That the system of polygamy is really distasteful to the women of

Utah,--that they are unhappy and dissatisfied, especially the first

wives, is sufficiently shown by the public admissions of the church

authorities. The admission of Young to that effect, made in the

strongest language, has already been given. Jedediah Grant, one of the

"three," also conceded the same fact in a sermon preached at the Bowery,

in September, 1856, in the following language:--

"We have women here, who like anything but the Celestial Law

of God; and if they could break asunder the cable of the

Church of Christ, _there is scarcely a mother in Israel but

would do it this day_. And they talk it to their husbands, to

their daughters, and to their neighbors, and say _they have

not seen a week's happiness since they became acquainted with

that law, or since their husbands took a second wife_."

Nothing but the strong appeals constantly made to their religious faith

and moral sentiments, could hold them where they are for a single day.

Many instances might be given, illustrating the workings of the system.

The writer has no disposition to bring private individuals into public

notice, especially those who deserve only to sink into obscurity. But as

this is a subject which affects the whole country, and must eventually

be disposed of upon the basis of _facts_, we shall give two or three

other instances, citing cases of persons so well known, that the facts

will not be questioned for a moment.

Mr. Townsend, a hotel-keeper at Salt Lake, married a young wife. The

other wife became disgusted, and refused to remain in the house. So, in

another house back of the hotel, lived the first wife, leading a

miserable, unhappy life, looking upon the second wife as an interloper,

having an unutterable contempt for her, and refusing to speak to her.

Mrs. Captain Hooper, an intelligent and lady-like woman, says she does

not like to think of the subject,--would rather not talk about it;

admits that if her husband were to take a second wife, it would make her

very unhappy, but says it is a part of her religion, and she believes it

would be her duty to submit. It is known that Brigham urges Captain H.

to take a second wife, and it is thought the Captain will be forced into

it by the absolute power, whose behests he must obey, no matter how

contrary to his own inclinations it may be. He was once seen to come out

of the President's office with tears in his eyes, after having had a

conversation upon the subject.

T. B. H. Stenhouse, an active, intelligent man, holding the office of

Postmaster at Salt Lake, under the Federal Government, has a beautiful

and accomplished wife, and an interesting family of eight children. For

a long time after arriving in Utah, he remained true to his wife. She

lived in constant apprehension that her husband would "go into

polygamy," and so much was she opposed to it, that she once said to me

in his presence, that if he did, she could not and would not live with

him longer.

Mr. Cook, the Superintendent and Assistant Treasurer of the Overland

Stage Company, who was accidentally killed in California, was, during

his lifetime, on intimate terms with Stenhouse, and is supposed to have

exercised considerable influence to prevent him from embracing the

pernicious system. It is known that on one occasion, Cook, hearing that

Stenhouse contemplated something of the kind, threatened him with a

prosecution under the Anti-Polygamy Law of Congress.

Cook was killed, as stated, and soon after, Stenhouse, freed from any

restraint except the church and his own pliable conscience, married

Celia, daughter of Parley P. Pratt, a pert little miss, fourteen years

of age, and took her into his family, with his eight children and the

wife with whom he had lived so many years. And this too, in open

violation of a law of the United States, under the government of which

he holds a lucrative commission!

FOOTNOTES:

[219:A] _Deseret News_, October 1, 1856.

[225:A] _The Seer_, Vol. I. p. 41.

[227:A] _Times and Seasons_, Vol. V. p. 423.

[228:A] _Times and Seasons_, Vol. V. p. 474.

[228:B] _Millennial Star_, Vol. VI. p. 22.

[229:A] _Millennial Star_, Vol. X. p. 137.

[229:B] _Taylor's Discussion at Boulogne_, p. 8.

[232:A] _Illinois Laws of 1833_, p. 198. See also Gales' _Revised

Statutes_ of 1839, p. 220, and _Revised Statutes_ of 1845, p. 173, the

same law having been reenacted in 1845.

[232:B] _Revelation_, Sec. 24.

[232:C] _Book of Doctrine and Covenants_, p. 332.

[233:A] _The Seer_, Vol. I. p. 111.

[234:A] _The Seer_, Vol. I. pp. 43-47.

[239:A] To explain the part which Brother Kimball acted in this

affair, it afterward appeared that he was anxious to have Sarah

provided for because he wanted the house that Sarah lived in, for his

daughter, who was about to marry a son of Parley P. Pratt.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE ENDOWMENT.

_Dramatis Personæ._

ELOHEIM, or _Head God_, Brigham Young.

JEHOVAH, Heber G. Kimball.

JESUS, Daniel H. Wells.

MICHAEL, or _Adam_, W. C. Staines.

SATAN, W. W. Phelps.

APOSTLE PETER, Orson Pratt.

APOSTLE JAMES, John Taylor.

APOSTLE JOHN, Erastus Snow.

WASHER, Dr. Sprague.

CLERK, David O. Calder.

EVE, Miss Eliza R. Snow.

TIMOTHY BROADBRIM, _a Quaker_, Wilford Woodruff.

DEACON SMITH, _a Methodist_, Orson Hyde.

PARSON PEABODY, _a Presbyterian_, Franklin D. Richards.

ELDER SMOOTH-TONGUE, _a Baptist_, Phineas H. Young.

FATHER BONIFACE, _a Catholic_, George A. Smith.

BROTHER and SISTER JONES, }

BROTHER and SISTER WHITE, }

SISTER MARY BROWN, _to be sealed to_ BROTHER WHITE, } _Endowees_.

_Several other Candidates_, }

ACT I. SCENE I.

[_Enter Candidates._

_Clerk._ Good-morning, brethren and sisters. Be seated. Brother White,

please state the time and place of your birth, date of your marriage,

and the time when you were baptized into the church.

_Bro. W._ I was born November 3d, 1801, in the town of Portsmouth, in

New Hampshire. I was married January 1st, 1824, and was baptized into

the church April 1st, 1860.

_Clerk._ Have you paid your tithing punctually? If so, produce your

receipts. [These are read, and handed back.] That is sufficient. You are

entitled to receive your endowments.

Sister White, will you state when and where you were born, and when you

became a member of the church?

_Sister W._ I was born September 18th, 1815, in the State of New York,

and became a member of the church in 1852.

_Clerk._ Sister Mary Brown, please state when and where you were born,

and when you became a member of the church.

_Sister Mary._ I was born June 20th, 1849, in Great Salt Lake City, and

was baptized into the church in 1860.

[The Clerk propounds the same questions to all the candidates, and

enters their answers in the record.]

_Clerk._ You will now proceed to the washing-room, the brethren on the

right, and the sisters on the left.

_Apostle Peter._ You will remove your shoes, that the dust of earth may

not pollute the holy ground on which you are about to tread.

[The candidates are then washed in tepid water, and each member blessed

with a blessing peculiar to each. They are then pronounced clean from

the blood of this generation, and a new name is given to each by the

Apostle Peter. They then return to the waiting-room, where the brethren

are anointed with oil, the sisters receiving their anointing in their

own washing-room.

This ceremony consists in pouring olive-oil upon the head of each, well

rubbed into the hair, nose, eyes, and mouth, and allowed to run down

over the person. It is accompanied by a blessing, similar to that

received at the washing. Brain to be strong, ears to be quick to hear

the words of God's servants, eyes to be sharp to perceive, and feet to

be swift to run in the ways of righteousness. This is the anointing

administered preparatory to being ordained a "King and Priest unto God

and the Lamb."

Thus greased and blessed, the "garments" are put on. A dress of muslin

or linen is worn next to the skin, reaching from the neck to the ankles

and wrists, and in shape like a little child's sleeping garment. Over

this a shirt, then a robe, made of fine linen, crossing and gathered up

in plaits on one shoulder, reaching to the ground before and behind, and

tied around the waist. Over this is fastened a small, square apron,

similar in size and shape to a masonic apron, made of white linen or

silk, with imitation of fig-leaves painted or worked upon it. A cap made

from a square yard of linen, and gathered into a band to fit the head,

and white linen or cotton shoes, complete the dress of the candidates.]

SCENE II. CREATION.

_Eloheim, seated upon his Throne._

[_Enter_ JEHOVAH, JESUS, and MICHAEL.

_Eloheim._ "Ye powers of Heaven!" This day hath Satan, our rebellious

foe, been vanquished. Lest he again presumptuous rise, let us create new

worlds, and people them with beings who by slow degrees shall rise and

fill the place of those by him deceived. Go forth, ye heavenly

messengers; examine well the boundless realms of space, and bring report

from thence back to the Eternal Throne.

_Jehovah, Jesus, and Michael_, [all]. Eternal father! Great Eloheim,

Maker and King of the celestial worlds. Joyful we go, thy mandates to

fulfil.

[_Exeunt_ JEHOVAH, JESUS, and MICHAEL.

_Eloheim._ Far into chaos proudly ride my messengers. Winds bear them

onward, o'er the deep profound.

[_Reënter_ JEHOVAH, JESUS, and MICHAEL.

_Jehovah, Jesus, and Michael_, [all]. Almighty Ruler. The way is clear.

Send forth thy Word alone, and worlds will rise, and circle into space,

obedient to thy call.

_Elo._ "Silence, ye troubled waves! your discord end. Thus far extend,

thus far thy bounds. This be thy circumference, O world!"

_Jeh._ Behold the Earth. "Matter unformed and void; darkness profound

covers the abyss."

_Mich._ But see, "the Spirit of God outspread, and vital virtue infused,

and vital warmth throughout the fluid mass. Like things to like! The

rest to several place disparted." And in the air, "the Earth,

self-balanced, on her centre hangs."

_Elo._ "Let there be light."

_Jesus._ "Hail! Holy light. Offspring of Heaven, first born."

_Elo._ The light is good. Let darkness flee into the shades of night,

and light make up the day.

_Mich._ Hark! "the celestial choirs, when orient light, exhaling first

from darkness, they behold,--birthday of Heaven and Earth; with joy and

shout, the hollow, universal orb they fill."

_Elo._ "Let there be a firmament amid the waters, and let it divide the

waters from the waters."

_Jeh._ "Behold the firmament,--expanse of liquid, pure, transparent,

elemental air, diffused in circuit to the uttermost convex; partition

firm and sure, the waters underneath from those above dividing."

_Jesus._ The water still doth compass all the Earth, moulding the

plastic mass, and doth implant, within her genial breast, the seeds of

various life.

_Elo._ "Be gathered, now, ye waters under Heaven, into one place, and

let dry land appear." Land, freed from your prison-house, arise, and be

called Earth. Ye waters,--seas. Now "let the Earth put forth the verdant

grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree yielding fruit after her kind,

whose seed is in herself, upon the Earth."

_Mich._ Oh, sight sublime! The Earth, till now, barren and fruitless

was; "her universal face" now clothed in "pleasant green." Listen, ye

Gods! The morning stars, which in the vast expanse of Heaven, circle

their rounds, together sing. The sons of God, swift-winged angels, shout

for joy.

_Elo._ "Let there be lights, high in the expanse of Heaven, to divide

the day from the night; and let them be for signs, for seasons and for

days, and circling years; and let them be for lights, as I ordain their

office, in the firmament of Heaven, to give light on the Earth." "Two

great lights,--great for their use to man,--the greater to have rule by

day, the less by night; the stars I also set in the high firmament, to

illuminate the Earth, and rule the day in their vicissitude, and rule

the night, and light from darkness to divide."

_Jeh._ Behold, "the thousand, thousand stars, that now appear, spangling

the hemisphere," the luminaries bright, that rise and set, and crown the

glory of the fourth new day.

_Elo._ "Let the waters generate reptile, with spawn abundant; living

soul; and let fowl fly above the Earth, with wings displayed, on the

open firmament of Heaven, and the great whales, and each soul living,

each that creeps, and in the waters generate, and each bird of its

kind,--let each be blessed;" "be fruitful, multiply, and in the seas and

lakes, and running streams, the waters fill: and let the fowl be

multiplied."

_Jesus._ Let Heaven rejoice, let Earth be glad, and hail the dawning of

the fifth new day.

_Elo._ This is the sixth and last morn of creation. Let every creature

forth, from his genial mother, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of

earth, each of his kind. All, all is good, and pleasing in my sight.

