[52:A] John Hyde, Jr., in his work on Mormonism, page 146, says:
"Fillmore, by the advice and intercession of Col. Kane, _who had
embraced Mormonism in Iowa_, appointed Brigham as the Governor of
Utah."
CHAPTER V.
POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.
The Mountain Meadow Massacre and other Crimes of the Mormons.
--Attempts to bring the Perpetrators to Justice.--Doings of
Judge Cradlebaugh.--Governor Cumming and the Military Officers.
--Judge Sinclair's Court.--Governor Dawson and his Misfortune.
--New Governor and Associate Justices appointed.
The darkest chapter of Mormon history is now before us. It becomes my
duty to relate one of the most perfidious acts of cruelty and wholesale
butchery to be found in the annals of this or any other country. In
doing so, free use will be made of the statements of Judge Cradlebaugh
and others who were thoroughly conversant with all the facts.
The following is from the able speech of Judge Cradlebaugh, delivered in
the House of Representatives on the 7th of February, 1863:--
"As one of the Associate Justices of the Territory of Utah, in
the month of April, 1859, I commenced and held a term of the
District Court for the Second Judicial District, in the city
of Provo, about sixty miles south of Salt Lake City. Upon my
requisition, Gen. A. S. Johnson, in command of the military
department, furnished a small military force for the purpose
of protecting the court. A grand jury was empanelled, and
their attention was pointedly and specifically called to a
great number of crimes that had been committed in the
immediate vicinity,--cases of public notoriety, both as to the
offence and the persons who had perpetrated the same; (for
none of these things had "been done in a corner"). Their
perpetrators had scorned alike concealment or apology, before
the arrival of the American forces. The jury thus instructed,
though kept in session two weeks, utterly refused to do
anything, and were finally discharged, as an evidently useless
appendage of a court of justice. But the court was determined
to try a last resource, to bring to light and to punishment
those guilty of the atrocious crimes which confessedly had
been committed in the Territory, and the session continued.
Bench warrants, based upon sworn information, were issued
against the alleged criminals, and United States Marshal
Dotson, a most excellent and reliable officer, aided by a
military _posse_, procured on his own request, had succeeded
in making a few arrests. A general stampede immediately took
place among the Mormons, and what I wish to call your
attention to, as particularly noticeable, is the fact that
this occurred more especially among the church officials and
civil officers. . . .
"Sitting as a committing magistrate, complaint after complaint
was made before me of murders and robberies. Among these I may
mention, as peculiarly and shockingly prominent, the murder of
Forbes, the assassination of the Parrishes and Potter, of
Jones and his mother, of the Aiken party, of which there were
six in all; and, worst and darkest in the appalling catalogue
of blood, the cowardly, cold-blooded butchery and robbery at
the Mountain Meadows. At that time there still lay, all
ghastly, under the sun of Utah, the unburied skeletons of one
hundred and nineteen men, women, and children, the hapless,
hopeless victims of the Mormon creed. . . .
"The scene of this horrible massacre at the Mountain Meadows
is situate about three hundred and twenty miles west of south
from Great Salt Lake City, on the road leading to Los Angelos,
in California. I was the first federal Judge in that part of
the Territory after the occurrence,--my district extending
from a short distance below Salt Lake City to the south end of
the Territory. I determined to visit that part of my district,
and, if possible, expose the persons engaged in the massacre,
which I did in the early part of the year 1859. I accordingly
embraced an opportunity of accompanying a small detachment of
soldiers, who were being sent to that section by Gen.
Johnson,--having requested the Marshal of the Territory to
accompany, or to send a deputy. He accordingly sent deputy
William H. Rodgers, who went with me.
"The command went as far south as the St. Clara, twenty miles
beyond the Mountain Meadows, where we camped, and remained
about a week. During our stay there I was visited by the
Indian chiefs of that section, who gave me their version of
the massacre. They admitted that a portion of their men were
engaged in the massacre, but were not there when the attack
commenced. One of them told me, in the presence of the others,
that after the attack had been made, a white man came to their
camp with a piece of paper, which, he said, _Brigham Young had
sent_, that directed them to go and help to whip the
emigrants. A portion of the band went, but did not assist in
the fight. He gave as a reason, that the emigrants had long
guns, and were good shots. He said that his brother [this
chief's name was Jackson] was shot while running across the
Meadow, at a distance of two hundred yards from the corral
where the emigrants were. He said the Mormons were all
painted. He said the Indians got a part of the clothing; and
gave the names of John D. Lee, President Haight, and Bishop
Higbee, as the big captains. It might be proper here to remark
that the Indians in the southern part of the Territory of Utah
are not numerous, and are a very low, cowardly, beastly set,
very few of them being armed with guns. They are not
formidable. I believe all in the southern part of the
Territory would, under no circumstances, carry on a fight
against ten white men.
"From our camp on the St. Clara we again went back to the
Mountain Meadows, camping near where the massacre had
occurred. The Meadow is about five miles in length and one in
width, running to quite a narrow point at the southwest end,
being higher at the middle than either end. It is the divide
between the waters that flow into the Great Basin and those
emptying into the Colorado River. A very large spring rises in
the south end of the narrow part. It was on the north side of
this spring the emigrants were camped. The bank rises from the
spring eight or ten feet, then extends off to the north about
two hundred yards, on a level. A range of hills is there
reached, rising perhaps fifty or sixty feet. Back of this
range is quite a valley, which extends down until it has an
outlet, three or four hundred yards below the spring, into the
main meadow.
"The first attack was made by going down this ravine, then
following up the bed of the spring to near it, then at
daylight firing upon the men who were about the
camp-fires,--in which attack ten or twelve of the emigrants
were killed or wounded; the stock of the emigrants having
been previously driven behind the hill, and up the ravine.
"The emigrants soon got in condition to repel the attack,
shoved their wagons together, sunk the wheels in the earth,
and threw up quite an intrenchment. The fighting after
continued as a siege; the assailants occupying the hill, and
firing at any of the emigrants that exposed themselves, having
a barricade of stones along the crest of the hill as a
protection. The siege was continued for five days, the
besiegers appearing in the garb of Indians. The Mormons,
seeing that they could not capture the train without making
some sacrifice of life on their part, and getting weary of the
fight, resolved to accomplish by strategy what they were not
able to do by force. The fight had been going on for five
days, and no aid was received from any quarter, although the
family of Jacob Hamlin, the Indian agent, were living in the
upper end of the Meadow, and within hearing of the reports of
the guns.
"Who can imagine the feelings of these men, women, and
children, surrounded, as they supposed themselves to be, by
savages? Fathers and mothers only can judge what they must
have been. Far off, in the Rocky Mountains, without
transportation,--for their cattle, horses and mules had been
run off,--not knowing what their fate was to be,--we can but
poorly realize, the gloom that pervaded the camp.
"A wagon is descried, far up the Meadows. Upon its nearer
approach, it is observed to contain armed men. See! now they
raise a white flag! All is joy in the corral. A general shout
is raised, and in an instant, a little girl, dressed in white,
is placed at an opening between two of the wagons, as a
response to the signal. The wagon approaches; the occupants
are welcomed into the corral, the emigrants little suspecting
that they were entertaining the fiends that had been besieging
them.
"This wagon contained President Haight and Bishop John D. Lee,
among others of the Mormon Church. They professed to be on
good terms with the Indians, and represented the Indians as
being very mad. They also proposed to intercede, and settle
the matter with the Indians. After several hours of parley,
they, having apparently visited the Indians, gave the
ultimatum of the Indians; which was, that the emigrants should
march out of their camp, leaving everything behind them, even
their guns. It was promised by the Mormon bishops that they
would bring a force, and guard the emigrants back to the
settlements.
"The terms were agreed to,--the emigrants being desirous of
saving the lives of their families. The Mormons retired, and
subsequently appeared at the corral with thirty or forty armed
men. The emigrants were marched out, the women and children in
front, and the men behind, the Mormon guard being in the rear.
When they had marched in this way about a mile, at a given
signal, the slaughter commenced. The men were most all shot
down at the first fire from the guard. Two only escaped, who
fled to the desert, and were followed 150 miles before they
were overtaken and slaughtered.
"The women and children ran on, two or three hundred yards
further, when they were overtaken, and with the aid of the
Indians they were slaughtered. Seventeen only of the small
children were saved, the eldest being only seven years. Thus,
on the 10th day of September, 1857, was consummated one of the
most cruel, cowardly, and bloody murders known in our history.
Upon the way from the Meadows, a young Indian pointed out to
me the place where the Mormons painted and disguised
themselves.
"I went from the Meadows to Cedar City; the distance is
thirty-five or forty miles. I contemplated holding an
examining court there, should Gen. Johnson furnish me
protection, and also protect witnesses, and furnish the
Marshal a _posse_ to aid in making arrests. While there I
issued warrants, on affidavits filed before me, for the arrest
of the following named persons:--
"Jacob Haight, President of the Cedar City Stake; Bishop John
M. Higbee and Bishop John D. Lee; Columbus Freeman, William
Slade, John Willis, William Riggs, ---- Ingram, Daniel
McFarlan, William Stewart, Ira Allen and son, Thomas
Cartwright, E. Welean, William Halley, Jabes Nomlen, John
Mangum, James Price, John W. Adair, ---- Tyler, Joseph Smith,
Samuel Pollock, John McFarlan, Nephi Johnson, ---- Thornton,
Joel White, ---- Harrison, Charles Hopkins, Joseph Elang,
Samuel Lewis, Sims Matheney, James Mangum, Harrison Pierce,
Samuel Adair, F. C. McDulange, Wm. Bateman, Ezra Curtis, and
Alexander Loveridge.
"In a few days after arriving at Cedar City, Capt. Campbell
arrived, with his command, from the Meadows; on his return, he
advised me that he had received orders, for his command
entire, to return to Camp Floyd; the General having received
orders from Washington that the military should not be used in
protecting the courts, or in acting as a _posse_ to aid the
Marshal in making arrests.
"While at Cedar City I was visited by a number of apostate
Mormons, who gave me every assurance that they would furnish
an abundance of evidence in regard to the matter so soon as
they were assured of military protection. In fact, some of the
persons engaged in the act came to see me in the night, and
gave a full account of the matter,--intending when protection
was at hand, to become witnesses. They claimed that they had
been forced into the matter by the bishops. Their statements
corroborated what the Indians had previously said to me. Mr.
Rodgers, the Deputy Marshal, was also engaged in hunting up
the children, survivors of the massacre. They were all found
in the custody of the Mormons. Three or four of the eldest
recollect and relate all the incidents of the massacre,
corroborating the statements of the Indians, and the
statements made by the citizens of Cedar City to me.
"These children are now in the south part of Missouri, or
north part of Arkansas; their testimony could soon be taken,
if desired. No one can depict the glee of these infants, when
they realized that they, were in the custody of what they
called 'the Americans,'--for such is the designation of those
not Mormons. They say they never were in the custody of the
Indians. I recollect of one of them, 'John Calvin Sorrow,'
after he found he was safe, and before he was brought away
from Salt Lake City, although not yet nine years of age,
sitting in a contemplative mood, no doubt thinking of the
extermination of his family, saying: 'Oh, I wish I was a man;
I know what I would do; I would shoot John D. Lee; I saw him
shoot my mother.' I shall never forget how he looked.
"Time will not permit me to elaborate the matter. I shall
barely sum up, and refer every member of this House, who may
have the least doubt about the guilt of the Mormons in this
massacre, and the other crimes to which I have alluded, to the
evidence published in the appendix hereto."
To the foregoing thrilling recital, I will only add:--The train
consisted of 40 wagons, 800 head of cattle, and about 60 horses and
mules. As near as can be ascertained, there were about 150 men and
women, besides many children. They passed through Salt Lake City, and
were there joined by some few Mormons, who were disaffected, and sought
to travel under their protection.
