those supposed to be too young 
 to remember any of the occurrences of this fearful day 
 were saved; and of these seventeen, two were disposed of 
 after reaching Salt Lake City, for making some remarks 
 concerning the massacre, which showed an intelligence 
 beyond their years. It is said on how good authority I 
 do not know that Daniel H. Wells, mayor of Salt Lake 
 City, one of the First Presidency, Second Counsellor to 
 Brigham, Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion, killed 
 one of these babes with his own official hand. As I said 
 before, I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this rumor, 
 but those who know the man best are the most ready to 
 believe it. He is certainly capable of an act like this. 
 
 The whole affair lasted but about half an hour, when the 
 assassins rode away, carrying all the clothing and baggage 
 of the emigrants, leaving the bodies to the wolves and 
 ravens. But they were past hurt now, and wolves' fangs 
 
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE VICTIMS. 249 
 
 or ravens' beaks were powerless to harm, although they 
 might lacerate the already mutilated bodies until they 
 should be past all recognition. A person who visited the 
 field of slaughter eight days after the massacre gave the 
 following account of it. He said men, women, and children 
 were strewn over the ground, or were thrown into piles. 
 Some were shot, others stabbed, and others had their 
 throats cut. They were entirely stripped of clothing, and 
 their bodies were mutilated by the wolves. There were 
 
 SCENE AFTER THE MASSACRE. 
 
 one hundred and twenty-seven bodies in all. These, with 
 the three men who were killed while undertaking to bring 
 assistance, another who was shot outside the corral, but 
 whose body could never be found, and the two children 
 who were murdered at Salt Lake City, made one hundred 
 and thirty-three victims of this fearful and unparalleled 
 assassination. 
 
 The spoils were carried to Cedar City, and placed in the 
 tithing-office there, after the Indians had received their 
 share. It is told by a man, who then was a mere boy, that 
 
250 SELLING THE EMIGRANTS* PROPERTY. 
 
 the night that the spoils were brought into town he and 
 two companions slept in the tithing-office. The cellars 
 were rilled with everything that had been taken from the 
 emigrants, and the bloody garments, stripped from the dead 
 bodies, were thrown down on the floor. One of the men 
 connected with the massacre came in, and threw himself 
 down to sleep, without perceiving the boys. Scarcely had 
 the place become quiet with the peculiar, painful silence 
 which night brings, when suddenly the room they were in, 
 and the cellar beneath it, where all the plunder was stored, 
 resounded with cries, groans, sobs, and the most piercing, 
 agonized shrieks. The guilty man jumped from his couch 
 and fled out into the night, locking the doors after him. In 
 vain the terrified boys tried to force the lock. It remained 
 fast and firm, and still the wails and cries pierced the air. 
 They were almost dead with terror, and, clambering up to 
 the roof, managed to escape from the haunted spot. Noth- 
 ing can induce this man to believe that his imagination 
 played him a trick. "I know," he says, "that the spirits 
 of these foully-murdered men and women were in the 
 tithing-house that night." It is not the first time, by any 
 means, nor the last, that a Mormon public building has 
 been haunted. 
 
 The property of the emigrants was sold at public auc- 
 tion, in Cedar City, by Bishop John M. Higbee, and' they 
 were readily bought by the eager saints. To this day, 
 jewelry is worn in Salt Lake City, and teams are seen in 
 the streets, that are known to have belonged to the fatal 
 emigrant train. A lady in Salt Lake City was one day 
 showing a silk dress and some jewelry to some friends, in 
 the presence of one of the children who had been saved 
 from the massacre. The little one, on catching sight of 
 the dress, burst out into a frantic fit of weeping, and be- 
 tween the sobs cried out, " O, my dear mamma ! That is 
 her dress; she used to wear it. Where is my mamma? 
 Why doesn't she come for me? " It is said that other chil- 
 
TRYING TO CONCEAL THE CRIME. 251 
 
 dren identified clothing and trinkets which they had seen 
 worn by members of the party. Indeed, these children 
 remember more than their captors fancy ; else they would 
 not have been allowed to have left the Territory, as many 
 of them have done, having for the most part been returned 
 to their friends in the States. 
 
 My valued friend and travelling companion, Mrs. Cooke, 
 had two of them under her charge for some time, and she 
 has told me that they recognized John D. Lee, and one of 
 them said one day, very quietly, but very determinedly, 
 " When I get to be a man I will go to the President and 
 ask him for a regiment of soldiers, and I will bring them 
 here to kill the men who murdered my father and mother 
 and brother, but I will kill Lee myself. I saw him shoot 
 my sister, and I shall not die happy unless I kill him." Mrs. 
 Cooke says they used often, in their childish prattle, to tell 
 events of the massacre, which showed that they knew per- 
 fectly what part Lee and his confederates had in the affair. 
 
 On their return from the scene of the massacre, the lead- 
 ers determined to conceal the crime, but although they 
 kept quiet a year, after that they were unable to refrain 
 from speaking. Lee himself was the first to disclose the 
 fate of the party. Like the Ancient Mariner, he went up 
 and down compelling every person whom he met to listen 
 to his story of an emigrant train that had been murdered 
 by the Indians. By and by it was faintly rumored that the 
 Indians were not alone in their work of destruction, but 
 that they were assisted by the white men. Then the ru- 
 mors grew louder, and some of the participants, overcome 
 with remorse, confessed their complicity in the crime. 
 
 A short time since a man died in Sevier Valley, who was 
 at the Mountain Meadows. He always imagined that he 
 was followed by spectres, and he grew haggard and worn 
 from constant terror. " Brigham Young," he used to say, 
 " will answer for the murder of one hundred and twenty 
 innocent souls sent to their graves at his command." On 
 
252 
 
 his death-bed he besought those watching by him to pro- 
 tect him from the spirits that were hovering near him, 
 waiting to avenge themselves, and he died in the fearful 
 ravings of a horrible terror. Another man, much younger 
 than the one referred to above, was also literally haunted 
 to death. "Would to God," he would cry in the bitterest 
 agony, "that I could roll back the scroll of time, and wipe 
 from it the damning record ; the terrible scenes at Moun- 
 tain Meadows haunt me night and day. I cannot drive 
 them away." He has been known to drive out for a load 
 of hay, and return quickly in terror, leaving his team in 
 the field. Fie used to say that the cold, calm faces of the 
 dead women and children were never out of his sight. 
 
 And what of the mangled bodies, and "the cold, calm 
 faces " that were left upturned to the September sky? They 
 were the prey of wolves and vultures ; but the bones were 
 collected by an old Mormon, who had no sympathy with 
 the deed of blood, and buried in the hollow they had dug 
 inside the corral. It was a literal labor of love. Alone 
 he performed the last act of kindness, a task which was 
 disagreeable enough, and one that of necessity was done 
 hurriedly. The wild beasts again dug up the bones, and 
 they were strewn all over the plain ; there they remained 
 until 1858, when the government sent General Carlton to 
 bury the bones decently. A large cairn of stones was 
 built by the soldiers to mark the resting-place of the re- 
 mains, and General Carlton erected a cross of red cedar, 
 on which was inscribed the words, "Vengeance is mine, I 
 will repay, saith the Lord." At the other end of the mound 
 was a stone, with the inscription, "Here, one hundred and 
 twenty men, women, and children were massacred in cold 
 blood, early in September, 1857. They were from Arkan- 
 sas." The cross was destroyed by the order of Brigham 
 Young, after a visit to the spot. It was the first promise 
 of payment that he ever rejected ; and this, in spite of his 
 destruction of it, will yet be forced upon him. 
 
THE TRIAL OF JOHN D. LEE. 253 
 
 The trial of Lee, which has taken place since the fore- 
 going narrative was written, shows more clearly than any- 
 thing I can say, the ascendency which Brigham Young has 
 over this people, and the utter futility of expecting any- 
 thing like justice in a court where this man's followers are 
 allowed to sit on a jury. 
 
 Of what value, think you, do they regard any oaths 
 which they may take to serve with fairness, and to be un- 
 biassed, except by such testimony as may be offered in 
 court? If they are good Mormons, they have received 
 their Endowments ; and the oaths which they took when 
 they went through with that rite, are a thousand times more 
 binding than those that they take in court, which they re- 
 gard as a mere form, without meaning, and which they 
 are not only allowed by the church to violate, but which 
 they are bound to break, unless the cause of the church 
 can be furthered by keeping them, in which case nothing 
 can exceed their loyalty. 
 
 Unsuccessful as the trial was, it yet has been productive 
 of one good result. It has forced the details of this fiendish 
 massacre upon the attention of the entire community. There 
 is no journal in the country, no matter how small or unob- 
 trusive, which has not had brief but concise reports of 
 the trial, and which has not expressed decided opinions 
 upon the result. 
 
 A greater farce was never played before a larger or 
 more disgusted audience than this which has just ended in 
 Utah. It is a sarcasm upon justice, a gross, hideous bur- 
 lesque from beginning to end. I have seen surprise ex- 
 pressed at the termination in some of the eastern journals. 
 That shows how little they understand the autocratic man- 
 ner in which the Territory is ruled by Brigham Young, 
 and how impossible it is, under existing laws, to bring to 
 justice any of his followers. I could have prophesied what 
 the ending would be from the moment in which the jurors 
 were drawn. Eight Mormons and four Gentiles, what 
 could it be but "disagreement?" 
 
254 EIGHT MORMONS AND FOUR GENTILES. 
 
 As earnest as the prosecution was, and as determined to 
 sift the matter to the very bottom, and get at the real truth 
 of the case, without regard to whoever might be implicated, 
 it was balked in every endeavor, not to prove the guilt of 
 the prisoner, and others higher in authority than he, but to 
 influence the jury to act according to the evidence. In the 
 face of the most conclusive evidence, which the defence 
 were utterly powerless to refute, and indeed did not even 
 attempt to move, the Mormon jurors voted solid for acquit- 
 tal, and, to his endless shame be it recorded, induced one 
 Gentile to vote with them. The other three stood firm, 
 and would neither be coaxed nor bribed. They saw the 
 right, and refused to desert it. Their companion, as many 
 another has done, sold his principle for Mormon favor. 
 He was in love with a Mormon girl, and hoped, by pan- 
 dering to the Mormon leader's desires, to obtain her. It 
 will be but a step further into the Mormon Church, and 
 when he has taken that step, and gone through the Endow- 
 ment House, he will be in the place where he properly be- 
 longs, and no doubt will make a willing tool for the priest- 
 hood to use. 
 
 The trial strengthened the accounts which have already 
 been given of the massacre ; and, in fact, established the 
 truth of the whole horrible affair, in its most brutal detail, 
 and so fully that the defence did not attempt to overthrow 
 the proof, but spent its time in assailing the witnesses, and 
 trying to prove that the emigrants poisoned an ox, and 
 then attempted to sell it to the Indians, who found out the 
 treachery, and massacred the party, while Lee and others 
 wept and wrung their hands, and prayed that the lives 
 might not be sacrificed. 
 
 The prosecution proved that Brigham Young gave orders 
 regarding the disposal of the property of the murdered 
 party, and ordered the men who brought him the news to 
 say nothing about the matter even to each other. Abso- 
 lute silence was imposed upon them, and the ones who gave 
 
MAKING LEE THE SCAPE-GOAT. 255 
 
 them the orders, themselves followed the "counsel" which 
 they gave. The defence failed utterly to prove that Brig- 
 ham was ignorant of the affair, and even his deposition, 
 from its very weakness, inconsistency, and contradictory 
 statements, strengthens the prosecution, and establishes 
 more firmly in the popular mind the belief in his complicity 
 in the matter, and his approval at least, if not his actual 
 instigation. 
 
 There was a feeling throughout the trial that Brigham 
 Young and the Mormon Church were arraigned in the per- 
 son of John D. Lee, and the defence exhibited their under- 
 standing of the case, by endeavoring to clear the authori- 
 ties, and paying very little heed to the real defendant in 
 the case, rather allowing the odium to rest on him than to fall 
 where it more properly belonged. For although Lee merits 
 well the title which he bears, that of "Butcher Lee," there 
 is no doubt that he was acting under orders from head- 
 quarters, and that his blind and unquestioning obedience 
 was the effect of religious fanaticism. 
 
 It was expected that his confession would reveal beyond 
 a doubt the truth of the whole matter, and place the blame 
 where it had belonged. It was well known, that since his 
 cavalier treatment by the church, he had been impatient 
 of the odium which he had borne for so long a time, and 
 had threatened openly to " shift the responsibility from his 
 own shoulders, and place it on those whose business it was 
 to bear it." His wives and children, hating the disgrace, 
 and questioning the President's right to make a scape-goat 
 of their husband and father, urged him to make a full con- 
 fession, and take only what of blame belonged to him. 
 The document was prepared, and was about to be made 
 public, when consternation seized upon his counsel. They 
 labored with him, and brought such influence to bear upon 
 him, that the unsafe paper was destroyed, and another sub- 
 stituted in its place, in which Lee merely gave the details 
 of the massacre, but failed to implicate any of the higher 
 ecclesiasts. 
 
256 NO JUSTICE IN UTAH. 
 
 The trial had been appointed for the I2th of July, in the 
 Second District Court, held at Beaver, Southern Utah, 
 before Judge Jacob S. Boreman, who had been trying for 
 some time, ever since the passage of an act of Congress, 
 the 23d of June, 1874, which presented clashing between 
 Federal and Territorial officers, to have some action taken 
 toward punishing those persons who were shown to have 
 been engaged in this Mountain Meadows assassination. 
 
 Judge Boreman's attempt to bring the Mountain Mead- 
 ows' assassins to justice, the first that had been made since 
 the failure of Judge Cradlebaugh's essay to find indictments 
 against any of the persons connected with the massacre, 
 resulted in finding a joint indictment against William H. 
 Dame, John D. Lee, Isaac C. Haight, John M. Higbee, 
 Philip Klingensmith, William C. Stewart, Samuel Jukes, 
 George Adair, Jr., and some others, for conspiracy and 
 murder. Warrants for their apprehension were issued, 
 but after a long search only two were apprehended Lee 
 and Dame. 
 
 Then came another long delay. It was almost impossi- 
 ble to obtain witnesses to testify. This was the same 
 trouble which had sixteen years before beset Judge Cradle- 
 baugh ; and District Attorney Carey, who prosecuted the 
 case for the people, was almost discouraged lest he too 
 should fail to sustain his case. " Hold your tongues " has 
 been so long a vital lesson, that the Mormon people find it 
 difficult work to wag them. Over one hundred subpoenas 
 were issued, but it was impossible to collect the witnesses. 
 Some of the least important obeyed the summons, but those 
 who knew the most about the affair, and whose testimony 
 would be of the most vital interest and service, failed to put 
 in an appearance. Among these, and the witness above 
 all others on whom the prosecution relied, was Philip Klin- 
 gensmith, formerly a bishop in Cedar City, a participant in 
 the massacre, who wished to ease his conscience by a full 
 confession. He had been known to talk very freely to out- 
 
AN IMPORTANT WITNESS. 257 
 
 siders on the subject, and it was he who was driven in such 
 terror from the Cedar City tithing-house the night after the 
 spoils had been brought thither. Another participant, 
 named Joel White, was also among the missing, but, for- 
 tunately for the prosecution, both were finally found, and 
 brought to Beaver. 
 
 The first week was devoted to legal skirmishing, and the 
 preparation of Lee's confession. The counsel had agreed 
 that he should confess fully. It was known that the men 
 who appeared as actors on this field of carnage were, but 
 instruments in the hands of their authorities who had 
 planned this deed, and the object of the prosecution was to 
 obtain a knowledge of the instigators of this "deed of 
 deathless shame." 
 
 Failing in this, and feeling assured that Lee was not act- 
 ing in good faith, they refused to receive the statement. 
 His own counsel, Wells Spicer, Judge Hoge, and W. W. 
 Bishop, were anxious to save their client, no matter what 
 other guilty parties might suffer. They were true to his 
 interests, and had they been acting by themselves, there is 
 little doubt that the confession would have been complete, 
 and would have implicated the whole of the First Presi- 
 dency. But fearing this, the church attorneys, Sutherland 
 and Bates, obtruded their services upon the defence, solici- 
 tous to shield this precious trio, Brigham Young, George 
 A. Smith, and Daniel H. Wells, no matter at whose ex- 
 pense. They worked upon Lee's feelings to such an extent 
 that they evidently induced him to withhold his original 
 statement, and substitute in its place a partial and pal- 
 pably incomplete confession. I am certain that this is the 
 case, and my belief is strengthened by contrasting the 
 opening of the statement, with its somewhat indignant tone, 
 and the air of sincerity with which it is invested, with the 
 cautious, calculating, insincere tone of the latter portion. 
 The statement opens as follows : 
 17 
 
258 JOHN D, 
 
 " It now becomes my painful, though imperative duty, to chron- 
 icle the circumstances that led to, and fully describe that unfortu- 
 nate affair, known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre, in Utah 
 history, which has been shrouded in mystery for the last fifteen 
 years, causing much comment, excitement, and vindictive feeling 
 throughout the land. The entire blame has rested upon the Mor- 
 mon people in Utah. Now, in justice to humanity, I feel it my 
 duty to show up the facts as they exist, according to the best of 
 my ability, though I implicate myself by so doing. I have no 
 vindictive feelings whatever against any man or class of individ- 
 uals. What I do is done from a sense of duty to myself, my 
 God, and to the people at large, so that the truth may come to 
 light, and the blame rest where it properly belongs. 
 
 " I have been arrested on the charge of being engaged in the 
 crime committed at the time and place referred to. I have been 
 in close confinement over eight months since my arrest. I was 
 in irons three months of the time during my confinement. For 
 the last seventeen years in fact, since the commission of the 
 crime I have given this subject much thought and reflection. 
 I have made the effort to bear my confinement with fortitude and 
 resignation, well knowing that most of those engaged in this un- 
 fortunate affair were led on by religious influences, commonly 
 called fanaticism, and nothing but their devotion to God, and their 
 duty to Him, as taught to them by their religion and their church 
 leaders, would ever have induced them to commit the outrageous 
 and unnatural acts, believing that all who participated in the lam- 
 entable transaction, or most of them, were acting under orders 
 which they considered it their duty, their religious duty, to 
 obey. I have suffered all kinds of ill-treatment and injury, as 
 well as imprisonment, rather than expose these men, knowing the 
 circumstances as I do, and believing in the sincerity of their mo- 
 tives, as I always have done ; but I have a duty to perform, and 
 have, since I was arrested, become convinced that it was not the 
 policy of the government, or the wish of the court, to punish 
 those men, but rather to protect them, and let the blame rest on 
 their leaders, where it justly and lawfully belongs. 
 
 " After much thought and meditation, I have come to this con- 
 clusion : that I would no longer remain silent on this subject, but, 
 so far as I can, bring to light the circumstances connected there- 
 
BRIGHAM YOUNG'S COMPLICITY. 259 
 
 with, and remove the cloud of mystery that has so long obscured 
 the transaction, and seemed to agitate the public mind. Believing 
 it to be my duty as a man, a duty to myself, to my family, to my 
 God, and to humanity, to cast aside the shackles so long holding 
 my conscience, I now submit the facts, so far as I know them, 
 stating nothing from malice, or for the purpose of revenge, with- 
 holding nothing that I can state of my own knowledge, and will- 
 ing that the world may know all that was done, and why the 
 acts were committed." 
 
 In this introduction, Lee plainly accuses the leaders of the 
 church. The men "were acting under orders." Whose? 
 They could not have emanated from the local officers of 
 the church, since it would have been in no wise a "reli- 
 gious duty " to obey orders from men who were no higher 
 in authority than themselves. Alas for Lee's " conscience," 
 the shackles were more firmly bound than he supposed. 
 His sense of duty to his family, his God, and humanity 
 was blunted by the superior sense of duty to the church, 
 and he failed utterly to do what he had so faithfully prom- 
 ised in the opening sentences of his confession. 
 
 After the disappointing delay caused by the preparation 
 of Lee's confession, the trial went steadily on to the end. 
 The prosecution brought forward about twenty witnesses, 
 who corroborated the incidents of the massacre, and testi- 
 fied that the feeling against the party was aroused by 
 George A. Smith, who everywhere preceded the train, and 
 forbade the people selling them anything, under pain of the 
 church's displeasure. 
 
 It was shown, too, that when, on being refused food at 
 Cedar City, the last place at which they stopped, they asked 
 where they could obtain it, they were told, at Mountain 
 Meadows ; which assists in establishing more fully the fact 
 that the whole affair was premeditated, and that the party 
 were deliberately led to their destruction. 
 
 But it remained for Philip Klingensmith to give the most 
 thorough and vivid account of the whole massacre, from 
 
260 
 
 its very beginning, when the first plans were laid, until the 
 day when he and Lee, and a man named Charley Hopkins, 
 met in Brigham Young's office. He received them very 
 cordially, took them to his barn to show them his fine 
 horses, and treated them with great hospitality. He told 
 Klingensmith,, who had charge of the property, to turn it 
 over to Lee, as he was Indian agent, and the disposal of it 
 more properly belonged to him. He then turned to them, 
 and said, "What you know about this affair do not tell to 
 anybody ; do not even talk about it among yourselves." 
 
 Klingensmith, with some others, strongly opposed the 
 destruction of the emigrants, and made every effort to pre- 
 vent it, but to no purpose ; for Lee had received instructions 
 from headquarters^ and their fate was decided. The de- 
 scription of the attack, the steady repulse, the decoy from 
 the corral, and the wholesale assassination, was given ex- 
 actly as it has been narrated, scarcely varying at all, even 
 in the slightest detail, ending with the interview with Pres- 
 ident Young. 
 
 Five participants in the massacre appeared as witnesses 
 during the trial, but not one of them, with the exception of 
 Klingensmith, admitted that he fired upon the emigrants. 
 In his cross-examination, Judge Sutherland said, "I sup- 
 pose you fired over the heads of the emigrants?" "I fired 
 at my man," was the reply, " and I suppose I killed him." 
 
 I think the transaction has never seemed so horribly real 
 to the outside public, as it has since this man's testimony 
 was published to the world. Given as it was by a remorse- 
 ful participant, under the solemnity of a judicial investiga- 
 tion, it impressed the people with its reality, and the press 
 of the country has been unanimous in its expressions of 
 horror, and its desire that vengeance should fall speedily on 
 the heads of the guilty instigators. 
 
 The pitiful defence only deepened the feeling of indigna- 
 tion, and when, in the face of all the evidence, that was 
 entirely unrefuted, the jury disagreed, I think the eyes of 
 
THE PITIFUL RESULT. 26l 
 
 the nation were at last opened to the utter futility of ex- 
 pecting justice to be done, when Mormons are on trial in a 
 Mormon community. 
 
 The end is not yet. One of the chief instigators, George 
 A. Smith, has passed on to a higher tribunal, where Jus- 
 tice is not blindfold, and from whose decisions there is no 
 appeal. The other is left, for what fate no one yet can tell. 
 It may be that his punishment will not be given him here ; 
 that no earthly judge shall ever pass sentence upon him. 
 But, for all that, retribution is none the less certain, and the 
 measure of suffering which he has meted out to others shall 
 be meted out to him. 
 
 In the mean time Justice will not rest. The spirit of the 
 nation, fully aroused, demands a fairer trial, and it will have 
 it. A jury must be found who shall not be bound by the 
 shackles of bigotry, and held by oaths of disloyalty which 
 they dare not break, but who will do their duty honestly, 
 faithfully, and loyally. Then, and then only, shall truth 
 triumph, and hypocrisy and wickedness meet their just 
 reward. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE BLOOD-ATONEMENT. THE DESTROYING AN- 
 GELS. DANITES AND THEIR DEEDS. 
 
 Sweet, Saintly Sentiments. " He ought to have his Throat cut." Too 
 many Gentiles About. The Spirit of " Blood- Atonement " still Cher- 
 ished. Present Position of Apostates. How they used to be "Cut 
 Off." " Cutting Men off below the Ears." How " Accidents " hap- 
 pened to People who " Knew too Much." How Mr. Langford ex- 
 pressed his Opinion too Freely. Mormon Friends kindly advise him 
 to " Shut Up." " Be on your Guard ! " Poetry among the Saints : 
 a Popular Song. Human Sacrifices Proposed! How Saints were 
 taught to Atone for their Sins. " Somebody " ready to shed their 
 Blood. "The Destroying Angels:" who they were, and what they 
 Did. Saints told to do their own " Dirty Work." People who " ought 
 to be Used Up" Murdering by Proxy ! Brigham Ycung proved 
 to be the Vilest of Assassins. Hideous Crimes of Porter Rockwell 
 and Bill Hickman. How Rockwell tried to Murder Governor 
 Boggs. Hickman Confesses his Atrocious Crimes. Six Men Robbed 
 of $25,000, and then " Used Up." Another Frightful Assassination. 
 A Council of Mormon Murderers. The "Church " orders the Assas- 
 sination of the Aikin Party. 
 
 T is only a very few weeks 
 since two prominent officers 
 of the Mormon Church were 
 overheard in the street, in 
 Salt Lake City, angrily dis- 
 cussing some person who 
 had "broken his covenants." 
 Said one, 
 
 " He ought to have his 
 throat cut." 
 
 "It wouldn't do," replied 
 the other; "there are too 
 many Gentiles about." 
 
 It is now nearly twenty 
 
 UP "AN APOSTATE. y ears sinCe the eventful 
 
SWEET, SAINTLY SENTIMENTS. A LITTLE MURDER. 263 
 
 w Reformation " and its horrible teachings, and the effects are 
 still felt. The principles that Young, and Grant, and 
 Kimball, and their fellows taught then have not been for- 
 gotten in all these years that have intervened, and it is only 
 the presence of a large "Gentile" element that prevents 
 the full exercise of the " Blood- Atonement." 
 
 There never has been any real and impartial trial by jury 
 in Utah. No twelve men could be found and sworn in who 
 would dare to render an unbiassed verdict. This has been 
 repeatedly seen in trials which have taken place. So true is 
 it, that hundreds of Gentiles who are conscious of the justice 
 of their several causes, would never think of bringing them 
 into court during the existing state of affairs. They know it 
 would be useless. Prejudice runs high ; in fact, so high that 
 outsiders are perfectly incapable of realizing it. Still , murders 
 have been fewer of late, for President Young knows that the 
 eye of Uncle Sam is fixed with no small degree of sternness 
 upon the City of the Saints ; and, more important still, Deseret 
 has not yet been admitted into the Union as a State 1 
 
 Yet the spirit of assassination still remains ; and were it 
 unchecked, hundreds would be added to the already appall- 
 ingly long list of men and women foully dealt with and 
 sent into eternity without a moment's warning, for no crime 
 at all except for daring to differ, if ever so slightly, from 
 those in authority. If any person, deceived by the present 
 peaceful attitude of the Mormon leaders and their constant 
 boast that crime is almost unknown among them, thinks 
 that they have altered in their real views at all since the 
 days when they first advocated the w Blood- Atonement," he 
 is very much mistaken. The feelings that they have been 
 obliged to hide are bitterer because they have not dared to 
 show them. 
 
 An apostate nowadays is comparatively safe from any 
 deeds of violence on their part. The most they can do is 
 to abuse him through their newspapers, and curse him in 
 the church, and give him over to the tender mercies of 
 
264 LIFE IN DANGER. GENTILES, BEWARE ! 
 
 Satan; but as "Deseret" newspaper abuse is rarely heard 
 outside of the church which it represents, and as the curs- 
 ing does not produce physical hurt, and as Satan's mercies 
 are to the full as tender as theirs, the Gentile does not mind 
 anything about the whole of it, but goes on his way qui- 
 etly enough. 
 
 But twenty, fifteen, even ten years ago, an apostate's or 
 Gentile's life was worth absolutely nothing. It was difficult 
 to tell which of the two they hated with the most deadly 
 hatred. The doom of either was irrevocably fixed, and it 
 came, swift and sudden, often before he knew that danger 
 menaced him. It did not need actual knowledge of a man's 
 defection from the church, or that his disapprobation of the 
 course pursued by leaders should be openly expressed ; it 
 was enough that he should be merely suspected, and his 
 fate was just as certain, coming swift and sure, before he 
 had -even an opportunity of defending himself. 
 
 A strict surveillance was kept over the movements of any 
 stranger in the city, and if his words or actions displeased 
 the Mormon spies, he never got far beyond city limits on 
 his onward journey before some sad accident befell him, 
 which left him lying dead by the road-side. It was well 
 when a stranger had any person to caution him against any 
 expression of his mind against the people or their religion ; 
 above all, against their beloved institution of polygamy, for 
 they are very sensitive on this point, hating and dreading 
 criticism in the very thing, above all others, that provokes 
 and invites it. In this case he might escape with nothing 
 more terrible than the consciousness of a spy dogging his 
 every footstep and listening to every word. 
 
 In the autumn of 1863, Mr. N. P. Langford, of St. Paul, 
 Minnesota (the author of the "Yellowstone Articles," pub- 
 lished a few years since in Scribner's Magazine) , in com- 
 pany with several others, started from Montana for Salt 
 Lake City. While on the journey they fell in with a party 
 of Mormons, numbering eight, all men, and all bound 
 
HOW A GENTILE WAS " SHUT UP." 265 
 
 for Salt Lake City. The two parties travelled together the 
 remainder of the way, and became very friendly. As a 
 natural consequence of this companionship, the talk turned 
 upon Mormonism, and the arguments between them were 
 frequent and interesting. 
 
 One of the Mormons, named Cunningham, was a very 
 intelligent man, and, while contending that his was the 
 only true faith, would argue with Langford, without show- 
 ing any ill feeling a very uncommon thing for a Mormon 
 to do, by the way, since they are usually so very intolerant 
 that they will not listen to an opponent with the least degree 
 of patience, but, at the first sign of opposition, lose temper, 
 and, instead of fairly arguing the question, shower anath- 
 emas on the one who has dared to call their religion in 
 question. It must be a weak position that can only be de- 
 fended by vituperation. 
 
 At night, while round the camp-fire, the Mormons would 
 sing of Brigham as " the word of the Lord," and what 
 Langford called a "string of nursery rhymes," in which 
 Cunningham would sing the solo, and the rest the chorus. 
 The idea conveyed in these rhymes was, that only in Mor- 
 monism was happiness to be found, and that they were glad 
 that they were Mormons. 
 
 After the party arrived in Salt Lake City, Cunningham 
 called Langford on one side, and said to him, "You boys 
 seem to be pretty good fellows, and I do not wish you to come 
 to harm, and will give you a word of advice. Here in Salt 
 Lake, you must not express yourselves about Mormonism 
 as you have when you have talked with me ; for, if you do, 
 your lives won't be worth a cent." 
 
 "Why so? " asked Langford. 
 
 "Because you will be assassinated," was the reply. 
 
 Langford thanked him, and followed his advice. Soon 
 afterwards he mentioned the fact to a Gentite with whom 
 he had business, who in reply said, "You must do as he 
 says, or you will never leave the city alive. Do you see 
 
266 " HE IS A MORMON SPY ! " 
 
 that man with a gray coat? He is a Mormon spy, and is 
 evidently watching you, and will watch you as long as you 
 remain in the city. I say, as your Mormon adviser did, 
 Be on your guard." 
 
 During all the time that Langford was in the city he was 
 followed by this man, and he said he felt sure that if one 
 word in disparagement, or criticism, of the Mormon peo- 
 ple, or their religion, had crossed his lips, he would have 
 been a dead man. He followed the advice he received, 
 however, else the readers of Scribner would not have been 
 so charmingly entertained afterwards, as they were by his 
 readable articles. 
 
 It may seem like digressing somewhat, but I cannot re- 
 frain from quoting the " nursery rhymes " which the Mor- 
 mons sang by the camp-fire, and which evidently impressed 
 Langford with their absurdity. These rhymes are printed 
 in the Mormon Sunday-school song-book, and are sung in 
 Sunday-schools and religious meetings to the tune of " The 
 Bonny Breast Knots." They are a most remarkable piece 
 of religious composition. 
 
 " What peace and joy pervade the soul, 
 And sweet sensations through me roll, 
 And love and peace my heart console, 
 Since first I met the Mormons ! 
 
 " They sing the folly of the wise ; 
 Sectarian precepts they despise ; 
 A heaven far above the skies 
 
 Is never sought by Mormons. 
 
 " To Sabbath meetings they repair ; 
 Both old and young assemble there, 
 The words of inspiration share : 
 No less can suit the Mormons. 
 
 " At night the Mormons do convene, 
 To chat a while, and sing a hymn ; 
 And one, perchance, repeat a rhyme 
 He made about the Mormons. 
 
SING, "DADDY, I'M A MORMON!" 267 
 
 " The Mormon fathers love to see 
 Their Mormon families all agree ; 
 The prattling infant on his knee 
 
 Cries, ' Daddy, I'm a Mormon ! ' 
 
 " As youth in Israel once decried, 
 To wed with those that Heaven denied, 
 So youth among us now have cried, 
 4 We'll marry none but Mormons.' 
 
 " High be our heaven, the Mormons cry, 
 Our place of birth, and when they die, 
 Celestialize and purify 
 
 This earth for perfect Mormons. 
 
 " So, while we tread the foeman's ground, 
 We'll make the trump of freedom sound, 
 And scatter blessings all around, 
 Like free and happy Mormons. 
 
 [ Chorus to each verse.~\ 
 
 " Hey, the merry, O, the busy, 
 Hey, the sturdy Mormons ; 
 I never knew what joy was 
 Till I became a Mormon." 
 
 I have heard women singing this chorus in some meet- 
 ing, because they dared not be silent, when their faces 
 belied the words of the song, and who I knew hated the 
 life which they were compelled to live, and who had seen 
 nothing but the most abject misery since they had entered 
 it; whose lives were one long, terrible torture, and who 
 would have been perfectly happy had they seen any way 
 of escape from it. 
 
 The dangers of non-Mormons in 1863, great as they 
 were, were much less than in days just succeeding the 
 "Reformation," which days have been rightly called "The 
 Reign of Terror." It was a terrible time, indeed, and one 
 fairly shudders to recall the blood-curdling atrocities that 
 
268 DESTROYING ANGELS. * 
 
 were committed at that period. All "in the name of the 
 Lord," too, and as an exercise of religious faith. The 
 Spirit of the New Testament, the Christ-like spirit, breath- 
 ing out "peace on earth, goodwill to men," seemed en- 
 tirely lost. The " Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter- 
 Day Saints " forgot the sweet song of good-fellowship and 
 love that the angels sang at the birth of Him whom they 
 professed to follow, and by whose name they were called. 
 The angry denunciations of fanatics and religious tyrants, 
 and their servile followers, demanding blood and calling 
 loudly and openly for the sacrifice of human life, and the 
 destruction of all who dared to differ from them, drowned 
 the angel voices. 
 
 The old Mosaic spirit of retribution was abroad in all its 
 most fearful force. " Altars of sacrifice " were loudly recom- 
 mended, and the victims were advised to place themselves 
 thereon voluntarily ; if they would not become willing sac- 
 rifices, they became involuntary ones, for " somebody " took 
 the matter in hand, and saw that the " atonement " was 
 made. 
 
 Usually this mysterious " somebody " was one of the 
 "Danites," or "Destroying-Angels," a band of men regu- 
 larly organized for the purpose of putting obnoxious per- 
 sons out of the way. It is said that the band had its origin 
 in Missouri, in the early days of Mormonism, before the 
 settlement of Nauvoo. But they never became so very 
 notorious until the "Reformation " times, when their peculiar 
 talents were called into play, and their services into con- 
 stant requisition. 
 
 As loudly as the Mormon leaders talked to the people 
 about doing their " dirty work" themselves, they, neverthe- 
 less, shrank from soiling their own fingers ; so they em- 
 ployed others to do their own share, and contented them- 
 selves by saying that such a person ought to be "used up," 
 and thinking no more of it until they received the news of a 
 mysterious death. In this way Brigham Young has " man- 
 
THE MYSTERIOUS SOMEBODY I 
 
 269 
 
 aged " a great many murders, of which he would probably 
 avow himself entirely guiltless, since his hand did not per- 
 form the deed. But though his hand may have no blood- 
 stain to haunt him, yet his heart must be terribly weighted 
 with the load of guilt, which he cannot shake off, let him 
 try as hard as he may. To look at the man, rosy and 
 smiling, comfortable in every particular, you would never 
 take him to be the hard, cruel despot he is. He looks 
 clean enough outwardly, but within he is filled with moral 
 rottenness to the very core. 
 
 Among the men he has employed, the most notorious are 
 Orrin Porter Rockwell, known familiarily as " Port" Rock- 
 well, and William, or, as he is called, " Bill" Hickman. 
 " Port" was an old friend and ally of Joseph Smith, hold- 
 ing very much the same relation to him that " Bill Hick- 
 man " has held to the present Prophet. Among other 
 things of which he was accused, was the murder of Gov- 
 ernor Boggs, of Missouri. 
 Joseph Smith and he were 
 both accused, the former 
 of instigating the murder, 
 the latter for committing 
 it ; but Smith got free 
 without a trial, through 
 some quibble of the law, 
 and Rockwell proved that 
 he was in another place at 
 the time of the attempted 
 assassination. He was 
 always near the Prophet 
 in the^time of danger, and, in return, Joseph promised 
 " Port " that so long as he wore his hair uncut his life 
 should be safe. So he still wears his hair long, in braided 
 queues down his back, and he says that he shall live until 
 every enemy of Joseph Smith is killed. 
 
 His evil deeds will probably equal, if not outnumber, Bill 
 
 BRIGHAM'S "DESTROYING ANGEL," 
 ROCKWELL, 
 
 PORT ' 
 
270 CONFESSION OF THE MURDERER HICKMAN. 
 
 Hickman's ; but the latter, either touched with remorse at 
 the remembrance of all the crimes which he had committed, 
 or else annoyed because Brigham was so avaricious and 
 parsimonious, and did not give him money enough, or be- 
 cause he thought to save his own neck, turned State's 
 evidence against Brigham and the other Mormon leaders, 
 and made what he calls a " full confession " of his crimes. 
 The list of them is perfectly appalling, and he claims that 
 he did them all at Young's instigation. 
 
 Among the most famous of the murders was that of 
 Lobbs, and the massacre of the " Aiken party" a deed that 
 stands in cold-blooded atrocity and treachery next to the 
 " Mountain Meadow Massacre," and in which Port Rock- 
 well figures also. It was a deed that could be committed 
 by no one except the fanatical Mormons, who were drunk 
 with " Reformation " excitement, and filled with an insane 
 desire for blood-shedding. 
 
 A party of six men, on their way from Sacramento, 
 which city they had left in May, 1857, going, as it was sup- 
 posed, to join Johnston's army. A part of the way they 
 travelled with a party of Mormons who were ordered home 
 from Missouri to assist in the "Mormon war." 
 
 The Mormon party took a great liking to them all, and 
 the relations between them were very amicable. John 
 Pendleton, one of the Mormons, said in his testimony, 
 w They were kind, polite, and brave, and always ready to 
 do anything that was needed." Unfortunately for them, 
 they got impatient at the slowness with which the Mormon 
 party travelled, and so they left it, and hurried on. At 
 Raysville, a town about twenty-five miles north of Salt 
 Lake, they were all arrested on the charge of being gov- 
 ernment spies. A few days after their arrest, the Mormon 
 party came in, and Pendleton, it seems, instantly recog- 
 nized their horses in the public corral. He at once in- 
 quired what it meant, and on being told that the party had 
 been arrested as spies, he replied, with an oath, that it was 
 
A FEW MEN ! 271 
 
 impossible ; that they knew nothing about the army ; that, 
 in fact, they had been their companions nearly all the way. 
 "Can't help it ; we shall keep them," was the reply. When 
 it is remembered that they had property with them to the 
 amount of twenty-five thousand dollars, I think their deten- 
 tion will be fully explained. 
 
 They were tried as spies, and nothing being proved 
 against them, they were promised safe-conduct out of the 
 Territory, but they must be sent by the southern route. 
 Four of them went, leaving the other two of their party in 
 the city, accompanied by Rockwell, John Lot, a man of the 
 name of Watts, and one other man. At Nephi, one hun- 
 dred miles south of Salt Lake, Rockwell informed Bishop 
 Bryant that the party were to be "used up" there. A 
 council was held, and the Bishop appointed four more men 
 to assist the four who had the men in charge. Among 
 these last appointed was the Bishop's own counsellor, Pitch- 
 for, and a man named Bigbee, who is now a Bishop. 
 This part} r of four started early in the night, while the 
 Aikens' party did not leave until daylight. When they 
 reached the Sevier River, Rockwell said he thought they 
 had better camp there, for they could find no other camp- 
 ing-place that day; so they stopped. Very soon the other 
 party, who had been lying in wait for them, approached, 
 and asked permission to camp with them, which was readily 
 granted. 
 
 The men were tired, and removing their arms, they were 
 soon sound asleep. Their treacherous companions hovered 
 over them like greedy birds of prey. Why didn't something 
 warn those men of the terrible fate that was in store for 
 them? But there came no voice of warning, and still they 
 slept on as peacefully and as trustfully as though in their 
 own homes among those who loved them ; and still the 
 assassins hovered over them, waiting for what they did not 
 know. They discussed the manner in which the deed 
 should be done, and decided not to use fire-arms. Armed 
 
272 TOO TRUE! THE STORY OF A BLOODY DEED. 
 
 with clubs, they crept stealthily up to where their sleeping 
 companions lay, and dealt furious blows at them while they 
 slept. Two of the men died without a struggle ; John 
 Aiken was but slightly wounded, and rose to his feet to de- 
 fend himsef, but received a shot from the pistol of one of the 
 men which laid him senseless. A man called the " Colonel," 
 believing the whole party were attacked by robbers, made 
 his way into the bush, receiving as he went a shot in the 
 shoulder from " Port " Rockwell's pistols. He succeeded in 
 
 MURDER OF AIKEN PARTY. 
 
 evading his pursuers, and made his way to Nephi, twenty- 
 five miles distant, and arrived, pale and drenched with 
 blood, at Bishop Foote's, whose guests the party had been 
 during their stay in Nephi. He told his story, which was 
 listened to with a surprise and horror that were well 
 feigned. 
 
 The three bodies were thrown into the river ; but in some 
 miraculous manner, in spite of his wounds, John Aiken 
 managed to get ashore, and, hiding in the bush, he heard 
 one of the men ask Rockwell " if all the damned Gentiles 
 were dead ; " to which the other replied, that they were, all 
 
W THEY WEPT LIKE CHILDREN I" 
 
 but one, but that he ran away. Aiken lay quietly until he 
 heard the assassins leave; then he 'made his way, as best 
 he could, through the cold November night, drenched with 
 water, sorely wounded, and with very little clothing, back 
 to Nephi. He knew who were his attempted assassins, and 
 he knew that to go to Nephi was to go directly back into 
 the jaws of death ; but he did not know what else to do ; so 
 he plodded painfully on until he reached the town, where 
 he sank fainting at the door of the very first house which he 
 reached. The woman of the house was surprised at his 
 appearance, and told him that another one was at Bishop 
 Foote's. "It is my brother ! " he exclaimed, and moved away 
 from the door. No one attempted to stop him ; all were 
 too much shocked at his appearance and manner, and he 
 reached Bishop Foote's in safety, where he found not his 
 brother, but the "Colonel." 
 
 The meeting between them was heart-rending. They 
 wept like children, and, falling into each other's arms, em- 
 braced one another with all the tenderness of women. And 
 the Mormon men looked on and coolly decided upon the 
 manner of their death. 
 
 Bishop Bryant came with condolences and regrets at their 
 own misfortunes and the sad fate of their friends, extracted 
 the balls, dressed the wounds, and advised them to return, 
 as soon as they possibly could, to Salt Lake City. In the 
 mean time the murderers were in Nephi, concocting a new 
 plan of assassination. It is said that the men had saved a 
 watch worth two hundred and fifty dollars, and a pistol. 
 When they got ready to leave, a bill for thirty dollars was 
 presented to them, which, having no money with them, they 
 promised to settle directly on their return to Salt Lake. 
 They were told that such an arrangement could not be 
 made ; so Aiken said, " Well, here is my watch and my 
 partner's pistol ; you can take which you choose." With- 
 out hesitation the Bishop took the pistol ; so leaving the men 
 entirely unarmed. As he gave it to Foote, he turned to 
 18 
 
274 GETTING RID OF THE CORPSES ! 
 
 his friend and said, with the tears rolling down his face, 
 " Prepare for death ; we shall never leave this Valley 
 alive." 
 
 Previous to their departure, John Aiken had commenced 
 to write an account of the affair ; but it moved him so that 
 he was utterly unable to proceed with it, and so he got a 
 son of Bishop Foote, who had proved a good friend to them, 
 to finish it for him. This account, by some mysterious 
 good fortune, has never been destroyed. 
 
 They had got but a few miles from Nephi when the 
 driver of their wagon a Mormon, and in the plot stopped 
 in front of an old cabin, and saying that he must water his 
 horses, unhitched them and led them away. Instantly, two 
 men stepped from the cabin, and before the doomed men could 
 realize the situation, fired at them, killing them instantly ; 
 they were then taken from the wagon, and, loaded with 
 stone, put in a "bottomless spring," such as is often seen 
 in Utah. 
 
 While this atrocious act of villany was going on, Rock- 
 well and his men had returned to Salt Lake, and taking the 
 remaining ones of the party, had started southward with 
 them, plying them with liquor constantly. One of them, 
 named Back, feigned drunkenness ; but the other man was 
 absolutely insensible when they reached the " Point of the 
 Mountain," where it had been decided to make away with 
 them; or, in Danite parlance, "use them up." They were 
 suddenly attacked with slung-shot. The drunken man was 
 quickly despatched, without the slightest trouble ; but Back, 
 who had been suspicious of his companions, and had been 
 on the lookout for treachery, leaped from the wagon, and 
 succeeded in outrunning his pursuers and in evading their 
 bullets. He swam the Jordan, and came down to the city, 
 where he told the whole story, creating a tremendous ex- 
 citement. Brigham was terribly exercised, and sent at once 
 for Hickman, telling him, in his usual refined manner, 
 " The boys have made a bad job putting a man out of the 
 
275 
 
 way. They all got drunk, bruised up a fellow, and he got 
 away from them at the Point of the Mountain, came back 
 to the city, and is telling all that has happened, which is 
 making a bad stink." 
 
 He then told him that he must find that man and use him 
 up ; that, first of all, he was to go and find George Grant 
 and William Kimball, both of whom were "generals" in 
 the Utah militia, and consult with them about having him 
 taken care of. Hickman found the " generals " decidedly 
 disgusted at "Rockwell's mismanagement of the affair," as 
 they termed it ; that something must be done, and that at 
 once, and asked if Brigham had sent him up. On being told 
 that he had, they informed him that they had arranged 
 everything, and only wished him to carry out their arrange- 
 ments and follow their instructions. 
 
 They had planned with a man with whom Back had 
 stayed a great deal on his first arrival in Utah, and in whom 
 he had implicit confidence, to invite him to visit him. He 
 was to come to town to fetch him to his home, which was 
 about twelve miles from the city, and Hickman was to meet 
 them on the way and despatch Back. He was to go a cer- 
 tain road, which was very quiet, being but little travelled, 
 was to drive white horses, and was to go very fast. Hick- 
 man and another man named Meacham started out a little 
 before sundown, and rode to the appointed spot. About 
 dusk, the wagon with the white horses came swiftly along; 
 the two men were talking interestedly, and the poor victim 
 of this treacherous plan was entirely off his guard : sup- 
 posing himself to be with a friend, no thought of harm had 
 entered his mind, and he was entirely unprepared for his 
 cruel fate. Hickman and Meacham stepped suddenly out 
 into the lonely road, and called to the driver to halt, at the 
 same time firing at Back, shooting him through the head, 
 and killing him instantly. The body was put into a ditch, 
 a rag hung on a bush to mark the spot, and the assassins 
 returned to George Grant's house to report their success* 
 
276 CRYING FOR VENGEANCE FROM THE GRAVE ! 
 
 They found Grant, Kimball, and Port Rockwell all there, and 
 after hearing the result of the expedition, all took spades 
 and went out and buried the man. The next day Hickman 
 gave an account of the affair to Young, who expressed him- 
 self as delighted that he had been put out of the way. 
 
 It was fourteen years before the truth of this affair was 
 known. It was for a while shrouded in deep mystery, and 
 the blood of the innocent victims cried out for retribution 
 unheeded and unnoted for all those years. Now their fate is 
 known beyond a doubt, and foremost in the list of assassins 
 stands the name of Brigham Young. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FRIGHTFUL DEEDS OF BLOOD. MORMONISM IN ITS 
 TRUE LIGHT. 
 
 The Yates Murder. Brigham and the Leading Mormons Arrested for 
 the Crime. Mr. Yates accused of being a Spy. He is Arrested and 
 his Goods Seized. Bill Hickman takes possession of the Prisoner's 
 Body. Brigham Embezzles his Gold. Another Saint steals his 
 Watch. Hickman carries him to Jones's Camp. He is murdered 
 there while Asleep. Hickman asks Brigham for a Share of the 
 Spoil. The Prophet refuses ; sticks to every Cent. Hickman's 
 " faith " in Mormonism is Shaken. His fellow-murderer Apostatizes 
 Outright. How Bill was finally "paid in Wives." He tries a little 
 matter of Seventeen. Fiendish Outrage at San Pete. Bishop Snow 
 contrives the Damnable Deed. The fate of his Victims. A Myste- 
 rious Marriage. The Feather-beds and the Prophet. Mrs. Lewis 
 comes to Live with Me. 
 
 BOUT this time, when the 
 Aiken party were cut off, 
 as I have just related, by 
 Brigham Young's express 
 command, another horrible 
 murder was perpetrated 
 under circumstances of 
 equal atrocity, which has 
 since attracted a consid- 
 erable amount of public 
 attention. 
 
 The reason of the Yates 
 murder becoming so noto- 
 rious, was not because it 
 
 FARM-HOUSE. 
 
 was so much worse than 
 hundreds of other murders which have been committed in 
 
278 
 
 Mormondom, but because Brigham Young and other Mor- 
 mon officials were arrested as the murderers. Hickman 
 turned State's evidence, and it is from his own account that 
 I take the leading facts of the assassination. 
 
 Yates was a trader on Green River, and was accused by 
 the Mormons of being a government spy. In those days, 
 if no other charge could be brought against a person, he 
 was called a "spy;" and this, of course, gave sufficient 
 reason for putting him out of the way very summarily. 
 The Mormons were also annoyed because, although among 
 his stores he had a large quantity of ammunition, he would 
 not sell it unless the purchasers bought other goods. They 
 then accused him of supplying the army, and arresting 
 him, carried him to Fort Bridger, while they took posses- 
 sion of his store, stock, &c. 
 
 Hickman was detailed to take the prisoner to the city, 
 and Yates's money nine hundred dollars in gold was 
 given him to carry to Brigham Young. His watch was 
 "taken care of " by some one at Bridger. Hickman was 
 accompanied by a brother of his, a Gentile, who was on a 
 visit to him ; Meacham, the one who was connected with 
 him in the murder of Back ; and a man of the name of 
 Flack. On their way they were met by Joseph A. Young, 
 who informed them that his father wanted Yates killed, and 
 that he, Hickman, was to take him to Jones's camp, where 
 he would receive further orders. The party arrived at 
 camp that evening about sundown, and that night Yates 
 was murdered as he lay asleep by the camp-fire. 
 
 Hickman and Flack carried the news and the money to 
 Brigham. He was very affable until Hickman suggested 
 that, as they had been to much expense, he thought part of 
 the money ought to come to them. His manner changed 
 at once ; he reprimanded the men very severely, and told 
 them that the money was needed for the church ; it must go 
 towards defraying the expenses of the war. Flack aposta- 
 
THE DEVIL'S DIRTIEST WORK. ANOTHER "ANGEL!" 279 
 
 BILL HICKMAN, BRIGHAM'S 
 ANGEL." 
 
 1 DESTROYING 
 
 tized at once ; renounced Mormonism on the spot ; it evi- 
 dently didn't "pay" well enough to suit him, and Hickman 
 himself was disgusted with the meanness of his master. 
 He said that Brigham never 
 gave him one dollar for all the 
 "dirty work" he had done for 
 him ; he never made him the 
 slightest present. But he paid 
 him, it is said, in wives. I 
 think he had seventeen, and a 
 large number of children. 
 
 It was a class of men like 
 this that the Reformation 
 brought to the surface, and 
 capital tools they made for a 
 corrupt and bloodthirsty priest- 
 hood. They were earnest dis- 
 ciples of the " Blood- Atonement," and could slay an apos- 
 tate or a Gentile with no compunctions of conscience. Yet, 
 bad as they were, they did not equal in villany the men 
 who employed them, and then refused to pay them. 
 
 Everything, even the most trifling, that a person did, 
 which was at all offensive to any member of the priesthood, 
 was accounted apostasy, and punishment administered as 
 speedily as possible. Hundreds of innocent victims have 
 been sacrificed in this way, merely to gratify a petty, per- 
 sonal revenge, or to remove some person who chanced to 
 be distasteful. Fanaticism and bigotry were at that time at 
 flood tide, and some of the most revolting and heart-sick- 
 ening crimes were committed. Many of them were un- 
 known outside the places where they occurred, and so 
 common were they that, beyond an involuntary feeling of 
 horror, and a vague sort of wonder as to who would be the 
 next victim, nothing was thought of them; until, after the 
 excitement began to die away, and the people had time to 
 recall the scenes of horror, they began to realize, to a cer- 
 
280 HORRIBLE CRIMES IN THE SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 tain extent, what they had been passing through. Some 
 of the crimes were almost too shocking even to mention ; 
 they could not be given in detail. 
 
 Among the victims to priestly hatred and jealousy was a 
 young man about twenty years of age, in San Pete County, 
 named Thomas Lewis, a very quiet, inoffensive fellow, 
 much liked by all who knew him, very retiring in his man- 
 ners, and not particularly fond of gay society. He lived 
 with his widowed mother, and the very sweetest, tenderest 
 relations that can exist between a mother and child existed 
 between them. 
 
 Contrary to his usual habit, he attended a dancing-party 
 one evening at the urgent and repeated entreaties of his 
 friends, and during the evening he was quite attentive to a 
 young lady-friend of his who was present, and with whom 
 he was on terms of greater intimacy than with any other 
 in the company. She knew his shy, retiring disposition, 
 and seemed to take pleasure in assisting him to make the 
 evening a pleasant one ; just as any good-natured, kindly 
 girl will do for a young fellow whom she likes, and who she 
 knows is ill at ease and uncomfortable. 
 
 It happened that Snow, the Bishop of the ward in which 
 the Lewis family lived, had cast his patriarchal eye on this 
 young girl, and designed her for himself; and he did not 
 relish the idea of seeing another person pay any attention to 
 his future wife. He had a large family already, but he 
 wished to add to it, and he did not choose to be interfered 
 with. 
 
 Lewis's doom was sealed at once ; the bewitched Bishop 
 was mad with jealous rage, and he had only to give a hint 
 of his feelings to some of his chosen followers, who were 
 always about, and the sequel was sure. He denounced 
 Lewis in the most emphatic manner, and really succeeded 
 in arousing quite a strong feeling of indignation against him 
 for his presumption in daring to pay even the slightest atten- 
 tion to a lady who was destined to grace a Bishop's harem. 
 
THE SAN PETE OUTRAGE. 28 1 
 
 The closest espionage was kept upon him by the Bishop's 
 band of ruffians, and one evening a favorable opportunity 
 presented itself; he was waylaid, and the Bishop's sentence 
 carried out, which was to inflict on the boy an injury so 
 brutal and barbarous that no woman's pen may write the 
 words that describe it. 
 
 He lay in a concealed spot for twenty-four hours, weak 
 and ill, and unable to move. Here his brother found him 
 in an apparently dying state, and took him home to his 
 poor, distracted mother, who nursed him with a breaking 
 heart, until after a long time, when he partially recovered. 
 
 He then withdrew himself from all his former friends, and 
 even refused to resume his place at the table with the family. 
 He became a victim of melancholia, and would take no 
 notice of what was occurring around him. He staid with 
 his mother for several years, when he suddenly disap- 
 peared, and has never been heard of since ; his mother and 
 brother made every effort to find him, but they could not 
 obtain the slightest clew to his whereabouts. 
 
 Whether this victim of priestly rule is dead or living must 
 for ever remain a mystery. It is probable that the emis- 
 saries of Bishop Snow have put an end to his existence. 
 Yet during the whole of this affair the bishop was sustained 
 by Brigham Young, who knew all about it. He has held 
 his sacred office as securely as though the stain of human 
 blood was not on his conscience ; he has been sent on a 
 mission to preach "the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ to 
 the poor benighted nations of Christendom," and he has 
 also taken more wives, which were sealed to him by 
 Brigham Young in the Endowment House. 
 
 But a still greater marvel is, that the mother of Bishop 
 Snow's poor victim still retains her faith in Mormonism, and 
 since the cruel and disgraceful tragedy which deprived her of 
 her son, has been sealed to Brigham Young as one of his 
 wives. It was not pity that moved him to marry her, nor a de- 
 sire to comfort her and lighten her burdens ; but it was because 
 he saw by so doing that he could advance his own interests. 
 
282 A MATRIMONIAL WATER-COURSE ! 
 
 Mrs. Lewis is never mentioned among his wives, yet he was 
 sealed to her about two years after his marriage to me. 
 Brigham's matrimonial experiences hardly find a place here, 
 but as Mrs. Lewis's alliance with the Prophet came about in 
 a way through this tragedy, it may not be out of place even 
 in this chapter on " Blood-Atonement." 
 
 San Pete was filled with so many sad memories to Mrs. 
 Lewis, after the terrible fate of her son, that she could not 
 remain there, reminded as she constantly was of the affair ; 
 so she removed to Provo, where she bought herself a very 
 pleasant home, and, being a woman of considerable wealth, 
 was living very comfortably, when Brigham commenced 
 building a factory so near to her that it spoiled the beauty 
 of the place and made it quite unpleasant. The agents then 
 proposed to bring the water-course through her front yard 
 an arrangement to which she objected most emphatically. 
 The agents, shocked at her unwillingness to have her prop- 
 erty spoiled for the sake of Brother Brigham's factory, 
 rushed in breathless haste to the Prophet, and told him of 
 Mrs. Lewis's rebellion. He instantly formed a plan of in- 
 ducing her to surrender. He went at once to Provo, and 
 presented himself to Mrs. Lewis with an offer of marriage, 
 saying at the same time, " I know you have had a great 
 deal of trouble, Sister Lewis ; you have suffered much for 
 the sake of the gospel, and I pity you. I desire to do some- 
 thing for you ; I wish in some way to comfort you ; so I 
 think you had better become a member of my family." 
 
 She was an old lady, with children all grown, and was 
 perfectly independent of them or any one, and certainly had 
 no need to marry for support. As the Mormons believe 
 that no woman can enter heaven except some man go 
 through the ordinances with her, very many are sealed in 
 their old age to secure salvation ; but as her husband had 
 been a good Mormon, and they had attended to all the im- 
 portant matters, she was saved without prophetic interven- 
 tion. She had no need to marry for a husband who should 
 
THE PROPHET MAKES LOVE TO THE WIDOW. 283 
 
 look out for her welfare, as her children were ready and 
 willing to do anything she needed done in the way of busi- 
 ness. So she informed Brother Brigham that she didn't see 
 why she should marry at all. 
 
 But Brother Brigham assured her that he wanted to marry 
 as well for his own happiness as hers. He wanted her 
 always near him, and it should be his first pleasure and 
 business to look out for a nice place of residence for her, 
 where he might look after her constantly. In fact he played 
 the devoted and anxious lover with all the earnestness of a 
 youth who is wooing his first innamorata, and in a fashion 
 that would have made some of his family stare had they 
 overheard it. 
 
 The Prophet's earnestness was not without effect, and 
 Mrs. Lewis took her lover's proposal into serious considera- 
 tion, while he waited anxiously for an answer, with one eye 
 on the coveted front yard, the other leering at the widow, 
 who actually concluded to accept his proposals, and, absurd 
 as it may seem, became one of his wives. 
 
 He was ashamed of himself after it was all over, and 
 requested his bride to say nothing about " the transaction 
 between them," as it was better that, for the present at 
 least, no one but themselves should know anything about it. 
 "They would not understand, you know," murmured he in 
 his most drivellingly sweet accents. The trouble was, 
 "they "would understand too well, especially when they 
 saw the water-course running through the once pretty front 
 yard of the last Mrs. Young's home. 
 
 In a very short time he began to talk about his farm-house, 
 and extolling it as a most desirable residence. I was living 
 there at the time, yet he said " it was plenty large enough 
 for two families, and everything was arranged with such 
 perfect convenience ; " so he begged that she would move 
 there at once. He grew eloquent over the beauties of the 
 situation, and said, "It is a perfectly splendid place, the 
 9 nicest farm-place I ever saw in my life. I would give any- 
 
284 AN OLD GOOSE AND HER FEATHER-BEDS ! 
 
 thing if my duties would permit me to live there ; but I am 
 kept away by circumstances, and cannot even think of it as 
 a permanent residence, ardently as I long to do so." He con- 
 tinued, "You can raise all the fowls there that you desire ; it 
 is a beautiful place for raising ducks and geese, and you 
 may make as many feather-beds as you wish." 
 
 What greater inducements could he hold out to her? 
 Dear to every old housekeeper's heart are her plump, soft, 
 billowy feather-beds. We moderns are stifled by them ; 
 they are oppressive, and suggestive of dust ; but she pats 
 their rotundity with loving hands ; gives them many punches 
 
 BRIGHAM WOOING WIDOW LEWIS. 
 
 of affection, and builds a structure that is wonderful to be- 
 hold in which she hospitably smothers her chance visitor, 
 and, while he is sweltering in its embraces, tells him 
 proudly that " that bed is live geese ! " The pride of Mrs. 
 Lewis's heart was her feather-beds she wavered. 
 
 Her sons were very reluctant to have her leave her own 
 home, and expressed themselves quite strongly on the sub- 
 ject when she mentioned it to them and asked their advice. 
 Yet, in spite of their disapprobation, she concluded to go. 
 Her husband was also her Prophet, and it might be that he 
 spoke from inspiration. At all events, she would give heed 
 
TOO BUSY TO SEE HIS NEW WIFE ! 285 
 
 to his words, and regard his wishes ; else what punishment 
 and disgrace might she not bring upon herself? So, 
 deaf to her children's protestations, who, by the way, did 
 not regard the call to the farm as a divine bidding, she 
 removed thither, and came into the same house with me. 
 We neither of us liked this arrangement, as we were both 
 firm believers in the theory that no one house was ever 
 yet built large enough for two families. Yet we knew 
 that it would not be wise to say anything to Brigham ; so 
 we were as quiet as we could be, and awaited his own time 
 for our separation, Mrs. Lewis was a very kind, patient 
 woman, and I got very fond of her, and we got on admira- 
 bly together in our forced companionship, and managed to 
 live together until my house in the city was finished, which 
 was about four months after she arrived at the farm. 
 
 She said that she told Brother Brigham, most decidedly, 
 that she had strong objections to moving into a house with 
 another family, and he told me that he was intending to 
 have me go to the city immediately, and that I would prob- 
 ably be gone before she arrived at the farm. She post- 
 poned her removal for some weeks after that, hoping 
 that I would have gone by that time, and the coast entirely 
 clear. She found on her arrival that Brigham had grossly 
 misrepresented affairs at the farm. Nothing at all was as 
 he had described it to her. This hoary old Claude Mel- 
 notte deceived his ancient Pauline most cruelly in the vivid 
 pictures which he drew of the elegance of her future resi- 
 dence. 
 
 She made it her first business to visit the Prophet and 
 ask for some repairs to be made, which, by the way, 
 were sadly needed, but he declared that he had no time 
 to attend to them the same answer that he had made to my 
 requests ever since I had lived there. A busier man than 
 Brigham Young, when he wishes to be particularly en- 
 gaged, was never seen, I believe ; and his business is 
 always the most pressing when any of his wives ask him 
 to do anything for their comfort. 
 
286 HOW BRIGHAM CHEATED THE OLD LADY. 
 
 When she had lived at the farm a year, she told me that 
 Brigham had never been to see her once during all that 
 time ; but that he had got possession of her property, and 
 was using it for factory purposes. The water-course ran 
 through her yard, her house was made an office, and the 
 whole place was so changed and so entirely spoiled as a 
 residence, that she never could go there again to live. She 
 must, whether she would or not, live there until Brigham 
 chose to move her somewhere else, or until her children 
 could find some place for her to go to. She supports herself 
 entirely, independently of the man who has swindled her 
 out of her home and her property ; and the only assistance 
 she receives is from her children, who are very kind to her, 
 annoyed as they were at her for giving up her home, and, 
 above all, allowing it to fall into Brigham Young's hands. 
 His duck-and-goose story was all misrepresentation, made 
 use of merely to induce her to go to the farm ; and when 
 she got there she very soon found that she would have 
 those lovely feather beds, not, at least, by raising the 
 fowls to supply the feathers. The Prophet's imagination 
 had evidently run away with memory when he ardently 
 painted the glories of the farm to his bride. This poor old 
 lady was made a tool for the gratification of Brigham 
 Young's avarice, as her son had been the victim to one of 
 his followers' jealous anger. She has little to love Mor- 
 monism for. Its two leading doctrines, the "Celestial 
 Marriage " and " Blood- Atonement," have pretty thoroughly 
 shut out happiness from her life, and rendered her in her old 
 age lonely and dependent. 
 
 A man named Thomas Williams came early to Utah, was 
 a good Mormon, and embraced polygamy. He was a 
 lawyer, and had acquired both wealth and influence in his 
 profession. He was, however, a very independent man, 
 and a man of very decided opinions. He had differed from 
 Brigham on many political questions, and he was a warm 
 friend and staunch adherent of Judge Stiles, who had drawn 
 
" DAMN MORMONISM, AND ALL MORMONS ! " 287 
 
 upon himself the displeasure of the " boys " by his just and 
 impartial judgments. Indeed, Williams had his office 
 with the judge, and that was a crime, when Judge Stiles's 
 standing was taken into consideration. Williams was also 
 in possession of knowledge concerning some murders that 
 had taken place, had spoken very openly of them, and was 
 becoming actually dangerous to Brigham and the other 
 leaders, so dangerous that Brigham went to his parents 
 and complained of him and his acts, and ended by saying, 
 " If Tom don't behave himself, and stop making me trouble, 
 I must have him attended to." 
 
 Soon after that Williams apostatized, and expressed him- 
 self very openly concerning the Mormon church and its 
 leaders, although he knew that it must come to their ears, 
 and that they would try, at least, to punish him for what 
 they would consider his wickedness and profanity. He 
 seemed to have lost all fear, as he had previously lost all 
 belief in or respect for them. He started for California 
 soon after his apostasy, designing to stay there, and to send 
 for his family to join him, so soon as he should be fairly 
 settled. He was waylaid and killed by the "Indians" on 
 the plains. His body was fearfully mutilated, and left 
 hanging for the birds of prey. It was very well known, 
 however, at Salt Lake, that the " Indians " engaged in this 
 assassination were white, and that Williams was murdered 
 by the express order of the church authorities, who knew 
 that he would prove a most dangerous enemy. 
 
 His fate was a direct contradiction to Brigham's famous 
 sermon on apostates, preached a few years before. Here 
 is what he says about " independent apostates." 
 
 "When a man comes right out like an independent devil, 
 and says, ' Damn Mormonism, and all Mormons/ and is off 
 with himself to California, I say he is a gentleman, by the 
 side of the nasty, sneaking apostates, who are opposed to 
 nothing but Christianity. I say to the former, 'Go in 
 peace.' " 
 
288 THE PROPHET AND HIS BOWIE-KNIFE. 
 
 Williams was certainly independent enough, but his in- 
 dependence did not save him. 
 
 In this same sermon, which was preached particularly 
 against the " Gladdenites," as the followers of Gladden 
 Bishop were called, a man who differed from Brigham in 
 certain points of the Mormon belief, and who would not 
 concede that he (Young) was the proper successor of Jo- 
 seph Smith, he said, 
 
 "When I went from meeting last Sabbath, my ears were 
 saluted by an apostate preaching in the streets here. I 
 want to know if any one of you who has got the spirit of 
 Mormonism in you, the spirit that Joseph and Hyrum had, 
 or that we have here, would say, 'Let us hear both sides 
 of the question. Let us listen, and prove all things. 5 What 
 do you want to prove ? Do you want to prove that an old 
 apostate, who has been cut off from the church thirteen 
 times for lying, is anything worthy of notice? We want 
 such men to go to California, or anywhere they choose. I 
 say to these persons, 'You must not court persecution here, 
 lest you get so much of it you will not know what to do 
 with it. Do NOT court persecution. We have known 
 Gladden Bishop for more than twenty years, and know him 
 to be a poor, dirty cuss.' 
 
 "Now, you Gladdenites, keep your tongues still, lest 
 sudden destruction come upon you. I say, rather than that 
 apostates should flourish here, I will unsheathe my bowie- 
 knife, and conquer or die. Now, you nasty apostates, 
 clear out, or judgment will be laid to the line and righteous- 
 ness to the plummet. If you say it is all right, raise your 
 hands. Let us call upon the Lord to assist us in this and 
 every other good work." 
 
 "I will unsheathe my bowie-knife," has been a favorite 
 threat of his, and it has been unsheathed hundreds of 
 times. But some one of his Danite followers is called upon 
 to use it, and when the murders are laid at his door, he 
 
DROWNED IN THREE INCHES OF WATER. 289 
 
 stands coolly and boldly up, and his lying tongue says, I 
 did not do these deeds. 
 
 For six or seven years, the spirit of slaughter seemed to 
 stalk about in the beautiful Utah valleys, and human blood 
 was shed on the slightest provocation. Did one man bear 
 a grudge against another, he died in some mysterious man- 
 ner, a Mormon court of investigation could never discover 
 how. Was a man obnoxious to any of the church officers, 
 he disappeared, and was never heard of again ; or, like 
 John V. Long, a clerk in Brigham's office, who was the 
 only person who heard the conversation between Brigham 
 and the messenger sent from George A. Smith, just before 
 the Mountain Meadow massacre, and who -wrote out the 
 instructions which the man was to carry back, was found 
 dead in a ditch, "drowned" in three inches of 'water ', "ac- 
 cidentally," of course, since that was the decision of the 
 Mormon jury. Did a man suspect his wife of infidelity, 
 either she or her suspected lover, or both, fell a victim to 
 his fury. Sometimes the suspicion was without foundation, 
 but would be discovered too late, as in the case of the hus- 
 band who murdered a Dr. Vaughan in San Pete for sup- 
 posed intimacy with his wife. 
 
 The man was an enthusiastic Mormon ; his wife, a lovely 
 woman, whose reputation had always been irreproachable. 
 Dr. Vaughan was a friend of both, until the husband fan- 
 cied that he was too fond of the wife. He went at once 
 to Salt Lake City, took counsel of the Prophet, returned 
 home, and shot the doctor dead as he was leaving church. 
 He found out afterwards that his suspicion was unfounded, 
 and that he had murdered an innocent man, who had never 
 wronged him, even in thought. He was haunted by re- 
 morse until his death. Yet he had only followed the teach- 
 ings of his religious leader. 
 
 Such were the results of the teaching of the Blood- 
 Atonement doctrine in Utah. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 TROUBLES IN OUR OWN FAMILY. LOUISE COMES 
 UPON THE SCENE. 
 
 Increase of Polygamy. Marrying going on Day and Night. " Taking 
 a Wife and Buying a Cow." A Faithful Husband in a Fix. How 
 Men get " Married on the Sly." How Wives were Driven Crazy by 
 their Wrongs. My Father Marries Considerably. He " Goes in " 
 for the Hand-Cart Girls. Marries a Couple to Begin with. Takes a 
 Third the same Month. Rapid Increase of his "Kingdom." How 
 the Girls Chose Husbands. Instructing the New Wives in our Fam- 
 ily. Louise doesn't want to Work. My Father goes on Mission 
 Again. Louise Flirts and Rebels. She is Scolded and Repents. 
 Goes to Bed and Weeps. Bestows her Goods on the Family. 
 " Lizzie " Interviews Her. She Poisons Herself. Is a " Long Time 
 Dying." She gets a Strong Dose of Cayenne. Is sent on her 
 Travels. The Last we Heard of Her. 
 
 NOTHER immediate ef- 
 fect of the " Reformation * 
 was to increase the prac- 
 tice of polygamy. To alter 
 an old rhyme to suit the 
 occasion, 
 
 "Then were those wed who 
 
 never wed before ; 
 And those who once were wed 
 now wed the more." 
 
 Marrying and giving in 
 marriage was carried on 
 to such an extent, that, as 
 in the old days of the first 
 "Endowments " in Nauvoo 
 Temple, the ceremony of sealing was literally going on 
 day and night. "The man who refuses to enter poly- 
 
 ONLY A WIFE OUT OF THE WAY. 
 