_Jesus._ "Now Heaven in all her glory shines. Earth, in her rich attire,

consummate, lovely, smiles; air, water, earth, fowl, fish, and beast are

here, and yet there wants the master work of all yet done; a creature

endued with reason, which erect may stand, and self-acknowledged, govern

all the rest."

_Elo._ "Let us make man, in our own image, man in our similitude, and

let them rule over the fish and fowl of sea and air, beast of the field,

and over all the earth, and every creeping thing, that creeps the

ground." Thou art created male and female, in the form and likeness of

the Gods. Go forth, be blessed; "be fruitful, multiply, and fill the

earth, subdue it, and throughout dominion hold" over all, all else that

breathes upon its bosom. Now all is finished, all complete and perfect.

Immortal Gods, let us to our high seat ascend, that from our lofty

throne our perfect works we may behold.

[To represent the creation of man, Jehovah, Jesus, and Michael stroke

each candidate separately, pretending to form; and by blowing into their

faces, pretend to vivify them. They are then supposed to be as Adam,

newly made, and perfectly ductile in the hands of their makers. A deep

sleep then falls upon the new Adam, and ribs are extracted, out of

which, in another apartment, their wives are formed. They are then

commanded to awake, and their wives are introduced to them; after which

they file by twos into the garden.]

SCENE III. GARDEN OF EDEN.

[_Enter_ ADAM and EVE, and Endowees.

_Eve._ "Well may we labor, still to dress this garden,--still to tend

plant, herb and flower, our pleasant task enjoined." "Let us divide our

labors," each where seemeth good; and thus, as night draws on, our task

will be accomplished.

_Adam._ "Sole Eve, associate sole, to me beyond compare, above all

living creatures dear! A doubt possesses me, lest harm befall thee,

severed from me; for thou knowest what hath been warned us, what

malicious foe envies our happiness."

_Eve._ "Offspring of Heaven, and all Earth's Lord! That such an enemy we

have, who seeks our ruin, both by thee informed, and from the parting

angel overhead; but that thou shouldst my firmness therefore doubt, to

God or thee, because we have a foe may tempt it, I expected not to

hear."

_Adam._ "Daughter of God and man, immortal Eve,--for such thou art;

from sin and blame entire; I, from the influence of thy looks, receive

access in every virtue. Why shouldst not thou like sense within thee

feel when I am present, and thy trial choose with me,--best witness of

thy virtue tried."

_Eve._ "If this be our condition, thus to dwell in narrow circuit,

straitened by a foe, how are we happy still, in fear of harm?"

_Adam._ "O woman, best are all things as the will of God ordains them;

therefore go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more."

_Eve._ "With thy permission then, and thus forewarned," I go.

[Enter Satan, in the form of a serpent, half man, half snake. He

discovers Eve in a bower of roses, and watches her at a distance.]

_Satan._ "Thoughts, whither have ye led me?--what hither brought us?

Hate, not love, but all pleasure to destroy." [He approaches Eve.]

"Wonder not, sovran mistress, fairest resemblance of thy Maker fair, at

my appearance, half man, half beast, but approach and view this goodly

tree, the fruit of which such wonders work."

_Eve._ "Serpent, we might have spared our coming hither," for "of this

tree we may not taste or touch; thus hath our God commanded."

_Satan._ "Indeed! Hath God then said, that of the fruit of all these

garden trees ye shall not eat, yet lords declared of all in earth or

air?"

_Eve._ "Of the fruit of each tree in the garden we may eat, but of the

fruit of this fair tree, amidst the garden, God hath said, 'Ye shall not

eat thereof, nor shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'"

_Satan._ "O sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving plant; mother of science!

Now I feel thy power within me clear, not only to discern things in

their causes, but to trace the ways of highest agents, deemed however

wise. Queen of this Universe! Do not believe these rigid threats of

death;--_ye shall not die_." Your tyrant ruler knows full well, that in

the day ye eat thereof, ye shall be as Gods, and good from evil know.

"Goddess humane, reach then, and freely taste."

[Satan plucks the fruit and presents it. Eve receives it, and after

considerable hesitation, tastes, and finally eats it. Adam soon after

enters.]

_Eve._ "Hast thou not wondered at my stay? Thee have I missed;" for I

have tasted of the tree to us forbidden, and such delight till now have

never felt. Taste thou, [offers him the fruit,] and be a God.

[Adam stands amazed and sorrowful, dropping a garland from his hand.]

_Adam._ "O fairest of creation! Some cursed fraud of enemy hath beguiled

thee, and me with thee hath ruined; for with thee certain my resolution

is to die." [He eats.] Oh, fruit delicious, fit indeed for Gods. From us

withheld, lest being Gods, we cease to obey our tyrant Lord.

[They soon begin to see their true condition. They reproach each other.

They discover their nakedness, make aprons of fig-leaves, and wear them.

The voice of Eloheim is heard in another part of the garden.]

_Elo._ "Adam, where art thou? Why hast thou fled and hid thyself? What

hast thou done?"

_Adam._ O Lord, my Maker and Preserver! Thy voice I heard, when thou

didst walk amid the trees, but being naked, I did fear to see thy face.

Confusion dire and shame filled all my soul.

_Elo._ "Who told thee thou wast naked? Hast thou then eaten of that

tree, to thee forbidden?"

_Adam._ The woman whom thou gavest me did give this fruit unto my lips;

and I did eat.

_Elo._ O woman, fair but frail. Why hast thou done this deed of sin?

_Eve._ "The serpent me beguiled, and I did eat."

_Elo._ "Because thou hast done this, thou art accursed above all

cattle, each beast of the field. Upon thy belly grovelling thou shalt

go, and dust shalt eat, all the days of thy life. Between thee and the

woman I will put enmity, and between thine and her seed: her seed shall

bruise thy head, thou bruise his heel." And thou, O Eve, "thy sorrow I

will greatly multiply by thy conception: children thou shalt bring in

sorrow forth, and to thy husband's will thine shall submit; he over thee

shall rule." And thou, O Adam, "because thou hast hearkened to the voice

of thy wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee,

saying, 'Thou shalt not eat thereof;' cursed is the ground for thy sake;

thou in sorrow shalt eat thereof all the days of thy life; thorns also

and thistles it shall bring thee forth unbid; and thou shalt eat the

herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till

thou return unto the ground; for thou out of the ground wast taken; know

thy birth; for dust thou art, and shalt to dust return."

_Elo._ [To Jehovah, Jesus, and Michael.] "Behold the man is become as

one of us, knowing good from evil; and now, lest he in some unguarded

hour put forth his hand, take of the tree of life, and live forever, we

must forth from hence expel him." We will place from Eden eastward

cherubims, and flaming sword, turning which way soever he may attempt an

entrance.

_Adam._ "O miserable of happy! Is this the end of this new, glorious

world?--and me, so late the glory of that glory? Accursed of blessed,

hide me from the face of God, whom to behold was once my height of

happiness."

_Eve._ "O unexpected stroke, worse than of death! Must I thus leave

thee, Paradise?--thus leave thee, native soil,--these happy walks and

shades, fit haunt of Gods, where I had hoped to spend, quiet though sad,

the respite of that day that must be mortal to us both? O flowers! that

never will in other climate grow, my earliest visitation and my last at

even, which I bred up with tender hand, from the first opening bud, and

gave ye names! Who now shall rear ye to the sun, or rank your tribes,

and water from the ambrosial fount? Thee, lastly, nuptial bower! by me

adorned with what to sight or smell was sweet! From thee, how shall I

part, and whither wander, down into a world, to this obscure and wild?

How shall we breathe in other air, less pure, accustomed to immortal

fruits?"

_Elo._ O man, thy cries of penitence and woe have reached my ears. I

will a plan unfold, obedience to which, rendered with deep humility,

shall by degrees redeem and bring you back to Heaven.

My holy priesthood I henceforth establish upon Earth. To those endowed

with that high calling, as unto me, shalt thou with reverence bow. Their

power supreme, commands indisputable, in my stead, I appoint them unto

you. They are to act henceforth as I myself.

[Here oaths of inviolable secrecy, with the penalty of throat-cutting,

are administered to the awe-stricken and intimidated neophytes. They are

sworn to render implicit obedience to the priesthood, and to depend upon

them for everything; especially not to touch any woman, unless given

through the priesthood.

A sign, a grip, and a key-word are given to the endowees, and the _First

Degree of the Aaronic Priesthood_ is conferred.]

_Elo._ You are now endowed with one law of purity, one key of truth, and

one power of priesthood. Go forth into the world, ye fallen ones, and

seek for truth. Obey the voice of God and his holy priesthood, and I

will send to Earth a Saviour, that through faith and obedience you shall

again inherit your lost estate, again enjoy the ambrosial fruits in the

celestial kingdom of the Gods.

[_Exeunt all._

SCENE IV. THE WORLD.

[_Enter_ ADAM, EVE, Endowees, and Sectarians.

_Timothy Broadbrim._ I feel the movement of the Spirit to speak unto

thee. Thou knowest that the world is lost in sin and wickedness. But ye

should "resist not evil," but "overcome evil with good." "If a man take

away thy cloak, give him thy coat also." Raise not thy hand to harm a

fellow-creature. "Charity suffereth long and is kind!" See that no

brother be in want; look ye after the widow and the fatherless.

_Deacon Smith._ Brethren and Sisters,--I rise to address you a few

words, founded upon the following passage of Scripture:--"And there

shall be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." Oh, this is a

fearful doom. Oh, ye sinners, hear. There is a lake which burns with

fire and brimstone; you are on the very brink; do you not see thousands

of the damned weltering in its burning waves? You are, as it were, on a

greased plank, sliding, and sliding, as swift as the wheels of Time can

roll, down to this awful gulf. [Sisters begin to shriek and faint.] Flee

from the wrath to come; fly to Jesus; come to the mourners' bench; cry

mightily to God for help. He alone can save you. Come, come, come to

Jesus. Brethren and sisters, sing,--

"Where shall the guilty soul find rest?" etc.

_Parson Peabody_ [speaking through his nose]. My dear hearers, this is a

fallen world. We are all in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of

iniquity. Satan, the great enemy of mankind, is ever seeking our

destruction. Let us close our hearts against his wiles, and come to

Jesus, and if we are of the elect, foreordained from before the creation

of the world, we shall be saved; and if not, we shall be lost. We can do

nothing of ourselves. We are in the hands of a just and wise God, who

doeth all things well.

In the language of the divine poet,--

"If you can, if you can't;

If you will, if you won't;

You'll be damned if you do,

You'll be damned if you don't."

Let the brethren remember their covenants, and let them bring their

offspring to the altar, and there consecrate them to God, through the

ordinance of sprinkling; and if they are to be saved, they will be

saved. Otherwise, though not a span long, they will go down to the

bottomless pit.

_Elder Longface._ Brethren,--The subject of my discourse will be found

in the following text: "Whom he did predestinate," &c.

We learn from this,--1st, That we are sinners. 2d, We need a Saviour.

3d, That we must be baptized by immersion. 4th, That we should exclude

from the communion-table all such as are not immersed. 5th, That many

are called, but few chosen. 6th, That those who are chosen will be

saved, without their own action in the matter. 7th, That those who are

not chosen will be damned, no matter what they do, in and of their own

strength; and lastly, in order to have the least opportunity to be

saved, you must join the Baptist Church.

The Lord grant that many may embrace the truth as it is in Christ Jesus,

and unite with "our church," and be saved. The brethren will sing,--

"O, when shall we see Jesus," &c.

_Father Boniface_ [with pages, robes, candles, &c.]. _Te Deum laudamus._

[They sing.] O Divine Queen of the skies, Holy Mother of God, to thee we

lift up our voices. Grant us thy divine intercession with thy dear Son,

that we, through his precious blood, may be made clean. Bless thy

believing children, make them faithful to their Holy Father the Pope,

diligent in counting their beads, and saying their matins and vespers. O

Holy Mother, keep them from all sin; especially grant them grace to eat

no meat on Friday, and we will ever adore and bless thee, Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let the choir sing _Ave Maria_. _Benedicite._

[_Enter_ SATAN.

_Satan._ Good-morning, brethren. I love you all; you are my friends. I

am gratified to find you so faithful in assisting me to build up my

kingdom. Rest assured, you shall be rewarded. You shall be kings and

princes when I succeed in setting up my throne upon the Earth.

[_Enter Apostles_ PETER, JAMES, and JOHN.