A revelation from Brigham Young, as Great Grand Archee, or God, was
despatched to President J. C. Haight, Bishop Higbee, and J. D. Lee,
commanding them to raise all the forces they could muster and trust,
follow those cursed gentiles (so read the revelation), attack them,
disguised as Indians, and with the arrows of the Almighty make a clean
sweep of them, and leave none to tell the tale; and if they needed any
assistance, they were commanded to hire the Indians as their allies,
promising them a share of the booty. They were to be neither slothful
nor negligent in their duty, and to be punctual in sending the teams
back to him before winter set in, for this was the mandate of Almighty
God.
On the following day a council of all the faithful was held at Cedar
City. Many attended from the neighboring settlements; the revelation was
read, and the destiny of the unsuspecting emigrants sealed. Plans were
suggested, discussed, and adopted, and the men designated to carry out
their hellish designs. Instructions were given for them to assemble at a
small spring, but a short distance to the left of the road leading into
the Meadows,--a number of intervening hills rendering it a fit place for
concealment. Here they painted and disguised themselves as Indians, and
when ready to commence operations, by a well-known Indian trail
proceeded to the Meadows.
For the benefit of those who may still be disposed to doubt the guilt of
Young and his Mormons in this transaction, the testimony is here
collated, and circumstances given, which go, not merely to implicate,
but to fasten conviction upon them, by "confirmations strong as proofs
from Holy Writ."
1. The evidence of Mormons themselves, engaged in the affair, as shown
by the statements of Judge Cradlebaugh and Deputy-Marshal Rodgers.
2. The statements of Indians in the neighborhood of the massacre: these
statements are shown, not only by Cradlebaugh and Rodgers, but by a
number of military officers, and by J. Forney, who was, in 1859,
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Territory. To all these were
such statements freely and frequently made by the Indians.
3. The testimony of the children saved from the massacre.
4. The children and the property of the emigrants found in possession of
the Mormons, and that possession traced back to the very day after the
massacre.
5. The failure of Brigham Young to embody any account of it in his
Report as Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Also his failure to make any
allusion to it whatever from the pulpit, until several years after the
occurrence.
6. The failure of the "Deseret News," the Church organ, and the only
paper then published in the Territory, to notice the massacre, until
several months afterward, and then only to deny that Mormons were
engaged in it.
7. The flight to the mountains of men high in authority in the Mormon
Church and State, when this affair was brought to the ordeal of a
judicial investigation.
8. The testimony of R. P. Campbell, Capt. 2d Dragoons, who was sent in
the spring of 1859 to Santa Clara, to protect travellers on the road to
California, and to inquire into Indian depredations.
In his report to Major E. J. Potter, Assistant Adjutant-General U. S.
Army, dated July 6, 1859, he says:--
"These emigrants were here met by the Mormons (assisted by
such of the wretched Indians of the neighborhood as they could
force or persuade to join), and massacred, with the exception
of such infant children as the Mormons thought too young to
remember, or tell of the affair.
"The Mormons were led on by John D. Lee, then a high dignitary
in the self-styled Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, and Isaac Haight, now a dignitary in the same."
Again, after relating briefly the massacre, he says:--
"These facts were derived from children who did remember, and
could tell of the matter; from Indians, and from the Mormons
themselves."
9. The testimony of Hon. J. Forney, Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
In his letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington, dated
Provo City, U. T., March, 1859, he says:--
"Facts in my possession warrant me in estimating that there
was distributed, a few days after the massacre, among the
leading church dignitaries, $30,000 worth of property."
Again, in another letter to the Commissioner, written from Great Salt
Lake City, in August of the same year, he says:--
"From the evidence in my possession, I am justified in the
declaration that this massacre was concocted by white men, and
consummated by whites and Indians. The names of many of the
whites engaged in this terrible affair have already been given
to the proper legal authorities. . . . The children were sold
out to different persons in Cedar City, Harmony, and Painter
Creek. Bills are now in my possession from different
individuals, asking payment from the Government. I cannot
condescend to become the medium of even transmitting such
claims to the Department."
The following is from the Annual Report of Superintendent Forney, made
in September, 1859:--
"Mormons have been accused of aiding the Indians in the
commission of this crime. I commenced my inquiries without
prejudice or selfish motive, and with the hope that, in the
progress of my inquiries, facts would enable me to exculpate
all white men from any participation in this tragedy, and
saddle the guilt exclusively on the Indians; but,
unfortunately, every step in my inquiries satisfied me that
the Indians acted only a secondary part. . . . White men were
present, and directed the Indians. John D. Lee, of Harmony,
told me in his own house, last April, in presence of two
persons, that he was present three successive days during the
fight, and was present during the fatal day." . . .
We close the testimony of Forney, by giving entire a letter from him to
the Department at Washington,--
"SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE, UTAH, }
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, September 22, 1859. }
"Sir,--Your letter dated July 2, in which you request me to
ascertain the names of white men, if any, implicated in the
Mountain Meadow massacre, reached me several weeks since,
about 300 miles west of this city.
"I gave, several months ago, to the Attorney-General, and
several of the United States Judges, the names of those who I
believed were not only implicated, but the hell-deserving
scoundrels who concocted, and brought to a successful
termination the whole affair.
"The following are the names of the persons the most guilty:
Isaac T. Haight, Cedar City, president of several settlements
south; Bishop Smith, Cedar City; John D. Lee,[69:A] Harmony;
John M. Higby, Cedar City; Bishop Davis, David Tullis, Santa
Clara; Ira Hatch, Santa Clara. These were the cause of the
massacre, aided by others. It is to be regretted that nothing
has yet been accomplished towards bringing these murderers to
justice. I remain,
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"J. FORNEY,
"_Sup't of Indian Affairs, Utah Territory_.
"Hon. A. B. Greenwood,
"_Commiss'r Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C._"
So far as Brigham Young himself is concerned, the evidence is not so
direct, but is scarcely less conclusive.
In addition to the circumstances mentioned, of his failing to report the
massacre, or to make any mention of it in his public discourses, and the
testimony of the Indians, already referred to; in addition also to the
facts concerning the revelation sent from him,--facts communicated by
one intimately acquainted with the secret history of the church; in
addition to these things, if we reflect for a moment upon the framework
of the Mormon Church, we will find therein still more cogent evidence.
The organization of the church is such, that no project of importance is
ever undertaken without the express or implied consent of Young, who is
in temporal, as well as spiritual matters, the head and source of all
authority. Now here was a large train which had lately passed through
the place where Young resided, and his feelings and views in relation to
it would be well known to the leaders of the church. Can it for a moment
be admitted, that members of a community so organized would undertake so
important a project as the destruction of that train, requiring, as it
did, the concerted action of forty or fifty persons, without the express
or implied sanction of him who sat at the head of the community,
controlling its every action?
And if such a thing can be supposed possible, would not the perpetrators
be immediately called to account for assuming so much responsibility?
Reason and evidence all point one way; and add this to the many other
acts which stamp Brigham Young as a murderer of the deepest dye,--adding
to the guilt of homicide that of blasphemy and hypocrisy.
What was the motive which prompted the act? Partly revenge. These
emigrants were from Missouri and Arkansas, the scenes of the alleged
injuries and persecutions of the Mormons. It was soon after the killing
of Parley P. Pratt, in Arkansas, by McLane, whose wife Pratt had
abducted. It was at the time, too, when the United States troops were
marching to Utah, and a feeling of revenge and retaliation was
prevalent, and was, as has been shown, fostered and encouraged by
Brigham in his sermons.
But the principal motive was plunder. The train was a very wealthy one.
The spoil of the gentile was before them, and it must be appropriated by
the Lord's people.
A great portion of the property was taken to Cedar City, deposited in
the tithing office, and there sold out. Forney says, in the Annual
Report already quoted from,--
"Whoever may have been the perpetrators of this horrible deed,
no doubt exists in my mind that they were influenced chiefly
by a determination to acquire wealth by robbery."[71:A]
It is not within the scope of this work to enter into a relation of the
many other murders and outrages committed by the authority or connivance
of the Mormon Church. This is given as the most notable one,--"_ex uno
disce omnes_." Those who wish to examine into these crimes more fully,
are referred to the appendix to the printed speech of Judge Cradlebaugh.
The "Mormon War" having closed, the federal officers, as soon as
practicable, assumed their functions, and proceeded to transact
business. Federal courts were held, and the authority of the United
States again, at least nominally, established in Utah.
In October, 1858, Judge Sinclair opened his court in Salt Lake City.
Efforts were made to bring several noted criminals to justice, but
everything failed. In the grand jury-room no indictments were found, and
murderers and thieves were allowed to go "scot free."
At this term of court a motion was made to expel James Ferguson from the
bar, for contempt of court. Ferguson offered to retire from the bar,
which was not accepted. He then proposed to plead guilty; but the Judge
said, as it was alleged that a Judge of the United States had been
insulted and intimidated, when in the discharge of his official duty,
it was important that the country be put in possession of the facts, and
no plea of crimination or stultification should prevent an exposure.
The grand jury did, finally, in this case, make the following
presentment:--
"The grand jury find, that James Ferguson, of G. S. L. City,
U. T., did use language and threats calculated to intimidate
Judge George P. Stiles, U. S. District Judge, while in the
discharge of his official duties, and presiding as Judge of
this District Court, at the February Term, 1857.
"ELEAZER MILLER, _Foreman_."
The right of trial by jury is one guaranteed by the Constitution, and
with which it would be highly dangerous to interfere, except in cases of
extreme necessity, involving the safety of a whole people or community.
The Mormons, with their usual shrewdness, take advantage of this, and
manage to control the United States Courts through the grand and petit
juries. The following extracts will show how it is done.
March 2d, 1856, in his remarks, made in the Tabernacle, Jedediah M.
Grant, then one of the "President's" counsellors, said:--
"Last Sunday, the President chastised some of the Apostles and
Bishops, who were on the grand jury. Did he fully succeed in
clearing away the fog which surrounded them, and in removing
blindness from their eyes? No, for they could go to their room
and again disagree; though to their credit it must be admitted
that a brief explanation made them unanimous in their action."
Again, in the same connection, Grant, speaking of a trial-jury,
continues,--
"Several have got into the fog, to suck and eat the filth of a
gentile court; _ostensibly_ a court in Utah."
Here is the highest evidence of the direct interference of Brigham
Young with the right of trial by jury, and the prostitution of the
jury-box to the accomplishment of his schemes. How could he strike a
more fatal blow at our free institutions, or at the rights and liberties
of American citizens who may happen to live within the sphere of his
influence? For this alone he should be hurled from the defiant position
he occupies, and brought to the bar of impartial justice.
Though the evidence was perfectly plain and conclusive in the case of
Ferguson, he was acquitted. Comment is unnecessary.
The Judge, finding all efforts to bring criminals to justice unavailing,
adjourned his court _sine die_.
The Mormon Legislature had never made provision for defraying the
expenses of the United States Courts, while doing territorial business,
though their attention had frequently been called to the necessity of so
doing. Their object was to throw all the business into the probate
courts; and in this they eventually succeeded, except in the court
presided over by Judge Kinney,--the only one, after the "war," which
acted simply as an adjunct and instrument of the church authorities.
"During the sitting of Judge Sinclair's court, the Mormon
grand jury promptly found a bill of indictment against one
Ralph Pike, a sergeant in Company I, of the 10th Infantry,
United States Army, for an assault with intent to kill,
committed upon one Howard Spencer, the son of a Mormon bishop,
at the military reserve, in Rush Valley. Upon _capias_ issued,
Pike was arrested, and brought to Great Salt Lake City. The
day following, August 11, 1858, about twelve o'clock, M., as
Pike was entering the Salt Lake House, on Main Street, Spencer
stepped up to him from behind, saying, 'Are you the man that
struck me in Rush Valley?' at the same time, drawing his
pistol, shot him through the side, inflicting a mortal wound.
Spencer ran across the street, mounted his horse, and rode
off, accompanied by several noted 'Danites.' Pike lingered in
dreadful agony, two days, before he died. The 'Deseret News,'
in its next issue, lauded young Spencer for his courage and
bravery.
"A man by the name of Drown, brought suit upon a promissory
note for $480, against the Danite captain, Bill Hickman. The
case being submitted to the court, Drown obtained a judgment.