NO HEAVEN WITHOUT POLYGAMY. 291 
 
 gamy will be eternally damned," announced Brigham 
 Young from the Tabernacle. " Who marries out of the 
 church marries for hell," supplemented Heber C. Kimball. 
 Polygamy was preached from the platform, and taught by 
 the ward-teachers in private. It was not only advised, it 
 was commanded, and no one dared of disobeying the pro- 
 phetic mandates. 
 
 There was scarcely a family in the Territory at that time 
 which was not increased by a plurality of wives. Men 
 married in the most reckless fashion, with nothing in the 
 world on which to support their families. Girls went to the 
 Endowment House in the morning to take their Endow- 
 ments, with no idea of marrying, and came away in the 
 afternoon sealed to some brother whose fancy they had 
 taken, or who, being advised by Brigham or Heber to avail 
 himself of his "privileges," had left the matter in apostolic 
 hands, and submitted to everything, even to the choice of a 
 wife. 
 
 Wives did not know when their husbands would bring 
 home another woman to share their home and their hus- 
 band ; for the clause in the " Revelation " that declared that 
 a man should seek his wife's consent to a plural marriage, 
 and that she should herself give the new wife to her hus- 
 band, " even as Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham," was merely 
 a dead letter, and was not minded in the majority of cases. 
 Indeed, the men many times did not consider it at all neces- 
 sary to inform the wives of their intentions, and the poor 
 women would know nothing of the new marriage until the 
 husband brought home his latest acquisition, or until she 
 was informed of it by some outsider. 
 
 Those were the days when even the most trusting wives 
 lost faith in their husbands ; when solemn, oft-repeated 
 promises were broken, evidently without the slightest qualm 
 of conscience ; when the tender, watchful affection of the 
 husband and father was swallowed up in mad desire of 
 
ONLY A WIFE 
 
 possession of the brute. There were tragedies enacted then 
 that the world never will hear of; women died of broken 
 hearts, and their sad fates brought no pang, or repentance, 
 or remorse to the men who were as much the murderers as 
 though they had deliberately taken tfreir lives with the knife, 
 the bullet, or the poisoned cup. 
 
 cc Only a wife " out of the way ; and what did that matter ? 
 plenty more were to be had for the asking. " I think no 
 more of taking a wife than I do of buying a cow," was one 
 of Heber Kirhball's delicate remarks, made from the stand 
 in the Tabernacle to a congregation of several thousand. 
 Most of his hearers thought even less of it, for they would 
 have had to pay money for the cow ; and as for the other, 
 he had only to throw his handkerchief to some girl, and she 
 would pick it up and follow him. 
 
 All the finer feelings and sensibilities of man's nature 
 were killed by this horrible system. He regarded women's 
 suffering with utter indifference ; he did not care for their 
 affection; their tears bored him, and angered rather than 
 touched him. He lost all the respect and chivalrous regard 
 which he once had for the sex, and spoke of his wives as 
 "my women," "my heifers," or, if he, a Heber Kimball, 
 " my cows." He was taught that they were his inferiors, 
 dependent on him for everything, even for their future ex- 
 istence, and he considered that it was sufficient that he gave 
 them his name ; the rest they might get for themselves. He 
 believed that the Mormon Church was to bring about the time 
 "when seven women shall lay hold on one man, begging to 
 be allowed to be called by his name," and should promise to 
 eat their own bread and wear their own apparel. The latter 
 they have been not merely allowed but obliged to do ever 
 since they entered the system, and poor and scanty have 
 been both bread and apparel in the majority of cases. It 
 makes, in short, a brute of what might be a man. 
 
 I know a first wife who was driven to such utter despera- 
 
HOPE GONE FOR EVER ! 293 
 
 tion by the total neglect of her husband, that she determined 
 to take her own life, since it had grown such a burden that 
 it was intolerable to bear. 
 
 One night, in the dead of winter, the snow falling thick 
 and fast, and the wind sweeping down the mountains and 
 through the canons, cutting to the very bone, as only a 
 mountain wind can, she wrapped a tattered shawl about 
 her, and rushed madly through the night and the snow to 
 the river, intending to lay down her life and her miseries 
 
 LIFE A BURDEN. 
 
 together. With a wild prayer for mercy, she was about to 
 throw herself into the water, when she was restrained by a 
 strong, imperative hand, and her husband's voice, hissing 
 angrily in her ear, bade her go home and not make a fool 
 of herself. 
 
 He was on his way home, or, rather, to his first wife's 
 house, for a change of linen, that he might attend his second 
 and more favored wife to a party, when he caught sight of 
 the flying figure, and, suspecting her intentions, followed her 
 swiftly, and was just in season to prevent her from taking 
 the fatal step. 
 
294 
 
 He had no word of sympathy for her ; on the contrary, 
 he was angered at what he called her obstinacy " and de- 
 termination to make a fool of herself." Her anguish of 
 heart brought no response of tenderness from him ; he made 
 her return home, get the articles of apparel which he wished, 
 and assist him in his preparations for taking her rival out 
 for the evening. In her frenzy, the maternal instinct which 
 is so strong in every woman utterly failed her, and she went 
 away to seek the death she coveted, leaving her little baby 
 wailing piteously in its cradle. 
 
 My mother had a friend whose husband had, for a long 
 time, withstood the desires and counsels of the priesthood, 
 and had incurred their marked displeasure by neglecting 
 for so long to "live up to his religion," and "avail himself 
 of his privileges." At the time of the Reformation, how- 
 ever, he did not dare neglect his "-duty " any longer, and 
 decided to take a second wife. Neither did he dare tell his 
 first wife of his determination, for he knew how entirely she 
 loved and trusted him, and he knew, too, how bitter an 
 opponent she always had been to polygamy. He knew as 
 well how many times he had assured her that she had noth- 
 ing to fear ; that he would be faithful to her, as he had 
 promised to be in the old days when he married her, and 
 before God had vowed to "cleave to her only until death 
 should them part." And he felt how bitter would be her 
 sorrow, how justly indignant her feelings towards him, how 
 intense her anger, and he did not dare to brave it all ; so he 
 stole quietly away to the Endowment House one day, leav- 
 ing his true and confiding wife ill in her bed, and fresh from 
 her sick room, took the blasphemous vows which claimed 
 to bind him to another woman for time and for eternity. 
 
 The first wife knew nothing of what had transpired until 
 she was very delicately told by a kind neighbor, who, know- 
 ing that she must find it out sooner or later, thought it her 
 duty to break the news to her as quietly as possible. 
 
 She was almost maddened by the intelligence, and at first 
 
295 
 
 she utterly refused to believe it. It could not be possible that 
 the husband of her youth, the man whom she had so loved 
 and trusted, would betray her thus ; would take advantage 
 of her illness to skulk away and take another wife, and 
 that, too, after all his repeated promises to her. 
 
 " It can't be true," she cried, wringing her hands, and 
 growing deadly pale. "It isn't true ! I can't believe it. I 
 won't believe it. O my God, help me if it is true. Tell me 
 that it isn't ; that you are mistaken." 
 
 But no such assurance could be given her, and her friend 
 tried in the gentlest manner to comfort her ; but what con- 
 solation could she bring that would heal a shattered faith 
 or bind up a broken heart? 
 
 This story has had many, many repetitions since then, 
 until now it has got to be " an old, old story often told." 
 
 It was all very well for this man to take this step as a 
 religious duty, if he had been sincere. But would he, or 
 would any true man who believed fully that he was obey- 
 ing the revealed law of God, and doing what he did for 
 conscience' sake, be afraid to meet any oppositiqn, from 
 whatever quarter it might come ? Is not this very lack of 
 courage a tacit acknowledgment that he does not believe in 
 its divinity at all, and that conscience stings, rather than 
 approves him for his cowardly act? 
 
 Another wife, whose husband had promised her as faith- 
 fully that he would not take another wife, did take one in 
 the same way, and under precisely the same circumstances. 
 On hearing the news she became a raving maniac, and died 
 in the insane hospital. Still another, who was as bitter an 
 opponent of the system of " Celestial Marriage " as either 
 of the other two, was one day invited by her husband to 
 go for a drive. Touched by this unusual act of kindness, 
 for he had been anything but kind to her, since he could 
 not obtain her consent to his taking another wife, she 
 quickly made herself ready, and went with him. He 
 drove her to the insane asylum, and left her, and she is 
 
2p DISPOSING OF THE HAND-CART GIRLS. 
 
 still an inmate of the place, although she is as sane as I 
 am at this moment. 
 
 I could cite hundreds of such cases that occurred during 
 the first years that directly followed the Reformation, and 
 that have multiplied since, until the recital of them would 
 fill a large volume ; but I will, instead, tell a little what the 
 * Reformation," and the subsequent "Celestial Ordinance " 
 fever, did for our own family. 
 
 It added several more to our circle in a very short time. 
 My father was counselled, as were most of the Mormon 
 men, to take some of the w Hand-Cart girls," as they must 
 be provided for some way. My mother had already had 
 her burden given her ; and after she had been obliged to see 
 another woman taking the love and care that by right be- 
 longed to her, and her alone, she grew indifferent on the 
 subject, and declared that a few wives, more or less, would 
 make little difference to her now, and she would be as well 
 satisfied with one fourth of a husband as with one half. 
 That is generally the way first wives argue ; if there is 
 to be a plurality of wives, it may as well be half a dozen 
 as one. The hurt comes with the first plural wife ; no suf- 
 fering can ever exceed the pain she feels then. 
 
 The second wife was made ill, however, by the new 
 arrangement ; it was the first time she had felt the hurt of 
 being superseded ; but she bore it very patiently, and made 
 no complaint. After she recovered from her illness, she 
 joined my mother in her efforts to make friends with the 
 other wives, for two had already been added to the family, 
 and placed under the same roof with us. 
 
 The Hand-Cart girls, not being disposed of rapidly 
 enough to satisfy the authorities, they urged them to make 
 proposals to the brethren, which, by the way, they were 
 not at all backward in doing. One young lady selected 
 "our" husband, to use my mother's expression; and to 
 quote from her description, " as it was done in obedience to 
 counsel, we extended our arms to receive her, the third one 
 
297 
 
 that we had welcomed within the month. Our 'kingdom' 
 was increasing, but each individual share of husband was 
 growing 'small by degrees and beautifully less.' " 
 
 This last acquisition proved to be anything but an agree- 
 able one, and she made plenty of trouble for us all. When 
 she offered herself to my father, after having been coun- 
 selled by the authorities to do so, he received her proposi- 
 tion somewhat coolly and cautiously, for, to tell the truth, 
 he would much have preferred to make his own selection, 
 and Louise (for that was her name) would, most emphati- 
 cally, have not been his choice. Yet he would have been 
 openly ridiculed, and held up to derision in the Tabernacle, 
 had he ventured to refuse ; so there was nothing to do but 
 to take her, and make the best of it. 
 
 THE NEW ADDITION. 
 
 He had been so long absent that his affairs were by no 
 means in a flourishing condition, and he needed all the as- 
 sistance he could obtain from his wives. My mother and 
 Elizabeth were both hard-working women, and as hard as 
 they had labored during their husband's absence, they did 
 
298 LOUISE FLIRTS TOO FREELY. 
 
 not relax their exertions in the slightest now that he had 
 returned. My mother took the young wives at once under 
 her protection, and commenced teaching them to be useful. 
 The two first ones proved very nice girls, and worked with 
 a will, showing a great readiness and aptitude at learning, 
 and a genuine desire to do their part. 
 
 But the "free-will offering," as Elizabeth and mother 
 always called Louise, did not love work, and she would 
 not do it. She said she was a milliner, and had once been 
 an actress, and declined "to soil her hands with menial 
 labor." That was her speech in refusing to assist about 
 the household work. 
 
 There was some little friction in the running of the 
 household machinery on account of this ; but Mormon wo- 
 men are expected to exercise patience, and there was very 
 little fault found audibly, although it was quite apparent 
 that the new wife was unhappy, and that all the rest were 
 disgusted with^ her selfishness and indolence, which 
 amounted to laziness. 
 
 My father was appointed to another mission in the States, 
 directly after he was married to Louise, and he left his 
 entire family living all together on a farm about seventy 
 vniles west of Salt Lake City. 
 
 During his absence Louise made herself disagreeable in 
 every possible way. It actually seemed as though she had 
 made up her mind to annoy us all as much as possible, and 
 that she tried every expedient she could devise to accom- 
 plish her intentions. 
 
 My mother was particularly annoyed by her familiarity 
 with the men employed on the farmland remonstrated 
 with her on her undignified behavior. She was very im- 
 pertinent, although mother had spoken to her in the kind- 
 est possible way, and informed her that she should do as 
 she pleased ; that she was my father's wife, and her rights 
 in the house were equal to any other person's. 
 
 Fortunately, my father remained away but a short time, 
 
MALINGERING ! 299 
 
 and on his return he was speedily made acquainted with the 
 state of affairs. He disapproved of her conduct quite as 
 much as my mother had done, and treated her with such a 
 marked coolness that she demanded the cause. He told her 
 that he was greatly displeased with her, annoyed particularly 
 at her lack of respect for herself, him, or his family, and 
 that he did not feel at all like acknowledging her as his wife 
 unless she would most decidedly behave in a more becoming 
 and dignified manner. 
 
 She was very penitent, and promised all sorts of things if 
 he would only allow her to remain in his family ; she went 
 about the house the very personification of grief and humil- 
 ity, until my father was called by church business to Salt 
 Lake City. No sooner was he fairly started than she deter- 
 mined to create a sensation in the family. 
 
 She shut herself up in her room, after announcing that 
 she wished to be left quiet and not intruded upon by any one. 
 However, one of the younger wives entered her room on 
 some pretext or other, and found Louise in bed. 
 
 " Are you ill? " she inquired. 
 
 "O, no; only heart-broken !" was the reply, in the mosf, 
 doleful tone which she could possibly assume, and a great 
 display of grief in the shape of a pocket-handkerchief which 
 she applied to her eyes, then flourished in the air, and then 
 returned to her eyes. After some more conversation, Eliza 
 came out with a pair of valuable ear-rings in her hand. 
 Mother asked her where she got them. 
 
 "Louise gave them to me," was the reply. 
 
 w Isn't that a sudden freak of generosity ? " inquired my 
 mother. 
 
 "She says she shall never want them any more, and she 
 cried when she said it," was the answer. 
 
 Louise had always seemed to like Eliza better than she 
 did any of the other wives, and my mother at once fancied 
 that there was some trickery going on, and that Louise was 
 trying to win Eliza over to her. I was a little curious my- 
 
300 HOW I GOT A WATCH AND CHAIN. 
 
 self, as girls of thirteen are very apt to be when anything 
 unusual is going on in the family which they do not fully 
 understand ; so I determined to visit Louise myself, and see 
 what was the matter with her. 
 
 She was very pathetic in her conversation with me, and 
 made me quite miserable by the recital of her wrongs. 
 Somehow I felt as though I was personally to blame for all 
 her misery, and yet I didn't see how that could be. She 
 gave me her watch and chain, which I had always admired 
 and coveted, and told me she had done for ever with such 
 gewgaws. I was, so delighted with the jewelry that I quite 
 neglected to be properly sympathetic, and rushed off to show 
 my gift to my mother, and tell her what Louise said. 
 
 She began to be a little startled by this new development 
 of affairs, and asked Lizzie, the third wife, to go up to her. 
 Lizzie was not a great favorite with Louise, and my mother 
 did not anticipate that she would receive such fine presents, 
 to say the least. She came back, saying that Louise said 
 she was going to die, and then she wished her wardrobe 
 divided among the family. She also wished that my mother 
 would come to her. She at first felt inclined to refuse, but 
 upon consideration, and being urged by the different mem- 
 bers of the family, she went, and found her groaning with 
 pain, real or pretended. She couldn't tell which then. 
 
 "What is the trouble? " she asked. 
 
 "O,"said Louise, with a groan,"! am dying. I shall 
 never cause any more trouble in your family." 
 
 " It is not right for you to talk in that manner," replied my 
 mother; "if you are ill, I will do all I can to relieve you." 
 
 " I don't want anything done ; I only want to die : my 
 husband does not love me, and I cannot live ; all I desire is 
 death," wailed the woman. 
 
 "It is not always so easy to die when we desire," was my 
 mother's somewhat crisp reply, as she was a little annoyed 
 by what she considered Louise's " foolishness." 
 
 " But I have made sure," answered she ; " I have taken 
 poison." 
 
THE HUSBAND SETTLES THE MATTER. 30! 
 
 "You surely cannot be so wicked as that," was mother's 
 surprised reply. " You are certainly telling me a falsehood." 
 
 Louise called on all heaven to witness the truth of what 
 she had said, and made so many solemn asseverations to the 
 truth of her having poisoned herself, that my mother began 
 to fear that she had really done so, and that the affair was 
 much more serious than she had supposed, for she had really 
 no idea that Louise would do so desperate a thing as that, for 
 she seemed altogether too fond of the good things of this life 
 to relinquish them voluntarily. We had all considered be- 
 fore this that Louise was giving us a taste of her dramatic 
 powers, and that it was a piece of very poor acting, after all. 
 But if she really had taken her life into her own hands, 
 determined to throw it away so recklessly, she must be 
 looked after at once. 
 
 So everything that could be thought of as an antidote to 
 poison was given to her ; she all the time groaning and 
 screaming with pain. There was no physician within thirty 
 miles, and our nearest neighbor lived five miles away. My 
 brother was summoned from the hay-field, where he was at 
 work, and sent for our father. There was not a horse to be 
 had, as it happened, and my brother started on foot to try 
 and overtake father, who had set out on horseback some 
 hours before. He would necessarily travel very slowly, 
 however, as he was driving cattle. The boy had to climb 
 high mountains, and consequently made but slow progress; 
 yet, on descending, he ran as fast as possible, and suc- 
 ceede4 in overtaking his father when about fifteen miles 
 from home. He was perfectly exhausted by his efforts, and 
 fell fainting at his father's feet, after he had managed to gasp 
 out, "Father, Louise has poisoned herself! " 
 
 It was some time before he recovered sufficiently to tell 
 the whole story, which my father instantly pronounced a 
 hoax. " However," he said, " I will go back and settle the 
 difficulty." 
 
 During all the time that elapsed between my brother's 
 
302 IT'S YOUJl FAULT I'M NOT DEAD ! 
 
 departure and his return with his father, Louise was con- 
 tinuing the tragedy in a way that was calculated to frighten 
 the whole family. She reached out her hand and bade us 
 all farewell, at the same time exhorting us to greater piety. 
 She said it had been her desire to do right, but she knew 
 she had failed in her most earnest endeavors ; this she 
 regretted, as she was now nearing her end, and had no 
 means of rectifying her past wrong-doing. Yet she wished 
 to die in peace witri all, and she forgave the wrongs she had 
 received at the hands of some members of the family. 
 
 After talking on in this strain for some time, until, indeed, 
 she had exhausted the topic and could find no more to say, 
 she tried her hand at acting a kind of stupor ; from which she 
 soon aroused, however, and recommenced her exhortation, 
 and ended by informing my mother that she had never 
 understood her, and had never sufficiently appreciated her, 
 and that she would rather die than be the cause of con- 
 tention. 
 
 My mother at last was beginning to understand her most 
 thoroughly now ; and losing all patience with her, and feel- 
 ing very indignant at her shallow attempt at deception, which 
 was beginning to be very patent to us all, said, 
 
 " It seems to me you are a long time dying, Louise ; I feel 
 quite satisfied that you are deceiving us all, and as I do not 
 care to be duped any longer, we'll call the farce ended for 
 you can't make a tragedy of it, try hard as you may." 
 
 w It is your fault that I am not dead," Louise answered, her 
 eyes flashing suddenly, and a great deal of the old-fashioned 
 spirit in her will ; fr if you hadn't administered an antidote, 
 against my will, I should be dead now." 
 
 We none of us could restrain a smile at her mention of the 
 * antidote," for salt and water, salt and vinegar, and mustard 
 and water, were the only medicines we had given her. 
 With these very simple remedies, none of which had the 
 slightest effect on the patient, my mother's " medicine 
 box" was exhausted, and there was nothing else which she 
 could do, except to abandon the case, which she did. 
 
" THERE'S NOBODY DEAD ! " 303 
 
 Her friends, the hired men, came in at night anxiously 
 inquiring after Louise. We were all totally undeceived by 
 that time, and one of the wives replied to their questions, 
 :fhdt they need have no fears about her, as she no doubt 
 would outlive all the rest of the family ; and they had all 
 decided to " leave her for Mr. Webb to deal with." The 
 men thought this very Heartless, and said they had feared 
 they should find her dead. 
 
 My mother, who had overheard the last remark, replied, 
 rather sharply, that nothing would kill her unless it was 
 the mixture she had administered, for she was positive that 
 she had taken no poison. Her object had been to frighten 
 the family, and she had succeeded admirably. She had 
 turned the house topsy-turvy, and sent Edward off on a 
 wild-goose chase, and we were all getting quite angry. 
 
 About nine o'clock in the evening my father returned. 
 My mother met him at the door. 
 
 " There's nobody dead ! " was her greeting. 
 
 fr I didn't expect there was," he replied, passing her and 
 entering Louise's room. 
 
 " What are you in bed for? " was his inquiry. 
 
 At first she declined to reply to him, but on his repeating 
 the question, and insisting on an answer, she told the same 
 story that she had told to the rest of us. He was as scep- 
 tical regarding the truth of it. as the rest of us had been, 
 but said that he would suggest the free use of cayenne pep- 
 per, and asked my mother to make her some tea of it. I am 
 afraid there was a little malice in her heart, as she asked if 
 she might make it as strong as she liked. 
 
 "Yes," he replied; "give her a strong dose. She shall 
 have enough to make her sick of her nonsense." 
 
 There was no further assurance needed, and I fancy 
 there never was a stronger decoction mixed than the one 
 my mother prepared for the impostor. At first Louise de- 
 clared she would not take it ; but my father insisted upon 
 it, telling her that he knew nothing better for people who 
 
304 A BIG DOSE OF CAYENNE. 
 
 had poisoned themselves, and she was compellecbwas con- 
 low the whole of it. Xjg nten 
 
 There was no need, after that, for her to pretend ilH 6 us 
 for she was sick enough for one hour to thoroughly frighie'r. 
 her, and to satisfy the rest of the family, who felt that she 
 deserved just the punishment she was getting for the de- 
 ception she had practiced, and the fright she had caused, 
 which was genuine for a while. 
 
 My mother was specially angry because my brother was 
 made very ill by his long run after his father, and he came 
 very near losing his life in consequence. After Louise had 
 recovered somewhat from the paroxysms of pain into which 
 she had been thrown by the cayenne pepper, my father had 
 a serious talk with her, and told her that she must no longer 
 consider herself a member of his family. Her conduct had 
 been such that she had forfeited all right to consideration, 
 and he would not have such a woman as she had proved 
 herself to be in the house with his wives and his young 
 daughter ; so she must go away and find a home for herself 
 elsewhere. 
 
 She had not expected this, and she suddenly changed 
 her tactics, and begged to be allowed to remain in the family 
 in any capacity whatever. She confessed that she had 
 been trying to frighten us all, and that she had taken no 
 poison, but had got up the scene in order to create sympa- 
 thy for herself. She professed great sorrow at her actions, 
 and again pleaded to be allowed to remain. 
 
 But my father was inexorable ; and, in spite of tears, en- 
 treaties, and protestations, she was taken to Salt Lake City, 
 and we none of us ever saw her again, although we heard 
 of her several times. She married again in a very short 
 time, and in three weeks was divorced from her second 
 husband, to whom she had been sealed "for time and eter- 
 nity." After leaving this husband of three weeks, she 
 went to the southern part of the Territory, and married 
 another man, whom she persuaded to take her to St. Louis. 
 

 MONEY AND WIFE GONE! 
 
 305 
 
 Her frere she suddenly went away one day, taking her 
 inquirucTs money and leaving him behind. When next 
 that *[ jfrorh, she was on her way to England. Her last hus- 
 tf3iiid made no attempt to follow her, but returned to Utah 
 without either money or wife, yet entirely reconciled to the 
 loss of one, since it had been the means of ridding him of 
 the other. 
 
 A SCENE IN POLYGAMY "GREETING THE FAVORITE." 
 
 Louise was the only one of all my father's wives who 
 ever made the least trouble. The rest of them were good 
 women, doing their best to make things pleasant. They 
 did not like a polygamous life, and only endured it because 
 they thought they must. They were not happy women, 
 no women in polygamy are happy, however loudly they 
 may claim to be, and they made no pretence of being. 
 Neither did they quarrel with each other, or complain of 
 one another to their husband. Whatever difficulties they 
 might have they settled among themselves, and did not 
 trouble any outsiders. In fact, in my father's family the 
 best side of a polygamous life was shown, but the best side 
 was by no means a bright one. 
 
 This episode of Louise shows the absurdity of marrying 
 without previous acquaintance, and also the miseries that 
 maybe endured by other wives when there is one bad 
 woman in their midst. 
 20 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 INCREASE OF POLYGAMY. MIXED-UP CONDITION 
 MATRIMONIAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 OF 
 
 Christ alleged to be a Polygamist. The Men to save the Women. 
 Making " Tabernacles " for little Spirits. The Story of certain Ladies 
 who were Deceived. They Discover a Mystery. Their Fate. Or- 
 son Hyde's False Prophecy. Throwing Mud at Apostates. Death 
 preferred to Polygamy. Frightful Intermarriages. Married his 
 Mother-in-law. A Man who Married his Wife's Grandmother, 
 Mother, and All. Marrying a Half-Sister. Marrying Nieces and 
 Sisters. How Emigrant Girls were Married Off. Frightful Story of 
 a Poor Young Girl. Polygamy and Madness. One Woman's Love 
 too Little. How English Girls were Deceived. How Claude Spen- 
 ser committed a Damnable Wrong. A Girl who was Martyred for her 
 Religion. How the Bereaved Husband Acted. A Man with thirty- 
 three Children. " They never cost him a Cent." A Many- Wived 
 Saint. Mixed-up Condition of Marital Affairs. 
 
 HE " Reformation " was pro- 
 ductive of nothing but 
 evil. The most revolting 
 and blasphemous doctrines 
 were taught, and between 
 Blood-Atonement, Massa- 
 cres of the Gentiles, and 
 the worst phases of Polyga- 
 mous Marriage, there was 
 nothing good in the Terri- 
 tory. The whole system 
 of Mormon religion was a 
 mass of revolting crime 
 and wickedness. Bigotry 
 was at flood-tide, and fa- 
 naticism ruled reason. The very thought of it brings a 
 shudder. The most horrible things were taught from the 
 
THE MEN TO SAVE THE WOMEN. 307 
 
 pulpit, and decency was outraged every time a Mormon 
 leader opened his mouth to speak. 
 
 They were all maniacs on the subject of Celestial Mar- 
 riage, and the lengths to which they carried their advocacy 
 of it did not stop with mere absurdities ; it became the most 
 fearful profanity. There was not a pure character in all 
 the Bible history which their dirty hands did not besmear, 
 and their foul tongues blacken. Not content with bringing 
 up "Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob," and David and Sol- 
 omon, as their examples in the practice of polygamy, Brig- 
 ham Young, in one of his sermons, delivered during the 
 intensest heat of the excitement, declared that "Jesus 
 Christ was a practical polygamist ; Mary and Martha, the 
 sisters of Lazarus, were his plural wives, and Mary Mag- 
 dalen was another. Also, the bridal feast at Cana of Gal- 
 ilee, where Jesus turned the water into wine, was on the 
 occasion of one of his own marriages. 
 
 They appealed to women through their maternal as well 
 as through their religious natures. Not only did they teach 
 them that they could never be saved except by the interven- 
 tion of some man, who should take upon himself the duty 
 of resurrecting them at the last day, but they were also 
 told that floating through space were thousands of infant 
 spirits, who were waiting for bodies ; that into every child 
 that was born one of these spirits entered, and was thereby 
 saved ; but if they had no bodies given them, their wails 
 of despair would ring through all eternity ; and that it was, 
 in order to insure their future happiness, necessary that as 
 many of them as possible should be given bodies by Mor- 
 mon parents. If a woman refused to marry into poly- 
 gamy, or, being married, to allow her husband to take 
 other wives, these spirits would rise up in judgment against 
 her, because she had, by her act, kept them in darkness. 
 
 No one dared to neglect the counsel of the priesthood. 
 Whoever ventured to do so was charged at once with apos- 
 tasy. Men and women alike were ruled by the arbitrary 
 
308 MAKING " TABERNACLES " FOR LITTLE SPIRITS. 
 
 will of one man. There is no despotic monarchy in the 
 world where the word of the sovereign is so absolute as in 
 Utah. And never, in the whole history of Monnonism, 
 has the despotic rule been so arbitrary as it was during 
 the period of, and for a short time after, the Reformation. 
 
 It was a terribly trying time for women a time that 
 they have never forgotten. More misery was crowded into 
 a few months than they had endured before in a lifetime, 
 and the misery that began then will be life-long. No one 
 outside of Utah and Mormonism can understand it in the 
 least, because nowhere else is there a possibility of such 
 wretchedness to exist. Only women living in a polyga- 
 mous community, under the rule of a religion whose funda- 
 mental principle is the plural-wife system, can fully take in 
 the utter helplessness and hopelessness of the situation a 
 situation from which escape, at that time at least, was next 
 to impossible. 
 
 If they did escape, the tongue of calumny pursued them 
 relentlessly, and the vilest reports that the tongues and 
 hearts of vile men could devise were spread concerning 
 them. 
 
 In 1856, during the Reformation, and when converts 
 were pouring into Zion almost from every quarter of the 
 earth, were several lovely and refined ladies, who had been 
 drawn thither by the seeming earnestness and deep reli- 
 gious fervor of the Mormon people whom they had seen. 
 Especial pains had been taken to bring these ladies into the 
 church, for they were a much finer type of women than are 
 generally found among the later converts, and nothing was 
 ever told them of the existence of the plurality system. 
 Among the converts were a Miss Potter, Mrs. Brownhead 
 and three daughters, and Miss Stayner, who were filled 
 with enthusiasm concerning their new faith, and came to 
 Zion most zealous Saints. 
 
 But when, on their arrival, they discovered that poly- 
 gamy was in open practice, they were distressed beyond 
 
ORSON HYDE'S LYING PROPHECY. 309 
 
 measure, and sought immediate refuge in the military camp. 
 They were women, all of them, of fine social standing, and 
 had left happy and luxurious homes to come to Zion, im- 
 pelled by a sense of religious duty. The beastly god 
 which the Mormons so devoutly worshipped had never been 
 even alluded to in their presence. 
 
 As a matter of course, their flight enkindled Mormon 
 wrath, and for a while it burned fiercely. They heaped 
 every term of opprobrium upon them that they could think 
 of, and defamed them in every possible way. There was 
 nothing too gross or too indecent for them to say concerning 
 them ; and in addition to this wholesale defamation of their 
 characters, they were properly cursed, according to the 
 Mormon liturgy, and all manner of evil was prophesied 
 concerning them. Orson Hyde was inspired one Sunday, 
 in the Tabernacle, to foretell their fate, and he prophesied 
 that they would perish miserably on the way to California, 
 where they had gone under the protection of Colonel Step- 
 toe and his command. It was, no doubt, a great disappoint- 
 ment to the Apostle that, in spite of his prophecies, they 
 arrived safely in California, were married to men of wealth 
 and position, and are now happy wives and mothers, with 
 no thought of Mormondom to mar their happiness, except 
 an occasional burst of thankful feeling that they succeeded 
 in escaping from it. It may be a satisfaction for my read- 
 ers to know it is certainly for me to tell that he not only 
 proved a false prophet, but was publicly punished by one 
 of the officers for the scandalous reports he had put in 
 circulation regarding these ladies. 
 
 Calumny and scandal are among the readiest of the 
 Mormon weapons, and its leaders are specially skilled in 
 their use, as every person who has ever thwarted Brigham 
 Young, or one of his satellites, knows to his or her sorrow. 
 They not only lie themselves, but they hire others to do it 
 for them. Occasionally, in this game of mud-throwing, 
 they get bespattered, but not until they have bedaubed their 
 
310 MARRIED HIS OWN SISTER ! 
 
 victim very thoroughly. It is no wonder that suicides have 
 been so common among the Mormon women : if they left 
 "Zion," it must be at the sacrifice either of life or repu- 
 tation, and in the hopeless apathetic state into which they 
 were sunk, it was easier to die than to struggle. 
 
 One woman, who arrived from England during the " Ref- 
 ormation," and who was to be rushed into polygamy, actually 
 killed herself rather than become a plural wife : she had 
 been given to a Mr. Goodsall, and was living in his family, 
 awaiting the time when she was to be sealed ; and one 
 morning, but a few days before the time appointed for the 
 ceremony, she was found with her throat cut, a razor lying 
 by her side. She saw nothing but wretchedness before 
 her, and put an end to her life rather than follow priestly 
 " counsels." It was better so than to face the misery life 
 would bring. 
 
 Even the laws of consanguinity were not respected at 
 that terrible time, and relatives intermarried in a manner 
 that would shock even the most lax-moralled community. 
 Uncles and nieces were married ; one man would marry sev- 
 eral sisters ; and it was a very common thing for a mother 
 and daughter to have the same husband. In one family, 
 at least three generations were represented among the 
 wives grandmother, mother, and daughter ; and a case 
 actually occurred in Salt Lake City where a man married 
 his half sister, and that, too, with the full knowledge and 
 approval of Brigham Young. The man stood high in the 
 Mormon Church, and George D. Watt was quoted all 
 through the Territory as a good Saint. He certainly 
 availed himself of his privileges to the fullest extent. He 
 has since apostatized. 
 
 Bishop Smith, of Brigham City, married two of his own 
 nieces. Bishop Johnson, of Springville, outdid his brother 
 bishop, and married six. The first one was the daughter 
 of an elder brother ; the other five were sisters, and daugh- 
 ters of Lorenzo Johnson. He first married the eldest one, 
 
HOW PATRIARCH BROWER WENT A-COURTING ! 31 1 
 
 Mary, who was only fifteen at the time ; then he asked that 
 all the others might be given to him, to be sealed to him 
 when they should grow up. The youngest one was only 
 two years old at the time that her father promised her to 
 her uncle, and she was only about thirteen when she was 
 sealed to him. 
 
 All this is sanctioned by the President ; else, of course, it 
 would not occur ; and he does not hesitate to say that he 
 sees no reason why persons who are nearly related should 
 not marry ; they certainly ought to think more of each other 
 than of strangers ; and all that he can see that stands in the 
 way of such marriages being of very frequent occurrence 
 is popular prejudice. He has said that he, as far as he is 
 personally concerned, would not enter upon such a rela- 
 tionship, but prejudice alone, and not principle, would re- 
 strain him. 
 
 There are very many families where two or more sisters 
 are plural wives to one man. This is the case in Brigham's 
 own family. Among his, first plural Wives were -Clara 
 Decker and Lucy Decker ; and two of his daughters, 
 Luna and Fanny, are the wives of George Thatcher; 
 two, Mary and Caroline, were married to Mark Croxall, 
 and two, Alice and Emily, to Hiram Clawson. 
 
 Among the early emigrants were two Scotch girls, sis- 
 ters, named McDonald. They had been but a few days in 
 Salt Lake City, when a Mr. Uriah Brower, a would-be 
 patriarch, presented himself before them with an offer of 
 marriage. One of the girls favored the suit, but the other 
 was more capricious, and not so easily suited with the pros- 
 pect of a polygamous life. She hated the man for pro- 
 posing marriage, herself for being an object of his patri- 
 archal passion, and was annoyed at her sister for her willing^ 
 ness to accept him. She had yet to learn that women, are 
 by no means free agents in Utah, and have very little voice 
 in the settlement of their own affairs ; their destinies 
 are in their own hands, but are entirely at: the mercy of 
 
312 STORY OF A DESOLATE WOMAN. 
 
 some man's caprice, or the commands of the priest- 
 hood. 
 
 Her lover was determined ; and seeing that it was abso- 
 lutely of no use for her to go on saying " No," since she 
 must succumb, sooner or later, she gave an indifferent con- 
 sent, and was sealed to him at the same time with her 
 sister. She was miserably unhappy, and the very next day 
 she applied for a divorce from him, saying she could not, 
 and would not, remain his wife. She obtained the divorce ; 
 but, having no parents and no home, she was forced to live 
 wherever she could, and she found existence anything but 
 an easy or pleasant task. In a short time another good 
 brother, seeking to enlarge his kingdom, offered to take 
 her ; and she, poor girl ! not knowing what else to do, and 
 almost desperate in her loneliness and desolation, consented 
 to marry a second time in polygamy. 
 
 Her new husband already had three wives, and she was 
 placed in the same house with them. Her situation then was 
 worse than even before. Being the last comer, all the rest 
 turned against her, and she had to endure the hatred of 
 them all. She was ill-treated in every way, but for a long 
 time bore all the wrongs which were inflicted upon her in 
 silence. After the birth of her child, she determined to 
 leave at all hazards ; so again applying for a divorce from 
 her second husband, which was as easily obtained as her 
 first one had been, she took her child and went away to 
 earn a living for herself and him. She went out to ser- 
 vice ; she did washing and cleaning ; indeed, she left no 
 stone unturned to obtain an honest livelihood, and bring up 
 her child properly. 
 
 After a time her first husband presented himself, and told 
 her that as he had married her " for time and for eternity," 
 he should hold her to the first marriage contract ; that he 
 could do so, since her second husband was no higher in 
 the priesthood than he. He insisted on her returning to 
 him ; and the poor woman, seeing -no way of escape, w r as 
 
INSANE ! 
 
 313 
 
 sealed again to him, and was taken to his home, a misera^ 
 ble, comfortless place, where he had five wives already 
 living in poverty anpl the most terrible degradation. Hud* 
 died together like so many animals, they respected neither 
 the laws of decency nor morality. Hannah was there but 
 a short time before she became hopelessly insane. She is 
 living still, but the light of reason has gone out for ever, 
 quenched by the horrors of a system which she always 
 
 THE HAPPY HOME OF A POLVGAMIST. 
 
 loathed. Her sister, Margaret, still drags on a miserable, 
 hopeless existence, not much better off than the poor, un- 
 fortunate maniac. She is a moral and physical wreck, and 
 owes her depraved condition to the cause that made her 
 sister a mental ruin. 
 
 Life opened brightly enough for these girls in their home 
 among the Scottish hills, but the curse of Mormonism 
 found them out, and then there was nothing but wretch^ 
 edness and despair for them. 
 
 Incidents like these have multiplied from the beginning 
 
314 CLAUDE SPENCER DOES THE DEVIL'S WORK. 
 
 until now ; and yet, in the face of all this misery, the world 
 is assured that Mormon women are comfortable and con- 
 tent ; that they find no fault with polygamy ; indeed, that 
 they prefer the system rather than dislike it ; and the world, 
 against all reason and common sense, believes what it is 
 told. 
 
 Elder Orson Spencer, now dead, one of the strong pil- 
 lars of Mormonism, whose letters and theological works 
 are much quoted among the Saints, while on his first mis- 
 sion to England became the guest of a gentleman of con- 
 siderable property and good social position, and the father 
 of two interesting daughters, both of whom were recent 
 converts to the Mormon faith. The young ladies were 
 finely educated, possessed of more than ordinary tal- 
 ents, and had always been tenderly attached to each 
 other. 
 
 When the young missionary from Zion became an in- 
 mate of their father's house, they, with all the zeal of new 
 and enthusiastic converts, vied with each other in showing 
 him every hospitable attention, for the sake of the glorious 
 gospel which they supposed he came to preach, and before 
 very long the elder of the sisters found herself becoming 
 deeply interested in him for his own sake. 
 
 The interest was apparently mutual ; it ripened into 
 love. Mr. Spencer made a formal proposal to the father 
 for the daughter's hand, and very soon after the lovers 
 were married. The young wife was perfectly happy ; she 
 was devoted to her husband, and it seemed to her that life 
 could hereafter hold nothing but happiness for her, she 
 rested so securely in her husband's love, that his care 
 would compass her about, and his strength sustain her, all 
 through her days. She was living her first romance, and 
 sweet enough she found it. Ah, if the hard reality had not 
 been so soon to follow it ! But Mormon marriage soon kills 
 all the romance of a woman's nature, and either kills her 
 at the same time, or leaves her hopeless, apathetic, her finer 
 
MAKING LOVE TO A SISTER-IN-LAW. 315 
 
 nature crushed within her, bearing life because she must, 
 and not because it holds anything for her of love, or care, 
 or sweet tenderness of any kind. It is oftener this way 
 than the other ; alas, for the poor victims that such is the 
 case ! 
 
 Mr. Spencer had lived among a people who teach and 
 practice the doctrine of a plurality of wives. His own 
 father had brought home eight brides to grace his domestic 
 circle, four of them in one day. The high-priest of his 
 religion, the man to whom he had always listened as the 
 mouthpiece of God, not only preached that it was the 
 privilege and duty of every Saint to wed many wives, but 
 practiced what he preached. 
 
 No wonder, then, that the disciple believed he should be 
 living beneath his privileges if he contented himself with 
 the love of one woman. His sister-in-law was a remarka~ 
 bly pretty girl, and fervent in her devotion to the new faith 
 she had espoused. In time, perhaps, if caution was exer- 
 cised in the manner pf teaching, she might be won to a 
 cordial belief in the doctrine of plural marriage a doc^ 
 trine which the missionary Saints, with damnable wisdom r 
 had not proclaimed openly in England at that date. 
 
 This young brother, imitating the prudent course of his 
 colleagues, preached only those truths which he thought 
 would be received most readily. Such portions of the gos- 
 pel as might be considered hard doctrine by the new con- 
 verts he left to be learned by them after their arrival in 
 Zion. His growing admiration for his charming sister-in- 
 law he kept to himself; but when the time arrived for his 
 return home with his wife, he had succeeded in making ar- 
 rangements for her sister to accompany them. In the mean 
 time, however, another young lady, also a new convert, 
 had attracted his favorable notice, and as she was to form 
 one of a large company who were about to start for Amer- 
 ica, he kindly, and disinterestedly, of course, offered to 
 take her under his own care. 
 
3l6 DEATH TO THE SOUL ! 
 
 During the voyage across the ocean, and the hurried 
 journey through the States, nothing worthy of note oc- 
 curred. True, Mr. Spencer was very attentive to the young 
 ladies who were travelling under his protection ; but his 
 young wife loved him too well, and believed in him too im- 
 plicitly, to have any thought that he was actuated by other 
 motives than brotherly affection and Christian kindness. 
 At the Missouri River, where the emigrants took leave of 
 civilization, and commenced their long journey over the 
 plains, the members of the little party were thrown more 
 closely together than before ; and now even the all-confiding 
 wife could not fail to see that her husband demeaned him- 
 self as a lover towards the two girls, her sister and her 
 friend, and that they by no means discouraged his at- 
 tentions. 
 
 Her reproachful questioning regarding his conduct 
 brought out an explanation of the doctrines of plurality, and 
 an avowal of his intention to marry the girls as soon as they 
 reached Salt Lake. He said that they had both embraced 
 the great truths of their religion fully, and were willing and 
 anxious to be sealed to him as their savior for time and 
 eternity. The poor wife, with all her faith in her husband, 
 her sister, and her religion, shattered at one blow, but, 
 alas for her, with a heart throbbing with a love that could 
 not die, never rallied from the shock she received when 
 her doom was thus pronounced by the lips of the one 
 dearest to her. 
 
 Day after day, as they continued their toilsome journey, 
 her strength declined, and it was evident, even to the eyes 
 of strangers, that she was dying. Her husband, however, 
 saw nothing, was troubled with no anxieties. He was too 
 much absorbed in his love for the two girls, whose souls 
 he proposed to save, to have any time or thought to spare 
 for his dying wife. The days lengthened into weeks, and 
 still the lamp of life burned lower, while the love that had 
 outlived faith and hope was yet strong enough to torture 
 
LAST HOURS OF A DYING WIFE. 317 
 
 her with vain longings to hear again the tender words that 
 were never spoken now, and to lean, in her mortal weak- 
 ness, on the arm that she, so short a time ago, had fondly 
 hoped would be her support, even down to the brink of 
 death. It is easy to say of love unworthily bestowed, 
 
 " I would pluck it from my bosom, 
 Though my heart were at the root ; " 
 
 but many a wronged and forsaken wife could tell you that 
 these are only idle words. 
 
 BROKEN-HEARTED. 
 
 Many may wonder if the dying girl's sister had no com- 
 punction, no remorse for the part she was playing in this 
 tragedy. None ; for so completely was she carried away 
 by the fanaticism with which she had been inspired, that she 
 actually believed she was doing God service in trampling 
 on the holiest feelings of her own nature, and inflicting 
 upon her sister the most cruel wrong that one woman can 
 suffer at the hands of another. 
 
 The weary journey was ended at length, and the wan- 
 derers reached the Valley which was henceforth to be their 
 
318 AN "ARISTOCRAT." OH! 
 
 home. The wife lived only just to enter the city, of which 
 she once fondly dreamed as a heaven upon earth. From 
 the Zion of her earthly hopes she passed on to the true Zion, 
 where the mercy and love of a God kinder than the one 
 she had been taught to worship healed every earth-wound, 
 and brought infinite peace to the broken heart. 
 
 Just two weeks from the day of her death there was a 
 double bridal in Salt Lake City. The bereaved and sor- 
 rowing husband was united in marriage to the equally 
 afflicted sister and her friend, the young lady who accom- 
 panied them from England. I have often wondered if there 
 was a ghost present at that bridal, and if the white, dead 
 face of the wronged and murdered wife did not look in sad 
 reproach at them all as they took upon themselves the vows 
 that bound them together, not only for time, but for eternity. 
 
 In a party from England which followed this other com- 
 pany very shortly, was a family named Right, who had, 
 among other children, two lovely daughters. Such girls as 
 they bright, refined, and pleasing in manner and dispo- 
 sition could not remain long without lovers in a place 
 where marriageable men were so plentiful as in the Mormon 
 Zion. They were very intimate with Brigham Young's 
 family, and it was not long before the elder became the 
 plural wife of David Candland, a prominent Mormon elder, 
 and a confidential friend of the Prophet. He had had many 
 wives, but only two were living at the time of his marriage 
 with Miss Right. He had thirty-three children, who, he 
 boasted, had never cost him a cent, and the pretty young 
 wife was installed as " mother " over his not very promising 
 brood. He was, as he was pleased to term himself, an 
 " aristocrat," and would not descend to the performance of 
 menial labor ; but, as the family must live somehow, the 
 wives have to get along as best they can, but they live in the 
 depths of poverty and degradation, while he enjoys prophetic 
 favor, stands high in the church, and is a Beau Brummel in 
 dress. He has recently commenced the study of law, prob- 
 ably at the Prophet's instigation. 
 
HOW LITTLE GIRLS WERE MARRIED. 319 
 
 The other sister became the fourth wife of Mr. Charles 
 Bassett, at that time a prominent merchant in Salt Lake. 
 The third wife was cast aside to make room for her, and for 
 some time she was the favored one, indulged in every whim, 
 and petted and flattered until her head was nearly turned. 
 But, as has happened with other favorite wives, her reign 
 was short, and she was compelled to stand on one side and 
 see another take her place. Mr. Bassett, when he tired of his 
 fourth victim, married his niece and adopted daughter a 
 mere girl, only fourteen years old. She is the present favor- 
 ite, and everything that she can possibly desire is lavished 
 upon her nothing is too fine or too expensive for her ; and, 
 in the mean time, the woman whose place she took and 
 who was herself the usurper of another woman's kingdom 
 goes out to work to support herself and her children. Her 
 eldest daughter a girl just in her teens, not much older 
 than her father's new wife has been compelled to go out 
 to service. 
 
 This is the fate (and not an uncommon one) of two young 
 girls who supposed they were marrying two of the best men 
 in the "kingdom." These men were popular preachers, as 
 regular as the Pharisee in attending to all their religious 
 duties, and loud and earnest in their defence of the glorious 
 institution of polygamy, which "institution" they so brightly 
 adorn. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE MYSTERIES OF POLYGAMY. WHAT THE WIVES 
 COULD TELL. 
 
 Incestuous Intermarriages. A Widow and her Daughters married to the 
 same Man. "Marrying my Pa." The " U. S." Government Con- 
 niving at Mormon Iniquities. Beastly Conduct of Delegate George 
 Q. Cannon. Polygamists Legislating for Bigamists. Mother and 
 Daughter fighting for the same Man ! It i Wicked to Live with an 
 Old Wife. A Young lover Ninety Years Old! A Bride Eleven 
 years Old ! Brides of Thirteen and Fourteen Years ! I receive an 
 " Offer " when Twelve Years Old ! Old Ladies at a Discount : Young 
 Women at a Premium. Respect for the Silver Crown of Age. Heber 
 gives his Opinion. " Why is She making such a Fuss ? " Seeing One's 
 Husband Once a Year. The Rascality of Orson Hyde towards his 
 Wife. When Rival Wives make Friends. A Very Funny Story 
 about an Apostle and his Wife. Rights of the First Wife : Brigham 
 Young in a Fix, He treats an Early Wife to a Dance. Amelia in the 
 Shade. The Prophet becomes Frisky. Poor, neglected Emmeline. 
 How Polygamy was once Denied. A Mistake which a French Lady 
 Made. Milk for Babes. 
 
 HE marriage of mother 
 and daughter to one man 
 was of so common an 
 occurrence that it ceased 
 to be regarded as any- 
 thing out of the ordi- 
 nary course of events. 
 
 I had some school- 
 mates, two sisters, whose 
 mother was married to 
 a Mr. McDonald, and 
 when she gave herself to 
 him, it was with the ex- 
 press understanding that 
 the daughters should be 
 
 sealed to him as soon as they were of a proper age. The 
 little girls knew of the arrangement, and used to talk very 
 
 ORSON HYDB AND FORGOTTEN WIFE. 
 
A PRETTY DELEGATE TO SEND TO CONGRESS ! ^21 
 
 openly of "marrying Pa," and in very much the same way 
 they would speak of their intention to take tea with a friend. 
 
 That mother must have taken a great deal of comfort with 
 her children ! Fancy her feelings ; knowing that she was 
 bringing up her daughters as wives for her own husband ! 
 
 Wives and mothers, living outside of polygamy, can any- 
 thing be more revolting to your ideas of womanly purity, 
 more thoroughly opposed to all the sweet tenderness of the 
 maternal instinct, than cases like this? And yet, horror- 
 stricken as you are by them, they are by no means excep- 
 tional, but are of frequent occurrence. And it is in your 
 own country that these outrages against all womanhood 
 occur, under your own government, upheld by your own; 
 chosen legislators tacitly, at least since in this time, -as 
 in the days of Christ's actual presence on earth, those who 
 are not for are against. And if your government and its 
 rulers refuse to do, or even fail to do without refusing, any- 
 thing to eradicate this foul blot upon national purity and 
 honor, why, they are in so far encouraging its presence, and 
 rendering it daily more difficult of eradication. 
 
 For the tide of evil that set so strongly in those terrible 
 days of 1856 has never been stayed. It still rolls on with 
 all the added filth and abomination which it has gathered in 
 its course, until it is one reeking mass of the foulest im- 
 purities. 
 
 Incest, murder, suicide, mania and bestiality are the chief 
 "beauties" of this infamous system, which are so glow- 
 ingly alluded to by its eloquent expounders and defenders. 
 
 And George Q^ Cannon, one of its ablest apostles, 
 himself a practical polygamist, being the husband of four 
 living wives, three of whom he grossly neglects, goes to 
 Washington from Utah as Congressional Delegate from that 
 Territory, and helps to make the laws which send George 
 Smith, of Massachusetts, to State Prison for three }^ears for 
 the crime of having two wives ! Is it that bigamy is a pun- 
 ishable offence, and polygamy is not? If so, George Smith 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 BIGAMY Versus POLYGAMY. 
 
 APOSTLE GEORGE Q. CANNON, 
 
 MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 
 [Has four wives and thirteen children.] 
 
 has only to take two more wives and he can, perhaps, enjoy 
 the confidence of the government and the protection of its 
 laws as fully as the Apostolic George Q^ 
 
 If the gentleman in Mem- 
 phis, Tennessee, who has 
 recently been indicted for 
 marrying his deceased wife's 
 niece had only married six 
 of his own nieces, he might 
 now be enjoying his liberty 
 and his youthful brides' so- 
 ciety, with all the freedom 
 which is accorded to Bishop 
 Johnson, of Utah that is, 
 if he, too, had lived among 
 the Saints in Utah. 
 
 The relation between 
 mother and daughter, when 
 one becomes the rival of the other, is by no means the 
 pleasantest in the world, and it is usually the case that the 
 mother has much the worse time. She sees herself neg- 
 lected for a younger and fairer woman by the man in 
 whose service she has expended both youth and beauty, and 
 sees the daughter whom she has so carefully and tenderly 
 nurtured, and who should now be her stay, and her comfort, 
 and the pride of her maternal heart, usurping her place in 
 her husband's affection and in her home, and striking a 
 blow at her happiness that is fatal. She can turn neither to 
 husband nor daughter for comfort, and the religion which 
 should be her stay is but a mockery, since it brings all the 
 misery and desolation into her wrecked life. 
 
 The leaders of her religion teach openly that it is not 
 right for husbands to live with their wives after they are 
 advanced in years ; and they also teach that a man is mar- 
 riageable until he is a hundred years old. This has always 
 been a strong point with them, and in urging polygamy, in 
 
OLD WOMEN AT A DISCOUNT. 323 
 
 the " Reformation " times, they used to advise the young girls 
 to choose for their husbands men of experience, who would 
 have the power of resurrecting them, rather than a young 
 man whose position in the church was not fixed. They 
 carried the practice of this doctrine to the same extreme that 
 they carried everything else. One enthusiastic elder secured 
 for a wife a girl of eleven years, and brides of thirteen and 
 fourteen were often seen, especially in Southern Utah, where 
 the excitement was most intense, and rose almost to frenzy. 
 I was about twelve years of age, and my father had several 
 offers for me from different church dignitaries ; but however 
 easily he might be beguiled himself into the snares set by 
 the lecherous leaders of Mormonism and polygamy, he had 
 no idea of making his little girl a victim ; and though I was 
 duly advised by teachers and catechists to marry into poly- 
 gamy when I was a little older, I gave very little heed to the 
 advice, and set about making my own romance, just as girls 
 everywhere do, in my imagination. 
 
 It is painful to one used to the finer courtesies of life to 
 see how age is neglected in Utah, and the want of respect 
 that is shown towards it, especially towards women, who 
 have passed out of the sunshine years of life, and are enter- 
 ing the shadow. When I came East, one of the strangest 
 things to me was the deference that was paid to age, it 
 was so unlike anything I had been used to ; and when I 
 saw an old couple clinging together, with no dread shadow 
 of polygamy between them, with only the prospect of death 
 to part them, I have been thrilled through and through with 
 the sweetest, strangest emotion. I could scarcely believe 
 my own senses ; it seemed impossible that in this world such 
 devotion could exist, and I could only wonder and weep, 
 and thank God that, in the world that I had been taught to 
 look upon as so wicked and depraved, there was such a 
 thing as love, and devotion, and thoughtful care for women, 
 and that every added wrinkle or silver hair brought more 
 tender care and tenderer devotion. In the light of affection 
 
3H 
 
 like this, well-tried and long-enduring, the hateful form of 
 polygamy would rise up before me more monstrous, more 
 hideous, more revolting than ever. 
 
 Think, in contrast to this, of a woman who has lived with her 
 husband during all the years of her fresh and mature woman- 
 hood, being left alone, when she becomes deserted by the hus- 
 band whom she has loved so well and so long, at the com- 
 mand of the priesthood ! Heber Kimball used to say, when he 
 knew of a woman grieving over the neglect of her husband, 
 "What is she making such a fuss for? She has no business 
 with a husband." Who can blame the disciples when the 
 leader sets the example? Brigham Young's first living 
 wife, his only real and legal wife, a woman of his own 
 age, is entirely neglected by him, and long ago ceased to 
 be his wife but in name. 
 
 Sometimes these old and middle-aged ladies do not see 
 their husbands once a year, and yet they may not live half 
 
 a mile apart. A few years 
 since, at a large party at the 
 Social Hall in Salt Lake 
 City, Orson Hyde, one of the 
 twelve apostles, met the wife 
 of his youth, the mother of 
 many of his children. He had 
 escorted some of his younger 
 wives there, and she came 
 with a friend. It chanced that 
 they were seated near each 
 other at the table, and were 
 compelled to speak ; they 
 
 APOSTLE ORSON HYDE. x 
 
 shook hands, exchanged a 
 
 very commonplace greeting, and that was all that passed 
 between them. Neither is this an isolated case ; it very 
 often occurs that an elderly lady attends a party with 
 friends, and meets her husband there with one or more 
 younger wives ; and sometimes both she and they have 
 
THE NEXT ADDITION TO HIS KINGDOM'.' 325 
 
 to watch their mutual husband while he plays the agree- 
 able to some young girl who has taken captive his wander- 
 ing fancy, and whom he intends to make the next addition 
 to his kingdom. 
 
 It is then that wives, who have heretofore been rivals, 
 join their forces against a common enemy ; and the young 
 woman who is engaging the attentions of the already much- 
 married but still marriageable beau, is sure to suffer at the 
 hands of the new allies, who have so recently struck hands 
 in a common cause. She, of course, knows this instinc- 
 tively, and she revenges herself by "drawing" on her admirer 
 by every art in her power, until he becomes so marked in 
 his devotion that the entire company know, as well as the 
 wives themselves, what his intentions are ; and, in addition 
 to the pique caused by his neglect, they have to endure the 
 congratulations of friends upon the approaching alliance. 
 In cases like this, the first wife does not feel so much pain 
 as the younger one, and the whilom favorite, who, no 
 matter how she has snubbed her before, comes now to seek 
 her sympathy. She would be something more than human, 
 if, with the sadness of her heart was not mingled a little 
 feeling of pleasure that she was getting her revenge in see- 
 ing the jealousy and suffering of her late rival. 
 
 To return to the encounter between Hyde and his wife. 
 There is a little romance attached to their separation which 
 I have just been reminded of. When Joseph Smith first 
 taught polygamy, and gave the wives as well as the hus- 
 bands opportunity to make new choice of life-partners, Mrs. 
 Hyde, at that time a young and quite prepossessing woman, 
 became one of the Prophet's numerous fancies, and he took 
 great pains to teach her most thoroughly the principles of 
 the new celestial doctrines. It was rumored, at the time, 
 that she was an apt and willing pupil. Hyde was away on 
 a mission at the time, and when he returned, he, in turn, im- 
 bibed the teachings of polygamy also, and prepared to 
 extend his kingdom indefinitely. In the mean time it was 
 
326 THE DANCING-PARTY. IN A FIX. 
 
 hinted to him that Smith had had his first wife sealej to him- 
 self in his absence, as a wife for eternity. Inconsistent as it 
 may seem, Hyde was in a furious passion. Like many 
 other men, he thought it no harm for him to win the affection 
 of another man's wife, and make her his " celestial " spouse ; 
 but he did not propose having his rights interfered with even 
 by the holy Prophet whose teachings he so implicitly followed, 
 and he swore that if this was true he would never live with 
 her again. But he did live with her for several years after 
 the exodus from Nauvoo and the settlement of Utah. 
 Finally, the old affair was revived, and I think Brigham 
 himself informed his apostle that she was his wife only for 
 time, but Joseph's for eternity ; and as she was no longer 
 young, and other wives were plentiful, he left her to care 
 for herself as best she could. 
 
 Although the Mormons have from the very commence- 
 ment been very fond of parties, and of amusements gen- 
 erally, they are much more enjoyed by the men than 
 by the women, although both attend. Occasionally some 
 very curious scenes are witnessed, which, after all, are 
 not at all amusing to the persons most nearly concerned. 
 For instance : a man takes two wives to a ball, and, if 
 he be a lover of peace, he is at his wits' ends how to 
 preserve it. He must treat each one alike, as nearly as 
 possible ; dance with each one an equal number of times, 
 and see that each one is equally well served at supper. The 
 beginning of sorrow comes with the vexed question, which 
 he shall dance with first. That, however, is quite easily 
 settled, since custom, or, rather, Mormon etiquette, demands 
 that he shall give the older wife the preference. It may be 
 she is not the favorite ; but that does not matter : on this 
 one point etiquette is rigid, and even the Prophet himself 
 dare not defy it. 
 
 He had invited Amelia, the present favorite, and Emmeline, 
 whose place in the priestly heart Amelia had taken, to 
 attend a ball with him. It was a very strange thing to do, 
 
"BRIGHAM, WON'T YOU DANCE?" 
 
 327 
 
 for generally, when Amelia went with him, he devoted 
 himself exclusively to her. But on this occasion he had 
 brought Emmeline along, too. Early in the evening, one 
 of the committee of management came bustling up, with a 
 "Brother Brigham, won't you dance?" 
 
 "Well, I suppose so," was the reply. Then he hesitated 
 for a moment. There sat both Emmeline and Amelia, the 
 former looking quietly unconscious, yet wondering very 
 much, as she afterwards told me, " what Brother Brigham 
 would do," and enjoying his dilemma immensely, while the 
 
 BRIGHAM IN A QUANDARY. 
 
 latter looked very stately and dignified, and also threaten- 
 ing. There stood the Prophet, inclination pulling him one 
 way, etiquette and duty the other. He hesitated a moment 
 longer; then, walking up to Emmeline, said, ungraciously 
 and gruffly, "Come along and dance ; " and, without offering 
 her his arm, walked on to the floor, leaving her to follow. 
 
 As is the custom at balls which Brigham and Amelia 
 grace with their presence, one of his satellites instantly 
 begged for the honor of Amelia's hand in the dance, and 
 led her at once as vis-a-vis to her husband. During the 
 
328 "I'l.T, DANCK WITH MY WIFE." 
 
 entire dance he did not address one word to Emmeline, and 
 was evidently made very wretched by the demeanor of 
 Amelia, who snubbed him most decidedly, and would take 
 no notice of all his attempts to win her back to good humor. 
 
 At the end of the dance he led Emmeline to her seat as 
 hastily as possible, left her without a word, and endeav- 
 ored, with all the art which he possessed, to propitiate his 
 angry favorite. Presently, the ubiquitous manager was at 
 his elbow again : 
 
 " Another cotillon, Brother Brigham ; will you dance 
 again ? " 
 
 "With pleasure," answered the delighted President. 
 Then, turning quickly to Amelia, he offered his arm in the 
 most impressive manner, saying, 
 
 "Now I will dance with my wife ;" and led her off in 
 triumph, as pleased as any young fellow at the opportunity 
 of showing his devotion to her. He was vivacity itself 
 during the dance, and finally succeeded in coaxing a smile 
 from the capricious tyrant of his heart. As deeply hurt as 
 Emmeline was by his rude boorishness of manner towards 
 herself, and the insult conveyed to her by the remark to 
 Amelia, which she overheard, she could not help being 
 pleased at seeing the punishment he was receiving at the 
 hands of the outraged favorite. 
 
 A system that engenders feelings like this can surely not 
 be called, with any degree of propriety, a heavenly system, 
 and religion is outraged every time its name is used in 
 connection with it. It panders to the baser passions of 
 men, and crushes the graces of Christian faith and charity 
 out of every woman's heart. It engenders malice, and 
 strife, and envyings, and hatred, and backbiting, and all 
 that is worst in the masculine or feminine heart. It makes 
 men selfish and mean, and women wretched and degraded. 
 It takes from one the dignity and poise which come from 
 absolute self-control, and from the other the sweet, refined, 
 womanly assurance which comes from self-respect. Talk 
 
HOW JOHN TAYLOR LIED AT BOULOGNE. 329 
 
 of its " celestial " origin ! It is the devil's own device for 
 rendering men and women both less godlike and pure. 
 And the cunning of his device is shown in the religious 
 mask which he puts upon its frightful face, and the Chris- 
 tian robes with which he hides its horrible deformity. 
 
 It began by deception, it has been fostered by lies. 
 
 When the first rumor of its existence as a religious ordi- 
 nance among the American Saints was first exciting Eu- 
 rope, and the American missionaries were assuring their 
 converts that the rumor was false, and was started by their 
 enemies to injure them and their cause, the most eloquent 
 and remarkable denial of it was made by the Apostle John 
 Taylor, at Boulognc-sur-Mcr, where there was at that time 
 quite a large and successful mission. 
 
 The Apostle Taylor was the husband of five wives, all liv- 
 ing in Salt Lake ; yet that slight matter did not hinder him 
 from most emphatically repudiating the charge brought 
 against the church. He quoted from the Book of Mor- 
 mon, dwelling particularly on the passage that expressly 
 commands that a man shall have but one wife ; then mentions 
 the Bible command that a man shall take a wife and cleave 
 to her only ; and made the sermon so strong and so con- 
 vincing that no further proof was asked by those who 
 heard him. His manner was impressive. He was sor- 
 rowful, he was indignant, he was reproachful; he was elo- 
 quent, and fervent, and almost inspired, thought those who 
 heard him. He was logical and convincing in what he 
 said. In short, he was a consummate hypocrite, lying in 
 the name of God to a confiding people, with a smooth 
 tongue and an unblushing face. 
 
 He employed a French lady one of his converts, and 
 a most charming and cultured person to translate the 
 sermon for him into her own language. He then had it 
 published, and distributed largely through the country. 
 Very many were kept from apostatizing by this tract, and 
 a large number announced their intention of at once 
 
330 
 
 A CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN WOMAN. 
 
 APOSTLE JOHN TAYLOR. 
 [Husband of Six Wives.] 
 
 gathering to Zion. Among them was the lady who had 
 translated the sermon for Taylor, and who, influenced 
 
 by the spirit of the discourse, 
 and the seeming earnestness 
 of the missionary, had be- 
 come more zealous than ever 
 in her devotion to her new 
 and ardently beloved faith. 
 
 Imagine, if you can, her 
 horror, on reaching Utah, at 
 the social state of affairs 
 which found her there, and 
 discovered that she not only 
 had been grossly deceived, 
 but, in her ignorance, had 
 helped to deceive so many 
 others ; for it was through the 
 
 influence of her translation of Taylor's denial that nearly 
 all the party with whom she emigrated had come. 
 
 She apostatized at once, but she was conscience-stricken 
 at the part she had so unwittingly played, and could not be 
 comforted. A more remorseful, grief-stricken woman was 
 never seen, and she felt all the more deeply the harm that 
 had been wrought, when she saw how powerless she was 
 to undo it. No effort of hers could ever bring these un- 
 happy people from the infamous community in which they 
 found themselves, and a part of which they were destined 
 to become. For with them, the men especially, as with all 
 others who remain under the baleful influence long, the 
 end was certain. They first endured, and then embraced ; 
 pity was left out altogether, although God knows there is 
 no condition that calls for pity as does that of the polyga- 
 mous wife. The lad} 7 herself left Utah, but her people 
 were forced to remain. I wonder how those poor wives, 
 decoyed into a strange country by priestly promises, and 
 deceived by priestly lying, could bear ever again to look in 
 
WHEN THE TRUTH BECAME KNOWN. 331 
 
 the face, or listen to the voice, of the man who had so 
 wickedly misled them. 
 
 When the missionaries were asked why they denied so 
 stoutly the existence of the system, when it must be sooner 
 or later discovered that they were falsifying, they excused 
 themselves by saying that the people could not then stand 
 such strong doctrine, and they must give them only what 
 they could safely take ; that in good time the Lord would 
 open their hearts to receive his truth, the "good time" 
 which the brethren referred to being after they had left 
 their own country, crossed the United States, and put 
 themselves outside the pale of civilization, and were lit- 
 erally in the power of the church. When they had gone 
 so far that retreat was impossible, then they would tell 
 them the truth, knowing that they could not choose but 
 listen. 
 
 As long as they possibly could they denied it in the mis- 
 sions abroad, but, by-and-by, it became so notorious that it 
 must be acknowledged ; and in the face of all the denial, 
 all the asseverations that there was no such institution, and, 
 according to the laws of God and man there could be no 
 such institution, the Millennial Star suddenly published 
 the " Revelation," having given no warning of what it was 
 about to do. 
 
 The excitement among the Mormons through Europe, in 
 England especially, was intense, and it took all the elo- 
 quence and sophistry of the entire missionary board to pre- 
 vent a general apostasy. Hundreds did leave the church, 
 and many more were on the point of doing so. But the 
 ingenuity of the Mormon Elders, which seems never to fail 
 them, came to their rescue. They explained that this "Rev- 
 elation " forced no one into polygamy ; it only established it 
 as a church institution that might be availed of by anyone 
 who chose to enter the "Celestial Kingdom, "but that it was 
 entirely optional. In fact, the same arguments that were 
 used to win single and special converts were used to con- 
 
33 2 THEY CALLED IT, OPTIONAL ! 
 
 vince the masses ; and, strange as it may seem, all this 
 sophistry had actual weight, and many worthy and sensible 
 men and women stayed by the church who would have 
 abandoned it in disgust, had they known the truth as it was 
 forced upon them afterwards. But, as I said a little while 
 since, the system begun in deception and fraud fattened on 
 lies and treachery. May it meet with a speedy death, 
 brought on by a surfeit of its favorite food. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 BRIGHAM BUILDS WAGONS BY "INSPIRATION." THE 
 CHURCH SETS UP A WHISKEY-STORE. 
 
 Saying "Yes" under Difficulties. A Woman who Meant to have her 
 Way. Two Company : Three None. Building Wagons by Inspira- 
 tion. My Father despatched to Chicago. He gets rid of his New 
 Wives. My Brother sent to the Sandwich Islands. My Mother tells 
 her own Story. She Returns to Salt Lake City to see my Father. 
 Wifely Considerations. She finds two other Ladies at her Husband's 
 Bedside. He likes a good deal of Wives about Him ! A Heart dead 
 to Love. Brigham " asks no odds of Uncle Sam or the Devil." He 
 proclaims Martial Law. Fiery Speeches in the Tabernacle. Prepay 
 ing for War. Government Troops Arrive. The Saints quit Sail 
 Lake City. The Church Distillery. Brigham shamelessly Robs my 
 Father. He fills his own Pockets. My Father, being without Funds, 
 takes his Sixth Wife. 
 
 OME time before out 
 family bereavement by 
 the loss of Louise, my 
 mother and I went to 
 Skull Valley, about 
 seventy miles from Salt 
 Lake City, where my 
 brothers were keeping 
 a herd-ground. 
 
 We had intended to 
 go by ourselves ; but 
 one of the young wives, 
 who was very much at- 
 tached to my mother, 
 begged to be allowed 
 to go. She appealed 
 first to my father, and 
 
 MORMONS BURNING A GOVERNMENT TR; 
 
 he, in turn, referred her to my mother. 
 
334 THE FIFTH PART OF A HUSBAND. 
 
 I shall never forget the look of desperation on my moth- 
 er's face, the hunted look in her eyes, as she came to me 
 after the request had been made and before she had given 
 her answer. She told me of the new proposal, and 
 added, in a bitterer tone than I had ever heard her use 
 before, 
 
 " Why can't she see and understand that I want to make 
 my escape from this confusion and trouble, and go away 
 alone?" 
 
 But she could not see, and as she was kind and affec- 
 tionate, and my mother was quite well aware of her regard 
 for her, she could do nothing but say "yes," although it 
 was a great cross for her to be obliged to do so. 
 
 Here was the end of all her sweet dreaming. She had 
 thought to go quietly away, taking me with her, and we 
 two living with " the boys " at the herd-ground. To be 
 sure, there was only a log-cabin there ; but what did that 
 matter? She would rest in her children's love, which at 
 least was her very own ; and with them about her, she 
 would forget, as far as possible, the horrible system that 
 had brought so much unhappiness to her. Fond as she 
 was of my father, it was much easier for her to be separated 
 from him in this way, than it was to be under the same 
 roof, and see him bestowing attentions, that used to be hers 
 exclusively, on others. Dear as the husband was, yet she 
 took very little comfort with a fifth part of him ; and she 
 longed to get away where she could live in memory the old 
 happy days over again, and, with her children's arms about 
 her, forget the suffering the later years had brought, ig- 
 noring all but the very present, and close her eyes to the 
 future, which promised but little better, after all, since what 
 was her greatest cross here was to follow her into the 
 hereafter. 
 
 I wonder sometimes, knowing as I do now what she 
 suffered, and realizing it as I could not then, that she did 
 not cry out in the bitterness of her sorrow, as one Mormon 
 
GOING TO SKULL VALLEY. 335 
 
 woman whom I know did, " O, if I could only believe 
 that death was an eternal sleep, I think I should be better 
 able to endure ; but to think that we have got to live on 
 eternally under this curse of polygamy, almost drives me 
 mad." Or like another, equally desperate and miserable, 
 " I would kill myself if I thought death would end my mis- 
 ery ; but as long as I must suffer, it might as well be here 
 as anywhere. O for the anticipation of one hour of peace 
 and rest ! " 
 
 Ever since my father's return from his mission my mother 
 had begged to be allowed to go away, to have a home by 
 herself; but somehow my father could not bring himself to 
 let her go until now. She was the balance-wheel in the 
 domestic machinery, and things seemed to go smoothly 
 w r hen she was round about. She was always prepared for 
 any emergency ; and both my father and the other wives 
 instinctively turned to her when anything was wrong. She 
 was so strong, so helpful, so self-reliant, and so patient, 
 that she seemed, some way, the protector of us all. I think, 
 if my father had not seen her so very much in earnest, and 
 so determined to go at all hazards, that his consent would 
 not have been won ; but finding it useless to oppose her, he 
 gave a reluctant consent. 
 