_Peter._ Why dost thou tempt the children of men, and lie in wait to

deceive them?

_Satan._ "Let me alone. What have I to do with thee," thou follower of

Jesus? I know thou hast the holy priesthood of God,--

_Peter, James, and John_, [all.] And in the name of the Lord Jesus

Christ, and of the holy priesthood, we command you to depart from hence.

[The Devil foams, hisses, and rushes out, chased by the Apostle Peter.]

_James._ My children, hearken now unto my voice. When in these last days

God saw the lost condition of mankind, his heart was moved with pity,

and He sent with me Peter and John, and commanded us, saying, "Go ye to

Earth, and seek me a good man, of the lineage of Joseph, who was carried

away into Egypt, and of the lineage of the prophets, even Joseph Smith.

Restore to him the lost priesthood. Bestow upon him the keys of power;

make him Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and let him reëstablish my church

upon the Earth." Behold, this was done, and the same power and authority

has now descended from Joseph to Brigham. Hear ye him, the

representative of God on Earth. Him reverence and obey, and ye shall

advance toward the kingdom of Heaven.

[An oath, penalty, the heart to be plucked out, with agonizing details,

is administered. The utmost secrecy is impressed, and the _Second Degree

of the Aaronic Priesthood_ is conferred, with signs, grips, &c.]

ACT II. SCENE I.

_Room with an altar in the centre._

[_Enter Apostles_ PETER, JAMES, and JOHN, with the candidates for endowment.

_Peter._ Dearly beloved, you are now in the way of salvation. Be

faithful to each other, and all your brethren. Betray not the secret

things of Zion to the ungodly gentiles. Think not with your own

thoughts, but come to the priesthood. They are the mediators between God

and man. Obey, without murmuring, whatever they command, though it may

seem to you unjust or unreasonable. Your hearts are not so fully

sanctified as to enable you to judge as to the merit of their acts. Be

ever ready and willing to forsake father or mother, husband or wife,

houses or lands, for the glory of Zion, and the upbuilding of God's

kingdom on the Earth. And more especially, brethren, as you value your

eternal salvation and temporal welfare, speak no evil of the Lord's

anointed.

[An oath is now administered, with particulars the most disgusting and

revolting. Another sign, key-word, and grip, are communicated, and the

_First Degree of the Melchisedec Priesthood_ is conferred.]

SCENE II.

_Another room with an altar in the centre; on it the Bible,

Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Jehovah in

the room, and Eloheim in the next, looking on. The candidates

are ranged round the altar. The Apostles are also present._

_Peter._ You are now in a saved condition, and acceptable in the sight

of God. You are to enter on the work of the Lord, in truth and

sincerity.

"Behold now," saith the Lord, "the wicked and ungodly gentiles; they

have slain the Prophet Joseph, persecuted the saints, and mocked at my

priesthood. Therefore, O Israel, arise in thy strength, go forth and

revenge the wrongs of my people on this perverse generation. They have

spilled the blood of the saints, and wasted their substance. Therefore

let their blood be spilled, and let their substance be wasted."

Let the curse of God rest on this nation and Government. Let wars and

famine, and cruel pestilence overtake them, and let the Church of God,

in its glory and power, rule over all the nations, and fill the whole

earth.

Therefore, brethren, be ye vigilant; and let no opportunity pass to

vindicate the name of your God; and if you cannot do it, teach it to

your children. Let them take it from their mother's breast. Teach it to

them from your bed of death, and leave it for an inheritance, that all

people may know that the God of Israel has set his hand to gather his

people, and to destroy the wicked from off the face of the earth.

[Here another oath is administered, binding the endowee to revenge the

death of Joseph Smith on this generation; to cherish constant enmity

toward the United States Government, doing all in his power for its

overthrow; to baffle its designs, to refuse submission and renounce all

allegiance, and to obey the church authorities, and no other.

Curses the most frightful, penalties the most barbarous, accompany the

obligation, to add to its binding efficacy, and to insure secrecy. A new

sign, grip, &c., complete the _Second Degree of the Melchisedec

Priesthood_.]

_John._ You are the children of the Most High, endued with powers and

blessings. Your robes of righteousness, which you must henceforth wear,

in token of your covenants, are on the wrong shoulder, and none but

God's priesthood can set them right. [The robes are changed to the other

shoulder, and the candidates are stationed in a circle, around the

altar.]

_Peter._ Little children, you are now chosen of God to carry on his

mighty work, and He, through his servant, will teach you how to pray,

that your supplications may reach the eternal throne, and call down an

immediate answer.

[Peter kneels on his right knee, takes hold of the hand of one of the

standing brethren, all of whom are united by a fantastic intertwining of

hands, and prays slowly, all repeating his words after him:]

"O, God, ruler of the celestial world, we have this day taken upon

ourselves covenants and powers from thy hand. Make us faithful to those

covenants; and if we obey not thy commands, let thy curses descend upon

our heads. Make us quick to hear and obey God's servants in the holy

priesthood, and if we ever divulge anything that we have received, let

the curses this day pronounced, fall upon our heads. Make us faithful in

Zion and in the upbuilding of her cause, and at last receive us into thy

celestial kingdom, with all the gifts, powers, and blessings this day

pronounced upon the faithful in Israel. Amen."

_Peter._ Brethren, you are now members of the holy orders of God's

priesthood. Henceforth you are entitled to all the blessings and

privileges of the same.

[The endowees, fitted for Heaven and celestial glory, pass "behind the

vail," a new name is whispered very softly and quickly to each; certain

marks, resembling the Masonic square and compass, are cut in the under

garment, on the left breast; also a similar one on the knee. The

candidates are then ushered into the full light and glory of the

celestial kingdom. The brethren turn back to the vail, and admit their

wives, whose garments are marked in a similar manner.]

SCENE III. THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM.

_In the centre of this apartment is an altar, nicely

cushioned, with a cushioned ledge to kneel upon. The men kneel

upon one side and the women upon the other, each brother

holding the hand of his wife, also of the woman to whom he is

to be sealed, with the patriarchal grip. The ceremony of

sealing for eternity then commences._

_Eloheim._ Children of Earth, you have been redeemed by the blood of the

Lamb, and the power of my holy priesthood. You have been faithful unto

the end, and shall now receive a crown of glory. In like manner as I

gave Eve unto your father Adam, while he was yet pure and holy, I give

unto you wives and children, that you may be Gods in your season, and

that worlds may be peopled by your posterity. [Each candidate is asked

the usual questions, and after the answers have been received, Eloheim

proceeds:]

Because of your faithfulness in all these things, I seal upon you the

blessings of the Holy Resurrection, with power to come forth in the

morning of the first resurrection, clothed with glory, immortality, and

eternal lives; and I seal upon you the blessings of thrones and

dominions, and principalities, and powers, and exaltations; together

with the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and say unto you, be

fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, that you may have joy

and rejoicing in your posterity, in the day of the Lord Jesus. All these

blessings, together with all other blessings pertaining to the new and

everlasting covenant, I seal upon your heads, and enjoin your

faithfulness unto the end.

[The candidates dress, get a lunch, and return to the "celestial

kingdom" to hear a lecture by Kimball, explanatory of the whole scheme.

The signs, tokens, marks, and ideas are many of them taken from the

Masonic Order. "The intention of the mystery is to teach unlimited

obedience to Brigham, and treason against the country."]

CHAPTER XIV.

BRIGHAM AS GRAND ARCHEE OF THE ORDER OF THE GODS.

Organization of the Order of the Archees.--The Grand Archees.

--The Archees.--The Danites.--Organization of Brigham's

Celestial Kingdom.--Doctrine of Adoption.--Case of Dr. Sprague.

--Description of Leading Danites: Bill Hickman, Porter

Rockwell, Robert T. Burton.--Affidavits.--Recent Attacks on

Emigrant Trains.

"There on that throne, to which the blind belief

Of millions raised him, sat the Prophet Chief.

. . . . . . . . .

On either side, with ready hearts and hands,

His chosen guard of bold believers, stands;

Young fire-eyed disputants, who deem their swords

On points of faith more eloquent than words;

And such their zeal, there's not a youth with brand

Uplifted there, but, at the Chief's command,

Would make his own devoted heart its sheath,

And bless the lips that doom'd so dear a death."

The Order of the Danites has been, for many years, an established

institution in the Mormon Church.

Brigham and his two Counsellors form the First Presidency of this Order,

under the style of Gods, or Grand Archees. These are, at present, Young,

Kimball, and Wells. A few, also, of the Apostles, hold the rank of Grand

Archees. These have the power of life and death.

Next in importance, is a body of men called Archees. They are entitled

to sit in Council with the Gods or Grand Archees, in matters relating to

the taking of life. This "Quorum," as it is called, also includes some

of the Bishops and Presidents of other quorums in the church. Their

office is to examine cases of offenders thought to require a summary

disposal, and submit the result of such examination to the Grand

Archees. In some cases, where the utmost discretion is required, they

act as agents and swift-winged messengers, to carry into effect the

decrees of the Gods.

The Archees have discretionary and independent power over the lives of

all gentiles and "apostates."

Next in rank are the Danites, whose office is to assist the Archees in

the execution of their bloody deeds. These are formed into bands of

fifty men each. One band, at least, belongs to each Archee, they serving

under him as minutemen. These "Danite Bands" are generally composed of

inferior officers and teachers, constables, and policemen, and those

who, having committed heinous crimes, as murder, theft, adultery, &c.,

would sooner be sworn to serve in this bloody office, than have their

deeds exposed and receive their justly merited punishment.

The officers in all these grades are solemnly sworn to secrecy, and to

the duties of their respective offices, on pain of instant death.

Where the danger of discovery is imminent, and the matter in hand too

important to be trusted to the Danites, the Archees meet and perform the

dirty work themselves; as in the case of Secretary Babbett, Brewer, and

the unlucky attempt on Dr. Hurt. In other cases, the Danites are called

upon; instance the Parishes, Potter, Bowman, Mountain Meadows, &c.

The Danites are also expected to act as spies upon the federal officers

and other gentiles; to watch the feelings and spirits of the saints, and

to report the first indications of disaffection. Such cases are at once

attended to, and if they are deemed of a dangerous character, are

summarily disposed of.

The spoil is divided, one half going to the Grand Archees, and the other

half to the Archees and Danites who are employed in the commission of

the crime.

When Judge Cradlebaugh attempted to bring to justice the perpetrators of

the Mountain-Meadow Massacre, and various other crimes, several bishops

and many other leading Mormons fled to the mountains, where they

remained several weeks. Their place of refuge they named "Mount Kolob,"

which means "the residence of the Gods."

The remark is frequently made in Utah,--"Brigham is the only God I care

a d-- about." The deep meaning of this is only to be explained by

reference to this organized system of crime, taken in connection with

the organization of the "celestial kingdom."

The theory is, that Brigham Young is a God in embryo. That he is laying

the foundation here for a celestial kingdom. That there will be created

for him a world, which his posterity will inhabit, and of which he will

be the King and God.

His kingdom will be constituted as follows:--

1st. Himself as God.

2d. His wives as Goddesses and Queens, each ruling her own posterity,

with Brigham as husband and God.

3d. His sons and their families.

4th. The daughters, by the celestial law, would, when married, pass out

of their father's kingdom, and be added to the husbands'. To obviate

this difficulty, every man who marries one of the President's daughters,

is obliged to be adopted by and sealed to his father-in-law. The

daughter is thus retained to augment her father's kingdom, by the

addition of her family. This is one reason why female children are so

lightly esteemed in Utah. They cannot add to the father's glory, but

must go to glorify others.

5th. Many young men who have no families, and therefore no kingdoms, are

sealed to Brigham, to add to his celestial glory,--in some instances,

also, men of families, who have not ambition enough to aspire to

kingdoms of their own. This relationship pertains to this world as well

as to the next. Brigham becomes a father to them here, supports them if

necessary, and demands their respect and obedience.

A case recently occurred in Salt Lake, which fully illustrates the power

which Young exercises over this class of his subjects.

Dr. Sprague, an Eastern man, has been at Salt Lake about twelve years.

During most of that time he has officiated in the Endowment House, in

the washings and anointings. He has also had charge of the Tabernacle,

and acted as family physician to the inmates of the Harem.