A few days afterwards, Drown and a companion, named Arnold
were stopping at the house of a friend in Salt Lake City, when
Hickman, with some seven or eight of his band, rode up to the
house, and called for Drown to come out. Drown, suspecting
foul play, refused to do so, and locked the doors. The Danites
thereupon dismounted from their horses, broke down the doors,
and shot down both Drown and Arnold. Drown died of his wounds
next morning, and Arnold a few days afterwards. Hickman and
his band rode off unmolested.
"Thus, during a single term of the court, held in a Mormon
community, the warm life-blood of three human victims is shed
upon the very threshold of the court; and although the grand
jury is in session, no prosecution is attempted, and not one
of the offenders brought to justice."
Judge Cradlebaugh was assigned to the Second Judicial District, and held
his first term of court in Provo City, commencing April 8th, 1859. An
account of his efforts to bring to justice the Mountain Meadow and other
murderers has already been given in his own language.
The following notice of this bold and energetic man is from the "Nevada
Territorial Enterprise":--
"Judge Cradlebaugh, of the United States Court of Utah, is
making his mark in that Territory, if half that is written of
him is true. . . . . Satisfied that many of the leading
Mormons had taken part in or instigated the Mountain Meadow
massacre, and the murder of Jones, Potter, Forbes, Parrish,
and a dozen others, he determined to bring them to punishment.
. . . He spoke and acted with the fearlessness and resolution
of a Jackson; but the jury failed to indict, or even report on
the charges, while threats of violence were heard in every
quarter, and an attack on the troops intimated, if he
persisted in his course.
"Finding that nothing could be done with the juries, they were
discharged, with a scathing rebuke from the Judge. Sitting as
a committing magistrate, he commenced his task alone. He
examined witnesses, made arrests in every quarter, and created
a consternation in the camps of the saints, greater even than
was occasioned by the arrival of the troops within the walls
of Zion. At last accounts, terrified elders and bishops were
decamping to save their necks; and developments of the most
startling character were being made, implicating the highest
church dignitaries in the many murders and robberies committed
upon the gentiles during the past eight years."
Governor Cumming did not sustain Judge Cradlebaugh, but, under the
pretence of impartiality, sought to screen the Mormons from the demands
of justice.
Hence various differences between Cumming on one side, and Johnson and
Cradlebaugh on the other; and on one occasion the Governor went so far
as to publish his protest against the use of the troops in aid of
Cradlebaugh's proceedings.
Cumming was a native of Georgia. He had married a daughter of one of the
most distinguished physicians of Boston, a lady of many accomplishments,
who accompanied him to Utah.
During the dreadful reign of the cholera in 1836 he was Mayor of
Augusta, Ga., and is said to have rendered efficient service in saving
the lives of the citizens.
For some years he was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. At the
commencement of the Mexican war he was at Point Isabel, and afterwards
on the Southern line, attached to General Scott's staff. Subsequently he
was detailed by the Government to visit several tribes of Indians in the
far West.
He had performed some service to the country, and was a man of many good
qualities; but was very vain, and fond of attention, and was unable to
withstand the seductive influences which the Mormons know so well how to
bring to bear upon persons of his organization.
Cradlebaugh, finding he was not supported by Buchanan's administration,
left Utah, and settled in the Territory of Nevada; whence he has been
twice sent as delegate to Congress, and we look to see him, at no
distant day, represent the new State of Nevada in the Senate of the
United States.
In 1860 John F. Kinney was reappointed Chief Justice, succeeding Judge
Eckels; and Judges Crosby and Flenniken were appointed Associate
Justices, to succeed Sinclair and Cradlebaugh. Judge Cradlebaugh did not
resign, and not recognizing the right of the President to remove the
Judges, he continued to perform the duties of his office for some time
afterward.
On the 3d of October, 1861, John W. Dawson, of Indiana, was appointed by
President Lincoln as Governor of Utah, to succeed Cumming, who had left the
Territory some months previous.
In the appointment of Dawson, Lincoln, to use his own language, was
"imposed on." The Senate relieved him from the imposition, by refusing
to confirm the appointment.
The Mormons, however, anticipated the action of the Senate, and speedily
ejected Dawson from the governorship. The history of this _émeute_ is
briefly as follows:--
Dawson arrived at Salt Lake about the commencement of the session of the
Legislature. Having some notions of his own concerning legislative
affairs, and not yielding, like his predecessor, to all the views of
Brigham Young, he soon became involved in difficulties from which he was
unable to extricate himself. He had not the nerve and ability to sustain
himself in his position. The Mormons saw this, and at once resolved
upon, planned, and accomplished a brilliant _coup d'état_, similar to
that practised upon Steptoe. Without going into details, the plan may be
seen by the result; which was the affidavit of a widow woman named
Williams, to the effect that Dawson had insulted her, by making improper
advances, which, of course, she had scornfully repelled and rejected.
The indignation of the Mormons was aroused to the highest pitch by this
base attempt upon Mormon virtue. Threats were made so freely, that the
Governor became very much alarmed, and precipitately fled the
Territory. Not satisfied with this, the "boys" waylaid him at one of the
stations, and gave him a severe beating.
In contemplating this serio-comic affair, one hardly knows which most to
condemn, the lawless spirit which prompted such treatment, or the
timidity and weakness which would submit to it.
About the 1st of February, 1862, Judges Flenniken and Crosby left Salt
Lake City, and the federal officers there immediately advised the
President of the fact by telegraph, and recommended the appointment of
their successors. Accordingly on the 3d of February, 1862, Thomas J.
Drave, of Michigan, and Charles B. Waite, of Illinois, were appointed
Associate Justices, and on the 31st of March following, Stephen S.
Harding, of Indiana, was appointed Governor, to succeed Dawson.
FOOTNOTES:
[69:A] John D. Lee is an adopted son of Brigham Young.
[71:A] Several years after the massacre, Major, now General Carlton,
visited that region and erected a monument to the memory of the slain.
"It was constructed by raising a large pile of rock, in the centre of
which was erected a beam, some twelve or fifteen feet in height. Upon
one of the stones he caused to be engraved, 'Here lie the bones of one
hundred and twenty men, women, and children, from Arkansas, murdered
on the 10th day of September, 1857.' Upon a cross-tree, on the beam,
he caused to be painted: 'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I
will repay it.' This monument is said to have been destroyed the first
time Brigham visited that part of the Territory."
CHAPTER VI.
POLITICAL HISTORY CONTINUED.
Arrival of the New Federal Officers in July, 1862.--Colonel
Connor arrives with his Command.--The Message of Gov. Harding.
--The Mormons Indignant.--The Legislature refuse to print the
Message.--Action of the United States Senate thereon.--Forgery
in the Mormon Legislature.--Bill of Judge Waite to amend the
Organic Act.--Indignation Meeting.--Governor Harding and
Judges Waite and Drake requested to leave the Territory.--
Their Replies.--Brigham.--The Federal Officers.
Judges Drake and Waite arrived in Salt Lake City on the 11th of July,
1862. Governor Harding had arrived a few days previous.
For several months everything passed off smoothly, and Brigham was more
than once heard to say the officers now in the Territory were "good
men." No circumstances occurred to develop any differences, and it was
hoped by the federal officers themselves that none would arise.
In the mean time, in October of the same year, Colonel (now General)
Connor marched into and through Salt Lake City with his command, and
established his camp on the "bench," or high land, about three miles
east of the city. His forces at that time consisted of the Third
Regiment of Infantry, California Volunteers, and the Second Regiment of
Cavalry, under command of Col. George S. Evans.
Some little excitement was caused by the entrance of the troops, and
rumors were rife of threats having been made by the Mormons that the
volunteers should never "cross the Jordan," a stream a few miles south
of the city, and which was directly on their line of march. But the
Jordan was crossed, the camp established, and everything went on as
usual, until the meeting of the Territorial Legislature in December.
Then the pent-up fires began to break forth. The first pretext used by
the Mormons for indulging in words and acts of hostility was the Message
of Governor Harding to the Legislature. Therein he called the attention
of the people, through their representatives, to the practice of
polygamy in their midst, to the anomalous state of society it tended to
establish, to its incompatibility with our free institutions, and
especially to its violation of an Act of Congress recently passed.
The following are the portions of the Message which gave most offence:--
"_Polygamy._
"It would be disingenuous if I were not to advert to a
question which, although seemingly it has nothing to do in the
premises, yet is one of vast importance to you as a people,
and which cannot be ignored. I mean that institution which is
not only commended but encouraged by you, and which, to say
the least of it, is an anomaly throughout Christendom. I mean
polygamy, or, if you prefer the term, plurality of wives. In
approaching this delicate subject, I desire to do so in no
unkind or offensive spirit; yet the institution, founded upon
no written statute of your Territory, but upon custom alone,
exists. . . .
"I lay it down as a sound proposition, that no community can
happily exist with an institution so important as that of
marriage wanting in all those qualities that make it
homogeneal with institutions and laws of neighboring civilized
communities having the same object.
"Anomalies in the moral world cannot long exist in a state of
mere abeyance; they must, from the very nature of things,
become aggressive, or they will soon disappear, from the force
of conflicting ideas.
"This proposition is supported by the history of our race, and
is so plain that it may be set down as an axiom. If we grant
this to be true, we may sum up the conclusion of the argument
as follows: either the laws and opinions of the communities by
which you are surrounded must become subordinate to your
customs and opinions, or, on the other hand, yours must yield
to theirs. The conflict is irrepressible.
"But no matter whether this anomaly shall disappear or remain
amongst you, it is your duty at least to guard it against
flagrant abuses. That plurality of wives is tolerated and
believed to be right, may not appear so strange; but that a
mother and her daughters are allowed to fulfil the duties of
_wives_ to the same husband, or that a man could be found in
all Christendom who could be induced to take upon himself such
a relationship, is, perhaps, no less a marvel in morals than
in matters of taste.
"The bare fact that such practices are tolerated amongst you
is sufficient evidence that the human passions, whether
excited by religious fanaticism or otherwise, must be
restrained and subjected to laws, to which all must yield
obedience. No community can long exist, without absolute
social anarchy, unless so important an institution as that of
marriage is regulated by law. It is the basis of our
civilization, and in it the whole question of the descent and
distribution of real and personal estate is involved.
"Much to my astonishment, I have not been able to find any law
upon the statutes of this Territory regulating marriage. I
earnestly recommend to your early consideration the passage of
some law that will meet the exigencies of the people.
"_Act of Congress against Polygamy._
"I respectfully call your attention to an Act of Congress,
passed the 1st day of July, 1862, entitled 'An Act to punish
and prevent the practice of polygamy in the Territories of the
United States, and in other places, and disapproving and
annulling certain Acts of the legislative assembly of Utah,'
(chap. cxxvii. of the Statutes at Large of the last session of
Congress, page 501.) I am aware that there is a prevailing
opinion here that said Act is unconstitutional, and therefore
it is recommended by those in high authority that no regard
whatever should be paid to the same; and still more to be
regretted, if I am rightly informed, in some instances it has
been recommended that it be openly disregarded and defied,
merely to defy the same.
"I take this occasion to warn the people of this Territory
against such dangerous and disloyal counsels. Whether such Act
is unconstitutional or not, is not necessary for me either to
affirm or deny. The individual citizen, under no
circumstances whatever, has the right to defy any law or
statute of the United States with impunity. In doing so he
takes upon himself the risk of the penalties of that statute,
be they what they may, in case his judgment should be in
error.
"The Constitution has amply provided how and where all such
questions of doubt are submitted and settled, namely, in the
courts constituted for that purpose. To forcibly resist the
execution of that Act would be, to say the least, a high
misdemeanor; and if a whole community should become involved
in such resistance, would call down upon it the consequences
of insurrection and rebellion.
"I hope and trust that no such rash counsel will prevail. If,
unhappily, I am mistaken in this, I choose to shut my eyes to
the consequences.
"_Liberty of Conscience._
"Amongst the most cherished and sacred rights secured to the
citizen of the United States, is the right to worship God
according to the dictates of conscience. . . .