 Then there was a little season of quiet joy between us 
 two ; for we did not dare make any very open demonstra- 
 tions, for fear of hurting the feelings of those whom we were 
 going to leave behind us. Our joy was short-lived, how- 
 ever, for it was decided to take a third with us ; and though 
 we liked her, yet she would be what the children call a 
 w spoil-sport ; " and we didn't want any one outside of our 
 very selves. 
 
 So we went, we three, leaving the others in Salt Lake 
 City, where they did not remain long after we left, but, to 
 my mother's great annoyance, followed soon after to Skull 
 Valley. 
 
 Very soon after our removal, Brigham conceived the idea 
 
336 MAKING ROOM FOR THE OTHER WIVES. 
 
 of establishing an express company, and called on my father 
 to go to Chicago and superintend the construction of wagons 
 and carriages for this purpose. They were to be built after 
 plans which Brigham himself had drawn from "inspira- 
 tion," and he insisted that the designs should be closely and 
 faithfully followed ; so he sent my father to see that this was 
 done, he being a practical wagon-builder. 
 
 Like the labor he had been engaged in for the four 
 previous years, we expected that this would be called 
 "mission" work, and he was not to receive a penny for his 
 services ; they were to be given for the good of the " king- 
 dom." This would make the fifth year he had spent away 
 from us, working for the "church," we receiving none of 
 the benefits of his labors. He had no time, of course, to 
 devote to his family, or to labor for its support ; he must 
 give his strength, and his time, and his labor to Brigham 
 Young. During the three months that he had been at 
 home, he had added as many wives to the family-circle ; but 
 there were no added means with which to care for them ; so 
 that now, when he was called to go away and leave them 
 for an indefinite length of time, it was considered expedient 
 to send the whole family to us, to remain during his ab- 
 sence. 
 
 More log-rooms were added to the cabin, and down came 
 the whole flock, so that we were all together again. My 
 mother has said, since then, that she never, in her whole 
 life, felt so rebellious as she did then. She had become so 
 entirely disgusted with polygamy, that even the fact that it 
 was an important adjunct to the religion to which she was so 
 devoted, did not reconcile her to it one bit. She hated it; 
 she hated everybody connected with it ; and she did not care 
 if she never saw her husband again in the world. She 
 would not pray for his safe return, for she said she did not 
 desire it, and she would not add heartless prayer to her list 
 of hypocrisies. 
 
 She kept all this rebellion within her own heart, and I 
 
SENT TO THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 337 
 
 am sure that none of the wives knew at all the depth and 
 intensity of her feelings at that time. An added sorrow to 
 my mother came, when, about the same time that my father 
 went to Chicago, my eldest brother was sent on a mission to 
 the Sandwich Islands. She mourned his departure deeply, 
 and even I could not comfort her. He was sent for five 
 years, that was the time designated in his order, and 
 my mother was so broken in health and spirits that she did 
 not believe she should be alive when he returned. He was, 
 however, immediately recalled on account of the opening of 
 the Mormon War, with all other missionaries away from 
 home. 
 
 In the autumn we heard that my father was coming 
 home ill ; he had got " leave of absence " from the head of 
 the church, and was coming home to be taken care of. As 
 soon as we heard the news, my mother suggested to Eliza- 
 beth that she should return to Salt Lake City, and prepare 
 for his reception at the home there. She went at once, and 
 my mother was going on quietly with her many duties, when 
 a messenger arrived in haste from the city for my mother, to 
 convey her to the husband who was calling for her. 
 
 I think I shall let her give the incident in her own 
 words : 
 
 " At first I declined going ; so rebellious was I, and so 
 bitter, that I actually felt that I could not go. There was a 
 momentary feeling of triumph, that, in sickness or in trouble, 
 my husband turned to me, his one true wife, for relief 
 and comfort; that, however he might regard his younger 
 wives while well and comparatively prosperous, he had no 
 thought for them now ; yet this feeling failed to move me, 
 as instantly, choking it almost before it became a defi- 
 nite thought, came the bitter impulse 'Let him alone ; leave 
 him to suffer : you have not been spared ; why should you be 
 more merciful than he has been? Let him feel what it is to 
 need, and long for, and even starve for some one's love and 
 care, and yet have it denied him in all his longing and his 
 22 
 
THE MUCH-MARRIED MAN FALLS SICK. 
 
 need ; ' and for a moment I was actually glad that I had 
 the power to inflict this pain. 
 
 ' 'Let one of the other wives go,' I replied to the messen- 
 ger's repeated and more urgent request. ' I don't see how 
 I can leave.' 
 
 ' But you must,' was the imperative reply of the man -, 
 'your husband is very sick, and has sent for you, and I 
 shall take no one else.' 
 
 " In a moment I relented. I felt ashamed of my selfish 
 heartlessness ; something of the old-time feeling came over 
 me, and, with a sudden revulsion of emotion, such as only 
 women ever feel, I was as anxious now to go to him as I 
 had before been indifferent. After all, he was my husband, 
 mine as he could never be anyone's else. I had a claim 
 on him that none of the rest had, and he had a claim on me 
 too. It seemed now as though I could not get to him 
 quickly enough. I made my preparations in feverish haste, 
 with fingers that trembled with nervous impatience, and in 
 a short time was on my way. 
 
 " The journey seemed so long and tedious ! and yet we 
 made it very quickly ; but to me, whose heart outran the 
 very swiftest conveyance, it was inexpressibly tiresome. I 
 expect I wearied the patience of my driver by requesting 
 him constantly to ' go faster,' and perpetually asking if we 
 were not almost there. I pictured to myself the pleasure 
 of having my husband, for a little while even, all my own 
 again. I would make the most of it. I would forget, 
 by his sick bed, that there had ever been the slightest 
 shadow between us. Polygamy should, in that sick cham- 
 ber, be as though it never had existed. He had sent for 
 me ; he had chosen me out of all the rest to be the com- 
 panion of his sick hours. In his sick-room, at least, my 
 sway should be absolute, and I would not give up one bit 
 of my authority to anyone else. There, at least, as in the 
 days of long ago, he should be 'mine, mine only ; ' but, 
 alas ! he could never again be ' for ever mine.' In spite of 
 
A GOOD DEAL OF WIVES. MUCH ATTENTION ! 
 
 339 
 
 my impatience, I was more really happy than I had been 
 for years. I felt more like myself than I had since that fatal 
 day in Nauvoo, when, after long and prayerful consultation, 
 we decided that duty and right demanded that we should 
 enter polygamy, and made the choice of the first plural 
 wife. I was coming to my own again, and my life was 
 positively glorified by the thought. His illness, rather than 
 distressing, gladdened me. I should have, of course, the 
 exclusive care of him, and he should miss nothing of the old 
 love and tenderness in my regard for him. For the time, 
 at least, we should be all in all to each other. 
 
 A GOOD DEAL OF WlVESI TOO MUCH ATTENTION. 
 
 " We arrived at last, and I hurried to the sick-room of my 
 husband, with my heart full of tenderness for him, my eyes 
 brimming over with loving tears. But, in my dreamings, 
 I had forgotten, or had ignored the fact, that others had the 
 same right to minister to him, to care for him, to remain 
 with and watch over him, that I had ; and when I entered 
 the room, the tenderness was driven from my heart, the 
 tears from my eyes, and I stood there a polygamic wife, in 
 presence of three of my husband's other wives, who had the 
 
340 
 
 A SHARE OF A HUSBAND ! 
 
 same privileges of his room that I had, and who were doing 
 their utmost to make the invalid comfortable. 
 
 " I was a good nurse, and, on account of my experience, 
 the others deferred to my opinions and advice, but insisted 
 upon sharing my labors. My husband made no objections ; 
 indeed, I daresay he would have been contented had the 
 whole five of us been dancing attendance on him. I worked 
 faithfully and hard in the sick-room, but very mechanically, 
 and, in a dazed, bewildered sort of way. All the heart 
 had gone out of my work. Feeling seemed entirely dead. 
 I hadn't the slightest emotion for the man who lay before 
 me there, and I was as indifferent to his fate as though he 
 had been an entire stranger. 
 
 " 1 don't think it was heartlessness ; I know it was not. 
 It was because my heart had been tortured into numbness, 
 and I no longer had any power to feel. If he had died, I 
 do not think I should have shed a tear. The fountain of 
 tears was absolutely frozen, and not one would have flowed 
 had he lain before me cold, and mute, and motionless. I 
 should have been as rigid as the white face set in death, on 
 which my dry eyes would have looked vacantly and wonder- 
 ingly, as on some strange, unaccustomed features. 
 
 " I did not wish that he might die ; I was simply indiffer- 
 ent. With the last flickering light that burned up so brightly 
 for a little while, until it entered the sick-chamber and was 
 met by the chilling breath of the ghostly presence of poly- 
 gamy, my life's romance went out for ever. The life or death 
 of one man could not change the face of the world to me. 
 Where I had thought I was strong, I was weak ; my dream 
 was broken ; life was henceforth a dead level of mere exist- 
 ence. My only thought was to get away. I took my 
 daughter, as soon as I could with decency leave, and went 
 on a visit to some relatives in Southern Utah, saying fare- 
 well to my domestic circle, without one regret." 
 
 Yet even this separation was of short duration, for just 
 about that time came the famous w move to the South," 
 
W NO ODDS OF UNCLE SAM OR THE DEVIL." 341 
 
 which every Salt Lake "City resident will remember many 
 of them to their sorrow. 
 
 In 1857 there was a prospect of United States troops 
 being sent to the Territory, and Brigham determined to 
 resist them. In a public speech on the 24th of July, the 
 day celebrated by the Mormon Church as the anniversary 
 of their first entrance into the Valley, he said, "God is with 
 us, and I ask no odds of Uncle Sam or the devil." 
 
 When it was ascertained beyond a doubt that the United 
 States troops were on the way, he counselled every warlike 
 preparation to be be made. Business was suspended ; an 
 adobe wall was built back of the city for protection against 
 
 REMAINS OF ADOBE DEFENCES. 
 
 Johnson's army ; the elders on missions were ordered home 
 at once, and all the people turned their attention to the task 
 of repelling the invasion. "For," said Brigham, "they 
 SHALL NOT enter the Valley." He issued a proclamation, 
 forbidding all armed forces from entering the Territory, 
 and martial law was also proclaimed. 
 
 The latter part of the winter the Mormons received a visit 
 from Colonel Thomas S. Kane, of Philadelphia. He had be- 
 fore this proved his friendship for the Saints, and was respect- 
 ed and listened to accordingly. It is supposed the colonel 
 convinced Brigham that he was not yet strong enough to 
 conquer the United States, and advised a change of tactics. 
 
342 THE SAINTS GO SOUTH. 
 
 At all events, directly after his departure, Brigham began 
 to talk of going south; he said he did not know where he 
 should go; perhaps to the desert "wherever the Lord 
 should direct." 
 
 Satisfied that it would be better not to fight, I suppose he 
 thought when the snow melted it would be impossible to keep 
 the army out ; therefore he issued orders to the Saints to 
 pack up and take their flight. They obeyed the command, 
 some going only thirty miles, others going three hundred ; 
 in fact, they were scattered along all through the southern 
 settlements. In direct contradiction to his assertions made 
 in the Tabernacle, everything was left standing not even 
 a tree or a stack of hay being burned. This move south 
 brought our family together again under one roof, and we 
 remained together until the church was recalled. 
 
 After the departure of the Saints from Salt Lake, the 
 troops passed through ; but they interfered with nothing : 
 no spirit of retaliation was shown for all they had endured 
 through the past winter. 
 
 Nearly the entire summer was spent in the move south, 
 and in August, Brigham notified the people that he was 
 going back, but that " others might do as they pleased." 
 All that could do so returned to their homes at once ; others 
 went when circumstances would permit ; having been living 
 from March until August in tents, wagons, or in the open 
 air, they were glad to return. The people were poor, and 
 dependent on their labor for sustenance, and could not well 
 afford the time for this flitting ; yet they obeyed Brigham 
 implicitly, asking no questions and hazarding no objections. 
 
 With the return to the city our family was again divided. 
 My mother was urged to go to Payson, and re-open her 
 school, which she had relinquished on my father's return 
 from Europe. She decided to do so, and the people fur- 
 nished a dwelling-house for her, and she and I commenced 
 living our old cosy life again. We had occasional visits 
 from different members of our family, and the first summer 
 
BRIGHAM PUTS MONEY IN HIS PURSE. 343 
 
 that we were there, one of the younger wives, while on a visit, 
 increased our already somewhat numerous family by giving 
 birth to a daughter, and, in addition to her school duties, my 
 mother performed the several offices of cook, housekeeper, 
 and nurse, until she was able to return home. 
 
 In the mean time, affairs in Salt Lake City had assumed 
 their usual quiet. The troops were camped about forty 
 miles from Salt Lake, in Cedar Valley. They called the 
 station Camp Floyd. While they remained in the Terri- 
 tory, some of the Saints, wishing to dispose of their produce, 
 sold a large quantity to the troops, and were well paid for 
 
 MORMONS SELLING PROVISIONS TO UNITED STATES TROOPS. 
 
 it. Brigham heard of it, and the very next Sunday forbade 
 their selling any more, and cursed all those who had had 
 dealings with our enemies, as he called those men who had 
 respected the honor of their government and spared the 
 people who had so injured them. 
 
 It was not long before it was whispered that Brigham had 
 agents in Camp Floyd selling tithing flour and lumber; 
 taking large contracts, and obtaining large prices. But in 
 the meanwhile he did not relax his severity towards his 
 people. The bishops were ordered to withdraw the hand 
 of fellowship from every person in their wards who traded 
 at Camp Floyd. It was a sure sign of apostasy to be 
 
344 THE CHURCH LIQUOR STORE. 
 
 seen there at all, on any errand whatever; yet the church 
 teams started from the tithing-office, loaded with flour, in 
 the night, and it was known that Brigham received large 
 sums of money from the government in payment. 
 
 In this, as in everything else, he was determined to have 
 the monopoly. If there was any money to be made, he 
 must make it. He could not endure to see a dollar go into 
 another man's pocket. I believe the sight was positive 
 pain to him. This incarnation of selfish greed is made 
 absolutely miserable by the prosperity of another, and he 
 takes speedy measures to put a stop to it, as he did in the 
 case of Moon and Badly, the distillers, whom he sent to the 
 south on missions, and also in the affair with Mr. Howard, 
 whose distillery he took possession of in the same manner, 
 after having declared that it ought to be burned down, and 
 the machinery destroyed. 
 
 After Howard was well out of the way (in England, I 
 think) , Brigham started the distillery again in the "church's " 
 interest, which, as he represents the church, meant him- 
 self. And over the door he placed as a sign the All-seeing 
 eye, with the inscription, "HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Zi- 
 ON'S CO-OPERATIVE MERCANTILE INSTITUTION. WHOLE- 
 SALE LIQUOR-DEALERS AND RECTIFIERS." His whiskey 
 was not nearly so good as Howard's, but he got as much 
 money for it ; so what did he care about the quality ? 
 
 More fortunate than either Mr. Moon or Mr. Badly, 
 Mr. Howard returned from his mission ; but he has ever 
 since been an enemy to the Prophet, who, by the way, still 
 runs the distillery. 
 
 Mention having been made of the President's " Improved 
 Carriages," I think they deserve a more extended notice, 
 coming, as they do, under the head of Brigham's sublime 
 failures. He had purchased the contract for carrying the 
 mails from Independence, Missouri, to Salt Lake City; so 
 he decided to run an express between these two points, to 
 be called "B. Young's Express," for the purpose of carry- 
 
BUILDING CARS BY INSPIRATION. 345 
 
 ing passengers, freight, and the mails. He wanted the 
 assistance of my father in preparing the train, and although 
 the latter was very much averse to leaving his family again 
 so soon after his return to them from his four years in Eng- 
 land, yet he was, of course, overcome by the pressing elo- 
 quence of his leader. 
 
 It was very necessary that he should enter at once into 
 some lucrative business, as his family was large, increased 
 recently by the Prophet's orders ; and when he informed 
 Brigham of the necessity of instant and remunerative labor, 
 he was informed that this would be the most profitable un- 
 dertaking in which he could engage, and gave him to 
 understand that he would be well remunerated for his ser- 
 vices. 
 
 It is by this time a well-established fact among the 
 Saints taking his word for it merely that Brigham 
 Young knows how to do everything. Therefore no one 
 will be surprised to learn that he understood all about 
 wagon and carriage building, and nothing could be more 
 natural than that he should produce plans representing the 
 manner in which the carriages should be built. These de- 
 signs, with the most minute instructions, covering several 
 sheets of foolscap, were laid before my father, and he ven- 
 tured to suggest that there might be some slight alterations 
 which would be for the better ; but he was met with the 
 sharp and abusive reply, that " there must not, on any con- 
 sideration, be the least variation from this plan." Brigham 
 insisted that it should be adhered to in every particular. 
 He became very much elated, and made use of all his 
 magniloquence in describing the ease and comfort with 
 which passengers might cross the plains in one of his car- 
 riages, saying, "They will be just as comfortable as though 
 they were at home in their own parlors." 
 
 Father said no more, but pocketed the plans, and started 
 East with them, quite certain what the result would be. 
 When he arrived in Chicago he presented the Prophet's 
 
346 EXCUSE FOR A BAD 
 
 model to every carriage-maker in the city, and they only 
 laughed very heartily over it. They said they had never 
 seen anything like it, which was true enough, as it bore not 
 the slightest resemblance to anything on the earth, or in 
 the heavens above, or the waters beneath. It was most 
 decidedly "unique and only." They all declined to under- 
 take the work, knowing that it must prove a failure. Fi- 
 nally, however, a Mr. Schuttler, being anxious to secure 
 the Utah trade, consented to try two of them, on condition 
 that my father should render constant assistance, not feel- 
 ing exactly safe to proceed in so important an undertaking 
 without the aid of a Mormon who was supposed to know 
 more about it than himself. The orders were to build four- 
 teen carriages, besides a train of wagons. Schuttler's 
 wagons being ordered by the Prophet, of course there was 
 no difficulty about them. 
 
 When the two carriages were ready for transportation, 
 they entirely filled a railway car. If my father had fol- 
 lowed directions, and had the entire fourteen made, he must 
 have chartered seven cars to convey them to the frontiers. 
 These nondescript affairs were the amusement of all the 
 passengers on the train. As they found no passengers at 
 the frontiers, except "Uncle Sam's troops," the carriages 
 were filled with freight ; and I believe the wreck of one 
 of them reached Salt Lake City the following year, after 
 peace had been made with the government. The Prophet 
 was satisfied with the two, and ordered no more built; his 
 " revelation " had proved a great failure, and owing to the 
 rebellion, the mail contract was taken from him. He laid 
 the entire failure to the United States troops, although it 
 would puzzle a person of less acute perceptions than he to 
 discover how the one had anything to do with the other. 
 When a " revelation" fails, there must be some excuse, 
 some reason for it, and President Young is never at fault 
 for one ; whether a valid one or not, it seems to make little 
 difference. 
 
PROFITS BY HIS FAULTS. 
 
 347 
 
 Those who were so fortunate as to see one of those car- 
 riages in its entirety, say that no one could form any idea 
 of them without seeing them, and that the only way to 
 get an adequate idea of the size would be to take the di- 
 mensions of a w Prairie Schooner," and multiply them by 
 five. 
 
 The wagons proved a success, as they were loaded with 
 freight for Salt Lake merchants, for which they paid twen- 
 ty-five cents a pound ; and those wagons that came through 
 with my father brought no less than five thousand two 
 hundred and fifty dollars' worth of freight for the Prophet. 
 
 BRIGHAM'S FOLLY. "THE PRAIRIE SCHOONER." 
 
 It is a poor plan that does not enrich him ; he seems, 
 in some way or other, to make money out of his very 
 failures. 
 
 After my father's recovery from his illness he presented 
 his accounts for the Prophet's inspection, and expected an 
 immediate settlement, and his promised pay ; instead of 
 which, he was quietly informed that his services were to 
 be a gratuity to the church, and at the same time he was 
 presented by the Prophet with a bill from the express com- 
 pany for bringing his trunk of clothing through. 
 
 While in Chicago, he had sent two hundred and fifty 
 pounds of freight home for the family's use, and they 
 would not let my mother have it until she had paid the full 
 
348 MY FATHER MARRIES HIS SIXTH WIFE. 
 
 freight-charges. The clerks told her that "this was Presi- 
 dent Young's order, and they dared not disobey." Mother 
 afterwards said that she believed the clerks saw the injus- 
 tice of the whole proceeding, yet were powerless to do 
 otherwise than according to their orders. 
 
 A man that had literally worn himself out in the service 
 of Brigham Young could not be permitted to send a few 
 of the necessaries of life to his family, nor even a trunk of 
 linen, used on a journey for this man, without paying 
 freight, and that when they came in wagons which he had 
 helped to build, and that gratuitously, for the aggrandize- 
 ment of the church, or, to be more exact, of the man who 
 was constantly crying, " Give, give," and was yet never 
 satisfied. A man of our acquaintance, who had been sim- 
 larly swindled, said, in referring to the subject, '"Brigham 
 Young would rob the King of heaven of His crown-jew- 
 els if he had the opportunity." 
 
 It was the unfortunate termination of this " business ar- 
 rangement " with the Prophet that decided my mother to 
 resume teaching again ; but when my father was again in 
 business, he was so urgent that my mother should return 
 to Salt Lake, that, a little while before my sixteenth birth- 
 day, we went there again to live. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 GOING THROUGH THE "ENDOWMENT-HOUSE." I TAKE 
 THE MYSTERIOUS BATHS. 
 
 No Physic among the Saints. I am taken Sick. Heber C. Kimball rec- 
 ommends " Endowments." How Brigham Murdered his little Grand- 
 daughter. The Prophet wants a Doctor. Being " administered " 
 To. I am Re-baptized. Receive my Endowments. How Saintly 
 Sins are Washed Away. Undignified Conduct of Elders. The Or- 
 der of Melchisedec. How I was " Confirmed." To become a Celes- 
 tial Queen. I go down to the Endowment-House. The Mysterious 
 Ceremonies Described. The Veil at last Lifted. The Secrets of the 
 Endowment-House Exposed. I enter the Bath. Miss Snow Washes 
 Me. She Anoints Me All Over. I dress in a Bed-gown. The 
 ' Peculiar Garment " of the Saints. What the Mormon Girls do 
 about It "Going through" without a Husband. "A Great Shout- 
 ing for Sarah ! " 
 
 HEN I was about sixteen 
 years old, I was very 
 ill, and my mother, her 
 fears for the life and 
 welfare of her only 
 daughter always on 
 the alert, became very 
 anxious, and, indeed, 
 almost ill herself in 
 
 her concern for me. 
 
 According to Mormon custom, I was 
 
 " administered to " by the anointing and 
 
 laying on of hands, but all to no avail. 
 
 Bishop Taft, the one who had baptized 
 
 TAK, NG MY ENDOWMENTS me in m 7 childhood, Isaac GrOO, the 
 
 Bishop's counsellor, and Elder Samuel 
 Hardy labored earnestly and long, and "wrestled in 
 
35O BRIGHAM MURDERS HIS GRANDDAUGHTER. 
 
 prayer" over me, all to no avail. I grew worse, rather 
 than better, and my family feared I should fall into pul- 
 monary consumption. 
 
 The idea of employing a regular physician seemed never 
 to occur to any of them. Indeed, at that time it was con- 
 sidered the surest sign of a weakening of faith to resort to 
 medical aid, and no Mormon in good standing would ever 
 entertain the suggestion for a moment. Latterly, however, 
 a great deal of this nonsense has been done away with, 
 under the subtle Gentile influence that is working through- 
 out Utah, in Salt Lake City more especially, and some of 
 the young Saints are actually studying for the medical pro- 
 fession. Brigham used to denounce physicians in the most 
 wholesale manner in the Tabernacle, and declare that they 
 should never enter heaven, but that he would himself close 
 the doors against them. 
 
 He was so bitter at that time that he would allow none 
 of his family to employ medical aid in any emergency. A 
 little granddaughter of his, a child of one of his daugh- 
 ters, took some poison that her mother had prepared to 
 exterminate rats with. Brigham was sent for, and when 
 he arrived he found a physician there, preparing to admin- 
 ister to the child in the usual manner. He rudely turned 
 him out of doors, saying that he would care for the child 
 himself; that no doctor should be allowed to worry her; 
 and his "care," as usual, consisted of the laying on of 
 hands not a very energetic or efficacious mode of treat- 
 ing a poisoning case. The agonized parents dared not 
 interfere, and in a few moments their child died before their 
 very eyes, in the most terrible agony and distress, an inno- 
 cent victim to the Prophet's egotism and bigotry. 
 
 That was Brigham Young well. Brigham Young ill is 
 another person. In his variableness of opinion he reminds 
 one very forcibly of the dignitary treated of in the some- 
 what profane epigram, 
 
DOCTORING THE PROPHET I 351 
 
 " The devil was sick ; 
 
 The devil a monk would be : 
 The devil got well ; 
 
 The devil a monk was he." 
 
 Whenever he has any ailment, a doctor is summoned at 
 once ; and during his illness, a little over a year since, he 
 employed at least half a dozen, keeping them in constant 
 consultation, so great was his terror, and so absolute his 
 horror of fatal consequences. 
 
 But when I was so ill, the Prophet was in the best of 
 health, and was indulging in the bitterest invectives against 
 physicians and all who employed them ; and my mother, 
 great and all-pervading as her affection was for me, and 
 anxiously troubled as she was concerning my restoration 
 to health, would have been shocked and grieved beyond 
 measure, had any one proposed to her to seek medical 
 advice concerning my condition. I was "in the hands of 
 the Lord," and I was to be left there, for Him to do with 
 me as He would. 
 
 When it was found that being K administered to " did no 
 good in my case, Heber C. Kimball advised that I receive 
 my "Endowments," promising that then I should surely be 
 fully restored to health. This was considered as a very 
 great favor, since, outside of Brigham Young's and one or 
 two other official families, no young persons are given their 
 Endowments. My mother was overjoyed, and considered 
 the bestowal of this honor a special interposition of Prov- 
 idence on my behalf. As a matter of course, I shared her 
 feelings most fully. I had always been taught to anticipate 
 the time when I should receive my Endowments as the most 
 important epoch of my religious life, when I should be 
 taken fully into the bosom of the church. 
 
 It was necessary, in order to receive these rites, that I 
 should be re-baptized. Remembering my childish experi- 
 ence, and the terror which I suffered, I must confess that I 
 
352 I AM DIPPED AGAIN. 
 
 dreaded, in my weakened state of health, that portion of 
 the ceremony, and I grew quite nervous over it before the 
 day arrived on which that rite was to be performed. I was 
 reassured on one point, however. The pond experience 
 was not to be repeated, but I was to be baptized in the 
 Twelfth Ward font, which made it seem much less formi- 
 dable, and divested it of half its terror. 
 
 On the day appointed I was taken to the Twelfth Ward 
 meeting-house by my mother, where we met Isaac Groo, 
 who was to baptize me. I was half frightened, and wholly 
 awed, and very nervous; but my ardent desire for the re- 
 establishment of my health gave me a sort of bravery and 
 
 MORMON BAPTISM. 
 
 endurance, so that I was quite calm, and behaved myself 
 very well, considering the unnaturally excited state which 
 I was in. 
 
 The ordinance of baptism, as administered by the Mor- 
 mons, does not differ very materially from that of the Bap- 
 tist churches. It is always by immersion. Nothing else is 
 ever considered efficacious. It must be a literal "watery 
 burial," and a resurrection therefrom. The officiating elder, 
 with his candidate for the rite, repairs to some place which 
 has been previously appointed, and where there is a suffi- 
 cient quantity of water to immerse the entire person. Not 
 
WATERY ! 353 
 
 the least portion of the body must be left above the purifying 
 fluid, else it could not be termed a " perfect burial with 
 Christ." In the early days it was necessary to perform this 
 ordinance in the open air, in some river or pond ; but lately 
 fonts have been built in most ward meeting-houses, so that 
 it can all be done under cover, and there is less danger of 
 suffering ill results from exposure. 
 
 The elder officiating takes the candidate by the hand and 
 leads him or her, as the case may be down into the 
 water, until a sufficient depth is attained ; he then raises his 
 hand, and, calling the person by name, commences the 
 ceremony as follows : " Having authority given me of 
 Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen." He then plunges 
 the candidate under the water, bringing him forth into the 
 newness of life, and fully prepared to enter upon a series of 
 ordinances, all of which are attended with covenants calcu- 
 lated to bind the person more strongly to the church. 
 
 Following the baptism comes the confirmation, or the 
 laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. It 
 is usually administered directly after the first rite, and at 
 the same place ; but I was so ill and weak that I was taken 
 directly home, and the elders came there to confirm me. 
 They were Bishop Taft and Isaac Groo, and they certainly 
 gave me every cause to be thankful to them for the prodi- 
 gality of their promises. I certainly never have had occasion 
 to be grateful on account of their fulfilment. 
 
 In the Church of Latter-Day Saints the " Melchisedec " 
 and " Aaronic " priesthood are authorized to perform the or- 
 dinance of baptism, but the latter has no power to administer 
 in spiritual things. Hence only a priest after the holy order 
 of the Son of God, or the order of Melchisedec, can per- 
 form the ordinance of confirmation, or laying on of hands 
 for imparting the Holy Ghost, which is to lead the new- 
 born Saint into all truth, and teach him the things to 
 come ; thus protect him from all falsehood and imposition, 
 23 
 
354 RECEIVING GIFTS AND GRACES. 
 
 and placing him in the most perfect state of progression 
 which, if real, would be a state of the highest felicity and 
 most assured salvation. 
 
 Two or three elders lay their hands upon the head of the 
 person to be confirmed, one of whom acts as a mouthpiece 
 for the rest, and pronounces the blessings and promises, 
 generally exhausting his full list of mercies upon him whom 
 they are receiving into full Sainthood. There are two 
 essentials in this ordinance which are never omitted "I 
 confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 
 MORMON CONFIRMATION. 
 
 Latter-Day Saints," and, " I also confer upon you the Gift 
 of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Oftentimes the elder becomes so thoroughly filled with 
 inspiration that he cannot cease his blessing until he has 
 sealed the young Saint up to eternal life, with a perfect 
 assurance that he shall "inherit all the blessings of Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, and Jacob, with a fulness of the holy priesthood 
 after the order of an endless life ; " thus placing him be- 
 yond the possibility of falling from grace or missing the 
 celestial gate : though he may wander from the fold and 
 become bewildered in fogs and darkness, yet in the consum- 
 mation of his mission to earth he will find his way back to 
 
GOING TO THE ENDOWMENT-HOUSE. 355 
 
 the fold of Christ ; and as it is supposed that the Word of God, 
 spoken by the mouth of His servant, cannot fail, will inherit 
 thrones, principalities, and dominions, be made King and 
 Priest unto God and His Christ, and reign upon the earth. 
 
 The person, having reached this high plane in the king- 
 dom of God on the earth, is considered properly prepared to 
 receive the higher and holier ordinances, which are to be 
 kept entirely secret, and are accompanied by the strongest 
 and most binding covenants, which cannot be broken with- 
 out incurring the severest penalties. 
 
 I was promised everything that I could wish ; indeed, I 
 was quite overcome by the magnitude and number of special 
 blessings that was promised me. First of all, as that was my 
 most earnest desire, I was to have perfect health bestowed 
 upon me at once. I was to go on " from grace to glory," 
 in full saintship, and my last days were to be better than 
 my first. I am glad to say that this portion of the blessing 
 promises to be fulfilled, although by no means in the man- 
 ner that was intended when the blessing was bestowed. I, 
 of course, could not be a King or Priest, but I should be a 
 "Celestial Queen," with all the glory, emoluments, and 
 perquisites which attend that very exalted, but somewhat 
 mythical, position. Having thus settled my future to their 
 evident satisfaction, they left me fully prepared to receive 
 my Endowments. 
 
 I was now all eagerness to receive my Endowments. If 
 the first step could have so sudden and marked an effect on 
 me, what would not the greatest, the most important step of 
 all, do for me ! My faith in it and its virtues was almost sub- 
 lime. I could scarcely wait for the next day to come the 
 day that had been appointed for me to enter into the full 
 fellowship of the church, the full glory of the Lord, and the 
 eternal heirship to heavenly things. 
 
 The morning came, however, and, with a heart filled 
 with hopeful anticipation, I took my way to the Endowment- 
 House [carrying a lunch and my Temple-robes, which had 
 
356 
 
 PREPARING FOR THE CEREMONY. 
 
 to be specially prepared for this occasion], where, in the 
 absence of a regular Temple, the rites were performed. I 
 expected something solemn and awful ; something elevating 
 to the spirit, and ennobling to the mind. How I was disap- 
 pointed, everyone who has entered the Endowment-House 
 with feelings similar to my own will understand. In place 
 of the awe which I expected to find the rites endowed with, 
 they were ridiculous and farcical in the extreme. 
 
 I have heard persons speak of the solemnity of their feel- 
 ings on the occasion of taking their Endowments, but, with 
 all respect to their truthfulness, I am always incredulous in 
 
 THE ENDOWMENT-HOUSE. 
 
 the extreme. I think either their imagination must have 
 got the better of their common sense, or they could have 
 had very little of the latter commodity to begin with, else 
 they would have seen through the very thin tissue of ab- 
 surdities which they are obliged to witness with unmoved 
 features, for to laugh in the Endowment-House would be the 
 most fearful sacrilege. For my own part, I was in a most 
 uncomfortable frame of mind. I wanted to laugh ; every- 
 thing seemed so ridiculous ; and yet all the while I was 
 conscience-stricken at my own levity. I thought it must be 
 my own wicked heart, and not the rites themselves, and I 
 
 
OFF WITH OUR SHOES ! 357 
 
 was constantly upbraiding myself for lack of spiritual grace ; 
 and yet I could not alter my feelings in the least. The only 
 thing that in any degree overcame my disposition to laugh, 
 was the horror at the oaths which I was obliged to take. 
 They were fairly blood-curdling, they were so awful ; and 
 even now a shudder runs through my whole frame as I 
 recall them. 
 
 The Endowment rites are nothing more nor less than a 
 drama, founded partially upon the Bible, but more upon 
 Milton's Paradise Lost. It represents the Creation, the 
 Fall, and the final Restoration of Man to his first glory. To 
 speak in stage parlance, the " different lines of business" 
 are taken by the leaders of the church, who always sustain 
 the same characters. The following is a list of the dramatis 
 fersonce at the time that I took my Endowments : 
 
 ELOHIM, or Head God, Brigham Young. 
 
 JEHOVAH, Heber C. Kimball. 
 
 JESUS, Daniel H. Wells. 
 
 MICHAEL, or Adam, "W. C. Staines. 
 
 SATAN, W. W. Phelps. 
 
 APOSTLE PETER, Orson Pratt. 
 
 APOSTLE JAMES, John Taylor. 
 
 APOSTLE JOHN, Erastus Snow. 
 
 WASHER, Dr. Sprague. 
 
 CLERK, David O. Calder. 
 
 EVE, Miss Eliza R. Snow. 
 
 TIMOTHY BROADBRIM, a Quaker, . . Wilfred Woodruff. 
 
 DEACON SMITH, a Methodist, . . . . Orson Hyde. 
 
 PARSON PEABODY, a Presbyterian, . . Franklin D. Richards. 
 
 ELDER SMOOTH-TONGUE, a Baptist, . . Phineas H. Young. 
 
 FATHER BONIFACE, a Catholic, . . . George A. Smith. 
 
 When I entered the Endowment-House, I was made, first 
 of all, to take off my shoes, for the place was too holy to be 
 desecrated by outside dust. Having done this, I gave my 
 name and age, the names of my parents, and date of bap- 
 tism and confirmation, to the officiating clerk, who entered 
 them all in a large book. Several other persons of both 
 
358 SISTER, PASS ON ! 
 
 sexes were present, and after all had been similarly cate- 
 chized, and their answers noted, we were asked to produce 
 our bottles of oil, for we had been instructed, among other 
 things, to bring with us a bottle of the best olive-oil : these 
 were taken from us ; our bundles of clothing were handed 
 to us again, and we were told to "pass on." 
 
 We entered a large bath-room, which was separated in 
 the middle by a heavy curtain, for the purpose of dividing 
 the men from the women. The men passed to one side of 
 the curtain, the women to the other. In our room were 
 several large tubs filled with water, and Miss Eliza R. Snow 
 and two or three other women were in attendance. I was 
 received by Miss Snow, who placed me in one of the tubs, 
 and washed me from my head to my feet, repeating certain 
 formulas to the effect that I was washed clean from the blood 
 of this generation, and if I remained firm in the faith, should 
 never be harmed by any of the ills that beset the world, and 
 which soon were to be showered in terrible profusion upon 
 the earth. Plagues, pestilence and famine should cover 
 the earth, and be let loose in its every corner, but I should 
 be passed by unscathed, if I was true to my religion the 
 only revealed religion of God. After I had been wiped dry, 
 she proceeded to anoint me with olive-oil. As she did so, 
 she repeated, solemnly, 
 
 "Sister, I anoint your head, that it may be prepared for 
 that crown of glory awaiting you as a faithful Saint, and the 
 fruitful wife of a priest of the Lord ; your forehead, that your 
 brain may be quick of discernment ; your eyes, that they may 
 be quick to perceive the truth, and to avoid the snares of the 
 enemy ; your ears, that they may be quick to 'hear the word 
 of the Lord ; your mouth, that you may with wisdom speak 
 the words of eternal life, and show forth the praise of the 
 immortal gods ; your tongue, to pronounce the true name 
 which will admit you hereafter behind the veil, and by which 
 you will be known in the celestial kingdom. I anoint your 
 arms to labor in the cause of righteousness, and your hands 
 
I AM WELL OILED. 359 
 
 to be strong in building up the kingdom of God by all man- 
 ner of profitable works. I anoint your breasts, that you 
 may prove a fruitful vine to nourish a strong race of swift 
 witnesses, earnest in the defence of Zion ; your body, to 
 present it an acceptable tabernacle when you come to pass 
 behind the veil ; your loins, that you may bring forth a 
 numerous race to crown you with eternal glory, and 
 strengthen the heavenly kingdom of your husband, your 
 master, and crown in the Lord. I anoint your knees, on 
 which to prostrate yourself, and humbly receive the truth 
 from God's holy priesthood ; your feet, to run swiftly in the 
 ways of righteousness, and stand firm upon the appointed 
 places. And now I pronounce your body an acceptable 
 temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit." 
 
 As may be imagined, I was literally besmeared with oil 
 from my head to my feet. I breathed it, smelled it, tasted 
 it ; it ran into my eyes, and made them smart fearfully, and 
 dripped in any but an agreeable manner from my hair. I 
 was fairly saturated with it ; was cognizant of nothing else ; 
 and I was so nauseated from it that I could scarcely go on 
 with the ceremonies. I got a distaste for it then that I have 
 never got over, and to this day even the sight of it makes 
 me ill. 
 
 After the washing and anointing, I was given a garment 
 which I was told to put on, and charged, after once assum- 
 ing it, that I must never leave it off. When it became 
 necessary to change, I must take off one side, then put 
 the fresh one in its place ; then I could drop the soiled one 
 altogether, and get the fresh one on as soon as possible. 
 So long as I wore it, I was free from danger, and even from 
 death. Disease should not assail me, and neither shot nor 
 the assassin's knife should have power to harm me ; all 
 should be turned one side. Every good Mormo'n wears this 
 garment, and is very superstitious about allowing it off. It 
 is said that Smith never would have been killed had it not 
 been that he left off this charmed garment when he went to 
 
360 
 
 Carthage. Had he allowed it to remain on, the balls of 
 the murderers would have been utterly powerless to harm 
 him. 
 
 There is nothing elegant about this garment ; on the con- 
 trary, it is quite ugly, and the young Saints who assume it 
 dislike it terribly for its plainness and awkwardness. In 
 shape, it is like a child's sleeping-robe, with the waist and 
 drawers combined, and reaches from the neck to the feet. 
 It is of white, bleached muslin, and untrimmed. Latterly, 
 some of the younger daughters of Brigham Young, and 
 other young ladies of the Mormon Ion ton, have instituted a 
 reform, and, to the horror of the older ones, who are not 
 given over to the "pomps and vanities," &c., have had 
 their garments cut shorter, low in the neck, and short- 
 sleeved, and elaborately trimmed. Of course the majority 
 of the people, who have known of this innovation, have 
 been terribly scandalized; but all to no avail. Mormon 
 girls, like girls of the world, object to making guys of 
 themselves ; and neither " counsel w nor ridicule can affect 
 them when once their minds are made up on the subject of 
 dress. They will suffer for that what they will not for their 
 religion. 
 
 Mine, of course, was made after the true orthodox fashion. 
 Over it I wore a white night-gown and skirt, and on my 
 feet white stockings and white linen shoes. My Temple 
 robe was the last to be donned. It is a long, loose, flowing 
 robe of homespun linen, falling to the ankle, and at the 
 top plaited into a band, which passes over the right shoulder, 
 and is fastened under the left arm ; it was girdled by a 
 white linen belt : the cap, which accompanies it, is a simple 
 square of linen, or muslin, gathered in one corner to fit the 
 head ; the remainder falls down over the back of the head, 
 like a veil.' 
 
 While all this washing and robing was going on on one 
 side of the curtain, the same things were being done on the 
 opposite side. I suppose we could hear the murmur of 
 
SHOUTING FOR SARAH ! 361 
 
 voices and the splash of water; but everything was quiet 
 and subdued, and the most perfect order reigned. 
 
 When we were all ready, a name was secretly given to 
 each one of us, which was the name by which we were to be 
 known in the celestial world, and which was to be told only 
 to the man who should take us through the veil. If a 
 woman was married, her husband took her through ; if not, 
 some brother kindly performed the office for her, and he 
 was rewarded for his kindness by having the young Saint's 
 celestial name whispered confidingly in his ear. I was not 
 married; so Elder Samuel Richards took me through, and 
 I told him my name, and, by the way, he was the only 
 person who ever knew it until after my apostasy, as I never 
 told it to either of my husbands. 
 
 It is believed that as the husband has to "resurrect" his 
 wife by her Endowment name, so it is rather necessary that 
 he should know it. Consequently, when he is sealed to 
 her, she is permitted to whisper her name to him through 
 the veil, and after that it must be spoken no more between 
 them until he shall call her by it on the morning of the final 
 resurrection. If the Mormon doctrine were true, there would 
 be a mighty shouting for " Sarah " at that time, as every 
 person whose name I have heard was always called the 
 same. It was the name that was given me, and I have 
 known many others who received it. It certainly will make 
 the husband's work at that time much lighter, since he need 
 call but once to summon his entire family. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 WE CARRY ON THE ENDOWMENT DRAMA. I AM 
 FULLY INITIATED. 
 
 In the Endowment-House. How the " Kings and Priests " appeared in 
 their Shirts. The poor Fellows " feel Bad ! " The " Gods " hold a 
 Conversazione. Michael is sent down to Earth. The " Tree of Life." 
 
 How Raisins grew instead of Apples. Not good to be Alone. The 
 Rib abstracted and little Eve made. The Devil dressed in " Tights." 
 
 John D. Lee once a Devil. Eve's Flirtation. She eats Forbidden 
 Fruit. Tempts her Husband. Fig-leaves come into Fashion. We 
 hide in Holes and Corners The Devil is Cursed and we are Lectured. 
 
 The Second Degree. Story of a Pugnacious Woman. The Terri- 
 ble Oaths of the Endowment-House. Pains and Penalties. Signs 
 and Grips. " Good-bye ! " Brother Heber gives me Advice. 
 
 FTER our names had been 
 given us, Miss Snow an- 
 nounced that we were 
 ready, in answer to a ques- 
 tion from the other side of 
 the curtain. We were ar- 
 ranged in a row facing it, 
 when it was suddenly with- 
 drawn, and we were stand- 
 ing face to face with the 
 men. The sight that met 
 our eyes was very funny, 
 and I had all I could do 
 to keep my features de- 
 cently straight. I looked 
 out from under my eyelids, 
 
 for I did not dare give a good, square, honest look ; it would 
 have been altogether too much for my gravity ; but from 
 my stolen looks I found that the men, over their new gar- 
 
 THE DEVIL OF THE ENDOWMENT-HOUSE. 
 
THE "KINGS AND PRIESTS" IN THEIR SHIRTS. 363 
 
 ment of protection, wore a shirt only. On their feet were 
 white socks and white linen shoes. The cap was of white 
 linen, in shape exactly like those worn by stonemasons, 
 and tied by a knot in front. They were certainly no more 
 beautiful in appearance than we women, and, as is gener- 
 ally the case in embarrassing circumstances, were much 
 less at their ease. 
 
 We were all conducted into another room, where we 
 were seated opposite each other. We remained quiet for a 
 few moments, getting used to the situation and our clothes, 
 I suppose. Suddenly the silence was broken by voices in 
 conversation. The persons who were carrying it on were 
 concealed ; but by listening intently we discovered that it 
 was Elohim in conversation with Jehovah, and he was de- 
 scribing the creation of the world. His description was 
 taken mainly from the first chapter of Genesis. The Gods 
 then decide to visit the earth and see the works of their 
 hands. This they do, and seem quite satisfied with the 
 results of their labors ; but they decide that it is necessary 
 to place a ruler over the brute creation, since they must be 
 governed and brought under the control of a superior order 
 of intelligence. 
 
 The Gods continue their discussions, and Michael the 
 Archangel is called and given control of "the earth and 
 all that therein is." The brute creation is to be subject to 
 him ; the fruits of the earth shall yield abundantly for his 
 sustenance. Of all these he is free to partake, with one 
 single exception : he shall not eat of the fruit of a tree 
 which stands in the middle of the garden. 
 
 This tree is represented by a small evergreen, on the 
 branches of which are tied apples, raisins, oranges, or 
 bunches of grapes, as may happen. The fruit on the oc- 
 casion of my passing through was raisins. 
 
 Michael or Adam, as he is now called finds his new 
 abode rather a lonesome place, in spite of its beauty ; and 
 even the knowledge of his power over all about him does not 
 
364 THE RIB ABSTRACTED LITTLE EVE MADE. 
 
 prevent him from longing for companionship. The Gods, 
 too, decide that it is not good for him to be alone ; and as 
 there is nothing on earth that is sufficiently near an equality 
 with him to be admitted to an intimate friendship, it is de- 
 termined to give him a companion created specially for him. 
 A profound slumber falls upon him, and we were all told at 
 that time to feign sleep also, which we did. Elohim and 
 Jehovah then make their first visible appearance, and go 
 through the form of taking a rib from Adam's side, and on 
 the instant appears Eve, in the person of Miss Eliza R. 
 Snow. 
 
 At this point we were told to wake up, and instantly 
 
 every Adam present appro- 
 priated to himself an Eve, 
 and, led by the chief Adam 
 and his bride, we all marched 
 about, looking at our new 
 kingdom and marking all 
 its beauties. It was then 
 that Adam became separated 
 from Eve, and wandered off 
 by himself, very much after 
 the fashion of husbands of 
 the present day; and while 
 he was away, Satan entered 
 and commenced a desperate 
 flirtation with the coy and 
 
 guileless Eve. The Garden of Eden is represented by 
 painted scenery and furnishings. 
 
 It requires some imagination to invest this place with 
 all the beauty that is supposed to have belonged to the 
 original garden ; but as it is the best Eden that can be 
 provided, we, like all the rest of the Saints, were obliged 
 to be content with it. Satan was for many years rep- 
 resented by W. W. Phelps, who has recently died. Much 
 to his own surprise and great chagrin, he saw his end 
 
 APOSTLE WILLARD WOODRUFF. 
 [ ' ' Timothy Broadbrim. ' ' ] 
 
A FIRST-RATE DEVIL. 365 
 
 approaching ; for he had always claimed to be immortal, 
 and on a seal-ring which he wore while in the Endowment- 
 House was inscribed the blasphemous legend, 
 
 " The Lord and I 
 Shall never die." 
 
 I do not know who has succeeded him ; but I know that 
 in the Temple at Nauvoo, John D. Lee used frequently to 
 assume the character, and I have heard old Mormons say 
 that " he made a first-rate devil." I think no one who has 
 watched his career will doubt that. Since, however, Brig- 
 ham has recently cut him off from the church, it is hardly 
 probable that he will ever again be able to make his ap- 
 pearance in his old character at the Endowment-House. 
 
 Satan was dressed in a tight-fitting suit of black, slashed 
 with pink, pointed shoes, helmet, and a hideous mask. 
 His costume, with the exception of the mask, resembled 
 very closely the dress always worn by the stage Mephistoph- 
 eles. I think he must have had different costumes, since 
 it has been described several times, and the descriptions 
 have varied in every case. 
 
 Eve seemed decidedly pleased with his attentions, and 
 prattled on to him in artless gaiety. He, in turn, showed 
 her the tree of the forbidden fruit, and tempted her to taste 
 it. She did taste it, and finding it pleasant, offered it to 
 Adam, who, by the time the mischief was done, returned 
 to look after his wife. It required but little coaxing on her 
 part to induce him to take the fruit, and he also found it 
 agreeable. At this juncture they seemed to discover their 
 condition of supposed nudity, and instantly they produced 
 white linen aprons, with fig-leaves stitched upon them, and 
 proceeded to put them on. All the rest of us did the 
 same. 
 
 The pattern of this apron, by the way, was said to have 
 been given to Joseph Smith by revelation. It was a square 
 of white linen, measuring about eighteen inches, on which 
 
366 FIG-LEAF FASHIONS. 
 
 were to be sewn nine fig-leaves cut from green silk. Those 
 who first took their Endowments had their aprons made 
 after this model ; but there were afterwards many inven- 
 tions sought out for improving the Lord's pattern, one of 
 which was to paint them. Over these painted aprons fancy 
 fairly ran riot. The borders would be whatever color the 
 person making them might choose, and were red, yellow, 
 or blue, as the caprice dictated, with white centres filled 
 with green leaves. The shape of these leaves was as varied 
 as the people who wore the aprons. Some resembled the 
 oak leaf, some the fig, a part the burdock, and others were 
 like nothing else that ever was seen under the sun. A com- 
 pany going through their Endowments thirty years since, 
 presented, it is said, a decidedly fantastic appearance. 
 Alter trying every conceivable mode of making the aprons, 
 they have settled down to the " revealed pattern " as the 
 best every way. 
 
 After the aprons were on, the voice of Elohim was heard 
 calling Adam ; but he was afraid, and hid himself with Eve. 
 All the rest of us were supposed to follow their example, 
 and there was a most undignified scurrying behind sofas, 
 chairs, or any other article of furniture that was convenient. 
 It was like nothing so much as the old game of "hide-and- 
 seek," and it was a rare piece of fun to see men and women 
 scudding in every direction about the room. It was like a 
 good old-fashioned frolic to me, and I actually laughed 
 aloud, much to my discomfiture and Heber Kimball's horror, 
 who reproved me afterwards, and told me it was very 
 wrong. "For," said he, "these things are sacred, and 
 make me feel as solemn as the grave, and I can scarce re- 
 frain from shedding tears every time I see them." 
 
 I was properly penitent, but I know I thought at the time 
 how very easily Brother Heber was moved. 
 
 The devil was then cursed, and he fell upon his hands 
 and knees, and wriggled and hissed in as snake-like a man- 
 ner as possible ; we were all brought out from our several 
 
FIRST DEGREE. THE DEVIL IS PUT TO FLIGHT. 367 
 
 hiding-places, the curse was pronounced upon us, which 
 doomed us to leave the beautiful garden, and earn our bread 
 by the sweat of our brows. We were then driven into 
 another room, which was called the world ; and then we 
 had taken our "First Degree." 
 
 We found the world a very bewildering place. We were 
 drawn hither and thither, and tossed about by every con- 
 flicting wave of circumstance. Our friend, the devil, did 
 not leave, but was our constant visitor, urging us to new 
 deeds of sin. We were waited upon by representatives of 
 the different sects, each descanting upon his peculiar plan 
 of salvation, and its advantage over all the rest. The 
 Quaker advocated his non-resistance doctrine. The Meth- 
 odist gave a graphic, but not very refined description of 
 the future torments of those who did not take his road to 
 heaven. The Presbyterian gave his belief in foreordina- 
 tion and election in the very terse lines, 
 
 " You can if you can't ; 
 If you will you won't ; 
 You'll be damned if you do ; 
 You'll be damned if you don't." 
 
 The Baptist expatiated upon the virtues of immersion 
 and close communion, and insisted upon predestination 
 as the principal basis of religion ; the Catholic called for 
 observances of fasts and prayers to the Virgin Mary. 
 Each grew more clamorous in recommending his special 
 creed, and the discussion waxed fast and furious, even the 
 peaceful Quaker shouting his " good will to men " with a 
 red face, an angry voice, and excited manner, when Satan 
 entered, filled with delight at the disturbance, find urging 
 them on to renewed contention. 
 
 Then the apostles began to visit the earth, and comfort 
 its afflicted tenants with plans of the true, revealed religion 
 that was to be their salvation. They put the devil to flight, 
 and .the representatives of the " false religions" cowered 
 and shrank away before the truth which they brought. 
 
368 THE MYSTERIOUS OATHS AND SIGNS. 
 
 We were then given certain signs, pass-words, and grips, 
 arranged in a circle, and told to kneel; the women were 
 also required to cover their faces with their veils; then we 
 were bidden to raise our right hands heavenward, and take 
 the oath of implicit obedience and inviolable secrecy. The 
 women promised entire subjection to their husbands' will ; 
 the men that they would take no woman as a wife without 
 the express permission of the priesthood. We all promised 
 that we would never question the commands of our authori- 
 ties in the church, but would grant them instant obedience ; 
 we swore also to entertain an everlasting enmity to the 
 United States government, and to disregard its laws so far 
 as possible ; we swore that we would use every exertion to 
 avenge the death of our Prophet Joseph Smith and his 
 brother Hyrum upon the Gentile race, by whose means they 
 were brought to their unhappy fate, and to teach our chil- 
 dren to foster this spirit of revenge also ; and last of all, we 
 swore never to reveal the mysteries of the Endowment 
 House. 
 
 The breaking of this latter oath was to be followed by the 
 most horrible penalties ; torture of the most excruciating 
 kind was to be inflicted upon anyone who should disregard 
 this oath his bowels should be torn from him while he was 
 yet alive ; his throat should then be cut from ear to ear ; his 
 heart and his tongue cut out ; and in the world to come he 
 should inherit eternal damnation. There should be, nor 
 could be, no chance of salvation for him. 
 
 These promised penalties are by no means mere forms of 
 words, given merely to add impressiveness to the ceremony. 
 The " Blood- Atonement " shows that they are carried out, 
 and hundreds of cases could be cited in addition to those 
 already given, to prove that the Endowment-House penalties 
 are by no means dead letters in the Mormon Church law. 
 The cutting of every Gentile and apostate throat, and the 
 " sending to hell across lots," that have been so openly and 
 emphatically urged from the stand by Brigham Young and 
 
THE SECRET OF THE VEIL. 369 
 
 others, is only a public expression of the mysteries of the 
 Endowment oaths. 
 
 Brother Heber endeavored to add weight and emphasis 
 to this horrible rite by delivering a discourse to us on the 
 duty of keeping quiet, even to our husbands or wives, on 
 the subject ; from the time we left the room we were in, the 
 transactions therein must not be mentioned, or even hinted 
 at, to anyone. He then entered upon a dissertation of the 
 glories of the Celestial Kingdom, and fairly outdid himself 
 in coarseness and vulgarity. It was then announced to us 
 that the talk finished the ceremony of the " Second Degree," 
 and we were told to enter the next room, for the purpose of 
 having the " Third Degree " of the Order of Melchisedec 
 Priesthood conferred upon us. 
 
 In this room a portion of the scenes of the last were re- 
 peated : the devil encouraged the ministers of the conflicting 
 denominations to visit the new inhabitants of earth, and urge 
 their religions on them once more. The apostles stop the 
 proposed visit, and explain still further the doctrines of the 
 true faith ; they organize a new church, which is, of course, 
 the " Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints." 
 Our Temple robes were changed; resting afterwards upon 
 the left shoulder and fastening under the right arm which 
 was a sign that we were now received into the true church, 
 and subject to the will of its leaders. Another grip was 
 taught to us, and we then received the " Third Degree," 
 and were ready to " pass through the veil." 
 
 The men, of course, went through first, and they were 
 permitted then to take us women through. 
 
 The room we were in was divided by a muslin partition, 
 in which was a door ; in this door was a hole just large 
 enough to pass the hand through, and over this hole was a 
 curtain of muslin. The persons who were behind this mus- 
 lin partition which was supposed to represent "the veil" 
 were invisible to us, although they could see us dis- 
 tinctly. 
 
 24 
 
37O WHAT THE WOMEN WHISPERED TO THE MEN. 
 
 A man approached the door as if seeking admittance, and 
 the Apostle Peter, appearing at the opening, asked who 
 was there and what was wanted. He was told that some 
 one wished to enter. The applicant was told to come near, 
 and, as he approached, hands came through the opening in 
 the door, and cut a mysterious mark on each breast of the 
 man's garment, another over the abdomen, still another over 
 the right knee. The garments of all the applicants were 
 treated in the same mysterious manner, and the women were 
 told to copy them in their own when they went home. It 
 was also commanded them that whenever other garments 
 were made, these marks must be placed on them. 
 
 After the garments had been cut, the applicant for ad- 
 mission gave the last grip which had been taught them, 
 through the slit in the partition, and whispered his or her new 
 name to those behind who were waiting to hear it, and was 
 then permitted to go " behind the veil." The women were 
 then taken through, the married ones by their husbands ; 
 I, as I have before said, by Elder Samuel Richards, brother 
 of Apostle Franklin D. Richards, of Hand-Cart memory. 
 Several remained to be sealed, but as I had not that cere- 
 mony to go through, I was permitted to go away. 
 
 I was perfectly exhausted by what I had passed through, 
 and quite dissatisfied. It was so different from what I ex- 
 pected that I was saddened and disappointed by it all. My 
 feelings of the morning had undergone a most radical 
 change. I was no longer buoyed up by the enthusiasm of 
 religious fervor ; that had died away, and I was as hopeless 
 and apathetic as I had before been eager and buoyant. 
 
 I was too tired to go home at once ; so I went to Heber 
 Kimball's to rest. When he returned from the Endowment- 
 House he found me there, and he asked how I felt since I 
 left the House ; if I had found peace and help. I told him 
 no ; that I felt worse, if possible, than ever. It was then 
 that he reproved me for the levity which he had seen me 
 show, and told me he feared I did not take my Endowments 
 
HOW TO BURY A SAINT. 
 
 371 
 
 in the right spirit. I began to think that that might be the 
 case, and that the fault lay with me and my understanding, 
 and possibly the ordinance was not such a farcical proceed- 
 ing as it had seemed to me ; and I took the reproof so humbly 
 and with such good grace, that Brother Heber grew abso- 
 lutely hopeful for me. 
 
 It is claimed that the 
 mysterious rites were taken 
 from Masonry, and that 
 the Endowments are a 
 direct outgrowth of the 
 secret society. Brigham 
 Young delights, I know, 
 to speak of it as w Celes- 
 tial Masonry," but I am 
 very sure all good Masons 
 would repudiate it and its 
 teachings. 
 
 In regard to the oaths 
 
 of secrecy which I took at that time, I do not consider that 
 I am doing anything wrong in breaking them ; I am sure I 
 shall in no way be held accountable for so doing. I took 
 them because I felt that I must. I did not know what I 
 was promising until after the oath was given me, while 
 I listened with uplifted hand. I was bound to secrecy, but 
 I feel that right and justice demand that I shall break these 
 bonds. I consider it a duty to expose, as far as I possibly 
 can, the wickedness, cruelty, blasphemy, and disloyalty of 
 the leaders of the deluded Mormon people. 
 
 All Mormons who have received their Endowments are 
 buried in their robes caps, shoes, apron, and all. It is 
 held necessary in order to insure their entrance into the 
 Celestial Kingdom. One of the authorities in the church 
 was once asked what would become of the Mormon children 
 who should die before they were old enough to receive their 
 
 'APOSTLE" HEBER C. KIMBALL. 
 
37 2 HOW BAPTISTE "DISAPPEARED." 
 
 Endowments, and consequently were buried without the 
 robes. 
 
 He replied that their parents, or whoever had the power 
 of resurrecting them, must prepare the clothing, and when 
 their dead came out of their graves they were to clothe them 
 with the sacred robes. 
 
 A few years since a man named Baptiste was discovered 
 robbing the dead of their garments, and as a matter of 
 course the greatest excitement prevailed. He was imme- 
 diately w made away with," his house searched, and a large 
 number of robes discovered. Some said that he was put on 
 a little island in the lake, and left to perish. Others said 
 that Porter Rockwell looked after his interests. But cer- 
 tain it is that he " disappeared," and was never seen again. 
 The garments were identified, and the friends of the dead 
 began taking up the bodies and replacing the robes. Brig- 
 ham ordered them to desist, telling them that " under the 
 circumstances their friends would be taken care of in the 
 resurrection ; " so most of the robes were never restored. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE PROPHET MAKES LOVE TO ME. I HAVE OTHER 
 
 VIEWS. 
 
 The Prophet Casts his Eye on Me. He Objects to My Beaux. "A Low 
 Set Anyway." I Didn't Want to Marry the Prophet. He Considers 
 Himself an Irresistible Lover. My First Drive with the Prophet. 
 I Join the Theatrical Corps. How We " Got Up " our Parts. How 
 " Fun Hall " was Built. The Prophet Erects a Theatre out of Temple 
 Funds. How Julia Deane, the Actress, Fascinated the Prophet. How 
 Brigham Cheated the Actors in his Theatre. The Girls Grumble over 
 their Scanty Fare. They Want Something Good to Eat. My New 
 Beau. Love at First Sight. I am Engaged to My First Husband. 
 
 OON after I took my 
 Endowments, Brig- 
 ham Young showed 
 his consciousness of 
 my existence. He 
 had always seen me 
 frequently, but had 
 regarded me and 
 treated me as a child. 
 He seemed suddenly 
 to realize that I had 
 grown to be a young 
 lady, and the first 
 intimation he gave 
 of it was by interfer- 
 ing with my beaux. 
 Like most girls of my age, I was very fond of gay socie- 
 ty ; liked honest admiration and attention ; and I should like 
 to know what girl of seventeen does not, whether she be 
 Mormon or Gentile? 
 
 I was at that time quite intimate with Emmeline Free's 
 children, and I knew nearly all of the rest of Brigham Young's 
 
 MY FIRST APPEARANCE IN BRIGHAM'S THEATRE. 
 
374 " A LOW SET ANYWAY ! " 
 
 children ; but Emmeline's were nearer my own age, and 
 circumstances had thrown us more together. Emmeline 
 had a younger brother, Finley Free, who was at one time a 
 great friend of mine ; indeed, as many boys and girls before 
 us have done, I suppose we fancied we were in love with 
 each other. Finley was a jolly fellow, full of fun, and we 
 agreed capitally. Emmeline used to throw us together in 
 every possible way, for, I suppose, like most women of 
 a somewhat romantic turn of mind, she was fond of match- 
 making, and having no other convenient couple at hand, 
 she amused herself with us. 
 
 Brigham saw me often at Emmeline's, and twice at the 
 theatre, always with Finley Free. He was always very 
 pleasant to me, and I quite liked him, until one day he went 
 to my mother, and told her that he wished her to stop my 
 going about with Finley Free ; that I ought not to have any- 
 thing to do with * those Frees ; " they were " a low set any- 
 way," and didn't amount to anything, either the boys or 
 girls a rather peculiar remark for him to make, when his 
 favorite wife at that time for that was before the reign of 
 Amelia opened was one of those selfsame Frees of whom 
 he spoke so contemptuously to my mother. 
 
 Of course I didn't like this interference at all, and I con- 
 sidered m}'self quite a martyr to the Mormon priestly rule. 
 I expressed my opinion of the Prophet very freely, and, I 
 have no doubt, very foolishly, and I spoke of him in a man- 
 ner that fairly horrified my mother, who considered me 
 nearly as profane and blasphemous as if I had found fault 
 with the overrulings of Providence. The Mormon people 
 bow as humbly, and say as resignedly, "Thy will, not mine, 
 be done," before a fiat of Brigham Young's as they do be- 
 fore a mysterious dispensation of the Lord's ; and I honestly 
 believe they would dare question the justice of God sooner 
 than that of Brigham Young. The latter holds them so com- 
 pletely, body and soul, that they shrink before his displeas- 
 ure in absolute ^ terror, and regard religiously his every 
 slightest wish. 
 
* THAT HATEFUL OLD THING ! " 375 
 
 All the girls of my acquaintance knew of the trouble, 
 and, naturally enough, all sympathized with me ; and a 
 more rebellious set of mortals was never seen. We in- 
 dulged in the most incendiary talk, and turned the torrent 
 of our wrath especially against polygamy. One girl sug- 
 gested that, as the old men always interfered with the girls* 
 "fun," it was more than likely that it was because they 
 wanted them for themselves ; and ended by turning to me, 
 and saying, " Perhaps Brother Brigham means to marry 
 you himself." 
 
 "But he won't," said I, angrily; "I wouldn't have him 
 if he asked me a thousand times, hateful old thing." 
 
 My spirit was warmly applauded by my auditors, and 
 we all entered into a solemn compact, then and there, never, 
 never, to enter polygamy. How fortunate it was that our 
 futures were unrevealed to us ! I look back now to that time, 
 and then think of the girls as they are to-day, most of them 
 polygamous wives, hating the bondage in which they are 
 held, yet wearing their galling fetters with a hopeless sort 
 of patience, that is, after all, only silent endurance ; for it 
 would avail nothing if they should cry out in despair and 
 desperation ; they would only be treated with greater neg- 
 lect, insulted oftener and more openly, or else held up to 
 public ridicule by their religious leader, to whom the un- 
 happy husbands of these complaining wives women who 
 dared to be wretched when Mormonism declared they 
 should not had related their domestic grievances. 
 
 It may seem rather strange that such a simple affair as a 
 school-girl's indignation-meeting should be reported to the 
 Prophet. But it was ; and, among other things, my un- 
 lucky speech was repeated to him. Most men would have 
 laughed at it as mere girlish nonsense and folly, and never 
 have thought of it again, much less spoken of it ; but not so 
 Brigham Young. No affair is too trivial to fail to be of 
 interest to him ; and, besides, in this speech of mine girl 
 as I was his vanity was sorely hurt. If he has one 
 
376 
 
 MY FIRST DRIVE WITH BRIGHAM. 
 
 weakness above all his other weaknesses, it is his vanity 
 regarding the power he possesses over my sex ; and to have 
 his fascinations called in question was a sore hurt for his 
 pride. 
 
 What cowards we all are, to be sure ! I was as brave as 
 you please in making my declaration of independence to my 
 mates, with whom, at that particular period, I was some- 
 thing of a heroine ; but when called upon to defend that dec- 
 laration > I am ashamed to say, I left it to take care of itself, 
 and employed myself in stammering out excuses for its ex- 
 istence.. 
 
 MY FIRST RIDE WITH BRIGHAM. 
 
 I was going home one day, and was walking leisurely 
 along, when the presidential carriage, with the President 
 himself as the sole occupant, stopped at the edge of the side- 
 walk. Brother Brigham gave me a very kindly greeting, 
 and said, "You are some distance from home; get in and 
 ride with me ; I will carry you there. " 
 
"YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T MARRY ME." 377 
 
 I knew the invitation was equivalent to a command ; so I 
 got reluctantly into the carriage, feeling very small indeed, 
 and hating myself that I did not refuse. As we rode along, 
 he suddenly burst out with, " I heard you said you wouldn't 
 marry me if I wanted you to ever so much." 
 
 I was so surprised that it nearly took away my breath. 
 I managed to stammer out a very incoherent, lame reply, 
 and grew every minute more embarrassed. He said no 
 more to me on the subject, but was very pleasant, and took 
 me home to my mother, who was quite surprised to see me 
 appearing in that style. I think Brigham's mind was made 
 up from that time that I should one day be his wife ; not, I 
 think, from any particular affection which he cherished for 
 me, but to punish me for my foolish speech, and to show 
 me that his will was stronger than mine, and that he did not 
 choose to be set at defiance even by so insignificant a person 
 as myself. 
 
 The autumn in which I was eighteen years of age, he 
 sent for me to come to the theatre as a member of the com- 
 pany, for he wished to make an actress of me. At the 
 same time he told my mother that he thought I had better 
 stay at the "Lion House," which is where the larger part 
 of the family live, as our own house was so far away from 
 the theatre that it would be extremely inconvenient for me 
 to live there, as I would be obliged to be back and forth 
 from the theatre every evening, and often through the day. 
 He wished me to enter upon my new duties at once, and as 
 I had no thought of disobeying him, I went immediately on 
 receiving the summons. I did not see why I should be sent 
 for, as I had no particular talent or taste for the stage, and 
 I knew absolutely nothing about the art of acting. I never 
 had the slightest training or preparation for it, but plunged 
 into it, entirely ignorant of what I was undertaking. I did 
 "juvenile business," with an occasional "soubrette" part 
 as a variation ; but in the latter line I was not nearly so 
 successful. Several of Brigham's daughters were acting at 
 
378 
 
 the time. The most prominent were Alice, who did "lead- 
 ing" business, and Zina, who was "leading juvenile." 
 
 At that time the theatre was a church affair. All the 
 actors and actresses were Mormons, with the exception of 
 an occasional " star," and all of them played without sal- 
 aries. They were selected from the first families in the 
 city by the owner of the theatre, who, of course, was Brig- 
 ham Young, and spent literally all their time in studying, 
 rehearsing, and preparing wardrobes, which they furnished 
 themselves. The honor of being selected by Brother Brig- 
 ham to amuse him and assist him was supposed to be suffi- 
 cient remuneration. 
 
 The theatre, by the way, has been, and still is, a prolific 
 source of revenue to the Prophet. Theatricals have always 
 been largely patronized by the Saints, and rank with dan- 
 cing as an amusement. They were introduced into Nauvoo 
 by Joseph Smith, and as soon as possible after the arrival 
 in Salt Lake Valley they were commenced. The actors 
 were all amateurs, and the playing, no doubt, was some- 
 thing quite extraordinary ; but it was a recreation, and for- 
 tunately the audiences were not critical. Dramatic effects 
 are very much liked by this people, and they would reduce 
 everything to a play, if possible. They certainly make it 
 a part of religious service ; for what is the " Endowment," 
 if it is not a drama, and a very silly one at that? 
 
 The first Utah theatricals were held in a building called 
 "Social Hall," but after a time the Prophet became im- 
 pressed that another building was required. So, taking 
 "Amusements" as a text, he delivered a sermon on the 
 proposed new building. He said he should christen it 
 "Fun Hall," as bethought that would be the most appro- 
 priate name that could be given it. "It is," he said, "to be 
 a place where the Saints can meet together and have all 
 the fun they desire. And no Gentiles shall ever desecrate 
 its sacred stage with their tragedies. It is built exclusively 
 for ourselves and our own holy fun." 
 
BUILDING A THEATRE WITH CHURCH-FUNDS. 
 
 379 
 
 This was good news to a people who were already be- 
 coming very weary with the exactions of their priesthood. 
 Now, the Prophet said, it was the will of the Lord that we 
 should have a little relaxation from the constant, wearing 
 toil, which was beginning to be almost unendurable. The 
 Prophet further enlightened us how it was to be built. 
 w We can borrow some of the ' Temple fund/ for present 
 use," he explained ; "but that will be a matter of but small 
 moment, sinoe we can so soon replace it." So " Fun Hall " 
 
 BRIGHAM'S THEATRE. 
 
 was built with the tithing, and any Saint could have access 
 to the amusements given there by paying whatever en- 
 trance fee Brigham demanded. It did not retain its name 
 after it was finished, but was called "Brigham's Theatre." 
 
 As soon as it was completed it was dedicated, after the 
 usual Mormon fashion. The choir sang, and the singing 
 was followed by earnest and lengthy prayer from some 
 good brother, I have forgotten which one, after which 
 Brigham rose, and said, 
 
 w Through the help of the Lord, we have been able to 
 
380 THE PROPHET IN LOVE WITH A PRETTY ACTRESS ! 
 
 build this theatre. I know that it is as good a building as 
 any of the kind that was ever built, and I am not going to 
 have it defiled like the Gentile theatres. I will not have 
 a Gentile on this stage. Neither will I have tragedies 
 played. I've said that before, and I mean it. I won't 
 have our women and children coming here to be frightened 
 so they can't sleep at night. I'll have a Saints' theatre, for 
 the Saints, and we'll see what we can do ourselves." 
 