He has a wife and two children. His son is on a mission, and the

daughter, a little girl of thirteen, is an invalid. Mrs. Sprague is a

model New-England housewife. She has toiled early and late to procure

the comforts, and some of the luxuries of life. By the most persevering

effort, they at length succeeded in building a beautiful house, and

Doctor Sprague's garden is the prettiest in Salt Lake.

The family removed to their new residence in the fall of 1862, and had

but just furnished it. By the Mormon law of adoption, the property of

the adopted child belongs to the father, or is under his control. Dr.

Sprague is the adopted son of Brigham Young. His whole property is worth

not less than $10,000.

Mrs. Emeline Free Young has been very melancholy since Brigham married

Amelia. Her health continued to decline until it was thought advisable

to remove her from the Lion House, the scene of her joys and sorrow, and

situate her more pleasantly. Accordingly one day Brigham called on Dr.

Sprague and wife, and coolly told them that he wanted their place for

three or four years, for Emeline, until he could build her one. At the

end of that time they could have it again, and in the mean time they

could live in the house formerly occupied by J. M. Grant, which he would

have repaired for their use.

The husband and wife were astonished and confounded at this request, and

Mrs. Sprague, under the first impulse of her indignation, said "she did

not relish the idea of giving up her house to people who read novels

every day." "Very well," replied the Prophet, "if you prefer to incur

my displeasure rather than to let me have your home, you can do so."

With this he left them.

The Doctor and his wife began thinking the matter over. It would never

do to incur the displeasure of Brother Brigham. He was their father in

this world, and their God in the celestial kingdom. Then the Doctor was

advancing in years, and should he lose his situation in the Endowment

House and Tabernacle, where would be the support for himself and family

in his declining years? He had served his adopted father so long and

faithfully, should he break with him now? It would never do; so, after

many sleepless nights and much anguish of spirit, he made up his mind to

make the sacrifice. As to Mrs. Sprague, she cared not for herself, but

her poor sick child! She had lived for years almost entirely in the

beautiful garden, and how could she leave it now? With frail and

faltering step she had wandered amid the flowers and fruit, culling this

bright geranium and that lovely rose, plucking this beautiful

strawberry, and that luscious bunch of grapes, and by this sweet

communion with Nature, the child seemed to receive afresh the

life-giving principle. She was now to be torn from her little paradise,

by whom, and for what? No wonder if the heart of the mother grew

somewhat stony at the reflection.

When the poor girl heard that she must leave these "delightful shades,"

she wept until oblivion wrapt her senses, and in a fit of convulsions,

she forgot, for the time being, at least, her cruel fate.

The sisters came to condole with Sister Sprague; said it was too bad.

"Sister Sprague, it is too bad, but you had better do it than to have

Brother Brigham's curse resting upon you."

Emeline, who is really a kind-hearted creature, came and wept with

Sister S., saying she did not want her home, "but Brigham," said she,

"has set his mind upon it, and we don't any of us _dare_ to speak to him

about it."

Young remained inexorable,--the change was made; and to-day the whilome

favored wife and now cast-off mistress of Brigham Young, occupies the

beautiful residence of Dr. Sprague, the fruit of his many years of toil

and economy.

_Bill Hickman_ is one of the most notorious of the Danite leaders. He is

now about fifty years of age. He is a man of medium size, heavy set, of

florid complexion, troubled of late years with weak eyes, causing him to

wear goggles. He is of Southern birth, and a strong secessionist, but

professes much friendship for the United States Government, and the

federal officers. He is wily and cunning, with much of the _suaviter in

modo_, and is something of a lawyer. He glories in a household of seven

"women" and about twenty children, but does not maintain them in the

highest style.

_Porter Rockwell_, another noted character, is somewhat of the same

style of Hickman. Shorter of stature, with the Utah floridity of

complexion, and very voluble in conversation. Anything that is all right

with Rockwell, is "on the square." It is "wheat"; and nearly every act

and expression of a stranger, is of that character.

_Robert T. Burton_, Sheriff of Salt Lake County, and Collector of

Internal Revenue, who bids fair to rival or outdo all the others in his

lawless deeds, is a tall, wiry man, one it would be hard to hit with a

bullet. He is cool and imperturbable; in fact, never thrown off his

balance, never wanting in case of an emergency. No fitter person to

carry out the plans of Young could be found within or without the

Territory, and upon him Brigham relies implicitly. With or without a

"writ," he is always ready.

It is not my purpose to enter into a history of the many crimes to be

traced with more or less certainty to the doors of these and other

Mormon leaders. Some of them will be found collated in the appendix to

the speech of Judge Cradlebaugh, already mentioned. Others are touched

upon in the pages of this volume.

One or two affidavits, from a large number in the writer's possession,

will here be given, to illustrate the workings of the Mormon system, and

to show how little the perpetration of crime stands in the way of the

prosecution of the plans and purposes of the church leaders.

"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, } _ss._

TERRITORY OF UTAH. }

"---- of said Territory, being duly sworn, says:--

"About ---- years ago, I was living on the ---- River, in the

---- Ward, and was Bishop of that Ward. Was in good standing

in the Mormon Church.

"During that summer, a man who had had a difficulty with a

Bishop living near me, was killed. When the man was missed,

the Bishop refused to help look for him. Myself and several

others turned out, and after considerable search, found the

body. It was perforated by two balls. One had entered the

back, the other, the back of the head. The difficulty related

to a girl, whom the Bishop wanted to marry, for a plural wife.

"A relative of the murdered man went to Salt Lake City, and

related all the facts to Elias Smith, Probate Judge of Great

Salt Lake County, (Mormon,) asking his advice. This relative

told me afterward, that Judge Smith said, 'Keep still for a

while.' Nothing was ever done. No examination, coroner's jury,

or investigation of any kind.

(Signed) ---- ----

"Subscribed and sworn to before me, at Salt Lake City, this

18th day of April, A. D. 1863.

"CHARLES B. WAITE,

"_Associate Justice for Utah Territory_."

[Taken in presence of two witnesses.]

"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, } _ss._

TERRITORY OF UTAH. }

"----, of said Territory, being duly sworn, says:--

"I have resided in the Territory of Utah about eight years.

Some time in the fall of 1855, two men, one of them named

Frank Keene, rented a house on East Weber, in Weber County, in

this Territory. They rented of a Mr. Cox, and paid the rent up

to the last day of March ensuing. Some time in February Cox

endeavored to take possession of the house. The tenants

remonstrated, and the matter was referred to the Teacher of

the district. Cox was a Mormon; the tenants were not. The

Teacher decided they should remain until the lease expired.

Cox appealed to the Bishop of the Ward, Abiah Wadsworth.

Wadsworth heard the case. The Bishop at first confirmed the

decision of the Teacher; but immediately afterward, he said,

as the tenants were gentiles, they must leave; and turning

round to his clerk, directed him to write a notice to them to

leave within a week. There were two or three feet of snow on

the ground. Frank Keene was destitute of means. They both left

as ordered. Nearly a month remained of the time for which rent

was paid, and there was no pretence that the lease had been

broken. It was a very severe winter, and a famine was

prevailing.

"The next winter, a man by the name of Jones was denounced,

and his life threatened, in a church meeting. The cause was

this: He had loaned Lorenzo Snow, in England, one hundred

pounds sterling, to print the 'Book of Mormon' in the Italian

language. Upon arriving in the Territory, Jones tried to get

payment of the money, but could not. It was because he

insisted upon having his money, that he was denounced.

"The meeting was held at Centreville; and so much excitement

was raised against Jones, and so many threats made against

him, that he fled for his life. At the same time, the order

was given, that no one should feed or entertain him, but he

should be left to perish. Stoddard, one of the High-Priests,

told me that the Bishop was so angry that he came down from

the stand to kill Jones, in the meeting, but he fled. I saw

Jones some weeks afterward. He corroborated these statements,

and said the Bishop tried to kill him.

"I have often heard the doctrine of cutting the throats of

apostates preached from the pulpit, particularly during the

year 1856, when, for several months, I scarcely attended

meeting without hearing such preaching. They would say, 'If

you find a man with his throat cut, pay no attention to it.'

"At one time, my life was threatened by a Danite, and his

intention to take my life was sanctioned at a meeting, by the

Bishop and authorities. No cause was alleged, except a trivial

remark made by my wife, reflecting slightly on one of the

First Presidents. The remark had been exaggerated and

attributed to me, and although it was fully explained, I was

followed and threatened for over a year. At that time my wife

and myself were members of the Mormon Church, in good

standing.

"In December, 1857, Bishop Abiah Wadsworth, of East Weber

Ward, gave permission to his friends to steal cattle for beef,

from gentile merchants, and aided them in so doing. In

carrying on these operations, they took cattle belonging to

Mormons who had purchased them of gentile merchants. Having

the brand of those merchants upon them, it was supposed they

belonged to gentiles. The taking of the Mormon cattle gave

rise to a church meeting to investigate the affair. I was

present at that meeting. The result was, that those who had

taken cattle which were proved to belong to Mormons, should

pay for them. It was also determined at the same meeting, that

those who had taken cattle belonging to gentiles, should pay

their value to Brigham Young, as Trustee of the Emigrating

Fund. The gentile owners of these cattle had been driven out

of the Territory.

(Signed) ---- ----

"Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 2d day of May, A. D.

1863, at Great Salt Lake City.

"CHARLES B. WAITE,

"_Associate Justice for Utah Territory_."

The names of these affiants, and some of the circumstances tending to

identify them, are omitted, as the writer does not feel at liberty to

place their lives in danger. We do not hesitate to say, however, that

the evidence furnished by them is entirely reliable. Both of these

witnesses saw Burton shoot Morris, and corroborate Dow's affidavit on

that point.

Many of the murders committed on the Plains, and attacks on emigrant

trains, usually attributed to Indians, may be traced to the Mormons.

Some light is thrown upon these transactions by the following statements

furnished by men who were crossing the Plains in the summer of 1863.

_Statement of James P. Veatch._

"I am going to Oregon. Am from Newbern, Marion County, Iowa.

"We travelled on the road from Salt Lake City to within eight

miles of the City of Rocks, when we turned north, and went

about three miles. There we struck the old California Road,

which passes by the City of Rocks. Just before reaching the

road, we came to a large camping-ground, or corral, covering

about an acre.

"Here we saw rifle-pits and entrenchments, and some half a

dozen ox-yokes,--also bones of cattle. We then proceeded east,

on the same road, some three or four miles, where we found a

wagon-bed,--also a letter written by a man named Bradley, and

directed to Indianola, Warren County, Iowa. About half a mile

farther, we found a small provision-box. [This statement was

made at a camp on Snake River, a few days after Veatch and his

party had passed the scene of the massacre.] We also found a

Bible, a copy of Wesley's Sermons, and a large Testament.

These books were pretty well decayed. Some of them we still

have. Also a volume entitled 'The Wide, Wide World.'

"About seventy-five yards farther, we found two graves of

grown persons; no names on them. They had the appearance of

being last year's graves. We then drove four or five miles,

and camped near a creek emptying into Raft River.

"Next morning, after going about two miles, we came to where

five or six wagons had been corralled. Here feather-beds had

been opened, and feathers scattered; many were still matted on

the ground. There was an old chair or two partly burned; also

a chest, with the hinges torn off, and the lock broken open.

Also several books: a spelling-book, Bible, melodeon

note-books, etc. Also 'The Journeyings of the Children of

Israel.' The name of James H. Smith was in the Bible and

another book; that of Caroline Smith in another. [Some of

these books are now in the writer's possession.]

"There were also the bones of twelve or fifteen head of

cattle, which must have been killed last summer. There were

signs of men having been there within a few days. There is no

emigration on the road this season; but there were the fresh

tracks of three wagons,--mule and horse teams.

"About three fourths of a mile beyond this place, we crossed

the creek. There I saw three or four skull-bones. Others of

the company saw more of them. At this place a skeleton was

found, nearly complete. A little farther on, we found a

cast-iron cooking stove, broken in pieces. Men had lately

been at this place. A handful of buckshot was found.

"Near the junction of this with the Oregon road, we saw two

graves,--one of a man from Keokuk, Iowa, buried in August,

1862; the other, of a lady 23 years of age, named E. J. Adams,

and marked, 'Shot by Indians on the 9th, and died on the 12th

of August, 1862.'