"Religion was left a matter between man and his Maker, and not
between man and the Government.
"But here arises a most important question,--a question
perhaps that has never yet been asked or fully answered in
this country,--How far does the right of conscience extend? Is
there any limit to this right?--and if so, where shall the
line of demarcation be drawn, designating that which is not
forbidden from that which is? This is, indeed, a most
important question, and from the tendency of the times, must
sooner or later be answered. I cannot, and will not, on this
occasion, pretend to answer this question; but will venture
the suggestion, that when it is answered, the same rules will
be adopted as if the freedom of speech and of the press were
involved in the argument.
. . . "There can be no limit beyond which the mind may not
dwell, and our thoughts soar in our aspirations after truth.
We may think what we will, believe what we will, and speak
what we will, on all subjects of speculative theology. . . .
But when religious opinions assume new manifestations, and
pass from the condition of mere sentiment into overt acts,--no
matter whether they be acts of faith or not,--they must not
outrage the opinions of the civilized world, but, on the
other hand, must conform to those usages established by law,
and which are believed to underlie our very civilization."
In the same Message, the Governor, after giving his views upon the
national topics of the day, fully sustaining the Administration and the
war, proceeded to discuss all the more prominent subjects of local
interest in the Territory. He referred to the attempts to procure the
admission of the State of Deseret into the Union,--giving it as his
opinion that those attempts were premature. He referred to provisions of
the Organic Act, and claimed the right to nominate to the Council all
general territorial officers. These had formerly been elected by the
Legislature.
He recommended a thorough revision and codification of the statutes; a
change in the mode of voting; referred to the financial condition of the
Territory; adverted to the Indian troubles; advised the organization of
a common-school system, and closed by assuring them of his willingness
and desire to work with them for the common good and welfare of the
people of the Territory.
The question of polygamy was boldly met and temperately discussed in
this Message, and the people warned against the consequences of
disobedience to the Act of Congress. Anything less than this on the part
of the Governor would have been simply a neglect of duty.
Yet the Mormons were very indignant, and professed to look upon that
portion of the Message as exceedingly hostile and offensive in its
character. Their religion had been attacked by the federal authorities!
It may be well here to remark, for the benefit of the tender-footed upon
this subject, that polygamy is no part of the Mormon religion, so far as
the same has any history, and can be distinguished from the personal
edicts of Brigham Young. It is not only not permitted but explicitly
condemned in the "Book of Mormon" and the "Book of Doctrines and
Covenants," which are the Old and New Testaments of Mormonism. This
subject is more fully examined in the last chapter of this work.
From the delivery of this Message, the treatment which the Governor
received at the hands of the Mormons was entirely changed. From respect
it was immediately changed to disrespect and contumely. No contemptuous
treatment was too marked, no indignity was too great, to be heaped upon
him, for this simple performance of his duty as a sworn officer of the
United States Government.
The Message was never printed by the Legislature. The Journals did not
even show that the Governor ever appeared before that body for any
purpose whatever.
The fact that the Message was not published having been communicated to
Washington, a resolution was introduced into the Senate of the United
States on the 16th of January, 1863, instructing the Committee on
Territories to inquire and report whether the publication of the Message
of the Governor of the Territory of Utah to the Territorial Legislature
had been suppressed, and if so by what causes, and what was the Message.
In response to this resolution Mr. Wade, chairman of the Committee, on
the 13th of February, submitted a Report, accompanied by a resolution,
which was adopted, that one thousand copies of the Message be printed,
and sent to the Governor for distribution.
This Report of the Committee was less complimentary to the Mormons than
the Message itself.
The following extracts will indicate the character of the document:--
"In pursuance of the instruction contained in this resolution,
your committee have the honor to report, that they have
collected all the facts, and taken all the testimony within
their reach,--the substance of which, together with a copy of
the Message, is herewith presented.
"These sources of information disclose the fact, that the
customs which have prevailed in all our other Territories in
the government of public affairs have had but little
toleration in the Territory of Utah; but in their stead there
appears to be, overriding all other influences, a sort of
Jewish theocracy, graduated to the condition of that
Territory.
"This theocracy, having a supreme head who governs and guides
every affair of importance in the Church, and, practically, in
the Territory, is the only real power acknowledged here, and
to the extension of whose interests every person in the
Territory must directly or indirectly conduce. . . .
"We have here the first exhibition, within the limits of the
United States, of a Church ruling the State. . . .
"Another opinion--the subject of both public and private
teaching--is, that the Government of the United States will
not and ought not to stand. They make a difference between the
Constitution and the Government of the United States; to the
Constitution they claim to be very loyal.
. . . "Because the Governor, in his Message, has animadverted
upon some of the customs of the Mormons, and has recommended
that steps be taken to Americanize the same, he has given
offence, and has had his Message suppressed.
"Polygamy of the most unlimited character, sanctioning the
cohabitation of a man with the mother and her daughters
indiscriminately, is not the only un-American thing among
them.
. . . "The Message, on examination, is found to contain nothing
that should give offence to any legislature willing to be
governed by the laws of morality.
"It is the opinion of your Committee that the Message is an
able exposition of the manners and customs of the people in
that Territory, and as such, brought down the censure of the
leaders of the Mormon Church, and were it not for the
animadversions therein contained, it would not have been
suppressed."
The printing and distribution of the Message is then recommended.
During the session of the Legislature an event occurred which caused
much indignation among the federal officers, and served to render
somewhat mutual the feelings of hostility which the leading saints
already entertained. This was nothing less than a forgery committed in
the Legislature upon a bill relating to the terms of one of the District
Courts.
The facts were as follows:--
The Territory was divided into three judicial districts. The First,
sometimes called the Provo District, comprised a number of counties
carved out of the centre of the Territory. This had been assigned to
Judge Drake. The Second, called the "Cotton District," was assigned to
Judge Waite, and consisted of the three southernmost counties, Beaver,
Iron, and Washington. The Third District, Chief Justice Kinney's,
comprised the northern part of the Territory, including Salt Lake City.
On the 14th of January, 1863, the Legislature passed a bill, which was
signed by the Governor, changing the county seat of Washington County
from Washington to St. George, and in the same bill it was provided that
the United States Court for the transaction of territorial business,
should be held at St. George, on the third Monday of May. This time was
the same as that provided by the law previously in force.
This was before the assignment of the Judges had been made.
After Judge Waite had been assigned to the Second District [in which
many murders had been committed, and the murderers still at large], the
Legislature concluded they did not want court held in that district
until fall. They accordingly passed a bill, providing, among other
things, for holding the court at St. George on the third Monday of
October. But as they had already passed a bill fixing the term of court
in May, and as the Judge preferred to hold the term in May, that being
near the time when he was intending to hold court for the transaction of
United States business in the same district, the Governor declined
signing the second bill.
Soon after, having occasion to examine the first bill for another
purpose, he went to the Secretary's office and called for the bill, and
behold, _the word May had been erased, and the word October inserted
instead_! It appeared to have been done by the same hand which had
penned the body of the bill. This had been written by one of the clerks
of the House of Representatives. The Governor, after signing the bill,
had inadvertently returned it to the Legislature, and it had been sent
from that body to the Secretary's office, where it should have been sent
by the Governor. It had been recorded in that office before the forgery
was discovered.
The Governor immediately caused the record to be corrected, changed the
bill back from October to May, by erasing the word "October" and
interlining the word "May." He then made a statement of the forgery and
its detection, over his own signature, on the margin of the bill.
He then sent a special Message to the Legislature, calling their
attention to the fact that a forgery had been committed; but, instead of
taking steps to ferret out the guilty party, the Legislature made an
issue of fact with the Governor, and endeavored to make out that it was
all the time October, and that no forgery had been committed. When the
matter was up in the House the second time, one member actually produced
a paper which he averred was the original draft, and which had October
in it. And this in the face of the fact, that five persons had seen the
bill in the Governor's office when the word May was in it, and that the
bill showed plainly, upon inspection, that it had been changed; the
outline of the letter "y," in the word erased, being distinctly visible.
Thus the Legislature, by their collective action, implicated themselves
all in the forgery.
On the 16th of January the Legislature adjourned, without printing the
Governor's Message, or sending any appropriation bills for his
signature.
The day following, "the Legislature of the State of Deseret" met, and
commenced doing business under Brigham Young, as Governor. A Message was
delivered, and all the forms of legislation gone through with; in
reality, this _de facto_ government was the only one for which the
Mormons maintained even the show of respect.
The judicial system of the Territory was manifestly very defective, and
as constituted under the Organic Act of 1850, as the same had been
construed by the Federal Judges, was inadequate to the administration of
justice.
The greatest difficulty was experienced in the formation of juries, and
in the extraordinary jurisdiction assumed by the Probate Judges, all of
whom were Mormons.
The jurisdiction of the Probate Court, in the words of the Organic Act,
was to be "as prescribed by law." Under this provision several of the
United States Judges had held that it was competent in the Legislature
to confer upon the Probate Courts any jurisdiction they pleased. The
Mormons, never behind in availing themselves of all advantages, had
accordingly granted to the Probate Courts concurrent jurisdiction with
the District Courts, in all cases civil and criminal.
Again; the juries had been selected by these courts acting with other
county authorities, and it was contended that the United States Courts
could only try causes before juries thus selected.
To remedy these defects, and to remove all doubt as to these complicated
questions, a bill was drawn by Judge Waite, for an Act of Congress
amendatory of the Organic Act of 1850. It provided for the selection of
United States juries by the Marshal, under the direction of the court,
as in other district and territorial courts of the United States.
The question of jurisdiction was to be settled by an express provision
that the Probate Court should have no jurisdiction to try any civil
action whatsoever. It was to do the usual probate business, and have a
limited criminal jurisdiction, subject to appeal to the District Court.
The bill also provided for an organization of the militia of the
Territory, under the Governor, and contained several other wholesome and
salutary provisions.
The bill was carefully drawn, and was submitted to the inspection of his
associate, Judge Drake, and of Governor Harding,--Judge Kinney being
absent from the Territory. It received the unqualified approval of Drake
and Harding, and, with their indorsement upon it, was sent to
Washington. In due time it was introduced in Congress by Senator
Browning, and referred to the proper committee.
The introduction of this bill was the signal for another outbreak. The
news was telegraphed to Salt Lake, and immediately Brigham called a
meeting at the Tabernacle.
The meeting was held on the 3d of March 1863. Notice having been
extensively circulated, some two or three thousand persons assembled,
excited by exaggerated statements concerning attempts upon the part of
the federal officers to "interfere with their rights."
Speeches of the most inflammatory character were made at this meeting,
and the resentment and indignation of the ignorant masses of the people
were excited to the highest pitch. The following will serve as a
specimen of these harangues.
Elder John Taylor said:--
"It has already been stated that these documents speak for
themselves. They come from those who are ostensibly our
guardians, and the guardians of our rights. They come from men
who ought to be actuated by the strictest principles of honor,
truth, virtue, integrity, and honesty, and whose high official
position ought to elevate them above suspicion,--yet what are
the results?
"In relation to the Governor's Message, enough, perhaps, has
already been said. . .
"We had a right to look for a friend in our Governor, who
would, at least, fairly represent us. Instead, we have had a
most insidious foe, who, through misrepresentations, base
insinuations, and falsehood, is seeking with all his power,
privately as well as officially, not only to injure us before
the Government, but as well to sap the very foundations of our
civil and religious liberties; he is, in fact, in the
furtherance of his unhallowed schemes, seeking to promote
anarchy and rebellion, and dabbling in your blood. [Cries of
'hear, hear.'] Such, it would seem, were the Governor's
feelings and intentions when he concocted his Message, and
such his purposes when he read it before the Legislature. That
document was not hastily written, as it shows upon its face
that it had been well digested, and every word and sentence
carefully weighed.
. . . "That he is the most vindictive enemy we have, is shown
by the statement of our representatives at Washington.
"He is the only man, it would seem, who is industriously
striving to sap the interests of our people, and to injure
their reputation, and yet, as our Governor, he professes to
feel a deep interest in our welfare, and to represent our
wishes.