 Yet, in flat contradiction to all this bombast, it was not 
 three months before tragedies were represented on that 
 stage, and, the very first winter, a Gentile actor was en- 
 gaged, who played there through the entire season. Gen- 
 tile players and Gentile plays have been continued up to 
 this day, and let me assure you there is no more apprecia- 
 tive admirer of the actresses who visit Salt Lake than Brig- 
 ham Young. He has fallen a victim to the charms of sev- 
 eral, but he never was so impressed as he was with Julia 
 Deane Hayne. He was madly in love with her, and, for a 
 while, Amelia's position seemed a little precarious. He 
 bestowed every attention upon the lady, had her portrait 
 painted on his sleigh, and made her an actual offer of mar- 
 riage, which she refused on the spot, without even taking 
 time for consideration. His regard for her never ceased, 
 and I have heard, on what seemed very good authority, 
 although I cannot vouch for its truth, that after he heard 
 of her death he had one of his wives baptized for her, and 
 then sealed to him for her; so he is sure, he thinks, of 
 possessing her in the next world, although he could not 
 induce her to look kindly upon him here. No doubt she 
 will be properly grateful when she finds out that he has 
 taken care of her future welfare, and has assured her sal- 
 vation, and fixed her position in the next world. 
 
 Since the theatre was first opened, all or nearly all the 
 tf stars " have played there, on their way to California. 
 We have had all the actors and actresses, from Forrest and 
 Le Clerq to Lydia Thompson and Dickie Lingard, and the 
 
HOW BRIGHAM SWINDLED THE ACTORS. 381 
 
 entertainments have varied from tragedy to a "variety show/' 
 We have had as musical entertainments everything from 
 opera to negro minstrelsy. We have had Gentiles in the 
 stock company ; and some of our Mormon girls, who have 
 made success in their profession, have slipped away to 
 other places, renounced Mormonism, and are making fine 
 positions for themselves in the outside world. A Miss 
 Alexander, especially, who was one of our most promising 
 actresses, became a very great favorite in California, where 
 she played for some time. 
 
 The theatre has been a source of wealth to Brigham. 
 Built by money extorted from the people for the avowed 
 purpose of erecting a Temple to God, it, of course, was no 
 expense to him, personally ; and yet, although built by the 
 church money, he has appropriated it as private property, 
 and he pockets every dollar that is made at the theatre, and 
 devotes it exclusively to his own use. For a long time his 
 actors, except the Gentile ones, whom he was obliged to 
 pay, cost him nothing, and as everyone furnished his or 
 her wardrobe, the owner of the theatre was put to very 
 little expense in carrying it on. 
 
 Now he has to pay even his Mormon players. He tried 
 a short time ago to return to the old system again, but he 
 failed utterly, as the actors would not listen to such a prop- 
 osition for a moment, and he did not dare to press it, lest 
 he should lose some of the best members of his company. 
 The younger Mormons are not afraid to leave Utah, and 
 the church ; and, thrown as they constantly are with people 
 from the outside world, the " Babylon," which they have 
 been taught to dread and look upon with fear and horror, 
 as a place full of all kinds of lying abominations, and wick- 
 edness of every sort, they have many opportunities of 
 learning of that same world and what it offers. This Gen- 
 tile intercourse is doing more than anything else to break 
 the tyrannical yoke of a corrupt priesthood, and liberalize 
 the minds of the Utah people. 
 
382 MY THEATRICAL LIFE. 
 
 In the days of my own dramatic experiences, the Gentile 
 element by no means predominated, and we all worked for 
 the good of the Prophet. I was never enthusiastic over my 
 profession, and never made a brilliant success in it, though 
 I was something of a favorite, and had very pleasant things 
 said of me, not only in the Salt Lake, but even in the Cali- 
 fornia papers, by some persons who had seen me act. 
 Whatever it was that kept me from being an absolute fail- 
 ure I never knew. It certainly was not because I had pre- 
 pared for my profession, for I had not; and I only went 
 through the parts assigned to me as I fancied they should 
 be given, and I never attempted any stage tricks or man- 
 nerisms. If I had, my doom would have been sealed. I 
 fancy that my adherence to nature, and a constant refrain- 
 ing from striving for effect, had a great deal to do with my 
 popularity ; for I was liked, even though I was no artist, 
 and it is not egotism for me to say it. I was glad to be 
 liked, and I am glad still, and I knew that the liking was 
 genuine and honest, and I returned it, too. My public was 
 like a party of friends, and I was always on the best of 
 terms with them, and grateful to them for giving me so 
 much encouragement. 
 
 Then the company were all my friends. It was almost 
 like a family ; and I do not believe there was ever a theatre 
 where there was less of envyings, and jealousies, and 
 strifes, than there was among us. I look back to those 
 days as among my pleasantest recollections ; for, in addi- 
 tion to my happy theatrical life, I then* first realized the 
 romance of love. 
 
 As had been proposed by Brigham when he summoned 
 me to the theatre, I spent most of the time at the Lion 
 House with the family. Most of them I had known from 
 my earliest childhood ; so I was not among strange people, 
 but rather among good friends. I went home every Sun- 
 day, and once or twice during every week, and called it 
 living at home ; but I visited in the Prophet's family. 
 
WE GRUMBLE WITH OUR BREAD AND BUTTER. 383 
 
 They lived there in the most frugal manner. There was 
 enough on the table, but the fare was not so varied as 
 might have been, and the younger ones, especially, used to 
 get very tired of the constant repetition of dishes. We usu- 
 ally knew just what we should find on the table ; for, what- 
 ever else was absent, bread and butter and dried peach- 
 sauce were always there. It got rather monotonous after a 
 while ; and I must confess I used to enjoy rushing off to my 
 mother and getting something good to eat, and " the girls " 
 used to enjoy going with me, when I would take them. 
 They grumbled as much as they dared over the home fare ; 
 but they did it very quietly among themselves, as they did 
 not dare to have their complaints reach their father's ears, 
 for he would not endure grumbling from them any better 
 than he would endure it from any of his people. 
 
 But it was a very funny sight, if one could only have 
 seen it as I did, to watch the girls when the bell rang for 
 tea or for breakfast. They would all jump up from what- 
 ever they happened to be doing, and, striking various atti- 
 tudes, would exclaim, "Bread and butter and peach-sauce." 
 Sometimes the tone assumed would be tragical in the ex- 
 treme ; sometimes it would be pathetic, sometimes despair- 
 ing, sometimes expostulatory ; and the attitudes would all 
 agree with the tone. Then all the way down the long hall 
 that led to the dining-room, as long as they could without 
 being perceived and reproved by any of the elder members 
 of the family, they would march along, and chant, in sub- 
 dued tones, in a doleful sort of wail, "bread and butter and 
 peach-sauce." I once suggested that it sounded like a 
 dirge. 
 
 " Don't we wish it were ! " answered one, quickly ; "but in 
 that case, my dear, we should put more spirit into our per- 
 formance." 
 
 I little thought, in those days, that I should ever be in a 
 position to " wail " in earnest over the Prophet's parsimony 
 in those days when I " assisted " his daughters at their daily 
 
384 NEW LIFE. MY FIRST LOVE APPEARS. 
 
 performances. I think I should have put more heart into 
 my wailing, and sorrowed quite as much for my own sake 
 as for the lack of luxuries on the prophetic table. But the 
 fun that we got out of it, and the knowledge that we should 
 be disapproved of if our grumblings were known, gave a 
 relish even to the monotonous fare, and we endured it as 
 we could not if we had not the memory of the frolic to assist 
 us. Nothing is hard to endure if you can in some way 
 make a jest of it, not even "bread and butter," and the 
 dryest of dried peach-sauce. 
 
 It was while I was acting that I met my first husband, 
 Mr. James L. Dee. He was an Englishman, a very hand- 
 some fellow, and a very great favorite with all the girls. It 
 was one of those romantic affairs called " love at first sight," 
 and I surrendered at discretion, without attempting to resist 
 the hold which the new fancy took on me. We met acci- 
 dentally at the house of a mutual friend, and the chance 
 meeting soon ripened into a friendship, and that into a nearer 
 relation. My whole life was brightened by the new, sweet 
 glory that had swept in in such a torrent upon me. It took 
 on a new look, and even the most common things were 
 invested with a strange, novel interest. Nothing seemed 
 natural. Everything in my life had deepened and broad- 
 ened in the light of my new experience. Commonplace 
 people grew interesting, commonplace events stirring. 
 The whole world was tinted with the rose-color of my ro- 
 mance. I was very happy. My friends did not approve of 
 my lover at all, and they all advised me not to encourage 
 his attentions. They saw that he was in no way my equal ; 
 but I was so blinded that I would not see what they pointed 
 out to me. There was disparity in disposition and in tem- 
 perament, all of which promised, to those who could see 
 and understand the matter, unhappiness if we came into a 
 closer relationship. 
 
 But what girl of eighteen ever thinks seriously of these 
 things ? I was, I suppose, no more unwise than all 
 
MY LOVE AND MY LOVER. OPPOSITION. 385 
 
 girls of that age are, nor any more unreasonable. I had a 
 touch of romance in my nature, and I did what so many 
 women do who are in love. I made an ideal ; then I set 
 myself to find some living person to invest with all the vir- 
 tues and graces, mental, moral, and physical, of my imagi- 
 nary hero. I found the person, and straightway set myself 
 to worship. But he was a very different person from the 
 one of my creation ; the one was brave, gentle, noble, 
 kind, and steadfast; the other well, time will show what 
 he was. 
 
 But all the winter, after I went on to the stage, I was 
 loving this imaginary being, and calling it James Dee. I 
 grew ambitious, and I acted better all the time. I think, 
 perhaps, if I had remained on the stage, and had not lost 
 my ideal, I should have accomplished something in my 
 profession. Love does make a woman ambitious. If she 
 never had before, in all her life, a desire to be, to do, to 
 excel, she has it now. She wants to do something to make 
 herself the better worth his taking. There is such a sweet 
 humility about a woman's love ! She is always depreciating 
 herself, always growing shy and timid in the light of the 
 superior wisdom which she insists that her lover must 
 possess. 
 
 It is very sweet to worship in this way, but it is disas- 
 trous. It is bad for both lover and beloved. But girls, in 
 their first romance, don't take this into account. 
 
 My parents did not forbid my engagement, although 
 they plainly told me they did not approve of it ; and after 
 they found that I was determined, they gave a reluctant 
 consent, but they counselled silence on the subject, hoping 
 that I might see something in my lover which should induce 
 me to change my mind. They were wise enough not to 
 tell me the reason, but I knew it intuitively, and the very 
 knowledge that they were hoping that I might give him 
 up made me only the more determined to cling to my 
 lover in spite of them all. And I did. I never wavered 
 25 
 
386 THE HAPPY HOURS OF MY FIRST LOVE. 
 
 in my devotion for a moment. I gave him the truest love 
 a woman can give a man ; the entire wealth of my affec- 
 tion I lavished on him ; and he repaid it as men of his 
 class, selfish, overbearing, and domineering, usually repay 
 it in neglect and abuse when once I was in his power. 
 
 But he showed none of that domineering spirit in the 
 days of our early acquaintance ; he deferred to me in the 
 slightest matter ; he professed to love me very tenderly, 
 and I believe he did love me as well as he was capable of 
 loving anything, or anybody, outside of himself. At all 
 events, I found nothing to miss in his care for me, and af- 
 fection towards me, and for the few months preceding my 
 marriage, everything in my life was tinted with the softest 
 rose glow. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 MY FIRST MARRIAGE A LIFE'S MISTAKE. 
 
 My first Marriage. Wedded to James Dee. Marriage Rites in the 
 Endowment-House. The way in which Plural Wives are Taken. 
 Brigham sends for Me to help in the Theatre. Repenting of Matri- 
 mony. I get tired of it in a Month. Cruel Conduct of my Hus- 
 band. He flirts considerably with the Young Girls. I am greatly 
 Disgusted and furiously Jealous. He threatens to take another 
 Wife. The Ownership of Women in Utah. How Newspaper Re- 
 porters are humbugged by Brigham. How Visitors to Salt Lake are 
 Watched. The Prophet's Spies. How People are misled about 
 Utah Affairs. The Miseries of the Women Overlooked. 
 
 WAS married in the 
 Endowment- House, 
 on the 4th of April, 
 1863. 
 
 As persons are not 
 allowed to enter the 
 inner rooms of that 
 mysterious place for 
 the purpose of going 
 through any of the 
 rites or ordinances of 
 the church in their 
 customary dress, we, 
 of course, wore our 
 Temple-robes during 
 the ceremony. We 
 carried our robes 
 with us, and dressed there, not appearing outside in our 
 sacred clothing. 
 
 I must confess I no longer regarded the Endowment- 
 House with the awe which I had felt previous to my first 
 
 A LIFE OF UNHAPPINESS. 
 
388 MY WEDDING-DAY. A MORMON MARRIAGE. 
 
 visit there, and the whole manner in which everything was 
 done was so very stagey, that I failed to be impressed at 
 all on this my second visit, although the object of my pres- 
 ent visit naturally made me feel more solemn than I other- 
 wise should. 
 
 The marriage service, which is not long, was performed 
 by Brigham Young. We first gave our names, ages, na- 
 tive town, county, state, and country, to the Elder John 
 Lyon, who acts as scribe in the Endowment-House, and he 
 carefully recorded them, as he does those of every couple 
 who come to be sealed. We then went before Brigham 
 Young, who was waiting for us, and the following cer- 
 emony made us man and wife : 
 
 "Do you, Brother James Dee, take Sister Ann-Eliza 
 Webb by the right hand, to receive her unto yourself, to be 
 your lawful and wedded wife, and you to be her lawful and 
 wedded husband, for time and for all eternity, with a cov- 
 enant and promise on your part that you will fulfil all the 
 laws, rites, and ordinances pertaining to this holy matri- 
 mony, in the new and everlasting covenant, doing this in 
 the presence of God, angels, and these witnesses, of your 
 own free will and accord ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Do you, Sister Ann-Eliza Webb, take Brother James 
 Dee by the right hand, and give yourself to him to be his 
 lawful and wedded wife, for time and for all eternity, with 
 a covenant and promise on your part that you will fulfil all 
 the laws, rites, and ordinances pertaining to this holy mat- 
 rimony in the new and everlasting covenant, doing this in 
 the presence of God, angels, and these witnesses, of your 
 own free will and accord?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the au- 
 thority of the holy priesthood, I pronounce you legally and 
 lawfully husband and wife, for time and for all eternity. 
 And I seal upon you the blessings of the holy resurrection, 
 
HOW THE CEREMONY IS PERFORMED. 389 
 
 with power to come forth in the morning of the first resur- 
 rection, clothed with glory, immortality, and everlasting 
 lives ; and I seal upon you the blessings of thrones, and 
 dominions, and principalities, and powers, and exaltations, 
 together with the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
 And I say unto you, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish 
 the earth, that you may have joy and rejoicing in your 
 prosperity in the day of the Lord Jesus. All these bless- 
 ings, together with all other blessings pertaining to the new 
 and everlasting covenant, I seal upon your heads, through 
 your faithfulness unto the end, by the authority of the holy 
 priesthood, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 
 
 The scribe then entered the date of the marriage, 
 together with the names of my mother and the one or two 
 friends who accompanied us. 
 
 When the marriage is a polygamous one, the above ser- 
 vice is prefaced in the following manner. The wife stands 
 on the left of her husband, the bride at her left hand. The 
 President then puts this question to the wife : 
 
 "Are you willing to give this woman to your husband, to 
 be his lawful and wedded wife for time and for all eternity? 
 If you are, you will manifest it by placing her right hand 
 within the right hand of your husband." The right hands 
 of the bridegroom and bride being thus joined, the wife 
 takes her husband by the left arm, as if in the attitude for 
 walking, and the ceremony then proceeds in the manner 
 which I have quoted. 
 
 Mine was not a polygamous marriage. I had married a 
 man with no wife, and who assured me that I should be 
 the only one, and I was correspondingly happy. I had 
 seen so much wretchedness about me, and so much unhap- 
 piness in my father's family, where polygamy showed only 
 its best side, that I was glad to escape it. To be the only 
 one who had right to my husband's care seemed so blissful ! 
 and I was sure that very many women were envying me 
 
390 MY HONEYMOON. FIRST REGRETS ! 
 
 because I was so fortunate. I acted the evening of my 
 marriage, and the news of it having got out, I was greeted, 
 when I made my appearance, with the most tumultuous 
 applause. Cheer after cheer arose, and it was some min- 
 utes before I could speak my lines. Every time I appeared, 
 there was a repetition of this scene, and I was fairly em- 
 barrassed, so persistent was the applause. There was the 
 more excitement, probably, because I had kept my ap- 
 proaching marriage a secret, and but very few, even of my 
 personal friends, knew anything about it. I had stolen a 
 march on the public, and not having the opportunity for 
 congratulating me on my engagement, they made up for it 
 by congratulations on my marriage. For once I was the 
 central figure on the stage, and all my superiors gave way 
 to me with a graceful good nature. 
 
 I remained in the theatre a month after my marriage, 
 during which time I learned that I had made a fatal mis- 
 take in my marriage. I was forced to see, what my friends 
 had tried to show me before, and the honeymoon was not 
 over before I bitterly regretted my headstrong wilfulness. 
 I loved my husband, but he made me terribly unhappy. 
 He was accustomed to indulge in furious fits of anger, 
 which fairly frightened me, during which he would talk 
 shamefully to me, and threaten me with all kinds of ill 
 treatment. I learned, too, that though I was bound to him, 
 he still considered himself, and was considered, an unmar- 
 ried man, as far as his right to marry again was concerned ; 
 and he soon became quite a noted gallant among the young 
 girls, bestowing on them the attentions that he had given 
 me in our unmarried days, and treating me in the indif- 
 ferent, matter-of-fact manner, tinged with a " help-it-if-you- 
 can " air, which most Mormon men assume towards their 
 helpless wives. Whenever he wished particularly to tor- 
 ture me, he would threaten to take another wife, and name 
 over the girls whom he said he particularly fancied. 
 
 I had one friend, of whom I was very fond. He became 
 
BEARING THE CROSS I BECOME JEALOUS. 39! 
 
 jealous of my affection for her, and in order to win me 
 from her, and to break up our friendship, he pretended 
 very great interest in her. He would leave me to go home 
 by myself from the theatre, and would go off with her and re- 
 main a long time ; then, on his return, would tell me what 
 he said was the conversation between them, in which he 
 would represent her as making the most ardent love to 
 him, until, at last, I fairly came to hate her. I would not 
 see her if I possibly could help it, and I was anything but 
 cordial to her when we did meet. I believe now that my 
 husband lied to me wickedly and deliberately ; and yet, 
 such was the effect of all his influence on me, that to this 
 day I cannot see my old friend that a feeling of the most 
 intense bitterness does not rise up in my heart against her. 
 I never could get back the old feeling of affection for her, 
 even though I felt that I was wronging her by my unjust 
 treatment ; but polygamy does not tend to make one wo- 
 man just towards another. Suspicions, jealousies, heart- 
 burnings, strifes of all kinds are engendered by this system, 
 and it serves to lower the moral tone of women as well as of 
 men. Both are sufferers alike in this respect, although pos- 
 sibly in a different degree. The women have all through 
 the more conscience in the matter, though they grow bitter, 
 and spiteful, and revengeful, while "bearing the cross." 
 
 I know I did, although I was only threatened by my 
 husband ; and I presume I annoyed him greatly by my 
 tears and reproaches. A woman in Mormonism has need 
 enough for tears, but it is little use for her to shed them ; 
 they only bring upon her the ridicule of all the Mormon 
 men, from her husband at home to Brigham in the Taber- 
 nacle. This is the sympathy the " Head of the Church " gives 
 her in public. Said he, in one of his most famous sermons : 
 
 " It is said that women are tied down and abused ; that 
 they are misused, and have not the liberty they ought to 
 have ; that many of them are wading through a perfect 
 flood of tears, because of the conduct of some men, to- 
 gether with their own folly.. 
 
39 2 
 
 THE WOMEN. 
 
 " I wish my own women to understand that what I am 
 going to say is for them as well as for others, and I want 
 those who are here to tell their sisters, yes, all the women 
 of this community, and then write it back to the States, 
 and do as you please with it. I am going to give you from 
 this time to the sixth day of October next for reflection, 
 that you may determine whether you wish to stay with your 
 husbands or not ; and then I am going to set every woman 
 at liberty, and say to them, ? Now, go your way my wo- 
 men with the rest go your way.' And my wives have 
 got to do one of two things : either round up their shoul- 
 ders to endure the afflictions of this world, and live their 
 religion, or they may leave, for I will not have them about 
 me. I will go into heaven alone, rather than have scratch- 
 ing and fighting around me. I will set all at liberty. 
 f What ! your first wife, too? ' Yes, I will liberate you all. 
 I know what my women will say. They will say, ' You 
 can have as many women as you please, Brigham.' But I 
 want to go somewhere, and do something, to get rid of the 
 whmers." 
 
 Following his Prophet's lead comes Jedediah Grant, in 
 this fashion : 
 
 " We have women here who like anything but the Celes- 
 tial Law of God ; and if they could break asunder the cable 
 of the Church of Christ, there is scarcely a mother in Israel 
 but would do it this day." 
 
 This in a tone of the sternest reproof, as though to hate 
 a system which makes them the most abject slaves, under 
 a most terrible master, was a crime. When women go to 
 Brigham Young (as now and then one is foolish enough to 
 do, before she gets thoroughly to know her Prophet and 
 his peculiarities of temper and manner) , and tell him of 
 their unhappiness, and ask his advice, he whines, and pre- 
 tends to cry, and mimics them, until they are fairly outraged 
 by his heartless treatment, and their indignation or grief 
 gets the supremacy over their other trouble. Then he tells 
 
"MINE, BODY AND SOUL!" 393 
 
 them to go home, and make the best of things, and not 
 make everlasting fools of themselves ; or something else 
 equally refined and consoling. They may consider them- 
 selves fortunate, indeed, if he does not refer to the inter- 
 view in his next Sunday's sermon, and tell the names of the 
 unhappy women, with coarse jests and unfeeling comments, 
 which render them doubly wretched, since their husbands, 
 incensed at them for complaining, and knowing that they 
 are perfectly safe from priestly indignation or rebuke, make 
 them feel the weight of their displeasure by grosser neg- 
 lect or more brutal treatment. 
 
 The entire ownership of women is nowhere more fully 
 assumed by their husbands than it is in Utah. A woman 
 is obliged to submit to every exaction from him, to grant 
 every request, obey every demand. In return, she need ex- 
 pect nothing, not even support. "You are mine, body and 
 soul, but you have no right to claim anything from me 
 more than what I choose to give you," is the attitude of 
 every man in polygamy towards his wives. A "blessed" 
 system, surely ! It is no wonder that Brigham talks about 
 the women's " rounding up their shoulders " to bear it, and 
 one certainly fails to feel the surprise which " Jeddy " proba- 
 bly imagined he would arouse when he announced that the 
 " mothers in Israel," unhappy and desolate, would break 
 "the cable of the church" asunder if they could. This 
 fanatical follower of Brigham Young never spoke a truer 
 word in his life, whether he spake by inspiration or not. 
 There was not a woman, then, who would not have broken 
 her chains if she could, let the whole Mormon Church call 
 these fetters what they might, and there is not a woman 
 among them to-day who would not slip her fetters if she 
 knew how. It is all very well for the Mormon leaders and 
 their sympathizers in the Gentile world to say that the 
 women are contented, and even happy, in polygamy ; the 
 one knows he speaks what is not true ; the other tells the 
 tale as it is told to him, refusing to use his eyes, his ears, or 
 his crmmon sense. 
 
394 " WHY NEED WE MEDDLE ? " 
 
 Newspaper correspondents visit Salt Lake City, and when 
 they arrive they are brimming over with disgust and indigna- 
 tion towards this system and the people who follow it ; but, 
 by-and-by, a change comes over them ; their readers are in- 
 formed that the Mormons are a thriving, industrious people, 
 their men brave, hospitable, shrewd, and hard-working; 
 the women quiet and peaceful, evidently well reconciled to 
 their peculiar marital relations ; that Brigham Young is 
 not such a bad fellow, after all, and his sons are jolly, free- 
 handed, generous men, with plenty of keenness, and a 
 great deal of knowledge of the world ; and then the peo- 
 ple who read their letters wonder at the changed tone, and 
 find themselves thinking more leniently of this people and 
 its peculiar social system than ever before, and they say, 
 "If all this is true, why need we meddle? " But it is not 
 true, not one word of it, and these same men who are 
 writing these letters know it ; but, in some way, they get 
 to working in the Prophet's interests before they leave the 
 Territory. He manages to get hold of them if they are 
 of any ability, and able to influence the public, and if they 
 are easily influenced themselves they soon see things as he 
 intends they shall see them. I suppose his manner of influ- 
 encing them differs, but I think it will be readily under- 
 stood. 
 
 The truth is simply this : the Mormon people are abso- 
 lutely afraid to have the outside world come too close 
 to them ; they let them see just so much, but not one bit 
 more. The leaders act as showmen, also as mouthpieces, 
 and the mass of the people are but a cunningly manipu- 
 lated lot of marionettes, who perform certain antics for a 
 curious public, while the shrewd wire-puller sits behind, 
 and orders every movement, and makes every speech. 
 There has been, until very recently, no such thing as getting 
 at the absolute truth concerning these people ; but lately, 
 since the Gentile element has been so largely increased in 
 Utah, and in Salt Lake City especially, it has been useless 
 for the Saints to attempt to hide their real condition. 
 
ARE MORMON WOMEN UGLY? 395 
 
 A Mormon wife-beater is as mercilessly exposed through 
 the columns of the Gentile papers as the Gentile offender of 
 the same class, and the nefarious dealings of Mormon offi- 
 cials are publicly reproved in a manner that does not tend 
 to make them comfortable in the least. The miseries caused 
 by this cursed system are fully ventilated, and the true con- 
 dition of things revealed. When flippant newspaper corre- 
 spondents, after a visit to the valley of the Saints, go away 
 and write in terms of ridicule of the Mormon women, calling 
 them fearfully ugly in looks, they little know what bitter, 
 hard, cruel experiences have carved the deep lines round the 
 eyes and mouths, and made the faces grow repulsive and 
 grim, and taken from them all the softness, and tenderness, 
 and grace which glorify a happy woman's face, even if she 
 be ever so plain of feature. If these men, who write so 
 carelessly, could only see the interior of the lives that they 
 are touching with such a rough, rude hand, they might be, 
 perhaps, a little more sympathetic in tone. It is no wonder 
 that the women of Utah are not beautiful ; there is nothing 
 in all their lives to glorify or beautify their faces, to add at 
 all to their mental or physical charm or grace. They are 
 pretty enough as children ; as young girls they can compare 
 favorably with any girls I have seen in the East ; but just 
 so soon as they reach womanhood the curse of polygamy is 
 forced upon them, and from that moment their lives are 
 changed, and they grow hard or die one of the two in 
 their struggles to become inured to this unnatural life. 
 This system either kills its victims outright, or crushes out 
 every bit of hope and ambition from them ? leaving them 
 aimless and apathetic, dragging out existence without the 
 least ray of present happiness or future anticipation to 
 lighten it. 
 
 I was taught from my earliest childhood that there was 
 nothing good outside of the Mormon Church ; that the 
 Gentile men were bad to the core, possessing neither honor 
 nor manly virtues of any kind, and that every Gentile 
 
396 
 
 woman was so vile as to be utterly unworthy of mention ; 
 that goodness was unknown among them, and that certain 
 destruction awaited them and those who associated with 
 them. My mother mourned over her friends and relatives 
 outside of Mormonism as lost souls, and she prayed almost 
 literally " without ceasing " that they might be shown the 
 true way before it was too late. She could not govern her 
 natural affection. She must love them ; they were her very 
 own, and were very dear to her; but I really think, es- 
 pecially in the days of the intense religious excitement, that 
 she almost hated herself for loving them so truly and so 
 well. She wrote them the most pathetic letters of entreaty, 
 filled with alternate pleadings and arguments, begging 
 them to come to Zion, and "make sure of their souls' salva- 
 tion." They, in turn, pitied her delusion, but had no hope 
 that she would ever escape from it ; they little knew that 
 the child, whose future they were deploring, would one day 
 be the means of leading that mother out of the bondage in 
 which she was held, through many tears and much tribula- 
 tion, to the light of a brighter, more comforting faith. 
 
 Conscience and an almost superstitious belief in her re- 
 ligious leaders made her cling to her religion long after reason 
 taught her that it was a delusion, and made her accept as a 
 sole means of salvation a practice which her whole soul 
 revolted against. It is well that the Mormon leaders call it 
 a " cross." It is simply that, and the hopelessness of it 
 renders it the more difficult to bear. There is no prospect 
 of laying it down, and, unlike the cross of the old legend, it 
 never becomes flower-wreathed. It grows heavier as the 
 days go on, until it bows its bearer down to the very ground. 
 
 I learned the misery of even a monogamic marriage under 
 polygamic laws ; and, though I never expressed myself so 
 openly on the subject, I yet felt an intense sympathy with a 
 friend of mine, who, when told that her husband thought of 
 taking another wife, replied, with the fire flashing from her 
 black eyes, "If he does, I'll kill him!" It is not at all 
 
BEING " SCHOOLED " FOR THE FUTURE ! 397 
 
 likely she would have kept her word ; she would probably 
 have settled down, as so many women like her have done, 
 into a sullen sort of rebellion, which is not easy to subdue ; 
 but she has never been tried ; her husband seems as indif- 
 ferent to the charms of the marriageable young ladies about 
 her as she could desire : yet she never feels entirely safe. 
 How can she, when she knows her husband is constantly 
 admonished that he is not "living up to his privileges." 
 The sword above her head is suspended by a hair ; it is a 
 miracle if it does not fall at last. I know every pang of 
 anxiety, every heart-throb of sick expectation, for I had that 
 selfsame torture for two years, without a moment's cessa- 
 tion. I do not know how I bore it ; but I suppose I was only 
 being schooled for what came afterwards. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 MY EARLY MARRIED LIFE. MY HUSBAND AND MY 
 
 MOTHER ! 
 
 My early married Life. We go to live with my Mother. Incompatibil- 
 ity of Temper. How my Mother had opposed our Marriage. My 
 Husband does not Admire Her. He goes after the Girls. I don't 
 like it at All. I become extremely angry with Him. He is advised to 
 "increase his Kingdom." How promises to Wives are broken by 
 Mormon Men. How Women are Snubbed and Undervalued. I 
 become Anxious and Watchful. How Heber comforted his Wives. 
 My Husband subjects me to personal Violence. He is afraid of 
 Results. My first Baby is Born. Zina Young marries into Poly- 
 gamy. Contrast between Mormon and Gentile Husbands. "The 
 Bull never Cares for the Calves." My Husband nearly strangles me. 
 I leave him, and go to my Parents. Brigham gives me some good 
 Advice. I obtain a Divorce. I rejoice at being free Again. 
 
 HEN I was first mar- 
 ried, we went to live 
 in the house with my 
 mother, greatly to her 
 delight, as she could not 
 bear a separation from 
 me. We had always 
 been together so closely, 
 more like sisters than 
 like mother and daugh- 
 ter, and both of us 
 dreaded very much to 
 have this sweet relation- 
 ship broken. I had been 
 her comfort when every 
 other stay had failed her ; 
 her hope when she was 
 She had lived in me and for me, 
 
 FAMILY JARS. 
 
 almost utterly hopeless, 
 
LIVING WITH A MOTHER-IN-LAW. 399 
 
 and my happiness and welfare had been her constant thought. 
 She had opposed my marriage as a duty, and because she 
 thought she saw only misery for me in the relation ; not for 
 a want of sympathy for me, for it really hurt her more to 
 oppose me than it did me to persist in spite of her oppo- 
 sition. I had been her companion in all her wanderings, 
 and the confidante alike of her sorrows and joys, and it was 
 hard for her to think of parting from me, even though I 
 might be not very far away ; still our interests were natu- 
 rally somewhat divided when I came to give the first place 
 in my heart to another. 
 
 My husband owned a house, but it was rented ; so until it 
 was vacated we had a part of my mother's house, where we 
 kept house quite cosily, and should have been very happy, 
 had not my husband's temper and desire to torment me 
 made life almost unbearable. I tried, as far as I could, to 
 hide my unhappiness from my mother ; but I did not suc- 
 ceed. Her motherly eyes were too keen, her maternal in- 
 stinct too unerring, to be deceived by my silence, although 
 she respected my reticence, and said nothing to me ; but she 
 showed her sympathy in a hundred nameless ways. My hus- 
 band knew of her opposition to our marriage, and he did not 
 like what he termed her interference ; though why a mother 
 cannot look after her daughter's interest without being ac- 
 cused of interfering is even now a mystery to me, especially 
 when, seeing that her advice is not regarded, she withdraws 
 all "interference," and makes the best of the matter that 
 she can. But some persons never forget, and my husband 
 was one of those ; and it used sometimes to seem to me as 
 though, in his treatment of me, he was revenging himself 
 for the opposition shown to him by my friends. 
 
 I used to hear of his attentions to other girls, and I was 
 furious, while I knew I was powerless. My visitors 
 many of whom came only when they had anything to tell 
 used to tell me that they saw James at the theatre with this 
 young lady, or met him going home with that, or that he 
 
4OO STORMY INTERVIEWS. 
 
 passed them walking with another, until I was madly jeal- 
 ous of every girl of my acquaintance. I no longer took 
 pleasure in their society, for I saw in each one a probable 
 rival, and a possible addition to our household. It was no 
 consolation to me to remember that my husband had prom- 
 ised me never to take another wife ; I had learned what 
 the promise of a man living under polygamic laws 
 amounts to. It is given as a sort of sedative, and if it 
 soothes temporarily, that is all that is required of it. It is 
 considered no sin to break a promise of this kind ; indeed, 
 it would rather seem that it is accounted sin for him to keep 
 it ; and I knew that my husband was, as well as other men, 
 occasionally reminded that it was his duty to make his 
 kingdom larger as speedily as possible, by taking another 
 wife, or more than one if he liked. 
 
 We had many very stormy interviews on this subject ; 
 he used to discuss my callers, and especially the pretty 
 girls, as most Mormon men discuss women, with reference 
 to their "points," as jockeys would talk of horses, or im- 
 porters of fine stock. Polygamy does not tend to enhance 
 the value of womanly dignity and grace, and very little 
 respect for them is either expressed or felt by one brought 
 up under its baneful influence. 
 
 It is strange how quickly men, in a polygamous commu- 
 nity, lose that chivalrous courtesy which characterizes men 
 elsewhere. It seemed so strange to me to see the defer- 
 ence shown to my sex when I left Utah, and came, for the 
 first time in my life, among people living under monogamic 
 laws. I was particularly struck by the tenderness and con- 
 sideration which men showed towards their wives and chil- 
 dren ; and I wondered to see the women, claiming, with a 
 confidence that assured me they were used to it, and con- 
 sidered that it belonged to them, their husbands' attention 
 and care. It was strange, too, to see the deference shown 
 to a woman by the young men and boys ; and when once, 
 in a car, I saw a manly little fellow, about twelve or thir- 
 
MY HUSBAND AND I. 40! 
 
 teen years of age, rise with a rare grace, and give his seat 
 to an old lady, the tears sprang to my eyes, such an unac- 
 customed sight was it. I contrasted that boy with the 
 youth of Utah, and I felt with a new indignation flashing 
 through all my veins, and a new sorrow tugging at my 
 heart, the curse that polygamy was to the young men, as 
 well as to the young girls, who are growing up under the 
 teachings of that baneful system. It is horrible ! It fouls 
 and poisons the stream at its very source (and it adds mud 
 and filth as it crawls along its slimy way), sending up its 
 noxious vapors, until it has bred a most pestilent moral 
 malaria, which nothing but the cool, clear air of religious 
 liberty and education shall ever dispel and purify. 
 
 Why cannot men and women, outside of this terrible 
 system, see the horrors of it, and work for its overthrow? 
 My soul cries out in very agony sometimes, ' Is there no 
 help for this great evil ? ' Everywhere the world seems so 
 dead to it ! the enormity does not seem to manifest itself 
 unto them. They speak lightly of Mormonism, as of 
 something to ridicule or laugh at, rather than to condemn. 
 God knows there is nothing laughable or ridiculous in it to 
 its victims. It is the most pathetic, tragic earnestness and 
 reality. 
 
 I am not imagining situations, and growing pathetic over 
 creations of my own fancy. I know what I say, for I have 
 suffered it. There is not a pang, not a throb of anguish 
 which I have depicted that I have not felt myself. 
 
 My health, which was never very good, gave way under 
 the terrible mental and physical strain to which I was sub- 
 jected, and I was in danger of becoming a confirmed inva- 
 lid. My physical condition did not make my husband 
 more tender or thoughtful, but he seemed to consider it a 
 wrong towards himself, and took an aggrieved tone be* 
 cause of it. He had worthy examples, to be sure ; for Brig- 
 ham himself grumbles loudly when one of his wives falls 
 ill, even if it is from overwork for his welfare, and com- 
 26 
 
4O2 MATRIMONIAL FIGHTING. BLOWS ! 
 
 plains that ff he never marries a woman that she doesn't 
 get sick to shirk work." Heber C. Kimball, on being 
 called once to see one of his wives who had broken her 
 arm, accosted her, on his entrance to her room, with, 
 "Why didn't you break your neck at once, and done with 
 it?" And it is a notorious fact that two of Orson Pratt's 
 wives have died of neglect during illness. Since the men 
 high in authority set the example, what could you expect 
 of the followers? 
 
 Although my husband had often threatened me with per- 
 sonal violence, in addition to the insults and persecution he 
 was constantly subjecting me to, he never offered any until 
 about a month before my baby was born. He made some 
 request of me which I was totally unable to grant, and in 
 his fury at what he termed my stubbornness and rebellion, 
 he struck me violently, and I fell insensible before him. 
 
 Then he was frightened for once ; he raised me up, 
 carried me to my bed, and used every exertion to bring me 
 to myself. He was afraid the blow was fatal, and he was 
 remorseful enough. When, at last, I regained my senses, 
 he begged my forgiveness, poured out a torrent of self- 
 reproaches, and for a little while was more like my old 
 lover, the man whom I had cared for so tenderly, than he 
 had been since our marriage. I very quickly forgave him : 
 it was so sweet to feel the old tenderness again, that I could 
 in a moment forget all that had passed between, and I 
 readily agreed not to let my family know of this last out- 
 rage. He knew, as well as I, that my father and brothers 
 would take me from him, and he really did not wish to lose 
 me ; and as for me, he was my husband, and the father of 
 my unborn child, and for the sake of the little life which I 
 held in trust, I could not bear to go away from him. I 
 had hoped, O, so fondly ! that the child would bring us 
 nearer, and I could not give up the hope ; and when he 
 stood before me so penitent, and so tender, I was ready to 
 feel that he had always been the same. 
 
43 
 
 But I was doomed to disappointment ; after the birth of 
 my child, it seemed as though the fits of passion were more 
 frequent and of longer duration. He neglected me, and 
 was scarcely at home at all. He did not care for my baby, 
 seeming to consider it a rival, and my love for it seemed to 
 anger him. But what a comfort the baby was to me ! How 
 I loved it! All the tide of my affection, that had been 
 so rudely repelled, turned towards it, and I felt that all the 
 interest of my life was centred therein. Like all Mormon 
 women, robbed of a husband's love and care, I should live 
 
 in and for my child. I knew very well that as far as re- 
 gaining my husband's real affection was concerned if, in- 
 deed, I had ever possessed it, the future was hopeless ; so 
 I expected nothing from it further, and resigned myself to 
 the inevitable more quietly than I could have believed I 
 ever should have done ; but my child made resignation 
 more easy. 
 
 The little fellow was very bright and winning, and I 
 used to imagine that he understood my feelings, and sym- 
 pathized with me in his baby way. The little hands stray- 
 
404 CROSS ABOUT A BABY ! 
 
 ing over my face and neck were full of sweet comfort ; the 
 blue eyes raised to mine in baby confidence were full of 
 love ; the little mouth which I covered with kisses never 
 failed to smile back at me, and I even forgot to cry under 
 the sweet, restful influence which the dimpled, rosy little 
 bit of humanity brought into my heart. 
 
 But this exquisite happiness was of short duration ; for, 
 after a few months, my baby grew very ill ; and God only 
 knows how I suffered then. I watched over him day and 
 night, and my devotion to him angered my husband be- 
 yond measure. He had no sympathy with or for me in 
 those days of trial ; and in addition to seeing my baby pin- 
 ing away, until it seemed that it must some day drift out 
 of my clinging arms into the great unknown, unexplored 
 sea beyond, I had to endure the constant abuse from the 
 man who should at that time have been my stay and my 
 comfort. But what Mormon mother ever gets the tender 
 care from her baby's father that other happier mothers get? 
 No time or place is so sacred that polygamy does not obtrude 
 its ugly presence. A mother may not mourn for her child 
 without feeling the heartless intrusion, as the following 
 little instance will show. 
 
 A man named Thomas Williams emigrated from England 
 with his wife and children, all eager to reach " Zion," the 
 promised land of the Saint's inheritance. He was a very 
 devout Mormon, and was easily induced to accept poly- 
 gamy. He took for his second wife Zina Young, a daughter 
 of Brigham and Zina Huntington, an enthusiastic, consci- 
 entious believer in polygamy, and a genuinely good, gen- 
 erous girl, of the most kindly impulses, but, unfortunately, 
 wrongly trained, as all girls are under this system. 
 
 His first wife never had believed in the plural-wife sys- 
 tem, and was never reconciled to her husband's second 
 marriage. She mourned bitterly about it; and, very nat- 
 urally, her feelings towards her rival were not kindly or 
 pleasant. The husband knew this perfectly well ; and yet, 
 
MY BOYS ! 405 
 
 when her little baby died, and she was almost mad with 
 grief, he insisted on bringing the second wife to the funeral 
 as one of the family. The mother was almost beside her- 
 self at what she considered this insult to her dead child, 
 and she declared that Zina should not come. Her husband, 
 of course, overruled her ; for when, in polygamy, does a wife 
 ever have her own way? But Mrs. Williams refused to 
 recognize her, and would not allow her to sit in the room 
 with her and the child. 
 
 I was spared this torture, for there was no second wife 
 to measure my misery, and God was good, and spared my 
 child. He repaid all my anxious care, and put the child 
 into my arms well and comparatively strong, at the same 
 time that he intrusted another helpless one to my care. I 
 had lost, at that time, much of my faith in my religion. I 
 think I should have lost my belief in God Himself, had my 
 baby been taken from me. But He knew how much I could 
 bear, and he spared me this last bitter sorrow. 
 
 I had been at first jealous of the little new-comer for the 
 other baby's sake, who was only a little over a year old 
 when the second one came ; but I soon found that I had love 
 enough in my heart for the two. My boys ! How fond, 
 and proud, and even happy I was with them ! 
 
 The measure of my love seemed to be the measure of 
 their father's indifference, and even hate. He used to either 
 take no notice of them at all, which I infinitely preferred, 
 or he would handle them so roughly that the little things 
 would shriek with pain and terror, and I would be almost 
 frantic with fear lest he should kill them in his mad frolics, 
 which usually ended in a fit of temper because they cried 
 at his rude treatment. 
 
 As I was on my way East, I witnessed a little scene that 
 called up painfully the contrast between this father's indif- 
 ference and another father's care. In one car was a lady 
 with two children ; one a little girl about eight years old, 
 and a cunning baby boy, who was just beginning to lisp in 
 
406 THE BULL AND THE CALVES ! 
 
 that wonderful baby prattle that is so sweet to hear. As we 
 stopped at a station, a gentleman came in, his face beaming 
 with pleasure and expectation. The moment the children 
 saw him, the little girl cried out with joy, " O, my dear papa 
 has come ! " and simultaneously mother and child clasped 
 'their arms about his neck and kissed him. The baby threw 
 up his arms, and crowed out, "Papa, papa !" and as he took 
 the little fellow in his arms, and fairly rained kisses over the 
 rosy, delighted little face, the tears sprang to my eyes, and I 
 had fairly to hide my face, for my cheeks were moist, and 
 my mouth would quiver, as I thought of the father's love, 
 of which my children were robbed of which all children 
 in Utah are robbed by a fiendish system, given by a 
 corrupt priesthood under the guise of a " Revelation " from 
 God. 
 
 What a sarcasm on the infinite, tender, all-pervading 
 love of the Divine Father ! 
 
 Such a scene as this would be simply impossible in Utah, 
 among that community whose religious leader says, in his 
 peculiarly refined style and expression, when his lack of 
 fatherly atteiition to his children is noticed and commented 
 upon, " Well, the bull never takes any care of his calves," 
 and whose chief apostles allow their children to grow up 
 without support or training from them, since they are too 
 busy in extolling the beauties of polygamy to the new con- 
 verts, to give even decent attention to the children whom 
 they have summoned into the world under this " glorious 
 institution." 
 
 Two weeks before baby was born, I was sitting one 
 morning with the elder boy on my lap, my husband being 
 in the room, when one of my father's wives' children, a 
 little fellow about three years old, came toddling in. Mr. 
 Dee, happening to want something, asked the child to get 
 it for him. The article in question was on a shelf, out of 
 the child's reach, and to get it he would have to stand on a 
 chair, and even then his tiny fingers could but just touch it. 
 
A LITTLE FAMILY LOVE-SCENE. 
 
 407 
 
 There was a heavy jar on the shelf, which I feared he 
 might pull down upon himself, and I remonstrated against 
 his trying to get it. I offered to reach it myself, but my 
 husband instantly turned and forbade my leaving my chair, 
 saying that the child should bring him what he desired. 
 
 " But he must not," I cried, in an agony of terror. 
 
 "I tell you he shall," was my husband's answer. 
 
 The child stood looking from one to the other, half crying 
 
 STRANGLED BY MY HUSBAND. 
 
 with fear, and yet scarcely daring to disobey the command 
 that had been given to him. 
 
 " Louis, fetch it to me instantly," commanded he again. 
 
 " Louis, you shall not," said I, half rising from my chair. 
 
 In an instant, my husband, maddened with fury that I 
 should dare to contradict him, seized me by the throat, and 
 threw me back into the chair. The screams of the terrified 
 child brought my mother into the room at once. She 
 snatched the baby from my arms, which I still held clasped 
 
408 NEARLY STRANGLED BY MY HUSBAND. 
 
 convulsively, while my husband's fingers were tightening 
 about my throat. I was dizzy with pain, and almost suffo- 
 cated from the grip ; but my maternal instinct was stronger 
 than the pain, and I never relaxed my hold on my child. 
 
 My mother called my father, and he came and rescued 
 me from the infuriated man who held me, and carried me 
 into my mother's room. Until that time they had known 
 nothing of the treatment which I received from my hus- 
 band. They knew that I was unhappy, but so was every 
 woman ; so I was by no means isolated in my misery. But 
 I had managed to keep from them all knowledge of the 
 violent treatment I had received at his hands. Their indig- 
 nation at finding it out was beyond all bounds ; for when 
 once it was known, my tongue was loosened, and I poured 
 into the sympathizing ears of mother and father the whole 
 story of my wrongs. I left nothing untold, and it was 
 such a relief to let loose the torrent of misery that had been 
 so long pent up in my heart ! 
 
 My parents and brothers decided at once that I must 
 leave him ; and indeed, I was afraid, both for myself and 
 for my children, to return to him again. He tried to see 
 me in every possible way, but was refused admittance to 
 my mother's rooms. The door of communication that led 
 between her rooms and those I had previously occupied 
 was securely locked, and he was bidden by my father to 
 vacate the rooms as speedily as possible. He then de- 
 manded to see me ; he tried threats, entreaties, every 
 means that he could devise, but I was carefully guarded, 
 and he could gain access neither to me nor the children. 
 
 He was loud in his threats to take the children from me, 
 and I was in terrible fear lest he should in some way gain 
 possession of them. I knew that it would not be love for 
 them which would impel him, but a desire to strike me 
 where it would wound me most ; and he knew that he 
 could reach me in no other way so surely as through my 
 children. Since he had become convinced that I would 
 
I WAS DIVORCED ! 409 
 
 never return to him, that of my own free will I gave him 
 up for ever, he seemed possessed by a spirit of fury, and 
 vowed all manner of vengeance on me. 
 
 In order to get me out of his power, my parents deter- 
 mined that I should be divorced from him without delay, 
 and, like conscientious church people, they consulted Pres- 
 ident Young. He and George Q^ Cannon, who was also 
 in our confidence, both took very active measures in my 
 behalf. There were two ways in which I could procure a 
 divorce one from Brigham, which was considered valid 
 in the church, but I suppose would not stand the test of 
 law ; the other from the Probate Court. Brigham strongly 
 advised the latter, as, in case my husband should ever 
 apostatize, he could not take my children from me. He 
 behaved, all through the affair, in such a kind, friendly 
 manner that my confidence in him was fully secured. I 
 had at that time no thought of what the future would bring, 
 and certainly never dreamed of any closer relationship with 
 him. My whole thought was to get free from my husband, 
 and to have my children so securely that he could not take 
 them from me. They were my only thought, my only 
 care. 
 
 I say this because, since I have renounced Mormonism, 
 Brigham Young and his followers have said that I left my 
 first husband on purpose to become his wife a statement 
 which no one better knows to be false, than Brigham him- 
 self. He it was who counselled me to go to the regular 
 courts, rather than depend on his divorcement, which he 
 knew would not stand out of Mormondom, and he and his 
 apostle Cannon rendered me the most valuable and untiring 
 assistance, which I accepted gladly, as I would have 
 accepted aid from any quarter in this extremity. 
 
 I was divorced in 1865, and the decree stands to-day in 
 the Court Records of Utah. Since the memory of my Mor- 
 mon friends seems so treacherous, I will copy the records 
 here as they stand. They may also convince some doubt- 
 
 \ 
 
4IO WHAT THE COURT DECREED. 
 
 ers who seem to place Brigham Young's denial before my 
 complaint, and pin their faith to him, while regarding me 
 doubtfully as a possible adventuress. 
 
 " PROBATE COUNTY DOCKET. \_Page 5-] 
 
 " Great Salt Lake County. Ann Eliza Dee vs. James L. Dee. 
 
 " In Divorce. 
 
 "1865. December 9th. Petition filed; summons and notice 
 issued, returnable on 23d inst., at 10 p. M. 
 
 " December 23d. Case called ; returns made and decree made 
 dissolving bonds of matrimony, and giving to plaintiff the custody 
 and control of her children. Costs taxed to defendant. 
 
 " 1866. March 3d. Court ordered execution against defend- 
 ant for costs of suit. 
 
 " March 8th. Execution issued for $20.50, returnable in 20 
 days. 
 
 " March 28th. Execution returned ; no property found ; clerk's 
 fees paid by C. G. Webb, in meat. 
 
 \_Page 516.] 
 " RECORDS OF PROBATE COURT, GREAT SALT LAKE COUNTY. 
 
 "1865. Dec. 23d. Ten o'clock, A. M. Court opened. Rec- 
 ords of 1 6th and 2Oth insts. read and signed. 
 
 " The case of Ann Eliza Dee vs. James L. Dee, in divorce, was 
 called up. This case came up for hearing upon the petition of 
 Ann Eliza Dee, formerly Ann Eliza Webb, and upon the investi- 
 gation thereof ex parte^ the defendant, James L. Dee, failing to 
 appear, C. G. Webb and Ann Vine being sworn and examined, 
 the allegations in the plaintiff's petition were taken as confessed, 
 and thereupon, after hearing the evidence and being fully advised 
 in the premises, it was ordered and decreed by the court that the 
 bonds of matrimony heretofore existing between the said parties 
 be, and the same are hereby, for ever dissolved. That said Ann 
 Eliza shall have and retain the custody and control of her two in- 
 fant children, James Edward and Lorenzo Dee, during their minor- 
 ity, and that defendant pay costs of suit. 
 
 (Signed,) "E. SMITH, 
 
 " Judge of Probate Court? 
 
ONLY BABY ARMS ! 4! I 
 
 If anyone doubts my copy, they can examine the records 
 for themselves. 
 
 My Christmas that year was a merrier one than I had 
 seen for several years. My children were mine, my very, 
 very own ; and no one could take them from me. I clasped 
 them in my arms. I kissed them again and again in an 
 ecstasy of affection. Henceforth I was father, mother, 
 all to them ; no one would dispute with me for their affec- 
 tion, no one claim their love. I was supremely, selfishly 
 happy. True, my romance had died ; my idol, with its feet 
 of clay, was broken ; but maternal love took the place of 
 the girl's romance, and the little souls which had been 
 given into my charge were more beautiful than any idol 
 which I had been able to build for myself. I was saddened 
 by all my disappointments, quieted by all my trials, sub- 
 dued in spirit by the constant exercise of patience. I had 
 lost my girlish gaiety and vivacity, but I had gained the 
 poise and assurance of womanhood, and was, I hoped, better 
 fitted to be a good mother to my children, which, at that 
 time, was the only ambition 1 had, and my only interest for 
 the entire future was in them. I dreamed for them, I 
 planned for them, lived in them ; and I am only regretful 
 that any thing* ever divided my interest with them. 
 
 But after the one shadow was lifted, before the other fell, 
 I was royally happy, happier than I ever was in my life 
 before, circled about as I was by clinging baby arms, and 
 held by tiny baby hands. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 AFTER MY DIVORCE. AFFAIRS AT HOME. 
 
 After my Divorce from Dee. "Is Polygamy Good to Eat?" Curious 
 Experiences Among the Saints. A Man Who Thought His Heart was 
 Broken. How Two Wives Rebelled. The Husband in a Fix. He 
 Runs Away from Home. Dismisses his Plural Wife. Being " Sealed " 
 to Old Women for Eternity. Nancy Chamberlain's Story. Who is 
 to be Brigham's Queen in Heaven. An Old Wife Dresses Up as a 
 Ghost. How Brother Shaw Replenished his Exchequer. The Bat- 
 tles Between my Father's Wives. My Mother Enjoys his Troubles. 
 The Story of a Turkey. A First Wife Asserts Her Rights. My 
 Life at South Cottonwood. I Receive Offers of Marriage. 
 
 FTER my divorce, I 
 went with my mother 
 to live at my father's 
 farm in South Cotton- 
 wood. 
 
 Here, I think, I was 
 happier than I had 
 ever before been in my 
 life. My health was 
 much improved, and 
 what with the care of 
 mv children and the 
 
 */ 
 
 portion of the house- 
 hold duties which I 
 assumed to assist my 
 mother, my days were 
 well filled. My boys 
 were growing healthy, hearty, rollicking fellows, and they 
 returned my care with all the love which the most jealous 
 heart could desire. 
 
 GRANDMA, WHAT is POLYGAMY?" 
 
"GRANDMA, DO YOU LIKE POLYGAMY?" 413 
 
 How thankful I was that they were not girls ! I knew 
 too well the troubles of my sex in polygamy to wish to bring 
 one girl into the world, who, under the system, would be 
 sure to endure such certain suffering. I made up my mind 
 to teach my boys to shun it, even if it was a vital part of 
 my religion. I was willing to accept all else that Mormon- 
 ism taught, and to teach its underlying principles to my 
 boys ; but that I could teach them was right. 
 
 Young as they were, they realized something of poly- 
 gamy from hearing it constantly talked of; for when any 
 two women meet, it is the chief topic of their conversa- 
 tion, and they knew enough to discover that it was some- 
 thing that was decidedly unpleasant ; but what it was, they, 
 of course, had not the slightest idea. Still, with the curi- 
 osity natural to children, they were determined to come to 
 the truth of it some way or other. 
 
 One day, my youngest boy, then a little over three years 
 old, astonished my mother by asking, very abruptly, 
 
 "Grandma, do you like polygamy?" 
 
 "Not at all," was the reply, wondering what would come 
 next. 
 
 "Is polygamy good to eat? " was the next inquiry of this 
 youthful investigator. 
 
 My mother thought that it was not very palatable ; at 
 least she had not found it so, and as far as her observation 
 went, she had not seen anyone who relished it particularly. 
 
 The men had their " crosses " in polygamy as well as the 
 women, and I must confess that I was wicked enough to 
 enjoy their small "miseries," they seemed so insignificant 
 beside their wives' ; but as is the case generally, I fancy, 
 they bore them with much less patience. The chief mascu- 
 line troubles seem to be, that they cannot, with all their try- 
 ing, make their plural wives agree and dwell together in 
 the " sweet unity " which is so delightful and so essential 
 to entire family happiness, and that they cannot make the 
 wives, or wife, they already have, welcome with any great 
 
414 A NICE YOUNG WIDOW ! 
 
 show of cordiality the proposal to add another to the family 
 circle. 
 
 Not very long before my apostasy, while visiting at the 
 house of a friend, I was introduced to a man, who, my 
 friend afterwards told me, was almost heart-broken at the 
 dreadful conduct of his wife. My sympathies went out 
 at once to the sufferer, and I inquired what indiscretion, or 
 crime, his wife had been guilty of. " O," said my friend, 
 * she is determined that he shall not take another wife, and 
 fights against it all the time, and he has just buried two 
 children ; and, all together, he is completely bowed down by 
 grief." 
 
 This was before I had dared to give my honest opinion, and 
 I was silent ; but my heart ached for the poor mother whose 
 babies were dead, and whose husband, not content with her 
 love, was denouncing her to his friends because she was 
 unwilling to have polygamy added to her other burdens. 
 
 A man in Utah, whom I knew very well, married a young 
 widow for a second wife, his first strongly disapproving of 
 the principles of polygamy. She had by no means a sub- 
 missive spirit, and she sought revenge by the only means 
 in her power by tormenting her husband in all possible 
 ways. 
 
 He, like all good Mormon brethren, intended to build up 
 a "celestial kingdom" after the " divinely ordained plan," 
 and he wished his wives to live together. There was no 
 use talking, he said ; they must agree well enough for that, 
 as he did not intend to build another house. So he com- 
 menced this plan ; but he found, after a few days, that what- 
 ever it might be in the future, it was far from " celestial " 
 here. There was no such thing as peace in the house. 
 His Prophet had often told him that if he could not rule 
 his earthly kingdom, he never would be fit to be a king in 
 the world to come ; and as he was very ambitious for royal 
 honors, he was in terrible grief and perplexity. But how 
 to govern two unruly women was quite beyond him. His 
 
KEY-HOLE SECRETS I 
 
 415 
 
 first wife was a very independent woman, with a habit of 
 speaking her mind quite freely ; and the second had a fiery 
 temper, which she did not hesitate to display when she 
 considered occasion demanded. 
 
 In a few weeks he found that he must separate them ; so 
 he divided the house, giving each one her apartments the 
 first wife receiving the principal share, as she had several 
 children. But he had not bettered matters, it seemed. 
 He had intended dividing his time equally between the two ; 
 
 No PEACE WITHIN POLYGAMY. 
 
 but the first wife was so opposed to this arrangement that he 
 offered to give her two thirds of his time, which, strange as 
 it may seem, did not satisfy her, and made the second wife 
 very angry, until, between them both, the poor man was 
 driven almost to his wits' ends. 
 
 They had a peculiar way of finding out each other's 
 secrets ; and when the husband was visiting one, the other 
 would apply her ear to the key-hole of her rival's apart- 
 ments. On certain occasions, when the first wife was too 
 
41 6 NANCY C. TELLS A NAUGHTY STORY. 
 
 much engaged to attend to the key-hole herself, she would 
 place her little daughter a child not more than six years 
 old there, and bid her tell her what she heard. Imagine 
 the effect on the child. It seems impossible that any woman, 
 however jealous or curious, would take this means to satisfy 
 her curiosity. Of course the child told the mother the most 
 ridiculous things, which she affected to believe, and told to 
 her husband on his next visit to her ; in consequence of 
 which some of the bitterest quarrels ensued. 
 
 As soon as possible the husband built a second house, a 
 few rods from the other, and removed the last wife thither, 
 hoping then for a little respite. But he was hoping against 
 hope ; for the trouble would never be quieted while the 
 cause remained, and the two women could never come 
 within speaking distance without a fearful quarrel, which 
 often ended in personal violence, blows being exchanged, 
 hair pulled, and dresses torn in the struggle. 
 
 Every experiment was in vain. After running away from 
 home once himself, and coming back on account of his chil- 
 dren, whom he really loved, he found himself obliged to 
 send Number Two away, when quiet was again restored, 
 although it was secured at the expense of his " kingdom." 
 
 The fault was not with either of the women ; each one 
 was good enough by herself; but it was in the accursed 
 system, which brought, as it always does, the very worst 
 passions to the surface, and made of each woman who, 
 alone, would have been a comfort to her husband a fiend, 
 and a constant torment to him. 
 
 Some of the Mormon brethren are so anxious to increase 
 their kingdom that they frequently have very old ladies 
 sealed to them. As they are all to be rejuvenated in the 
 resurrection, and as the sealing is done for " eternity " alone, 
 it will be all right in the future, and the discrepancies in age 
 will go for nothing. Even Brigham Young himself has not 
 hesitated to avail himself of his privileges in this peculiar 
 direction, i( Nancy Chamberlain's story can be believed. 
 
HOW A WOMAN "FREED HER MIND 1 " 417 
 
 Nancy Chamberlain is a very old, half-crazed woman, 
 known, I fancy, to every Mormon in the Territory, who 
 solemnly declares that she was sealed to Brigham in 
 Nauvoo, and that she had the promise of being promoted 
 to the place of first wife. She lived in his family for a long 
 time, but she grew old, and infirm, and useless, and he 
 turned her out of the house some years ago ; and now she 
 lives as best she may, going about from house to house, and 
 doing light work to pay for her support. 
 
 She considers it her duty every little while to go and 
 "free her mind," as she calls it, to Brigham's wives, telling 
 them that they may usurp her place and defraud her of her 
 rights in this world, but she shall be Brigham's queen in 
 heaven. She is an eccentric old woman, but there is no 
 doubt, I think, about her having been sealed to the Prophet. 
 He has a great many old ladies that he expects to resurrect, 
 and assign them to their true position in the eternal World. 
 
 These old ladies are sometimes as exacting as their 
 younger sisters, and the husband has all he can do to pacify 
 them and keep them quiet ; but not all of them have my 
 mother's experience and that of my old acquaintance, Mr. 
 Ramsay. He was a very devout follower of Brigham's, 
 and, when he was about forty years of age, he was sealed 
 to an old lady eighty years of age, who had no husband, 
 and consequently no hope of salvation, until he very kindly 
 became her savior. He had three wives already, but that 
 was a trifle not worth mentioning to a man expecting to 
 people a world some time in the future ; so, as this woman 
 who was called Catherine would count one on the list, 
 she was taken, and brought into the house with his other 
 wives. 
 
 The first of these women, who had always been a slave 
 to her husband and his wives, was now called upon to take 
 the sole charge of this last selection, which she did willingly 
 enough. But it was a difficult matter to please Catherine. 
 No woman could do more to keep the peace than Mrs. 
 27 
 
418 A BELLIGERENT WIFE. 
 
 Ramsay, who was one of the sweetest tempered, kindest 
 hearted women in the world, yet in this case it seemed to 
 require superhuman exertions. Catherine complained of 
 her food, her clothing, and her situation generally ; but the 
 principal cause of complaint was, that Mr. Ramsay was not 
 sufficiently attentive to her. 
 
 " I am your wife," she used to say, in a querulous, piping 
 voice ; " I have rights and privileges equal to any other 
 wife, and you must and shall spend one fourth of your time 
 with me." 
 
 This not being Mr. Ramsay's view of the case precisely, 
 he would reply, 
 
 w It is true you were sealed to me, but it was not for time, 
 but for eternity ; and I cannot give you any part of my time 
 here. I am willing that you should be taken care of in my 
 family, and that should satisfy you." 
 
 But that did not satisfy her, and she determined to make 
 him all the trouble she could. One of her first freaks was 
 to personate a ghost; and, robing herself in white, she 
 visited different apartments of the house while the family 
 slept, more particularly where the husband was. Failing 
 to bring him to terms by this mode of action, she tried some- 
 thing more desperate, and actually set the house on fire ; it 
 was soon discovered, however, and not much harm was done. 
 Mr. Ramsay had been very patient with her, and viewed 
 all her pranks in as charitable a light as possible, saying, 
 * it was somebody's duty to exert themselves in her behalf, 
 for she was surely worth saving ; and as for her queer ac- 
 tions, she was nothing but a child anyway ; so the best thing 
 was not to mind them." Yet this last act of hers made him 
 consider her a very dangerous person, and he advised her 
 to seek a home elsewhere, which she was very soon forced 
 to do, as he went to the southern part of the Territory with 
 his other wives, and left her behind. 
 
 She consoled herself by thinking that although she had 
 no husband on earth, she was provided for hereafter, and 
 
AN IMPECUNIOUS POLYGAMIST. 419 
 
 was very complacent over the reflection, which seemed to 
 afford her wonderful consolation. Mr. Ramsay must be 
 acquitted of having married the old lady for money, as she 
 was very poor, and he gained nothing at all by his mar- 
 riage. It was really an act of kindness on his part, and 
 real conscientious regard for her future. 
 
 Not so unselfish was Brother Shaw, a Mormon whose 
 poverty might be estimated by the fact that he had been 
 twenty years in Brigham's service as a laborer. His impe- 
 cuniosity was no bar to his entering the Celestial Kingdom, 
 and setting up a realm of his own, over which he should 
 be ruler. He had already married two wives, when a very 
 old lady, possessed of considerable property, arrived in 
 Zion, and Brother Shaw decided that she needed salvation 
 at his hands, and proposed marriage to her. 
 
 She saw through him at once, but fearing for her salva- 
 tion, she accepted the proposal, and was "sealed." This 
 was her first offer in Zion, but she feared, at her time of 
 life, she might never have another ; so she allowed herself 
 to be installed as third wife in the Shaw family. Her 
 money was found very useful for the support of the entire 
 family, and was spent very freely until it was all gone, 
 when she, like the rest, was obliged to live in great destitu- 
 tion. She certainly has paid handsomely for her " exalta- 
 tion." 
 
 In a family where all were so peacefully inclined as in 
 our own, "trying" occasions are rare; but they would 
 occur sometimes, and I think my mother took a little mali- 
 cious pleasure in seeing my father bothered about something 
 that had occurred to make "plurality" a trial. He tried as 
 hard as possible to be just, and had always been very par- 
 ticular in dividing everything equally between his wives. 
 One must have no more than the other. There must be 
 the most perfect exactness in everything. I believe he 
 thinks he has dealt out the most even-handed justice, 
 although he used occasionally to be accused of a partiality 
 
42O STORY OF A CHRISTMAS TURKEY. 
 
 for his third wife, especially by those comforting persons 
 who liked to talk to the other w r ives about him. 
 
 One year he had a turkey presented to him two or three 
 days before Christmas. He was away from home on re- 
 ceiving it, and he returned quite late at night to my mother's 
 house with his gift. He was in a dilemma. Here he was 
 with a turkey on his hands, and not feeling rich enough to 
 buy the requisite number in addition to give one to each wife. 
 He could not decide at which house to have the fowl roasted. 
 He would have liked to have had the table of each wife 
 graced with just such a bird, but that was out of the ques- 
 tion, and it was equally impossible for all to dine together 
 that day. He was unable to solve the problem ; so he con- 
 cluded to leave it for accident to decide. 
 
 On arriving home he placed the turkey quite out of 
 sight, as he supposed, and retired. 
 
 My mother, in her rounds of morning work, discovered 
 a suspicious-looking bundle, and, although a little curious 
 concerning it, did not open it, but carried it to my father, 
 with the wrapper on, at the same time asking him what 
 it was. 
 
 " It is a turkey," was his reply. 
 
 As he said nothing else, she hastily returned it to its 
 place, concluding that she had stumbled on positive proof 
 of his partiality for some other member of his family ; and 
 remembering all he had said about equal justice, she re- 
 solved that she would find out all about the affair, and, if 
 her suspicions were correct, would not submit with patience, 
 but would "speak her mind," if the heavens fell. She 
 opened the battle by saying, 
 
 " I think it very strange indeed that you should purchase 
 a turkey for only one table, and leave the others destitute ; 
 and I also think it a very unjust proceeding on your part ; 
 if one portion of the family is to have a Christmas turkey, 
 the others should receive the same attention." 
 
 " Hold on, my dear," interrupted my father ; " not so fast, 
 
A HUSBAND IN A FIX. 42! 
 
 if you please. You shouldn't jump at conclusions in such 
 a hasty manner. I didn't buy the turkey ; it was given me 
 by a friend." 
 
 "O," said my mother, quite mollified, "is that so?" 
 And she was preparing to be quite amiable, when, unfor- 
 tunately, she happened to recollect that he had asked her 
 at breakfast if she had not better have some chickens killed 
 for Christmas, and she returned to the charge with renewed 
 vigor. 
 
 "What are you going to do with it?" demanded she. 
 
 "Why, you may have it if you wish," said he; "I am 
 sure I don't know what else to do with it." 
 
 Although she was quite prepared to wage warfare for 
 her rights to the very last, my mother really was not pre- 
 pared for such willing surrender, and, determined not to be 
 outdone in generosity, she replied, 
 
 "O, I really do not care about it. I have chickens, you 
 know, and I like them equally well ; in fact, I think I pre- 
 fer them. But," she continued, with a beautiful stroke of 
 diplomacy, " I would like to decide which of the other 
 wives shall have the turkey, if you will allow me, since 
 you have given me the privilege of refusing it." 
 
 My father was glad enough to leave the disposition of 
 the turkey with her, as he did not really know any better 
 what to do with it than before, and if she decided for him, 
 all responsibility would be off his shoulders. So he said, 
 with very great cordiality of tone, 
 
 "All right. I have given it to you, you know. You 
 shall make what disposition you please of it." 
 
 "Thank you," said she, with equal graciousness of man- 
 ner ; " I should like Elizabeth to have it. She deserves it, 
 and needs it, too, and would be very grateful for it ; and 
 then, too, you see, she, being next to me, would claim it by 
 right of seniority." 
 
 "Wisely said," was my father's rejoinder, delighted to 
 have it settled so amicably. So he carried the turkey to 
 
4 22 
 
 CHICKENS, BUT NO TURKEY, 
 
 Elizabeth as his Christmas offering, and she received it, as 
 my mother thought she would, gladly and thankfully. 
 
 Our Christmas dinner, with the chickens, and my moth- 
 er's delectable puddings and pies, was a success, and we 
 didn't even miss the turkey, though we did have a good 
 laugh over it, and my mother was jubilant, because she 
 had kept it from gracing the tables of the younger wives, 
 since, according to her ideas of justice, if any partiality 
 was to be shown, it should be given in the order of "senior- 
 
 OLD FARM-HOUSE AT COTTONWOOD. 
 
 ity." I have no doubt that the other tables were well set, 
 in some way or other, but we none of us saw the bills of 
 fare. " Father's turkey " was for a long time the standing 
 jest at home. 
 
 During this time at South Cottonwood, while I was 
 teaching my children, helping my mother, and getting all 
 these peeps into the inside experiences of polygamy, my 
 own life running along in the smoothest channels it had 
 ever known, a great change was preparing for me. I had 
 
EASE AND CONTENTMENT. 423 
 
 no thought nor premonition of it, as I went blithely about my 
 daily duties, happy and content in the quiet life which I 
 was leading in my mother's companionship, and in my dar- 
 ling children's love. I dreamed of nothing beyond this 
 peaceful life ; I wished for nothing else. Such a sweet 
 restfulness had taken possession of me, and I pictured my- 
 self growing old in this quiet spot, with my strong, brave 
 boys near me to make my rough path smooth, and to help 
 my faltering footsteps over the stony places with their strong 
 arms that would encircle and hold me then, as I encircled 
 them now. The improvement of my health was a source 
 of great joy to me. I never was so well in my life. The 
 color had come back to my cheek, the sparkle to my eye, 
 the smile to my lips, the elasticity to my step, and something 
 of the old life to my spirits, although I had suffered too 
 much to have them quite as light as they were in the old 
 frolicsome days when I had gone merry-making with my 
 old companions, had won friends in the theatre, and had 
 wailed " with the girls " over the monotonous fare of the 
 Prophetic table. I was a child with my children, and it 
 would be difficult to tell which of us got the most scoldings 
 and pettings from the fond grandmamma. 
 
 She was happy, too, at having me with her again ; and 
 though she sorrowed at my sorrow, she could not regret 
 anything that brought me back to her, so long as it did not 
 make me utterly unhappy ; and she recognized as well as I 
 the fact, that my life was fuller and freer without my hus- 
 band than with him, and that my children were better oft', 
 and stood far better chances of becoming the men that both 
 she and I wished them to become, under my guidance alone, 
 than under the influence of such a father as theirs. They 
 would never have felt a strong, steady, guiding hand, but 
 would have been, as their mother had been before them, the 
 victim of alternate passion and rough good nature, that was 
 easily shaken. 
 
 I had very many offers of marriage. A moderately pre- 
 
424 MY PERSISTENT SUITORS. 
 
 possessing woman in Utah is sure not to be long without 
 them ; and I knew that I was that, at least, but I could not be 
 brought to look with favor upon any of my suitors. I did 
 not care to try matrimony again. I had vowed that I would 
 not become a plural wife, and, with my past experience, I 
 was afraid to try even a monogamic alliance again ; for I 
 knew that in Utah the step from monogamy to polygamy is 
 very short, and very easily taken. My answer was the 
 same to one and all "I have my children ; I shall live for 
 them alone ; they are my only loves." 
 