"Fourteen wagon-tires _and a twelve-pound cannon-ball_ were

found at this place. We carried the ball to our

camping-ground, and there left it.

"Two young men, Francis Kelsey and Harrison Edwards, told us,

that when they went down, about five weeks ago, they saw two

wagons nearly complete, at the place where we noticed the

wagon-bed, but when we passed, they were gone.

"I know that a train went from Newbern, Iowa, starting about

the 11th of May, 1862, bound for Oregon. George Leeper, from

that train, was killed by Indians. A train from Indianola,

Iowa, was attacked by Indians last summer, their property

taken, and several of their number killed and wounded. The

survivors were assisted back to Salt Lake City, _by the

Mormons_. John Gamble, of Knoxville, Iowa, can give further

information concerning this matter; also Rev. Joseph Howard,

Newbern, Marion County, Iowa."

_Statement of W. F. Lawrence._

"I am from Appanoose County, Iowa. At our first camp, after

striking the Oregon Road, I saw three wagons approaching; they

were going eastward. A man from the wagons came to our camp.

He was a short, thick-set person, with light complexion, light

hair, and full, round face, considerably freckled; downcast

look. He said he was from the outside settlements of Salt

Lake, near Lovelands, and was out here gathering up old irons.

Said they came to a place on Snake River, where they could

walk across on the rocks, but did not dare to go farther, for

fear the Indians would steal their horses. Said his party

consisted of three white men and one Ute Indian, whom they had

brought along to recover their horses, should the Indians

steal them.

"He asked if they could camp with us; and being told they

could, said he would go up and drive the wagons down; but

instead of doing so, the party went off in a direction which

would be twenty miles to water,--and this was near sundown.

"The night before, a man had been among our cattle, and when

our guide cried 'Halt!' he ran off toward the road. This man

was supposed to be young Bernard, the '_Mormon from the

outside settlements_.'"

CHAPTER XV.

RECENT EVENTS.--CONCLUSION.

Personal Appearance and Character of Brigham Young.--His

Aims and Purposes.--Solution of the Mormon Question.--New

Complications.--Military Reviews of Mormons.--Governor Durkee.

--Counteracting Influences.--The Mines and Miners.--Rev.

Norman McLeod.--The "Salt Lake Vedette."--Administration of

General Connor.--Murder of Brassfield.--Order of Young for the

Expulsion of the Gentiles.--Order for the Murder of Eighty

Men.--Difficulties concerning the Public Lands.--Murder of Dr.

Robinson.--The Gentiles flee in Terror.--The Government fails

to protect its Officers and Citizens.--The Hero of Three Wars

of the Republic hunted through the Territory.--Rev. Mr. McLeod

warned not to return to Utah.--The Reign of Terror commenced.

--The Gentiles call for Help.

Brigham Young is a man of medium height, compact frame, with a manner

deliberate and impressive. There is less of ostentation, however, in his

bearing toward strangers than might be expected in a religious

pretender. His hair is sandy, and inclined to curl; features regular,

and expressive of great determination.

In conversation he is pleasant and affable, but is restive under the

slightest contradiction or opposition. Strangers are favorably impressed

with the first visit to his office. They go to see and hear, and Brigham

looks well and is a good talker. He has talent, and is not destitute of

genius; when, therefore, he is master of the field, and has the choice

of topics, he never fails to make himself interesting, if so disposed.

Indeed, is it not in itself interesting to see and hear the Mohammed of

America?

His early education was very limited, and his sermons are illiterate.

But in that most important of all fields of education, a knowledge of

mankind and of human nature, he is proficient. It is true, that even

here he sometimes grossly errs in his estimate of men. This is because

his experience is mostly confined to certain phases of human nature. In

those phases he is an adept. Outside of them, he brings to bear a strong

judgment, upon a limited range of facts, and if he misses the

conclusion, he has the tact to retrieve his error as speedily as

possible. He has no pride of consistency, which conflicts in the

slightest degree with the accomplishment of his purposes. If necessary

to attain his ends, he is one thing to-day, and another to-morrow, and

all in the name of the Lord!

Much has been said as to his sincerity in his religious professions and

belief. In his younger days he may have been sincere; doubtless was. The

character of his religion, and the degree of his sincerity, at the

present time, may be inferred from the following incident.

A physician at Salt Lake was urged by Brigham to join the church. He had

lived in the city several years, and was doing a good business, and it

was pressed upon him as a reciprocal duty. The Doctor, like too many of

his profession, was tainted with infidelity. "I wouldn't mind joining

your church," said he, "but I don't believe in your religion. In fact,"

he added, with emphasis, "I don't believe in _any_ religion." "Oh,"

replied Brigham, "that don't make any difference. Come and be baptized,

and it will all be right!"

The Doctor _was_ baptized, and became a good enough Mormon. He received

as his reward, from the hand of Brigham, a beautiful young lady as a

"second wife."

Young's talent is all of a practical character,--his shrewdness is ever

ready to extricate him from any difficulty or emergency. As a financial

and political leader, he is far superior to Joseph Smith. As a religious

leader, he is much his inferior. Smith was brave; Young is cowardly.

Smith was enthusiastic and impetuous, while Young is cool and

calculating.

Brigham is a good speaker. Oratory, however, he uses as a means to

accomplish certain ends; and he seldom, even when most excited, says

anything that has not its object. His manner in the pulpit is

impressive and authoritative; and he sometimes rises to a high degree of

eloquence. His illustrations are apt, his sentences frequently pungent

and sarcastic.

He is lamentably deficient in moral sense. No falsehood staggers him, no

blasphemy shocks him. Why, then, should he hesitate at the perpetration

of any crime which will conduce to the accomplishment of his

life-purpose. Even the traveller Burton, his admirer and panegyrist,

thus frankly expresses his doubts as to this phase of his character: "I

cannot pronounce about his scrupulousness; all the world over, the

sincerest religious belief, and the practice of devotion, are sometimes

compatible not only with the most disorderly life, but with the most

terrible crimes; for mankind mostly believes that '_Il est avec le ceil

des accomodements_.' He has been called hypocrite, swindler, forger,

murderer. No one looks it less." This is, perhaps, true; but therein

lies his hypocrisy.

We have already shown that polygamy originated in the passions and lusts

of himself and followers, and was afterward reduced to a system and

promulgated as part of the Mormon religion. So with other phases of the

system. The Celestial Kingdom, the Grand Archee, the Prophet, the Seer,

the Revelator,--all tend to self and self-aggrandizement. Everything

must yield and become subservient to the purposes of his unholy

ambition. Principles, conscience, the moral sense, Christianity, the

divine brotherhood of man, human liberty and republican institutions,

the sacred associations of the home-fireside and of the family altar,

all the thrilling sentiment and ennobling effect of love, the purity and

fidelity of the marriage relation, all the rights of property and life,

all the relations of man to God,--yea, God himself, with all the

machinery of Heaven and the spiritual world, including angels, spirits,

and demons,--are brought under contribution to this one man, and made to

revolve about him,--a confused constellation of chaotic elements from

the mental, and moral world. Neither social nor political restraint

does he recognize. Setting himself above all law, human and divine, he

becomes a law to himself and his deluded followers.

How long this state of things is to last, how big this God-defying

creature is yet to swell ere he is checked in his tyrannical and

blasphemous career, how long this theocratic monarchy is to stand in the

centre of the Republic, remains to be seen.

But the question will be asked, "Is there any remedy other than by the

strong hand? And would not that increase rather than diminish the number

of his followers?" Whether there can be any peaceful solution of the

question is doubtful. Inflamed by power, blinded by ambition, he will

not tamely submit to the laws and the constituted authorities, so long

as he has thousands of obedient followers around him, ready to move as a

single man at his word of command.

The only hope of a peaceful result lies in the gradual assimilation of

the "gentile" with the Mormon element. A wonderful change is already in

progress in this respect, caused by the presence of United States

volunteers, the influx of miners, and the preaching of true religion.

This is seen by Young, who already trembles, as he turns his thoughts

into the future.

Fearful that the migration of miners into the Territory would tend to

lessen his power, and desirous of removing the government troops from

Camp Douglas, he spent several months in the spring of 1864, in inducing

the farmers to unite in raising the price of their produce, and

enlisting the people generally in favor of a combination against the

gentiles. To the same end he has been laboring for years.

On Monday, the 8th of August, 1864, a Convention of Delegates from the

several Wards in the Territory assembled, in accordance with this scheme

and by direction of the "President," at the Tabernacle, in Great Salt

Lake City, to adopt measures for the establishment of the prices of

produce _upon a gold basis_.

The scheme signally failed. Temporarily, supplies for the troops were

brought across the Plains, and were purchased as they could be had. But

General Connor more than hinted that if this plan should be persisted

in, what supplies he could not purchase at a fair price with the

currency of the country, he would _take_. This had the desired effect,

and after some further spasmodic efforts, this attempt to lay an embargo

upon the traffic of the people with the Government, was abandoned.

This meeting, like every other in Utah, merely gave expression to the

preconceived views and preconcerted measures of the leaders. No steps

were taken to raise the wages of the mechanic or laborer. Brigham

denounced the mechanics bitterly, because they were opposed to raising

the price of produce, calling them a parcel of thieves and rascals. He

indulged in a tirade of abuse and vulgar language, unfit for

publication.

This may be cited as one of the instances in which he misjudged human

nature. By espousing the interests of one class against those of the

other, instead of attempting to reconcile them, he introduced a new

element of discord into his already inharmonious kingdom. Two of the

delegates at the meeting had sufficient manly dignity and moral courage

to plead the cause of the mechanic and laborer; also of the poorer class

generally; showing the amount of misery and suffering that would be

entailed upon them by the adoption of the proposed measures. To which

Young replied, in a tone of sarcasm and contempt, that even if he were

to build houses for the poor, and provide them with all the necessaries

and comforts of life, they would not be satisfied unless they had free

admission to his house and the privilege of listening to his daughters

playing on the piano.

The fact that leading Mormons were found to vindicate the people,

notwithstanding the degraded condition which such language implies, and

openly to oppose Young's measures in a public meeting, is a hopeful one,

and of deep significance.

In pursuance of the same policy of segregation of the faithful, and

preparatory to the accomplishment of his ambitious schemes, Young has

established a system of militia training and reviews, confined

exclusively to Mormons. This system he sedulously fosters and maintains,

commanding the Mormon militia as _Governor of the State of Deseret_.

On the 2d of November, 1865, such a review was held on the plains of

Salt Lake Valley, near the Jordan River. On that occasion Governor

Durkee, who had lately arrived in the Territory as the successor of the

lamented Doty, visited the Mormon troops and marched in a procession

headed by Brigham Young. The Organic Act of Utah makes the Governor the

Commander-in-Chief of the Militia, and it would seem to have been more

consonant with the spirit of that provision, and more conservative of

the dignity of his position, to have headed the procession, or if not

permitted to do so, to have dispersed it as an illegal assemblage.

General Connor, who has lately returned to Salt Lake from a brilliant

Indian campaign, is the military commander of the Department of Utah. He

does not look with favor upon the marshalling of military forces

composed exclusively of Mormons, and considers such gatherings but

little better than displays of rebels in arms. The progress of events

will soon determine whether the military organization of the Mormon

militia is conducive to loyalty and good order, or to anarchy and

rebellion.

Notwithstanding these attempts to organize and nationalize his

followers, there are, within the dominions of Brigham Young, and among

the masses of his adherents, various conflicting elements, furnishing

hopeful indications to the statesman and the lover of his country. It

may reasonably be expected that Young will soon appear to the deluded

people in his true character; not as a branch of the Divinity, but as a

selfish, corrupt, ambitious, and very dangerous man.

To this end, every attempt to enlighten and disabuse them, should be

encouraged, and such changes in the Organic Act should be made as may be

necessary to protect the rights of gentiles resident in the Territory.

The extraordinary jurisdiction now exercised by the Probate Courts

should be taken away and limited to the District Courts. The Governor

should not only be authorized, but _required_ to take the leadership and

control of the militia of the Territory. The laws of Congress against

polygamy should be rigidly enforced. Mormon postmasters and other Mormon

federal officers should be removed. These and kindred measures should be

adopted and enforced, until the authority of the Federal Government

shall be fully vindicated and acknowledged.