"Let us, for a short time, investigate the results of his
acts, should his purposes be successful, leaving the
allegations of treason from our consideration. [It was
contended that the Governor and Judges had committed _Treason
against the Territory_.]
"We have thought that we were living under a republican form
of government, and had the right of franchise; that we had the
privilege of voting for whom we pleased, and of thus saying
whom we would have represent us; but it may be that we are
laboring under a mistake, and that it is but a political
illusion. We have likewise thought that if any one among us
was accused of crimes, it was his privilege to be tried by a
jury of his peers, among whom he had lived, who would
undoubtedly be the best judges of his actions.
"We have further been of the opinion that while acting in a
military capacity, when called into service to stand in
defence of our country's rights, we had the right of selecting
our own officers. We have always had this privilege, in
accordance with republican usage; but we can do so no longer
should the plotting of Governor Harding and our Honorable
Judges be carried into effect. We shall be deprived of
franchise, of the right of trial by an impartial jury, and
shall be placed, in a military capacity, under the creatures
of Governor Harding, or of his successors. In other words, we
shall be forever deprived of all the rights of freemen, and
placed under a military despotism; such would be the result of
the passage of this Act.
"Again, in regard to juries, already referred to, you know
what, as regards this matter, the usage has always been. The
Governor and Judges want to place the power in the hands of
the United States Marshal of selecting such jurors as he
pleases, and that, too, without reference as to who they are,
or whence they come. This is what is attempted to be done by
our honorable Judges and Governor. Your rights as freemen, and
your liberties, are aimed at; and you are to be disfranchised,
and your liberties trampled under foot, by strangers, and you
will have blacklegs and cut-throats sit upon your juries. Mr.
Harding wants to select his own military, and have officers of
his own selection to lead them, and then if you do not submit,
he will have the authority to say, 'I will make you.'
[Uproarious applause, and cries all over the house of 'Can't
do it.'] We all know he can't do it, but this is what he is
aiming at [Clapping of hands, and great cheering.] When these
rights are taken away, what rights have we left? [Cries of
'None.']
"It can scarcely be credited or believed, that any man in his
position could so far degrade himself as to introduce such
infamous principles, and it is equally a lamentable fact to
reflect upon, that men holding the high and responsible
position of United States Judges could so far forget
themselves as to descend to such depravity, corruption, and
injustice. [Applause.] These things are so palpable, that 'he
that runneth may read,' and any man with five grains of common
sense can readily comprehend them. It is for you to say
whether you are willing to sustain such men in the capacity
they act in, or not." [Loud clapping of hands, and a universal
and emphatic cry of "No!" on the part of the audience.]
BRIGHAM YOUNG'S SPEECH.
At the close of Elder Taylor's speech Brigham arose, and on advancing to
the speaker's desk was greeted with vociferous applause, and immediately
proceeded to address the assemblage as follows:--
"I have no intention of delivering a lengthy address, but
while I am speaking I desire the audience to remain quiet. I
know well your feelings, but much prefer that you should
suppress any demonstrations of applause to other times and
places, when you may have less business and greater leisure.
"You have just heard read the Message of Governor Harding,
delivered to the last Legislative Assembly of this Territory.
You will readily perceive that the bread is buttered, but
there is poison underneath. When he came to Utah last July,
the Governor sought to ingratiate himself into the esteem of
our prominent citizens, with whom he had early intercourse,
and professed great friendship and attachment for the people
of the Territory. He was then full of their praises, and said
he was ready to declare that he would stand in the defence of
polygamy, or that he should have to deny the Bible; and stated
that he had told the President, prior to leaving Washington,
that if he were called upon to discuss the question, he would
have to take the side of polygamy, or to renounce the
authority of the Scriptures.
"In the face of all these professions, what has been his
course? While being fair of speech, and specious of promise,
and lavish in his expressions of good-will toward us, he has
been insidiously at work to prejudice the General Government
against us, and in the secrecy of his private room has
concocted measures which he urged upon Congress to pass,
which, if successful, would deprive us of the dearest rights
of freemen, and render us the abject subjects of this man, who
has been sent here to govern the Territory. Man, did I
say?--thing, I mean,--a nigger-worshipper,--a black-hearted
abolitionist is what he is, and what he represents; and that I
do naturally despise. He wants to have the telegraph torn
down, and the mails stopped and turned by the way of Panama.
Do you acknowledge this man Harding for your Governor? [Voices
all through the audience responded, 'No, you are our
Governor.'] Yes, I am your Governor; and I will let him know
that I am Governor; and if he attempts to interfere in my
affairs, 'Woe, woe unto him!' [Shaking his uplifted fist in a
very excited manner, which was responded to with loud
applause, and cries of 'Yes, you are our Governor.']
"Will you allow such a man to remain in the Territory?
[Voices, 'No; put him out.'] Yes, I say put him out. Judges
Waite and Drake are perfect fools, and the tools of Governor
Harding, and they too must leave. If all three do not resign,
or if the President does not remove them, the people must
attend to it.
"If they could get the power, as they want to do, to have the
Marshal choose jurors of cut-throats, blacklegs, soldiers, and
desperadoes from California, and we are to be tried by such
men, what would become of us?
"In regard to the war now desolating the country, it is but
the fulfilment of the prophecies of Joseph Smith, which he
told me thirty years ago. Brother Joseph said that the South
would rise against the North, and the North against the South,
and that they would fight until both parties were destroyed;
and for my part I give it God speed; for they have spilt the
blood of the Prophet. [To which the audience responded
vociferously, 'Amen!']
"I would like to live in peace with the Government of the
United States, but have no desire to live with the people who
have brought ruin and disgrace upon their own heads. I do not
wish to live in, or have anything to do with the United
States; I will have a free and independent government for
myself, where I may live and enjoy my civil and religious
liberties. [Loud cries of 'Amen,' and 'Yes, yes,' on the part
of the entire assemblage.]
"When our rights, and the protection of our liberties are
taken from us, what is there remaining? [Voices, 'Nothing,'
'Nothing.'] Yes, service to despots,--service to tyrants."
Brigham also said that money had been appropriated for the purpose of
turning the mail by the way of Panama; and these men were not above
taking money for such a purpose, under pretence of other business.
The injustice and falsity of these statements concerning the bill
introduced into Congress, and which was the immediate cause of this
outbreak, will be manifest, when it is stated that so far from
authorizing soldiers to sit as jurymen, it was expressly prohibited in
the bill itself. Again; the right of suffrage was actually extended by
the bill, because, while by one section the militia officers were to be
appointed by the Governor, the bill in other sections provided that
nearly all civil officers of the Territory, who were before elected by
the Legislature, should be elected by the people.
The effect of the bill would have been, to enable the people, when they
became generally dissatisfied with the spiritual tyranny to which they
were submitting, as many of them were already, to throw off the yoke of
despotism, by having every question that might arise fairly and
impartially adjudicated upon in the courts. This was foreseen by
Brigham. He saw that he was about to lose the powerful enginery of the
judicial system of the Territory, then under his control. Hence the
demonstration.
There are but two ways in which this theocratic despotism can be met and
overthrown. One is, by the people of the Territory, aided by some such
legislation as that proposed. The other is by the strong arm of military
power. The former would be more congenial to our institutions.
Time only can determine which must be resorted to. Doubtless the
employment of force will become necessary in either case,--as the course
taken by Young and his associates on this occasion shows that a
peaceable remedy will be forcibly resisted.
After listening to such speeches, the audience were, of course, ready to
adopt or approve of anything; and the following resolutions, prepared
for the occasion, were passed without a dissenting voice:--
"_Resolved_, That we consider the attack made upon us by His
Excellency Governor Harding, wherein our loyalty is impugned,
as base, wicked, unjust, and false; and he knew it to be so
when uttered.
"_Resolved_, That we consider the attempt to possess himself
of all military authority and dictation, by appointing all the
militia officers, is a stretch of military despotism, hitherto
unknown in the annals of our Republic.
"_Resolved_, That we consider his attempt to control the
selection of juries as so base, unjust, and tyrannical, as to
deserve the contempt of all free men.
"_Resolved_, That we consider the action of Judges Waite and
Drake, in assisting the Governor to pervert justice, and
violate the sacred palladium of the people's rights, as
subversive of the principles of justice, degrading to their
high calling, and repulsive to the feelings of honest men.
"_Resolved_, That we consider that a serious attack has been
made upon the liberties of this people, and that it not only
affects us as a Territory, but is a direct assault upon
Republican principles in our own nation and throughout the
world; and that we cannot either tamely submit to be
disfranchised ourselves, nor witness, without protest, the
assassin's dagger plunged into the very vitals of our national
institutions.
"_Resolved_, That while we will, at all times, honor and
magnify all wholesome laws of our country, and desire to be
subservient to their dictates, and the equitable
administration of justice, we will resist, in a proper manner,
every attempt upon the liberties, guaranteed by our fathers,
whether made by insidious foes or open traitors.
"_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed by the meeting to
wait upon the Governor, and Judges Waite and Drake, to request
them to resign their offices and leave the Territory.
"_Resolved_, That John Taylor, Jetu Clinton, and Orson Pratt,
Sen., be that committee.
"_Resolved_, That we petition the President of the United
States to remove Governor Harding, and Judges Waite and Drake,
and to appoint good men in their stead."
The following is the petition to the President, which was signed by
several thousand persons:--
"_To His Excellency Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States_:--
"Sir,--We, your petitioners, citizens of the Territory of
Utah, respectfully represent that,
"_Whereas_, From the most reliable information in our
possession, we are satisfied that His Excellency Stephen S.
Harding, Governor, Charles B. Waite and Thomas J. Drake,
Associate Justices, are strenuously endeavoring to create
mischief and stir up strife between the people of the
Territory of Utah and the troops now in Camp Douglas,
(situated within the limits of Great Salt Lake City,) and, of
far graver import in our nation's difficulties, between the
people of the aforesaid Territory and the Government of the
United States:
"_Therefore_, We respectfully petition your Excellency to
forthwith remove the aforesaid persons from the offices they
now hold, and to appoint in their places men who will attend
to the duties of their offices, honor their appointments, and
regard the rights of all, attending to their own affairs and
leaving alone the affairs of others; and in all their conduct
demeaning themselves as honorable citizens and officers worthy
of commendation by yourself, our Government, and all good men;
and for the aforesaid removals and appointments your
petitioners will continue most respectfully to pray.
"_Great Salt Lake City, Territory of Utah_, March 3, 1863."
The best reply to the charges contained in the foregoing petition, is
the counter-petition sent to the President by the military officers of
General Connor's command, of which the following is a copy:--
"HEADQUARTERS, COLUMN FOR UTAH, CAMP DOUGLAS, }
UTAH TERRITORY, NEAR SALT LAKE CITY, March 8, 1863. }
"_To His Excellency Abraham Lincoln, President of the United
States_:--
"It is an unusual proceeding for officers of the army to join
in representing to the Government their knowledge of facts and
opinion of proceedings, having reference to civil authority,
or to the actions of the people for expressing their
displeasure at the conduct of their officers.
"The condition of affairs in the Territory of Utah, however,
and the result of this condition of affairs, which culminated
in a mass meeting in Salt Lake City on the 3d inst., in our
opinion demands from us a respectful statement to your
Excellency of the matter having allusion to ourselves, simply
as an act of duty we owe to our Government.
"We do not propose to inquire into recommendations affecting
the laws of the Territory, made by the Governor and Associate
Judges of the Supreme Court of Utah. The Government must know,
as regards the justice or injustice of the proposed amendments
to existing laws, made by the officers above named.
"But when the community residing in Salt Lake City solemnly
declare in their petition to your Excellency, that Governor
Harding, and Judges Waite and Drake are studiously endeavoring
to create mischief and stir up strife between the people of
the Territory and the troops now at Camp Douglas (situated
within the limits of Salt Lake City), they simply assert a
base and unqualified falsehood.