 Some of them appealed to my father and mother to use 
 their influence to make me change my mind ; but they re- 
 fused to interfere, saying that I probably knew my own 
 mind, and, if I did not wish to marry, that was quite 
 enough. 
 
 I usually had my own way ; and when I knew that any 
 of my persistent suitors had turned to my parents for sym- 
 pathy and assistance, I laughed to myself to think how little 
 of either they would receive. To tell the truth, they es- 
 pecially my mother were no more anxious for me to marry 
 than I myself; and I knew that so long as they had a home, 
 my children and I should share it. I was not allowed to 
 feel that we were in any way a burden, and, to tell the 
 truth, I did honestly try to do all in my power to assist my 
 mother, and make life easier for her to bear. 
 
 " I shall never, never leave you," I used to say, as I 
 would nestle at her feet, and lay my head in her lap in the 
 old childish fashion a habit that I could not bring my- 
 self to abandon, even though I was a mother myself, with 
 two bouncing boys to curl down in my own lap in the same 
 loving way, begging for caresses. 
 
 " God willing, we will never be parted, my darling." 
 
 "Never! never!" cried I, with loving enthusiasm, as I 
 felt her hand on my head, resting in tender benediction there. 
 I kissed the hand that had grown hard with toil for me and 
 for others ; and together we sat with no premonition of the 
 
BRIGHAM ON HIS WAY TO COTTONWOOD. 425 
 
 future that was so near, and that was to change the whole 
 current of both our after lives. 
 
 Brigham Young and some of the apostles were coming to 
 South Cottonwood to hold a meeting. But what was that 
 to me ? How did it affect me when he came or went? I 
 had no part nor lot in his movements. Life was nothing to 
 me beyond my mother and children ; and all the Prophetic 
 coming and going would not cause a ripple on the surface 
 of my placid life. 
 
 So I thought, as I lay cradled in my mother's arms that 
 summer evening in the old farm-house at Cottonwood ; and 
 the stars, as they looked down upon me there, revealed 
 nothing more to me. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 A WALK WITH THE PROPHET. HE MAKES LOVE TO 
 
 ME. 
 
 How Brigham Travels Through the Territory. Triumphant Receptions 
 Everywhere. Trying to Establish the "Order of Enoch." How the 
 Prophet Insulted his Faithful Followers. " Rheumatism " in the Tem- 
 per. Grand Doings in the Settlements. We Goto Meet the Prophet. 
 
 How the Saints were Lectured in the Bowery. How Brigham gave 
 Howard a Piece of Land. Howard Insulted by the Prophet. Over- 
 looking the Prophet's Lies . Van Etten Becomes Brigham's " Friend." 
 
 He Helps Him to Steal a Hundred Sheep. He makes a Big Haul, 
 and Escapes to Canada. The Prophet Ogles Me during Service-Time. 
 We Take a Walk Home Together. He Compliments My Good 
 Looks. Makes Love to Me. Matrimonial Advice. Brigham Wishes 
 Me to Become His Wife. 
 
 N Brigham Young's ar- 
 rival at South Cotton- 
 wood, he was very 
 warmly welcomed, all 
 the people turning out 
 to join in the demon- 
 strations. 
 
 This is the usual cus- 
 tom ; consequently his 
 travels through the 
 Territory are a perfect 
 ovation. He is gen- 
 erally accompanied by 
 some members of his 
 family ; perhaps one or 
 more of his wives, and 
 one of his sons. It 
 has lately always been 
 Brigham, Jr., his intended successor, who is taken along, to 
 
 BRIGHAM ON HIS TRAVELS. 
 
THE RECEPTION OF BRIGHAM. 427 
 
 be initiated into the proper method of doing things ; one or 
 more of his counsellors; some of the apostles, and whoever 
 else he may choose to invite to join his party. They go in 
 carriages, and form in themselves quite a procession. 
 
 He is met outside of every settlement which he visits by a 
 company of cavalry ; and a little farther on, just outside the 
 entrance to the town, he is met by another procession, 
 sometimes of the children alone, but oftener, in the large 
 settlements, where they are ambitious to "do the thing up in 
 shape," of the entire population who are able to turn out, 
 men, women, and children, headed by a brass band, all 
 ranged along to give greeting to the Prophet. They are 
 arranged in different sections, each section having its appro- 
 priate banner. The elderly and middle-aged men are all 
 together under the banner " Fathers in Israel." The women 
 of the same ages are ranged under their banner, " Mothers 
 in Israel." The young men are proud enough of the in- 
 scription which theirs carries, " Defenders of Zion ; " and 
 the young girls are fresh and lovely under their banner, 
 "The Daughters of Zion, Virtue;" while the little wee 
 bits, that are placed last of all, are " The Hope of Israel." 
 Other banners bear the inscriptions, w Hail to the Prophet; " 
 " Welcome to our President ; " " God bless Brigham Young ; " 
 K The Lion of the Lord ; " and others of a similar nature are 
 seen along the line of the procession. 
 
 As the President and his escort pass down the long line, 
 the band plays, the people cheer, men wave their hats, 
 women their handkerchiefs, and the young girls and chil- 
 dren toss bunches of flowers ; and their Prophet if he 
 chances to be in a good humor bows and smiles to them as 
 he passes ; and everything is gay, and bright, and merry, 
 and the people are very happy because of the success of 
 their Prophet's reception. 
 
 Now and then their gaiety has a dash of cold water from 
 the object of all the display, and they see all their prepara- 
 tions go for nothing, and are made to feel that all their labor 
 
428 THE PROPHET OUT OF TEMPER. 
 
 has been in vain, as happened not long ago in Salt Lake 
 City. Brigham had been on a long trip through Southern 
 Utah, endeavoring to establish the "United Order of 
 Enoch," with but indifferent success, it must be confessed, 
 in consequence of which he was in anything but good hu- 
 mor with his "rebellious people." 
 
 On his return he was met at the station by thousands of 
 his people, who had gathered in unusual numbers, and 
 with unusual display, to meet him. As he stepped from 
 the car, cheers arose from the mass of people, the band 
 played, and all eyes were turned on him, anxiously watch- 
 ing for a recognition. What was their surprise and chagrin 
 to see him step from the car to. his carriage, enter it, close 
 the door, and drive away without the slightest notice of 
 their presence, seemingly oblivious to everything about him ! 
 
 The Saints returned to their homes feeling exceedingly 
 hurt and grieved, but the next Sabbath their Prophet en- 
 deavored to soothe their outraged feelings and smooth mat- 
 ters over with them, in the following "explanation : " 
 
 " Brethren and sisters, you may have felt hurt at my not 
 recognizing your greeting on my arrival. If so, I am 
 sorry ; but I had just had an attack of rheumatiz in my 
 left foot." 
 
 The apology was accepted ; there was nothing else to be 
 done. The Prophet had made what he considered the 
 proper amende^ though some of the brethren were so irrev- 
 erent as to remark afterwards that they " guessed the 'rheu- 
 matiz ' was in his temper," on account of his failure to gull 
 the people with his last " effort for their spiritual " - and his 
 temporal " advancement." 
 
 Usually he is in high good humor, and beams on his fol- 
 lowers with the most patronizing and reassuring of smiles, 
 accepting all the homage as though it were his by " divine 
 right." Royalty itself could assume no more the manner 
 of receiving only what it is entitled to, than this ex-glazier, 
 who used to work for " six bits " a day, and who begged 
 
OFF FOR A GOOD TIME. 429 
 
 the farmer for whom he had done two half days' work to 
 give him a new coat, since his old one was too " rusty " to 
 go on a preaching tour in, and the " spirit " had suddenly 
 called him from the haying field to a Methodist meeting in 
 the neighboring town. 
 
 While on his journeys, he is always taken to the best house 
 in the place, and everything is done for his comfort ; his fol- 
 lowers are taken by other residents of the town, a dance is 
 given in the evening, which takes the place of the usual 
 " reception " elsewhere ; he is serenaded by the bands and 
 parties of singers, and all night the militia keep sentry 
 about his headquarters. Altogether it is quite a gay thing 
 to go visiting the settlements, and no one likes it better than 
 the Prophet himself. It is the grand event of the year to 
 the Saints, and they make such extensive preparations for 
 the occasion, that many of them have to "live very close," 
 as they express it, for months afterwards. 
 
 As a matter of course, I helped "welcome the President" 
 to Cottonwood ; so did all the family ; and, as we were all 
 old friends, we were glad to see him personally, as well as 
 spiritually, my mother especially being overjoyed, for there 
 was always the warmest friendship between them; indeed, 
 their friendship dated back to the days before they went to 
 Kirtland. At Nauvoo they had been next door neighbors, 
 and he used to be very fond of playing with the " baby." 
 Since then he had helped the " baby " to escape from a do- 
 mestic thraldom which was harder than she could endure, 
 and she was grateful to him accordingly. I think neither 
 mother nor daughter would have joined so heartily in the 
 welcome, had they known what misery the visit was to 
 bring. 
 
 The Sunday services are always largely attended, and 
 as no house is sufficiently capacious to hold all who assem- 
 ble to listen to the Prophet, the meetings are held in the 
 "Bowery," which is a sort of improvised tabernacle, with 
 open sides, and roofed over with branches of trees. He 
 
430 OVERHAULING THE SAINTS. 
 
 usually makes this the occasion for reprimanding the people 
 for their sins, dwelling particularly on the extravagance of 
 women in dress, and the habit, among some of the men, of 
 whiskey-drinking. He came out very strong this time, and 
 the poor Cottomvood Saints were exposed to a merciless 
 fusillade from the Prophet's tongue. He was more than usu- 
 ally denunciatory and scathing, and he made this the occa- 
 sion for abusing Mr. Howard, the owner of the distillery. 
 After he had got well warmed up, he said Howard had not 
 a cent in the world which he had not given him, and added, 
 
 BKIGHAM PREACHING AT SOUTH COTTONWOOD. 
 
 * I even gave the poor, mean scapegrace the very land he 
 lives on." 
 
 This was more than Howard could bear, even from his 
 Prophet, and he jumped to his feet, excitedly shouting, 
 
 f 'It isn't so, and you know it isn't. I bought the land of 
 you, and gave you twelve hundred dollars for it." 
 
 " You lie ! " roared Brig-ham ; " I gave it to you." 
 
 "Yes, for twelve hundred dollars," was Howard's reply. 
 
 "I never got a cent for it," screamed Brigham. 
 
 "You're the liar, and you know it," retorted Howard. 
 
 I don't know how long this Sabbath-day quarrel would 
 
THE PROPHET'S BAD MEMORY. 431 
 
 have lasted, had not Brigham happened to think it was a 
 little out of order, and also to discover that Howard, who 
 was in a great rage by this time, was bound to have the 
 last word. He stopped the dispute, and, turning to the 
 congregation, said, 
 
 r Is there no one who will remove that man from this 
 place?" 
 
 Instantly ten or fifteen men started to their feet, and 
 rushed towards the offender ; but a man named Van Etten, 
 being much nearer to him than any of the others, reached 
 him first, and led him out of meeting ; so there was no 
 opportunity for any of the others to exercise their zeal in 
 the Prophet's behalf. At the close of the services, Brig- 
 ham publicly thanked Brother Van Etten, and called him 
 "the only friend in the congregation." 
 
 The following Sabbath, the party were at Willow Creek 
 holding meeting, and as what he was pleased to term 
 " Howard's insult " was rankling in his memory, he could 
 not refrain from referring to it in his sermon, which he did 
 in the following truthful manner : 
 
 " I was never so insulted in my life as I was at Cotton- 
 wood last Sabbath. I called seven or eight times for some 
 of the brethren to lead Howard out, and not a man re- 
 sponded but Brother Van Etten. I know how it is ; you 
 and they are all bought with Howard's whiskey." 
 
 Now, the news of the encounter had reached Willow 
 Creek before the Prophet and his party, and nearly every 
 one present knew that Brigham had only called once for 
 his opponent to be taken away, and that his call had been 
 promptly responded to. But they attributed his misstatement 
 to the Prophet's bad memory. They knew, too, that none 
 of them were bought with Howard's whiskey ; but perhaps 
 Brigham thought they were, and it was only "one of his 
 slight mistakes ; " so they let it go for what it was worth, 
 and the Prophet felt better after venting his ill-temper. 
 
 It was soon after this that Howard was sent on the mis- 
 
432 BRIGHAM'S THIEVING FRIEND. 
 
 sion that has been referred to in a previous chapter. Van 
 Etten's fortune was made from that moment. The Proph- 
 et's heart was full of blessings for him, and found vent in 
 the following benediction : 
 
 "The Lord will bless you, Brother Van Etten, for so no- 
 bly coming forward in my defence. You are the only man 
 out of several thousand that paid any attention to the insults 
 I received. I want you to understand that from this time I 
 am your friend." 
 
 The Cottonwood Saints were very much surprised at 
 Brigham's warmth, for Van Etten was well known as a 
 worthless, dissipated character, and if Brother Brigham 
 found any good in him, it was more than anyone else had 
 succeeded in doing. 
 
 The Prophet and Van Etten were ever after bosom 
 friends ; let the latter do what he would, Brigham would 
 shield him from all difficulty. One instance of this protec- 
 tion of }\\s protege came directly under my notice. Van 
 Etten stole a hundred sheep from my brother, who prose- 
 cuted him for it. When the trial came on, the evidence 
 was as clear as possible against him ; yet Brigham con- 
 trolled the whole affair, and his "friend" was released. 
 All who knew the facts concerning the case were aston- 
 ished that even Brigham should do such a very unjust 
 thing as to clear him ; but at that time the Saints did not 
 dare to criticise the Prophet's actions as they do now, and 
 all they said was, "There probably is something good 
 about Van Etten that Brigham has discovered which we 
 were unable to see." 
 
 Finally, the Prophet's intimate friend took several thou- 
 sand head of sheep to herd for different parties, and a 
 short time after, the owners heard that he had left the coun- 
 try ; they went instantly to look after their sheep, but not a 
 trace of them could they find. Van Etten, sheep and all, 
 were gone, and they never returned again to the "Valley 
 of Ephraim." It was afterwards found that he was in 
 
UNDER FIRE OF BRIGHAM S EYES. 433 
 
 Canada ; he also was in debt nine thousand dollars at the 
 co-operative store Brigham's pet institution . I never heard 
 Brigham say whether he missed his friend or not ; in fact, 
 he never mentioned him after this last escapade. 
 
 I had noticed, during the morning service, that memora- 
 ble Sunday at Cottonwood, that Brigham looked often at me ; 
 but I thought nothing more of it than that mine was a very 
 familiar face, and consequently he was drawn towards it 
 for that reason. Still there were others in the congrega- 
 tion that he knew ; so mine was not the only face he looked 
 at for recognition. I began to be a little uneasy under his 
 scrutiny. I thought that possibly there was something 
 about my appearance that displeased him. Possibly he did 
 not approve of my dress. I knew he considered himself per- 
 fectly at liberty to criticise any sister's dress when he felt 
 so inclined, and I did not know but I was to be the subject 
 of his next outbreak. That he was not looking at me indif- 
 ferently or carelessly I knew very well, from the bent brows 
 and keen gaze that I felt was making the most complete 
 scrutiny, and I wished he would look somewhere else. I 
 fidgeted about in my seat, I looked at my little boy who 
 was sitting beside me, and pretended to arrange some arti- 
 cle of his clothing. I did everything but to jump up and 
 run away, and I even wanted to do that, to get out of the 
 reach of those sharp eyes, and that steady, unflinching gaze. 
 I am sure he saw my discomfort ; but he was pitiless, and 
 all the while the speaking was going on he scarcely turned 
 his eyes from me a moment. I tried to be unconscious, to 
 look in every direction except his, but the steady eyes 
 would always bring mine back again in spite of myself. I 
 felt his power then as I never had felt it before, and I 
 began to understand a little how it was that he compelled 
 so many people to do his will, against their own inclina- 
 tions. I learned the lesson better still subsequently. 
 
 After the services he came up to me and greeted me very 
 cordially. I was surprised, for he had been so ruffled over 
 28 
 
434 "MAY i WALK HOME WITH YOU?'* 
 
 the Howard matter that I did not expect he would regain 
 his spirits so easily. 
 
 "Are you well?" said he. 
 
 "As you see," I replied, laughing, and looking up at 
 him. 
 
 " May I walk home with you ? " 
 
 "If you wish ; I should be much pleased," said I. I was 
 pleased, too, for I knew that in bringing him home with me 
 I should be conferring the greatest happiness on my mother. 
 He took my little boy's hand, and led him along, and as 
 he looked down at him, he said, 
 
 " A pretty child. What are you going to do with him? " 
 
 "Make a good man of him, if possible," was my reply. 
 
 "A better one than his father proved to be, I trust." 
 
 " God grant it, else he will not be much of a comfort to 
 me," said I, the tears starting to my eyes. 
 
 "You are very much improved since you left Mr. Dee," 
 said he ; " do you know it? You are a very pretty woman." 
 
 " Thank you," said I, laughing, yet embarrassed at this 
 wholesale fashion of complimenting ; " if you can only tell 
 me I am a good woman, I should like that, too." 
 
 "Yes, you are that, I believe, and a good mother; and 
 you were a good wife, only that foolish fellow didn't have 
 the sense to half appreciate you." 
 
 "Thank you again. I don't know that I can take all 
 you tell me, since I am not sure that I deserve such high 
 praise." 
 
 " You are your mother's girl ; there can be but one con- 
 clusion to draw from that. But tell me about yourself; are 
 you happy ? " 
 
 "Very," said I, earnestly. "I never was happier in my 
 life." 
 
 " What makes you specially happy just now ? " 
 
 " O, my children, my mother, my quiet life, after all the 
 trial and weary struggling to make the best out of the very 
 worst" 
 
A MATRIMONIAL CONTROVERSY. 435 
 
 tf Then you don't regret your divorce? " 
 
 " Indeed I do not ; and now, Brother Young, let me thank 
 you for your kindness in helping me to regain my freedom, 
 and above all to keep my children. You must be content 
 with gratitude, for I can repay you in no other way." 
 
 He looked at me a moment ; a peculiar smile flitted across 
 his face ; he opened his lips as if to say something ; closed 
 them again ; looked at me more scrutinizingly than ever ; 
 turned away, and was silent for a moment. Then he asked 
 me, quite abruptly, 
 
 " I suppose you have had offers of marriage since your 
 separation from Mr. Dee." 
 
 "Yes, many," I replied, answering his question very 
 frankly, as I did not suspect that he had any motive in 
 questioning me, except a friendly interest ; and I was as 
 honest in my confidences to him as I should have been 
 with my father. 
 
 " Do you feel inclined to accept any of them ? " was his 
 next question. 
 
 "No, not in the slightest degree ; none of them move me 
 in the least." 
 
 " And you haven't a preference for any of the suitors ? " 
 
 " I assure you, no." 
 
 "Never had the slightest inclination to say f yes ' to any 
 offer that has been made ? " 
 
 " Not a bit of inclination ; all my lovers have had a rival 
 affection to contend with." 
 
 "For whom?" was the question, quick and sudden, as if 
 intending to take me by surprise by its abruptness. 
 
 I laid my hand on my boy's head. " For him, and for 
 the other dear child that God gave me ; I can have no room 
 for other love while I have them to care for. They fill my 
 heart exclusively, and I am so glad and happy because of 
 it, that I should be jealous if I saw the least hint of regard 
 for anyone creeping in. I couldn't love anybody else ; I 
 wouldn't." 
 
436 BRIGHAM GIVES ME SOME ADVICE. 
 
 " Then you think you will never be induced to marry ?" 
 
 "Never in my life," I said, vehemently. 
 
 Brigham laughed a little, and replied, " I have heard a 
 very great many girls talk that way before." 
 
 "Yes, but I am not a girl ; I am a woman ; a woman, too, 
 with hard, bitter experiences ; a woman who has lost faith 
 in mankind, and hasn't much faith in matrimony ; a mother, 
 too, who will not give her children a rival." 
 
 "No, but you might give them a protector." 
 
 " They don't need it ; my love is sufficient protection. 
 Besides, they are boys, and will be my protectors in a few 
 years. So, you see, I do not need to marry for protection 
 for myself or them." 
 
 " But supposing it were shown to be a duty." 
 
 "It can't be. I should not recognize a duty of that kind. 
 I consider myself old enough, and sufficiently experienced, 
 to judge of my duties without any assistance." 
 
 He bent his eyes on me again with a keen, questioning 
 look, and said, very kindly, " Child, child, I fear you are 
 very headstrong. Don't let your will run away with you." 
 
 " No danger," I replied ; " it is not crossed often enough 
 to make it very assertive." 
 
 "A spoiled child, eh?" 
 
 "Possibly. My will seems to be everybody's way at 
 home." 
 
 " Well, my child, I want to give you a little advice. I 
 have known you all your life, and have had 'an interest in 
 you from your birth. Indeed, you seem like one of my 
 own family, you were always in and out so much with my 
 children ; and I am going to speak to you as I would to 
 one of my girls. You will probably marry again, some 
 time, though you say now you won't." 
 
 " No," I interrupted ; " I shall not marry. I mean what I 
 say when I tell you so." 
 
 "Yes, I know it ; but you will ; now mark my words, and 
 see if you don't." 
 
A QUEER WAY OF LOVE-MAKING. 437 
 
 "Well, don't feel so sure that you send somebody after 
 me," said I, slyly hitting him for his known propensity for 
 " counselling " the brethren to take certain sisters as plural 
 wives. 
 
 "You needn't be afraid of my sending anybody. I 
 promise you I won't do that," was his answer. 
 
 " Good ; then I shall not be obliged to say 'no ' to them, 
 and so, perhaps, hurt your feelings as well as mortify 
 them," said I. 
 
 " Still, I believe that you will marry again some time. It 
 is in the nature of things that you should. Women of your 
 age, and your looks, don't stay single all their lives ; not a 
 bit of it. Now, my advice is this : when you do marry, 
 select some man older than yourself. It doesn't make so 
 much difference whether you're in love with him, if you 
 can respect him and look up to him for counsel. Respect 
 is better than romance, any day. You've tried the one, 
 now give the other a chance. You didn't succeed so well 
 with the other experiment that you care to try that over 
 again, I know. You had your own way, too, if I remem- 
 ber rightly. It wasn't such a smooth one as you thought it 
 was going to be. I knew you was doing the wrong thing 
 when I saw the man. I could have told you so, but you 
 didn't ask my advice. Now I'm giving it to you without 
 asking, for I don't want you to make another mistake. So, 
 when you choose again, remember what I say, and get a 
 husband whom you can look to for good advice." 
 
 We had reached home by that time, and I thanked him 
 for his interest, and promised to heed his advice if I found 
 it necessary ; but I was sure I should not, for I was firm in 
 my determination not to marry. 
 
 I had no idea at all of Brigham's real object in thus 
 sounding me, and drawing me out. It never occurred to me 
 that he could want me for himself. I should just as soon 
 have thought of receiving an offer of marriage from my 
 own father, or to have heard that he (Brigham) was going 
 
438 THE PROPHET ON HIS GOOD BEHAVIOR. 
 
 to marry one of his own daughters. Then I knew, too, 
 that there had been a great deal said in the outside world 
 respecting the practice of polygamy among the Saints, and 
 I thought, from conversations I had heard, that the United 
 States Congress had taken some action in the matter, and 
 that he, being the Head of the Church, was watched pretty 
 closely by government officials. Then he was so old, 
 much older than my father, that the thought, had it pre- 
 sented itself, would have been scouted as absurd. I re- 
 peated the conversation to my mother, who seemed amused 
 by it, but did not give any more serious thought to it than I 
 had done. 
 
 Brigham was uncommonly jovial that day, and made 
 himself particularly agreeable. He was unusually gracious 
 to my father, revived old memories, and joked with my 
 mother; petted and praised the children, and was very pa- 
 ternal in his manner to me. He showed himself, altogether, 
 in his very best light, and made his visit very pleasant. 
 
 During the afternoon service he studied me in the same 
 way that he had in the morning ; and several times, when I 
 caught his eye, he looked quite amused. I supposed he 
 was thinking of our conversation at noon, and was much 
 more at my ease than I had been in the early part of the 
 day during the first service. 
 
 After service in the afternoon, Brigham told my father 
 that he wished to see him on important business. They 
 were closeted together for two hours, talking very earnestly. 
 I supposed it had to do with church matters, as my father 
 was one of the leading men in South Cottonwood, and had 
 been so long a prominent member of the Mormon Church 
 that it was by no means strange that Brigham had so much 
 to say to him. I thought, possibly, they might be discuss- 
 ing the Howard affair ; but beyond that I thought nothing. 
 I certainly had no idea that I was the subject under discus- 
 sion ; that my future was being planned for me without any 
 regard to my will in the matter. Had I known it, I should 
 
HE WANTS TO MARRY ME. 439 
 
 by no means have gone about my duties with such a light 
 heart, nor frolicked so gaily with my children. 
 
 At the end of the two hours my mother was called into 
 the room, and the discussion was resumed. After a short 
 time all came out. Brigham went away, bidding us all good- 
 bye with much cordiality, and with an added impressiveness 
 in his manner towards me. 
 
 When he had gone, my father told me the subject of their 
 long conversation. 
 
 Brigham Young had proposed to him for me as a wife. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 HOW BRIGHAM YOUNG FORCED ME TO MARRY HIM. 
 
 Brigham's Offer of Marriage. I Think the Prophet Too Old. My 
 Parents are Delighted with the Honor. They Try to Persuade Me. 
 I am Very Obstinate. Arguing the Matter. How Brigham Found 
 Means to Influence Me. My Brothers get into Trouble. The 
 Prophet and the Telegraph-Poles. He Takes a Nice Little Contract. 
 Then Sells it to His Son. Bishop Sharp Makes a Few Dollars Out 
 of It My Brother Engages in the Work. He Becomes Involved in 
 Debts and Difficulties. Brigham Threatens to Cut Him Off for Dis- 
 honesty. My Mother Tries to Excuse Him. Hemmed In on All 
 Sides, I Determine to Make One Last Appeal. I Fail, and Consent 
 to Marry Him. 
 
 ROSE to my feet shocked 
 beyond expression. 
 
 I looked from my 
 father to my mother, 
 hoping that they were 
 merely jesting with me ; 
 for I had no idea that 
 what they told me could 
 be true ; it was too mon- 
 strous an absurdity. But 
 the expression of their 
 faces did not reassure 
 me. I saw that they 
 were in earnest ; that it 
 was true; and I burst 
 out into a passionate fit 
 
 A CRUSHING BLOW. BRIGHAM WISHES TO MARRY ME. 
 
 of weeping. 
 
 My mother came to me, and took my hand and caressed 
 it in her own, and my father tried to reassure me. 
 
BRIGHAM CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS. 44! 
 
 " Why, my dear, what is the matter ? Are you crying 
 because the Head of our Church the most powerful and 
 influential man among us has made you an offer of mar- 
 riage? Why, it is nothing to cry about, surely." 
 
 But I felt that it was something to cry over something, 
 indeed, over which to shed the bitterest tears that could be 
 wrung from my heart's deepest anguish. I felt outraged, 
 betrayed ; to think, after our conversation that very day, 
 but a very few hours before, when I had told him frankly 
 my reluctance and abhorrence at the very idea of marrying 
 again, that he should go deliberately and propose for me, 
 showed a lack of delicacy and consideration which greatly 
 surprised me. It was quite evident that he looked upon my 
 assertions as girlish affectation that a good offer would 
 speedily overcome. He was so confident of his success with 
 the women he chose to woo, that he had no idea of meeting 
 any settled opposition. He had, as I afterwards learned, no 
 conception of feminine delicacy or sensitiveness ; laughed at 
 it as ridiculous, and called the women who exhibited it " sen- 
 timental fools." I had nothing to hope from his mercy, but 
 I did not know it then. When my first passion of grief had 
 spent itself, I turned to my father, still holding my mother's 
 hand, and said, 
 
 "What answer did you make him? " 
 
 " I told him that I would lay the proposition before you, 
 and tell him what your decision was. He said that he had 
 talked with you on the subject of marriage, and that you 
 told him no one had proposed for you whom you fancied ; 
 that he was glad you were not easily pleased and suited 
 with every new-comer, for he intended to place you in a 
 position where you would be vastly the social superior of all 
 your present lovers." 
 
 "Didn't he tell you that I said I never should marry 
 again ? that my life was to be devoted to my chil- 
 dren?" 
 
 "Yes ; he said you mentioned something of that sort, but 
 
44 2 W I CANNOT, CANNOT MARRY HIM ! " 
 
 that he didn't take any stock in it ; all girls talked so ; it was 
 their way of playing the coquette ; he understood it, and he 
 liked you better for your coyness." 
 
 "I told him decidedly," I replied, "that I was a girl no 
 longer, but a woman, who knew her own mind, who had 
 arrived at the ability to make her own decisions through 
 terrible suffering ; that the thought of marriage was dis- 
 tasteful to me. I wonder if he needs to be told more plainly ? 
 If so, you may go to him, since you told him you should 
 leave the decision with me, and tell him that I say to him, 
 No, as I have said it to all my other suitors, and that I do 
 not even thank him for the position he intended to confer 
 upon me, for he knew I did not want it. Does he think I 
 have escaped one misery to wish to enter another ? ' Posi- 
 tion ! ' I wonder what he thinks there is particularly fine 
 about being a plural wife even to Brigham Young? I have 
 not seen so much happiness in the system, even among his 
 wives, that I. care to enter it. And I never, never can." 
 
 My father interrupted me. " You are excited, now, my 
 daughter. Be calm, and think the matter over reasonably. 
 Don't decide in this hasty manner." 
 
 w I might think it over, reasonably, as you call it, for the 
 rest of my life, and the conclusion I should arrive at would 
 be the same. I never will, of my free will and accord, 
 marry Brigham Young ; and you might as well tell him so 
 at once, and have the matter settled." 
 
 " But, my dear child," said my mother, stroking my hair 
 fondly, and looking at me with anxious eyes, " suppose it 
 was your duty ? " 
 
 "O, mother, mother I have you turned against me, too? 
 Am I to fight you all, single-handed, alone? Won't you, 
 at least, stand by me? " 
 
 "I would, gladly, my only, my darling daughter, if I was 
 sure that it would be right." 
 
 "Do you doubt the right of it? Can you doubt it? Or 
 do you think it would not be wrong to stifle all natural 
 
MY PARENTS AGAINST ME. 443 
 
 feelings, all aversion to another union, above all, to him? 
 Would it be right, do you think, to give myself to a man 
 older than my father, from whom I shrink with aversion 
 when I think of him as my husband, who is already the 
 husband of many wives, the father of children older, by 
 many years, than myself?" 
 
 " But he is your spiritual leader." 
 
 " That is no reason why he should be my earthly hus- 
 band. I cannot see what claim that gives him to my affec- 
 tion." 
 
 "The doctrines of our church teach you to marry," 
 
 "Do you want to get rid of me?" I asked, suddenly, 
 raising my head and looking her full in the face. I dared 
 not enter into religious discussion with her, for I felt so 
 bitterly that I should be sure to say something to shock her ; 
 and then I knew that, in argument, I should be fairly 
 worsted ; so I made my appeal on personal grounds, and 
 touched her heart, as I was sure I should. She threw both 
 arms about me, and sobbed as violently as I had done. 
 
 "You know I do not. How can you say that? I was 
 only saying what I did, because I thought it was for your 
 good here and hereafter. Did I consult my own feelings, 
 no one should have you except myself; but I think of your 
 welfare before my selfish desires." 
 
 "O, mother, I can't, I can't," I cried in a sudden 
 agony, as the thought of all such a marriage involved, 
 rushed across me. 
 
 " Don't fret so, child," said my father, speaking for the 
 first time since my mother had joined in the conversation. 
 "I will tell Brother Brigham how you feel, and perhaps he 
 will give up the idea. But he seemed to have set his heart 
 on it, and I don't know how he'll take it." 
 
 "Why, I belong to you, father. Tell him so, and that 
 you can't give me away to anybody." 
 
 My father smiled a little at me, grew grave again, and 
 went away. 
 
444 
 
 A YEAR OF ANGUISH AND TORTURE, 
 
 He told Brigham how averse I was ; and he only laughed, 
 and said I should get over it, if I only had time. He would 
 not give me up, but he would not hasten matters ; he would 
 leave me in my parents' hands, and he hoped they would 
 induce me to listen favorably to his proposals. The last 
 remark was made with a peculiar emphasis and a sinister 
 smile, which every Saint who had had dealings with him 
 knew very well, and whose meaning they also knew. It 
 meant, " Do as I command you, or suffer the weight of my 
 displeasure." He sent a message to me, which, though 
 seemingly kind, contained a covert threat ; and I began to 
 feel the chains tightening around me already. I felt sure 
 that I could not free myself, but I would struggle to the 
 end. 
 
 Thus began a year of anguish and torture. I fought 
 against my fate in every possible way. Brigham was 
 equally persistent, and he tried in every way to win me, a 
 willing bride, before he attempted to coerce me. He told 
 my parents, and myself, too, that he had always had great 
 interest in me, and had intended to propose for me so soon 
 
 as I was old enough; that 
 when he sent for me to the 
 theatre, and proposed my 
 being at the Lion House, it 
 was that I might become 
 familiar with the place and 
 its inmates, and so not feel 
 strange when he should bring 
 me there as a wife. It had 
 been his intention to have pro- 
 posed for me then ; but he 
 had just married Amelia, and 
 it had made such a hue-and- 
 cry among the Gentiles, es- 
 pecially as he had taken her directly in the face of the late 
 congressional law against polygamy, that he did not think it 
 
 CHAUNCEY G. WEBB. 
 ["My Father."] 
 
MORE INFLUENCES BROUGHT TO BEAR. 
 
 445 
 
 wise to add another to the list just then ; so he said nothing 
 of his intentions, and before he knew anything of my en- 
 gagement, I was ready to be married. It was a great 
 shock to him ; but as matters had gone so far, and as he 
 was in such a questionable position before the government, 
 he thought it best not to interfere, as he most assuredly 
 would, had he known my intentions earlier. Now I was 
 free, and he was at liberty to tell me, what he had wanted 
 to tell me long before, that he loved me. 
 
 Finding that this declaration of affection failed to move 
 me, he tried another tack. He asked my father if a house 
 and a thousand dollars a year would make me comfortable, 
 as he wished to settle something on me when I married 
 him, taking for granted that I should do so. 
 
 My mother and father both favored his suit, and labored 
 with me to induce me to view it in the same light. Brig- 
 ham was our spiritual guide ; it might be that in refusing 
 him I should lose all hopes 
 of future salvation. That 
 was my mother's plea. My 
 father's was, that Brigham 
 was able to hurt him pecun- 
 iarily. And then came my 
 oldest brother, who added 
 his influence in Brigham's 
 favor by telling me that Brig- 
 ham had it in his power to 
 ruin him, and was very angry 
 with him,. and had threatened 
 to "cut him off from the 
 church," which was, to a 
 person in his position, the very worst thing that could 
 happen. 
 
 The trouble between them was of Brigham's own mak- 
 ing, and I will give it, as briefly as I can, to show how 
 Brigham managed to get everything out of his people 
 
 ELIZA C. WEBB, 
 [Mv Mother.] 
 
446 THE PROPHET'S LITTLE CONTRACT. 
 
 without paying for it, and, at the same time, show the 
 amount of honor which he has in business matters. 
 
 In 1860 the first telegraph line was extended from the 
 Atlantic States to the Pacific, passing through Salt Lake 
 City. Peramorz Little, a nephew of the President, took a 
 contract to furnish about one hundred and fifty miles of 
 poles, at three dollars each. According to Brigham's state- 
 ment, Little was unable to fill the contract until the Prophet 
 came to the rescue, and secured three dollars and a quarter 
 each, by furnishing one hundred miles of sawed poles, 
 although, in truth, the sawed timber was not so good as 
 common round poles. 
 
 Six years later, a rival company commenced putting up 
 a new line. Brigham negotiated for a contract, and suc- 
 ceeded in securing nearly eight hundred miles, extending 
 from Denver City westward, at the very gratifying price 
 of eight dollars a pole. It is very generally believed that 
 Brigham and one of the new company had a previous un- 
 derstanding to divide the profits on this magnificent job. 
 
 He then sub-let the whole contract to Bishop John Sharp 
 and Joseph A. Young, his eldest son, who has recently 
 died, at three dollars a pole ; and my brother Gilbert took 
 about four hundred and fifty miles from Green River to 
 Denver at the very reasonable price of two dollars and a 
 half a pole. He was then the owner of ten freight wag- 
 ons, with six mules to each wagon ; but, in order to fill his 
 contract, he found himself compelled to purchase six addi- 
 tional teams, at a cost of seven thousand dollars, which, 
 with tools, provisions, and general outfit,, increased the sum 
 to nearly eleven thousand dollars, which he was obliged to 
 borrow, paying a very heavy interest five per cent, a 
 month; but that, of course, was his own fault, not the 
 Prophet's. 
 
 Brigham was anxious to have the work done immedi- 
 ately, which is not at all strange when one remembers 
 that he would make five dollars on each pole, and he 
 
HIS ARRANGEMENT WITH MY BROTHER. 447 
 
 had sent- for my brother, and urged him to take the job, 
 telling him that he knew of no one so suitable, for Gilbert 
 had such a fine business reputation ; adding that he was 
 certain that the blessing of God would rest upon him, for 
 it was His will that all the Saints should accumulate riches. 
 After all this, and very much more talk of the same kind, 
 Gilbert was induced to take the contract, my father giving 
 security for the borrowed money. 
 
 My brother left Salt Lake City with his outfit as early as 
 the snow would permit him to cross the mountains. When 
 he had got his wagons loaded with poles for the first time, 
 Brigham telegraphed for him to stop work and return 
 to the city. He immediately complied with the order, and 
 found, on his arrival, that there was a prospect of the new 
 company compromising with the old, and putting up no 
 line. They now desired to buy off all contracts. Brigham 
 would clear on the contract one hundred thousand dollars, 
 if the line was put up, and of course could compromise for 
 no less. Sharp and Joseph A. wanted forty thousand 
 dollars, and my brother ten thousand, if they gave up the 
 contract. Brigham said that, in justice, Gilbert ought to 
 have twenty thousand dollars, to pay the expenses of the 
 delay, &c. 
 
 Of course it was cheaper to put up the line than to com- 
 promise at this cost, and he returned to his work, having 
 lost twelve days. His expenses at this time were about one 
 hundred dollars a day. He had thirty men employed, at 
 sixty dollars a month and their board, and he also had 
 grain to furnish for one hundred mules. Brigham prom- 
 ised to pay for all this delay, but as usual he failed 
 to do so. 
 
 My brother than began to furnish the poles, and suc- 
 ceeded in delivering about twenty-five miles a week. For 
 two months he received his pay quite regularly, and every- 
 thing went on swimmingly. When he was about one hun- 
 dred miles from Denver, having completed about three 
 
A SHARP PIECE OF BUSINESS. 
 
 hundred and fifty miles, he was sent for to give up his con- 
 tract on the eastern line, and take a contract on the north- 
 ern line instead. That was between Utah and Montana. 
 Gilbert was much averse to the change, as he had finished 
 the most difficult portion of his work, and passed through 
 where the timber is the least accessible. But Brigham in- 
 sisted, and wrote, promising to make it all right with him 
 if he would come back, and go up north, and furnish one 
 hundred miles or more of poles. Finally he sent Joseph 
 A. down to my brother, who succeeded in persuading him 
 to return. 
 
 While on his way back, he met Mr. E. Creighton, the 
 superintendent of the line, with a company of men, setting 
 the poles which he had furnished. Being desirous of giv- 
 ing thorough satisfaction, he sent Mr. Lorenzo Ensign, 
 with three teams, loaded with good poles, to exchange for 
 any poor timber which did not satisfy. Those teams con- 
 tinued with the pole-setters until Mr. Creighton sent them 
 back, remarking that he did not find it necessary to change 
 one pole a day, and that he was entirely satisfied with the 
 timber. I mention this because Brigham afterwards said 
 that the contract was not well filled, and made this an 
 excuse for not paying my brother. Those three teams 
 remained with the pole-setters about four weeks, and, as I 
 before said, were dismissed by one of the owners of the line. 
 
 Gilbert returned home in August, and, on starting for the 
 north, Joseph A. asked him to set the poles that he should 
 furnish on the Montana line, at the same time agreeing to 
 pay him a dollar apiece for setting, and three dollars for the 
 poles. That was fifty cents more than he received on the 
 eastern line, but it would scarcely pay him for a move of six 
 hundred miles, to a country where timber was in very high 
 mountains and rough canons. 
 
 Removing from the east of course broke the original 
 contract ; but as Gilbert had all the confidence in the world 
 in the word of Brigham and of Joseph A., he neglected to 
 
"HUNT UP SHARP AND JOSEPH A." 449 
 
 make a new written agreement. After he had furnished 
 the poles for about one hundred miles, my younger brother 
 who was farming at the time took his team, and, after 
 hiring six men, went to set the poles, paying his men two 
 dollars a day and their board. They worked four weeks, 
 for which they never received one dollar. 
 
 When my youngest brother was about leaving for home, 
 Gilbert gave him an order on Sharp and Young for one 
 thousand dollars. While Gilbert was in the East he had 
 sent orders for money every month for my youngest brother 
 to collect and disburse. Those orders were promptly paid, 
 and he had no thought that this one would not be paid as 
 promptly. He called at Brigham's office, and presented the 
 order, and was curtly informed by Brigham that he must 
 " hunt up Sharp and Joseph A." 
 
 On inquiring for their office, it could not be found. The 
 day following he chanced to meet Bishop Sharp, who re- 
 ferred him to Joseph A. He called at the latter's residence 
 three times without seeing him ; finally, four days after, my 
 brother succeeded in meeting him in his father's office. He 
 was told to sit down in the outer room, where he was left 
 alone for two hours ; then he was called into the private 
 office, and told that there was no money for him. 
 
 w But," said he to Brigham and Joseph A., "I must have 
 the money ; I have ten men who have already been waiting 
 five days for their pay, and I am still paying them, or am 
 under obligation to do so, and their board in the city also ; 
 and none of this can be done without money." 
 
 After a little more consultation Brigham said, "We can 
 give you a draft on New York, which you can cash with 
 some of the bankers or merchants in the city. 
 
 My brother then asked for time to inquire on what terms 
 he could cash the draft ; but was told that merchants would 
 often pay a percentage on such paper, and that it was 
 always as good as money. He then asked, if he was obliged 
 to have it discounted, if Sharp and Young would lose the 
 29 
 
45 O MY BROTHER RUINED BY BRIGHAM. 
 
 amount, but was told that he need not be so particular, for 
 he must take the draft or nothing, since they had no money. 
 He took it then, as he saw very plainly that they did not 
 intend to give him anything else, and presented it to every 
 banker and merchant in Salt Lake City, but could find no 
 one who would take it. On a second call at Walker 
 Brothers', he succeeded in cashing it at three per cent dis- 
 count. Meeting Joseph A. afterwards, he told him he 
 should charge him with the thirty dollars. Joe replied, "All 
 right ; " yet neither he nor Gilbert ever received another dol- 
 lar from them, though they were in the boys' debt two 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 When Gilbert returned from the North he found it diffi- 
 cult to pay his men, and also to meet his other expenses. 
 He spent the winter trying to get his pay, during which my 
 younger brother, Edward, took the teams and went to Cali- 
 fornia for freight, hoping by that means to save Gilbert from 
 bankruptcy. The trip not proving successful, the spring of 
 '67 opened very dark for us financially. Gilbert saw no 
 way but to sell his teams. I remember his coming home 
 one night, feeling extremely dejected, and telling us he had 
 sold sixteen of his best mules for less than half the amount 
 he had paid for them, and expected the remainder to go at 
 a still lower price. 
 
 In the spring of 1868 he was forced into bankruptcy by 
 Captain Hooper, one of his principal creditors. This same 
 Captain William H. Hooper had the good fortune to be one 
 of the Prophet's favorites, although he was by no means a 
 Mormon at heart, and Brigham knew it; still, as he liked 
 him, and as Hooper made sufficient pretence to pass for one, 
 it was all right. 
 
 When Gilbert delivered up his papers to the assignees, 
 they readily discovered a large indebtedness on the part of 
 Sharp and Young. At a meeting of the creditors, Brig- 
 ham, who took the responsibility of the whole affair, under- 
 took to have everything his own way, and, as my younger 
 
IN A FEARFUL RAGE. 45 1 
 
 brother remarked, "literally rode over the whole company 
 rough-shod." Among other statements, he said, 
 
 " Gilbert Webb's poles were many of them condemned," 
 which was utterly false. He then said he had never writ- 
 ten to Gilbert while he was East. In face of this the let- 
 ter was produced and read before the company. He then 
 said he was sure he had no recollection of it, and asked 
 George Q^ Cannon who was his clerk at that time if he 
 remembered it. Cannon replied that he believed he did. 
 Previous to this, when Gilbert saw that he must lose every- 
 thing, he considered it his duty to pay off his men, also to 
 pay the notes which my father had signed, and to save him 
 from utter ruin. At this Brigham's rage knew no bounds ; 
 he wanted Hooper to have his pay first. One of Gilbert's 
 creditors was a Mr. Kerr, a Gentile banker, whom he paid 
 without consulting the Prophet, which greatly enraged him. 
 In speaking of it to my mother, he manifested all the 
 growling propensities of an old " cur ; " saying that Gilbert 
 had paid all the notes due to Gentiles, and left his friend 
 Hooper to take his chance with the rest of the creditors, and 
 he intended to disfellowship him for it. 
 
 This was when he was "counselling" my parents to use 
 their influence with me in his behalf. 
 
 "If you do that, Brother Young," said my mother, "I 
 shall find it very hard to forgive you ; although Gilbert may 
 have erred in judgment, he designed to do right. Would 
 you, President Young, like to have his father ruined in the 
 crash ? The notes held by Mr. Kerr were signed by him." 
 He said, " If his father signed the notes, he ought to pay 
 them." 
 
 "Well," replied my mother, with considerable spirit, "if 
 Gilbert had been paid for his work, he would have been 
 able to have paid all his debts." 
 
 He was very angry at this, and said, "What do you 
 know about business, I'd like to know?" 
 
 " I know enough to know when my children are ill-used 
 
45- 
 
 " r . " J ." N . r S T 
 
 and cheated, Brigjiam Young, 9 said she, qukkly. W I 
 wonder how joa would Eke to have one of jour sons cut 
 off from the church, and treated in the manner in which you 
 hare treated Gilbert.* 
 
 *I should think it perfectly right if one of my hoys had 
 done wrong and needed punishment." Yet k is well known 
 chat there are no mofe mpp* hftoj^J^p men m the A emtofy 
 than his eldest sons : hut there never have been the slightest 
 
 After a stOl more 
 
 Prc r r.ct rrc r.is 
 
 should see if ' Gilbert would pay his Gentile debts in pref- 
 
 contest with my mother, the 
 a a great rage, saying he 
 
 to paying the brethren.* 
 AIL this was for the puipose of influencing me, and I saw 
 that I must yield. "Inhere was nothing but ruin in store for 
 us if I persisted in my refusal. The loss of property was 
 by no means so dreadful a thing to my brother brought up 
 
 no Silvio- cuisice of Mormon: 
 
OWE LAST APPEAL. 453 
 
 as being cot off from the church and receiving the Prophet' s 
 curse, and he was heart-broken at the {^aspect. 
 
 I made tip my mind to make one last appeal myself to 
 Brigham Young, and see if I could not touch his heart and 
 induce him to resign his flainry to me, and not to punish my 
 family because I could not bring myself to become his wife. 
 I was sure that I could more him. I would make myself 
 so humble, so pathetic, before him. I would do all I could 
 to serve him. I would never forget his kindness to me ; 
 but I could not marry him without bringing great unhappi- 
 ness upon myself. I should also fail to bring happiness or 
 comfort to him. I would be so eloquent that he could not 
 refuse to listen to me. 
 
 I went up to the city to visit a friend, quite determined to 
 make this appeal to him, but my courage failed me. Two 
 or three times I started to call to see him, but I would only 
 get in sight of his office, and turn back faint and trembling. 
 One day I saw him coming towards me in the street, and I 
 determined to screw up my courage and speak to him. 
 But when I reached him my tongue refused to speak the 
 words, and I only {altered oat a common-place greeting. 
 All my eloquence was frozen under the chilling glance of 
 the steely-blue eyes, which had not a ray of sympathetic 
 warmth in them. No one who has ever been under his 
 peculiar influence but will understand me when I say *fcaf 
 in his presence I was powerless. My wifl refused to act, 
 and I went away from him, knowing that I never could say 
 to him what I felt. 
 
 I returned home, feeling, more than ever, that my doom 
 was fixed. My religion, my parents everything was 
 urging me on to my unhappy fate, and I had grown so 
 tired with struggling that I felt it was easier to sncrnmh at 
 once than to fight any longer. I began, too, to be super- 
 stitious about it ; I did not know but that I was fighting the 
 will of the Lord as well as the will of the Prophet, and that 
 nothing but disaster would come as long as I was so rebel- 
 
454 N0 ALTERNATIVE I MUST YIELD. 
 
 lious. The thought struck me, in a sudden terror, w What 
 if God should take my children, to punish my rebellious 
 spirit?" It was agony. "Not my will, but thine," was my 
 heart-broken cry, more desperate than resigned, how- 
 ever, and I went to my mother and told her that I had 
 decided. I would become the wife of Brigham Young ! 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 MY MARRIAGE WITH BRIGHAM YOUNG. HOW THE 
 OTHER WIVES RECEIVED ME. 
 
 The Prophet Rejoices at my Yielding. My Family Restored to Favor. 
 The Webbs Reconstructed. My Prophet- Lover Comes to See 
 Me. He Goes Courting "on the Sly," for Fear of Amelia. We 
 are Married Secretly in the Endowment-House. I am Sent Home 
 Again. Brigham Establishes Me in the City. Limited Plates and 
 Dishes. We Want a Little More Food. The Prophet's " Ration- 
 Day." How the Other Wives Received Me. Mrs. Amelia Doesn't 
 Like Me. How the Wives of the Prophet Worry and Scold Him. 
 The Prophet Breaks His Word. My Father Remembers the Thou- 
 sand Dollars. 
 
 Y acceptance of his suit 
 was carried to him at 
 once, and he was tri- 
 umphant, although he 
 did not show it, except 
 by an added suavity of 
 manner, and a dispo- 
 sition to make jokes, 
 which, of course, every- 
 one was expected to 
 laugh at as heartily as 
 he did himself. 
 
 My family were re- 
 stored to favor, although 
 my brother did not re- 
 ceive his money ; and 
 everything "went merry 
 as a marriage-bell " for 
 
 everybody, except myself. I had promised to marry him, but 
 I was not resigned. I still fought against it, but the conflict 
 now was all internal. I did not dare admit anyone to my con- 
 
 AMELIA TRIES TO KEEP Ms OUT. 
 
45^ MARRIED TO BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 fidence, not even my mother. So I had to struggle alone 
 with my impending fate, all the time suffering the stings of 
 conscience as well ; for I thought I must be terribly wicked 
 to fight so hard against what was represented to me as the 
 direct will of God ; and, what was worse, I could not pray 
 for forgiveness, for I could not give up my feeling of des- 
 perate rebellion. 
 
 I had an early visit from my affianced husband, and dur- 
 ing that visit he told me his plans. We were to be married 
 very secretly, as, he said, he wished to keep the matter 
 quiet for a while, for fear of the United States' officials. I 
 found out afterwards, however, that it was fear of Amelia, 
 for she had raised a furious storm a few months before ; 
 when, as I previously said, he married Mary Van Cott, to 
 whom, by the way, he was paying his addresses while he 
 was wooing me, and he did not dare so soon encounter an- 
 other such domestic tornado. 
 
 He was very anxious to have the affair over as soon as 
 possible ; so we were married the 7th of April, 1869, at the 
 Endowment-House. Heber C. Kimball performed the cere- 
 mony, and I was the wife of the head of the Mormon 
 Church ; the turbulent, passionate, shrewd, illiterate, strange- 
 ly powerful man, who was the object of interest both in 
 America and Europe ; who was regarded with a strange, 
 curious interest by outsiders -, who was dreaded by his own 
 people, and who ruled them with an absolute sway. I little 
 thought into what publicity this new relationship would 
 bring me. 
 
 After the ceremony was over, Brigham took me back to 
 my mother's house, where I was to remain for the present, 
 until he should deem it prudent to let Amelia and the United 
 States government know that I was his wife. Before our 
 marriage, he had given me some very pretty dresses, and 
 a small sum of money, as a wedding-gift ; but I never 
 got such a present again afterwards. After I had been his 
 wife three weeks, he made me his first call ; stayed a few 
 
A PROPHETICAL HONEYMOON. 457 
 
 minutes, and then went away. A few days after, he came 
 and asked me to go to drive with him. I went, and he took 
 me round all the by-ways where he would see few or no 
 people, and where he thought there would be no danger 
 that Amelia would hear of it. He did not enjoy the drive 
 one bit, for he was in constant terror lest he should be dis- 
 covered. He was anxious and distrait; while I, on the 
 contrary, was in the highest spirits. I laughed and chatted, 
 and made myself as pleasant as possible. I could afford to 
 do it, for he was suffering all those torments for my sake, 
 and although he had no idea that I discovered his fears, I 
 did very readily, and was jubilant in proportion to his 
 misery. I didn't feel specially complimented, to be sure ; 
 but, as I did not desire his attentions, and was happier with- 
 out them, I did not allow my pride to receive a very severe 
 wound, but was exceedingly gracious to him, the more 
 nervous and absorbed he got. 
 
 I remained at home about a month, during which time, 
 he said, he was having a house prepared for me in the city. 
 I saw but little of him during that time, and sometimes I 
 would almost forget that he had any claim upon me. Then 
 I was happy indeed ; but the thought would force itself 
 through everything, and I would become saddened again. 
 During the year of struggle, I had lost my health again, 
 and I was by no means the light-hearted, bright-eyed 
 woman he had looked at so intently that memorable Sunday 
 at Cottonwood. I had grown thin and languid, and had 
 lost all interest in life, except in my children. I should not 
 have thought that I would have proved sufficiently attractive 
 to have made him persevere so in his determination to marry 
 me. But I believe that, at the last, he was influenced en- 
 tirely by pique and wilfulness. He would have his own 
 way, and, after that, it was little matter what came. 
 
 At last he came to me, and told me that he was ready for 
 me to move into the city, and invited my mother to come and 
 live with me an offer which she accepted, because she 
 
45 POOR LIVING AND CHEAP CROCKERY. 
 
 did not wish to be separated from me, and not because she 
 had no home of her own, or was at all dependent upon him 
 for support. He had wanted me to go to the Lion House to 
 live ; but on that point I was decided. I would stay at my 
 father's house, but I would not go there ; so he had made a 
 home for me in the city. Such a home as it was ! A little 
 house, the rent of which would have been extremely moder- 
 ate had it been a hired house, furnished plainly, even meanly, 
 when the position of the man whose wife was to occupy it 
 was considered. It was the very cheapest pine furniture 
 which could be bought in the city, and the crockery was 
 dishes that Brigham had left when he sold the Globe bakery. 
 There were very few of these, and they were in various 
 stages of dilapidation. My carpet was an old one, taken 
 from the Lion House parlor, all worn out in the centre, 
 and, it being a large room, I took the out edges and pieced 
 out enough to cover two rooms, and the other floors were 
 bare. I had no window curtains of any sort, and there 
 being no blinds to the house, I had to hang up sheets to 
 keep people from looking in. 
 
 I told him several times that I was insufficiently supplied ; 
 but for a long time he made some excuse or other for not 
 giving me more. At last he sent me a very few additional 
 ones ; so that, although there was still a lack of what I ac- 
 tually needed, I managed to get along by a great deal of 
 contriving. 
 
 We lived very sparely, even poorly, as did most of the 
 wives, except the favorite, and one or two others, who 
 asserted their rights to things, and got them after a great 
 deal of insisting". I could not insist, and so I got very little. 
 As I made little or no fuss, and rarely complained to him, 
 he took advantage of my quiet tongue, and imposed upon 
 me fearfully. He said, up to the very last of my living with 
 him, that I was the least troublesome of any wife he had 
 ever had; and he should have added, the least expensive, 
 for he spent but very little money for me. 
 
THE PROPHET'S " RATION-DAY ! 459 
 
 I began to find out, very soon, what a position a neg- 
 lected wife has, and my heart ached and longed for free- 
 dom. The thraldom was worse than I had fancied, for I 
 supposed that I should, at least, have had the comforts of 
 life, such as I had been accustomed to ; but I was disap- 
 pointed even in that. Then I felt that I was bound to this 
 kind of existence for life. There was no escape from it. I 
 was shut in by every circumstance, as by a wall of ada- 
 mant, and the more I struggled to get free, the worse I 
 should be hurt. There was nothing to do but simply to 
 endure ; to die if I could, to live if I must. A pleasant 
 state of mind, surely, for a bride of a few months. 
 
 The principal meat which he furnished to us was pork ; 
 we had it on all occasions. Very rarely, indeed, we had a 
 piece of beef; but months would elapse between his times of 
 sending it, and we got to look upon it as a very great 
 luxury. He had what he called " Ration-Day " once a 
 month, when the different families were given out their 
 allowance for the month. This allowance for each family 
 was five pounds of sugar, a pound of candles, a bar of soap, 
 and a box of matches. I found this entirely inadequate, and 
 so part of the time unheard-of liberality ! I was allowed 
 to draw sugar twice a month. Our bread we had from the 
 Prophet's bakery. Once in six months his clerk got a few 
 of the commonest necessaries of life, and each of us had a 
 few yards of calico, and a few yards of both bleached and 
 unbleached muslin. 
 
 I could not get anything else out of him, except by the 
 hardest labor, and the little that I got was given so grudg- 
 ingly that I hated myself for accepting it ; and many a 
 time I would have thrown the pitiful amount back in his 
 face, but stern necessity would compel me to accept the 
 money and overlook the insult. I can scarcely look back 
 to those times, now that I am so far beyond them, without a 
 lowering of my self-respect ; the hot blood tingles to the 
 very ends of my fingers as I recall the insults I received 
 
460 TWO WIVES WHO WOULD NOT SPEAK TO ME. 
 
 from that man while I was his wife, and the utter power- 
 lessness of my situation, that would not let me resent 
 them. 
 
 When my marriage to him was known by the other 
 wives, as it was on my removal to the city, he took me to 
 the Lion House, to visit the family there. I was very 
 kindly received by most of them, Emmeline Free and Zina 
 Huntington being especially my friends. Two of them, 
 however, Eliza Burgess and Harriet Cook, would not 
 speak to me. 
 
 The latter had been a servant in my mother's family in 
 Nauvoo, and Brigham had, indeed, married her from our 
 house. She used to take care of me when I was a baby, 
 and she was so angry when she heard that Brigham had 
 married me, that she wished with all her heart that she 
 had choked me when she had a good chance ; that she 
 certainly would had she known what my future was to be. 
 Eliza Burgess, though not the first, and never a favorite 
 wife, used to be terribly exercised whenever Brigham added 
 another to the family. She would go about, crying bit- 
 terly, for days, and would sometimes shut herself up in her 
 room, refusing to see anyone. Her sorrow was the joke 
 of the family, since no member of it could see what reason 
 she had for indulging in it. She had but just got over 
 mourning his alliance with Mary Van Cott, when she was 
 called upon to grieve over his union with me. 
 
 She knew me perfectly well, as she had been an inmate 
 of the Lion House for some years, and used to see me con- 
 stantly the winter I was at the theatre, and spent so much 
 of my time there ; but on the occasion of my first visit after 
 my marriage, she utterly ignored my presence, and would 
 neither look at me nor speak to me. Of course I noticed 
 it, and I knew the reason very well. I had no hard feel- 
 ings towards her, for I knew her suffering was genuine. 
 She got no attention from her husband, and her starved 
 heart cried out for the love that was lavished on others. 
 
"THERE, MADAM!" 461 
 
 After I had gone, one of the wives Aunt Zina, I think 
 it was asked why she did not speak to Ann-Eliza. 
 
 "O," she said, "I will by-and-by, when I feel like it." 
 
 I was in and out several times, and yet Eliza preserved 
 the same demeanor towards me, until one morning she 
 astonished me by coming up abruptly and saying, " Good 
 morning." 
 
 I answered her greeting, and she went away as suddenly 
 as she came, but evidently quite satisfied with herself. She 
 " felt like it," I presume ; had grown more reconciled to my 
 position in the family ; and was willing to recognize me as 
 a member of it. 
 
 My first encounter with Amelia was somewhat amusing. 
 It happened not long after my marriage. She had not got 
 over her anger at her lord for taking Mary Van Cott, of 
 whom, by the way, she was terribly jealous, when fuel 
 was added to the fire of her fury by my introduction to the 
 world as another Mrs. Young. She was terribly bitter 
 towards us both, though I think she hated Mary with a 
 more deadly hatred than she felt for me. I think she con- 
 sidered Mary her most dangerous rival, but for all that she 
 was not drawn towards me at all. It was not that she 
 disliked me less, but Mary more. 
 
 I was walking one day with a friend, and we were on 
 our way to the gardens which join the Prophet's residence, 
 which are, by the way, the very finest in the city. Amelia 
 was just in front of us, and she evidently judged from our 
 conversation where we were going to. She kept just about 
 so far in front of us, taking no notice of me at all until she 
 reached the garden gate, when she went in, shut it with a 
 slam, and called out, 
 
 "There, madam ! I'd like to see you get in now." 
 
 I made no answer, but reaching through the gate, I 
 managed, with the assistance of my friend, to open the 
 gate and go in. We passed Amelia as s"he stood examining 
 a plant, and as we passed her we did not discontinue our 
 
462 "WASN'T SHE JUST AWFUL?" 
 
 conversation, but kept on laughing merrily over some girl- 
 ish reminiscences which we had recalled while on the way. 
 In a few minutes more we heard her scolding the head- 
 gardener fearfully. As we returned, I stopped where the 
 old man was, and said, 
 
 "What is the matter, Mr. Leggett?" 
 
 "O," said he, "it is Mrs. Amelia. Did you hear her 
 scolding me just now? Wasn't she just awful? She's that 
 mad because you came in, that she had to let out on some- 
 body, and I suppose I came the handiest. But ain't she a 
 master hand to scold, though? Why, you'd ought to hear 
 her give it to me sometimes. I'm pretty well used to it, and 
 don't mind very much. It's some consolation to think that 
 Brother Brigham gets it worse than I do, and when he's 
 round, I'm safe." 
 
 Just once, after that, Amelia spoke to me. It is cus- 
 tomary, on Brother Brigham's birthday, for the wives to 
 have a dinner in his house. It is held at the Lion House, 
 and all the family assemble to do honor to its head. At 
 one of these dinners Amelia sat directly opposite me, and 
 during the dessert she reached the cake-basket to me, and 
 with as freezing a tone and manner as she could assume, 
 asked, 
 
 "Will you have some cake?" 
 
 I declined, and that ended our conversation the last, 
 and indeed the only one I ever had with her, for the first 
 encounter could scarcely be called a " conversation," since 
 the talking was all on one side. 
 
 She was even ruder to Mary Van Cott than to me. One 
 day, while Brigham was furnishing Mary's house, he had 
 taken her up to the family store in his carriage, to select 
 some articles which she needed for her housekeeping. 
 They had finished making their selections, and were just 
 preparing to enter the carriage, when Amelia came sailing 
 down upon them. She took in the position of affairs at 
 once, and stepping directly between the Prophet and 
 
HOW MRS. AMELIA RULES HER LORD ! 
 
 4 6 3 
 
 Mary, elbowed them out of the way, got into the carnage, 
 slammed the door, and ordered the driver to carry her 
 home. The coachman hesitated a moment, looked at 
 Brother Brigham, who never said a word; then at Mary, 
 who was furious at the insult, but showed it only by her 
 flashing eyes and deepening color; then back to Amelia, 
 who scowled at him, and repeated, "Home, I say," and 
 started off, leaving the two standing together. They 
 walked home, and Brother Brigham had a nice time after 
 it. Amelia treated him to a lecture longer and stronger 
 
 AMELIA'S DISPLAY OF TEMPER. 
 
 than usual, not sparing her rival in the least, but calling her 
 every sort of name she could think of that was not compli- 
 mentary in character, and threatening her recreant lord with 
 all sorts of torments if he went out with that " shameless 
 creature " again ; while Mary felt so outraged by Amelia's 
 act, and Brigham's cowardice in not resenting it, that he 
 was obliged to use all his finesse to appease her wrath. 
 This carriage episode reminds me of something that 
 
464 WHAT THE PROPHET'S WIVES ARE LIKE. 
 
 occurred in George Q^ Cannon's family. This family is 
 no more united than many others in Utah, and they have 
 occasional disputes among themselves, which are not al- 
 ways settled in the most amicable manner. At one time, 
 two of his wives wanted the carriage at once. They would 
 not use it together, and neither one would give up to the 
 other. In the struggle to get possession of it, a sort of free 
 fight ensued. Blows were exchanged, hair pulled, finger- 
 nails used indiscriminately, and one of the women lost off her 
 dress in the contest. I think that the " apostolic " husband 
 fails to mention these little domestic scenes in Washington, 
 when he is expatiating there upon the beauties of Mormon- 
 ism, and the peace and unity of the people in the Territory. 
 I must say that such scenes of violence do not often occur 
 in Brigham's family, as most of his wives feel the dignity 
 of their position too much to allow the world to see any 
 disagreement between them, even when it exists. There are 
 some very fine women among the Prophet's wives women 
 that, outside of Mormonism, would grace any social circle. 
 Educated, cultivated women, who by some strange circum- 
 stance have been drawn, first into the church, then into the 
 Prophet's harem. I think nothing better shows the peculiar 
 power which Brigham Young possesses, than a look at the 
 women who are and who have been his wives. Ignorant 
 as he is, coarse and vulgar as he is, he has at least suc- 
 ceeded in winning women of refinement, of delicate sensi- 
 bilities, as wives ; and in many cases it has been done 
 without the slightest attempt at coercion on his part. He 
 had the shrewdness to select such women, and the power 
 to win them, but he has not the ability to appreciate them ; 
 and I have no hesitation in saying, from my own experi- 
 ence with and knowledge of them, that more unhappy and 
 wretched women do not exist in the world, than the more 
 cultured and delicate wives of Brigham Young. These 
 women are rarely his favorites, and it is a mystery why he 
 took them, unless it was that he might " add to his glory ," 
 and swell his kingdom. 
 
DIVIDED HIMSELF. 465 
 
 I was always treated very kindly by the other wives,, with 
 one or two exceptions, and I have the pleasantest and kind- 
 est recollections of them all. Most of them I had known 
 from my childhood, and they were old and intimate friends 
 of my mother's ; and I have no doubt, had they dared to 
 have done so, they would have expressed open sympathy 
 for me in my trials, and I am sure in their hearts they 
 respect me for the step I have taken, and would like to find 
 a way of retreat for themselves if it were possible. 
 
 My husband called to see me at my new residence when- 
 ever he could find opportunity, which was not very often, 
 and he repeated the drive, which was no more comfortable 
 for him than the first one had been. I did not care es- 
 pecially about it, and was glad when I got home. With 
 the exception of those drives, I never went anywhere with 
 him alone ; for, with the exception of Amelia, and occasion- 
 ally Emmeline, which occasions constantly grew rarer, 
 he never went with only one wife, but took two or more. 
 
 The first winter that I was married to him, the Female 
 Relief Society, to which I then belonged, gave a ball, and 
 all the ladies were to invite the gentlemen. I ventured to 
 ask Brother Young. He was my husband, and whom else 
 should I invite? He accepted my invitation, apparently 
 with much pleasure, and arranged to call for me on the 
 appointed evening to take me to the hall. He was punctual 
 to his appointment, but when he arrived he was accom- 
 panied by another wife. I suppose he knew the fact of his 
 being at the ball would be reported to Amelia, and that she 
 would be very angry if he went with me alone. I was very 
 much annoyed at the circumstance, and really a little hurt 
 that he could not take me somewhere just once without 
 someone else along. I said nothing, however, and was as 
 cordial to the other wife as I should have been had she 
 accompanied him at my express invitation. 
 
 I never learned to hate anything in nvy life as I did the 
 word "economy," while I was Brigham Young's wife. It 
 30 
 
4 66 
 
 was thrown at me constantly. I never asked for the small- 
 est necessary of life that I was not accused of extravagance 
 and a desire to ruin my husband, and advised to be more 
 economical. I had a mind to reply, several times, that I 
 did not see how I could be, without denying myself every- 
 thing, and literally going without anything to eat or to 
 wear. I held my tongue, however, and " possessed my 
 soul in patience." I was, in fact, a perfect Griselda ; and 
 my husband had got so used to such unquestioning obe- 
 dience and submission from me that I think he never was so 
 surprised in his life as he was when I rebelled. I am sure 
 he would have expected rebellion from any or all of his 
 wives sooner than from me. And I am quite sure that he 
 was no more surprised than I was. 
 
 Before our marriage he had professed a great interest in 
 my boys, and had promised to do many things for them. I 
 had counted very much on his assistance in training them, 
 but as soon as I was really married to him he seemed to 
 forget all his promises. He looked upon my children as 
 interlopers, and treated them as such. He scolded me for 
 spending so much time and money on them ; he would 
 allow them to wear only clothes of home-spun cloth, and 
 gave them each one hat and one coarse, heavy pair of shoes 
 a year. When they needed more I had to contrive some 
 way to get them myself; the first time I ever asked him for 
 shoes, he said, "They didn't need shoes; children ought 
 always to go barefoot ; they were healthier for it ; " and yet 
 I noticed that none of his own children were compelled to 
 do so. I did not allow mine to do so, either, and I am in- 
 debted to my father for many things to make me and the 
 children comfortable, and the shoes that Brigham " couldn't 
 afford " to buy were among them. Had I been alone, I 
 probably should never have told my parents of my po- 
 sition ; but my mother was with me, and she saw these 
 little meannesses of the Prophet with surprise ; yet, strange 
 to say, they did not shake her faith in her religion. She 
 
HE DIDN'T FORGET THE THOUSAND DOLLARS. 467 
 
 admitted that she could not understand his behavior, and 
 yet she counselled patience, thinking that in some way 
 things would come right some time. I had not so much 
 faith about the " coming right," so far as I was concerned, but 
 I had not then begun to doubt my religion. My father had 
 no faith at all ; for he remembered the one thousand dollars 
 a year, not a cent of which had been seen at the end of my 
 first year as his wife. Yet no one of us dared at that time 
 to question the Prophet's action, although we were all in- 
 dignant at his breach of faith. 
 
 We found afterwards that the promise he made my father 
 regarding the "settlement" was the standard promise which 
 he made to all his wives before he married them, and the 
 fulfilment was, in most cases, the same. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE PROPHET'S FAMILY CIRCLE. HIS WIVES AND 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 The Prophet Marries his First and Legal Wife. How she lives, and 
 how Brigham has treated Her. The Prophet's Eldest Son. The 
 Story of his Life. His Wives and Families. Mary and Maggie. 
 The Favorite Wife, Clara. Young " Briggy " and his Expectations. 
 What the Saints think of Him. His Domestic Joys. How he visited 
 me when Sick, and Scolded the old Gentleman. Brigham and " Briggy " 
 make love to Lizzie. Briggy Wins. " John W." He neglects his 
 " Kingdom." " Won by the Third Wife." The Story of Lucy C. - 
 The Prophet's Daughters. Alice and Luna. Miss Alice's Flirtations. 
 Sweet language between Father and Daughter. Tragic death of 
 Alice Clawson. 
 
 RIGHAM'S very first 
 wife is not living ; 
 she died some time 
 before he became a 
 Mormon, and before 
 his marriage to Ma- 
 ry-Ann Angell, his 
 present legal wife. 
 
 He was quite young 
 when he married 
 first, and was a sort 
 of preacher among 
 the Methodists, and 
 by preaching, beg- 
 ging, and occasion- 
 ally working at his 
 trade as glazier, or as 
 a day-laborer at farming, he managed to pick up a very 
 scanty living for himself and his wife, whose name was 
 Miriam Works. My great grandfather, Gilbert Weed, 
 married them in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, near 
 
 INSULTED BY HER FATHER. 
 
A RATHER OLD " BOY ! " 469 
 
 which place they lived for some years. My grandfather 
 used to assert that Brigham was the laziest man that ever 
 lived, and that he would not do any work so long as he 
 could live without it. As may be imagined, his family 
 were not in the most comfortable circumstances in the 
 world, and poor Mrs. Young had by no means the easiest 
 time. She died quite early, and the gossips' verdict was, 
 "Died of discouragement." She left two daughters, both 
 of whom are still living, and both are in polygamy. Eliz- 
 abeth, the elder, is the first wife of Edmund Ellsworth ; 
 there are three wives besides her. The second daughter, 
 Vilate, is the first wife of Charley Decker, who has two 
 plural wives since he married Vilate. These girls, with 
 their husbands, were among the very first of the Saints to 
 arrive in the Valley. 
 