Among the agencies already at work to accomplish this desirable end, and

to redeem Utah from her enthralment, may be mentioned the discovery of

mines of precious metals, and the large influx of miners,--the preaching

not only of a purer Mormon faith, under the auspices of Joseph Smith

Jr., but the promulgation of the Gospel itself, and of the principles of

Christianity in their purity, by Rev. Norman McLeod, a Congregational

minister of great boldness and talent, who is now firmly established in

the Territory,--the extended and controlling influence of the "Union

Vedette," a daily and weekly paper published at Salt Lake City, and

edited with an ability which is but a synonym for immense moral,

intellectual, and political power,--and above all, the military

administration of General Connor, who, by the discreet but firm hand

with which he has held a check upon the movements of unprincipled church

leaders, by the establishment and support of the journal just mentioned,

and by the encouragement given to gentiles and disaffected Mormons, has

done more to undermine and overthrow the whole system of Mormonism than

all other influences combined!

Much is to be expected from the discovery of valuable mines of gold,

silver, and copper, in various localities in Utah. Already mining camps

have been established, mining companies formed, and villages and

settlements of miners are springing up in different directions. In Rush

Valley, west of the Oquirrh, or West Mountain, about forty miles

southwest from Salt Lake City, is a flourishing mining town called

Stockton, which has been built entirely since the winter of 1863-4. The

mines in this valley are good, and are attracting much attention abroad.

Over fifty ledges have been discovered, which prospect well in gold and

silver. In Cottonwood Canyon copper mines have been discovered yielding

75 per cent. of pure ore. Extensive arrangements have been made for

bringing on machinery, building mills, &c.

It has steadily been the policy of Brigham to discourage prospecting,

and to prevent, if possible, the opening of these mines to the gentile

public. It has long been known that such mines existed, not only from

the whisperings and traditions of dissatisfied saints, but by the

boastings of Young himself, whose vanity would not permit him to be

entirely silent upon a subject so well calculated to magnify his own

importance. On one occasion he said to Bishop Simpson, "I can stand in

my door and see plenty of gold and silver."

These hidden riches, thank God, have been brought to light. Miners are

flocking in by thousands, and their rights will be protected, if

necessary, by the strong arm of a strong government.

Mormonism must soon give way before the advancing tide of American

civilization.

Brigham Young, with his band of desperadoes, may not much longer despise

and trample upon our laws, and outrage the rights of our people. If he

is to be permitted to continue his system of heathen polygamy, he will

be obliged to leave the Republic he has discarded and would have

overthrown, and fleeing from the scenes of his impieties and his crimes,

set up his kingdom in some new refuge,--perchance in the Sandwich

Islands, which have long been one of the stakes of Zion.

The events of the last two years have not been of a character to inspire

confidence either in Young and his associates, or in the policy, or

rather want of policy, of the government, in connection with the affairs

of that Territory. The same spirit of lawlessness and violence which

has marked the entire history of the Territory still prevails. Partially

repressed for a few years, and kept in check by the determination and

known bravery of General Connor and his officers, it has now, since

their retirement from the service and the withdrawal of nearly all the

military stationed at Camp Douglas, broken out more fiercely than ever.

The disbanding of the volunteers was immediately followed by

denunciations of the gentiles, and threats and warnings of every

description. A letter containing the representation of a bloody hand was

sent to the "Vedette" office.

Anonymous communications were frequently received by leading gentile

citizens. Fiery and vehement declamation was indulged in from the

rostrum; and the prophecy was frequently made that in a few months not a

gentile would be left in the Territory. Yet that class of proscribed

citizens kept on in the even tenor of their way; the "Vedette" appeared

as usual, always bold and determined in its opposition to the wrong and

injustice prevailing around it. There was danger that the prophets would

be brought into disrepute and contempt.

At this juncture, it having been determined "in council" that a blow

should be struck, the community was startled by the announcement of one

of the most atrocious murders recorded in history.

On the evening of the second of April, 1865, Squire Newton Brassfield, a

resident of Austin, Nevada, temporarily residing in Salt Lake, was shot

down in the streets while in the company of the United States Marshal,

and under his protection. The particulars, as well as the pretext for

this bloody murder, are fully given in the following editorials taken

from the "Salt Lake Vedette," of April 4th, 1865:--

"We are called upon this morning to chronicle one of the most

cold-blooded and inhuman murders that has ever fallen under

our notice--unparalleled even in the bloody record of Utah's

foulest crimes. The victim of this last exhibition of the

hellish doctrine of 'blood atonement,' promulgated by these

fiends of hell from the rostrum of their Tabernacle, is Squire

Newton Brassfield, late a resident of Austin, Nevada, by

business a freighter, and aged about thirty years. The

circumstances which led to his murder are briefly as

follows:--

"On the evening of the 27th ult. Mr. Brassfield was married by

Judge McCurdy, of the Supreme Court, to Mary, _second_ wife of

A. N. Hill, a Mormon missionary now in Europe. A short time

after the marriage, Brassfield went with his wife to her late

residence to get her clothes and household goods which had

been packed up ready for removal. While there he was arrested

by the city police, charged _with resisting an officer_, and

lodged all night in the county jail. The next morning he was

taken before the Probate Court to answer the charge, and bound

over in the sum of five hundred dollars to await the action of

the Grand Jury. The next day two indictments were brought

against him, one on the charge above named, and the other for

larceny,--for being present and assisting in taking away his

wife's goods and clothing. He gave bail in the sum of one

thousand dollars. On Monday last his counsel, Major C. H.

Hempstead, quashed the indictment for resisting an officer,

and proceeded to trial on the charge of larceny. The trial was

not concluded when the court adjourned on Monday, and was to

have been continued on the following day.

"The wife had two children, one nine and the other five years

of age. About these children a contest was evident--Mrs.

Brassfield claiming them, and the friends of Hill being

determined to keep them from her. The mother obtained a writ

of _habeas corpus_ from Judge McCurdy, and the Hill party from

the Probate Court, each claiming the right to the custody of

the children. The writ of Judge McCurdy was first executed,

and a hearing held by him last Saturday night. Major Hempstead

argued the case for the petitioner, and claimed that as Hill

had a wife living at the time of his alleged marriage with

Mrs. Brassfield, it was illegal and void, and that, as there

was no legal father, the mother was entitled to the custody of

the minor children. Thus the legality of polygamous marriages

was made a direct issue in the case. Judge Snow appeared

against the petitioner and in the capacity of Deputy

Attorney-General of the Territory, and desired further time to

prepare the case of the defendant, and the hearing was

continued until Monday evening at seven o'clock.

"At that hour the house was crowded, the friends of both

parties being present in large numbers. After a few

preliminary remarks and the filing of some papers by Judge

Snow, the hearing was again adjourned until Wednesday morning

at ten o'clock. The children in the mean time had been

committed to the custody of the United States Marshal, Hosmer,

until further orders of the court, and on Monday the writ from

the Probate Court was served on him, when he appeared before

Judge Smith and stated that he held the children by order of

Judge McCurdy, and declined to produce them in that court,

when he was threatened with an attachment for contempt, and

warned that unless he produced the children _he would be

imprisoned in the county jail_! The Probate Court of Salt

Lake, imprisoning a United States Marshal, for obeying an

order of the Supreme Court! Our readers can make their own

comments.

"Thus stood the several phases of the case at the adjournment

of Judge McCurdy's court on Monday evening. The court

adjourned at about half-past eight o'clock, and on his way

home, and while in company with the United States Marshal,

Hosmer, Mr. Brassfield was shot and killed; adding another to

the long list of victims of Mormon 'law' and Mormon

'justice.'"

"STATEMENT OF MARSHAL HOSMER.

"About half-past eight o'clock on Monday evening, the second

instant, I was accompanying Mr. Brassfield home to the

National Hotel from Independence Hall. As we turned the corner

by the small building west of the hotel, a man who stood

between the bay-window and door of that building advanced one

step from the corner and fired at Mr. Brassfield, the shot

taking effect in his arm and side; four buck-shot entered the

arm, one striking the elbow joint and breaking the arm. The

fifth shot, which was much larger than the others, entered his

right side. When the gun was fired Mr. Brassfield fell, and

said, 'O my God! I am shot!' He was carried into the

International Hotel, where he lingered in agony about

forty-five minutes and then expired. The assassin, after

firing, ran across the street, and turning the corner by the

theatre, continued in a northerly direction. As he passed the

St. Charles Restaurant, he was fired at twice by a policeman.

I lost sight of him as he turned the corner of the theatre."

"THE FEELING AMONG THE PEOPLE.

"It would be useless to deny the fact that in the opinion of

the gentile community of this city, the killing of Mr.

Brassfield was a deliberately planned scheme, concocted and

advised by men high in authority in the Mormon Church. It is a

reminder of the days that were, and a foretaste of what will

be again 'when the troops are removed.' The community is

struck dumb at the appalling audacity of the affair. Men say

but little, but the lowering brows and compressed lips

everywhere visible, bespeak a rising storm, which, when it

bursts, will be very hard to control."

"THE SPIRIT OF ASSASSINATION.

"From time to time during the past nineteen years, the people

have been almost palsied with the announcement of dark and

fearful crimes committed within the limits of this

Territory--crimes of the greatest magnitude and of the

blackest character have been perpetrated, and in no known

instance have the guilty parties been brought to the tribunal

of justice.

"The Mountain Meadow massacre, the Parish, Potter, and Forbes

murders, the assassination of Sergeant Pike on the main street

of Salt Lake City, in broad daylight, were all committed with

an impunity and immunity from punishment having no parallel

elsewhere in the country.

"Last Monday evening the community was astounded with the

intelligence of another foul assassination committed on

Theatre Street, only a few steps east of Main Street.

"The man who was assassinated was known throughout Nevada, and

more particularly at Austin and Reese River, as one of the

best and most reliable citizens of that State, and was engaged

in the freighting business between this place and Reese River.

His conduct, while here, was that of a good, quiet, peaceable

citizen, violating no law of the land, interfering in no way

with the legitimate business of any person, and honored and

respected by all who knew him."

This high-handed outrage was immediately followed by a fulmination from

Brigham Young, warning the gentiles to leave the Territory, and throwing

out various dark hints of the consequences in case the warning should be

disregarded.

The serious character of this order was well understood in that

community, and had the effect to cause many citizens to quietly take

themselves out of harm's way.

For the information of those who may doubt whether anything criminal was

intended by this edict, or whether Young would scruple in the use of

means in carrying out his plan of getting rid of the gentiles, we refer

them to the Order of Brigham issued in 1858, for the murder of eighty

men by his Danite followers. The following is a copy of the Order:--

"SALT LAKE CITY, _April 9, 1858_.

"SPECIAL ORDER.

"The officer in command of escort is hereby ordered to see

that every man is well prepared with ammunition and have it

ready at the time you see those teamsters a hundred miles from

the settlements. President Young advises that they should be

all killed to prevent them from returning to Bridger to join

our enemies. Every precaution should be taken and see that not

one escapes. Secrecy is required.

"By order of Genl. DANL. H. WELLS.

JAMES FERGUSON, _Asst. Adjt. Genl._"

The teamsters alluded to were eighty in number, discharged from

Johnson's command when at Fort Bridger, and were _en route_ to

California. Maloney, who commanded the escort, is and has been for four

years employed at Camp Douglas. He was too humane to execute the order.

He however preserved it, and it is now in the possession of Hon. John

Titus, Chief Justice of the Territory. The signature of Ferguson is

authenticated under oath, by two prominent Mormons of Salt Lake. The

Mormons have on several occasions attempted to take the life of Maloney,

and only a short time since destroyed a house of his near Camp Douglas.

About this time a new source of difficulty arose in the settlement of

the public lands. The entire body of land in the Territory belongs to

the United States Government, subject to the claims of Indian tribes

roving through the country. The land has never been open to market. But

very little of it, indeed, has ever been surveyed.

The Mormons claim to own the valley of the Salt Lake, and all the

adjacent country; not only that which they have reduced to possession,

but the square miles of adjoining land untouched by human being.

But the gentiles were not disposed to concede the rightfulness of these

claims. In the summers of 1865-66, various settlements were made upon

the public lands in Utah, under the National Homestead Act, by

anti-Mormon or gentile citizens.

The Mormons affected to consider this an infringement of their rights,

and from denunciations and threats proceeded to open violence to prevent

these intrusions.