"On the contrary, it has been the aim of these gentlemen to
preserve friendly relations between the people of Utah and the
troops, who have also labored to the same end, now stationed
at Camp Douglas.
"And further; during a period of nearly five months, we know
that Governor Harding, and Judges Drake and Waite 'have
attended to the duties of their offices, honored their
appointments, regarded the rights of all, attended to their
own affairs,' and have not disturbed or interfered with the
affairs of others, outside of their legitimate duty to the
Government; 'and in all their conduct,' His Excellency
Governor Harding, and Judges Drake and Waite, have, during our
acquaintance with them, 'demeaned themselves as honorable
citizens, and officers worthy of commendation by your
Excellency, our Government, and all good men.'
"And we further represent to your Excellency that these
officers have been true and faithful to the Government, and
fearless in the discharge of their duties to all. They have,
on all proper occasions, spoken plainly to the people of their
duty. They have not been subservient to any person or persons,
and they stand proudly preëminent as in contrast with other
officers who have represented in the past, and who do now
represent, the Federal Government in this Territory.
"Our respectful opinion is, that there is no good and true
cause for the removal of His Excellency Governor Harding, and
Judges Drake and Waite, from the offices they now hold.
"With much respect, we have the honor to remain your
Excellency's obedient servants,--
"P. Edward Connor, Colonel 3d Infantry, California Volunteers,
commanding District of Utah; Geo. S. Evans, Colonel 2d
Cavalry, Cal. Vol.; P. A. Gallagher, Major 3d Infantry, C. V.;
J. M. Williamson, Surgeon, 2d Cavalry, C. V.; Robert K. Reid,
Surgeon 3d Infantry, C. V.; George Wallace, Capt. and Asst. Q.
M. U. S. A.; Thomas B. Gately, 1st Lieut. and Reg. Q. M.;
William L. Ustick, 1st Lieut. and Adjt. 3d Infantry, and A. A.
A. G.; T. S. Harris, 1st Lieut. and Adjt. 2d Cavalry, C. V.;
Henry R. Miller, 2d Lieut. and Reg. C. S., 2d Cavalry, C. V.;
F. A. Peel, 2d Lieut. and Reg. Q. M. 2d Cavalry, C. V.;
Charles Tupper, Captain 3d Infantry, C. V.; John B. Urmy,
Captain 3d Infantry, C. V.; Samuel N. Hoyt, Captain 3d
Infantry, C. V.; David Black, Captain 3d Infantry, C. V.; S.
P. Smith, Captain 2d Cavalry, C. V.; Daniel McLane, Captain
2d Cavalry, C. V.; George F. Price, Captain 2d Cavalry, C.
V.; David J. Berry, Captain 2d Cavalry, C. V.; Josiah Hosmer,
1st Lieut. 3d Infantry, C. V.; James W. Stillman, 1st Lieut.
3d Infantry, C. V.; Lysander Washburn, 2d Lieut. 3d Infantry,
C. V.; Michael McDermott, 1st Lieut. 3d Infantry, C. V.; John
Quinn, 1st Lieut. 2d Cavalry, C. V.; Cyrus D. Clark, 1st
Lieut. 2d Cavalry, C. V.; Francis Honeyman, 2d Lieut. 3d
Infantry, C. V.; S. E. Joslyn, 2d Lieut. 3d Infantry, C. V.;
James Finnerty, 2d Lieut. 3d Infantry, C. V.; Edward Ingham,
2d Lieut. 3d Infantry, C. V.; Anthony Ether, 2d Lieut. 2d
Cavalry, C. V.; J. Bradley, 2d Lieut. 2d Cavalry, C. V.; Geo.
D. Conrad, 2d Lieut. 2d Cavalry, C. V."[97:A]
But to return to the meeting, and subsequent proceedings:--
The next morning, the Committee appointed to wait upon the officers and
"request" them to resign and leave the Territory, called upon Governor
Harding, at his residence, and presented him with a copy of the "Deseret
News," containing the reported proceedings of the meeting.
The Governor treated them with much courtesy, and after examining the
paper, addressed the Committee, as follows:--
"Gentlemen, I believe I understand this matter perfectly. You
may go back and tell your constituents that I will not resign
my office, and will not leave this Territory, until it shall
please the President to recall me. I came here a messenger of
peace and good-will to your people, but I must confess that my
opinions have changed in many respects. But I came also, sirs,
to discharge my duties honestly and faithfully to the
Government, and I intend to do so to the last. It is in your
power to do me personal violence,--to shed my blood; but this
will not deter me from my purpose. If the President can be
made to believe that I have been unfaithful to the trust he
confided to me, he will doubtless remove me; and I then shall
be glad to return to my home in the States, and will do so,
carrying with me no unjust resentments towards you or any one
else.
"But I will not be driven away; I will not cowardly abandon
my post. I may be in danger in staying; but my purpose is
fixed. I desire to have no trouble; I am anxious to live and
again meet my family,--but if necessary, an administrator can
settle my affairs.
"Your allegations in this paper are false,--without the shadow
of truth. You call my Message insulting, and you dare not
print it for fear your people may read it for themselves. To
say that I have wronged you when I said that you are disloyal,
is simply preposterous. Your own people--your public teachers
and bishops--admit the fact.
"Let me say to you in conclusion,--and as this is said to be a
land of prophets, I too will prophesy,--If, while in the
discharge of my duties, one drop of my blood be shed by your
ministers of vengeance, that it will be avenged, and not one
stone or adobe in this city will be left upon another. I have
now done, and you understand me."
During this reply the Committee sat quiet, with the exception of Elder
Taylor, who several times attempted to make some explanation; but the
Governor refused to hear him, and went through with his remarks without
stopping to listen, or reply to any new matter.
Elder Taylor then turned to Judge Drake, and remarked that he might
consider the resolutions as addressed also to him.
The Judge responded as follows:--
"The communications you have made are of some importance, and
as they are intended to affect me, I desire to say something
before you go.
"It is no small thing to request a citizen to leave his
country. Are you aware of the magnitude or of the baseness of
what you have undertaken? I deny that you have any cause for
such conduct toward me. I am an American citizen, and as such
have a right to go to every part of the Republic. I have the
right to petition, or ask the Government to pass laws; or to
amend them. You, Taylor and Pratt, are men of experience, and
reputed to be men of learning, and ought to know better than
to insult a man by such means.
"It is mean and contemptible. On your part, Taylor, a
foreigner, it is impudence unequalled; and Pratt, a citizen,
ought to know better than to trample on the rights of a
citizen by engaging in such a dirty enterprise. Your
resolutions are false, and those who drafted them knew them to
be so; and I am informed that in the meeting at the
Tabernacle, Brigham Young called me a fool, and a tool of the
Governor. [Here Taylor admitted that such was the fact.]
"Go back to Brigham Young, your master,--that embodiment of
sin and shame and disgust,--and tell him that I neither fear
him, nor love him, nor hate him,--that I utterly despise him.
Tell him, whose tools and tricksters you are, that I did not
come here by his permission, and that I will not go away at
his desire, or by his directions. I have given no cause of
offence to any one. I have not entered a Mormon's house since
I came here; your wives and daughters have not been disturbed
by me, and I have not even looked upon your concubines and
lewd women.
"I am no skulk from the punishment of crimes. I tell you, if
you, or the man whom you so faithfully serve, attempt to
interfere with my lawful business, you will meet with trouble
of a character you do not expect.
"A horse-thief or a murderer has, when arrested, a right to
speak in court; and unless in such capacity, or under such
circumstances, don't you ever dare to speak to me again."
The Committee rose to depart, and one of them said, "We have our
opinions." "Yes," replied the Judge, "thieves and murderers can have
opinions;" and thus closed the interview.
The Committee then proceeded to call on Judge Waite at his residence,
where they were received politely and with due consideration. In answer
to their request for his resignation and withdrawal from the Territory,
he replied as follows:--
"To comply with your wishes, gentlemen, under such
circumstances, would be to admit, impliedly at least, one of
two things,--either that I was sensible of having done
something wrong, or that I was afraid to remain at my post and
perform my duty.
"I am not conscious either of guilt or fear. I must therefore
respectfully decline to accede to your request."
These replies were published in California, and in the Eastern papers,
and gave general satisfaction. The people rejoiced that at last the
Government had representatives in Utah who could neither be wheedled nor
bullied out of their rights, nor frightened from the performance of
their duty.
In Utah the excitement for a time ran high, and doubtless nothing but
the presence of the military saved the federal officers from personal
violence.
The state of popular feeling there is well shown by the following
extracts from the correspondence of the "Chicago Tribune":--
"Excitement ran high, and groups of men were to be seen on the
corners of the various streets, busily engaged in canvassing
the subject, their earnest gestures and eager attitudes
portraying the depth and intensity of the frenzied feeling
which actuated them.
"One of the Judges sought to be ostracised (Judge Waite) was
accosted, while passing quietly along the sidewalk, by a group
of excited men, and threats of an alarming character made use
of to intimidate him.
. . . "The few 'gentiles' resident here were also to be
observed in earnest discussion of the question, and with
compressed lip and countenance, on which 'thought sat sedate,'
awaited, cold and determined, the approach of coming events. I
opine that many a bowie and revolver were hastily examined and
adjusted, of which the passer-by had no thought or knowledge,
which, in an emergency, might have been made useful.
"It was a spectacle of true courage to see these federal
officers, clothed with important duties, stand up and assert
their rights, when they knew but too well that this 'request'
upon the part of the meeting and the Committee had a far more
grave significance, if that request were not complied with.
"They have been called on by a number of citizens and
gentlemen since the visit of the Committee, and have received
but one expression of opinion as to what has passed; and that
is, that the proceedings throughout were an outrage, and only
intended to get rid of men who cannot be used against the
interest of the General Government, and whose fidelity to duty
makes them alike hated and feared by the Mormon leaders."
The following, from the same correspondence, will show the conduct of
Young during this emergency:--
"While the objects of all this wrath pursue the even tenor of
their way, and sleep soundly, with scarce a casement barred,
unmindful of the threatened storm without, yet not so with
him, 'the Lord's Anointed,' who appears to dream dreams and
see visions, that to his distempered fancy seem to foreshadow
the 'handwriting on the wall,' at the great day of his
judgment which is to come. Like unto the great magician, the
famous Fakir, who upon a time, by his incantation, raised a
demon which he could not control, which would not 'lay' at the
conqueror's command, and from which he fled in dismay; so, in
the present instance, the 'Lion of the Lord' is sorely
affrighted at the hideous aspect of the devil ('of a muss') he
has raised, which, he has the sagacity to see, may not 'down'
at his bidding, but may return to plague the inventor.
"There is abundant evidence to show that he is alarmed at his
own creation, and foreseeing that he has provoked justice,
incensed mercy, seeks to guard against the retribution which
he knows the offended majesty of loyalty and law should visit
upon him.
"The night succeeding the action of the mass meeting, some
fifty armed sentinels or guards were on duty, in and about
Brigham's premises, which number has since been augmented to
several hundreds, a portion of whom serve as pickets, or
night-patrol, on the different streets leading toward Camp
Douglas. It has been currently reported that orders have been
issued to arrest Brigham and his counsellors, and hence these
precautionary measures to guard against any sudden inroad of
troops from Col. Connor's command. . . .
"On the 8th inst., the Sabbath succeeding the date of the mass
meeting, Brigham delivered a very treasonable and violent
harangue in the Tabernacle, to an immense audience, which
filled almost to suffocation that capacious structure. . . .
'We have always,' he said, 'done everything in our power to
show our loyalty. Is there anything that could be asked that
we would not do? Yes; let the present Administration ask us
for a thousand men, or even five hundred, and I'd see them
damned first, and then they couldn't have them! What do you
think of that? [Loud cries of "Good, good!" and great
applause.] We have liars, murderers, and thieves among us, who
are watching us, to report something against our loyalty.
Their object is to send another army here to "wipe us out";
but let me tell them that cannot be done; "they can't come
it,"--putting his thumb to his nose, and making the peculiar
gyrating movement with the fingers, so very expressive among
rowdies and shoulder-hitters. At this antic, a long, and loud,
and universal shout and laughter went up from all parts of the
house, joined with clapping of hands, and stamping of the
feet, in one general din and uproar.