 Brigham was married to his first living and only legal 
 wife, Mary-Ann Angell, in Kirtland, Ohio, in the year 
 1834. She is a native of New York State, and is still a 
 pleasant, rather good-looking woman, though much sad- 
 dened by the neglect of her husband, who rar*ely, if ever, 
 visits her, and lately by the tragic death of her eldest 
 daughter, and the still more recent death of her eldest son, 
 Joseph A. Young, which has broken her very much. She 
 is about the age of her husband, nearly seventy-three, and 
 consequently is counted an old lady, while he is, according 
 to Mormon theory, "a: boy." Her mind is somewhat 
 clouded, and this, like her sadness, is caused by the decline 
 of her husband's affections, of whom she is very fond. 
 She has been entirely devoted to him, and gave him as 
 honest love when she married him, long before there was 
 the slightest prospect of his ever occupying the position he 
 holds now, as she has ever felt for him since his elevation 
 to be the leader of the Mormon people ; and she is repaid 
 as it might be expected she would be, after listening to one 
 of her husband's sermons to the women of his church. 
 
 Said he, on one occasion, when he felt called upon to 
 
470 BRIGHAM'S OPINION OF THE OLD WOMEN ! 
 
 reprimand the complaining sisters, "The old women come 
 snivelling around me, saying, ' I have lived with my hus- 
 band thirty years, and it is hard to give him up now/ If 
 you have had your husbands that length of time, it is long 
 enough, and you ought to be willing to give them to other 
 women, or give other women to them; you have no busi- 
 ness with your husbands, and you are disobeying God's 
 commands to live with them when you are old." He cer- 
 tainly sees to it that his wife does not " disobey God's com- 
 mands," which, from his blasphemous lips, means simply 
 his own inclinations. She has moved about to suit her 
 husband's caprice, just as he has chosen to move. They 
 lived first of all in the old white house on the hill, not very 
 far from where the Prophet's buildings now stand. When 
 the Bee-Hive was finished she lived there, but as the num- 
 ber of plural wives increased, she was moved back again 
 to the old house, to make room in the other building for 
 the new-comers. She lived there until quite recently, when 
 her husband had her removed to the old school-house be- 
 hind the Bee-Hive, a dilapidated, cheerless place, not 
 nearly so good as the house she has left. It is, indeed, 
 little better than a barn, and is furnished very scantily. 
 There she lives, and there she will probably remain until 
 her death, unless some of her children see that she is better 
 cared for. 
 
 She took no more kindly to polygamy than did any other of 
 the Mormon women ; but she was among the very earliest 
 sufferers. I have known her all my life ; she lived in the next 
 house to where I was born, inNauvoo, and I used to visit at 
 her house, with Alice Clawson, when I was engaged at the 
 Prophet's theatre. She was always very kind to me, and I 
 have had for her a real regard and sympathy, which in- 
 creased after I became a member of her husband's family. 
 She is a very reticent woman, neither invites nor gives con- 
 fidence, has few intimate friends, and visits but little. Her 
 hair is iron-gray ; her eyes intensely sad ; her face wears an 
 
THE PROPHETS FIRST-BORN. 
 
 471 
 
 JOSEPH A. YOUNG. 
 
 habitually melancholy expression, with a touch of bitterness 
 about the mouth ; and she is rather tall in figure. Her 
 husband's wives regard her very differently, but most of 
 them treat her with respect. She has had five children 
 Joseph A., Brigham, Jr., Alice, Luna, and John W. 
 
 Joseph A., commonly 
 called "Joe," who died dur- 
 ing the past summer, was 
 well known throughout the 
 Territory, and was by no 
 means particularly respect- 
 ed. He was very dissipa- 
 ted, and indulged in nearly 
 every kind of vice. He has 
 been what is called a " fast 
 young man," and was sent 
 to Europe on a mission to 
 cure him, if possible, of his 
 bad habits ; but it scarcely had the desired effect, for he came 
 home as wild as ever. He'was in my father's " Conference " 
 in England, and behaved himself quite well there, although 
 there was an unpleasant scandal about him while there, which 
 has been before alluded to. In business matters he was as 
 shrewd and as unprincipled as his father, and managed, with 
 the assistance of the latter, to accumulate a large amount of 
 property. Ambitious as his father is for his sons, he never 
 dared to do anything which should advance "Joe " in the 
 church, for he knew very well that the people would not 
 tolerate it for an instant, for his eldest son was by no means 
 a favorite among the Saints. He, of course, held church 
 offices, but he would never have been any higher in author- 
 ity, and certainly would never have succeeded his father as 
 Head of the Church, even though he was the eldest son. 
 
 He was a professed polygamist, although, strictly speak- 
 ing, he was a monogamist; for although he had three 
 wives, he only lived with one. His first wife, Mary, called, 
 
472 
 
 "MARY JOE" AND "ENGLISH MAGGIE." 
 
 to distinguish her, "Mary Joe," has several children, but 
 neither she nor they were troubled much with Joseph's 
 attention. She is an independent, high-spirited woman, 
 and would not show in the least that she was troubled by 
 his neglect. She goes about her business in a matter-of- 
 fact way, and shows that she is able to take care of herself, 
 as she succeeded in making her husband furnish the means 
 to support herself and her children, whether he was willing 
 to or not. She used to say that she could herself earn a 
 comfortable living for them all, but so long as she had a 
 husband who was able to do it, she would not do it, and 
 she did not. 
 
 She is a decided contrast .to poor little English Maggie, 
 his second wife, who is in delicate health, unable to take 
 
 care of herself and her child, 
 and who is fretting herself 
 into her grave for the husband 
 whom she loved so dearly, 
 but who was so utterly unwor- 
 thy of such devotion. She 
 and her child live in a poor 
 little room, shabbily furnish- 
 ed, and her husband never 
 visited her. She is allowed 
 the merest pittance on which 
 to live, but the sum is so pit- 
 ifully small that it does not 
 supply even the needs of life, 
 and the little woman suffers for them sometimes. She is 
 a patient creature, never complaining of her lot ; used never 
 to reproach her husband ; just living on and bearing her 
 burdens as best she might; hoping for nothing in this 
 world, but trusting that somehow the things that are so 
 wrong here may be put straight hereafter. 
 
 Dear, patient, gentle, loving " Maggie Joe ! " My heart 
 goes out to her with a pitying tenderness, and I only wish 
 
 MAGGIE YOUNG. 
 [Joseph A.'s Discarded Wife.] 
 
CLARA STENHOUSE YOUNG. 473 
 
 it was in my power to put some happiness into her desolate 
 life. I suppose she thinks of me as pityingly as I do of her, 
 thinking that my feet have strayed into dangerous places, 
 and that my soul is lost for ever by my action. She is one 
 of the many martyrs to polygamy and a false religion. 
 The merry-eyed, round-faced, gay-hearted girl, that came 
 among the Saints so few years ago, and was won by the 
 attractive young elder, is little like the sad-eyed, haggard 
 woman, the broken-hearted, deserted wife. I wonder if 
 Joe Young's heart ever smote him as he looked at her, and 
 saw the wreck that he had made. His third wife, Thalia 
 Grant, he neglected so entirely, that she left him in dis- 
 gust. 
 
 His fourth wife, Clara Stenhouse, was so fortunate as to 
 be the favorite. He was devoted to her exclusively, and 
 she was delighted because she had succeeded in inducing 
 "Joe " to renounce polygamy to this extent : he lived with 
 her, to the exclusion of all his other wives, and promised 
 that he would never take another. He said that she 
 was the only one he ever really loved, although he had 
 been much attracted by the other two. Still, her life with 
 him was not always smooth sailing ; for when he was in- 
 toxicated, which sometimes happened even to this son of 
 a Prophet, he was rather abusive, though by no means 
 so much to her as he was to the two others. Once, 
 however, he forgot himself so far as to chase her about the 
 house, and point a pistol at her. She immediately left him, 
 and returned to her father's house. When he recovered, 
 and found she had gone, he was deeply penitent, and he 
 went for her at once. At first she refused to return with 
 him, but he was so full of remorse, and begged so hard, 
 and promised so fairly, that she relented and went. I think; 
 he never repeated the occurrence. 
 
 Clara had everything that she could desire ; a nice houss 
 finely furnished, carriage, jewels, elegant clothes, and not 
 a wish that she expressed but was instantly gratified. A 
 
474 
 
 YOUNG BRIGGY ! 
 
 contrast, indeed, to poor little Maggie, living in want, 
 dying for lack of care, and starving, body and soul alike, 
 for sufficient food and for the love which another woman 
 won from her, just as she won that same husband's love 
 from Mary. 
 
 Just now Brigham, Jr., or " Briggy," as he is familiarly 
 termed among the Saints, is the most conspicuous member 
 of the Prophet's family, as it is well known that Brigham 
 Young intends that he shall be his successor. He is taken 
 
 everywhere by his father, who 
 seems determined that the 
 Saints shall not lose sight of 
 him ; and he already " assists " 
 in different meetings, and his 
 weak voice is often heard 
 piping for polygamy, and the 
 "new Reformation," and the 
 " Order of Enoch," and other 
 of the elder Brigham's pet in- 
 stitutions. He apes his father 
 in manner, and, as nearly as he 
 can, in matter, and his parent 
 is quite proud of him. There 
 was some murmuring among the Saints when Brigham's 
 intentions towards him were first known to them, but they 
 say very little now, but he and his father both know they 
 are opposed to him. I think there would have been open 
 rebellion if either of the other sons, especially Joe, had been 
 thought of as the future ruler. 
 
 " Briggy " is not so quick and bright as either of the 
 others, nor so well qualified for taking care of himself 
 without the assistance of the tithing-office and other church 
 perquisites ; but he is infinitely better-hearted, kindlier in 
 impulse, and is the most popular of them, although that is 
 not according him a very high place in public estimation. 
 He has been "on a mission," and had his "little fling" be- 
 fore he settled down to the dignity of his present position. 
 
 " BRIGGY." 
 [The Prophet's Successor.] 
 
SCOLDING THE OLD GENTLEMAN. 475 
 
 As he is such a preacher of polygamy, he also practices 
 it, and is the husband of three wives, of whom the third is 
 the favorite. Their names are Kate Spencer, Jane Car- 
 rington, and Lizzie Fenton. He does not abuse his wives 
 as Joseph A. does, and although the first two have occasion 
 to complain of neglect, since he is completely tied to Lizzie's 
 side just now, yet he does not allow them to want, but sees 
 that they have what they need to make life comfortable. I 
 think he has more feeling for the physical suffering, at least, 
 of women, than his father, or either of his brothers has. I 
 know once, while I was Brigham's wife, when I was very 
 ill, he came to see me, and was shocked at the condi- 
 tion in which he found me. I had sent several times to my 
 husband, telling how ill I was, and asking for things which 
 I really needed ; and no attention had been paid to my 
 requests, and he had not seen fit to come near me. He re- 
 sented my illness as a personal wrong done to himself; and 
 when told by a friend of mine, a little before this visit from 
 Briggy, he had remarked, "That's the way with women ; 
 the minute I marry 'em they get sick to shirk work." That 
 is the sympathy he always shows to a woman who is ill. 
 When "Briggy" learned how I was neglected, he went at 
 once for his father on my behalf, although I had not the 
 slightest idea of his intention. He found his father break- 
 fasting at the Bee-Hive House ; and, before several of the 
 wives, he burst out, 
 
 " Father, I think it is shameful, the way you are treating 
 Ann-Eliza. She is fearfully sick, and if you don't have 
 something done for her, she'll die on your hands. I've been 
 down to see her, and I know." 
 
 The old gentleman didn't say anything, and "Briggy" 
 turned on his heel and left the room. That day I received 
 a portion of the things for which I had sent so many days 
 before. I was quite at a loss to know why they had come 
 so suddenly^ and it remained a mystery to me until, some 
 time after, Lucy Decker told me about " Briggy's " attack 
 
RIVAL LOVERS. BRIGHAM AND w BRIGGY ! " 
 
 on his father. She said that, although they were frightened 
 at the fellow's temerity, they delighted in his spunk, and had 
 liked him better ever since. I have been grateful to him 
 ever since I knew of that occurrence, and found that he had 
 constituted himself my champion. 
 
 Lizzie, Briggy's third wife, is a native of Philadelphia, 
 and she came to Utah with John W. and Libbie, Johnny's 
 third wife. She was a fine-looking girl, tall and rather 
 large, with a bright, intelligent face, and vivacious, fascina- 
 ting manners. Both old Brigham and young Brigham were 
 smitten with her at once, and commenced paying her the 
 most marked attentions, and for a long time a fierce rivalry 
 existed between the father and son. Lizzie lived with Mrs* 
 Wilkison before her marriage, and her courtship by Brig- 
 ham and Briggy was very funny, and quite exciting to the 
 lookers-on, who were anxious to see whether youth or ex- 
 perience would win. 
 
 First the old gentleman would come, driving down in 
 fine style with his spanking team ; then Briggy would come, 
 rather on the sly, and spend the remainder of the day, after 
 his parent was well out of the way. He always seemed 
 bent on having the last word, and, finally, he won the young 
 lady. This double courtship went on for several months, 
 much to the delight of the spectators, whose sympathies 
 were, for the most part, with Briggy, and who were de- 
 lighted when the young fellow won. 
 
 Lizzie has two children, and is the favorite wife ; but she 
 is very unhappy, as I have often heard her say. She has 
 seen other " favorite " wives neglected for another, and al- 
 though her husband certainly has as yet given her no rea- 
 son to doubt his affection for and his fidelity to her, yet 
 even he may be tempted from her side. I have not so much 
 sympathy for her, however, as I have for those poor girls 
 who are educated in Mormonism, and know nothing else, 
 for she was an Eastern born and educated girl, and entered 
 polygamy with her eyes open. 
 
THE PROPHET'S APOSTATE SON. 
 
 477 
 
 JOHN W. YOUNG. 
 
 John W. is the third son and the youngest child of Mary 
 Ann Angell. He is the best looking of the three, has the best 
 address, and has seen the most of the world ; for although 
 he has never been sent on a mission, he has been East a 
 great deal, and has been more 
 in contact with the outside, 
 Gentile world, than any of the 
 others. If any Eastern busi- 
 ness is to be done, requiring 
 the presence of some person 
 from Utah, Johnny is always 
 the one to go. He is a shrewd 
 business fellow, with more 
 finesse than Joe., and a great 
 deal of tact, which makes him 
 very successful. He passes 
 for quite a good fellow among 
 those who meet him casually, 
 
 and I found him quite well known among the newspaper 
 fraternity when I came East. One reporter, whom I met, 
 told me that John W. had offered him money to keep his 
 name before the public while he was here ; and told the 
 same man that I was a poor, weak creature that would 
 never amount to anything. It was, probably, a desire that 
 the " royal blood of Young " should be honored ; and as 
 that blood coursed through his veins, the honor to the sire 
 would be honor to the son. 
 
 Johnny is not an enthusiastic Mormon, by any means, 
 and I am quite sure if he were anybody's son but Brigham's, 
 he would be regarded with suspicion as an " apostate ; " but 
 he is "President of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion," and 
 his belief is never questioned by his father. I think he 
 holds to the church because he finds it a good thing ; but 
 if Brigham were to die, and Briggy to fail in the succession, 
 I don't think he would stick by it long. Its emoluments are 
 convenient; with its doctrines and beliefs he has no sym- 
 pathy ; indeed, I fancy he is totally indifferent to them. 
 
478 
 
 Like all the rest, he has embraced polygamy, but has been 
 for some time a monogamist. Like the other two brothers, 
 also, he has been won by the third wife, who holds him entirely 
 now. He says openly that she is the only woman that he ever 
 loved ; that he married the others to please his father, who 
 was quite anxious for him to " build up a kingdom." He 
 does not hesitate to declare the " kingdom business a hum- 
 bug," and prefers the society of his third, whom he now 
 considers his only lawful wife, to that of either or both 
 the others. The first wife, Lucy Canfield, has several 
 children, and she is the cousin of his third wife. She is a 
 spirited woman, like Joseph A.'s first wife, and when she 
 found that her husband did not love her, and had said that 
 he did not, she made no fuss about it, but quietly took her 
 children, went away, and as speedily as possible was di- 
 vorced from Johnny, saying she would not be any man's 
 wife by simple toleration. 
 
 The second wife, Clara Jones, cries her eyes out over 
 her husband's defection, but will not be induced to leave 
 him. He supports her, I believe, but never sees her, 
 and says he shall never live with her again. She really 
 loved the graceless, handsome fellow, and will be called by 
 his name, and be his wife, even if she cannot have his 
 attention. 
 
 Johnny met his third wife in Philadelphia, while on a visit 
 there to his first wife's relatives. She was a very pleas- 
 ing woman, and he an attractive fellow, and they fell in 
 love with each other. She knew very well his matrimonial 
 situation, but that did not deter her from accepting his atten- 
 tions, nor from accompanying him to Utah under promise 
 of becoming his wife upon their arrival. He was to discard 
 his other wives, and be true to her. She did not seem to 
 think that she was betraying her cousin, and bringing 
 misery to her ; she only thought of herself, and the gratifi- 
 cation of her own ambition ; for, apart from her love for 
 Johnny, which I have no doubt was genuine, she knew very 
 
SHE WOULDN'T KISS! 
 
 479 
 
 well that she should gain wealth, at least, as the wife of one 
 of Brigham Young's sons. She and Lizzie Fenton came, 
 and as soon as possible she was united to Johnny. 
 
 It took the latter some time to arrange his matrimonial 
 affairs successfully, and occasionally a "scene" would 
 occur in this somewhat divided family. She had been 
 married but one week when Johnny first met her ; but 
 as Gentile marriages are " null and void " under the 
 Saintly rule, her conversion to Mormonism divorced her 
 at once, at least from the Mormon point of view, 
 and rendered her per- 
 fectly at liberty to go to 
 Utah with Johnny, who 
 was also, by the Mor- 
 mon law, justified in 
 taking her. 
 
 After they were mar- 
 ried, Johnny placed her, 
 for the time, in the house 
 with his other wives, and 
 they submitted to her 
 presence with all the pa- 
 tience of good Mormon 
 women. It required but 
 a very short time, how- 
 ever, for them to dis- 
 cover that the last was 
 
 LUCY REBELLIOUS. 
 
 the only wife he cared 
 
 to recognize ; in fact, he nearly ignored the existence of all, 
 except his " dear Libbie," and he felt it an imperative duty 
 to see that she was treated with the utmost deference by the 
 other wives. One night, as he and Libbie were about 
 withdrawing from the family circle to their own room, he 
 insisted that his first and second wives should, on bidding 
 Libbie " good night," kiss her. And when Lucy declined 
 to comply with his request, he became very much exas- 
 
480 
 
 THE DAUGHTER OF A PROPHET. 
 
 KISSING LIBBIE GOOD NIGHT. 
 
 perated, and threatened to shut her up in some dark closet, 
 as is sometimes done with disobedient children, unless she 
 
 would obey him. Johnny felt 
 that he must not compromise 
 his dignity by yielding the 
 point, and such rebellion must 
 not go unpunished. And, as 
 she still remained obstinate, he 
 put his threats into execution. 
 She remained in her prison 
 until she feared to be longer 
 away from her children, and 
 was forced to yield to his 
 wishes, and kiss Libbie good 
 night. 
 
 It was not long after that 
 
 when Lucy left him, and sought a divorce, which Johnny's 
 father readily granted. 
 
 The only acknowledged Mrs. John W. Young lives in 
 elegant style, accompanies her husband on all his Eastern 
 trips, and makes herself, by dress and otherwise, as attrac- 
 tive as possible to her husband; for she knows, as well as 
 the others, that she only holds him so long as she shall 
 prove more fascinating than any other woman. 
 
 Alice Clawson was the best known of any of Brigham's 
 daughters. She was the elder of Mary-Ann Angell's girls, 
 and was for many years a leading actress at the Salt Lake 
 theatre. She had no special dramatic talent, but she was a 
 good worker, and so succeeded quite well in her profession. 
 Being Brigham's daughter also gave her a decided -prestige, 
 and she never made her appearance but what she was 
 warmly applauded. She was quite pretty, being rather 
 small and slight, with blue eyes and fair hair, and had all 
 her father's ambition. 
 
 She was quite a favorite with gentlemen, and had several 
 little " affairs " before she was safely married to Hiram B. 
 
ALICE AND HER LOVERS. 481 
 
 Clawson, who was, at the time of her marriage with 
 him, her father's confidential clerk, and the stage man- 
 ager and " leading man " at the theatre where she was en- 
 gaged. 
 
 In 1851 a Mr. Tobin visited Salt Lake, and fell a victim 
 to Miss Alice's charms, and was engaged to her. Soon 
 after their engagement, he went away, and did not return 
 until 1856. While he was away she flirted quite des- 
 perately with another young gentleman, and was reported 
 engaged to him ; but her father sent him off to convert the 
 Sandwich Islanders, and took him out of the reach of Miss 
 Alice's charms. 
 
 Soon after Mr. Tobin's return, the engagement between 
 them was broken, and her father's ire was so great against 
 him that he was obliged to leave Salt Lake City. He and 
 his party were followed, and while they were in camp on 
 the Santa Clara River, three hundred and seventy miles 
 south of Salt Lake, they were attacked, and narrowly 
 escaped with their lives, leaving all their baggage behind 
 them, and having six horses shot. Some of the party 
 were wounded, but fortunately all escaped. I met Mr. 
 Tobin in Omaha, and he gave me an account of the whole 
 affair. 
 
 He broke his engagement because he was displeased with 
 her for flirting. It was not long after this before she mar- 
 ried Clawson, who was the husband of two wives, but 
 still aspired to the hand of Alice, which the Prophet was 
 much opposed to ; but Alice would have him in spite of 
 her father. Some years after he married one of her half- 
 sisters. 
 
 Theoretically she was a polygamist ; practically she hated 
 it, and I know that her married life was very unhappy. 
 She had several children, but was not called a very good 
 mother. 
 
 The circumstances of her death, which occurred a few 
 months since, are sad in the extreme. 
 31 
 
482 
 
 FOUND DEAD ! 
 
 MRS. ALICE YOUNG CLAWSON. 
 
 She was in the street, one day, and met her father, who 
 
 happened to be in one of 
 his ill-humors, and was only 
 waiting for some one to vent 
 it on. Alice, unluckily, was 
 the victim. She was always 
 very fond of dress, and was 
 inclined to be somewhat 
 "loud" in her style. She 
 was dressed, this day, to 
 pay some visits, and was 
 finer than usual. Her fa- 
 ther looked at her from head 
 to foot, then said, in the most 
 contemptuous manner which 
 he could assume, 
 
 "Good heavens, Alice ! What are you rigged out in that 
 style for? You look like a prostitute." 
 
 She faced him with an expression so like his own that it 
 was absolutely startling, and, with terrible intensity, re- 
 plied, 
 
 "Well, what else am I? And whose teachings have 
 made me so?" 
 
 She passed on, leaving him standing gazing after her 
 in surprise. Not long after, she was found dead in her 
 bed, with a bottle, labelled " poison," by her bedside. 
 Tired of life, she had thrown it carelessly aside, for it was 
 of little worth to her. Neither husband nor father was 
 much comfort to her, and, with her mother before her, it is 
 no wonder that she did not wish to live to grow old. 
 
 It has been said that at one time she was greatly in her 
 father's confidence, and that she has assisted many a scheme 
 which served to enrich her father, who used her to advance 
 his own interests, without regard to her youth or sex. Of 
 the truth of this I have no means of knowing, but as far as 
 
SELF-WILLED LUNA. 483 
 
 I had any experience with her, she was an amiable, kind- 
 hearted woman, ambitious and proud, and a strong hater 
 of the polygamic life which she was forced to lead. 
 
 Luna Young was a bright, gay girl, the pet and the rul- 
 ing power of her mother's house. She is very pretty, and 
 extremely imperious. She is blonde, like Alice, but by far 
 the more beautiful and self-willed. She has all her father's 
 strength of purpose, and the two strong wills used often to 
 clash, and it was rarely that hers was subdued. Her fa- 
 ther found her the most difficult of all the girls to manage, 
 and yet he seemed more fond of her than of her more 
 yielding and obedient sister. 
 
 She is a plural wife of George Thatcher, and endures, 
 although she by no means loves, polygamy. 
 
 The children of Mrs. Angell Young are better known to 
 the world than any of the others, and of these five, the 
 ones that the public are most familiar with are John W. 
 and Alice, both of whom seem very widely known by rep- 
 utation ; John W. from his constant contact with the Gen- 
 tiles, and Alice from the position which she so long held in 
 the theatre, and which brought her so constantly before the 
 public for so many years. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE WIVES OF THE PROPHET. BROTHER BRIGHAM'S 
 DOMESTIC TROUBLES. 
 
 The Wives of the Prophet. Lucy Decker. A Mysterious Disappear- 
 ance. Lucy's Boys. Brigham's Wife Clara. Her Busy House- 
 hold Work. About the Girls. Harriet Cook. She Expresses Un- 
 pleasant Opinions. Brigham is frightened of Her. He Keeps out 
 
 -of the Way. Amelia and the Sweetmeats. How one of Brigham's 
 Daughters scaridalized the Saints. How Mrs. Twiss Manages the 
 Prophet's House. The Work a Woman can Do. Martha Bowker 
 and her silent Work. Sweet and saintly doings of the Prophet. 
 
 'Concerning Harriet Barney. The Wife who " Served Seven Years " 
 
 :for a Husband. Another English Wife of the Prophet. The 
 
 '"Young Widow<of Nauvoo." 
 
 lUCY DECKER was the 
 wife of Isaac Seeley, 
 and had two children 
 before she became a 
 convert to Mormonism, 
 and removed to Nau- 
 voo. The husband had 
 been esteemed a fine 
 young man, and to all 
 appearances they were 
 living quite harmoni- 
 ously, when Brigham 
 saw her, and fell in 
 love with her. He soon 
 persuaded her that See- 
 ley could never give her 
 an " exaltation " in the 
 
 eternal world; but that, if she would permit him, he 
 would secure her salvation, and make her a queen in the 
 
 EMMELINB SERVING BRIGHAM 
 AND AMELIA. 
 
A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE. 485 
 
 "first resurrection." She was bewildered by the promises, 
 and consented to become " sealed " to him secretly. 
 
 In some way or other, Seeley found out the true state of 
 affairs, and was exceedingly indignant, and made some 
 very unpleasant threats of vengeance against Brigham 
 Young for breaking up his family. Brigham at once com- 
 menced endeavoring to turn the tide of public opinion 
 against him, by resorting to his always ready weapon, his 
 tongue, and insinuating things against him ; among others, 
 he took care that the impression should get abroad that he 
 had threatened to kill his wife. These reports gained little 
 credence among those who knew him well ; yet Brigham, 
 with Joseph to help him, was sure to succeed in his efforts 
 to ruin the man, or to drive him away, so that he should 
 no longer stand in his light, and Seeley suddenly disap- 
 peared. 
 
 All sorts of rumors were afloat respecting his disappear- 
 ance ; some said he was driven from Nauvoo at the point 
 of the knife ; others said he was dead ; others, that he left 
 voluntarily, disgusted with the entire proceedings ; at all 
 events, he has never appeared to interfere with his wife's 
 later domestic arrangements. 
 
 Lucy lives in the " Bee Hive," which is supposed to be 
 Brigham's own particular residence, at least his private 
 office and own sleeping-room are there, and he takes his 
 meals there except his dinner. She has always had the 
 charge of this house, and has always been quite highly 
 valued by her husband on account of her numerous domes- 
 tic virtues, for she is a superior housekeeper, and even 
 Brigham finds great difficulty in getting a good opportunity 
 to find fault with her. It has been Brigham's custom always 
 to keep the " Bee Hive " for his exclusive use, and none of 
 his wives were allowed there, except Lucy Decker, who 
 had the charge. But after he married Amelia, before her 
 house was finished, he brought her to board there with 
 him, contrary to all precedent; and Lucy Decker was not 
 
4 86 
 
 " IT SAVES THE WAGES ! " 
 
 only obliged to cook for them, but to wait upon them at 
 the table, in the capacity of a servant, and Amelia never 
 recognized her in any other way, never speaking to her as 
 an equal, but ordering her about at her caprice, and the 
 husband allowed it. But then it is no uncommon thing in 
 Utah for a man to marry a woman for a servant ; it is more 
 economical than to hire them. It saves the wages. 
 
 When Lucy Decker's sons, Brigham's children, grew up, 
 they accepted mercantile situations, as he expects all to 
 work, which is certainly all right ; but they were not al- 
 lowed to stay with their mother without paying him the 
 same amount for board that they would have to pay else- 
 where. A married daughter is also allowed to remain with 
 her mother under the same conditions. 
 
 She is a short, fleshy woman, with a pleasant, small- 
 featured face, dark eyes and hair, and as practical and 
 matter-of-fact in manner as you please. 
 
 She has seven children Brigham-Heber, Fanny, Ernest, 
 Arthur, Mira, Feramorz, and Clara. Fanny is the plural 
 wife of George Thatcher, who also numbers her half sister, 
 Luna, among his wives. Heber and Ernest are both mar- 
 ried, but have, as yet, but one wife each. They do not 
 seem in a hurry to add to their kingdom. 
 
 Clara Decker is the young- 
 er sister of Lucy, and was 
 " sealed " to Brigham at the 
 same time. She is a very 
 intelligent, prepossessing wo- 
 man, and for some time 
 was quite a favorite with her 
 husband . Like her sister , she 
 is short and stout ; but she 
 has a very sweet, benevo- 
 lent face, which truly mirrors 
 
 her character. She is an in- 
 
 , f . . . 
 CLARA DECKER. defatigablc, but a quiet work- 
 
WIFELY SORROWS IN THE PROPHET'S MANSION. 487 
 
 er, and the good she does, not only in the Prophet's 
 household, but out of it, cannot be estimated. In spite of 
 her multitudinous home cares, she finds time to visit the 
 sick and comfort the afflicted, and there is no woman more 
 universally beloved than she. 
 
 She has been of great service to her husband in assisting 
 him in the management of his large family, and in addi- 
 tion to her own family of children, she has the care of 
 Margaret Alley's. She has been as tender and kind to them 
 as to her own, and since their own mother's sad death they 
 have received an untiring and affectionate maternal care 
 from her. When her husband has taken a new wife, she 
 has often been applied to to assist him in preparing the 
 housekeeping outfit, which she always does willingly and 
 cheerfully, never manifesting the least jealousy, nor making 
 herself disagreeable in any way. Her griefs she keeps to 
 herself, and gives a kindly, cheery countenance to her 
 family and the world. 
 
 She has long since lost all love for her husband, and 
 although she retains her faith in the underlying principles 
 of her religion, is by no means so blinded by bigotry as 
 not to see its faults. She expresses her opinions rarely, 
 but when she does, they are given decisively, and her hus- 
 band is not at a loss to understand her meaning. He has 
 a high regard for her services, and I really believe accords 
 her more respect than he does most women. She never 
 appears in public with him, being always too much " en- 
 gaged " at home. 
 
 No one can know Clara Decker without loving her ; she 
 has a nature that wins affection spontaneously, and that 
 holds it after it is won. She has three children, all girls 
 Nettie, Nabbie, and Lulu. Nettie is married to Henry 
 Snell, and is the only wife. Clara and her children are 
 inmates of the Lion House. She has more room than the 
 others, as her family numbers so many members. 
 
 The third "wife in plurality " was Harriet Cook, to whom 
 
488 BRIGHAM'S TROUBLESOME WIFE. 
 
 the Prophet was sealed at Nauvoo before the church left 
 that place for the west. She was at that time rather a 
 good-looking girl, tall and fair, with blue eyes, but with a 
 sharp nose, that so plainly bespoke her disposition that no 
 one was surprised to hear, not very long after her mar- 
 riage, that her husband had found he had " caught a Tartar." 
 She was in my mother's employ at Nauvoo, and I think 
 there is where the Prophet became enamoured of her. She 
 does not hesitate to say that " Mormonism, polygamy, and 
 the whole of it, is a humbug, and may go to the devil for 
 all her." Her husband never attempts to argue any theo- 
 logical question with her, but gets out of the way as speedily 
 as possible, letting her abuse religion and him as much as 
 she pleases behind his back. 
 
 Brigham, finding her so ungovernable, and being quite 
 unable to exact submission or obedience from her, refused 
 to live with her ; and, although she still lives at the " Lion 
 House " with the other wives, avoids her as studiously as 
 possible, and will not even notice her, unless positively 
 compelled to do so. 
 
 She has one son, Oscar, whom his father calls a repro- 
 bate, and has entirely disowned ; a wild, headstrong, unruly 
 fellow, now nearly thirty years of age. He speaks of his 
 father as "dad," and "the old man," and openly expresses 
 his disgust at his hyprocrisy and meanness, which he sees 
 through very clearly. He is no more afraid to speak his 
 mind than his mother, of whose tongue not only Brigham, 
 but the other wives, stand in dread ; and when she com- 
 mences battle they act on the principle that " discretion is 
 the better part of valor," and leave the field to her. 
 
 The son has been married, but his wife has left him. 
 
 A few years ago Brigham bought a house at St. George, 
 quite an important Mormon settlement, four hundred miles 
 south of Salt Lake City, intending to settle some one of his 
 wives there. He asked me if I would go, but I declined. 
 He then proposed to one or two others, but they had no 
 
THE HOUSEKEEPER AT ST. GEORGE. 489 
 
 more of a mind to go than I had. Lucy Bigelow at last 
 decided to try St. George as a residence, and she has re- 
 mained there ever since. Lucy was married to him when 
 she was very young, and she has been one of the " Society " 
 wives in the past. She was exceedingly pretty, quite enter- 
 taining, and a very graceful dancer. She is not very tall, 
 but has quite a pretty figure, brown hair, blue eyes, and an 
 exceedingly pretty mouth. 
 
 Her position as housekeeper at St. George has been no 
 sinecure, for Brigham and Amelia have been in the habit 
 of passing a portion, at least, of the winter there, and Lucy 
 Bigelow's position there has been very much what Lucy 
 Decker's was at the Bee Hive, that of servitor, entirely. 
 When Brigham comes she receives no more attention than 
 a housekeeper would ; and no one, ignorant of the fact, 
 would ever imagine she had held towards him the position 
 of wife. She does not sit at the table with them, but cooks 
 for them, and looks after their comfort generally. 
 
 She is quite a prudent housekeeper, and every year puts 
 up a large quantity of preserves, which Amelia and her 
 party being very fond of, would speedily put out of the way ; 
 and when the presidential visits were ended, poor Lucy 
 would have no sweetmeats left for her own use, or to give to 
 her friends when they came to see her. On the occasion of 
 a late visit, she was so annoyed at her treatment, both by 
 Brigham and Amelia, the former being particularly cap- 
 tious and insolent, that she spoke her mind with such 
 sudden and startling plainness, that they left the house in 
 a hurry. The Southern wife is to be commended for her 
 spirit. She does not show it often ; and probably, had the 
 insults come alone from her husband, she would have 
 borne them quietly, as she has done for nearly thirty years ; 
 but she could not endure the same treatment from Amelia, 
 and she very justly rebelled. 
 
 She has three daughters, Dora, Susan, and Toolie. 
 Dora is the only wife of Morley Dunford. She scanda- 
 
49 THE HOUSEKEEPER OF THE PROPHET'S MANSION. 
 
 lized the Saints, and aroused the ire of her father, by going 
 quietly off with her lover to the Episcopal clergyman to be 
 married. According to Gentile laws she is legally married, 
 but according to Mormon laws she is not securely tied. 
 Still, she seems satisfied. Susie is married to Almy Dun- 
 ford, and is also an only wife. 
 
 One of the most important wives, although by no means 
 the recipient of any of her husband's attentions, is the 
 housekeeper at the " Lion House," Mrs. Twiss. She was a 
 young widow living in Nauvoo when Brigham discovered 
 
 BEE- HIVE HOUSE. BRIGHAM YOUNG'S RESIDENCE. 
 
 her, and recognizing her useful qualities, had her sealed 
 to him as soon as he could arrange for it. She is not very 
 attractive in personal appearance, having a round face, 
 light blue eyes, low forehead, and sandy hair, which is in- 
 clined to curl. In figure she is short and stout. But she 
 is an energetic worker, and as a servant Brigham values 
 her. 
 
 She never complains of her position, but she is no better 
 content with it than any other neglected wife in polygamy. 
 She is kind to the other wives j and has an amiable, quiet 
 
"TOO FINE" FOR BRIGHAM. 49! 
 
 disposition, although she is exceedingly firm and resolute. 
 She has no children of her own, a circumstance which 
 grieves her very much, but she has adopted a son, of whom 
 she is very fond, and who is a very great comfort to this 
 childless, unbeloved wife. 
 
 Martha Bowker is another of the Prophet's "sickly 
 wives," of whom he is so fond of sneering; and the fact 
 that she is an invalid is sufficient to preclude her from re- 
 ceiving care or sympathy from her husband. He married 
 her when she was very young, and never has- treated her 
 with much consideration. Why he married her, unless it 
 was because he was anxious to " build up his kingdom " as 
 quickly as possible, and so took every available woman he 
 could find, will always remain a mystery. She is plain, 
 but very quiet and sensible. She never interferes with any- 
 one, and worships her husband at a distance. I think it 
 must be true, in his case at least, that "familiarity breeds 
 contempt," for the wives who have been the favorites stand 
 less in awe of him, have less faith in him, and are less 
 easily deceived by his pretensions than those whom he has 
 neglected, and who do not understand him thoroughly. 
 The less attention a wife has paid her, the greater is her 
 veneration for her husband. Her respect for him seems 
 to increase in proportion to the snubs she receives. Mrs. 
 Bowker Young is by no means accomplished, moderately 
 well educated, and is by no means intellectually brilliant. 
 She says but little, but displays considerable hard com- 
 mon sense when she does speak. She is somewhat of a 
 nonentity in the " Lion House," where she lives, keeping 
 very much to herself, and not making her presence felt. 
 She has an adopted daughter, but no children of her own. 
 
 Among all the wives that Brigham claims, there is none 
 the superior of Harriet Barney Young, who, in spite of all 
 her personal charms and graces of mind, has never been a 
 favorite with the Prophet. She is too good and noble-minded 
 for him to appreciate. There is too little of the flatterer 
 
492 THE WIFE IN THE COTTAGE. 
 
 about her. She is tall and stout, but very graceful in every 
 movement. Her eyes are a clear hazel, with a soft, sad 
 expression in them that is almost pathetic. Her hair is 
 light-brown, and her face wears a peculiarly mild, .sweet 
 look. She is a person that anyone in trouble would be 
 drawn towards, and would involuntarily rely on and confide 
 in. She is always ready, with the tenderest sympathy, to 
 comfort sorrow and distress ; and her acts of kindness, which 
 are very numerous, are always unostentatiously performed. 
 She was married before she met Brigham, and was the 
 mother of three children ; but becoming convinced that 
 Mormonism was right, and receiving it, polygamy and all, 
 as a divine religion, given direct from God, she considered 
 it her duty to leave her husband, and cast her lot with this 
 people. She brought her children with her, determined to 
 bring them up in the true faith, and she was, in every 
 regard, an earnest, conscientious, devout Christian, who 
 would never shirk a duty, no matter how painful it might 
 be, and would never do anything which she considered 
 wrong, no matter how much she might suffer for her per- 
 sistence in the right. 
 
 She loves her husband with all the strength of an earnest 
 devotion, and his careless treatment of her seems to make 
 little difference in the depth of her affection. She knows 
 her love is hopeless, but she cherishes it, nevertheless, and 
 is content to worship with no hope of return. She is a de- 
 vout Mormon, and all she has seen, heard, and suffered, 
 has not shaken her faith one whit. She believes that "this 
 people" is destined to come up "out of great tribulation," 
 and she accepts her own share without a murmur. 
 
 She formerly lived at the Lion House with her children, 
 but latterly she has occupied a cottage near the Tabernacle. 
 She likes this new arrangement infinitely better, as her 
 situation in the large family was particularly trying. Brig- 
 ham's own children have always been extremely haughty 
 and arrogant to those not of the "royal" blood; and al- 
 
THE PROPHET S HAREM. 
 
 493 
 
 though Harriet's children were good and amiable, they, as 
 well as their mother, were rendered very unhappy. She 
 supports herself and family now by sewing ; but is happier 
 in this than in living in dependence, and receiving favors 
 which are grudgingly bestowed. Her husband is by no 
 means a frequent visitor at her cottage, but she never re- 
 proaches him with neglect. 
 
 She has had one child since her marriage to the Prophet, 
 a son, whose name is Howe. 
 
 LION HOUSE AND BRIGHAM'S OFFICES. 
 
 Eliza Burgess, the wife who is said to have "served 
 seven years " for her husband, is an English woman, a na- 
 tive of Manchester, and came to Nauvoo with her parents 
 among the very earliest of the Mormon emigrants. They 
 had not been long in this country before her parents died, 
 and she was left alone. Mrs. Angell Young took her into 
 the family as a servant, and she came to the Valley with 
 her. She was very attentive and faithful to the Prophet, 
 whom she regarded with the greatest veneration ; and when 
 
494 SERVING SEVEN YEARS FOR A HUSBAND. 
 
 he, noticing her devotion, offered to become her "savior," 
 and secure for her "everlasting salvation," the poor girl was 
 completely overcome, and entered her new relation with the 
 most sacred reverence and joy. It is almost painful to see 
 the dumb worship which she accords to her master, and the 
 cavalier manner in which it is received. For a long time 
 she was an inmate of the Lion House, and assisted Mrs. 
 Twiss in the household labors. She has lately been pro- 
 moted to the position of housekeeper at Provo, where the 
 Prophet has an establishment for the convenience of himself 
 and his party when he is making a tour of the settlements. 
 This wife is faithful to all his interests, and unflagging in 
 her zeal to serve him. The moment she finds that she is in 
 any way necessary to his comfort, she works with a new 
 earnestness. She is honest and upright, and is in every 
 way worthy of the love of a good man. Yet she lives on, 
 starving for the love that is denied her, and " wearying " 
 for a husband who absents himself from her for a year 
 at a time. 
 
 She has one son, Alphilus, a bright young fellow, who 
 is at present a student in the law-school of the Michigan 
 University. 
 
 Besides Eliza Burgess, the English wife, Brigham has but 
 one other who is not American. This is Susan Snively, who 
 is a German, and who has been one of his useful wives. 
 She is a woman now considerably past middle age, and 
 carries her nationality very decidedly in her face. She is 
 of medium size, has dark hair, bright eyes, dark complex- 
 ion, and a stolid, expressionless face. She is decidedly 
 the plainest of the wives, and one of the most capable. Her 
 nature is kindly, and she is a genuinely good woman, quiet 
 and unassuming. She is not the slightest bit assertive, a*nd 
 would remain in a corner unnoticed all her life, unless some 
 one discovered her and brought her out. In her busy days, 
 she was a good housewife, could spin, dye, weave, and 
 knit, and make excellent butter and cheese. 
 
THE PROPHET S GERMAN WIFE. 495 
 
 She was married to Brigham in the early days of poly- 
 gamy, when she was a young girl ; indeed, most of his 
 wives were taken between 1842 and 1847, and she has 
 proved herself a good wife in every sense of the word. She 
 has lived at the farm a great deal ; for eight years she was 
 sole mistress there, and a harder worker never lived. She 
 paid special attention to the dairy, making all the butter and 
 cheese for the entire family. She has done a great deal for 
 all the wives and children, and they have not hesitated to 
 call on her for services, so cordially and freely has she 
 given them. The farm was very large, and required many 
 laborers, and these all boarded at the farm-house, and 
 Susan had them to look after, which she did faithfully. 
 Everything that she did was done to promote, as far as 
 possible, the interests of the Prophet and his family. 
 
 At last, under such a constant strain of incessant labor, 
 she broke down completely, unable any longer to endure 
 the strain. Her strength failed; her health was destroyed; 
 her once strong constitution undermined, and she was forced 
 to seek refuge in the " Lion House," and take her chances 
 with the numerous family. After she had given all her 
 strength, and the best part of her life, to the service of her 
 " master," she was of no more use to him, and she might 
 live or die, as she saw fit. It mattered nothing to him. She 
 said once to me, " How I should like a drive ! and how much 
 good it would do me ! We have plenty of carriages, to be 
 sure, yet I am never allowed to ride." Tears trembled in 
 her eyes, and her voice shook as she made her complaint ; 
 and I wished it were in my power to gratify her. I did pity 
 her lonely and neglected condition with all my heart. 
 
 Her only earthly comfort is an adopted daughter, whom 
 she dearly loves. She never had any children of her own, 
 and she lavishes all her maternal affection on this attractive 
 young girl, who returns her love, and calls her "mother." 
 
 She still clings to her religious faith with a sort of hope- 
 less despair. If that should fail her, she would be desolate 
 
496 YOUNG WIDOWS IN NAUVOO. 
 
 indeed. She suffers in the present, hoping for a recompense 
 in the future. 
 
 Young widows seemed to have abounded in Nauvoo, 
 judging from the number that have been " sealed " to the 
 Prophet and his followers. So many men died in defence 
 of the church, that the wives must, of necessity, fall to some- 
 one's care, and the protectors were easily found. Margaret 
 Peirce was another of Brigham's fancies, and was sealed to 
 him soon after the death of her husband. Her health has 
 been very delicate for some years ; consequently she is not in 
 favor with her husband. She has one son, Morris, whom 
 she absolutely worships. He is now about twenty years 
 old, but he is still her baby. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE PROPHET'S FAVORITE WIFE. HOW HE CONDUCT- 
 ED HIS LOVE-AFFAIRS. 
 
 The Prophet's Favorite Wife, Amelia. How Brigham made Love in the 
 Name of the Lord. How he won an Unwilling Bride. A Lady with 
 a Sweet Temper. How she Kicked a Sewing-Machine down the 
 Prophet's Stairs. She has a new House built for Her. Rather Ex- 
 pensive Habits, -r Her Pleasant chances for the Future. Mary Van 
 Cott Cobb. A Former Love of the Prophet's. Miss Eliza-Roxy 
 Snow. The Mormon Poetess. Joseph Smith's Poetic Widow. 
 Versification of the Saints. Mrs. Augusta Cobb. Emily Partridge. 
 
 HE favorite wife of the 
 Prophet, Amelia Fol- 
 som, is a woman about 
 forty years of age, and 
 was a New England 
 girl. 
 
 She was born at Ports- 
 mouth, New Hampshire, 
 and with her parents, 
 who were converts to 
 Mormonism, came to Utah. She is tall, 
 of a good figure, has rather regular fea- 
 tures, brown hair, bluish-gray eyes, and 
 a querulous, discontented expression, with 
 a very great deal of decision indicated 
 by the mouth. And, indeed, in spite of 
 
 BR.GHAM LOOKS AMAZED. ^ that J g l av j s h e d Upon her, she is not 
 
 happy. She did not wish to marry Brigham, as she had a 
 lover to whom she was fondly attached ; but he wished to 
 32 
 
498 MAKING LOVE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. 
 
 marry her, and that settled her fate. Her parents favored 
 his suit, and urged it strongly ; but she was bitterly opposed 
 to it, and it was months before she would yield to their 
 united desires. 
 
 He was a most arduous and enthusiastic lover, and dur- 
 ing all the time that his suit was in progress, his carriage 
 might be seen standing before the door of her parents' 
 house several hours at a time every day. He evidently did 
 not intend that absence should render her forgetful of him. 
 He promised her anything that she might desire, and also 
 agreed to do everything to advance the family interests. 
 Promises had no weight with her. He then had recourse 
 to " Revelation ; " he had been specially told from heaven 
 that she was created especially for him, and if she married 
 
 anyone else she would be 
 for ever damned. The poor 
 girl begged, pleaded, protest- 
 ed, and shed most bitter tears, 
 but all to no purpose. His mind 
 was made up, and he would 
 not allow his will to be crossed. 
 She had been converted to 
 believe in special revelation, 
 and to look upon Brigham as 
 the savior of all the Mormon 
 
 AMELIA Fouou. people, and to think that diso- 
 
 Favorite wife.] bedience to him was disobedi- 
 
 ence to God, since God's commands came through him. 
 In answer to her pleading, he said, "Amelia, you must be 
 my wife; God has revealed it to me. You cannot be 
 saved by anyone else. If you marry me, I will save you, 
 and exalt you to be a queen in the celestial world ; but if 
 you refuse, you will be destroyed, both soul and body." 
 
 This is the same argument he used to win me, and the 
 one he has always in reserve, as the last resort, when 
 everything else fails to secure his victim. 
 
Jfr, 
 
AMELIA DEMOLISHES A SEWING-MACHINE. 499 
 
 Of course she yielded ; what else was she to do ? It was 
 a foregone conclusion when the courtship commenced. 
 She was married to him the 23d of January, 1863, more 
 than six months after the anti-polygamy law had been 
 passed by Congress, and the marriage was celebrated 
 openly, and in defiance of the law. 
 
 Since the marriage, Amelia has ruled with a hand of 
 iron, and she has her lord in pretty good subjection. She 
 has a terrible temper, and he has the benefit of it. On one 
 occasion he sent her a sewing-machine, thinking to please 
 her ; it did not happen to be the kind of a one which she 
 wanted; so she kicked it down stairs, saying, "What did 
 you get this old thing for? You knew I wanted a ' Singer.' " 
 
 She had a Singer at once. 
 
 I was once present when she wanted her husband to do 
 something for her ; he objected, and she repeated her de- 
 mand, threatening to "thrash him," if he did not comply. 
 It is, perhaps, unnecessary to say that she was not obliged 
 to ask him again. I know he is afraid of her, and that she 
 holds him now through fear, rather than love. She accom- 
 panies him to the theatre, and occupies the box, while the 
 rest of the wives sit in the parquet. She goes with him 
 on his visits to the settlements, and drives out with him 
 constantly. 
 
 She has a beautiful new house, elegantly furnished, and 
 Brigham has very nearly deserted the "Bee-Hive," except 
 during business hours, and spends most of his time at 
 Amelia's residence. She dresses elegantly, has jewels and 
 laces, and has saved ten thousand dollars out of her " pin- 
 money," which she placed in bank. I am delighted at her 
 success in getting so much ; the other wives have succeeded 
 in getting nothing but their living from him, some scarcely 
 that; and I, for my part, congratulate Amelia on her good 
 management. It was a hard struggle for her to marry 
 him, and all she gets will never half repay her for the suf- 
 fering she has endured in the past, even if she has grown 
 contented now. 
 
She is rather careless in her treatment of the other wives, 
 but gets along the best with the " proxies." When she 
 lived at the " Bee Hive," she dined at the "Lion House," 
 with her husband and the other wives. She and Brigham 
 sat at a table by themselves a small table, standing at 
 the head of the dining-room. The other wives, with their 
 children, sat at a long table, running nearly the entire 
 length of the room. The fare at this table was very plain, 
 while the other was loaded with every delicacy that the 
 season would afford. When strangers dined with Brigham, 
 the difference in the fare was less noticeable, and the long 
 table would be amply provided for, so as to make a good 
 impression upon the visitor. Amelia is not well ; indeed, 
 she is at times quite an invalid. She has no children. 
 
 About six months before my marriage to the Prophet, he 
 took a pretty young widow, Mary Van Cott, for a wife, 
 much to Amelia's distress, who had considered herself the 
 last for so long, that she was quite unprepared for the intro- 
 duction of a rival. She was very bitter in her denunciations 
 both of Brigham and Mary, and commenced at once to 
 make friends with some of the other wives. She said to 
 Aunt Zina, I believe, that she knew now how Emmeline felt 
 when Brigham took her. Emmeline had been the favorite 
 wife for years, and was really fond of her husband, and it 
 was a terrible blow to her when he deserted her for another. 
 
 For some time Brigham's fickle affections hovered about 
 Mary, but Amelia, with a determination which but few 
 Mormon women possess, fought against her rival until she 
 compelled "her lord to withdraw his attentions from the new 
 wife, or to bestow them on the sly. Mary felt very much 
 hurt and aggrieved, but she has managed to hold her own 
 sufficiently to get a very pretty cottage house, which is very 
 daintily furnished, and which she makes very attractive. 
 
 She has two children, one by a former husband; the 
 other, a pretty little girl, three or four years old, the 
 youngest of Brigham's children, and who is always called 
 
BRIGHAM'S LAST BABY ! 
 
 "Baby." After I left it was said she very nearly de- 
 cided to take the same step. She was very discontented, 
 and the treatment she received from the Prophet and his 
 family was not such as to encourage her to stay with him. 
 Her own people, who are devout Mormons, became aware 
 of her intention, and finally succeeded, by a great amount 
 of persuasion, in inducing her to try a little longer. Brig- 
 ham, too, found out what step she was contemplating, and 
 knowing that opinion would set strongly against him if two 
 of his wives should leave him so nearly at the same time, 
 added his arguments to theirs, and also agreed to fix her 
 house, and give her more things, among which was a grand 
 piano, if she would not bring another scandal upon him. 
 For the sake of her child she decided to remain, but she is 
 in a state of mental rebellion, which may break out at any 
 time. She is, since my defection, the last added member 
 of the family. 
 
 Miss Eliza R. Snow is the first of Brigham's w proxy " 
 wives, and is the most noted of all Mormon women. She 
 was one of Joseph Smith's 
 wives, and, after his death, 
 was sealed to Brigham for 
 time, but is to return to Jo- 
 seph in eternity. She was 
 the founder of the w Female 
 Relief Society," is the mo- 
 tive power of the w Woman's . 
 Exponent," although Miss *<|;J 
 Green acts as editor, per- 
 sonates " Eve " in the " En- W] 
 dowments," and is a poetess 
 of no inconsiderable merit. 
 She writes hymns for all 
 occasions, and most of her poems are full of a strong reli- 
 gious fervor. She is a thorough Mormon, and believes 
 absolutely every portion of the doctrine, and might con- 
 
 Miss ELIZA R. SNOW. 
 [Mormon Poetess.] 
 
502 
 
 tend with Orson Pratt for the title of " Defender of Poly- 
 gamy." 
 
 Brigham regards her very highly, because she is of such 
 inestimable service in the church. She lives at the "Lion 
 House," where she has quite a pleasant room, in which she 
 receives most of her company. She is the most intellectual 
 of all the wives. 
 
 Zina D. Huntington 
 was formerly the wife 
 of a man named Henry 
 Jacobs, who was at one 
 time a Mormon. Brig- 
 ham was attracted 
 towards the wife, sent 
 the husband off on a 
 mission, and had Zina 
 sealed to him. Dr. 
 Jacobs apostatized, not 
 at all fancying this ap- 
 propriation of his fam- 
 ily. She is a very no- 
 ble woman, and has 
 
 ZINA D. HUNTINGTON. . , ./- . .1 
 
 [Wife of Brigham.] spent her life in the 
 
 service of her ungrate- 
 ful husband and the church. She is firm and unyielding 
 in her religious faith, and as devout a believer in Mormon- 
 ism to-day as she was at her first conversion. She has 
 been very useful in the family, acting as physician, nurse, 
 and governess, as her services have been required. She is 
 perfectly unselfish, and her whole life is devoted to others. 
 
 She is a large, fine-looking woman, with a somewhat 
 weary and sad expression, but her face still shows signs of 
 mental strength and superiority. 
 
 She has one daughter, Zina, who was formerly an actress 
 in the theatre, and has since married an Englishman of the 
 name of Thomas Williams. She was his second wife, and 
 
503 
 
 her introduction to the family was strongly resented by the 
 first wife, who would never notice her in any way. They 
 lived apart, and the husband divided his time equally be- 
 tween the two. A few months ago he died very suddenly 
 at Zina's, while sitting at the table. When the news was 
 conveyed to the first wife, she had the 'remains brought to 
 her, arranged for the funeral without consulting Zina, and 
 refused to allow her to ride in the carriage with her to the 
 burial. Poor Zina was almost heart-broken, for she dearly 
 loved the man whom her fa- 
 ther's religion taught her to 
 call husband, and she was 
 ready to do anything to con- 
 ciliate the first wife. She is 
 a noble girl, and as conscien- 
 tious as her mother. Not very 
 long before I left her father, 
 we were talking about the 
 practice of polygamy. I ex- 
 pressed myself strongly and 
 bitterly against it. She, in 
 turn, defended it. She knew, 
 she said, that it brought great 
 unhappiness, but that was because it was not rightly lived. 
 The theory w r as correct, but people did not enter it in the 
 right spirit. She has certainly suffered from it since then, 
 although I believe she tried, to the best of her ability, to 
 "live it right." But she, no more than any one else, could 
 make right out of wrong. 
 
 When Mr. Williams asked her in marriage, Brigham 
 said he might have her if he'd " take the mother too." So 
 Zina, the mother, went to live with Zina, the daughter. 
 But Brigham grew ashamed of his meanness toward her, 
 and finally gave her a house and lot. 
 
 Years ago, when Brigham was on a mission to New 
 England, he met a very charming lady in Boston, Mrs. 
 
504 ASKING TO BE SEALED TO CHRIST. 
 
 Augusta Cobb, and at once his elastic fancy was charmed 
 for a while. She was a woman of fine social position, cul- 
 tured and elegant, the head of a lovely establishment, with 
 a kind husband, and a family of interesting children ; but 
 she became enamored of the Prophet, accepted the Mormon 
 religion, and came to Nauvoo with him, where she was 
 sealed as his wife. She is still a very stylish, elegant 
 woman for her age, but for several years past she has been 
 grossly neglected by the Prophet. Her religious enthusi- 
 asm has increased until it is almost mania, and, finding 
 that her husband was wearying of her, and seeking new 
 faces, she begged to be released from him for eternity, and 
 be sealed to Jesus Christ, who, her church told her, was a 
 polygamist. 
 
 Brigham, with all his blasphemous audacity, dared not 
 do that ; so he quieted her by telling her that he was not at 
 liberty to do that his authority did not extend so far ; but 
 he would do the next best thing, and seal her to Joseph 
 Smith. She consented, and now belongs to Brigham only 
 for time, " having been transferred to Joseph for eternity." 
 
 Her family still remember her fondly, and grieve over 
 her delusion. One of her relatives a granddaughter, I 
 think sent word to me, a short time since, that she wished 
 to see me, to ask about Mrs. Cobb, for it had been a long 
 time since they had heard from her directly, and it would 
 be such a comfort to meet one who had seen her so recently. 
 I have not yet met the lady, but shall take the first oppor- 
 tunity to see her, though I can, I fear, tell her little that 
 will satisfy her. 
 
 Another proxy wife, Emily Partridge, was a young, 
 childless widow, very patient and gentle, and very pretty, 
 too. She belonged to Joseph Smith, and was among those 
 whom Brigham took. For some time she lived at the farm, 
 but not understanding dairy work, she did not suit her hus- 
 band. She is willing to work, and do whatever she can 
 do, but is no more able than the rest of the world to accom- 
 
SHE COULD ONLY SUBMIT. 505 
 
 plish impossibilities. He was so angry at her want of suc- 
 cess at the farm, that he said, in speaking of her, "When I 
 take another man's wife and children to support, I think 
 the least they could do would be to try and help a little." 
 To be sure, he is the earthly father of those children, but 
 he makes a decided distinction between them and those he 
 calls his own. There are five children, Emily, Carlie, 
 Don Carlos, Mary, and Josephine. Emily is plural wife of 
 Hiram B. Clawson, her half-sister Alice's husband ; Carlie 
 and Mary were both married to Mark Croxall, the Western 
 Union telegraph operator. He was very fond of Mary, 
 who has since died. Carlie he treats with the utmost indif- 
 ference, and neglects her openly. A while ago he became 
 very much enamored of a Danish girl, and would allow 
 Carlie to go home alone from the theatre or other place of 
 amusement, while he went off with this girl, who was Car- 
 lie's inferior in every way. The poor girl is heart-broken 
 at this careless treatment, but what can she do? There is 
 nothing for any Mormon woman to do but to submit, and 
 let her heart break in the mean while. The sooner it is 
 over, and she is out of her misery, the better. Very few 
 care how soon they die. Life is not pleasant enough to be 
 clung to very tenaciously. 
 
 Emily Partridge lived at the w Lion House " for several 
 years, enduring every indignity at the hands of the family. 
 Now she has a cottage outside, which Brigham gave her, 
 telling her, when she moved into it, that he should in future 
 expect her to support herself and children. 
 
 This woman ends the list of Brigham's living wives, but 
 some that have died have had such a career, and been so 
 well known, that I cannot refrain from mentioning them. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE DEAD WIVES OF THE PROPHET. HE NEVER 
 WAS KNOWN TO SHED A TEAR. 
 
 The Discarded Favorite. The Story of Emmeline Free. A Stupen- 
 dous Humbug. A "Free" Opinion of Mormonism. Amelia comes 
 upon the Scene. How Brigham Insulted Emmeline Free. Brigham 
 is Ashamed of his Cowardice. I tell him a little of my Mind. 
 Joseph A. expresses his Opinion. Apologizes for his Father. 
 Death of Emmeline Free. The Story of Clara Chase. The Proph- 
 et's Maniac Wife. Ellen Rockwood, and the Cause of her Neglect. 
 A Wife who was visited once in Six Months. Margaret Alley. 
 How the Prophet treated his Dead Wife. He steals her Children's 
 Property. How he Scandalized another Wife, and sent her Home. 
 He " Never shed a tear at a Wife's Death. 
 
 A LITTLE CONVERSATION WITH BRIGHAM. 
 
 ed reverence for him ; and the 
 
 OR many years the fa- 
 vored wife, the one who 
 ruled over her husband, 
 and reigned in the fami- 
 ly , was Emmeline Free. 
 The Prophet married 
 her when she was quite 
 young, having first to 
 overrule the objections 
 of her parents, who, al- 
 though Mormons, were 
 much opposed to poly- 
 gamy. She was a will- 
 ing convert, for she had 
 been taught that Brig- 
 ham Young was a near 
 approach to divinity, 
 and she had unbound- 
 child, for she was 
 
A WOMAN'S OPINION OF MORMONISM. 507 
 
 little more than that, was flattered and delighted at the 
 Prophet's wish to have her for a wife. 
 
 Those who knew her at the time of her marriage say 
 that she was an extremely lovely girl, and I can well 
 believe it, for she was a very prepossessing woman. She 
 was tall and graceful, with brown eyes, and fair hair that 
 waved naturally. Her face was pleasant in expression 
 and very bright, until it became saddened by her husband's 
 desertion of her for Amelia. 
 
 I used to see a great deal of her. I visited at her house 
 when I was a girl, was intimate with her children, and saw 
 more of her while I was a member of the family than of 
 any other. In virtue, I suppose, of her former position, 
 Brigham never neglected her as he did some of his other 
 wives, and she always retained a certain influence over 
 him. She was not afraid of him, and had long since 
 ceased to regard him with awe. I once entered the Proph- 
 et's office when she was there ; she was talking quite 
 earnestly, and did not stop on my entrance ; she concluded 
 her conversation by saying, 
 
 "Well, I've lost faith in the whole thing. I consider 
 Mormonism a stupendous humbug, and all the people who 
 have been made to believe in it, terrible dupes. I've no 
 patience with it any longer." 
 
 Her husband " our " husband at the time laughed as 
 though he considered it a good joke, and turned the con- 
 versation, making it general, so that it included me. I 
 think he did not wish such "heresy" talked before his 
 young wives, lest it should engender discontent in their 
 hearts. He needn't have been troubled about me, for the 
 mischief was already done. I had begun to think things 
 out for myself, and I had arrived very much at the same 
 conclusion that Emmeline had, although I had not dared 
 to express my opinion to any one. 
 
 Once during my married life with him, Brigham invited 
 Emmeline and myself to go with him to Brigham City, 
 
508 HOW BRIGHAM DECEIVED EMMELINE. 
 
 where he was to hold a conference meeting. There was 
 a large party, and we went with the usual pomp which 
 attends such occasions. I enjoyed it better than I did most 
 of the excursions I took with him, because I was very fond 
 of Emmeline, and preferred to have her rather than any 
 of the other wives. I think she felt the same way toward 
 me, because' she knew that I was her champion ; moreover, 
 she was quite aware of my feeling toward " our " husband, 
 and the difficulty he had had in inducing me to become his 
 wife, and she did not consider me in any degree her rival. 
 We arrived one afternoon, and everything was most 
 amicable. He was unremitting in his attentions to Emme- 
 line, and I was very happy to see her happy, and enjoyed 
 myself very much with some of the younger members of 
 the family. In the evening he told Emmeline that he 
 should expect her to accompany him to church the next 
 day. 
 
 The next morning he arose very early, and drove away 
 in a buggy alone ; in a little while he returned with Ame- 
 lia, breakfasted with her, and started away again. In the 
 meantime Emmeline, who had not heard of Amelia's 
 arrival, was preparing to accompany her husband to 
 church ; she dressed with unusual care, and made herself 
 look very pretty. She waited impatiently, but he did not 
 come. I knew of the arrival, and when I went up stairs 
 and saw Emmeline waiting with her bonnet on, I asked 
 her if she was not going to start soon, as it was getting 
 late. 
 
 "I am waiting for Brother Young," said she. 
 
 " He has gone long ago," said I. " I thought you 
 knew it." 
 
 "Gone, without me? Why, that's funny, when he 
 made such a point of my going with him." 
 
 "Yes; but that was before Amelia came." 
 
 Emmeline's face changed expression in a moment. 
 "She here?" 
 
A DISAPPOINTED WIFE. 509 
 
 " Yes ; she came this morning. Brother Young went 
 to the depot to meet her." 
 
 "Then he must have known she was coming. Can I 
 never go any where without having her thrust in my face ? 
 I thought for once I should be spared the infliction." 
 
 She took off her things, and I laid mine aside, too, and 
 in place of going to the grand conference meeting and 
 listening to " our " husband's eloquence, we had a confer- 
 
 WAITING FOR BRIGHAM TO KEEP HIS PROMISE, 
 
 ence of our own, and that morning I came nearer to 
 Emmeline's heart than I ever had before. She talked to 
 me unreservedly and unrestrainedly, and told me events in 
 her history that were full of thrilling interest, but which 
 were given me in confidence, and which I cannot give again 
 to the world. I think the dead eyes would haunt me for 
 ever, and the dead lips would move in ghostly reproach if 
 I betrayed her even now. Dear, loving heart, that beat 
 
so wearily through all the years, I hope you are meeting 
 your reward now, cradled in the infinite love of a Divine 
 Father ! Tears dimmed my eyes and moistened my cheeks, 
 when I read, a few days since, of your death; but they 
 were tears of joy at your glad release, and not such bitter 
 tears of indignant sorrow as I shed that morning over the 
 story of your wrongs. 
 
 I think Brigham felt ashamed and a little conscience- 
 stricken. I know he was decidedly uncomfortable when 
 he met his insulted wife again. He tried every means in 
 his power to propitiate her, and I never saw him assume 
 so abject a manner before. Amelia returned that day, and 
 he told Emmeline that he did not know of her intention to 
 come down, that he had not expected her at all. He also 
 told her that the reason he paid so much attention to 
 Amelia was, that he might " save her soul." 
 
 Emmeline did not believe him when he told her he did 
 not expect Amelia, and she told him so very plainly. He 
 then came to me, and said, 
 
 "Emmeline 's real mad at me isn't she? " 
 "Yes," said I, "but no more than you deserve. I think 
 it's too bad in you to take her for a pleasure trip, and then 
 get Amelia here at the first stopping-place." 
 
 " I didn't get her here. I didn't know she was coming." 
 "Well, all I can say is, it looked like it; you certainly 
 went to the station to meet her." 
 
 " I just went down to see who had come, that's all. Seems 
 to me you're taking Emmeline's part pretty strong ain't 
 you?" 
 
 "Yes, I am, for I think you've treated her badly." 
 "Guess a little of the mad is on your own account 
 isn't it?" 
 
 " Not a particle of it. Amelia doesn't interfere with me." 
 He laughed and went out. Presently Joe made his 
 appearance, probably sent by his father. 
 
 " So Emmeline is cutting up rough about Amelia's com- 
 ing, is she? " he asked of me. 
 
"THE MANIAC." 511 
 
 " Not at all ; she's indignant, but that's no more than is to 
 be expected ; but as for ' cutting up rough,' as you term it, 
 she's too much of a lady to do that." 
 
 "Well, it's too bad to have this fuss ; but I suppose I'm 
 to blame for the whole affair. I was coming down, and I 
 didn't want to come alone, so I asked Mary, Alice, and 
 Amelia to come along too. I never thought of Emmeline 
 when I asked Amelia." 
 
 w Mary " was Joseph A.'s first wife, Alice was his sister, 
 and the two were very intimate with Amelia. This story 
 sounded very well, but I didn't believe it, neither did 
 Emmeline, when she heard it. It was too evident that Joe 
 had been sent by his father to endeavor to make peace. Be 
 that as it may, Amelia did not put in an appearance again 
 during the trip. 
 
 Emmeline had been an invalid for years, and I was not 
 surprised to learn of her death. When I heard of it, I felt 
 as I always do when I hear of the death of any Mormon 
 woman. I thank God to think their misery is over. She 
 had eight children, Marinda, Ella, Louise, nicknamed 
 " Punk " by her father,- Hyrum, Lorenzo, Alonzo, Ruth, 
 and Delia. 
 
 Marinda is the only wife of Walter Conrad. Ella and 
 Louise are both married out of polygamy, one to Nelson 
 Empy, the other to James Harris. Hyrum, so far, con- 
 tents himself with one wife. 
 
 Clara Chase is usually spoken of as "the maniac." She 
 died mad several years since, leaving a large family of 
 children. She married him when quite young, but she 
 never was a firm believer in Polygamy, indeed, she dis- 
 trusted the principles of it from the very beginning, and 
 had many struggles of conscience before she could make 
 up her mind to marry the Prophet, and she suffered per- 
 petual remorse ever after. She had a peculiar face, low- 
 browed and dark, and it was rarely lighted up by any 
 pleasurable motive. There was on it an expression of fixed 
 melancholy that seldom varied or changed. 
 
512 "YOU HAVE SENT ME TO HELL!" 
 
 Knowing her aversion to the system, and her distrust of 
 it and of him, Brigham at first treated her with a very 
 great deal of consideration. He gave her an elegant room, 
 nicely furnished, and placed in it a large portrait of himself. 
 He tried to make her surroundings as cheery as possible, 
 and so wean her from the melancholy into which she had 
 fallen. As long as he devoted himself personally to her, 
 she was comparatively cheerful and content, and tried her 
 best to be happy; but when he neglected her she was 
 almost desperate, and wandered about in a half-dazed 
 fashion, weeping and moaning, and calling on God to for- 
 give her. 
 
 Just before her last child was born, her fits of remorse 
 were terrible. She endured untold agonies, and accused 
 herself of having committed the unpardonable sin, and she 
 knew salvation was denied. Those who were about her at 
 the time, say that it was heart-rending to hear her. 
 
 Just at this time, when her husband should have given 
 her the most love and tenderest of sympathy, he was, more 
 than ever, harsh, cruel, and unfeeling, and treated her with 
 such marked coldness and contempt, that she went insane, 
 and raved constantly. " I am going to hell ! I am going to 
 hell ! " was her agonized cry. " Brigham has caused it ; 
 he has cursed me for ever. Don't any of you go into poly- 
 gamy ; mind what I say ; don't do it. It will curse you, 
 and damn your souls eternally." When she saw her hus- 
 band, she cursed him as the cause of her downfall. w I 
 have committed the unpardonable sin ; you have made me 
 do it. O, curse you ! curse you ! You have sent me to 
 hell, and I am going soon." To her children, as they 
 gathered round her, she cried, " O, don't follow my ex- 
 ample ! Don't go into polygamy, unless you wish to be 
 cursed ! Don't let my children do as I have done," she 
 would say to those about her. No help could avail her. 
 Brigham and his counsellors " laid hands " on her. A doc- 
 tor was called, but all to no purpose. She died in the midst 
 
5*3 
 
 of her ravings. Her children's names were Mary, Maria, 
 Willard, and Phoebe. Mary is dead. Maria is the wife of 
 William Dougall. Phoebe is the only wife of Walter Bade. 
 Willard, the only son, has just graduated with honors at 
 West Point. 
 
 Ellen Rockwood was one of the least regarded of the 
 wives. She was a little woman, in delicate health, and 
 very fond of fancy-work. She was the daughter of the 
 warden of the penitentiary, one of Brigham's faithful officers. 
 Her influence with the Prophet was very small, as she had 
 no children, and was regarded as of little consequence on 
 that account. Still, I do not think that Brigham ever posi- 
 tively ill-treated her. He used to call on her very cere- 
 moniously once in six months. 
 
 Margaret Alley, who was never much of a favorite, died 
 in 1853. She was morbid in temperament, and, before her 
 death, became very melancholy, owing to the neglect of her 
 husband. She had two children, Eva and Mahonri-Mori- 
 anchamer. 
 