Some account of these outrages is given in the following extracts from a

letter written by Captain S. E. Jocelyn, and published in the "Chicago

Republican," of January 4, 1867.

As the writer is fully posted in relation to the recent history of the

Territory, I have given other quotations also, from the same letter:--

"CHICAGO, _Dec. 28, 1866_.

"It has been my fortune to reside in Utah Territory during the

last four years, whence I have recently arrived in your city.

While _en route_, and since my arrival in 'America'--for so

the gentiles are accustomed to call the Eastern States--I have

observed a great and universal interest existing on all hands

concerning affairs among the Mormons.

"As early as last spring threats were made by the Mormon

authorities toward certain parties, not Mormons, then doing

business of one kind or another in Salt Lake City, looking to

the forcible entry of their premises and the destruction of

property without due process of law. These threats were of a

general character, and it was believed that, under cover of

breaking up certain places where disreputable business was

carried on, it was the intention to destroy other

establishments of a different character, but interfering with

certain monopolies of the city and church patriarchs. To

prevent this, the local military commander, under constructive

orders from Gen. Sherman, called upon Brigham Young to exact a

promise that no violence should be done to private property

without due process of law, which, after some hesitation, was

obtained. Matters progressed smoothly until the adjournment of

Congress, for, fearing the effect on that body of any violent

measures inaugurated against gentiles, Brigham kept his

promise strictly. But no sooner did the telegraph flash across

the continent the announcement of the adjournment of Congress,

than his pent-up wrath broke forth, and he openly urged the

policy of violence toward the gentiles. With regard to the

public lands, he said repeatedly that he owned land, and

plenty of it, and any man who attempted to 'jump' the same

should have 'a preëmption title which would last till the

resurrection.' This was called forth by the fact that a number

of locations had already been made by discharged soldiers and

others upon unoccupied land lying along the west bank of the

Jordan River, contiguous to Salt Lake City, and there was

considerable talk of many others following in the same course,

induced by the prospective coming of the Pacific Railroad, and

a desire to obtain as eligible situations for homes convenient

thereto as possible. But the idea of allowing gentiles to

settle in any considerable numbers in the vicinity of Mormon

communities is totally at variance with the well-understood

policy of the leaders, and must, therefore, be prevented by

every possible means--else, what would become of polygamy?

Hence the hostility of Brigham Young to any such scheme as

they contemplated, for in it he scented danger to his favorite

institution, and hence, too, his threat of death to 'land

jumpers.'

"Now the fact is that there has never been, to my knowledge,

one foot of land '_jumped_' in Utah; in other words, no

locations whatever have been made or attempted by gentiles

except upon totally unoccupied lands. But, in violation of the

Territorial organic act, the Legislative Assembly of Utah has,

from time to time, granted away to Brigham Young, and others,

certain valuable timber and tracts of arable lands for a

nominal consideration, and it is to protect these from gentile

intrusion, as well as for reasons already stated, that a reign

of terror has been inaugurated.

"As early as last August, the writer of this article called

attention, in the columns of the 'Salt Lake Vedette,' to the

threats being made by the Mormon Head Centre to inflame the

passions of his followers, predicting the result which has

already been reached, and putting his language on record, that

it might be known who should be held responsible when the

event transpired.

"On the night of September 24th occurred the Jordan outrage,

in which a number of land preëmptors were attacked about

midnight by a gang of some forty or fifty ruffians, disguised

and armed, and flagrantly abused, their houses destroyed,

themselves thrown into the river, and their lives only saved

by a promise to leave the Territory within forty-eight hours.

One in attempting to get away, was fired upon and wounded, but

effected his escape--very fortunately for the entire party

beyond a doubt, for there can be little question that the

original purpose was to put them all out of the way, which

would certainly have been accomplished had any of the forty or

fifty shots fired at the fugitive taken fatal effect. The

better nature of some of the party prevailed over the

malignant influence of the master whom they served, and they

probably hoped to reach the result he desired--terror to

gentiles--by less sanguinary means than those he contemplated.

The result proved them wrong, for the parties warned did not

leave the Territory, though any further attempts to secure

homesteads were abandoned. Then followed the demolition of a

portion of Dr. Robinson's premises, three of the city police,

including the chief, being identified as accomplices, and held

to answer therefor. Then the abduction of Mr. Weston, of the

'Vedette,' to a remote part of the city, where he was

subjected to the most shameful indignities at the hands of a

half score of miscreants, some of whom, at least, he

recognized as belonging to the city police."

These outrages were closely followed by another atrocious murder, only

equalled in ferocity and cold-blooded cruelty by that of Brassfield.

On the 22d day of October, 1866, Dr. J. K. Robinson, a prominent and

influential citizen of Salt Lake City, who had recently had some

difficulty with the city authorities, was shot in the streets, but a few

steps from his own door. He had retired for the evening, when he was

called up and requested to go a short distance to attend upon a

neighbor, who, it was alleged, had broken his leg.

He quickly obeyed the call, followed his summoners a few rods from the

house, when he was brutally assassinated by those who had him in charge.

The following allusion to this murder is from the letter of Captain

Jocelyn already quoted from:--

"I do not hesitate to state my most earnest conviction that

Brigham Young is the author of Dr. Robinson's assassination,

and in this I do not go one iota beyond the public opinion of

all gentiles in Salt Lake City, and, I have no doubt, of the

Mormons as well, could their secret thoughts be known. He

signified his consent, which was the victim's death warrant;

some of his satellites--probably Daniel H. Wells--made the

detail for the execution; and not the least hideous feature of

the whole affair is, that, in all probability, the

perpetrators of that most atrocious crime feel no guilt for

this deed, have no visitations of remorse or compunctions of

conscience in consequence, but consider that they have only

done their duty and proved their faith in thus obeying the

behests of their Prophet. I will trace the chain of evidence

leading to the foregoing conclusion; Brigham Young is the

Mormon Church, since therein his word is law. It is the

deliberate policy of the church to isolate Mormonism from the

intrusion of persons averse to the peculiar faith it teaches.

That such is the burden of the discourses of its leaders

throughout the Territory, and has been for years, will not be

seriously disputed by any sensible Mormon. Hence their

strenuous efforts to settle up the valleys, or the more

desirable portions, by gathering the saints together from all

parts of the world, and concentrating their force in Utah. In

Missouri they controlled one county by this means; they now

control, and will, if possible perpetuate their authority over

an entire Territory which, they hope may become a State, under

the absolute dominion of Brigham Young. To effect this,

gentiles cannot be permitted to mingle with Mormons unopposed,

nor to settle in their vicinity, on account of the dangerous

influence they would thus exert. The control of the church

authorities over personal actions extends to every possible

circumstance. When the headquarters of the District of Utah

were established in Salt Lake City by order one year ago, his

authority was exercised to prevent the lease of any buildings

for that or any other public purpose, and the person from whom

they were finally obtained was afterward 'cut off' from the

church for disregard of 'counsel' in that particular, and has

since been subjected to all manner of petty persecution in

consequence. Dr. Robinson had leased certain city property,

which he managed without regard to the wishes of the Mormon

magnates. Formerly the property of an elder in the church, it

was now the place where the 'Vedette' newspaper found refuge,

when driven from every other covert. Moreover, Dr. Robinson

was foremost in encouraging the idea that gentiles, as well as

Mormons, had rights in Utah, and among them a right to a

portion of the public domain, whereon to build themselves

homes. Acting upon this unorthodox theory, he, with others,

had procured the survey of certain lands near the city,

including the famous Warm Sulphur Springs, and had taken all

the necessary steps to perfect a title, according to act of

Congress regulating the location of cities on the public

domain.

"The buildings in process of erection thereon were demolished,

and there the matter rested for more than a year, when it was

formally revived by Dr. Robinson, who brought the case before

the United States Third District Court, praying to be put in

possession of his property, from which he was unlawfully

restrained.

"About the same time other parties began locating on vacant

land near the city, as already stated. No objection was made

by any person, however, until Brigham Young began his

inflammatory harangues, giving the key-note of assassination.

Early in October the semi-annual conference convened in Salt

Lake City, and it was attended beyond all precedent. To the

thousands there assembled he repeated all his violent

language,--and no man knows better how to inspire his hearers

with his own purposes,--concluding by taking a vote, in

effect, whether the policy thus strenuously urged should be

adopted and at once inaugurated.

"What more was necessary for him to do? Not to strike the

blow, surely, for there were hundreds ready to do that; all

they wanted was to be told _who_, _where_, and _when_. The

event was predicted by the writer in a communication to the

'New York Tribune,' dated ten days previous to Dr. Robinson's

assassination. None knew, indeed, on whom the blow would

descend, but all felt sure it was impending. To my personal

knowledge many of those who believed or knew themselves under

ban took extraordinary precautions to meet the threatened

danger.

"On Saturday, October 20th, Dr. Robinson, acting under legal

advice, called on Daniel H. Wells, Mayor of the city,

'Lieutenant-General' of the Utah militia, and only second to

Brigham Young in the church, to demand payment of the city for

damages done to his premises by police acting under Wells's

orders without due process of law. Wells no sooner learned

that he was the person contesting the Warm Springs case, than

he ordered him from his house, with every circumstance of

gross insult. On the night of Monday following Dr. Robinson

was murdered. The full moon made the night almost as light as

day. There were at least seven of the assassins. They did the

deed, knowing that within twenty steps a witness was observing

them. They did not rifle the pockets of their victim. The

deduction is irresistible. No mere murderers would commit so

heinous a crime under such circumstances, unless certain of

adequate backing and sure protection. He had no personal

enemies. Who desired his death? Who could protect his

murderers? I leave the answer to public opinion, which, I

trust, may soon compel our timid lawgivers to do their duty.

For myself, I have no doubt on the point. I know as well as I

ever hope to know who caused the murder of Dr. Robinson. I

feel and write warmly on the subject, for the victim was my

intimate friend. Not three days before his foul murder, he

expressed to me a sense of the danger he felt himself exposed

to in attempting, single-handed, to fight the Mormon

authorities of Salt Lake City. The event very soon proved how

prophetic were those fears. I was by his side only a few

minutes after he was stricken down--held his hand and felt the

last faint pulse that flitted from his heart when he died. Who

could look upon such a sight--a strong man basely stricken

down in his early prime by assassin hands, his family crushed

with the awful weight of such a sorrow--and not feel it a duty

to use every means which honor allows to bring the

perpetrators to punishment. During my residence in Utah I have

carefully studied the Mormon system, and confidently assert it

to be dangerous to the commonweal. I have traced the

connection between public utterances of the leaders and crimes

wherewith they have been charged, and entertain no doubt of

their guilt from evidences found in their own record.

"Well, Dr. Robinson sleeps in the cemetery at Camp Douglas,

the second victim of Mormon hatred to gentiles, within the

year, whose ashes repose therein. They sleep as do the

Parishes, the innocents slaughtered at the Mountain Meadows,

and the hundreds of other victims who have perished to appease

the insatiate demon of blood-atonement--the tutelary deity by

whose fell assistance Brigham Young maintains his power, and

hopes to accomplish his evil purposes."

The following comments upon the same affair, together with the closing

portion of the eloquent speech of Governor Weller before the Coroner's

Jury, are taken from the "San Francisco Bulletin" of November 16th,

1866:--

"SAN FRANCISCO, _Nov._ 16th.

"The gentiles of Salt Lake may find very great attractions in

a business way in that city, but they do not dwell in very

secure habitations. Now and then one of their number is taken

off as stealthily as when a wolf pounces down upon the fold.

Bassfield made himself obnoxious by a marriage, and his days

were numbered. The manner of his taking off was well known,

but it availed nothing to trace the crime to its perpetrators.

Mormon vengeance selects a shining mark even though it lets

its bolts fly in the dark, and there is always a Mormon moral

to the tragedy.

"The recent assassination of Dr. J. K. Robinson, in Salt Lake

City, does not differ in its diabolical features from others

which preceded it. He was a representative man, and as such,

the murder may have peculiar significance.