"'It was said that we were disloyal because we burned some
seventy government wagons, at the time Johnston's army came
here. Well, let me ask, _what the devil were they doing out
here_? Coming here to destroy, and wipe us from the face of
the earth; and we only took and destroyed some of their good
things, so that they had to _gnaw mules' bones_, and eat
cattle which had frozen to death; that's what they did.
"'I swear some, my brethren and sisters; but it is always in
the pulpit,--never anywhere else.'
"Following Brigham came 'brother Heber,' a large, gross man,
bald-headed, and with a harsh and disagreeable voice, and
apparently fast approaching the age of 'the lean and slippered
pantaloon.' His remarks were in the main but a re-hash of
those made by Brigham, save in one or two noticeable points,
as follows:--'They say I am a secessionist, _but that's a
lie_. Then they say I have more than one wife; well, I _have_
several wives, and lots of children, and by the help of the
Lord I'll have many more of them!'
"Speaking about anticipated trouble with the General
Government, he said:--'The entire power of the United States
cannot destroy us, for the Lord will fight our battles.'
"_Brigham fears Arrest._
"Yesterday Col. Connor rode into the city, and called on Judge
Waite at his residence, and made a stay of perhaps an hour or
so. Immediately after his departure, a signal of distress was
hastily thrown to the breeze, from a small flag-staff on
Brigham's 'Lion House.' . . . . Immediately a commotion was
seen, and soon armed men began to pour along the different
streets, and the report was carried, as on the wings of
lightning, to the uttermost parts of the city, that an order
was being made out for the arrest of Brigham and his
counsellors, and that Col. Connor had been down to make
arrangements for enforcing the writ. Men with muskets and
rifles,--some few with antiquated swords,--of all ages, from
the brawny youth to the old white-haired sexagenarian, came
pouring along, singly and in groups, by twos, by threes, and
the half-dozen or more, pressing hurriedly on towards
Brigham's premises, zealous, and ready to yield up life, if
need be, in defence of the 'Prophet of the Lord.' Altogether
some two thousand 'citizen soldiery' collected, and stood
guard during the watches of the night, over the beloved
Brigham and his harem. Verily, 'The wicked flee when no man
pursueth.'"
That Brigham really feared arrest at this time, and believed that a
movement was on foot for that purpose, is evident from the following,
taken from the "Latter Day Saints' Millennial Star," published in
London. It is a portion of a letter written for that magazine by David
O. Calder, a clerk in the tithing-office:--
"AMERICA. GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, March 13th, 1863.
"_President G. Q. Cannon_:
"Dear Brother,--You of course have learned through the New
York press of our 'expected collision between the military and
citizens of Utah,' and will learn through Capt. Hooper, (he
being just informed by telegraph to write to you,) that
comparative peace is restored. I shall now give you some
details of the trouble.
"As you are aware, we have been of the opinion that the
mission of the troops despatched from California last year was
not altogether to be confined to the guarding of the mail and
telegraph lines, and the protection of the California
emigration, and consequently have been watchful of their
proceedings; the more so, that they made their winter-quarters
within the city limits, and on one of the most commanding
benches above the city, instead of being distributed at the
several posts along the line of travel.
"We also have been made acquainted with the doings of Governor
Harding, and Judges Waite and Drake; that they were
corresponding with the authorities at Washington, and moving
everything that could be moved to bring the army here in
contact with the people, and to have the War Department send
on two or three thousand more troops.
"These and other movements compelled the citizens to be on
their guard, and prepared for any emergency. On Monday last, a
reliable person overheard Colonel Connor and Judge Waite in
conversation. The Colonel says, 'These three men must be
surprised.' The Judge replied, 'Colonel, you know your duty.'
In half an hour after, from a signal given, which was
previously understood, about one thousand citizens were armed,
and on duty, and in another half hour another thousand men
were on duty. This sudden demonstration proved to them that
their secret was known, and that we were fully prepared for
them. In the mean time our 'outside' friends in this city
telegraphed to those interested in the mail and telegraph
lines, that they must work for the removal of the troops,
Governor Harding, Judges Waite and Drake, _else there would be
difficulty, and the mail and telegraph lines would be
destroyed_. Their moneyed interest has given them great energy
in our behalf. They have placed their line at the disposal of
President Young, to be used to Washington, or New York. We
fully expect the Colonel, Governor, and Judges will be
recalled."
Here, it will be noticed, is the same covert threat contained in Brigham
Young's speech, that the mail and telegraph lines would be destroyed, if
the federal officers should be retained at their posts. It is to be
regretted that this standing menace should so far have had its effect,
as to induce the President, some two or three months afterward, to
recall Governor Harding from his position. It is true, by transferring
him to the Chief Justiceship of Colorado Territory, his removal was
disconnected with any censure of his administration. It still remained,
however, a substantial yielding to the arbitrary demands of Brigham
Young, and as such, had a direct tendency to encourage him in his
lawless proceedings, and to postpone for years the solution of the Utah
problem.
Judges Waite and Drake had, immediately after the demonstration of the
3d of March, written to the President, giving it as their opinion that
the laws were nugatory, and the Organic Act entirely inoperative in the
Territory, and declining to hold any terms of the District Court in
their respective districts until they should be properly supported by
the military power of the Government; at the same time giving it as
their opinion, that such a support should be at least five thousand men,
well armed, equipped, and provided.
The failure to furnish this force, and the subsequent change in the
governorship of the Territory, satisfied them that the Government was
not then prepared to meet the questions which had arisen in such a
manner as the dignity and honor of the nation required, and accordingly
all effort to further counteract the evil effects of this intolerant
theocracy were, for the time, abandoned.
Judge Waite, after holding, with his associates, in July, 1863, a term
of the Supreme Court, _at which there was not a single case on the
docket_, left the Territory in disgust, and established himself in the
practice of his profession in Idaho City, Idaho Territory. He resigned
his office, and was succeeded, in the spring of 1864, by Judge McCurdy,
the present incumbent.
[Illustration: James Duane Doty]
Governor Harding was succeeded, in May, 1863, by James Duane Doty, who,
at the time of his appointment, was Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
Governor Doty is a man of sound judgment, and of large experience in
public affairs; and does as well as any man could in his embarrassing
position. But his governorship is merely nominal. With the form and
semblance, he lacks all the substance of power; and where he should
_order_, he must satisfy himself with request and expostulation.
Judge Drake still remains in Utah, and with all the talent, energy, and
experience necessary to fill his position to the great benefit of the
people, he is obliged to remain entirely inactive, and goes through the
forms of holding court, with scarcely an attempt to administer justice
to the whole people, so well persuaded is he that all such attempts are
futile in the present condition of affairs.
Gen. Connor also remains, and, considering the small force at his
command, has accomplished wonders. By his bold and fearless vindication
of the rights and interests of the Government, guided, at the same time,
in all his acts by great discretion and moderation, he has compelled
some show of respect for the federal authority.
Neither Gen. Connor nor Judge Waite had the slightest intention of
arresting Brigham Young at the time alluded to in March, 1863. The
astute leader of the Mormons had a spy listening to the conversation of
those gentlemen, and the spy aforesaid heard some things, and thought he
heard others. He reported to headquarters the supposed result of his
discoveries, and it must be admitted that those who had been placed
under this insulting espionage took no great pains to correct the
impression which prevailed, and which so quickly and so thoroughly
developed the disloyal sentiments which the people had imbibed under the
infamous teachings of Brigham and his corrupt priests, apostles, and
bishops.
Mark the language used by Mr. Calder. "On Monday last, a reliable person
overheard," &c. Here the infamous system of espionage maintained over
the federal officers by Young, stands plainly confessed. But the fact
was well known, and he reaped no great benefit from it.
So thoroughly was he frightened, that, to save himself the ignominy and
humiliation of a public and forcible arrest, he went privately to his
friend, Chief Justice Kinney, and gave his bonds for his appearance at
Kinney's court, to answer to any indictment that _might be_ found
against him for polygamy.
The grand jury, of course, found no indictment, and the incident is only
worth mentioning as curiously illustrative of the extent to which he was
operated on by his fears on that occasion.
A brief notice of the federal officers stationed and residing in Utah,
while the writer was living in that Territory, will close the present
chapter.
Hon. Stephen S. Harding, who was Governor from the spring of 1862 for
about one year, is from Milan, Indiana. He is about fifty years of age;
is a sound lawyer, and a man of extraordinary energy and decision of
character. These traits are modified, in some degree, by considerable
ambition, and great love of approbation. In his administration of Utah
affairs, so far as he was governed by this feeling, he labored for the
respect and approval of the great body of the American people, rather
than of the masses by whom he was immediately surrounded.
That he possesses much personal courage is evidenced by many of his
official acts, some of which he had reason to believe would subject him
at once to personal danger. The presence of the military in the
immediate neighborhood was sufficient to prevent any open outbreak;
still there were many ways in which his personal safety might be
jeopardized, without subjecting the perpetrators of the acts to
punishment.
So well is this understood in Salt Lake, that it requires a high degree
of moral courage to enable one to do any act offensive to "the powers
that be" in the Holy City.
Every attempt was made to seduce him from the path of duty, not omitting
the same appliances which had been brought to bear upon Steptoe and
Dawson, but all in vain.
His family remained at Milan, except his son, Attila, who was with the
Governor at Salt Lake, and acted as his private secretary.
Hon. James Duane Doty, the successor of Harding, and the present
Governor of the Territory, was, for nearly two years previous to
receiving the appointment of Governor, Superintendent of Indian Affairs
for the Territory. He was appointed to succeed Harding in April or May,
1863.
James Duane Doty, Governor of Utah, was born at Salem, in the County of
Washington and State of New York, on the 5th day of November, A. D.
1799, the last year of the last century.
He emigrated to Detroit, Michigan, where he was admitted to the Supreme
Court, and settled in the practice of the law in the year 1818, and was
one of the earliest emigrants to that State.
The next year he was elected Clerk of the Common Council of the City,
and appointed Secretary to the Legislature, which was then composed of
the Governor and Judges of the Supreme Court; and was also appointed a
Notary Public, and soon afterwards Clerk of the Supreme Court of the
Territory by the Judges of that court.
In 1820 he accompanied Governor Cass, as Secretary, in his expedition to
the sources of the Mississippi, travelling a distance of over four
thousand miles through the Indian Country in a birch-bark canoe, from
the 20th of May to the 20th of November.
In this year he revised the laws of the Territory, which were published
by the authority of the Legislature.
In 1821 he was admitted an attorney of the Supreme Court of the United
States at Washington.
In 1823 the country north of lakes Huron and Michigan, and west of lakes
Michigan and Superior, was made by Congress a judicial district, and he
was appointed by James Monroe its Judge, with the title of "an
additional Judge of the Territory of Michigan." He performed the duties
of this office until the year 1832,--having married, and fixed his
residence at Green Bay, then the largest settlement in the country north
or west of Detroit.
In 1832 he was appointed by the Secretary of War a Commissioner to
locate Military Roads from Fort Howard, at Green Bay, to Fort Crawford
on Prairie du Chien, and to Fort Dearborn at the mouth of Chicago Creek,
now the site of the city of Chicago,--between which points there were
then scarcely twenty white inhabitants.
In 1834 and 1835 he served in the Legislative Council of Michigan,
having been elected by the voters west of the Lake; and introduced the
measure of a State government, which was adopted by the Council.
He contended for the right of the people to form a government for
themselves, under the provisions of the Ordinance of 1787.
By this measure a territorial government was obtained for Wisconsin, and
a permanent separation from Michigan of the country west of Lake
Michigan, which had been attached to that Territory in 1818, when
Illinois was admitted into the Union. It had been sought in vain of
Congress from the year 1825,--the application having been successfully
opposed by the party averse to laying the foundation of new
non-slaveholding States.