 One of Brigham's "proxy" wives was Jemima Angell, a 
 relative of Mary Ann Angell, his first living and legal wife. 
 Her husband had died, leaving her with three children ; and 
 when she came to Nauvoo, Brigham found them. He 
 wanted a servant, and she wanted salvation. The dis- 
 coveries were simultaneous, and she was very soon persuaded 
 to be sealed to him. All the while they were in Nauvoo, 
 "Aunt Mima" worked untiringly, and on the arrival at 
 Salt Lake he gave her a lot of land for her children. One 
 of her sons built a house on it, but she did not occupy it, as 
 she could not be spared from Brigham's kitchen. She 
 worked until she became broken down in mind and body, 
 and then Brigham sent her to her daughter, who was mar- 
 ried to a poor man, and had a large family of children, yet 
 was willing to take her mother, and do the best he could by 
 her. She died very soon, and the daughter's husband 
 telegraphed the news of the death to Brigham ; also the 
 33 
 
514 ^HE END OF "AUNT MIMA!" 
 
 time they should arrive with the body for burial. They 
 lived fifty miles from Salt Lake, in the Weber Valley, and, 
 as they could not obtain a coffin there, they put the body 
 into a box to convey it to her husband, who, when they 
 arrived, was not at home; at least, he could not be found; 
 and what is called the "Eagle Gate," or the entrance to the 
 Prophet's premises, was closed against them. They could 
 not gain admittance for hours ; and, in the mean time, all 
 that was left of " Aunt Mima " lay in a pine box in an open 
 wagon, with every avenue to her husband's house closed 
 against her. 
 
 Finally, even Brigham grew ashamed, and allowed him- 
 self to be found ; and when they asked him where they 
 should take her, said, very carelessly, " O, I suppose she 
 might as well go to her sisters', upon 'the hill ! " She was 
 taken there, and decently buried, though Brigham grumbled 
 about the expense. 
 
 In the mean time, the land that he had given her had in- 
 creased in value, and when the children went to take pos- 
 session of it, he refused to let them have it, although it 
 would have been a God-send to poor Mrs. Frazier, with her 
 large family of children. But his avarice is so inordinate 
 that no amount of suffering stands in the way of his self- 
 enrichment. Once he is bent on obtaining a piece of prop- 
 erty, he does not care whom he defrauds to obtain it. 
 
 At the time he was sealed to Lucy Biglow, he had her 
 sister sealed at the same time. She was very pretty, and 
 he had seemed very fond of her. But suddenly his fond- 
 ness cooled, and he treated her in the most shameful man- 
 ner. He heaped every indignity upon her, and finally sent 
 her back to her parents, saying she had been untrue to him. 
 She protested her innocence ; but all in vain. He would 
 not, or professeji not, to believe her, and talked harshly and 
 cruelly to her when she attempted to vindicate herself. 
 
 Her parents were very much grieved, and were tossed 
 about with conflicting doubts. They wanted to believe their 
 
THE DISGRACED WIFE. 
 
 5^5 
 
 daughter, and, in their hearts, I believe they did ; yet they 
 dared not dispute Brigham. They took the poor, heart- 
 broken girl home, and she fairly pined to death under the 
 disgrace that her husband tried to attach to her name. 
 
 Besides those wives whom I have already mentioned, 
 there have been very many more who have been married to 
 
 THE DISGRACED WIFE. 
 
 him w for eternity." I should be sorry even to guess their 
 numbers. There was also one wife, who, during " Reforma- 
 tion" times, was said to have "run away to California " [a 
 thousand miles away through an uninhabited country, and 
 before the era of railways in the West] ; but it was whispered 
 
HE NEVER SHED A TEAR! 
 
 among wicked Gentiles that really she paid the full penalty 
 of the Endowment-Oaths, and in the Endowment-House, too, 
 her throat being cut from ear to ear, and the other horrible 
 performances gone through, on account of some indiscretion, 
 or want of faith. Of course, I do not vouch for the truth of 
 this statement. I simply give it in common with much else 
 for what it is worth. 
 
 I have heard Brigham say, in speaking of the number 
 of wives and children that he had buried, "that he never 
 shed a tear at anyone's death ; " and I believe that, if every 
 friend he had in the world lay before him, cold and still 
 and with frozen pulse, he would look on unmoved and in- 
 different, and never shed a tear, so utterly heartless is he. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE PROPHET AT HOME. HOW HE LOOKS, LIV^S, AND 
 ACTS. MORMON PHILANTHROPY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 Brigham at Forty-five and at Seventy-five. Slipping the Yoke. The 
 Salt Lake Tribune. Books on Mormonism. Prophetic Philanthropy. 
 
 The New Temple. Paying the Workmen. The Tabernacle. 
 Advantages of the Presidency. Free Schools and Liberal Education. 
 
 Sharp Practice. The Rich and the Poor. Unconscious Sarcasm. 
 
 Looking into the Future. The Spectacles of Ignorance. Personal 
 Habits. The Prophet's Barber. Dinner at the Lion House. The 
 Good Provider. Helping herself. Prophetic Cunning. Evening 
 Devotions. A Gift in Prayer. Advice to the Deity. Fatherless 
 Children. The Bee Hive. Monogamist vs. Polygamist 
 
 NLESS I pause and look 
 back almost to my very 
 babyhood, and contrast 
 Brigham Young as he 
 then was with the Brig- 
 ham Young of to-day, 
 I can scarcely realize 
 the change that has 
 taken place in this man. 
 As I recollect him first, 
 he was a man in the 
 prime of life, with rather 
 a genial face, and a 
 manner which, though 
 abrupt at times, had 
 nothing of the assump- 
 tion and intolerance 
 which' characterize it 
 
 now. Indeed there was, at that time, a semblance of hu- 
 mility, which served his purpose well, by strengthening the 
 confidence of the people in him. 
 
 DINNER AT THE LION HOUSK. 
 
518 THE MORMON MESSIAH. 
 
 Had he claimed, at that auspicious point in his career, 
 when accident placed him at the head of this peculiar sect, 
 that he was the peer of Joseph Smith, upon whom had de- 
 scended the mantle of that martyred saint, his pretensions 
 would have been treated as contemptuously as were Sidney 
 Rigdon's. His shrewdness plainly showed him that, and 
 his cunning and tact pointed out to him the surest way of 
 gaining an ascendency over his followers. 
 
 He taught them that Joseph was their Messiah ; that he 
 was only acting in his place until he should be restored to 
 them in person ; which, strange as it may seem, many still 
 believe will occur, and actually watch for his visible pres- 
 ence among them again. Still, that belief does not obtain 
 so generally as it did during the first years after Joseph's 
 death. The gradual change in the President has not been 
 without its effects, and there is now very much more of the 
 material than of the spiritual in the Mormon belief. 
 
 Nearly everything that was done by him in those earlier 
 days was done in the name of the Lord and Joseph, and 
 he was constantly in the habit of expressing his intentions 
 of carrying out "brother Joseph's" plans. Gradually, as 
 he could without its being too closely observed and com- 
 mented on, he dropped "brother Joseph," and made his own 
 desires the law by which the people were to be ruled. 
 Yet so quietly and subtly was this done, that the Saints 
 never knew when they passed from the rule of Joseph 
 Smith and superstition, to the absolute despotism of Brig- 
 ham Young, which has been indeed a " reign of terror." 
 
 The absolute belief which he used to express in Joseph, 
 and his unquestioning faith in his works and mission, he 
 expected every one to yield to him in turn ; and he and his 
 immediate followers and associates have taught and insisted 
 upon this blind subjection so long, that the Mormon people 
 have neglected to use their reasoning powers, until they 
 have become so blunted, that the majority of them are inca- 
 pable of arriving at any conclusions by their own unaided 
 effort, or of forming any independent opinions. 
 
5*9 
 
 In the early days, in his intercourse with the people, he 
 was one of them, a sharer in their adversity, a compan- 
 ion, and a friend. Now, he holds himself apart from them, 
 looks upon himself as above and beyond them, as some- 
 thing better than they, and they partake of his own de- 
 lusion, and assist him in his self-deception. 
 
 Now and then one keener than the rest sees the change, 
 and deplores it. Rough old Heber C. Kimball could never 
 become reconciled to it, and, more honest and more daring 
 than the others, used to express himself very freely. 
 
 "Brigham's God is gold," he said one day to the apostle 
 Orson Hyde ; " he is changed much since he and I stood 
 by each other, in the old days, defending the faith. He 
 has become a selfish, cold-hearted tyrant, and he doesn't 
 care at all for the old friends who have stood by him and 
 loved him. What do you think of that, Brother Orson?" 
 
 " That sort of talk may do for Brother Heber," was the 
 reply, "but it would not do for Brother Orson. He could 
 not express himself in that manner with impunity, so he 
 will say nothing." 
 
 At forty-five Brigham Young was a common looking, 
 very ordinary appearing man, in no way the superior of 
 the majority of the church, and decidedly the inferior of 
 some of the members. He was homely in speech, neither 
 easy nor graceful in manner, and dressed very plainly in 
 homespun. 
 
 Brigham Young, at seventy-five, has the appearance of 
 a well-preserved Englishman, of the yeoman class. There 
 is less bluster in his manner than formerly, but more inso- 
 lent assumption. He is still the mental inferior of some of 
 the officers of his church, but in crafty cunning and mali- 
 cious shrewdness he is far in advance of an} r of his asso- 
 ciates. He is not more finished and elegant in his mode of 
 speech, but he says less, and consequently has won the 
 opinion of having grown more pleasing in his address. 
 -He is arrogant to his inferiors, and unpleasantly familiar to 
 
52O APING THE GENTILES. 
 
 the very few whom he desires for any reason to conciliate. 
 He dresses in the finest of broadcloth, fashionably cut, is 
 more finical than an old beau, and vainer and more anx- 
 ious than a young belle, concerning his -personnel. He 
 says that this change in his mode of dress has been brought 
 about by his wives. I have no doubt that Amelia may 
 have had some influence in that direction ; still his own 
 inclinations probably had just as much to do with it. 
 
 Since he has allowed himself to see and be seen by more 
 of the outside world than he formerly did, he has grown to 
 appear more like the Gentiles, concerning whom he sneers 
 so loudly, even while aping their manners and customs. 
 He is impatient of criticism, and as sensitive to public opin- 
 ion as though he were not constantly defying it. He is at 
 once ambitious and vain, and, like all persons who turn 
 others to ridicule, is very sensitive to anything approaching 
 it when it is directed towards himself. He reads every- 
 thing that is written against him. I think no book has ever 
 been published, exposing him and his religious system, 
 which he has not perused, from the title page to the con- 
 clusion. He loses his temper every morning over the Salt 
 Lake Tribune, the leading Gentile paper of Utah, and 
 longs for a return of the days when one word of his would 
 have put a summary and permanent end to the existence of 
 this sheet, by the utter annihilation of everything and every- 
 body connected with it. But the time is forever past when 
 the "unsheathing of his bowie-knife," or the "crooking of 
 his little finger," pronounced sentence upon offenders, and 
 the Gentile paper and its supporters flourish in spite of him. 
 
 I remember once going into his office, and finding him 
 examining the advertising circular of a book on Mormon- 
 ism, written by a lady who had for a time been a resident 
 of Utah. He commenced reading it aloud to me in a 
 whining voice, imitating the tone of a crying woman. 
 Yet, notwithstanding this attempt to make a jest of it, I 
 knew that the publication of this book annoyed him exces- 
 
BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
PROPHETIC BEGGING. 521 
 
 sively, and that he was both curious and anxious concern- 
 ing the contents, and the effect they would produce ; for, 
 with all his professed contempt for Babylon and its Gentile 
 inhabitants, he is very sensitive concerning the opinions 
 which are held concerning him by these unregenerate souls. 
 
 Unscrupulous and avaricious, he has made even disasters 
 profitable to himself. After the tragical hand-cart expedi- 
 tion, he sold the hand-carts that remained when the emi- 
 grants had all got in for fifteen dollars apiece. This was 
 to go to the "church fund," which virtually means "Brig- 
 ham's private purse." It has been already related how he 
 made his "improved carriage scheme" more than pay for 
 itself several times over, although they did not survive the 
 first trip. 
 
 As " Trustee in Trust" of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 the Latter-Day Saints, all the money of the church passes 
 through his hands, or, more properly speaking, into them, 
 since it is rarely known to leave them again. The tithing- 
 fund, and the subscriptions for various church purposes, 
 are all given into his keeping ; and although the sums of 
 money gathered in this way have been very large, none of 
 it has ever been appropriated to the cause for which it was 
 supposed to be intended by those sacrificing souls who de- 
 nied themselves that the Lord might be served. 
 
 He is as inexorable a beggar to-day as he was forty 
 years ago, when he was a humble follower of Joseph 
 Smith, preaching the new gospel to whoever would hear 
 him, and being fed and clothed by whoever would supply 
 his wants. He made no hesitation in letting these wants be 
 known, and he would request that they should be relieved 
 in the name of the Lord. 
 
 " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these 
 my little ones, ye have done it unto me," has been the stan- 
 dard teaching of the Mormon missionaries from the very 
 earliest days ; and no one could enlarge on this passage 
 more eloquently than Brother Brigham when he was in 
 
522 RAISING THE WIND. 
 
 need of a new coat, or a small sum of money, or even a 
 supper and a night's lodging. 
 
 He is as eloquent now, when talking on the subject of 
 giving, with this exception in his style of address, that he 
 now demands instead of asks, and it is disastrous to refuse 
 him. He begs for the missionaries, and the poor men never 
 get a cent of the thousands of dollars that are raised for 
 them. He begs for the Temple, which is his pet subject, 
 whenever there is nothing else to beg for, and the amount 
 of money which he has raised for the building ought to 
 have erected several very imposing edifices. 
 
 Many years ago he levied contributions upon the English 
 Saints for the purchase of glass for the Temple windows. 
 The sum desired must be collected at once. The Lord was 
 soon coming to enter upon his earthly kingdom, and the 
 place must be prepared for him. Missionaries preached, 
 and laymen exhorted ; they astonished even themselves by 
 their eloquence, as they dwelt upon the beauty of Zion, the 
 city ot the Lord, and the glory that was to descend upon 
 his chosen people. Those who were not moved by their 
 oratory were impelled by their command ; but, for the most 
 part, the money was given voluntarily. Working men and 
 women took a few pennies from their scant wages, and gave 
 them with wonderful readiness, and then suffered from cold 
 and absolute hunger for days after. But they suffered with 
 painful joyousness and devotion, since they were giving it 
 to the Lord, who had chosen them out of all the world for 
 his very own people, and who would make their self-denials 
 here redound to their glory and grace when at last they 
 should arrive in his presence. 
 
 At that time, the foundation walls of the Temple were 
 barely above the ground, and the work has progressed very 
 slowly since. At any rate, the glass has not been bought, 
 and there seems very little probability of window material 
 being needed at present ; and if the Lord is not to visit the 
 Saints until his home is completed, even the younger 
 
ARCHITECTURAL INSPIRATIONS, 
 
 523 
 
 MORMON TEMPLE NOW BUILDING. 
 
 members of the present generation will not be likely to 
 see Him. 
 
 The "Tabernacle," 
 where the Saints wor- 
 ship at present, is one of 
 Brigham's few " inspira- 
 tions," and is as great a 
 success as are most of 
 his inspired ideas. It is 
 an ugly-looking build- 
 ing, oval in shape, with 
 a sort of arched roof, 
 which shuts down over 
 it, like the lid of a wick- 
 er-work basket. It is 
 very commodious, which 
 is its chief recommenda- 
 tion, holding comforta- 
 bly twelve thousand persons. In this w inspired " edifice, 
 every law of acoustics is outraged, and only a small por- 
 tion of the congregation can hear what the speaker is say- 
 ing. It is two hundred and fifty feet long, one hundred 
 and fifty feet wide, and eighty feet high, while there is not 
 a column in it to obstruct the view, and the interior view is 
 flat and expansive. 
 
 The organ claims to have been built by a good Mormon 
 brother, assisted by a large number of mechanics ; and is 
 said to be the largest ever built in the United States. It is 
 placed at the end of the Tabernacle, directly back of the 
 speakers stand, and the seats for the choir are arranged on 
 each side of it. 
 
 This building, in which the Saints are to worship until 
 the more pretentious Temple is finished, is ugly in the out- 
 ward appearance, cheerless in the interior, very inconven- 
 ient in its arrangements, and practically useless unless the 
 walls are draped so as to render the voices of the speakers 
 
524 
 
 BALANCING ACCOUNTS. 
 
 audible ; but wheu the new building which is said by 
 Brigham to be of Divine architecture shall be completed, 
 it is probable that these things will be vastly improved. 
 
 In the mean time the begging goes on, but the work 
 moves slowly. Large contributions come flowing in, but 
 the Temple does not advance visibly ; while Brigham adds 
 house to house, field to field, increases his bank deposits, 
 and lives as well as any man in his position would wish to 
 live. 
 
 The people will take no bonds from him ; and as it would 
 
 INTERIOR OF TABERNACLE ON SUNDAYS. 
 
 seem like questioning the Lord's anointed, he is supposed 
 to administer the financial affairs under the direction of the 
 Lord, no statements are ever required of him. Once in a 
 while, however, he goes through the form of a settlement 
 of accounts, which he simplifies immensely, by a system 
 all his own. It is said that at one time he balanced his 
 account with the church by ordering the clerk to place two 
 hundred thousand dollars to his account for services ren- 
 dered, which was exactly the sum of his indebtedness to 
 the church. This was in 1852; and in 1867 he repeated 
 this peculiar financial operation ; this time making his ser- 
 
A LIBERAL SALARY. 525 
 
 vices liquidate an obligation for nine hundred and sixty- 
 seven thousand dollars. 
 
 It is worth while to be President of the Church of Jesus 
 Christ of Latter-Day Saints at a salary like that, and it is 
 no wonder that he desires to keep it in the family, and is so 
 anxious to appoint a successor. 
 
 But on the other side, see at what terrible rates the poor 
 people must have been taxed to have paid for the support 
 of this one man and his family, between the years 1847 
 and 1867 a period of just twenty years one million 
 one hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars, nearly sixty 
 thousand dollars a year. This does not include many 
 grants of land and other property, made to him by the ter- 
 ritorial legislature, nor his compensation by the United 
 States government as governor and Indian agent. Although 
 a very ignorant man himself, able neither to read nor write 
 the English language correctly, he has always been a bit- 
 ter opponent of free schools and liberal education. 
 
 "I will not give a dollar,'' he says, "to educate another 
 man's child. If you school your children, there is great 
 danger of their becoming blacklegs and horse thieves," he 
 announced on one occasion, yet he seems quite willing that 
 his own should take the risk. All of them have received 
 a certain amount of education, enough to make them pre- 
 sentable in society, and some have had quite superior ad- 
 vantages. One son has just graduated at West Point, 
 another is a student at the Michigan University Law 
 School, and a third has just entered Cornell University. 
 
 Every attempt that has been made for the establishment 
 of free schools he has fiercely battled against, and the 
 other officers of the church have invariably followed his 
 lead. He assures his people that education is the bitterest 
 foe to labor. If they allow their Children to be taught any- 
 thing they will no longer be of any service to their par- 
 rents. He dilates largely upon this subject in the Taber- 
 nacle. 
 
526 BRIGHAM ON EDUCATION. 
 
 "I am utterly opposed to the schools," he said, in one 
 address. " They have been introduced into the States in 
 consequence of the tyranny of the rich over the poor. But 
 instead of keeping the people poor, and then providing 
 free schools for them, I would have the rich put out their 
 money to usury by giving the poor employment, that they 
 may be able to sustain themselves and school their own 
 children. It is the duty of the rich to use their means, as 
 I have done myself, in building factories, railroads, and 
 other branches of industry, in order that the laboring peo- 
 ple may have a chance to work together, and improve their 
 condition ; the rich taking their portion, and all growing 
 wealthy together." 
 
 There is an unconscious sarcasm in this last sentence 
 that is positively sublime. That one expression, " as I have 
 done myself," is the supremest satire. I do not believe 
 there is anywhere a man so suspicious of his workmen, so 
 penurious in his dealings with them, so anxious to cut their 
 wages down to the very lowest penny, as is Brigham Young. 
 I know men who have been in his employ for years, and 
 have never received the least remuneration. They have 
 worked on and on, and when at last they have brought a 
 bill against him for their labor, they have been met with 
 one equally large on his side for house rent, or goods from 
 the co-operative store, or are told that their labor is to go 
 toward paying their tithing. 
 
 If all the rich men use their means, w as I have done 
 mine," therefore there will be very little chance of the 
 poor man being able to educate their children at all : which 
 is exactly what Brigham Young wants. Had he spoken 
 the truth he would have said, "I am opposed to free schools. 
 They will rend this dark veil of superstition which envel- 
 ops you, and let in the light of reason, and this will loosen 
 my hold on you. If you educate your children you make 
 better men and women of them, but they will not be such 
 blind slaves to me as you have been. The day that sees 
 
THE FAMILY DINNER. 527 
 
 knowledge generally disseminated throughout this commu- 
 nity sees my power broken, my 'opportunities' gone, and 
 therefore, with my consent, we will have no free schools." 
 
 Unlettered and uncultured as he is, he recognizes the 
 power of education, and that is why he is such a bitter op- 
 ponent to general culture, and why, at the same time, he 
 takes special care that his own children shall lack no ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 His personal habits are quite simple, and he is very 
 regular in his mode of living. He rises usually about 
 seven o'clock, dresses and breakfasts very leisurely, and 
 appears at his private office about nine. He examines his 
 letters, dictates replies to his secretary, reads the morning 
 papers, or has them read to him, and attends to some of 
 his official business. His barber comes to him at ten 
 o'clock, and for the time he is engaged exclusively at his 
 toilet. The presence of visitors never interrupts this im- 
 portant event of the day. The rest of the morning he 
 devotes to callers, and to such business as requires his own 
 personal attention. At three he dines, and it is then that 
 he meets his family for the first time in the day. Dinner 
 is served at the Lion House, and the appearance of Brig- 
 ham Young's family at dinner is very similar to that at a 
 country boarding-house, when the gentlemen are all away 
 at business in town, and the wives and children are left 
 together. At a short table, running across the head of the 
 long dining-room, Brigham sits with his favorite wife by his 
 side. In the days when I first used to be at the Lion 
 House, as a partial guest and partial resident, Emmeline 
 Free occupied this place of honor ; but after Amelia's ad- 
 vent, poor, loving Emeline was thrust aside. When Brig- 
 ham brings guests to dine with him, they have seats at this 
 table also. At a long table, running lengthwise of the 
 room, all the other wives are seated, each with her children 
 about her. At the sound of the large dinner-bell, they all 
 file in, seat themselves quietly, grace is said by the "pre- 
 
528 HELP YOURSELF, LADIES. 
 
 siding patriarch" from his table, and the meal goes on. 
 The family table is plainly spread, and supplied with the 
 very simplest fare, while the smaller one is laden with 
 every delicacy that the markets will afford. These, how- 
 ever, are only for the President and his favorite wife, and 
 the rest of the family must be satisfied merely to look at 
 them, and enjoy the dainties bv proxy. 
 
 A very amusing incident took place once at this family 
 dinner. One of the wives, not usually considered among 
 the most spirited ones, who, like all the rest, had sub- 
 missively taken the food which had been set before her for 
 years, was one day seized by the spirit of discontent. She 
 had taken a fancy that she should like some of a particular 
 dish which graced her husband's table. She did not ex- 
 press her wish, but quietly rising from- her place, went 
 straight to the other table, helped herself to the coveted 
 article, and returning as quietly as she came, took her seat, 
 and resumed her meal, amidst looks of consternation from 
 the other wives, and of indignant amazement from her 
 husband. Surprise made him absolutely speechless for the 
 moment ; but I fancy she was properly reproved in due 
 time, for she never attempted a repetition of the act. 
 
 When strangers are invited to dine, the tables are more 
 uniform in their appointments. The usual contrast between 
 the one at which the Prophet and his favorite sit, and that 
 around which the other wives and their families are gath- 
 ered, is not nearly so marked. There is an air of abun- 
 dance, and even of luxury, on these occasions, which gives 
 the Prophet the reputation, among his guests, of being, 
 what is called in New England parlance, w a good pro- 
 vider." 
 
 If only some of these deluded visitors could accidentally 
 happen into the same room at a similar meal, they would 
 see the true state of affairs ; but Brigham's family are never 
 visited accidentally. Indeed, it is but a short time since 
 visitors have been allowed in the Lion House at all, for the 
 
A STRANGE FAMILY GATHERING. 
 
 Prophet has always maintained the strictest privacy regard- 
 Ing his family. 
 
 After dinner, they see no more of him until " family pray- 
 ers." At seven o'clock the bell is rung, and the wives and 
 children gather in the large Lion House parlor. Not only 
 are the wives who live in the house expected to be present, 
 but those who have homes outside are also supposed to 
 attend evening worship. Not all of them avail themselves 
 of this privilege, and the outside attendance is somewhat 
 
 FAMILY PRAYERS AT " THE LION HOUSE/' 
 
 irregular. I used to go whenever I felt inclined, which 
 was very seldom ; and the longer I was a member of the 
 family, the more infrequent became my attendance. 
 
 Brigham sits in the centre of the room, at a large table, 
 on which is an ornamental "astral" lamp. The wives and 
 their respective families are ranged around the room, in the 
 order in which they appear at the table. When all are 
 seated, Brigham reads a few passages of Scripture, all 
 kneel down, and he makes a long prayer. 
 34 
 
530 
 
 He was formerly said to have a special "gift" for prayer, 
 and he has not lost it; but somehow his prayers never 
 inspired me with veneration. He prays with great unc- 
 tion, and, I suppose, unconsciously to himself, some of his 
 patronizing manner slips into his appeals to the throne of 
 Divine Grace, until his petitions always seemed to me to be 
 very much like advice to the Deity rather than entreaties 
 for the Divine blessing. If he chances to be in a good 
 humor, he chats a little while before leaving the room ; but 
 if not, he goes away directly prayers are over, and that is 
 the last that is seen of him by the household until the next 
 day at dinner. 
 
 Some of his children are almost strangers to him. They 
 know nothing of fatherly affection, and while they feel that 
 they have, socially, a sort of prestige, by being so closely 
 related to him, they feel, personally, only a dread and fear 
 of him. He never invites their confidences, nor shows 
 himself interested in their affairs ; all this would be quite 
 incompatible with his ideas of prophetic dignity. 
 
 The Lion House, where most of the wives live, is a long, 
 three-storied house, at the very left of what is known as the 
 Prophet's Block. It receives its name from the stone figure 
 of a lion crouching over the front portico. -There is a stone 
 basement ; then the main building, of wood, with peaked 
 gable, narrow pointed Gothic windows, and steep roof. In 
 the basement are the dining-room, kitchen, laundry, and 
 cellar. The parlor is on the principal floor, and the rest 
 of the house is taken up by the apartments of the wives, 
 each wife having a greater or less number of rooms accord- 
 ing to the size of her special family. 
 
 Next to the Lion House is a low building, which is used 
 as the "Tithing-Office." Here all the clerks have their 
 desks, and receive visits from the Saints who come on 
 church or personal business. Adjoining that is Brigham's 
 private office, where he receives his own visitors. At the 
 extreme right is the Bee-Hive House, a large building, 
 
CHANGING VIEWS. 531 
 
 which has always been used as Governor Young's official 
 residence. 
 
 Lucy Decker has always had the care of it, and has 
 lived there with her children. No wife was ever permitted 
 to share her husband's apartments there, until the reign 
 of Amelia was opened. She has lived there since her 
 marriage, and has been virtually the recognized "head of 
 the harem." It is extremely probable that when her new 
 house is fully finished, the Bee-Hive House will be the 
 official residence only in name, and the household there 
 will see less of him than ever. 
 
 Polygamist, as he professes to be, he is, under the influ- 
 ence of Amelia, rapidly becoming a monogamist, in all 
 except the name. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 BRIGHAM AS A FARMER. MY NEW HOUSE. TAKING 
 
 BOARDERS. 
 
 One Year after Marriage. Life at the Farm. House-keeping Extraor- 
 dinary. Bread and Milk Dinners. Brigham Tries to Catch us Nap- 
 ping. Hours of Labor. Dejection. My New House. Parlor 
 Stairs. " Wells Wanted." My Mother receives Notice to Quit. 
 My Elder Brother Pays her Board. Failing Faith. Taking Board- 
 ers. The Prophet's Contemptible Meanness. Brigham's Neglect. 
 Rev. Mr. Stratton. I open my Heart. The New Religion. Woman's 
 Sphere. First Glimpses of the Outer World. Forming Resolutions. 
 
 FTER we had been 
 married a year, Brig- 
 ham decided that I 
 should go to "The 
 Farm" to live. He 
 has several farms 
 among his landed pos- 
 sessions, but this one, 
 which supplies the Salt 
 Lake City family with 
 milk, butter, cheese, and vege- 
 tables, is always spoken of as 
 " The Farm." It is about four 
 miles from the city, within 
 pleasant driving distance, but 
 is by no means a desirable place 
 of residence. 
 
 Every one of the wives who had been compelled to live 
 there had become confirmed invalids before they left the 
 place, broken down by overwork ; and the prospect was not 
 a pleasant one to me, never strong, and unused to hard, 
 continuous labor, such as I knew I should be obliged to 
 
 TOILING FOR BRIGHAM. 
 
AWAY FROM CIVILIZATION. 533 
 
 perform as mistress of the farm-house. But, as it was my 
 husband's will, I went, without a word of protest. I had 
 one bit of comfort my mother was to accompany me. 
 
 Outwardly, my new home had a lovely appearance, and 
 Brigham never tired of descanting on its beauties to any 
 one who would listen to him. These expressions of admi- 
 ration would have been reasonable enough, had not the 
 eulogistic owner insisted on its comfort and convenience, as 
 well as on its beauty ; but he was just as earnest in recom- 
 mending it for those virtues which it did not possess, as he 
 was in lauding it for its pleasant exterior. And, indeed, 
 with its somewhat irregular architecture, its wide verandas, 
 vine-draped and shaded, its broad, low windows, and 
 beautiful surroundings, it is one of the pleasantest looking 
 places that one would care to see. 
 
 It is built after one of the Prophet's own plans, and he 
 says that it cost twenty-five thousand dollars. Possibly it 
 did ; but I am certain that, with the same amount of money, 
 I could build a house that should vastly exceed that in ex- 
 ternal beauty and interior appointments. 
 
 The walls are very thin, and the sun and heat penetrated 
 in summer, and the cold in the winter, making it at once 
 the warmest and the coldest house I ever saw. That might 
 have been a recommendation, had the temperature been 
 regulated to suit the seasons ; but, unfortunately for our 
 comfort, it was hot when we wished it cool, and vice versa. 
 My mother hazarded an opinion to this effect in Brigham's 
 hearing, and he was greatly scandalized by it. He in- 
 formed her that she had been so long away from civiliza- 
 tion that she was not a proper judge of what a house ought 
 to be ! They both left " civilization " at the same time. 
 
 Housekeepers will understand something of its inconven- 
 ience, when I tell them that the stairs leading to the second 
 story went directly from the parlor ; that all the sleeping 
 rooms were up stairs, and that, in order to reach them, we 
 had to pass through a dining-room thirty feet, and a parlor 
 
534 AN AMIABLE VISITOR. 
 
 forty feet in length; that hired men, family, and visitors 
 were all compelled to use the same staircase. If any 
 member of the family was ill, everything needed for the 
 invalid had to be carried from the kitchen to the sick room, 
 rendering the care of the invalid tiresome in the extreme. 
 
 The duties of housekeeper at " the Farm " were neither 
 slight nor easily performed. There were butter and cheese 
 to make from forty cows, all the other dairy work to attend 
 to, besides cooking for twenty-five or thirty men, including 
 the farm laborers and the workmen from the cocoonery. I 
 know at least six women who have been completely broken 
 down under the work at the farm-house, and neither my 
 mother nor myself have ever recovered from the illness 
 contracted there from overwork. My mother made the 
 butter and cheese, and took charge of the cooking. I 
 assisted in the latter, took care of the house, did the wash- 
 ing and ironing, and was allowed the extreme pleasure of 
 carrying the farm supplies to the other wives every week. 
 
 We had occasional visits from Brighami He was very 
 fond of coming unexpectedly, and at all sorts of irregular 
 hours, hoping, evidently, that some time he might catch us 
 napping. He was so addicted to fault-finding, and so easily 
 displeased, that we took no pleasure in his visits, and I 
 grew to be positively unhappy every time his approach was 
 heralded. If his coming had brought any comfort, I should 
 have looked eagerly forward to his visits ; as it was, I 
 dreaded them, and grew ill with nervousness and appre- 
 hension every time he came to us. 
 
 I remember one day, when he visited us. he came about 
 noon, just as mother had placed dinner for the workmen 
 upon the table. He walked up and down the dining-room, 
 surveying every dish with a critical eye, until we began to 
 fear that something must be terribly amiss. He professed 
 to be such a connoisseur in all matters relating to the cui- 
 sine, and was so frank, to say the least, in the expression 
 of his opinions, and so careless of the terms which he em- 
 
HARD WORK AND POOR FARE. 535 
 
 ployed, that we dreaded the remarks which were almost 
 certain to follow this critical scrutiny. 
 
 After the men were seated at the table, Brigham called 
 my mother into the adjoining room. "You cook too good 
 food for those men," he said; "it is too rich for their 
 stomachs." 
 
 " I wish to give them something which they can eat, and 
 I try to do so," replied she. "They work hard, and I 
 surely can do no less than give them palatable food ; yet if 
 you do not approve of my manner of providing for them, I 
 will make any change you may suggest, if I can satisfy 
 the men with the fare." 
 
 " It don't make any difference whether they are satisfied 
 or not," was the answer. " I say it is healthier for them to 
 have bread and milk, and you must give it to them." 
 
 " Shall I give them this, and nothing else, three times a 
 day? " inquired she. 
 
 "Well, once in a while you may set on a little butter, 
 too," was the generous reply. 
 
 " But are they to have no meat? " 
 
 " Perhaps I will allow them a little occasionally, but they 
 are much better off without it." 
 
 This is a specimen of the interference to which we were 
 constantly subjected. 
 
 At another time, he told my mother that six o'clock was 
 too early an hour to give the men their supper in summer. 
 It was a waste of time, he said ; they ought to work in the 
 fields two or three hours longer, at the least. My mother 
 reminded him that after supper there were the forty cows 
 and other stock to be cared for. He said that could as well 
 be done after dark as before ; there was no danger of the 
 men hurting themselves with work ; nobody ever did, that 
 was in his employ. They all were leagued together, men 
 and women alike, to swindle him, and his wives were as 
 bad as the rest. 
 
 My mother told the overseer what Brigham had said, and 
 
5 3^ PROPHETIC STAIRS . 
 
 he replied that, even for the Prophet, he should not ask the 
 men to do another hour's work a day ; they were over- 
 worked already, and they should leave off work at six 
 o'clock each day, as they always had done. That ended 
 the matter, and the tea hour was unchanged. 
 
 I lived here for three years and a half, long, uneventful 
 years, and how I hated my life ! It was dull, joyless, 
 oppressed, and I looked longingly back to the dear old days 
 at Cottonwood, the restful days that never could come again. 
 Even the love I bore my children was changed. It was no 
 less tender, no less deep, but it was less hopeful and more 
 apathetic. I clung to them in a kind of despair, and I 
 dreaded the days, which must inevitably come, when my 
 clinging arms could no longer infold them, when my love 
 alone would cease to satisfy. 
 
 I could not tell my feelings to my mother, for, although 
 she was as sensitive to Brigham's captious fault-finding as I 
 was, habit was very strong upon her, and she could never 
 separate him from her religion. 
 
 At the end of the three years and a half, he told me one 
 day that he was building a house for me in town, which he 
 intended to have me remove to as soon as possible. It was 
 out of no feeling of regard for me, or care for my comfort, 
 which influenced him ; he simply wished to put some one 
 else in the farm-house, and it was necessary that I should 
 move, to make room for the new comer. I knew all this 
 perfectly well, yet I was so happy at the thought of getting 
 out of all the drudgery of the past years, that I was per- 
 fectly indifferent to the motives which induced him to make 
 the change for me. 
 
 When he told me of the house, I said I had one request 
 to make of him, which I hoped he would grant. 
 
 "What is it?" inquired he. 
 
 " Are there to be chambers in my new house? " 
 
 "Yes, certainly." 
 
 " Then will you please not to build the stairs from the 
 
MY NEW HOUSE. ANNOYING MY NEIGHBORS. 537 
 
 parlor. Let them go out of any other room in the house, 
 but do not disfigure that one. Besides being ugly," I con- 
 tinued, "it is inconvenient, and excessively annoying to be 
 obliged to pass through the best room at all times, and on 
 every occasion." 
 
 "You can have stairs out of every room in the house, if 
 you want them," was the reply. 
 
 I was quite satisfied, for I thought that equivalent to a 
 promise that my parlor should be left as I wished it. He 
 told me that he was spending five thousand dollars on my 
 new house, and, from his description, I fancied it must be 
 a very charming place. 
 
 Visitors to Salt Lake City are always taken to see " Ann 
 Eliza's house," and much is made of the fact that it was 
 built expressly for my use ; but the following equally im- 
 portant facts are carefully concealed : 
 
 Taking a view of it from the street, it was ,an exceedingly 
 pretty cottage, with an air of cosiness about it, which fre- 
 quently called out remarks from passers by, who thought 
 " Sister Ann Eliza very fortunate in her home." Inside it 
 was very inconvenient, and badly arranged, being built 
 after the stereotyped prophetic plan. The rooms were very 
 small, the kitchen being scarcely large enough for a doll's 
 house, measuring ten feet one way, by six feet the other. 
 And yet in this room all the washing, ironing, and cooking 
 for the family were to be done. Then, to my bitter disap- 
 pointment, the only stairs in the house ascended from the 
 parlor ! That, too, in the face of my expressed wish. 
 
 There were no facilities for obtaining water, and we were 
 compelled to depend upon our neighbors' wells. Naturally 
 enough, this annoyed them, and they used frequently to say 
 that Brigham Young was abundantly able to provide a well, 
 and they did not care to furnish water for his family, or any 
 portion of it. Speaking to him concerning these matters 
 was worse than useless, for I never could influence him in 
 the slightest, while every suggestion which I ventured to 
 
538 BRIGHAM'S MEANNESS. 
 
 make irritated him extremely ; so I held my peace, after one 
 or two attempts to change things a little, so that the house 
 should be more convenient. 
 
 I had scarcely got settled in my new home, when he told 
 me that my mother must leave me ; he could not afford to 
 support her any longer. This, too, when she had worked 
 herself ill in his service, and had asked no reward for her 
 labors except the privilege of staying with me, her only 
 daughter ; the child from whom she had never been sep- 
 arated for any great length of time. 
 
 I cried bitterly after my husband had left me, but I would 
 not tell my mother what he had said. I knew she would 
 be sorely grieved, and that she would go away at once. 
 Her independent spirit would not permit her to remain a 
 pensioner on this selfish man's unwilling bounty. 
 
 I could not live without her. I leaned on her in piteous 
 dependence, and looked to her for all the comfort I had 
 outside of my children. In addition to the dread and dis- 
 like which had grown up in my heart toward my husband, 
 I was beginning to lose faith in the religion which he rep- 
 resented. His petty meannesses, his deceit, his unscrupu- 
 lousness, his open disregard for the truth, all were so utterly 
 at variance with the right, that I could no longer look upon 
 him as a spiritual guide and director. 
 
 I looked about me, and on every side I saw so much of 
 misery, that I felt it must be a false faith indeed, which 
 brought such unhappiness to its followers. Yet I knew no 
 other religion, and I groped about in a state of spiritual 
 bewilderment, tortured by many conflicting doubts. 
 
 I did not dream, then, of trying to get out of it; my 
 only thought was how to live with the least misery, and my 
 best comfort was to keep my mother. 
 
 Finding that I did not tell her, after repeated orders from 
 him to do so, he threatened to send her away himself. In 
 great distress of mind, I went to my elder brother, who 
 offered to pay me five dollars a week for my mother's board, 
 
A FRIEND IN REV. MR. STRATTON. 539 
 
 and on those terms Brigham expressed his willingness that 
 she should remain with me. 
 
 I now began to find it difficult to make him provide even 
 the commonest necessaries of life for me, and I plainly saw 
 that I must take things into my own hands, and earn my 
 own support, and that of my children. I asked permission 
 of my husband to take boarders, and he granted my re- 
 quest with amazing readiness ; so I went to work in good 
 earnest, and soon succeeded in filling my house. As it 
 chanced, all my boarders were Gentiles. Brigham knew 
 this perfectly well, yet he did not seem in the least con- 
 cerned about it. Indeed, of so little importance was I, or 
 my actions, that he never troubled himself to come near 
 me after he had given his consent that I should support 
 myself in the way I considered the easiest. The last time 
 that he ever visited me was months before I left my home. 
 
 Previous to the time of receiving these new inmates into 
 my family, I had one acquaintance outside the Mormon 
 Church. This was Mr. Howard Sawyer, a Gentile gentle- 
 man, to whom I was introduced while visiting at Mrs. Ra- 
 chel Grant's. Some time after I had commenced my work 
 of self-support, I met him again at the house of Mr. Na- 
 thaniel V. Felt, a Mormon. The Rev. Mr. Stratton, pas- 
 tor of the Methodist church in Salt Lake, was with him, 
 and he introduced us at once. He had previously told Mr. 
 Stratton that I spoke very freely on the subject of Mormon- 
 ism, and that he need not hesitate to question me, as he 
 would find me very frank and honest in the expression of 
 my opinions. 
 
 Mr. Stratton was the first representative of a religion 
 outside the Mormon belief whom I had ever met, and I lis- 
 tened anxiously to every word he said, hoping to find some 
 ray of light and cheer. As he talked, I felt very strongly 
 drawn toward the world which he and Mr. Sawyer repre- 
 sented, and I longed to know more concerning it. I was 
 much impressed by this interview ; and at its close, Mr. 
 
54 DEEPER DESPAIR. LONGING FOR COMFORT. 
 
 Stratton expressed a wish to see me again, and to have 
 his wife meet me. I was struck by his very manner of 
 speaking of her. I had never heard a woman referred to 
 in so deferential a tone before, and I wondered at it. 
 
 As the days went by, I grew more miserable, and longed 
 inexpressibly for the comfort, which neither my people nor 
 their religion for it had ceased to be mine could give 
 me. I remembered Mr. Stratton's kindly words, and I 
 ventured to send him a message by Mr. Graham, one of 
 my boarders, asking if I might see him and his wife, and 
 talk with them. 
 
 An urgent invitation to visit them came by way of speedy 
 
 reply ; and in response, 
 I spent an entire after- 
 noon at their house. 
 They received me so 
 cordially that my heart 
 went out in love toward 
 them at once. I talked 
 to them unreservedly, 
 and opened my soul to 
 them. I told them of 
 my childhood, my re- 
 ligious training, my 
 unhappy domestic ex- 
 perience, and all the 
 occurrences of my 
 
 RELATING MY STORY TO MR. AND MRS. STRATTON. . J 
 
 marriage to Bngham 
 
 Young. They listened with earnest sympathy, and when 
 I finished my story were overflowing with words of pity 
 and consolation. I shall never forget them in my life. 
 They were the sweetest words which had ever been spoken 
 to me, for they helped me to see the way out of bondage. 
 It was the first glimpse I had ever had of domestic life 
 outside of polygamy, and the deference which the husband 
 showed to the wife, the confidence she displayed in him, 
 
RISING HOPES. NEW RESOLUTIONS. 54! 
 
 and her perfect ease in his presence, were very strange to 
 me. The equality on which they seemed to stand puzzled 
 me. I could not understand this religion which regarded 
 woman as an independent soul, with a free will, and capa- 
 bility of judgment. The inferiority of women is so strongly 
 insisted upon by the Mormon doctrine that I supposed it 
 must be the same everywhere, and the first view which I 
 got of this sweet household was a revelation to me. 
 
 I carried home a braver and stronger heart than had beat 
 in my bosom for many a long day. I went about my daily 
 duties as quietly as though there were not a resolution form- 
 ing in my mind which was speedily to overturn my whole 
 life, and bring me into a new and strange existence. 
 
 Meanwhile my destiny was working itself out in a way I 
 knew not, turning my feet into unexplored paths ; and I 
 did not yet see where I was straying, nor what the near 
 future was holding in store for me. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 BREAKING THE YOKE. I LEAVE MY HOME. 
 
 The Workings of Destiny. A Noble Lawyer. A Small Stove and a 
 Large Family. Last Interview with Brigham. A Startling Proposal. 
 Sickness and Gentile Care. Brigham's Police. A Moral Thun- 
 derbolt. My Third Baptism. A Religious Farce. I Decide to 
 Escape. A Memorable Day. Removing in Forty Minutes. The 
 Walker House. Among the Gentiles. A Perilous Situation. New 
 Hopes. Interviewed by Reporters. Unwelcome Notoriety. A 
 Touching Letter. A Visit from my Father. The Paper War. Over- 
 shooting the Mark. Sueing for a Divorce. A Tempting Offer, $15,000 
 and my Freedom. The Prophet Astonished. 
 
 FTER a person has 
 made up his or her 
 mind to take any step 
 in a new direction, it 
 seems as though every 
 event of the life points 
 the same way. It is al- 
 most as if decision had 
 been forced upon him, 
 and the course of ac- 
 tion was inevitable. 
 
 It was but a very few 
 days after my first 
 memorable visit to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stratton, 
 when I received in my 
 family a gentleman and 
 his wife by the name of Hagan. Mr. Hagan was a 
 lawyer of considerable repute in Salt Lake City, and I 
 found both himself and his wife very pleasant inmates of 
 my home. 
 
 My family had increased so, that it was quite impossible 
 to do the necessary amount of cooking on the very small 
 
 ALONE AT THE HOTEL. 
 
MY LAST VISIT TO BRIGHAM. 543 
 
 stove which was in my "toy" kitchen. I made up my 
 mind to ask Brigham for another, since, as I was working 
 hard to support myself, he ought to be willing to assist me 
 to this extent. 
 
 I called one day at his office, the last call I ever made 
 him, by the way, and preferred my request. He looked 
 at me for a moment in evident surprise. 
 
 "I believe you are keeping boarders." 
 
 "Yes, I am," was my reply ; "and that is why I want the 
 stove. I cannot do the necessary cooking on the one I 
 have." 
 
 " If you want a cooking-stove, you'll get it yourself. I've 
 put you into a good house, and you must see to the rest. I 
 cannot afford to have so many people calling on me for 
 every little thing they happen to think they want." 
 
 I was much distressed and disturbed after this interview. 
 I had known that I must take care of myself for some time, 
 and I had gone about it bravely and willingly, and I felt 
 that this rebuff was in every sense undeserved. Never, 
 during my whole married life, had I made one unnecessary 
 request; and, however much I might have "cost him," as 
 he used to say in speaking of the very small amount he 
 spent for me, I felt that I had more than repaid in hard, 
 unceasing labor. If he does not wish to support us, why 
 does he place us in the position to expect support from him, 
 was my bitter thought. I did not seek the position of 
 wife to him ; it was forced upon me ; and I was now com- 
 pelled to endure the indignities which he chose to heap 
 upon me. 
 
 Mrs. Hagan's kindly eyes discovered my distress, and 
 she instantly begged my confidence. I gave it unreserv- 
 edly and fully. She asked leave to tell her husband, and 
 he, indignant at the treatment I was receiving, consulted 
 with other lawyers, and all agreed in advising me to bring 
 a suit against Brigham for divorce and alimony. 
 
 Mr. Hagan assured me that if I did not gain the suit I 
 
544 A STARTLING PROPOSITION. DARK DAYS. 
 
 should have found a way of getting out of my life in Mor- 
 monism ; that it would be a test case, showing how the po- 
 lygamous wives of Mormons stood in the law, and that I 
 would find ready sympathy from the outside world. 
 
 This proposal, although it startled me, came at a time 
 when I was more ready to entertain it than I should have 
 been at any other period. My mother had discovered Brig- 
 ham's feelings toward her, and had left my house to return 
 to my father's farm at Cotton wood, and I was grieving over 
 her absence ; still, had she been with me, I should have said 
 nothing to her on this subject ; for, although she was losing 
 confidence in Brigham Young, she still clung to her re- 
 ligion, while I had not one spark of faith in it remaining. 
 
 In the mean time Mr. Hagan went to California for a 
 short trip, begging me to decide upon the matter before his 
 return. The more I thought upon the subject the more 
 perplexed I grew, until I fairly broke down under the 
 weight of nervous anxiety, and became very ill. My board- 
 ers took all the care of me through my sickness. I was 
 entirely dependent on them for every care. Not one mem- 
 ber of Brigham's family came near me, and I was as ut- 
 terly neglected by them as though they had not known of 
 my existence. 
 
 Those days of struggle were dark indeed, and oftentimes I 
 did not know which way to turn. Perils and miseries faced 
 me on every side. I was in doubt as to which was the true 
 religion, or whether any were true. The question fre- 
 quently arose, What would become of me if I apostatized? 
 My church taught me that I should be given over to eternal 
 damnation. And although I had ceased to regard my 
 church and its teachings, yet I had a slight feeling of su- 
 perstition left, and in my weak state I could but portray to 
 myself the horrors of my situation if what it taught were 
 really true. 
 
 At this juncture, I received a visit from the Ward Teach- 
 ers, whose duty it is to visit each family in the city, and ex- 
 
MY THIRD BAPTISM. A RELIGIOUS FARCE. 545 
 
 amine the different members as to their spiritual welfare. 
 They are an inferior order of ecclesiastics, who serve the 
 various purposes of religious instructors for the weak and 
 ignorant, revenue officers to gather tithing, and general 
 police to spy out and report irregularities or weakness of 
 faith among the brethren. 
 
 The spokesman began by asking, " Sister Young, do you 
 enjoy the spirit of our religion ? " 
 
 "No, sir, I do not" was my reply. 
 
 If a thunderbolt had fallen among them they could not 
 have been more surprised. They argued with me, coun- 
 selled me, prayed with me, and finally I concluded to make 
 one more attempt to cling to Mormonism. They begged 
 me to be rebaptized, and I consented, although I had little 
 faith in the ordinance. 
 
 Accompanied by a friend, I went to the Endowment 
 House, where they have a font in which this rite is per- 
 formed. We waited two hours for those in charge to get 
 the names and ages of a lot of Danes, who were to be bap- 
 tized for their dead relatives. My patience and very doubt- 
 ful faith were about exhausted. At last they were ready, 
 and I, as a wife of the President, was honored by being 
 first taken. The men officiating were talking and laughing 
 as if engaged in an every-day affair, while I was trying to 
 feel solemn and to exercise faith, a signal failure, I assure 
 you. I was led into the water by a great strapping fellow, 
 who mumbled a few words over me and plunged me in. I 
 was taken from the water gasping for breath, and placed in 
 a chair. Some more words were spoken over me, and the 
 farce ended. Everything was done in such a business-like 
 manner, with an utter absence of anything of a devotional 
 nature, that I was thoroughly disgusted, and made no fur- 
 ther effort to believe in Mormonism or its ordinances. 
 
 Mr. Hagan, on his return, found me fully determined on 
 following his advice. I was ready to renounce my religion 
 and leave my home. I did not know all that was included 
 35 
 
54 6 
 
 REMOVING IN HASTE. 
 
 in my resolution, else I might have faltered in my new de- 
 termination. My plans were quickly laid, and with the 
 assistance of the friends whom I had found in this hour of 
 trouble, were carried into instant execution, before they 
 could be discovered by Mormon spies. 
 
 On the 1 7th of July, 1873, I sent all my furniture to an 
 auction-room, leaving my house stripped and desolate. It 
 was done so quickly that no one had time even to suspect 
 
 CARRYING MY FURNITURE TO THE AUCTION ROOM. 
 
 my intention. Arrangements having been previously made, 
 three furniture vans came at the same time, and in forty 
 minutes my entire household goods were in charge of the 
 auctioneer. They were sold the next day, and I realized 
 three hundred and eighty dollars from the sale. The furni- 
 ture was worth almost nothing, being old and worn, and of 
 common quality at its best ; but my friends bought it at large 
 prices, "to help the young apostate," as the Tribune said. 
 
IN A HOTEL FOR THE FIRST TIME. 547 
 
 I had sent the elder of my boys to his grandmother, the 
 younger remained with me, and together we went to Mr. 
 Stratton's house, where we passed the afternoon. In the 
 evening Mr. and Mrs. Stratton took us to the Walker 
 House, the Gentile hotel, which I have ever since claimed 
 as my Salt Lake City home. 
 
 Imagine, if you can, my feelings, on being alone with 
 my little child, in a strange place, under such peculiar cir- 
 cumstances. I had abandoned my religion, left father, 
 mother, home, and friends, deliberately turned away from 
 them all, knowing that the step I was taking could never 
 be retraced. My heart cried out for my mother, who I 
 knew would be more sorely stricken with my action than 
 any one else in the world. I would have spared her if I 
 could, but I was powerless to act in any other manner. 
 
 It was the first time in my life that I had been in a hotel ; 
 and, as I was among people who I had been taught were 
 my bitterest enemies, I was overwhelmed by a sense of 
 desolate helplessness. I did not know what my fate would 
 be. Every footstep in the halls startled me ; for I expected 
 that each would bring some one to summon me to a dreadful 
 death. I fully believed that was to be my last night on 
 earth, so I prepared for death ; but the agony of suspense 
 was awful. I had been taught that no deed was too bad, 
 no outrage too dastardly, for the Gentiles to commit upon 
 the Mormons ; and here I had allowed myself to be placed 
 so fully in their power that they might do with me as they 
 pleased, and my fate would never be known. 
 
 Does any one wonder that I did not seek refuge with 
 some Mormon friend, of whose sympathy I was sure? No 
 Mormon would have dared to give me shelter. I was in 
 open rebellion against their leader, and had I remained 
 one day among them, my doom would have been irrevoca- 
 bly fixed. 
 
 Neither did I dare to remain with my friends, the Strat- 
 tons ; for in so doing I should expose them to Mormon fury, 
 
548 
 
 A DREARY NIGHT. EXCITING TIMES. 
 
 and endanger their lives and their home. So I sought 
 the only place of refuge open to me with untold fear and 
 dread. 
 
 I laid awake all night wishing for the day to dawn, yet 
 fearing that I should never see it; and when the first ray 
 of light came through my windows I was relieved and 
 hopeful. 
 
 With morning came a new excitement. The news of 
 
 : ^~ _-ypr |,^rr^\! Tl-~v | -jlffi ' 
 
 o>^t^df^i dli; 
 
 EXCITEMENT IN SALT LAKE CITY. 
 
 my flight from home had gone abroad, and the morning 
 papers were full of it, the Mormon journals abusing, the 
 Gentile journals praising and congratulating me. This part 
 of the experience had never suggested itself to me. It had 
 never occurred to me that it would be made a public matter, 
 and I shrank from the very thought. I felt myself a marked 
 object. Reporters called on me, seeking interviews for the 
 California, Chicago, and New York papers, and questioned 
 
AN AGONIZING LETTER FROM MY MOTHER. 549 
 
 me until I was fairly bewildered. I had gone to bed a poor, 
 defenceless, outraged woman, trying to find my way out of 
 a false life into something truer and better, and I arose to 
 find that my name had gone the length and breadth of the 
 country, and that I was everywhere known as Brigham 
 Young's rebellious wife. 
 
 People who were curious to see one of the wives of the 
 Prophet, swarmed into the hotel. I could not leave my 
 room, nor did I dare to do so, nor to allow my children out 
 of my sight for nearly two months. The Mormon papers 
 commenced to assail me in every way, while the Gentile 
 papers came unanimously to my defence. In the midst of 
 it came this most heart-rending letter from my mother : 
 
 "My DEAR CHILD : You can never know how dear you are to 
 your grief-stricken mother. Your death would have been far 
 preferable to the course you are taking. How gladly would I 
 have laid you in your grave, had I known what was in your heart. 
 I now pray that you may be spared for repentance and atonement ; 
 for, as sure as you are living, a day of repentance will come ; a 
 day of reckoning and of sorrow, such as you have never imagined. 
 Now, let me entreat of you to pause, and retrace your steps before 
 it is too late. The Lord, my Father, grant that you may listen to 
 your mother's last appeal, and flee from your present dictators, as 
 you would from the fiends of darkness. 
 
 u You will never know the effort I am making to write this. 
 When I first received the blow, it struck me down like a flash of 
 lightning, and the first I remember, I was praying for your death 
 before you sinned past redemption. My much-loved child, come 
 to your mother, and try to smooth her pathway to the grave. I 
 should pray to be laid there at once, if I did not hope to save you 
 yet. The path you are pursuing leads to the lowest depths of 
 woe, and I pray, every moment of my life, that you may speedily 
 be arrested. Oh, how could you turn against us? How could 
 you break our hearts? Your father's house, and your brother Gil- 
 bert's house, are both filled with weeping friends, who are de- 
 ploring your fate ; and I implore you, in the name of all that is 
 sacred, to come back to us. You seem to be encircled in a cloud 
 
55 WAR COMMENCED. 
 
 of almost impenetrable darkness, but the Lord our God is able to 
 remove the veil, and enlighten you in his own way. I can only 
 pray for you. 
 
 " My heart is broken, my dear and much-loved child. I loathe 
 the sight of food, and sleep has forsaken my eyelids. The idol is 
 rudely broken that I have worshiped so long. My fault has been 
 in loving you too well, and having too great anxiety for your 
 welfare. 
 
 u I pray you to forgive me for all the wrongs you imagine I 
 have done you in bringing you up as I have done. I have ever 
 been laboring, teaching, and instructing with the best of motives, 
 with an eye to your interests. I shed the bitterest tears I ever did 
 in my life. God grant you may never have cause to shed such 
 tears. If I can ever be the least comfort to you, do not fear to let 
 me know. I close by repeating, come to the arms of your heart- 
 broken but still anxions 
 
 " MOTHER." 
 
 If she agonized over the writing of that letter, so I did 
 over the reading. I longed to fly to her ; but even to make 
 her happy I could not violate my conscience, and go back 
 into the old bondage of darkness again. 
 
 My father came at once to see me ; and although he at 
 first disapproved of my course, yet when the Mormon 
 press commenced to assail me, he came over to my side 
 at once. 
 
 Brigham and his friends commenced their usual method 
 'of warfare against a woman who opposes them, by instigat- 
 ing slanders of all sorts for the Gentile papers outside of 
 Utah to publish. They found a ready assistant for their 
 noble and generous attempt in the person of a fellow of low 
 repute, employed as item-gatherer for the Salt Lake Her- 
 ald, who had recently been converted to Mormonism through 
 the agency of Brigham Young's purse, and was now ready 
 to do any foul work for his master. 
 
 His first act was to send a dictated falsehood to the San 
 Francisco Chronicle. He was a telegraph operator, and, 
 through Brigham Young, who, it is alleged, virtually con- 
 
BRIGHAM TRIES TO COMPROMISE. 55 1 
 
 trols the Associated Press and the Western Telegraph Office 
 in Utah, he had access to wires, and sent all the scandalous 
 messages which his employer dictated, until it became so 
 plainly apparent that he was serving Mormon interests, that 
 the papers refused to publish any more of his misstate- 
 ments. 
 
 As a reward for his labor, he was promised a daughter 
 of Mayor Wells as his wife. The young lady has not yet 
 acquiesced in the arrangement, and he still hangs about 
 Salt Lake, despised alike by Mormons and Gentiles. 
 
 The Gentile element in Salt Lake made itself strongly 
 felt in my favor, and the Gentile press combated bravely 
 the scurrility of the Mormon organs. Ladies and gentle- 
 men called on me with offers of sympathy. All the persons 
 connected with the hotel were kindness itself. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Stratton stood by me nobly, and I have never ceased 
 to thank God for raising up such friends in my time of need. 
 I shall always hold them most specially dear, although 
 our paths in life have so diverged that we rarely meet. 
 Through General Maxwell, who was so kind as to come 
 forward with offers of assistance, I brought suit for divorce 
 against Brigham Young. 
 
 Surprised, as every one was, by this action, I think no one 
 was more astonished than the Prophet himself. He would 
 have looked for rebellion from almost any other wife sooner 
 than from me, I had been so quiet and acquiescent during 
 all rny married life with him. He was annoyed by the 
 publicity of the affair ; for, although he likes notoriety, and 
 courts it, he did not care to appear as defendant in a suit for 
 divorce, on the grounds of neglect and non-support. It 
 would not sound well in the Gentile world. 
 
 He tried to effect a compromise with me, and through his 
 son-in-law, Hiram B. Clawson, offered me fifteen thousand 
 dollars and my freedom if I would carry the suit no further. 
 I will confess that the offer tempted me. I ctfuld take my 
 children and go away quietly with them, and avoid the 
 
552 A LEGAL FIGHT COMMENCED. 
 
 notoriety which I so hated. If it had been my own individ- 
 ual case alone, I should have eagerly accepted the offer, 
 and made the compromise. But when I thought how much 
 was involved, how many other lives would be affected by 
 the decision which would be given in my case, I put all 
 thought of settlement aside. I would not now be bought by 
 the man who refused to care for me when it was his duty to 
 do so ; and I said to my lawyers, and General Maxwell, 
 "Go on." There was no further delay, and the legal fight 
 commenced at once. As so much has been said concerning 
 this trial, and as it seems so generally misunderstood, I will 
 devote a chapter to the legal points, and an epitome of the 
 court proceedings, as far as they have reached, so that the 
 general public may more fully understand what I sought, 
 and what grounds I had to justify my action. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE DIVORCE SUIT. PROCEEDINGS IN COURT. BRIG- 
 HAM'S AFFIDAVIT. 
 
 I bring an Action against the Prophet. My " Complaint " against Him. 
 - What the " Complaint " Stated. My Birth and Early Life. My 
 Marriage with the Prophet. Exile to Brigham's Farm. Cause of 
 Action for Divorce. The Question of Alimony. My own Affidavit. 
 
 Corroborative Testimony. Opinion of Judge McKean. Brigham 
 Young's Reply and Affidavit. The Prophet states the Value of his 
 Property. Wonderful Difference of Opinion. Proceedings in Court. 
 
 Judge McKean Sums Up. Order for Allowance and Alimony. 
 Judge McKean Removed. His Order Quashed by the New Judge. 
 The Latest Proceedings. 
 
 N the 28th of July, 1873, 
 I commenced an action 
 for divorce against Brig- 
 ham Young in the Dis- 
 trict Court of the Third 
 Judicial District of Utah, 
 and the ** Complaint" 
 was served upon him 
 by the United States 
 marshal. 
 
 This** Complaint "set 
 forth, with the usual pro- 
 lixity of all legal instru- 
 ments, the grievances 
 which I had appealed to 
 the law to remedy ; but, 
 as it would be utterly 
 impossible, in the cir- 
 cumscribed limits of these pages, to give that document 
 entire, I shall present the reader with as succinct a rcsum 
 of its contents as I possibly can. 
 
 BKIGHAM FINED AND IMPRISONED FOR CONTEMPT 
 OF COURT. 
 
554 STATING MY CASE. 
 
 It was addressed " To the Hon. James B. McKean, Judge 
 of the Third Judicial District Court, in and for the Terri- 
 tory of Utah, and County of Salt Lake, in Chancery sit- 
 ting, 9 and the following are the several items which it con- 
 tained: 
 
 It began by slating who and what I was ; that I was born 
 at Nauvoo, Illinois, but had, since the year 1848, been res- 
 ident in Utah ; that I was the wife of Brigham Young ; and 
 that I was married to him on the 6th of April, 1868, when 
 I was in my twenty-fifth year, and was the mother of two 
 children by a former marriage,, one four and the other 
 three years of age ; that neither I nor my children had* any- 
 tiling to depend upon, a fact of which Brigham was well 
 aware, and also that my children were boys, still living. 
 
 That Brigham had lived with me for about a year after 
 our marriage, treating me with some degree of kindness, 
 and providing, though inadequately, for my support ; and 
 that I had always fulfilled my duties as a wife toward him. 
 
 That about a year after our marriage he began to neg- 
 lect and ill-treat me ; that during the year 1869 he sent me, 
 against my wishes, to a farm, four miles distant from Salt 
 Lake City, where, for three years and a half I was com- 
 pelled to labor until I was completely broken down in 
 health; that my only companion was my mother; that, 
 except the limited fare which the defendant allowed me, he 
 appropriated all the proceeds of the farm ; and that on the 
 few occasions when he visited the farm he treated me with 
 studied contempt, objecting even to my aged mother re- 
 ling with me, after her health was destroyed by over- 
 
 on his farm. 
 
 That toward the end of 1872 Brigham removed me to a 
 house in Salt Lake City, where, however, he seldom visited 
 me ; that when I called upon him to ask a supply of the 
 necessaries of life, he used the most opprobrious language 
 toward me, and gave me so little that I had to work con- 
 stantly to support myself and children. 
 
SEEKING A SEPARATION. 555 
 
 That for five years past my health had been so bad that 
 I was now altogether unfitted to labor, and was in constant 
 need of medical advice ; that Brigham knew it, but repeat- 
 edly refused to furnish me with assistance, medicine, or 
 food, so that I was obliged to rely upon the charity of 
 friends ; that Brigham had declared he would never do 
 anything more for me, and said that henceforth I must sup- 
 port myself, notwithstanding that he was the owner of sev- 
 eral millions of dollars ; that, as President of the Mormon 
 Church, he occupied a very important position, and I be- 
 lieved that his monthly income could not be less than forty 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 That I had been compelled to sell my furniture, and all 
 my household goods, in order to obtain the necessaries of 
 life ; and that, for a year previous to that date [1873], Brig- 
 ham had entirely deserted me. 
 
 Further, I stated that it was impossible for our union to 
 continue ; that I prayed for a separation, and also an allow- 
 ance, as all I possessed consisted of about three hundred 
 dollars, and my children were dependent upon me for sup- 
 port ; I asserted that I had secured the aid of Messrs. F. 
 M. Smith, A. Hagan, and F. Tilford as my counsel; that 
 I had been informed that twenty thousand dollars \yould be 
 a reasonable compensation for their services ; and I there- 
 fore prayed the court to direct a subprena, commanding 
 the defendant, Brigham Young, to appear to answer to my 
 suit ; that, pending it, he might be ordered to pay me 
 a thousand dollars a month from the date of filing this 
 bill, a preliminary fee of six thousand dollars to my coun- 
 sel, and that after the final decree he should pay them the 
 remaining fourteen thousand, and all the expenses of the 
 court. 
 
 Furthermore, I prayed, that after our legal separation, he 
 might be ordered to support myself and children suitably ; 
 and that for that purpose the sum of two hundred thousand 
 dollars might be set aside from his estate. 
 
556 
 
 This bill, the substance of which I have given above, 
 was signed by m}' solicitors, Smith, Hagan, and Jilford, 
 and to it the following was appended : 
 
 " TERRITORY OF UTAH, 
 
 ss. 
 
 County of Salt Lake* } 
 "Ann Eliza Young, being first duly sworn, deposes and 
 says : That she is the complainant in the above entitled 
 action ; that she has heard read the foregoing bill of com- 
 plaint, and knows the contents thereof, and that the same 
 is true of her own knowledge, except the matters and 
 things therein stated on information and belief, and as to 
 those she believes them to be true. 
 
 "ANN ELIZA YOUNG. 
 
 "Subscribed and sworn to before me, this ipth day of 
 July, A. D., 1873. JOSEPH F. NOUNNAN, Clerk" 
 
 A motion for an allowance and counsel fees was noticed 
 for hearing at the same time, and the service was by the 
 same officer. This document was headed with all due 
 form and ceremony. It stated, I, Ann Eliza Young, the 
 plaintiff, being duly sworn, alleged : 
 
 That I was the wife of Brigham Young, the defendant ; 
 that while I was living with him, and performing the work 
 mentioned in the bill already filed, he acquired enormous 
 property, of the value of several millions of dollars, and 
 was now the owner of at least eight millions. 
 
 That I had no means of knowing his exact income, but 
 was sufficiently informed to allege that it was at least forty 
 thousand dollars a month. 
 
 That the facts stated in the bill were true ; that I and my 
 children were penniless; that knowing the power and in- 
 fluence of Brigham, that he had the disposition to harm 
 me, and that my life would be unsafe in any private house, 
 I had taken refuge in the chief hotel in Salt Lake City, 
 the Walker House, about the I5th of July, where I had 
 
FURTHER AFFIDAVITS. 557 
 
 since resided ; that my expenses were very large, but that 
 I had no income, and that my health was too feeble to allow 
 me to work. I therefore prayed the court to grant me the 
 items included in the bill already filed. 
 
 This affidavit was signed by me, and countersigned by 
 Joseph F. Nounnan, the clerk of the court. 
 
 Attached to it was an affidavit, signed C. M. Turck, 
 making, upon oath, a statement of the destitute condition in 
 which I was previous to the time when I left my private 
 residence and went to the Walker House. 
 
 Of this affidavit it is needless for me to speak in detail, 
 further than to say that it more than fully establishes to the 
 utmost all that the previous bill and affidavit affirmed. 
 Other affidavits were made by gentlemen who knew me 
 well, one by Mr. Malcolm Graham, and another by my 
 medical adviser, J. M. Williamson, both of which fully 
 confirmed my own statements. 
 
 James B. McKean, judge of the court, was absent tempo- 
 rarily on account of sickness at that time, and Judge Em- 
 erson, of the First District Court, presided for him. Judge 
 McKean had held that, in equity cases, the United States 
 marshal was the proper officer to serve process, but the 
 defendant came into court at the time appointed for the 
 hearing, and moved to quash the service of the process, on 
 the ground that the "territorial marshal," and not the United 
 States marshal, was the proper officer to serve the process 
 in the case. Reversing the rule administered by Judge 
 McKean, the judge temporarily presiding held the motion 
 good, and quashed the service. 
 
 Therefore new process was issued, and placed in the 
 hands of the territorial marshal, accompanied by an order 
 to the defendant to appear and answer to the motion for an 
 allowance and alimony. This was regularly served, and 
 at the day appointed the defendant appeared by counsel, 
 and, for cause against the motion, filed his demurrer to the 
 bill, on the ground that the District Court had not jurisdic- 
 
55$ BRIGHAM DENIES OUR MARRIAGE. 
 
 tion of the subject of divorce in Utah Territory. Two days 
 were occupied in the argument of this question, and it was 
 taken under advisement for ten days longer. At the end 
 of that time the presiding judge came into court, and held 
 that this court had no jurisdiction in matters of divorce, and 
 denied the motion. 
 
 The case then stood over, by an agreement between the 
 counsel, until the following May, 1874. ^he Supreme 
 Court of the Territory, at its term held in that month, in 
 the case of Cast vs. Cast, decided that the district courts of 
 the territory had jurisdiction in actions for divorce and ali- 
 mony, thus reversing the opinion of Emerson, justice in 
 this case. The case being afterwards in July, 1874 
 called on for hearing on the demurrer to the complaint in 
 the District Court, McKean, presiding, overruled the de- 
 murrer, and gave the defendant leave to answer. 
 
 Thereupon my counsel asked and obtained leave to 
 renew the motion for an allowance and alimony pending 
 the suit which had been denied. It is proper also here to 
 state, that on the 24th of June, 1874, Congress enacted a 
 law expressly conferring authority in divorce cases on the 
 District Court of the Territory ; but this law only affirmed 
 by legislation what the Supreme Court had already decided 
 to be the law. 
 
 On the 24th of August, 1874, Brigham Young filed 
 an answer, of which the following is a correct summary : 
 
 He denied that at any time he had been married to nje. 
 
 That at the time when my affidavit alleged that this mar- 
 riage to me took place, I was really the wife of James L. 
 Dee, never having been legally divorced from him, but 
 that he [Brigham] believed at the time of alleged marriage 
 in April, 1868, that I had been properly divorced from Dee. 
 
 He alleged his previous marriage with Mrs. Mary Ann 
 Angell Young, at Kirtland, Ohio, on the loth of January, 
 1834, an d tnat tne sa id legal wife was still living, of which 
 fact I, complainant, was aware. 
 
BRIGHAM'S STATEMENT. 559 
 
 He admitted his marriage with me, after the custom of 
 the Latter-Day Saints, but denied that the marriage was 
 legal, in any sense acknowledged by the laws of the land. 
 
 He then proceeded to deny every one of the counts in 
 my complaint, seriatim, winding up with the following 
 statement : 
 
 " Defendant denies that he is or has been the owner of 
 wealth amounting to several millions of dollars, or that he 
 is or has been in the monthly receipt from his property of 
 forty thousand dollars or more. On the contrary, defendant 
 alleges that, according to his best knowledge, information, 
 and belief, all his property, taken together, does not exceed 
 in value the sum of six hundred thousand dollars, and that 
 his gross income from all of his property, and every source, 
 does not exceed six thousand dollars per month. 
 
 "Defendant further says, that at the time of the said alleged 
 marriage, this defendant had, and still has, a very large 
 family ; that his said family now consists of sixty-three per- 
 sons, all of whom are dependent upon this defendant for 
 maintenance and support. 
 