"Robinson in 1864 was Assistant Surgeon of United States

Volunteers, and soon after took charge of the hospital at Camp

Douglas, near Salt Lake City, and sometime after, being

mustered out of the service, he settled down in that city as a

regular practitioner of medicine, which pursuit he followed

with success, and was a leading man, at least among the

gentiles. Indeed, it was said that no man stood higher,

socially or morally. It seems that Robinson was at the time

contesting a claim known as the Warm Springs, before the

United States Territorial Court, and with good prospect of

ultimate success. His opponents were, of course, Mormons, and

may have chosen a more expeditious way of quieting title by

quieting the claimant at the same time. But certainly a Mormon

jury could have settled the claim without blood; only there

might not have been such an impressive and saintly moral for

the benefit of the gentiles.

"But there were other reasons why Robinson's permanent absence

was deemed far more desirable than his presence. He had been

very active in educational and religious enterprises, not

altogether after the pattern prescribed by the saints. Nearly

two years ago Rev. Norman McLeod, a Congregational minister,

commenced preaching at Camp Douglas, and finding so much

encouragement from Gen. Connor and the whole gentile

community, he established a preaching station in the city, and

finally organized a church. An intelligent congregation was

gathered every Sunday to hear a gentile preacher in the city

of the saints. Money was liberally subscribed, and a church

edifice, we believe, was in process of erection. A

Sunday-school was organized, and considerable assistance was

sent from this city. Dr. Robinson was the Superintendent of

the Sunday-school, and was very effective in all matters

connected with the new religious society. Some time in March

last, Rev. Mr. McLeod was summoned to Washington by a

Congressional Committee to state the results of his

observations concerning the attitude of the Mormons toward the

Federal Government, and such other knowledge concerning the

workings of Mormonism as he possessed. There being no

alternative, he obeyed the summons. But previous to his

departure Dr. Robinson, his intimate friend and room-mate, was

united by him in marriage with the daughter of the late Dr.

Kay, a lady identified also with the new religious enterprise.

Six months or more afterwards, and before McLeod's return,

Robinson was called up in the night on pretense that he was

wanted professionally, waylaid and murdered.

"A fact of some significance comes out at this juncture. Gen.

Connor, who had taken a warm interest in the religious

society, and was the fast friend of Robinson and McLeod,

telegraphed to the latter, who is still at the East, advising

him not to return as his life was in danger. Thus, the leading

layman in the society was assassinated, and the pastor warned

by his best friend that it is not safe to return. It may be

said that the gentile society had, from the beginning, exerted

a quiet but powerful influence against polygamy, and already

much of doubt and skepticism on this point had begun to

pervade the Mormon community. In New Zealand and some other

places, the natives sometimes roasted and ate a missionary. In

Salt Lake they assassinate him and throw him to the dogs. At

the coroner's inquest, ex-Governor John B. Weller being

present as counsel on behalf of the friends of the murdered

man, addressed the jury and submitted the following suggestive

propositions:--

"'And upon this evidence I have a few plain questions to

propound, which I will leave you and others to answer. I do

not propose to discuss them, simply because I could not do so

without increasing the excitement which already exists, and

producing an exasperated state of feeling, which could not at

the present time result in any public good.

"'1. If my associate, Judge Stout, the City Attorney, had been

murdered under the circumstances Dr. Robinson was, would the

police have exhibited a greater degree of vigilance and

energy?

"'2. Would the attention of the 4000 people who assembled at

the 'Tabernacle' (where secular affairs are often discussed)

on the succeeding Sabbath have been called to the crime and

exhorted to use every effort to ferret out the assassins?

"'3. Could any prominent Mormon be murdered under the same

circumstances and no clew whatever found to the murderer?

"'4. Would any portion of the five hundred special police have

been called into requisition or ordered on duty?

"'5. Would any of the numerous witnesses who saw the assassins

fleeing from their bloody work, have been able to recognize

and name them?

"'6. Have we not utterly failed to prove, after full

investigation, that Dr. Robinson had a personal enemy in the

world, and have we not proved that he had had difficulties

with none except the city authorities?

"'7. Is there any evidence that he had done anything to make

personal enemies, unless it was having the Chief of Police and

two others bound over to answer a charge of riot?

"'8. Would he have been murdered if he had not by his land

claim raised a question as to the validity of the city

charter?

"'9. Would the ten-pin alley have been destroyed if it had not

been his property, and that he had a suit pending against the

city?

"'10. Would the Mayor of the city have ordered him out of his

house two days before he was murdered, if he had not

understood that he claimed damages from the city for the

wanton destruction of his property?

"'11. Is it not remarkable that a gang of men could go to a

bowling alley, nearly surrounded by houses, within sixty steps

of the most public street in the city, between the hours of

eleven and twelve o'clock at night, demolish the windows and

break up with axes and sledges the alley, and no witnesses

found to identify the men or who knew anything whatever about

the perpetrators of the act?

"'12. Are not the jury satisfied that some witnesses have

withheld evidence calculated to fasten guilt upon certain

parties, because they feared personal violence?

"'13. Is there not an organized influence here which prevents

the detection and punishment of men who commit acts of

violence upon the persons or property of gentiles?

"'14. If a Mormon of good standing had been murdered, would

the Mayor, to whom the Chief of Police reports, have been

informed of the act before ten o'clock the next day?

"'15. Would the Chief of Police have gone to bed as soon as he

heard of the crime, and waited three days before he visited

the scene of the murder?

"'16. Was the murder committed for the purpose of striking

terror into the gentiles and preventing them from settling in

this Territory?

"'17. Is it the settled policy of the authorities here to

prevent citizens of the United States, not Mormons, from

asserting their claims to a portion of the public domain in

the regularly organized judicial tribunals of the country?

"'18. Are all legal questions which may arise in this city

between Mormons and gentiles to be settled by brute force?

"'19. Do the public teachings of the Tabernacle lead the

people to respect and obey the laws of the country, or do they

lead to violence and bloodshed?'

"He then referred to the practices and teachings of the

Mormons and the natural results that flowed from them:--

"'Whilst following the practices of some of the patriarchs of

old they have also adopted the creed, "An eye for an eye, and

a tooth for a tooth." What has been the result of these

teachings upon society here? There are a number of respectable

men in this city, some of whom have families, who dare not go

upon your streets at night! Nor are they men who are afraid of

shadows. They have shown their courage upon the field of

battle in defence of the honor of the country, and would not

shrink from meeting any of them single-handed in the light of

day. But they do not choose to meet an organized band of

assassins at midnight. They dare not go to your theatre or

other public places of amusement. Is it not hard that here, in

an American Territory, supposed to be under the protection of

our national flag, citizens who have perilled their lives to

sustain the supremacy of our laws and the integrity of the

government, are compelled to remain in their houses at night

to escape the hands of murderers? men who have violated no

law, trespassed upon the right of no one, but have simply

incurred the displeasure of the dominant party? Can this state

of things be tolerated on American soil? A government which

habitually fails to give protection to its people must soon

cease to command their confidence or respect. But I do not

choose to pursue this subject further.

"'In this connection, however, I feel called upon to notice

the extraordinary efforts which have been made and are still

being made at the Tabernacle, as well as by the press, to

destroy the confidence of the people in the courts established

by the Federal Government in this Territory. Judges selected

by the government, because of their legal attainments and

sterling integrity, have been sent out here to administer the

laws and preserve the peace and order of society. If, in the

faithful discharge of their duties under the oath they have

taken, they make a decision in conflict with the interests or

the opinions of the dominant party, they are bitterly

denounced and every effort made to impair their power and

lessen their influence. To effect this, slander and ridicule

are generally employed. If a Federal Judge will decide every

question which arises between a Mormon and gentile in favor of

the former, he can have an easy and quiet time. He can have as

much fulsome praise as he deserves. But if he decides in favor

of the latter, "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown".'"

The murder of Dr. Robinson, following so closely upon that of

Brassfield, and the outrages upon Williamson and his companions, quite

unsettled the nerves of those gentiles who had had the hardihood to

remain, and they now fled in terror from before the face of the

infuriated fanatics, to whose tender mercies they had been turned over

by that government which should have afforded them the fullest

protection.

The garrison stationed at Camp Douglas, instead of being strengthened as

it should have been, had been disbanded and withdrawn, till scarcely a

corporal's guard remained; not enough to inspire the least respect for

the government or its representatives. General Connor, whose name had

been a terror to the offender for three years, now found himself an

outcast and a refugee, in the land which had so lately been under his

control. Finding his life constantly in danger in Salt Lake City, he

removed with his family, a few months after the assassination of

Robinson, to Stockton, in Rush Valley, forty miles west of Salt Lake,

where he now resides. He is engaged in mining operations, and having

considerable capital invested in developing the silver mines in that

locality, cannot well leave without much financial sacrifice. His life

is in constant danger, as well as that of every anti-Mormon resident of

the Territory.

The following extract from a letter of General Connor, dated Salt Lake,

December 26, 1866, written just before his removal to Stockton, will

give some idea of the condition of the Territory at that time:--

"Matters are getting worse here. You will see by the 'Vedette,'

that the merchants have addressed a card to Brigham Young, in

reference to his action in not permitting the people to trade

with gentile merchants. Several gentiles established themselves

in business in the outer settlements. Some of them have been

ordered to close their stores, and are doing so, and are glad

to get away with their lives.

"Of the hundreds who came here to spend the winter, all or

nearly all have left, and many of the old gentile inhabitants

are leaving, or preparing to do so in the spring, if nothing

is done for us by Congress or the Administration."

The Rev. Mr. McLeod who, previous to the murder of Robinson, had made a

visit to the States, was cautioned by his friends, by telegraph, not to

return, as his life was in danger.[297:A]

Many fled the Territory. But a small number remained. And from that

Spartan band the cry now comes up for aid and protection.

Will that cry be heeded by the government of their country? Or will that

same masterly inactivity which has hitherto characterized the course of

the Federal Government on this subject, still prevail?

This is a question which now demands the serious attention of Congress

and of the country.

If the Mormons are to remain in the country, it would seem to be time

that some system were adopted to enforce the execution of the laws among

them. I am aware that the subject is one of some difficulty, but one

would suppose that among all those who have been grappling with the

great questions of Southern reconstruction, enough statesmanship might

be found to devise some efficient mode of protecting life and property

in Utah.

Let us at least hope the attempt will be made.

THE END.

FOOTNOTES:

[297:A] Rev. William Roberts, also one of the ablest ministers on the

Pacific coast, was deputed, at the last annual Methodist Conference of

Oregon, to act as a missionary at Salt Lake. He proceeded to execute

the mission, but after a short stay, returned to his former charge in

Idaho, there to remain till such time as American citizens in Utah

should be protected in their lives and property.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

The following corrections have been make to the text:

Page ix: Description of the Harem.[original has a comma]

Page ix: THE ENDOWMENT.[original has a comma]

Page 5: Here new difficulties arose.[period missing in

original]

Page 12: following boundaries, to wit:"[quotation mark missing

in original]

Page 20: Brochus and Zerubbabel Snow, Associate

Justices;[semi-colon missing in original]

Page 21: spirits of the audience, he[original has "be"] turned

to the Judge

Page 29: It is not our purpose to detract from the merits of

any one.[period missing in original]

Page 57: taking with them their household goods[original has

"gods"], and provisions

Page 130: and the interpretation[original has

"intrepretation"] of tongues

Page 133: Each has another[original has "an" and "other" on

two separate lines--the hyphen is missing] part

Page 155: _Thirdly_[original has "Thirdy"], They must be

baptized

Page 158: The passage was: '[quotation mark missing in

original]To us there is but one God

Page 163: this small remnant[original has "remant"] of the

tribe

Page 228: then editor of the "Star,"[original has single

quote]

Page 233: that which God had[original has "aad"] joined

together

Page 255: "O, when shall we see Jesus," &c.[original has

extraneous comma]

Page 256: the prophets, even Joseph Smith.[original has

extraneous quotation mark]

Page 259: upon the faithful in Israel. Amen."[quotation mark

missing in original]

Page 276: diminish the number of his followers?"[quotation

mark missing in original]

Page 282: after the marriage, Brassfield[original has

"Brassfied"] went

Page 287: a preëmption[original has "pre/emption" split across

a line break] title which would last

On pages 294 and 295, in the original, all of the numbered

paragraphs are missing an opening single quote inside the

opening double quote. The single quote has been added.

Page 296: "'[single quote missing in the original]In this

connection, however

Page 296: "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown"[quotation

mark missing in original]

End of Project Gutenberg's The Mormon Prophet and His Harem, by C.V. Waite