In 1837 he was elected Delegate to Congress from Wisconsin, and
continued to serve in that office by reëlection until the year 1841,
when he was appointed Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in
that Territory; and as Commissioner held treaties at Oeyoowurah, on
Minnesota River, with the Dakotahs, and with the bands of that nation on
the Mississippi River.
It was in 1837 that he laid out the town of Madison, and succeeded in
making it the seat of government,--one of the most valuable services
which he ever rendered that State. It is now considered one of the most
beautiful sites for a town. When selected by him there was not a white
settler within forty miles, and it was occupied by Winnebago Indians.
He was elected and served as a member of the Convention to form a State
Constitution in 1846 for Wisconsin.
In 1849 he was elected in the Third District of Wisconsin a
Representative in Congress, and was reëlected in 1851,--serving on
several committees. It was during his first term as a member that he was
declared an Abolitionist--now no longer a term of reproach--by Father
Ritchie and the Southern leaders, because he declined to vote for a
repeal of the duty on lead.
In 1861 he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the
Territory of Utah; and in 1862 was appointed a Commissioner to negotiate
treaties with the Shoshonees,--which were held by him in 1863. These
were the first treaties ever made by the United States with this nation
of Indians.
In May, 1863, he was appointed Governor of the Territory of Utah. During
his long public service he has had the acquaintance, and enjoyed the
friendship, of most of the eminent men connected with the Government of
our country. Of those who were on the stage when he entered public life,
it is believed that but one is now living,--Gen. Cass, who was his
generous patron in boyhood, and has been his friend during this long
period of an eventful life.
He is now believed to be the oldest pioneer living west of Lake
Michigan. In the performance of his duties he has traversed the
Continent,--having stood on the shores of the Atlantic and Pacific; on
the latter of which he reached the point in his westward march, where,
when the eye is directed over that vast ocean towards the East Indies,
the West appears to terminate and the East begins.
Hon. Thomas J. Drake, Associate Justice, is from Pontiac, Michigan,
where he had resided from early manhood. He is now over sixty years of
age. He has a thin, wiry frame, dark hair, and a nervous, bilious
temperament.
His mind is vigorous and clear, and his virtue and integrity of the old
Roman order. Of blameless life and manners, all the shafts of his
accusers fall harmless at his feet.
The wrongs and iniquities he has witnessed, added to personal
ill-treatment, has engendered an intense hatred of the despots who sit
enthroned over the people of Utah, but he has the most kindly feelings
toward the great body of the people.
Lacking all adequate power, he is obliged to sit quietly by, and see
wrongs perpetrated, which he is utterly unable to redress.
Judge Waite, the Associate of Harding and Drake, was from the State of
Illinois, where he had resided since the year 1840.
At the time of his appointment, in February, 1862, he was thirty-eight
years of age. He was then living near Chicago, in which city he had
resided and practised law since 1853.
Of Chief Justice Kinney mention has already been made. Suffice it to
add, he was, in the summer of 1863, elected as Delegate to Congress from
Utah, and took his seat the following winter. He doubtless aspires to
still higher honors from the same Territory.
Hon. John Titus, who succeeded Kinney, and is the present Chief Justice
of the Territory, is somewhat past fifty years of age,--a gentleman of
much dignity and urbanity of manners. He is large and well formed, and
has an active temperament.
His duties as yet have been exceedingly light, and will probably
continue so while he remains in the Territory. The Mormons withhold from
him all the cases they can control. He is outspoken against polygamy,
making no reserve whatever of his opinions on that question.
Chief Justice Titus was appointed from the Philadelphia bar.
Dr. Frank Fuller was Secretary of the Territory about two years, and was
succeeded by Mr. Reed, in the fall of 1863.
Dr. Fuller is from New Hampshire, and a dentist by profession and
practice. He was attentive and obliging in his official intercourse with
all parties. He is a polished gentleman also in social intercourse.
He was one of the few federal officers in Salt Lake at that time who was
so fortunate as never seriously to offend Brigham Young. Doubtless his
position brought him less in collision with that gentleman than was the
case with other officers. If he saw any difficulties approaching, by a
little shrewd management he carefully avoided them. If in thus steering
between Scylla and Charybdis he did not always meet the approbation of
his fellow-officers, he managed at least to avoid any open differences,
and thus kept up the appearance of friendship with all.
He enjoyed for a long time the confidence and apparent respect of
Brigham, to a greater degree, perhaps, than Kinney himself.
From Salt Lake he went to San Francisco, where he engaged in dealing in
mining stocks.
From the time of Dawson's hasty departure in the fall of 1861, until
Governor Harding's arrival in July, 1862, he acted as Governor of the
Territory, and his administration gave general satisfaction to the
Mormons.
Amos Reed, Esq., who succeeded Dr. Fuller as Secretary in 1863, and who
now holds that position, came into the Territory with Governor Doty from
Wisconsin.
During the winter of 1863-64, while Governor Doty was absent in
Washington, Reed was the acting Governor, and as such evinced a high
order of administrative talent. The affairs of the Territory were,
during that time, conducted with much discretion and judgment, and so
far as was in his power, the rights and interests of all classes were
respected.
[Illustration: General P. Edward Connor]
General P. Edward Connor was born in County Kerry, Ireland, and migrated
to the United States, with his parents, at a very early period of life.
Having reached the age of manhood, he enlisted in the regular army of
the United States, and served an honorable term, as private, for five
years, on the frontier.
At the breaking out of the Mexican War, he raised a company of Texas
Volunteers, and as captain, led them with distinguished success and
heroism at the battle of Buena Vista. He was mentioned in official
dispatches, with high encomiums for bravery. At this battle he was
severely wounded, and received a pension from the Government. At the
close of the war he settled upon the Pacific coast.
Captain Connor resided in Stockton, California, for ten years, prior to
the rebellion, engaged in private business, wherein he attained a
handsome competence.
He was married at Stockton, and now has two children living. During his
residence in Stockton, Captain Connor took an active interest in
military affairs, and commanded a uniform company.
At the breaking out of the present rebellion, he was tendered the
appointment of Colonel of the Third Regiment of Infantry, California
Volunteers. With the expectation that his regiment was to be sent East,
he promptly raised and organized it.
The exigencies of the service, however, required his presence in Utah,
and in the summer of 1862 he led the 3d Infantry, and part of the 2d
Cavalry, Cal. Vol., across the Plains, in a most successful, though
arduous march, and established his camp where it would command the City
of the Saints.
Amid the snows and storms of the winter of 1862-63, he planned and
prosecuted a successful campaign against hostile Indians, and on the
29th of January, 1863, fought the hard battle of Bear River, defeating
and almost annihilating the savages, under the leadership of Bear Hunter
and Lehigh.
For the brilliancy of this action, Col. Connor was promoted by the
President to be Brigadier-General of United States Volunteers, which
rank he now retains.
He is a man of strong common sense, excellent and quick judgment,
invincible energy and determination, firmness amounting to obstinacy,
and the strictest integrity.
His administration in Utah has been eminently successful. By Brigham
Young he is at once hated and feared. He is but little past forty years
of age.
FOOTNOTES:
[97:A] The above embraces all the commissioned officers then stationed
at Camp Douglas.
CHAPTER VII.
BRIGHAM AS PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH.
Organization of the Mormon Church.--Functions of the various
Officers. The Two Priesthoods.--Mode of Treating Dissenters or
"Apostates."--Divisions in the Church.--The Gladdenites.--
History of the Morrisites.--The Josephites.--Return to the
true Mormon Church.
In his capacity as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, Brigham Young possesses and wields despotic power over "this
people," and rules them by his single will, in all their affairs, both
spiritual and temporal.
This is owing, not to any peculiarity in the church organization. Any
organization which should recognize him as the absolute head of the
church, and dispense with every system of checks and balances, would
answer the same purpose. Once admit the necessity of a spiritual head,
and fail to require from him any responsibility, and all that remains
is, to establish a grade of agents and mediums for the transmission of
his will and wishes to the masses, and the system is complete.
Such a grade is fully established under the Mormon system.
First,--_The First Presidency_. This consists of three, chosen from
those who hold the high-priesthood and apostleship, and its office is to
preside over and direct the affairs of the whole church. It consists of
a President and two Counsellors. The President is also Seer, Revelator,
Translator, and Prophet. He rules in all spiritual and temporal
affairs.
Secondly,--_The Apostles_. These are to build up, organize, and preside
over churches, administer the ordinances, etc.
Thirdly,--_The Seventies_. The Quorums of the Seventies are to travel in
all the world, preach the gospel, and administer its ordinances and
blessings. There is, also, the Patriarch, whose duty is to bless the
fatherless, to prophesy what shall befall them, etc.
Fourthly,--_High-Priests and Elders_. The High-Priest is to administer
the ordinances, and preside over the _Stakes_ of the church; that is,
over the churches established abroad.
The Elders are to preach and to baptize; to ordain other Elders, also
Priests, Teachers, and Deacons. All the foregoing officers are of the
Melchisedec Priesthood.
Fifthly,--_The Aaronic Priesthood_, which includes the offices of
Bishop, Priest, Teacher, and Deacon.
The _Bishop_ presides over all the lesser offices of the Aaronic
Priesthood, ministers in outward ordinances, conducts the temporal
business of the church, and sits in judgment on transgressors.
The _Priest_ is to preach, baptize, administer the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, and visit and exhort the saints.
The _Teacher_ is to watch over and strengthen the church, etc.
The _Deacon_ is to assist the Teacher.
There is also a High Council, consisting of Twelve High-Priests, with a
President. The office of the Council is to settle all important
difficulties.
The Priesthood comes direct from Heaven, and was lost to man, until the
keys of both orders of the Priesthood were given to Joseph Smith, by an
angel from Heaven, in 1829. After the death of Smith, they came into the
hands of Brigham Young.
From this _resumé_ of the church organization, it will be seen that it
is sufficient for the purpose. All these officers are but mediums for
the transmission of the will of the President. Nor is it confined to
spiritual affairs. Under the form of a church organization, this system
absorbs not only the religious, but all the civil and political liberty
of the individual member. The High Council forms an apparent check on
the power of the President; but when it is considered that this body is
composed of persons nearest the President, and under his immediate
influence and control, in other relations in the same organization,--as
High-Priests, etc.,--it will be seen that the check is only nominal, and
forms no real protection to the rights of the people.
The orders of the Priesthood, to which these officers are respectively
attached, are thus distinguished:--
The Melchisedec Priesthood hold the right of Presidency, receive
revelations from Heaven, for the guidance of the church, and hold the
keys of all its spiritual blessings.
The Aaronic Priesthood hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and
have the right to administer in outward ordinances. This Priesthood must
be filled by lineal descendants of Aaron.
It will be seen that the mission of all the officers of the Melchisedec
Priesthood--the Apostles, High-Priests, Seventies, and Elders--is to
propagate the gospel, and make converts; while the government of the
church and of the people is committed to the Aaronic Priesthood.
Of these the chief is the Bishop, who is accordingly the civil and
religious magistrate of the ward in which he resides.
There are other civil magistrates, whose duties are but little more than
nominal, except in Salt Lake City, where the occasional large influx of
"gentiles" who will not submit to this spiritual government, renders
necessary an approximation to the forms of civil proceedings to which
they have been accustomed.
The "saints" themselves are not expected to go before other than the
ecclesiastical magistrates. When brought unwillingly before a civil
magistrate, the same being a Mormon, the case receives a favorable
consideration.
Rare exceptions may be cited where, from motives of policy, this rule is
relaxed or departed from. For instance, in the winter of 1863-64, Jason
Luce, a Mormon, was tried, convicted, and shot, for the murder of a
gentile in Salt Lake City. But the murder was of the most cruel and
unprovoked character, the crime was perpetrated on the street, and the
evidence was open and abundant. Much indignation existed among the
miners, many of whom were congregated in Salt Lake City at the time.
If this had not been the first instance in the history of Utah of the
execution of a Mormon, under judgment of a Mormon court, for the murder
of a gentile, it might be taken as evidence of an intention to do
justice to all. As it is, it should be marked to their credit; and it is
only to be hoped that subsequent events may not prove it to have been an
act of policy merely.