 " Whereof the defendant prays judgment of the court that 
 he be hence dismissed with his costs herein. 
 
 "WILLIAMS, YOUNG & SHEEKES, and 
 HEMPSTEAD & KIRKPATRICK, 
 
 Defendant's Attorneys" 
 
 To the replication of defendant, which was very lengthy, 
 denying or explaining away every point in the bill which I 
 had filed, the following was appended : 
 
 "TERRITORY OF UTAH, 
 County of Salt Lake. \ SS ' 
 
 "Brigham Young, being duly sworn, on his oath says: 
 That he has heard read the foregoing answer, and knows 
 and understands the contents thereof, and that the same is 
 
560 THE TRIAL PROCEEDS. 
 
 true of his own knowledge, except those matters therein 
 stated on his information and belief, and as to those matters 
 he believes it to be true. Affiant further says that he is the 
 defendant in the above entitled suit. 
 
 "BRIGHAM YOUNG. 
 
 "Subscribed and sworn to before me this 25th day of 
 August, 1874. 
 
 "Jos. F. NOUNNAN, Clerk? 
 
 The court then gave me, or my counsel for me, leave to 
 renew the motion for alimony as asked ; and notice having 
 been given, the motion was by agreement fixed for hearing 
 on the 3d day of October following. My counsel also filed 
 a motion to strike out portions of the defendant's answer, 
 and on the hearing of the motion for alimony, insisted upon 
 submitting it to the court. When the motion was called for 
 hearing, I offered to submit a number of affidavits bearing 
 on the question of alimony, which were filed and served with 
 the original complaint. The defendant objected to the read- 
 ing of them, on the ground that they had not had sufficient 
 notice of them by the notice renewing the motion, and they 
 were withdrawn. 
 
 The defendant then offered to read affidavits in support 
 of his answer, but as they had not been served, and their 
 contents not made known prior to the hearing, they were ob- 
 jected to and excluded. It also appeared that the affidavits 
 were addressed to other matters of defence than those set up 
 in the answer. 
 
 The hearing was then had upon my complaint and the 
 defendant's answer, my counsel at the same time submitting 
 their motion to strike out certain objectionable portions of the 
 answer, and insisting that such portions should be disre- 
 garded by the court, and treated if the motion were well 
 founded as out of the answer. 
 
 The questions involved were argued, and on the 23d day 
 
PLURAL MARRIAGES ILLEGAL. 561 
 
 of February, 1875, the judge decided the motion for alimony, 
 pending the suit, in an elaborate written opinion, of which 
 the following is an accurate summary : 
 
 The Judge, Jas. B. McKean, laid down nine general 
 axioms tending to demonstrate that the defendant's pleas 
 were invalid; that a marriage solemnized in Utah, after 
 Mormon fashion, would be legally valid, provided the 
 parties married were competent to enter into that engage- 
 ment ; that the court could not grant a divorce if the marriage 
 were proved bigamous or polygamous ; that the court had 
 power to grant alimony, and intended to do so to the extent 
 of one twelfth of what the defendant admitted his income to 
 be, or one eightieth according to my assertion. 
 
 He then summed up the statements of both parties to the 
 suit. He gave the substance of my " Complaint," and then 
 took into consideration Brigham Young's reply. 
 
 Then he considered the defendant's denial that any mar- 
 riage had ever taken place between us ; his statement that, 
 at the time when I alleged that our marriage took place, I was 
 actually the wife of Jas. L. Dee, never having been properly 
 divorced from him ; and also his admission that we had 
 been married polygamously in April, 1868. 
 
 The judge gave quotations from various sources to prove 
 that this marriage was legal and binding according to the 
 laws of the Territory and of the United States, notwithstand- 
 ing that the forms of the Mormon Church were used ; pro- 
 viding, always, that we were both competent to enter into 
 the contract. 
 
 He discussed the assertion of defendant that he was also 
 incompetent to marry while his lawful wife, Mary Ann 
 Angell, was still living. This, the judge explained, was 
 the admission of felony ; as, if admitted, it would prove that 
 the defendant had entered into a bigamous marriage. Such 
 statements he, the judge, said should be admitted as evi- 
 dence, so far as they were to defendant's prejudice, but 
 must be proved true before thev could be admitted as evi- 
 
 36 
 
562 BRIGHAM ARRESTED FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT. 
 
 dence against the plaintiff. The defendant must prove that 
 the plaintiff was the wife of another man, and that he him- 
 self was the husband of another woman, on the 6th of April, 
 1868. 
 
 The judge stated, that in order to prove the allegations 
 made on both sides, it would be necessary to summon wit- 
 nesses, procure documentary evidence, &c., which would 
 involve very great expense. He should, therefore, allow 
 alimony, and a certain amount for costs of prosecution. 
 
 He quoted legal precedents to show what amount should 
 be considered reasonable ; and then he summed up, and de- 
 creed that, after considering all circumstances, the court 
 had concluded to order defendant to pay three thousand 
 dollars for the prosecution of the suit, and also five hundred 
 dollars a month for the maintenance of plaintiff and her 
 children, from the day of the filing of the "Complaint." 
 The order was accordingly made. 
 
 In deciding the question, it will be seen that virtually the 
 court disregarded portions of the answer, and, to that ex- 
 tent, sustained the motion to strike out those portions, though 
 it did not formally pass on that motion. 
 
 The defendant excepted to the decision, and shortly after- 
 ward filed a notice of appeal, and bond to stay proceedings 
 under the order. 
 
 The copy of the order directing the payment of the ali- 
 mony was duly served personally on Brigham Young ; and 
 demand having been made upon him for the allowance made 
 for my attorney's fees, and payment refused, he was arrested 
 in proceedings in contempt, and brought before the court. 
 
 His answer to the proceedings consisted of a showing that 
 he had taken an appeal, and filed a bond for a stay, &c., 
 and, therefore, he was not in contempt. The court held it 
 not to be an appealable order, and adjudged that he pay a 
 fine of twenty-five dollars, and be committed to custody for 
 one day, which was complied with. 
 
 Thereupon he caused the amount then due under the 
 
ONE DAY IN CUSTODY. 563 
 
 order to be paid. My allowance he had been given twenty 
 days to pay, and this portion of the order had hot been com- 
 plied with, and had not become due, except five hundred 
 dollars, which was paid, when Judge McKean was removed 
 by President Grant, and David P. Lowe, an ex-congress- 
 man from Kansas, was appointed chief-justice, and succeeded 
 to the position. 
 
 Shortly after Judge Lowe entered upon his duties, pro- 
 ceedings were begun by counsel to bring the defendant up 
 again in contempt, for refusing to comply with the order 
 as first stated. On appearing, he again showed cause, by 
 claiming his right of appeal, as in the former hearing ; and 
 objected, also, that the district courts had no jurisdiction of 
 matters of divorce at the time of the bringing of the suit ; 
 that the order was null and void ; that there was no con- 
 tempt. 
 
 The court held, in deciding the matter, that it had juris- 
 diction ; that the order was not appealable. In the course 
 of his summing up, he said, "The complaint and answer 
 are each upon oath, and it appears from the record as well 
 as from the statement of counsel in argument, that the order 
 for alimony and expenses was made upon the complaint and 
 answer alone, without any other evidence or shoiving what- 
 ever. It is the general doctrine of the courts in divorce, 
 that before temporary alimony can properly be awarded, 
 the marriage must be admitted by the parties, or established 
 by proofs. In the very recent case of York vs. York, 34 
 Iowa, 530, it is said, 'Alimony is a right that results from 
 the marital relation , and the fact of marriage between the 
 -parties must be admitted or proved before there can be a 
 decree for it even -pendente lite.'' " He then decided that 
 the order was erroneously made, and dismissed the proceed- 
 ings against the defendant. 
 
 The case now stands, therefore, on, the motion (not yet 
 formally passed upon) to strike out portions of the defend- 
 ant's answer. The defendant has also filed a motion to 
 
564 LIVING AS HUSBAND AND WIFE. 
 
 vacate and set aside the original order granting the alimony, 
 and the two will probably be heard together. 
 
 My counsel, for me, insist that I am entitled to the ali- 
 mony upon the following grounds : 
 
 ist. That it is alleged in the complaint that the plaintiff 
 and defendant were married at a time and place designated. 
 The defendant admits that a marriage ceremony did take 
 place, and sets up new facts to show that the marriage 
 which actually occurred was invalid. On this state of facts 
 the plaintiff insists that, pending the question as to the 
 legality of the marriage, she is entitled to alimony. 
 
 2d. It is denied by the plaintiff that the new matter in 
 the answer ought to be disregarded; first, because it is 
 badly pleaded ; and, second, it is an attempt on the part of 
 the defendant to take advantage of his own wrong, to wit, 
 the assertion that he had a lawful wife living, which a court 
 of equity will not permit. The defendant admits that he 
 was married to the plaintiff; that they lived and cohabited 
 together as husband and wife ; that he supported and main- 
 tained her as such ; avers that he never deserted or ill- 
 treated her ; and, in fine, clearly shows that a relation of 
 marriage existed in fact between them. 
 
 3d. The plaintiff claims that she will succeed on the 
 merits ; first, because the defence on the new matter ought 
 to be disregarded as badly pleadedi and inadmissible under 
 any form of plea ; second, because the marriage of the de- 
 fendant to Mary Ann Angell cannot be -proved, and never 
 was a lawful marriage. There was cohabitation, but no 
 marriage according to law. This will appear if the true 
 state of facts is ever reached in the trial. And the first 
 alleged marriage must be shown to have been a lawful 
 marriage. In Case vs. Case, 17 Cal. Rep., 598, the law is 
 well stated on this point. 
 
 As to the allegation in the answer, that the plaintiff had 
 a lawful husband living at the time of the alleged union be- 
 tween plaintiff and defendant, it is sufficient to say that she 
 
THE LAST LEGAL STEP. 565 
 
 was divorced from James L. Dee by the Probate Court of 
 Utah, and that it was done under the statute, and that the 
 Supreme Court of Utah had previously decided that such 
 court had exclusive jurisdiction in divorce matters. While 
 this decision was probably erroneous, it was made by the 
 highest tribunal of the territory, and was not appealable ; 
 hence it ivas the law. 
 
 More than this: the act of Congress of June 23, 1874, 
 provided that all judgments of the Probate Courts of Utah 
 which had been executed, or which had not been appealed 
 from, should be held good. So that, upon the facts, there 
 is nothing in the allegation that plaintiff had a husband 
 living at the time of the marriage between the plaintiff and 
 defendant. 
 
 It is only right to say, that in the opinion of the ablest 
 lawyers of the West, Judge Lowe, in holding that the new 
 matter in an answer is only denied " at the trial" has mis- 
 conceived the California case which he cites, and mistakes 
 the law. In injunction cases the pleadings are treated as 
 affidavits by express provision of the California statutes ; but 
 no case can be found in California or elsewhere, under the 
 code, where a pleading is treated as true in one stage of a 
 case, and false in another. Such a doctrine would be ab- 
 surd under any system of pleading that has ever existed. 
 
 The last legal step that has been taken, so far, was taken 
 by me in making an affidavit for the purpose of proving 
 that the defendant perjured himself, and which will furnish 
 the foundation for his prosecution for the crime. With this 
 affidavit, the case is stayed for the present. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 MY ESCAPE FROM SALT LAKE CITY. MY PUBLIC 
 CAREER. 
 
 Thoughts of the Future. The Gentile Papers. A Private Audience a* 
 the Walker House. Hopes and Fears. I Resolve to Take the Plat- 
 form. Sneers and Ridicule. Brigham is made Acquainted with my 
 Plans. Packing under Difficulties. My Perilous Escape from Utah. 
 A Noble Woman. Arrival at Laramie. Denver. My First 
 Public Lecture. A Grand Success. Brigham at Work. A Scan- 
 dalous Article in the Chicago Times. A Mean Lawyer. Lecture 
 at Boston. Kindness of the Members of Boston Press. Opposed 
 by George Q. Cannon. Washington Lecture a Success. First 
 Glimpses of the True Faith. Conversion to Christianity. 
 
 S soon as I had fully de- 
 cided that compromise 
 was impossible, I began, 
 to consider my future. 
 I felt able to take care 
 of myself and my chil- 
 dren, if I could see the 
 way to do it. I was not 
 afraid to work, and I 
 felt a new impulse stir- 
 ring within me which 
 made me strong. Life 
 was my own, and I 
 would do the best I 
 could. 
 
 The thought of a pub- 
 lic career had never oc- 
 curred to me. I had 
 
 no ambition to gratify, and I had already gained more noto- 
 riety than I cared for. I was keenly sensitive to what was 
 said about me, and many of the newspaper paragraphs, 
 
 MY FLIGHT AT NIGHT. 
 
MY TALK AT THE .WALKER HOUSE. 567 
 
 wittily written, by persons who neither knew me nor under- 
 stood the situation in which I was placed, wounded me 
 deeply. 
 
 The Gentile papers in Utah were, without exception, 
 friendly to me, and I am sure kindlier words were never 
 given than they have sent after me, since the very day I 
 came out from under Brigham's control. 
 
 During my residence at the Walker House I was re- 
 quested to give some account of Mormonism to the residents 
 of the hotel and a few of their friends. I consented to do 
 so, and an evening was appointed. I prepared a simple 
 history of my life, and introduced, in the course of it, an 
 epitomized description of the Mormon religion and its rites ; 
 and when the evening arrived, and I entered the parlors of 
 the Walker House, I was startled to see the number of per- 
 sons who had assembled to listen to me. I stood for a mo- 
 ment gazing in sudden bewilderment ; the blood rushed to 
 my face, and my first impulse was to run away and hide 
 myself in my own room. But the applause which greeted 
 me, the smiling, reassuring faces which were turned towards 
 me, and the sympathy which I read in them all, gave me 
 courage. 
 
 My audience listened with the closest attention, and 
 when, after a while, I grew more accustomed to my strange 
 position, and ventured to look up, I saw tears on more than 
 one cheek, and when the last word was read, and I Laid my 
 manuscript down, I was surrounded by my newly made 
 friends, all enthusiastic in their demonstrations of sympathy. 
 
 Previous to this involuntary public appearance, it had 
 been suggested to me that I should take the lecture platform 
 against Mormonism. I shrank from the very mention of it, 
 and replied to the friends who proposed it that I could not, 
 and would not, do it. To parade myself and my troubles be- 
 fore the world seemed such an indelicate thing to do ! But 
 when it was shown me that I might make of myself a power 
 against Mormonism which should be felt, and which should 
 open people's eyes to the enormity of the religious system 
 
568 
 
 which was tolerated by the government, I hesitated no 
 longer. 
 
 I wish it to be distinctly understood that I did not under- 
 take this work with a view to self-aggrandizement, or to 
 gratify an inordinate ambition. Nothing has wounded me 
 more, since I commenced my labors, than the oft-repeated 
 accusation, that I was "trying to make capital" out of my 
 position as the wife of Brigham Young. I have seen that 
 accusation within a few months in the Woman's Journal, 
 the leading organ of woman suffrage in Boston, in an arti- 
 cle written by one of its editors and part proprietors, who, 
 in the same article, commended Brigham Young to public 
 favor because he gave the suffrage to women. 
 
 "Making capital" out of her woes, and, above all, her 
 domestic infelicities, is something no woman of delicacy 
 could do ; and had I been governed by no motive except 
 one so unworthy, I should deserve all the contemptuous 
 criticism which I have been treated to by this apostle of 
 "Fair Play for Women." 
 
 Does any one think that, for the sake of emolument, I 
 could thus open my heart to the rude gaze of a curious 
 public, bear all the slurs, slights, jeers, and aspersions that 
 are cast at me by malicious Mormon and thoughtless Gen- 
 tile papers, be made a by-word of, have my name on every 
 vulgar lip ? Never. My womanhood revolts at the idea. 
 
 As a means of support, I would never have undertaken 
 it. When I saw it was a duty, I adopted it without hesita- 
 tion, and I shall never cease my labors as long as I have 
 strength to work. While I have a hand or a voice, Mor- 
 monism and Polygamy shall find in me a relentless foe. I 
 will never rest, God helping me, until either I, or this hell- 
 ish system, so fraught with misery, go down in the contest. 
 
 When my decision was fully made, I confided it to my 
 father, who was my constant visitor. He gave me the 
 warmest encouragement ; but it was a terrible blow to my 
 mother, who considered that I was setting the final seal to 
 my future and eternal misery. 
 
MY PERILOUS ESCAPE. 569 
 
 I discovered, after my arrangements were made, that my 
 intention had become known to the Mormons, who were 
 threatening me with all sorts of vengeance if I insisted on 
 carrying out my plans. It had been arranged that I should 
 make my first appearance in Denver, and as I was exten- 
 sively advertised there, the news of my proposed lecture 
 had been telegraphed to Salt Lake, so that the date of my 
 departure was made public. 
 
 I did not dare to leave Salt Lake by rail, nor would my 
 friends allow it, and all our final arrangements were forced 
 to be made with the greatest secrecy. I did not venture 
 even to take my own trunk. A new one was bought, car- 
 ried to a friend's room, my clothing conveyed to the same 
 room, a piece or two at a time, packed as we could find 
 opportunity, and then taken to a carriage, and carried out- 
 side the city. 
 
 On the evening of the 27th of November, I went with 
 my father, and one or two friends, to the house of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Stratton. We left the hotel by the back door, for the 
 front entrance was closely watched, although it was not 
 expected that I would attempt to leave the city until the 
 next morning. About eleven o'clock we left the Strattons', 
 and started, ostensibly to walk home. A carriage was in 
 waiting at the corner. We got in, called for Mrs. Cooke, 
 who was to be my travelling companion, and were driven 
 rapidly out of the city. I was to take the cars on the Union 
 Pacific road at Uintah, and thus avoid travelling at all on 
 the Utah railroad, where I should be sure to be recognized. 
 
 The night was intensely dark ; we could not see our 
 hands before our faces, and, as we plunged on through the 
 night and the darkness, we were a gloomy and apprehen- 
 sive party. We were not sure how closely we had been 
 watched, or whether we had succeeded in eluding Mormon 
 vigilance. Even then, the " Danites," those terrible minis- 
 ters of Mormon vengeance, might be upon our track, and 
 I could not cast off the feeling that every moment brought 
 us nearer and nearer to some dreadful death. 
 
570 A MIDNIGHT RIDE. 
 
 Twice during the night we were lost. The last time, 
 we missed our way, and went several miles up a cailon, 
 and I felt sure that we were betrayed, and that our driver 
 was carrying us to certain destruction. I spoke to him, 
 without letting him know my suspicions, and told him we 
 were going wrong. He turned about, and drove rapidly 
 back, and we reached the mouth of the canon just as the 
 day dawned. Confusion vanished with the darkness, our 
 driver found the right road, and by fast driving we reached 
 Uintah just as the train came up. Tickets and checks had 
 been secured at Ogden, and with a hurried " good by " to 
 
 MY ESCAPE FROM SALT LAKH CITY. 
 
 my father, I jumped on board the train, with Mrs. Cooke, 
 and we were off. 
 
 I can never describe my sensations when the train began 
 to move. With the new sense of freedom came a feeling 
 of such utter loneliness that, for a moment, I was bewil- 
 dered by the situation, and, turning to Mrs. Cooke, I said, 
 helplessly, "What shall I do?" 
 
 " Keep up a brave heart, and think of the work before 
 you," said she. 
 
 Her experience in Mormonism had been no pleasanter 
 than mine, and she was as glad to get away from it as I 
 
FRIENDLY CALLS. 571 
 
 was. For twenty years she had taught Brigham's children, 
 and acted in the Mormon theatre, and had never received a 
 cent of remuneration. Her husband, a member of the 
 special police force, was killed on duty, and after his death 
 the prophet, through his counsellor, Daniel H. Wells, 
 swindled her out of the two thousand dollars which the city 
 had granted her, and tried to get her house from her. She 
 put the matter into a Gentile lawyer's hands, and still re- 
 
 VIEW OF SALT LAKE CITY, SHOWING TABERNACLE. 
 
 tains her home. She was with me several months, a de- 
 voted and faithful companion. 
 
 Our first stopping-place was at Laramie, Wyoming Ter- 
 ritory, where we were to await the arrival of my agent 
 from Salt Lake. My presence in town was soon discov- 
 ered, and I received many friendly and congratulatory 
 calls. After my lecture every hospitality was shown me, 
 and I felt fresh courage, so kindly was my reception, and 
 so genuine were all the expressions of interest. 
 
 My agent arrived in a day or two, and we set out for 
 Denver. The news of my escape from Utah had been 
 
572 A GRAND RECEPTION AT DENVER. 
 
 telegraphed, and on my arrival, I found myself eagerly ex- 
 pected. I was visited by the editors of the different papers, 
 who assured me of the friendly feeling toward me, and 
 offered me the use of their columns. The clergymen all 
 came to see me, and spoke generous words in my behalf 
 from every pulpit in the city. They all literally " took me 
 on trust." I shall never forget the earnest, spontaneous 
 kindness which I met from the professional men of Denver. 
 
 The night on which I was to give my first lecture, the 
 5th of December, 1873, was extremely cold, and the snow 
 fell heavily. I was discouraged and despondent, for I had 
 come to consider this first evening as prophetic of my future 
 career, and I saw failure before me. I did not know 
 whether I should be able to reach the church, the storm was 
 so furious ; but as a faithful few had promised to be in attend- 
 ance, let what might happen, I determined to make the trial. 
 
 My forebodings had been utterly useless. Long before 
 the church doors were opened a large crowd was in wait- 
 ing, and before the hour for beginning the lecture arrived 
 the house was full, and hundreds had gone away unable to 
 gain admission. As I looked into the crowded house, be- 
 fore I came on the platform, my courage almost left me. 
 But while hesitating, the thought of the poor women whose 
 cause I was to plead, came vividly into my mind, and with 
 a firm step, and beating heart, I walked onto the platform, 
 and stood facing my first audience, who greeted me with 
 tumultuous applause. 
 
 I have never spoken more effectively in my life than I did 
 that night. It seemed to myself almost as though I was 
 inspired. I forgot myself in my subject, and new indigna- 
 tion thrilled me as I told my story of bondage, such as my 
 hearers never dreamed of, and unveiled the horrors of the 
 Mormon religion. I made no attempts at oratorical effects, 
 I worked up no dramatic "points." Naturally and simply 
 as I could, I said what I had to say, without a single 
 rhetorical flourish. 
 
BRIGHAM HEARD FROM. 
 
 The lecture was a success. After it was over, my audi- 
 ence crowded around me, with such earnest words of com- 
 mendation, that I felt my first victory won. Since that 
 memorable evening I have addressed hundreds of audi- 
 ences, but never have I found one more sympathetic than 
 the one composed of the true-hearted people of Denver. 
 
 I was not permitted to be quiet after that evening. En- 
 gagements came pouring in, and I worked my way steadily 
 eastward. I was universally well received, but I knew 
 that I should somewhere encounter Mormon opposition. I 
 had seen too many attempts made by Brigham Young to 
 ruin anyone who dared to differ with him, to think that I 
 should escape. 
 
 The first blow came through the columns of a Chicago 
 Paper, which devoted considerable space one day to a 
 scandalous article concerning me, giving an air of truth to 
 the statement by mentioning the persons who were authority 
 for the reports. I was overwhelmed by it, for I feared it 
 would put an end to the career of usefulness which I had 
 marked out for myself. After I read the shameful article, 
 my first words were, "Brigham Young's money is at the 
 bottom of this." 
 
 And so it proved. The matter was put into the hands of 
 Leonard Swett, Esq., of Chicago, for investigation. Letters 
 came, in most cases unsolicited, from the persons referred 
 to as having started the scandal, each one indignantly de- 
 nying the whole. Further inquiry revealed that George 
 C. Bates, a Mormon lawyer, of low repute, and twenty 
 thousand dollars, induced the Paper to publish the article 
 which originated in the foul imagination of Bates. 
 
 The papers of good standing came at once to my defence, 
 and endeavored in every possible way to heal the wounds 
 which the article had so cruelly inflicted on me. 
 
 The scandal was published on the eve of my first appear- 
 ance in Boston, and I was greatly distressed lest it should 
 injure my prospects in that city. I wanted my visit there to 
 
574 ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. 
 
 be a success, as I felt that, if I made a favorable impres- 
 sion, I should hold the key to all New England. And it 
 was to the stanch and loyal New Englanders that I looked 
 for assistance in my labors. My new and good friends 
 had taught me to consider Reform and New England 
 synonymous terms, and I really believed my battle would 
 be well begun if I could gain such devoted allies as her 
 brave, inflexible sons and daughters. But after the attack 
 by the Chicago Paper, I regarded failure as certain. How 
 surprised and gratified I was to find, instead of the prejudice 
 I had expected to meet, a feeling of earnest kindliness 
 toward myself personally, and of unfeigned interest in my 
 work. 
 
 All the papers sent representatives to visit me, and I 
 found them kind and intelligent gentlemen, and the papers 
 which they represented were as generous as they. No- 
 where have I met that courtesy and chivalric consideration 
 which have been uniformly accorded me by the members of 
 the Boston press. They have refrained from sarcasm and 
 indelicate witticisms ; they have been ready with sym- 
 pathy, and quick to encourage ; and whatever their politics 
 or principles, they have been unanimous in their generous 
 treatment of me. 
 
 My first lecfure was given in Tremont Temple, before a 
 large and enthusiastic audience. Mr. James Redpath in- 
 troduced me, and the short speech he made fairly inspired 
 me, it was so kind, so reassuring, so generous, and above 
 all, so just. He had never heard me speak, but he was so 
 bitter an enemy to this horrible system, as indeed he is to 
 every wrong, that he was willing to take me for my work's 
 sake. After the lecture was over, I felt that my hopes were 
 realized, and that New England was open to me. 
 
 In Washington, nearly all the government officials at- 
 tended my lecture, and expressed themselves enthusiastically 
 in my favor. George Q^ Cannon was contesting his seat in 
 Congress, and Mormonism and its rulers were at that June- 
 
575 
 
 ture prominently before the public. Cannon resented my 
 appearance at the capital, and tried to break me down by 
 ridicule. He made friends with the Washington Chronicle, 
 in Brigham's most approved style of winning allegiance, 
 and the day after my first lecture a burlesque report of it 
 appeared in that paper. It was intended to prejudice the 
 public ; but when the lecture was over, and all the papers 
 were unanimous in their commendation, the Chronicle sud- 
 denly grew ashamed of its disreputable alliance, and refused 
 to maintain it longer, and, at the same time, grew more re- 
 spectful toward me. 
 
 I have had hundreds of pleasant platform experiences 
 since I commenced my crusade against polygamy ; but the 
 three which stand out the most vividly in my memory, are 
 the first evenings at Denver, Boston, and Washington. 
 
 All this time I was learning to love my Gentile friends 
 very dearly, and to feel at home in "Babylon." I was 
 comparatively happy, but I was not at rest. There was 
 something lacking in my life, a void which nothing 
 seemed to fill. Ever since I had found myself the dupe of 
 a false religion, I had drifted blindly on, with no belief in 
 anything, no faith in any system; sometimes, even, doubt- 
 ing the existence of God. 
 
 I was in this bitter mood when I spoke, one day, before 
 the Methodist clergymen of Boston and vicinity. Among 
 the persons to whom I was introduced on this occasion, 
 was the Rev. Dr. Daniel Steele, of Auburndale. I had 
 noticed him during my address, and felt quite strongly to- 
 ward him, on account of the extreme interest which he 
 evinced. One of his first questions was whether I had 
 found any religion to take the place of the superstition I 
 had cast off. 
 
 A hopeless "No," was my reply. 
 
 Then, for the first time in my life, I heard the principles 
 of the religion of Christ* It was like day-dawn after a 
 night of the blackest darkness, and I cried out eagerly, 
 
576 MORMON INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON. 
 
 " This is what I want, this religion of love." 
 A few weeks after this I was the guest of the Methodist 
 Female College, at Delaware, Ohio, of which Rev. Dr. 
 M'Cabe was president. I was recovering from a severe 
 illness, and was very much depressed. My mother was 
 constantly writing to me, telling me of the struggles through 
 which she was passing in giving up her religion ; for Brig- 
 ham's treatment of me, his utter disregard of the truth, and 
 his malicious attempts to ruin me, opened her eyes, and un- 
 bound her reason ; and she soon saw the falsity of the whole 
 Mormon plan of salvation. I knew every pang which she 
 was suffering, for I have passed through it all myself. Yet 
 I was powerless to comfort her, for I was not at peace. 
 
 Dr. M'Cabe was my frequent visitor, and patiently and 
 kindly he pointed out the way of rest to me, until at last I 
 willingly placed myself and my troubles in the loving, out- 
 stretched arms of God. Life opened out to me fuller than 
 ever of possibilities, and my work grew holier. Peace 
 brooded over my tired heart, and in the new experience I 
 found infinite rest. Tossed all my life on a stormy sea of 
 superstition, I was at last anchored in the sheltered haven 
 of Christian belief. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. MORMON APOSTLES. THE 
 ORDER OF ENOCH. 
 
 Mormon Administration. The Earthly Trinity. Filling Vacancies. 
 Mormon Apostles. Polygamy made Profitable. The Seventy. Two- 
 Dollar Blessings. Astounding Promises. Bishops and Spies. The 
 Order of Enoch. All things in Common. An Apostolic Row. How 
 Enoch Works. A Stupid Telegram. Logic Extraordinary. A 
 Gigantic Swindle. Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution. 
 Brigham's Revelations. The Saints Laugh in their Sleeves. "It 
 Pays to be a Mormon." Beginning to see Through It. The Apos- 
 tate President. 
 
 LTHOUGH the power 
 wielded by Brigham 
 Young is absolute, he is 
 ostensibly assisted in 
 the administration of 
 church affairs by a large 
 number of officers, 
 whose real business it 
 is to see that the Pres- 
 ident's plans are carried 
 out, and his commands 
 obeyed. He is the mo- 
 tive power, and they are 
 mere tools in his hands, 
 to be employed as he 
 sees fit. 
 
 The "First Presi- 
 dency," which controls 
 
 the whole church, is supposed to be the earthly representa- 
 tive of the Trinity, " the Eternal Godhead, Three in One," 
 and consists of the President and the First and Second 
 Counsellors, who are the types on earth of "the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost," in heaven. It is needless 
 to say which rank Brigham assigns to himself. 
 37 
 
 THE CO-OPERATIVE STORE. 
 
578 
 
 THE FIRST AND SECOND COUNSELLORS. 
 
 GEORGE A. SMITH. 
 [Counsellor.] 
 
 His first counsellor, George 
 A. Smith, has recently died, 
 and it is yet undecided who 
 shall fill his place. If the 
 plan was followed which 
 raised Brigham to his present 
 position, the second counsel- 
 lor would have it by right of 
 seniority ; but the general im- 
 | pression is that " Young Brig- 
 gy " will be jumped into the 
 position, and the Saints will 
 be obliged to receive him as 
 certain " successor," whether 
 they wish it or not. They will have less difficulty in be- 
 coming reconciled to the inevitable, since he has been for 
 so long a time persistently thrust upon the people as the 
 "probable successor, " that they have grown used to hearing 
 his claims discussed. 
 
 The second counsellor is Daniel H. Wells, who is no- 
 toriously one of the most cruel, bigoted, and tyrannical 
 men in Utah. He, like Smith and Brigham, has the title 
 of "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator." 
 
 The Prophet Wells served for years as general, or 
 commander-in-chief, of the Mormon army ; and has ever 
 been Brigham's right-hand man in iniquity, fearlessly dis- 
 posing of life and property in the name of the Lord, coun- 
 selling his superior to deeds of blood without number, and 
 then treating with the most consummate cruelty the very 
 men who have assisted him in the carrying out of his atro- 
 cious plans. He is Mayor of Salt Lake City, and stands 
 high among the dignitaries of the church, but he rules 
 with an iron hand, and cruelty and oppression predomi- 
 nate in all he does. 
 
 The " apostles " rank in church affairs next to the First 
 Presidency. There are twelve of them, and Orson Hyde is 
 
POLYGAMY MADE EASY. 
 
 579 
 
 DANIEL H. WELLS. 
 [Second Counsellor.] 
 
 their worthy President. This 
 apostle is a practical polyga- 
 mist, as are all the rest, but 
 he has a convenient way of 
 utilizing the system. He mar- 
 ries a cook, a laundress, a 
 sempstress, a dairy-maid, or 
 any servant he may happen 
 to need- It is so much cheap- 
 er to marry domestics than to 
 hire them. Under the latter 
 arrangement he would be 
 compelled to pay them for 
 their services, while by the 
 former he is only obliged to give them shelter, food, and 
 clothing. His wives represent nearly every nationality, 
 and when visitors come to the house, the first Mrs. Hyde 
 introduces her husband's other wives, as " Mr. Hyde's Ger- 
 man wife, Mr- Hyde's English wife, Mr. Hyde's Danish 
 wife," and so on, until all are presented. 
 
 He apostatized in 1833, and made some remarkable rev- 
 elations concerning Smith's polygamous practices, but he 
 soon found his way back into the church, and has been one 
 of the most stanch allies of the Prophet. He is supposed 
 to have been connected with some of the most atrocious 
 murders which have been committed in Utah. William 
 Hickman implicated him most seriously in his confessions. 
 
 Next to him comes Orson Pratt, who has six wives and 
 several children, and is by far the most able man in the 
 church. 
 
 The other apostles are John Taylor, the happy husband 
 of six wives ; Willard Woodruff, whose kingdom numbers 
 but four ; Charles C. Rich, who has an indefinite number 
 of wives and fifty children ; Lorenzo Snow ; Erastus Snow, 
 whose kingdom is the size of Woodruff's ; Franklin D. 
 Richards, who has five wives of his own, and in addition 
 
580 THE SACRED SEVENTIES. 
 
 has five "proxies," who, before becoming his wives, held 
 the less responsible positions of aunts-in-law. On his un- 
 cle's death, Richards assumed the earthly care of them, 
 and promoted them to be members of his own family ; 
 George Q^ Cannon, the Mormon politician, who repudi- 
 ates polygamy in Washington, but is one of its most ardent 
 supperters, both theoretically and practically, at home, 
 having four wives and thirteen children ; Brigham Young, 
 Jr., whose family has already been described; Joseph F. 
 Smith, who has three wives ; and Albert Carrington, who 
 holds the office of Church Historian. 
 
 THE OLD MORMON TABERNACLE. 
 
 The apostles have a general supervision of the Territory. 
 They also go on missions, edit magazines, or take charge 
 of the newly selected "stakes." 
 
 The working body of male Mormons is divided into 
 seventy quorums, each having seventy members. Each 
 quorum has a president, and these constitute the " Seventy." 
 These presidents also have a president, who ranks next to 
 the apostles. This body, the Quorum of Seventies, might 
 with propriety be called the Mormon Missionary Board, as 
 they attend to all matters connected with the propagation 
 
A PROFITABLE BUSINESS. 581 
 
 of the faith. The present president is Joseph Young, 
 brother to Brigham. 
 
 In the year 1834, while the Saints were in Kirtland, 
 Brigham's father expressed a desire to bless his children 
 before he died, as did the patriarchs of old. On mention- 
 ing the subject to Joseph Smith, he, as usual, had a reve- 
 lation that the Lord wished every father to bless his chil- 
 dren, and that there should be Patriarchs set apart to bless 
 those who had no father in the church. The first Patri- 
 arch was "Old Father Smith," Joseph's father, and his 
 business was to bless all the fatherless who applied to him 
 for blessing. At that time blessings were free for all who 
 sought them ; but when the first Patriarch died, and was 
 succeeded by his son Hyrum, the business became so en- 
 grossing that it was thought best to charge one dollar for 
 every person blessed. Hyrum was succeeded by " Uncle 
 John Smith," his cousin, and he by William Smith, son of 
 Hyrum. The only necessary qualification for this office is 
 to be a Smith, and in some way a relative or descendant 
 of the Prophet. 
 
 These " blessings " are rather wonderful affairs ; they 
 promise all sorts of things, in a vague, indefinite way, if 
 only the recipient proves "faithful." Some are assured 
 "they shall never taste death, but live until Christ comes, 
 and be caught up to meet Him in the air ; " others are as- 
 sured that they are to have the privilege of redeeming their 
 dead so far back, that there shall not be a broken link in 
 the chain. Absurd as all this seems, there are hundreds 
 of Saints who believe that " every word shall be fulfilled," 
 as they are sometimes promised unconditionally, and the 
 office of Patriarch is quite a profitable one, now that the 
 price of blessings has been advanced to two dollars. 
 
 The bishops act at once as ecclesiasts, directors of mu- 
 nicipal affairs, and judges of probate. Salt Lake City has 
 twenty-one wards, each of which has a bishop over it. 
 The entire Territory is also divided into wards, each with 
 
582 THE ORDER OF ENOCH. 
 
 its governing bishop. Their duty is to settle disputes in 
 the church, and to act as general spies and reporters, alike 
 over Mormons and Gentiles. 
 
 In this last duty they are assisted by the Ward Teachers, 
 whose duty it is to visit all the people in their ward, report 
 all suspected persons, catechise every one, and discover all 
 heresies, false doctrines, and schisms among the people, 
 who are obliged to answer every question which is asked 
 them, reserving nothing. Through these spies and inform- 
 ers, and their superiors the bishops, Brigham knows all the 
 most private affairs connected with every individual, and 
 this knowledge serves to render more binding his hold on 
 this people. 
 
 Although the Ward Teachers are subordinate to the 
 bishops, indeed, are the agents by which the latter do their 
 work, they do not rank next to them. This position is held 
 by the High Counsel. This body constitutes a sort of 
 court of appeals, when the bishops do not give satisfaction 
 to litigants. Appeal may be made from the High Counsel 
 to the First Presidency. 
 
 In the early days of the church, the duty was strongly 
 enjoined of consecrating all the possessions to the Lord ; 
 and this was not to be a figurative, but a real consecration ; 
 in which all the possessions were to be catalogued and con- 
 secrated in legal form, and the transaction authenticated 
 by witnesses. The custodian of this property was to be a 
 "Trustee in Trust," the community into which the faithful 
 Saint thus entered was to be called " The United Order of 
 Enoch," and the property was to be held for the benefit of 
 this community. 
 
 The Saints did not take kindly to the Order, and it ex- 
 isted in theory merely. Within a year or two Brigham 
 has been making the most arduous efforts to bring his fol- 
 lowers into this community, meeting, however, with very 
 little better success than its founders. When he first pro- 
 posed its re-establishment, it was decidedly opposed in the 
 
A SAINTLY QUARREL. 583 
 
 Tabernacle, by the apostles Orson Pratt, John Taylor, and 
 George Q Cannon, and a regular quarrel took place ; the 
 Prophet and his dissenting followers parting, each with a 
 firm determination not to yield to the other side. The next 
 week the four went north on a preaching tour, and labored 
 harmoniously together in the attempt to build up the 
 Order. 
 
 Whoever joins this community gives all his earthly pos- 
 sessions into the keeping of Brigham Young. His chil- 
 dren, too, are required to sign away all claim or title to the 
 property ; if any are too young to write, the pen is given 
 them, and their hands guided by their elders, and they are 
 thus deprived of their rightful patrimony ; and in return for 
 all this, the family is to be furnished with what food and 
 clothing the officers think they require. 
 
 As Brigham and his co-workers journeyed northward, 
 he telegraphed to the bishops of the various settlements 
 through which he would pass, informing them what time 
 he would visit them, and requesting them to call special 
 meetings of the residents of their wards before his arrival, 
 and read to them the following telegram : " I am coming 
 north, organizing branches of the Order of Enoch ; how 
 many of you are willing to join the Order without knowing 
 anything about it?" 
 
 In the little town of Fillmore seventy-five men responded 
 to the call for a meeting, and, strange as it may seem, fifty 
 of those men voted to join the "Order." They fully un- 
 derstood that all on becoming members were required to 
 deed their property to the " Trustee in Trust," otherwise, 
 "Brigham Young, his heirs, executors, and assigns," yet 
 they decided, with full knowledge of this, to make a blind 
 investment of all their " worldly gear," and upon the arri- 
 val of the religious Autocrat, one half of the remaining 
 twenty-five accepted the situation, and signed their names 
 to an agreement binding themselves to obey " Enoch's " 
 requirements. The following were the unanswerable argu- 
 
584 A GIGANTIC FRAUD. 
 
 ments which Brigham used to secure their conversion : w I 
 want you to understand that the car (meaning Enoch) is 
 rolling on. The set time of the Lord has come, and no 
 man can stay its progress. If you do not want to be run 
 over, jump on, or get out of the way. I do not want a part 
 of your property, I want it all. If there are any of you 
 who cannot abide the requirements of the Lord, I do not 
 want you to come near me, or to speak to me. I feel as 
 far above you as the heavens are above the earth." 
 
 Those who became members of this branch of Enoch 
 worked well, determined to make it a success. All labored 
 together for the interest of the Order, and were credited a 
 certain sum, I think fifteen cents an hour. They were 
 economical, hoping to make the books show a balance in 
 their favor, after deducting expenses of sustaining their 
 families. But there were so many sinecures, and so much 
 mismanagement, that after the lapse of one single summer 
 an investigation of affairs became necessary, and the fact 
 became known that their divinely directed labors had not 
 paid the running expenses of the institution. Many who 
 had expected that the records would exhibit a balance in 
 their favor, awoke to the disagreeable fact that they, .as co- 
 partners in the United Order, the grand scheme that was to 
 reconcile "the irrepressible conflict between capital and 
 labor," must discount the sum stipulated as payment for 
 their services. And they are at present 'in debt for the 
 commonest necessaries of life consumed during their short- 
 lived experiment. 
 
 A similar condition of affairs exists wherever this gigan- 
 tic swindle has been in operation. And while Brigham 
 has been gloating over his ill-gotten gains, he has bound 
 these poor victims more firmly to himself by the terrible 
 bondage of debt. The wildest dissatisfaction exists, and 
 in nearly every county the Order may be regarded as dead, 
 and beyond even the power of Brigham Young to restore. 
 
 The Tithing System is a direct outgrowth of "Enoch/* 
 
MORMON TITHING. 
 
 585 
 
 When Joseph saw that the people did not take kindly to his 
 community plan, he found it necessary to adopt some other 
 means of raising a permanent fund for the church, and 
 Orson Pratt proposed that every member should every year 
 be obliged to pay one tenth of his income, out of which the 
 church should be supported. This plan met with the ap- 
 proval of the officers, and it has been continued ever since. 
 Every town has its tithing-house, which is in charge of 
 the local bishop. He takes charge of all the goods that are 
 
 MORMON TITHING STORE AND OFFICE OF DESERET NEWS. 
 
 brought in, usually paying himself a handsome commis- 
 sion, and sees, when any quantity has been gathered, that 
 it is transported to the large tithing-house in Salt Lake 
 City. 
 
 This tithing-house is under the direct control of Brigham 
 Young, and he, his counsellors and clerks, have the first 
 choice of all the goods that are brought in ; the remaining 
 stores are dealt out as payment to the poor men who are 
 employed by Brigham as laborers. I have seen the tithing- 
 
586 THE CO-OPERATIVE 
 
 store beseiged by a crowd of tired, care-worn women, wives 
 of these men, waiting for their turn to be served. Some- 
 times a poor woman will stand all day waiting for a sack 
 of flour, a basket of potatoes, or a quart of molasses. Let 
 the day be ever so cold or stormy, there she must wait, 
 until the clerks see fit to attend to her wants. 
 
 Everything is received here in payment for tithing : hay, 
 grain, vegetables, butter, cheese, wool, or any other prod- 
 uct. If a man has not money, he must give one tenth of 
 what he has. It matters little whether he can afford it; 
 the church demands it, and " the church " gets it. 
 
 The nearest approach to the practical realization of the 
 Order of Enoch was what is called Zion's Co-operative 
 Mercantile Institution. This was a great commercial cor- 
 poration, engaged in buying and selling the produce of the 
 people, and supplying them with every kind of merchan- 
 dise needed in a new country. The stock was held by the 
 people of the Territory, and branches of the parent con- 
 cern were scattered throughout all the leading settlements ; 
 so that all the commercial exchanges of the country might 
 be made through this establishment. It was designed to 
 destroy the business of Gentile merchants in Zion, and ac- 
 cordingly all were commanded to patronize it ; but the 
 completion of the Pacific Railroad, and the influx of Gen- 
 tiles, came to the relief of the proscribed merchants ; their 
 goods, too, were of a better class, and there was a greater 
 opportunity for selection, so that Mormons and Gentiles 
 alike patronized them ; and at the present time, while the 
 Co-operative Institution seems tottering to its fall, in spite 
 of the frantic attempts of Brigham and his assistants to 
 prop it up and make it secure, the Gentile houses are rap- 
 idly gaining in wealth and credit. 
 
 Most of Brigham's " revelations " have met with about 
 the same degree of success in their attempted carrying out. 
 His project of making silk, and another equally wild scheme 
 of producing sugar from beet-roots, were gigantic failures, 
 
MORE INSPIRATIONS. 
 
 587 
 
 although he will not acknowledge it. Two more of his 
 "inspirations" are kept in the minds of the Saints, by being 
 so constantly before their eyes. The unfinished mud wall, 
 which was to protect the city from invasion, and the divinely 
 projected canal, which was to bring the stone for the new 
 Temple from the quarries to Salt Lake City, and which 
 Brigham announced that he had seen just as distinctly 
 in a " vision " as he " ever should with his natural eyes." 
 A large amount of money, and a great deal of hard labor 
 
 ERIGHAM'S CANAL. 
 
 was expended on these enterprises ; all of which is a total 
 loss. 
 
 Brigham is shrewd enough to see that " revelation " is not 
 one of his strong points, and he rarely attempts it; less 
 frequently now than formerly, even. The catch-words, 
 "Thus saith the Lord," are not nearly so potent as they 
 were before the Saints came so much in contact with the 
 Gentile world, and unconsciously lost some of their super- 
 stition. They do not openly laugh at Brigham's prophecies, 
 but a few of the more honest and far-seeing venture to 
 
588 INTELLIGENT MORMONS. 
 
 criticise him very quietly, although they submit to his rule, 
 and are seemingly as good Saints as ever. They are not 
 ready to apostatize ; their interests and associations bind them 
 to the church, and they do not wish to leave it. Some cling 
 to it, like George Q^. Cannon, through ambition ; for that 
 young apostle dares to cast his eyes toward Brigham's posi- 
 tion, and has expressed the belief that he might ultimately 
 succeed him. Others, like Orson Pratt, are so closely identi- 
 fied with it, that they cannot and would not cut themselves 
 adrift from it. The church is their life, and they will only 
 leave one when they are compelled to give up the other. 
 Another class, to which Brigham's sons notably belong, 
 stay because their pecuniary interests demand it. It "pays" 
 to be a Mormon. But when once the present ruler is taken, 
 they will have nothing to hold them, and they will do 
 openly what they have long since done in their hearts, 
 repudiate Mormonism, and all its superstitions and prac- 
 tices. And I am morally certain that the first one to take 
 advantage of his newly-obtained liberty will be John W. 
 Young, who is even now known as "the Prophet's Apos- 
 tate Son," and who yet, in spite of his apostasy, holds the 
 position of "President of the Salt Lake State of Zion," 
 with the rank of bishop. 
 
CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE CONDITION OF MORMON WOMEN. HIGH AND 
 LOW LIFE IN POLYGAMY. 
 
 Increasing Light. The Equality of the Sexes. Exaggeration Impos- 
 sible. Likely Saviours. The Present Condition of Mormon Women. 
 
 The Prospects for the Future. Polygamy Bad for Rich and Poor. 
 
 A Happy Family. The Happiness Marred. Sealed for Time 
 Only. Building on Another Man's Foundation. The New Wife. 
 How the Old One Fared. The Husband's Death a Relief. Asa Cal- 
 kins's English Mission. What Came of It. How to Get Rich. 
 Two Sermons from One Text. Dividing the Spoil. No Woman 
 Happy in Polygamy. 
 
 LL this while I was gain- 
 ing knowledge of the 
 domestic customs and 
 relations of the " Gen- 
 tiles." At nearly every 
 place that I visited I 
 was entertained in some 
 private family, and my 
 eyes were constantly 
 being opened to the 
 enormities of the wicked 
 system from which I had 
 escaped. 
 
 I had felt its misery ; 
 I had known the abject 
 wretchedness of the 
 
 POLYGAMY IN HIGH AND Low LIFE. condition to which it 
 
 reduced women, but I did not fully realize the extent of 
 its depravity, the depths of the woes in which it plunged 
 
590 WOMAN'S DEGRADATION. 
 
 women, until I saw the contrasted lives of monogamic 
 wives. 
 
 I had seen women neglected, or, worse than that, cruelly 
 wronged, every attribute of womanhood outraged and in- 
 sulted. I now saw other women, holding the same rela- 
 tion, cared for tenderly, cherished, protected, loved, and 
 honored. I had been taught to believe that my sex was 
 inferior to the other ; that the curse pronounced upon the 
 race in the Garden of Eden was woman's curse alone, and 
 that it was to man that she must look for salvation. No 
 road lay open for her to the throne of grace ; no gate of 
 eternal life swinging wide to the knockings of her weary 
 hands ; no loving Father listened to the wails of sorrow 
 and supplication wrung by a worse than death-agony from 
 her broken heart. Heaven was inaccessible to her, except 
 as she might win it through some man's will. I found, to 
 my surprise, that woman was made the companion and not 
 the subject of man. She was the sharer alike of his joys 
 and his sorrows. Morally, she was a free agent. Her 
 husband's God was her God as well, and she could seek 
 Him for herself, asking no mortal intercession. Mother- 
 hood took on a new sacredness, and the fatherly care and 
 tenderness, brooding over a family, strengthening and de- 
 fending it, seemed sadly sweet to me, used as I was to see 
 children ignored by their fathers. 
 
 Seeing this, I began to comprehend a little why it was so 
 difficult to make the state of affairs in Utah understood. 
 The contrast was so very great that, unless it was seen, it- 
 could not be realized, even ever so faintly. I feel some- 
 times, both in speaking to audiences, and in private conver- 
 sations, the thrill of shocked surprise which runs through 
 my listeners' veins as I relate some particular atrocity, or 
 narrate some fearful wrong, which has been suffered either 
 by myself or some person known to me ; but even then I 
 know the enormity of the system which permits such things 
 to be possible is but vaguely understood. 
 
MEN THE MORMON SAVIOURS. 59! 
 
 I am accused sometimes of exaggeration. In reply to 
 that accusation I would say, that is simply impossible, I 
 could not exaggerate, since language is inadequate to even 
 half unveil the horrors. There are events of daily occur- 
 rence which decency and womanly modesty forbid my even 
 hinting at. No one can, even if they would, quite tear the 
 covering away from the foul, loathsome object, called 
 * Celestial Marriage," reeking as it is with filth and moral 
 poison ; rotten to the very core ; a leprous spot on the body 
 politic ; a defilement to our fair fame as a nation. I am 
 compelled to silence on points that would make what I have 
 already said seem tame in comparison. Not a word of all 
 my story is exaggerated or embellished. The difficulty has 
 been rather to suppress and tone down. 
 
 Women are the greatest sufferers. The moral natures 
 of the men must necessarily suffer also ; but to them comes 
 no such agony of soul as comes to women. Their sensi- 
 bilities are blunted ; their spiritual natures deadened ; their 
 animal natures quickened ; they lose manliness, and de- 
 scend to the level of brutes ; and these dull-witted, intel- 
 lectually-dwarfed moral corpses, the women are told, are 
 their only saviours. 
 
 What wonder that they, too, become dull and apathetic? 
 Who wonders at the immovable mouths, expressionless 
 eyes, and gray, hopeless faces, which tourists mark always 
 as the characteristics of the Mormon women ? What does 
 life offer to make them otherwise than dull and hopeless? 
 Or what even does eternity promise ? A continuation merely 
 of the sufferings which have already crushed the woman- 
 hood out of them. A cheering prospect, is it not? Yet it 
 is what every poor Mormon woman has to look forward to. 
 Just that, and nothing more. 
 
 Rich or poor alike suffer. Polygamy bears no more 
 lightly on the one than the other. If they are poor, they 
 have to work for themselves and their children, suffer every 
 deprivation, submit to every indignity. If they are in more 
 
592 SEALED FOR TIME ONLY. 
 
 affluent circumstances, they have more time for brooding 
 over their sorrows, more leisure for the exercise of the 
 natural jealousy which they cannot help feeling for the other 
 wives. Happiness and contentment are utterly unknown to 
 Mormon women ; they are impossible conditions, either to 
 dwellers in poverty or plenty. 
 
 A few years ago, a man and wife of the name of 
 Painter, decided to cast in their lot with the Saints, and 
 enroll themselves among the Lord's chosen people. The 
 woman had been previously married, and her husband had 
 died shortly after his conversion to the Mormon faith. The 
 elders urged her marrying again, and, after a time, she 
 found her heart adding its persuasions to the " counsel " of 
 the brethren, and she married William Painter, an honest, 
 kind-hearted fellow, who made her a good husband, and 
 with whom she lived very happily. 
 
 As soon as possible they came to America, but that was 
 not until their family had been increased by two or three 
 children, who were alike the objects of the mother's care 
 and the father's pride. Although they were poor, hard- 
 working people, I have never known a happier family than 
 this when they first came to Utah. 
 
 Like all new arrivals they were anxious to receive their 
 Endowments, and it was shortly arranged for them to go 
 through the rites. When they presented themselves at the 
 Endowment House, Heber C. Kimball told the wife that 
 she could only be sealed to her present husband for time. 
 She must belong to her first husband in eternity, he having 
 died in the faith. She was not at liberty to deprive him of 
 his privileges, or to rob him of his kingdom. 
 
 The poor woman felt very badly, for this man was the 
 father of her children, and she felt that her claim on him 
 should be the strongest ; but the authorities refused to see 
 the matter as she did, and insisted that the sealing should 
 be only for time. There was no help for it, and the poor 
 woman was obliged to submit. Neither was the husband 
 
593 
 
 satisfied. It did not suit him to "build a kingdom on an- 
 other man's foundation ; " he must commence one for him- 
 self; and, in obedience to counsel, he looked about dili- 
 gently for a wife " all his own." He was not long in find- 
 ing one, and, greatly to his wife's distress, he brought 
 home an ignorant young girl, who turned the house topsy- 
 turvy in her endeavors to exercise the authority which she 
 arrogated to herself. The first wife considered that she 
 had some rights still remaining, and that, certainly, she 
 might dictate somewhat concerning household affairs, as 
 she had been so long the ruling power, and understood the 
 manner of regulating and running the domestic machinery ; 
 but the new-comer claimed entire supremacy, declaring 
 that she was "the only wife William had," her rival be- 
 longing to another man. 
 
 Strange as it ma^y seem, the husband took sides instantly 
 with the new-comer against the woman who had been a 
 faithful wife for years, and was the mother of his children. 
 She ruled the household affairs, the first wife, and even the 
 husband and all were compelled to submit to her decision. 
 She heaped every indignity upon the poor wife, even re- 
 sorting to personal violence, and the victim could obtain 
 neither sympathy nor redress. She was compelled to live 
 under the same roof with her rival, as her husband's means 
 would not admit of two establishments, and for several 
 years she endured the misery silently. We all knew her 
 to be very unhappy, and we pitied her extremely. She 
 was our near neighbor, and the nearest approach to con- 
 fidences which she ever made was given to my mother. 
 But we did not know for a long time how very much she 
 had to bear. 
 
 One cold day, in the midst of a dreary storm, the poor 
 woman came rushing into our house, with her babe in her 
 arms, crying bitterly. She sank into a chair, which my 
 mother placed for her near the fire ; and in answer to the 
 anxious inquiries, she sobbed out, " O, sister Webb, I have 
 38 
 
594 
 
 HOMELESS. 
 
 left my home and my husband. I have been compelled to 
 do it. I can endure no more. If you knew all, I am sure 
 you 1 would not blame me ! " 
 
 Mother inquired what it was that had occasioned this 
 new rupture, and brought her to this final decision. 
 
 The poor, distressed creature replied, that her husband 
 had taken Emma, the second wife, and gone on a visit of 
 several days to some relatives, leaving her and the children 
 utterly unprovided either with food or fire, and they were 
 nearly perishing with cold and hunger. She had sent the 
 
 DRIVEN FROM HOME. 
 
 other children to another neighbor's to get warm, and she 
 and the younger ones had taken refuge with us. 
 
 In two or three days the husband returned, and finding 
 where his wife was, compelled her to come back to him, 
 by threats of taking the children from her unless she did. 
 After a few years he died, and what little property there 
 was the young wife claimed. The first wife appealed to 
 
IMITATING ABRAHAM. 595 
 
 the church authorities, but they upheld the last wife's 
 claims, and she was driven penniless away with her chil- 
 dren. She had to support herself and them ; but she used 
 frankly to say, that she was happier than she had been for 
 years, and that her husband's death was a positive relief to 
 her. I knew this woman well, and I knew that no more 
 worthy woman lived than she. Polygamy blighted her 
 life, and made a miserable dependent of one who would 
 have been, in other circumstances, a happy wife. 
 
 About fifteen years since, a man by the name of Asa 
 Calkins was sent by Brigham Young to preside over the 
 Saints in the British Isles. He left two wives in Salt Lake, 
 but on his arrival in England, he met with a young lady 
 who completely fascinated him, and having obtained the 
 permission of his Prophet to marry while on the mission, 
 began paying her the most devoted attention. 
 
 He met with no difficulty in his wooing, and no obstacle 
 was placed in the way of his speedy marriage. After the 
 marriage, he informed his wives in Utah of the event, and 
 they received the news with resignation, as they expected 
 nothing different. But he was not so frank with the new 
 wife. Brigham had told him, when he gave him permis- 
 sion to marry, to say nothing about his other wives, so the 
 young English lady supposed herself to be the only Mrs. 
 Calkins. About two years after the marriage, the first 
 went to some of the Eastern states on a visit to some rela- 
 tives. While there her health became impaired, and on 
 being advised that a sea-voyage would benefit her, wrote at 
 once to her husband in Liverpool, asking permission to 
 join him in England. 
 
 He said, in reply, that she might come, if she was willing 
 to pass as his sister, as he had all the wife there that the 
 English law would allow. As she felt obliged to take the 
 voyage on account of her failing health, she agreed to do 
 as he desired. 
 
 On her arrival at Liverpool, she found her husband so 
 
596 APPEASING BRIGHAM'S WRATH. 
 
 infatuated with his new wife that he scarcely noticed her at 
 all, and she almost regretted having crossed the sea ; yet 
 she saw no way of escape from the trial, as she was to re- 
 main there until her husband's mission was ended, which 
 would not be for two years at least. 
 
 Mr. Calkins almost entirely ignored the existence of his 
 first wife, and, taking Agnes, travelled all over Europe, 
 introducing her everywhere as Mrs. Calkins, while the 
 poor " sister " remained in Liverpool. He lavished every 
 luxury of dress and ornament upon his idol, while the poor, 
 neglected wife was supplied with the merest necessities 
 of life. 
 
 In course of time, they all returned to Zion ; but Agnes 
 still remained the favorite wife. Calkins had always been 
 one of the most prosperous Saints, but he returned from his 
 mission a rich man. About the time of his return we often 
 heard rumors concerning his manner of obtaining this 
 wealth, which were not altogether creditable to him, and, 
 consequently, no one was surprised to hear brother Brigham 
 apply the lash to the delinquent missionary the Sabbath 
 after his arrival at Salt Lake, for what he was pleased to 
 term a species of highway robbery. The Saints universally 
 believed that the man merited the rebuke. But the sur- 
 prise came the Sabbath following. Brigham changed his 
 tactics, and put in a warm plea in the missionary's defence. 
 He said that he had not distinctly understood all about 
 Brother Calkins's course in England until some time during 
 the previous week, when he had visited him, and explained 
 matters to his entire satisfaction. He omitted to state that 
 " Brother Calkins" not only visited him, but divided the 
 spoils with him, his own share amounting to several thou- 
 sand dollars. 
 
 Mr. Calkins was restored to favor. The English Mrs. 
 Calkins was recognized as the chosen wife, and the other 
 two were merely tolerated, and were obliged to see their 
 
POLYGAMY A CRIME. 597 
 
 husband's devotion and wealth lavished on her, while they 
 starved for love and lacked for comforts. 
 
 These two cases show the workings of the polygamic sys- 
 tem in the families of the rich and the poor. It is as hate- 
 ful in the one case as in the other, and equally productive 
 of misery in both. 
 
 I have yet to learn of one woman who is happy in it. 
 Like Zina Young, they say, " The system must be right, I 
 suppose ; we are taught that it is. But if that is the case, 
 we must live it wrongly ; there is fault somewhere." 
 
 There is worse than that. There is positive sin ; and in 
 her heart of hearts, no woman of them all believes it to be 
 right, although she may try, with all the sophistry at her 
 command, to convince herself that it is. Her heart and her 
 reason both give her arguments the lie, and she cannot help 
 but heed them, even when she counts herself a sinner for 
 so doing. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 MY RETURN TO UTAH. SECRET OF BRIGHAM'S 
 POWER. UTAH'S FUTURE. 
 
 I return to Utah. Reception at the Walker House. Greeting old 
 Friends. My Love for the Place. Six Lectures in the Territory. 
 Brigham's Daughters make Faces at me. My Father and Mother in 
 the Audience. The Half not told. Multitudes Pleading for Free- 
 dom. Eastern Newspaper Reports. Indiscretion. The Poland 
 Bill. Increase of Polygamy. The Secrets of Brigham's Power. 
 The Pulpit and Press on Mormonism. The Salt Lake City Tribune. 
 A Word to the Sufferers. Calls for Help. The Future of Utah. 
 
 RECEIVING MY FRIENDS AT THE WALKER HOUSE. 
 
 N August, 1874, I re " 
 turned to Salt Lake City ; 
 but not in the secret way 
 in which I had left it 
 months before. I was 
 met with every expres- 
 sion of good will, and 
 congratulations and wel- 
 comes poured in upon 
 me from every side. A 
 reception was held for 
 me at the Walker House, 
 and I had the opportu- 
 nity of greeting again 
 the friends who had so 
 nobly assisted me in my 
 struggles for freedom. 
 Foremost of all, 
 
 McKean, the truest, most upright, and inflexible chief j 
 tice who had ever presided over the Utah courts ; the man 
 
PLEASANT GREETINGS. 
 
 599 
 
 who could neither be bribed nor cajoled ; who did right for 
 the right's sake, and who consequently had gained the 
 enmity of Brigham Young and his followers, but who was 
 implicitly trusted by all lovers of justice ; General Max- 
 well, too, who was so kindly acting for me in my suit; 
 Colonel Wickizer, who lent his room for my trunk to be 
 taken to, and otherwise assisted me in my flight from Utah ; 
 and Mr. and Mrs. Stratton, the dearly beloved friends who 
 
 MY RECEPTION AT SALT LAKE CITY. 
 
 had first shown me the possibilities of an escape from 
 bondage and a life outside. 
 
 This welcome, hearty and spontaneous, touched me 
 deeply, and I felt then that however much my interests 
 might be drawn away from Salt Lake City, and my work 
 lead me away from there personally, yet it was my home, 
 its people were my people, and my heart would always 
 turn lovingly toward it to the day of my death. 
 
6OO LECTURING IN THE TERRITORY. 
 
 And why should I not love it? I had grown with it, and 
 there is not a building in it that I have not watched as it 
 arose, not an improvement that I have not rejoiced in. I 
 have seen a lovely city spring up in an alkali desert as if 
 by magic. True, I have suffered there. Many of its asso- 
 ciations are bitter. But that is the city as it has been the 
 Salt Lake of the past, not the Salt Lake of the future, as I 
 hope its future will be. 
 
 During the summer, I lectured six times in the city, and 
 several times in other towns in the Territory. Brigham did 
 not attend any of my lectures, but he sent his daughters 
 and daughters-in-law, and bade them sit on the front seats, 
 and make faces at me. They filled the two rows nearest 
 the platform, and, as I saw them there, my heart went out 
 in pity toward them. I knew all of them ; many of them 
 had been my dear friends from girlhood, and I had known 
 how unhappy they had been under the cruel system which 
 I was fighting against. I had been in the confidence of 
 several, and more than one had commiserated me upon my 
 unhappy situation while, I was their father's wife. Instead 
 of annoying me, and causing me to falter and break down 
 completely, as the prophet hoped, it only lent new strength 
 to my purpose, new fire to my words. I knew that these 
 women sympathized with me in every word I uttered, and 
 that in their hearts they earnestly wished me success. 
 
 My father and mother were in my audience, too. It had 
 required a great deal of persuasion to induce the latter to 
 be present, but she finally yielded to us all, and went. 
 Long before this she had lost her faith in Mormonism, and 
 was ranked among the apostates. Brigham's attempts to 
 ruin me had opened her eyes, and she at last saw him as 
 he really was. I think no one rejoiced in my success more 
 than she did, and certainly no one else has had power to 
 imbue me with such fresh courage and strength. And now 
 that she has abandoned Mormonism, when I think of her, 
 away from all the old associations, united in her old age to 
 
AN OLD TRICK OF THE MORMONS. 6oi 
 
 the friends of her childhood, happy in a home safe from the 
 intrusion of polygamy, every shade of bigotry blotted out, 
 her reason unfettered, her will free, I am happier than I 
 ever can say ; and if this result only were reached in the 
 cases of the other women of the Territory, I should feel that 
 my suffering and my labors had not been in vain. 
 
 Next to these lectures in Salt Lake, my most successful 
 appearance was made at Provo, where I spoke under the 
 auspices of the Rev. C. P. Lyford, the pastor of the Meth- 
 odist church in that place, and one of the most inveterate 
 foes of Polygamy and Brigham Young. Three years ago 
 Provo was one of the most powerful of all the Mormon 
 strongholds in Utah. Many deeds of violence had been 
 committed there, and bigotry in its worst form ruled the 
 people. Mr. Lyford, young, brave, and enthusiastic, de- 
 termined to build a Gentile church there. He went into the 
 work cheerfully and determinedly, although he was warned 
 to leave the county, his life threatened, and every possible 
 insult and indignity offered him. But he could not be 
 intimidated, and flatly refused to leave; and now he has a 
 society fully organized, a church built, and a free school 
 established. He has been one of my strongest allies and 
 warmest defenders, and I owe to no one more gratitude than 
 to him. 
 
 I have told my story as simply as I could. I have added 
 nothing, but I have left much untold. Another volume, as 
 large as this, would not contain all I could write on this 
 subject. My life is but the life of one ; while thousands 
 are suffering, as I suffered, and are powerless even to plead 
 for themselves, so I plead for them. The voices of twenty 
 thousand wpmen speak in mine, begging for freedom both 
 from social and religious tyranny. 
 
 I take up papers, and I read letters from eastern corre- 
 spondents who have visited Utah ; and while I do not 
 wonder at the enthusiasm which they display concerning the 
 outward beauty of this city of the desert, I marvel at the blind- 
 
602 SLIGHTLY INDISCREET. 
 
 ness which fails to see the misery of the majority of its 
 people. "Polygamy is on the decrease," they almost unan- 
 imously exclaim; "the ballot and education are its foes, 
 and it cannot stand before them ; the young people will not 
 enter the system, and while polygamous marriages diminish 
 in number, monogamic ones steadily increase." 
 
 This is not so. I have no doubt it is the story which is 
 told to these strangers by Mormons. But that is an old trick. 
 They have been accustomed, in other days, to repudiate 
 polygamy while practising it most extensively. They are 
 only following " Brother Joseph's " example. He denied it, 
 to save the reputation of himself and his followers ; and they 
 do it still, when they wish to blind the Gentiles' eyes, and 
 escape their criticism. 
 
 Last year, as the records will show, there were more 
 polygamous marriages in Utah than there have been any 
 previous year since the " Reformation." The Order of 
 Enoch and Polygamy are, to-day, Brigham's two strongest 
 holds on the people. By the first, he holds the men through 
 sheer necessity ; for all who have entered the Order have 
 given themselves and their possessions so entirely to him, 
 that they cannot, by any possibility, get free. By the other 
 system, he holds the women in a crueller bondage still. 
 He and Cannon may repudiate the " Celestial Marriage " 
 as strongly as they choose, but they cannot change the facts. 
 They are more shrewd, but not so honest as the fellow who 
 was seen reeling through the streets of Salt Lake City, with 
 a bottle under each arm, shouting, "I've taken a new wife 
 to-day, and I'm not afraid of the Poland Bill." They do 
 care for "the Poland Bill," or, rather, they care about pub- 
 lic opinion very much, and they like the positions which 
 they might be obliged to resign if they ventured to claim 
 the legality of Polygamy. 
 
 There is a strong working-power against it in its very 
 midst, however, and it seems to me that it is a power which 
 must prevail. The pulpit and press combined are dealing 
 
GENTILE INFLUENCE IN UTAH. 
 
 6o 3 
 
 some heavy blows upon it, and it cannot always stand under 
 it. Instead of the Mormon church being the only church in 
 Utah, nearly every denomination is represented there now, 
 and the most of these churches have schools connected with 
 them, such superior schools, some of them, that a few of 
 the more liberal and intelligent Mormons venture to send 
 their children to them. 
 
 But the strongest power in the Territor} 7 " against Poly- 
 gamy, the most implacable and relentless foe to Brigham 
 Young and his pet institution, is the Salt Lake City 
 Tribune, the leading Gentile paper in Utah. It is owned 
 
 NOT AFRAID OF THE POLAND BILL.' 
 
 by a stock company, composed of the leading Gentiles in 
 the Territory; is ably conducted, and is hated and dreaded 
 by the Mormons, although they all read it. It has been my 
 constant friend, and has stood bravely by me ever since I 
 turned my back on my false faith, and sought shelter and 
 friends in " Babylon." 
 
 It is a power in politics. When Governor Woods 
 although a loyal and brave officer of the government was 
 removed to make place for Axtell, who was a mere tool in 
 the Prophet's hands, the indignant utterances of the paper 
 made themselves felt all over the country ; and the support- 
 ers of the new governor in Washington grew ashamed, 
 
604 WHAT SHOULD BE DONE. 
 
 and he was removed to make room for Governor Emory, 
 the. present governor, who, as yet, has shown no disposition 
 to assimilate with the saintly portion of his subjects. 
 
 Now, as I approach the end of my story, I turn longing 
 eyes toward my old home, and my heart goes out in pity- 
 ing tenderness to it and the women there. To them I want 
 to say, Your cause is my cause, your wrongs have been my 
 wrongs ; and while you are still bearing them patiently, be- 
 cause you know there is no redress ; hopelessly, because while 
 your hearts are breaking, you see no avenue of escape, I 
 am trying the best I know to make the way easy and plain 
 to your eyes, dimmed with tears, and your feet, tired of 
 wandering in broken paths. Many of you, I know, think 
 that I am wrong ; you believe, as I once did, that to fight 
 against Brigham Young, and his will, is certain damnation. 
 You mourn for me as one lost ; you regard me with pity ; 
 but yet, in your hearts, you wish to believe that I am right; 
 you would like to be convinced that I am. Some of you 
 are certain of it, but you do not see your own way out. 
 The darkness closes around you thicker and heavier, and, 
 tired of groping about, you fold your hands and sit in an 
 apathy worse than death, waiting until the dawn of eternity 
 shall throw light upon your path. God help you, sisters, 
 one and all, and bring you out of the spiritual bondage, in 
 which you are held. 
 
 And you, happier women, you to whom life has given 
 of its best, and has crowned royally, can you not help 
 me? The cry of my suffering and sorrowing sisters sweeps 
 over the broad prairies, and asks you, as 1 ask you now, 
 "Can you do nothing for us?" Women's pens, and wo- 
 men's voices pleaded earnestly and pathetically for the abo- 
 lition of slavery. Thousands of women, some of them your 
 country-women, and your social and intellectual equals, are 
 held in a more revolting slavery to-day. Something must 
 be done for them. This system that blights every woman's 
 life who enters it, ought not to remain a curse and a stain 
 
CLOSING PLEAS. 605 
 
 upon this nation any longer. It should be blotted out so 
 completely that even its foul memory would die. 
 
 Yet, how is it to be done? I confess myself discouraged 
 when I ask that question. Legislation will do no good, 
 unless the laws can be enforced after they are once made. 
 But if laws are to be framed, and the men who enforce them 
 are to be removed as a punishment for their faithfulness, 
 they are better not made. 
 
 But one thing is certain. If one voice, or one pen, can 
 exert any influence, the pen will never be Laid aside, the 
 voice never be silenced. I have given myself to this work, 
 and I have promised before God never to withdraw from it. 
 It is my life-mission ; and I have faith to believe that my 
 work will not be in vain, and that I shall live to see the foul 
 curse removed, and Utah my beloved Utah free from 
 the unholy rule of the religious tyrant, Brigham Young. 
 
 THE END. 
 
1 6 47 
 
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 7'81 
 
 ~AUG20CC2 
 
 FORM NO DD 6, 40m 6'76 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELI 
 BERKELEY, CA 94720 
 
 ^"TiSmST"" Univ^f^'o^Srnia 
 Berkeley 
 
GENE/ML